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  • Originally posted by Rotorspot

    Just some thoughts, no definitive answer.

    Three of the four Niedersachsen Police Gazelles were sold to Bud Spencer (yes, the actor), who was running a small helicopter company in Italy. These three were D-HOPN (1601), D-HOPO (1708) und D-HOPP (1695). So, there is a link with Italy there, although no Italian registrations are known. The fourth one, D-HOPL (1095), was sold to a Swedish dentist and became SE-HUN. This one later on also was sold to an Italian company, but she crashed a day before the delivery flight. While performing a test run for the transit flight she ran out of fuel, and it turned out that the pilot was not authorized to perform the flight. So, another Italian connection here. Also, the c/n resembles the one of D-HOPP (1095 vs. 1695). Would it be possible that D-HOPL one has been used to assemble I-PTEC, although the damage was considerable? But it only takes an original data plate to put together a new helicopter.

    Cheers, Jos.
    Grazie Jos

    I think the involvement of Bud Spencer (aka Carlo Pedersoli) with the Niedersachen Gazelles is reasonably well known (at least in Italy) but I like your theory regarding HOPL/1095 as the possible source for I-PTEC. I've made some enquiries, but as yet .. no responses. We'll find out eventually.

    In the meantime ..



    SA342J I-PTEC (cn 001) as seen in January 2015


    Bud Spencer with one of the Niedersachsen Gazelles


    More Niedersachsen Gazelles ..



    SA342J D-HOPP (cn 1695), now owned by an Aviaforan, as seen in snow in Germany (Photo: Detlef Böntgen)


    SA342J D-HOPN (cn 1601) lifting from the same car park (Photo: Detlef Böntgen)

    Comment


    • Rotorspot
      Rotorspot commented
      Editing a comment
      First time I see a picture of Bud Spencer together with a Gazelle. Thanks for that.



  • From the inside: SA341D G-CBSK (cn 1914) ex-ZB627 at an unknown location (Photo: Chris Globe)

    Comment




    • Aviaforans in the News


      Steve & Co. with N901B at North Coates Airfield in Grimsby on either the 2nd or 3rd January 2016 (Photo: Abby Ruston)

      http://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/Ba...l/story.html#1


      Comment


      • Zishelix
        Zishelix commented
        Editing a comment
        Not even bad weather can stop the Crabtree crew! Well done Steve & Co.!


    • Zis, are you able to help with an ID for this craft?

      Comment


      • Sure, its SA.342J c/n 1393 F-GCCZ (today flying as YU-HEV).

        Comment


        • Savoia
          Savoia commented
          Editing a comment
          Grazie mille!

      • XW847 Flown cover



        Not sure if this has been on before (didnt have time to look at all 54 pages - apologies if it has !)

        Cover flown in XW847 and signed by pilot. Back of cover has official stamp: 23.7.73, 7 Regiment AAC, Netheravon.

        From my collection of Gazelle memorabilia
        Helipixman

        Comment


        • Originally posted by Helipixman View Post
          Not sure if this has been on before
          No problem if we had

          Two more of the same covers signed by the Commander of the Gazelle IFTF and a Russian pilot Alex Kapralov, one of the Mil Mi-1 crew who won the contest in free-style handling display category!





          Flown covers were very popular in sixties and '70s.

          Comment


          • An attractive photo of two French military machines taken during meeting held at Le Luc Air Base in 2007.


            Comment


            • Savoia
              Savoia commented
              Editing a comment
              Very nice!

          • Interesting pictures of Moroccon helicopters, including many Gazelles, during the Marrakech Airshow 2014:







            http://far-maroc.forumpro.fr/t13p270...d-helicopteres

            Comment



          • Alouette II with F-HGUN as seen at Courchevel recently

            Comment


            • Gazelles in Russia


              RA-2501G as seen with an Mi-8 at Bratsk Airport, Irkutsk, Oblast, Russia in 2015


              RA-2501G at Bratsk Airport, Irkutsk, Oblast, Russia in 2015


              RA-2501G in her hangar at Bratsk

              Any clues on the serial number for this craft?

