Poor little Sioux ...chopper bashing RNZAF style

[Splitpin]

The first arrived via C-130 in 1965 .


then we started breaking the poor little things .....

The same aircraft , NZ 3701 at wigram in 72


and so on ....
3707 Waiouru 1974


3711 , main rotor hit a building at Waiouru 1971, no injuries to those onboard





3706, wire strike Methven area 1979


same aircraft getting a lift back to Wigram


3710 , hard landing , Whenuapai 1972


but we didn't just break them at home ...we took them overseas to break.
3708 , heaving landing during exercise Tropic 81


I've reduced the size of these for faster loading ...hope it works Charl.

[chopper_nut]

And what were the reasons for the heavy landings? Mechanical or pilot induced. They were lucky that not more of them burned.. 47s were notorious for that.

[Charl]

I've reduced the size of these for faster loading ...hope it works Charl.

Sure does, poor little eggbeaters.
But is it my imagination, or do we have a somewhat higher helicopter write off rate, per capita, than we should?
Feels like "dozens" of Robinsons

[cowpatz]

We do Charl but we also do a lot with our Helis that most other countries don't.

[Splitpin]

And what were the reasons for the heavy landings? Mechanical or pilot induced. They were lucky that not more of them burned.. 47s were notorious for that.

Nick , I'm not sure about any of the reasons. I could find out I suppose. The photos come with basic information, but enough to start some research.

[chopper_nut]

I've reduced the size of these for faster loading ...hope it works Charl.

Sure does, poor little eggbeaters.
But is it my imagination, or do we have a somewhat higher helicopter write off rate, per capita, than we should?
Feels like "dozens" of Robinsons

The R44 is the most prolific helicopter in the world now so they're over represented in accidents. They're also favoured by PPL guys so.... again. We also have somewhat challenging terrain and weather. Combine this with the Kiwi 'can do' attitude and there are a number of accidents. I don't think that NZ produces bad pilots or anything of the sort, I think that we operate in a unforgiving environment and every now and again, it catches somebody out.

[Splitpin]

Charl, its not just the Air Force that break things ....a couple of those Sioux incidents were flown by Army pilots.
And then of course we have the senior service.
This guy had a (sorry Nick) " hard landing" at Whenuapai 1984


This Chap just landed in the sea. 1973


Hueys as well.
November 82, 3802 about to lift parts of her sister 3803 off the Empress ice shelf at Mt Cook. This was a SAR that went very wrong, but 03 was rebuilt.


This is/was 3814 at the Shoalwater training area in Australia back in 1981 . Amazingly there were no fatalities.


Ive tried to find out as much as I could regarding fatalities( I mean lack of) associated with any of these shots, and if there were none, I posted.
If you can correct this , let me know and I'll take them off.
I wonder what the reason is for so many black and white RNZAF photos. These have all been digitized , maybe the originals were colour .....interesting.

[chopper_nut]

Poor Wasps. That's a type that's on my list of things that I want to have a go at. That UH1 looks like the end of an auto thats come down through the canopy. Pretty robust machine, they take a lot of punishment. Some great photos.

[Splitpin]

Thanks for the input Nick.
I had a quick flight in a wasp , just around Hobsonville ...all 5 minutes of it , in the past. And I sat in one that was tied down with chains while they did an engine run.
Are there still a couple of imported Scouts flying in NZ? You could track that guy down....Im happy to be ballast

[chopper_nut]

Yes I've been thinking about the Scouts. When I'm in Wanaka next, I might look the guy up.

[Splitpin]

....ballast , and a room for as long as you need on the way through and back.

[deaneb]

Wasps. The worst of British, and a helo I could never figure out. Apparently it could carry a torpedo and do a couple of laps of a Frigate, but was hardly an effective combat tool. That said a few of my RNZAF comrades did tours at sea maintaining them and had fun doing it. Never got a flight in one (or a Sioux for that matter) but quite a few Huey flights and some stick time. Fun times.

[Charl]

we also do a lot with our Helis that most other countries don't.

There is an extreme element, to be sure... I remember listening to some tales over a pint in Southland, about nutters hanging off a skid and one-handed tossing nets over feral beasties.

But the experience that widened my eyes, happened at a North Shore heli expo: the Air Force sent a couple of Iroquois to show the flag.
So this hotdog flew full-tilt nose down, straight at the spectator fence and at the last moment heaved back to show us how quickly he could stop and not give us all a very close haircut.
He buried the tailskid in so doing (it was down an embankment) but luckily still had enough presence of mind left to heave on the collective before the thing nosed over onto us.
Blew the coffee right outta my paper cup.

[cowpatz]

we also do a lot with our Helis that most other countries don't.

Blew the coffee right outta my paper cup.

Now that just isn't on

[Radar88]

we also do a lot with our Helis that most other countries don't.

Blew the coffee right outta my paper cup.

Now that just isn't on

Funny how that's a reminder of a famous movie scene, I'd just seen earlier today thanks to the YT algorithm's TOP GUN tower flyby filming

[chopper_nut]

we also do a lot with our Helis that most other countries don't.

There is an extreme element, to be sure... I remember listening to some tales over a pint in Southland, about nutters hanging off a skid and one-handed tossing nets over feral beasties.

But the experience that widened my eyes, happened at a North Shore heli expo: the Air Force sent a couple of Iroquois to show the flag.
So this hotdog flew full-tilt nose down, straight at the spectator fence and at the last moment heaved back to show us how quickly he could stop and not give us all a very close haircut.
He buried the tailskid in so doing (it was down an embankment) but luckily still had enough presence of mind left to heave on the collective before the thing nosed over onto us.
Blew the coffee right outta my paper cup.

Is there a video of said event?

[Splitpin]

Charl ...it may have been these guys ...sorry about the size.

[chopper_nut]

That's quite a famous photo I think. Never noticed it before but they're quite a way out of balance there

[Charl]

Erm, Mr. Splitpin, resizing is one thing, but the pictures on the forum are meant to be posted landscape mode...

Is there a video of said event?

No we were transfixed, and genuinely terrified.
But out there is a retired Iroquois driver and I'll bet he's reading this.
C'mon feller, tell us a little about the experience from the other side of the fence

EDIT:
I took this as a challenge and trawled my photodump folder.
Everyone should have one, it's like the Pirate sites in terms of Ultimate Resource.
I found this, taken a moment before fleeing.
It's a little further back in time than I recalled: 2008.



Time flies; looking at it now, he was being more of an asshole than I thought.

[Radar88]

Is there a video of said event?

Looks like the 2001 Airshow was fairly tame by comparison to the 2008 event Auster , RNZAF Sioux and RNZAF Iroquois Flypast at Dairy Flat Airfield Air Show held on March 24, 2001

It may have been this Iroquois driver from a year earlier at the Classic Fighters 2007 airshow held at Omaka Aerodrome RNZAF Iroquois, Harvard, CT4 and Seasprite displays