[Riley]

Have any Freepers flown a twin-rotor? I was a student pilot in R-22s (which got expensive in a job market glutted with military veteran pilots).

I am curious how it handles differently from a single rotor helicopter in terms of control input.

[68skylark]

Have any Freepers flown a twin-rotor?

I've flown in one, but I haven't flown one.

[slohand]

I was an avionics mech in the 295th aviation co, Mannheim Ger
1980 and 1981. I always felt the ride was a little rougher than the Hueys I worked on at Ft Campbell. More of a heavy truck compared to a car.

[Lee'sGhost]

I flew the simulator at New River Air Station. The ultimate video game. Flew through an LHD conning tower though.

[Squantos]

Just to get yer fill of cool .....

Stay Safe !

http://www.chinook-helicopter.com

[Dustoff45]

I'll fess up to about 11 months flying Hooks, with an 8 month 2nd tour in 'Nam. I was Flipper 45 with the 196th Assault Support Helicopter Company at An Son, Lane AHP in '69

I flew mostly the A Model - 2750 shaft horse power on each engine.

Since the rotors intermesh, they counter-act and cancel torque.

Controls remain the same, cyclic, collective and pedals. In this case right pedal would affect the forward and aft rotor heads differently causing the hook to rotate around a spot to the right. No tail rotor action, just forward rotor head to the right, aft rotor head to the left.

The model I flew maxed out at 33,000 lbs. We started a 2 hour duration of flight with 8,000 lbs. of JP4. Yep, that is 2 ton of fuel consumed each hour. After about 90 minutes into that fuel load, is when we could tackle the heavier sling loads.

The hook was really loud. They told us 120 decibels in the cockpit. The army fesses up to 112 decibels today. 85 decibels or more for 30 minutes or more equals permanent hearing loss. For me, as I go up the keys on a piano, eventually, I reach the point where I only hear the keys go clunk.

I really got off on how they used the '47 in some of those earlier missions in Afganistan. As I understand it, the BlackHawk did not have the capability to perform as well at the high altitudes.

The new rebuilt MH-47s are nearly a brand-new aircraft. They can strip down the airframe at the depot level, and do so much more these days to add avionic ability, extended fuel tanks, beefed-up drive-train components, etc.

For the rotor-heads that are here and have brought a single-rotor up to a hover, the hook is different.

1st step, a couple of inches of aft cyclic, add power and bring the nose and forward gear off the ground.

2nd, steady on the horizon, pedals and cyclic and add power to bring the rear gear up. Add collective to start the vertical speed, then just nose it over into transitional lift. Like most helicopters, the 47 takes more power to hover than to fly.

With an engine out at a forward location, we occasionally would roll forward and lift off with one engine, flying at best climb speed back to the unit for repair.

Maintenance sure did appreciate it when we saved them a trip to the boondocks.

I have flown TH-55s, (Hughes 269) H-13s, (Bell 47) UH-1H (Bell Iroquis), OH-6a (LOH Cayuse) and been in Bell Rangers. Nothing compares to the Hook, although I drool when the Marines go overhead near where I live south of Quantico with the Echo and later models of the CH-53

[flymh47]

OK, here's how it works. I'm an active duty FE (flight engineer), and I'll try and keep it simple...
We have two rotor systems that counter rotate to cancel torque from the engines. Now the way this thing is different form an R-22 is that the rotor systems operate on differential collective thrust. That is when you put in forward cyclic, the fwd and aft heads add collective pitch, with the aft head inputting more than the fwd. So with the aft head producing more lift, you get nose down. Collective works the same, with both heads producing the same lift. As with roll, both heads tilt left or right. With yaw, one goes one way, the other goes the opposite. Pretty simple really, until you look at the flight control mixing bellcranks. Whoever designed that was a friggin' genious!! The good ol' "D" model is good for a max gross of 50000lbs, and the new 714A engines sport close to 5000 shp per side. She was (read still is...) the work horse in afghanistan. Nothing else is going to hover at 12-14000 ft, to put boots on the ground. And this MH-47G beast? Let me tell you...The Echo model is good, but I can't wait to get my Golf!!