              Comment


              • Rotorspot
                Rotorspot commented
                Editing a comment
                And G-CHBN had a brown interior (like RA-2501G), whereas G-CHBR had a 'dark' interior.

              • Savoia
                Savoia commented
                Editing a comment
                We need a contact in the Russian Ministry of Transport who can assist us with aircraft registrations!

                Steve, what's a TAD helicopter please?

              • Zishelix
                Zishelix commented
                Editing a comment
                Jos, you're right, RA-2501G was G-CHBN not CHBR as I quoted.

                Thanks for your correction!

                TAD = Technical Aid & Demonstrator

            • Are we sure this is ex G-CHBR? I have this as having gone to RA-05706 (she may have been reregistered as RA-2501G though). On the other hand G-CHBN has also been exported to Russia, but her fate is still unknown. 'N' and 'R' both carried the same colour scheme, but 'N' had a black Fenestron hub cap and 'R' had a red one, and the cap on RA-2501G is black! Also G-CHBN had a brown interior (like RA-2501G), whereas G-CHBR had a 'dark' interior.
              Based on Jos' comments I'm inclined to go for RA-2501G as being 1560.

              A new entry perhaps on Rotorspot's list today Jos.

              ps: I like 1G's Russian hangar!


              SA341B G-CHBR (cn 1802) as seen at Stapleford c.2012 (Photo: Graeme Lovell) ex-British Army ZA722


              SA341B G-CHBN (cn 1560) as seen at Stapleford c.2013 (Photo: Graeme Lovell) ex-British Army XZ307

              Comment


              • GazEngineer
                GazEngineer commented
                Editing a comment
                Your dates are slightly out 2012 and 2013 is when we turned these into civilian machines

              • Savoia
                Savoia commented
                Editing a comment
                Grazie GazEn, have amended accordingly.

              • Gary Gazelle
                Gary Gazelle commented
                Editing a comment
                typo? 1802 was ZA733



            • SA341G(S) N901B (cn 1410) departing Breighton Aerodrome in December 2015 (Photo: Ken Woolley)




              Sending a request out to our Benegaz members .. in that it's been faaar tooo long since we last saw any of the Benegaz craft on the forum. Even a hanger shot would be okay!




              Comment


              • Originally posted by Savoia View Post
                We need a contact in the Russian Ministry of Transport who can assist us with aircraft registrations!

                Steve, what's a TAD helicopter please?
                Zis has it correct, it's for training engineers, not for flying (until overhauled and made fit for flying) as these were by MW.

                Comment


                • Responding to Sav's plea for some photos of the Benegaz birds, Aviaforan XB has kindly forward me this nice photo of his Gazelle when they visited Flanders Intl. Airport in December 24th, 2015. (Photo: Roland De Groote)


                  Comment




                  • G-ZZLE

                    Here are a couple of shots of XX436/G-ZZLE getting stripped-down for repaint and her 10yr major overhaul:



                    Comment


                    • Zishelix
                      Zishelix commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Great pics, thanks Andy!

                      What a toy to play with during winter time!

                  • Another Benegaz member has kindly replied to Sav's request by sharing few photos of his Gazelle.

                    The Kurtcraft (N700SH) at Wingene Heliport in December 2nd.




                    and the same machine at Ursel Airport in October 25th 2015.



                    Both photos taken by Mr. Roland De Groote.

                    Thanks Kurt!

                    Comment


                    • AAC's AH.1 ZB689 attracting the crowd's attention during Armed Force Day at Carrickfergus on June 28th, 2014 (Photo: Craig Norwood)

                      Comment


                      • Grazie Mille .. XB, Kurt and Zis! It is wonderful to see some of the Benegaz craft after such a long time!

