FIRST WAR CASULTIES: up to 16 dead in chopper crash

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: AznMaverick
man, this is really really sad 🙁.

i was just watching the war coverage, is it really safe for the reporters to disclose their locations?

They are NOT supposed to reveal anything to do with their location.

 

[Grasshopper27]

Originally posted by: Eli
No, but I bet all the sand does have something to do with it.

Yep, sand would indeed be bad for it...

But they have filters for that...

Do turbine engines even have air filters? :Q

Yes, they have filters similar to the kind they use when flying in snow. They are limited in what they can filter however, and you have to land often to clean it out. It doesn't block the sand, rather it traps and holds a limited amount of sand, then it lets it in the engine and you can get a flame out, which is a bad thing.

It is also possible it was slightly overloaded, or they took incoming fire... Or perhaps another mechanical problem...

Or sand...

My point was simply that the heat of the desert is not a factor so long as you run the engine in the proper spot. In the OH-58 for example, that would be no more than 907 degrees continous, 923 degrees for 10 seconds, 956 degrees for 3 seconds.

The turbine blades are obviously made out of titanium, but they start melting at those tempatures. Better to run between 850 and 875 degrees. The more power you pull, the hotter the engine runs.

Most turbine engines can pull way more power than is reasonable. The Bell 206BIII JetRanger I fly for example can pull 137% of rated power, but you'll destroy the engine in short order doing it. Normal limits allow you to pull 104% of rated power, but I personally prefer to fly with the governer lowered to a flat 100% rated power. 🙂

That being said, if you need that power for 30 seconds to a minute, you can do it. Just don't expect the engine to last very long if you do. You both run the risk of melting the parts, or of simply having blades come apart and having the whole thing disingrate. Both are not desireable, but if you HAVE to have the power for whatever reason, it is there...

At 137% of rated power, the engine is spinning at over 66,000 RPM, while normal RPM is more like 55,000 RPM.

: ) Hopper

 

[etech]

Originally posted by: Aceshigh
Damn. 🙁

Enemy fire? Or other causes?

US and UK troops 'die in air crash'

Twelve Americans and four British personnel are reported to have been killed after a US CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed in Kuwait.
The deaths would be the first confirmed casualties since the war on Iraq was launched.

Defence officials gave few details but indicated the crash was an accident.

"A Marine helicopter has gone down in the area of operations," said a US official.