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Bell’s new helicopter may look but it could reduce accidents and noise

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Re: Bell’s new helicopter may look but it could reduce accidents and noise

#11
Silly question, but I wonder if manufacturers have done R&D for some kind of, er... emergency anti-twisting baffle?

I'm imagining something vaguely like a giant air mattress that inflates out the back/bottom when the tail rotor fails, a supplementary vertical fin.

I suppose that the benefit might not be that big If all that does is change the fuselage spinning from "extreme" to "severe." Above a certain rate helicopter is still going to go down.

Re: Bell’s new helicopter may look but it could reduce accidents and noise

#13
post #3

The London Air Ambulance use helicopters with NOTAR ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOTAR ). It's really noticeable how quiet they are compared to other helicopters. They also often land and takeoff on the street - which is pretty cool to encounter on your morning commute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHsd-YShYds

What I find strange (?) is that the LAA does not seem to be run by the government, but by a charity:

> London's Air Ambulance Charity is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in and around London.[3] Using a helicopter from 08:00 to sunset and rapid response vehicles by night, the service performs advanced medical interventions at the scene of the incident in life-threatening, time-critical situations.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London%27s_Air_Ambulance_Chari...

> When London calls, our team are there to reach those urgently in need of life-saving care. Our vision is to end preventable deaths in London from life-threatening injury. Our mission is to save more lives in London through rapid response and cutting-edge care. We are a charity that works alongside the NHS and our life-saving service is made possible by you; our supporters.

* https://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/about-us/how-we-are-f...

Re: Bell’s new helicopter may look but it could reduce accidents and noise

#14
post #3

The London Air Ambulance use helicopters with NOTAR ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOTAR ). It's really noticeable how quiet they are compared to other helicopters. They also often land and takeoff on the street - which is pretty cool to encounter on your morning commute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHsd-YShYds

What I find strange (?) is that the LAA does not seem to be run by the government, but by a charity: > London's Air Ambulance Charity is a registered charity that operates a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) dedicated to responding to serious trauma emergencies in and around London.[3] Using a helicopter from 08:00 to sunset and rapid response vehicles by night, the service performs advanced medical interve…

I'm a proud supporter, it's an amazing service. I was also surprised when I learned it was a charity.

They currently need to replace their existing helicopters, so if you live in London, please consider donating.

https://www.londonsairambulance.org.uk/up-against-time-appea...

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