                        Bendy Blade Gaz

                        It's been said that the Gazelle's main rotor can sweep so low that it can slice you in two!

                        So, let's get the straight .. The Gaz .. She can give you a nasty 'surprise' by obnoxiously swinging her tail if you don't take the time to diligently understand her ways. Furthermore, if you don't watch out, then in certain scenarios, she can send her blades so low that they will take your head off! Additionally, she's relatively high maintenance in terms of upkeep!

                        Hmm .. I could draw some parallels here but, its a little early in the year to begin making comparisons with the fairer sex! All I can say with regard to Gazelle owners is that it must be love!

                        And here she is with her 'bendy blade' being flexed:


                        A French Army Gazelle pilot performs a pre-flight inspection of the main rotor on an SA342M Viviane belonging the 1st Combat Helicopter Battalion of the L'armée de Terre, as seen at Kabul International Airport on 2nd August 2012

                        Well, you'd be hard pressed to make a 206 or 500 blade do that!

                        Moving on .. from the plausible to the incredulous ..

                        Aérospatiale Legends

                        Twice I have been told about a video which was apparently filmed by Aérospatiale workers in the early 70's and which portrays a man feeding a length of wood through the Dauphin's fenestron and basically using it as a saw. He then takes an automatic rifle and shoots up the Dauphin's main rotor (not sure whether it was running). The Dauphin then takes off and performs a circuit! Supposedly for his next 'act' this person mounts a Gazelle and walks the length of its blade from the hub outwards until he literally steps off the end of the blade to the ground!

                        Admittedly it all sounds a bit fantastical but .. is there any truth to this legend?

                        Needless to say, in today's health-and-safety-gone-mad world, such a video would be gold dust for those who abhor political correctness and the health-and-safety-gone-mad culture! It is probably also the reason why if such a video did exist, some may never wish for it to surface!

                        Has anyone ever heard about such a video?

                        Comment





                        • SA342J YU-HEV (cn 1393) as seen on 23rd December 2015 (Photo: Curtis Smith)


                          SA341G(S) G-MANN (cn 1295) at an unknown location on an unknown date by an unknown photogrpaher (Apologies)

                          But, given her 'First City Air' titles this is presumably c.2001. Now of course a venerable member of Benegaz and better known as 'Black Pete'.

                          Comment


                          • Originally posted by Savoia View Post

                            Aérospatiale Legends

                            Twice I have been told about a video which was apparently filmed by Aérospatiale workers in the early 70's and which portrays a man feeding a length of wood through the Dauphin's fenestron and basically using it as a saw. He then takes an automatic rifle and shoots up the Dauphin's main rotor (not sure whether it was running). The Dauphin then takes off and performs a circuit! Supposedly for his next 'act' this person mounts a Gazelle and walks the length of its blade from the hub outwards until he literally steps off the end of the blade to the ground!

                            Admittedly it all sounds a bit fantastical but .. is there any truth to this legend? Has anyone ever heard about such a video?
                            I never saw it myself, but one of the instructors who gave classes as part of our PPL ground school at Weston back in the early 2000's was an Air Corps mechanic and he mentioned the Gazelle and this video where they fed a sizeable piece of wood into the Fenestron. The piece of wood lost that particular fight, apparently! He didn't mention the other parts of the video, though.

                            Comment


                            • Savoia
                              Savoia commented
                              Editing a comment
                              Ah ha .. so there's 'something' behind it. Would be interesting to see if we could get a hold of this 'mythical' video!

                          • Walking on the rotor blade?! It doesn't appear like a clever idea!

                            I wouldn't know about effectiveness of the fenestron as a circular saw, but some info about Gazelle's rotor blades toughness can be found in this report.

                            Comment


                            • Regarding blade-walking, my instructor didn't mention any Gazelle-blade-walking but coincidentally did mention such an incident many years previously at Dublin Airport.

