Freefall Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Sounds like a horrible accident. Poor family. http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sp...icle2461339.ece Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porter Posted September 16, 2007 Report Share Posted September 16, 2007 That sucks. He was a fantastic talent, cool and very fast. The auto racing world will always remember him....... RIP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new guy Posted September 17, 2007 Report Share Posted September 17, 2007 you said it porter a true driver that never blaimed his car or crew my thought and prayers go out to his wife and daughter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotorboy2 Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 Man, that does suck. He was a talented driver. I enjoyed watching rally races when he was driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Hell Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 The site linked with the story is reporting that the drive belt on his AStar failed, causing a loss of power to the main rotor. Funny way they build AStars over the pond. And typically poor research by the reporters. Still, a great loss to the racing world and a terrible accident for the family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
412driver Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 The site linked with the story is reporting that the drive belt on his AStar failed, causing a loss of power to the main rotor. Funny way they build AStars over the pond. And typically poor research by the reporters. Still, a great loss to the racing world and a terrible accident for the family. forgive the dumb question as i have never flown an a-star but would losing the drive belt not allow an autorotation? i'm not looking to blame anybody, just curious....... a tragic accident with condolences to family, friends and fans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nutmix Posted September 25, 2007 Report Share Posted September 25, 2007 forgive the dumb question as i have never flown an a-star but would losing the drive belt not allow an autorotation? i'm not looking to blame anybody, just curious....... a tragic accident with condolences to family, friends and fans The only drive belt on an Astar is for the hydraulic pump.................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Hell Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 412driver: As nutmix pointed out, the only belt in an AStar drives the hydraulic pump. You are also correct that the aircraft could still autorotate (depending on where you are on the deadman) even if the input driveshaft failed. Even if the hydraulic drive belt failed, actions can be taken to slow the aircraft and then promptly land while you still have the strength to move the controls. The older smooth belts were more prone to failure than the new ribbed belts. A more typical problem the type is hydraulic transparency, which I understand to be when rotor loads overpower the hydraulics and lock the cyclic. I'm told that the only action is to unload the disc, allowing the hydraulics to do their thing again. This characteristic has been blamed for a number of accidents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
412driver Posted September 26, 2007 Report Share Posted September 26, 2007 412driver: As nutmix pointed out, the only belt in an AStar drives the hydraulic pump. You are also correct that the aircraft could still autorotate (depending on where you are on the deadman) even if the input driveshaft failed. Even if the hydraulic drive belt failed, actions can be taken to slow the aircraft and then promptly land while you still have the strength to move the controls. The older smooth belts were more prone to failure than the new ribbed belts. A more typical problem the type is hydraulic transparency, which I understand to be when rotor loads overpower the hydraulics and lock the cyclic. I'm told that the only action is to unload the disc, allowing the hydraulics to do their thing again. This characteristic has been blamed for a number of accidents. thanks for the explanation!! :up: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell Hell Posted September 29, 2007 Report Share Posted September 29, 2007 thanks for the explanation!! :up: No problem, 412, and I hope that explanation suffices as it very nearly exhausted my AStar knowledge. If you'd like to know the the rest, I can tell you they have three big blades that turn the wrong way, nobody knows how to count cycles on the engine, and the manuals are poor translations from the French: "Installation of the engine should pose no problem. Step one: offer the engine up to the aircraft..." Kinda gets me there. I get this vision of white-robed engineers, surrounded by chanting pilots, solemnly wheeling up a new stove to an AStar on an altar. But maybe that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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