MRH90 having dramas

Seems to be a reoccurring thing with the media in this country,shades of the TIGER ARH armed reconnaissance helicopter having problems with full military load and hovering.Reports are after trials of the Naval Taipan version of the Mrh90 in having rotor start and stop issues in high wind.First time I have heard of trouble with any helo in that area.Or is this just a media stirring up the Defence force.?
Taipan issues.

a reply to: Blackfinger

Probably a little of both. The media tends to blow every little developmental problem out of proportion, when they even pay attention.

a reply to: Blackfinger

That link is to a subscription service.

Well that changed quickly.Sorry...

a reply to: Blackfinger

Try this link:

www.theaustralian.com.au...

a reply to: Zaphod58

The 'copter has more problems than just a couple:

www.adelaidenow.com.au...

a reply to: Aliensun

Yep, just like pretty much anything under development. The NH90 only entered service in 2007. The early Blackhawk was dangerous and several actually crashed because of interference from radio towers. Now it's one of the best transport and utility helicopters flying.

To be honest with a composite airframe (with internal systems running internally between the skins) it wont last running in Australian conditions.Overheating was an issue with the ARH as well in the beginning due to the higher ambient temps we have here.Maybe we need to look to other countries like South Africa who run in similar conditions.
When we got the Blackhawk the drama was we got the downgraded models which necessitated strengthening and reinforcing,something our Defence force likes to do.Buy it cheap and stuff around with it till it works.Sea Sprites were a disaster but interesting the RNZ Navy are using them reasonably well.

a reply to: Blackfinger
NZ are having exactly the same problems with their NH-90's as well. Plus they aren't happy with the $30,000+ per flight hour running costs either, which is about 10 times greater than the UH-1 they replaced. No point in buying something if it stubbornly refuses to work and costs too much to run.

Being based on the Super Puma you would think they would have ironed out all the bugs by now.

a reply to: Blackfinger
Blackfinger,
But it isn't based on the Super Puma. The design that is based on the Super Puma/Cougar family is the EC-725 Caracal. If you look up the stats the EC-725 is a better performing and cheaper helicopter. The NH-90 was a clean sheet design and they ballsed it up badly. In fact I doubt that it will ever be superior to the EC-725 or later developments. The NH-90 is at least 30% more expensive and has less capacity than the Caracal all round. Another very sound investment by DMO idiots that have grave difficulty discerning the difference between their ass and their elbow.

LEE.

Lol,

I love the fact that the ADF refers to the "Naval" version as the Taipan (which is very definitely a land snake!) but dont explain that it is exactly the same as the Army version down to the last nut and bolt. In fact any MRH-90 can be designated as Naval because they all draw from the same pool of airframes. What makes this all tragically amusing is the time bomb/elephant in the room of corrosion. If you thought the Dutch had problems with their "marinzed" NH-90's in regards to corrosion just wait till the ADF start operating theirs for extended periods from the Canberra class LHD/LPH's and in tropical S Pacific climates. Because you just know that the idiots in Canberra will not be able to resist deploying them together as a PR exercise. At which point they discover that non folding rotors and minimal marinization of the airframe design equals massive operational tempo issues on deck and expensive maintenance/lifecycle problems. And we have known this for nearly 10 years.

Awesome screw up.

LEE.

Awesome screw up.

Giggle...Sea Sprites hehehehehehe