                              Omega Helicopters, perhaps with Celtic Helicopters also involved, operated a number Kamov KA-32 co-axial machines in Ireland for a time. During an open-day for local pilots and engineers, one of the Russian mechanics demonstrated his machine's robust construction by, you guessed it, going for a stroll on one of the lower blades! No damage was suffered by the blade, by all accounts.

                              Back to Gazelles and the micro ones. The little Majorette model was featured previously and here is a link to a nice 1/72 scale model of the Gazelle being constructed from the elderly and slightly inaccurate Airfix kit.

                              http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/i...eller-gazelle/

                              500 Fan.

                              Comment


                            • To help illustrate just how tough the Gazelle's rotor blades are:



                              Main rotor of an SA341G (N341FR) c/n 1003 after having sliced-off the tail of a Beeccraft Bonanza (in mid air).

                              More details here

                              Comment




                              • More Benegaz .. '505'






                                SA341G N505HA (cn 1301)

                                With our great thanks to Arnaud for these lovely shots of '505'. It is so nice to see this aircraft, especially as we have so few shots of her.

                                Grazie mille!


                                Comment




                                • YU-HET Departure


                                  As seen in her 'better' days.

                                  One wonders whether her frame needed to go into a jig after her 'unauthorised flight' last year? Additionally, will her tailboom have been rebuilt or (as I am suspecting) will it have been entirely replaced?

                                  Comment


                                  • Originally posted by Savoia View Post

                                    YU-HET

                                    One wonders whether her frame needed to go into a jig after her 'unauthorised flight' last year? Additionally, will her tailboom have been rebuilt or (as I am suspecting) will it have been entirely replaced?
                                    Avia member Gaz Engineer should be able to tell you.

                                    Comment


                                    • GazEngineer
                                      GazEngineer commented
                                      Editing a comment
                                      She will never fly again due to sudden stopage none of the parts can be used.
                                      Cost wise it'll be cheaper to buy a complete airworthy helicopter as the price to rebuild YU-HET will cost nearly double what she was once worth
                                      Last edited by GazEngineer; 12th January 2016, 06:43.

                                    • Zishelix
                                      Zishelix commented
                                      Editing a comment
                                      Pity to hear YU-HET probably won't fly again

                                  • Once belonged to Cameroon, TJ-XBF (s/n 1874) in the Musee de l'Aviation at Saint Victoret ner Marignane.



                                    Beside #1874, the Museum also preserves a w/o French Army SA.341F (s/n 1387).

                                    ----------------------
                                    Saint Victoret's Museum is on my "Must-See-Before-Lift-Off-For-Good" list, so hopefully someday…

                                    Comment


                                    • Savoia
                                      Savoia commented
                                      Editing a comment
                                      I am sure you will get to see it Zis!

                                  • Originally posted by GazEngineer

                                    She will never fly again. Due to sudden stoppage none of the parts can be used.

                                    Cost wise it'll be cheaper to buy a complete airworthy helicopter as the price to rebuild YU-HET would be nearly double what she was once worth.
                                    GazEn, thank you for briefing us on this situation. As Zis says, it is very sad that she will never fly again in her original form.

                                    This 'incident' was clearly more serious than I imagined. But, as sad as this may be, let us be thankful that no lives were lost.

                                    Here (as Zis knows) is my favourtie photo of 1204:


                                    SA342J (cn 1204) as seen at Courchevel on 13th January 1989 (Photo: Zishelix)

                                    1204 was first registered in Guatemala as TG-KOV, she then returned to France where she became F-GFDG (as seen above) and was finally registered as YU-HET.

                                    Comment



                                    • Royal Marines


                                      SA341B XX380-A (cn 1268) as seen while attached to 847 Naval Air Squadron

                                      This craft was attached to 3 Commando Brigade Air Squadron at Valkenburg in the Netherlands in 1978, made several training expeditions to Norway, and also served in Iraq.

                                      She now stands as a Gate Guard at RAF Wattisham (now AAC).

                                      Comment

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