Newbie

[Skids Up]

However I do know the fenestron is a nice feature in those overgrown cut blocks.(can land where conventional T/R cannot)

 

I'll be first to admit that I know nothing about the fenestron TR, but it would seem that if it sucks air in one side and blows out the other, that it 'could' suck something in and cause some damage. Thinking of 'willow' types etc.

 

How durable is the fenestron?

[Fenestron]

I can take a beating :up:

[skullcap]

Bell said LTE couldn't happen either on the 206 until quite a few accidents happened and they did enough testing to prove it. Astar went quite a few years as well before they admitted to it happening. Not trying to say the 120 can or can't, just giving word of wise to be wary.

 

The gazelle would suck crap through the fenestron and I know one of our pilots sucked the top of a poplar thru it. It yawed, but luckily no damage to it. I still think no matter what the fenestron blades will take the drivetrain may not. Saw first hand 206 driveshaft twisted and broken after t/r hit snow. Blades looked perfect.

 

sc

[borntofly]

well, LTE happened to me in the maniwaki area on an initial attack(fire) and it was really easy to get out of it, just made a few rotation but it happened so fast that i realized it only after i lowered the collective and gain fw speed, but this is a really nice machine to fly and im looking for a company who's own one to get back in......

[Fenestron]

there are two videos here:

 

http://www.griffin-helicopters.co.uk/videos/

 

where 135's had some incidents with the fenstron, one with water, one with snow. I don't know what if any other damage was done, but you can clearly see the aircraft didn't react adversly to the inadvertant contact.

I'm not saying anyone should expect to do something like this and get away with it, but it's clear to me these are not delicate, they do take some abuse.

 

the big safety issue to me is that people (one time I received a TGB from a 105 in africa - stated defect- Impact with human :shock: ), dogs, and objects bigger than a groundhog , would be safer in the vicinity of a fenestron, but the protection around it, does not give you the safety to be dipping the tail into trees, bushes or water.

The biggest difference with a fenestron and hitting an object is that the blades are smaller, you may lose one blade, or a few if you hit an object of sufficient size, but unlike 2 bladed systems, it's unlikely you'll lose a blade completely, and consequently, the whole TGB from a severe out of balance condition. I've seen many a 350 TGB that was the result of bad T/R strikes (fence posts, stumps, mounds of hard packed snow). I can't see you ever getting strikes like that with a fenestron.

 

Saw first hand 206 driveshaft twisted and broken after t/r hit snow. Blades looked perfect.

 

sc

 

Have you seen a 120 TRDS? Nothing like the little pencil shaft that is found in the Bells.

[Bellcrank]

Thanks for the video link Fen.

But I think that the original topic was that there is a rumour of a New Helicopter Co. starting up in the Slave Lake area with an EC-120. Does anybody know the name of the company or who is operating it?

[Fenestron]

I could easily find out, but since you chastized me for being off your original topic....you're out of luck

[Guest bag swinnger]

The owner of Slave Lake Helicopters told me a few months ago that he ordered a 120.

If it looks like these colors it could be one of his

 

 

[jetbox]

It's not Slave Lake Helicopters. Here's a hint, it's a female pilot.....