SA341G N3WL (cn 1206) as seen at West 30th Street Heliport in New York in June 1979 (Photo: Anton Heumann)
This craft is now F-GFCI and is for sale (see here) or may already even be sold, and has been a long term resident of Milano.
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SA341G N3WL (cn 1206) as seen at West 30th Street Heliport in New York in June 1979 (Photo: Anton Heumann)
This craft is now F-GFCI and is for sale (see here) or may already even be sold, and has been a long term resident of Milano. -
SA341G N7721Y (cn 1064) as seen at Grand Prairie Municipal Airport in 1980 (Photo: Zane Adams)
After leaving the US this craft became F-GEHA.Comment
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Looks like its still for sale: http://www.airplanemart.com/aircraft...e-SA-341/9917/Originally posted by Savoia View Post
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Nice one XB! Beautiful photo of "CI".
Cn. 1064 .. after returning from the States:
SA341G (cn 1064) F-GEHA, unknown location, probably 1980'sComment
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F-GEHA of Touraine Helicoptere, who were located at Tours-Val de Loire (Saint-Symphorien), when she was leased to the Emergency Medical Service SAMU back in October 1989.
Not sure if we already have this photo posted here...Comment
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Grazie Zis. I think 1064 may have been written-off but .. I don't have any further details.
Well, it really does seem as though the majority of Aviaforans were out 'Gazelling' on 4th January!
This photo just in:
SA341G N700SH (cn 1154) as seen at Kortrijk-Wevelgem International Airport in Belgium on 4th January 2015 (Photo: Geertdiopere)Comment
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More snow Gazelles ..
British Army Gazelle participating in the NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force (known as the Stabilisation Force - SFOR) deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war, as seen in Banja Luka, Bosnia, on 31st March 2006 (Photo: Maddy)Comment
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Fashion designer Joe Famolare beside his Gazelle in the US circa 1970's
Hello, operator, please would you connect me to...
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Lol, nice Zis! Any idea as to what the registration may have been?
I am wondering about the block of wood atop the radio stack. Do you suppose this was so the person using the phone could hit themselves over the head whenever they didn't get through!
A newly-released MOD report has revealed that an Army helicopter, said to have crashed in a 1978 air accident, actually came down trying to avoid IRA gunfire
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/reg...pper-1-6528928On 17 February 1978, a British Army Gazelle helicopter, registration XX404, went down near Jonesborough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, after being fired at by a Provisional IRA unit from the South Armagh Brigade. The IRA unit was involved in a gun battle with a Green Jackets' observation post deployed in the area, and the helicopter was sent in to support the ground troops. The helicopter crashed after the pilot lost control of the aircraft whilst evading ground fire.
Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Douglas Corden-Lloyd, 2nd Battalion Green Jackets commanding officer, died in the crash. The incident was overshadowed by the La Mon restaurant bombing, which took place just hours later near Belfast.
Among those on board the ill-fated south Armagh flight was one of the most senior British army officers killed during the Troubles - but for almost four decades the exact circumstances of his death have been shrouded in secrecy.
Now, the full details of the crash that claimed the life of Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Corden-Lloyd have finally been revealed.
An official report into the incident, released following a Freedom of Information request, records that shortly after 5pm on 17 February 1978, South African-born Lt Col Ian Corden-Lloyd, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion Royal Green Jackets, took off from the Army base at Bessbrook Mill.
The senior officer took off in a Gazelle helicopter after reports that a patrol from his regiment was under heavy attack from IRA gunmen near Jonesborough.
“It took us just over six minutes to get to the contact site,” recalled Captain Schofield, who was also travelling in the helicopter.
“The Gazelle flew slowly, trying to identify the IRA firing positions.”
Westland Gazelle at Bessbrook Mill in Northern Ireland
The arrival of the Gazelle prompted the IRA to break off the attack and flee towards the nearby border, but as the pilot pursued the gunmen a burst of fire passed by the aircraft and the helicopter suddenly lunged violently before plummeting to the ground.
Corden-Lloyd, who was awarded the Military Cross for an earlier tour in Northern Ireland and also served on attachment with the SAS, was killed in the impact, while the pilot and Captain Schofield were wounded, the latter suffering serious injuries.
Hours later the IRA released a statement claiming to have shot down the Gazelle, making it the first military aircraft to be lost to hostile fire in Northern Ireland since the beginning of The Troubles.
But this was vigorously denied by the British Army, who stated that “Lt Col Corden-Lloyd was killed in a flying accident - repeat, a flying accident - while engaged in operations over South Armagh.”
A full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash was immediately launched by the Army, but its findings were kept secret for 37 years.
Finally, after a Freedom of Information request, the full air accident report has now been released into the National Archives, and confirms that the helicopter did crash as a result of hostile action. The report states that the Gazelle’s pilot, Sergeant Brian Ives, was forced to make a violent manoeuvre to dodge a stream of high-velocity tracer rounds fired by several IRA gunmen from positions just across the border in the Irish Republic. “A burst of tracer came up from across the border,” states the report.
“The helicopter, avoiding the tracer fire, carried out a fast evasive manoeuvre - during which the pilot may have made an error. It appeared to stall before falling and hitting the ground. It bounced, was seen to cartwheel, hit a stone wall and landed in a field on its right side.”
The IRA continued firing upon the two survivors trapped in the wreckage, until another helicopter arrived carrying reinforcements and drove them off after a fierce exchange of fire.
Paying tribute in Parliament, Robert Brown MP described Corden-Lloyd as “a superb commanding officer, a very great and gallant soldier.”
Col Corden-Lloyd, who was married with three children, was posthumously awarded an MBE and buried with full military honours at Magdalene Hill cemetery in Winchester.
A MOD spokesman declined to comment on the new revelation. He said: “We have nothing more to add to the air accident investigation.”Comment
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SA342L HA-LFQ (cn 1854) as seen at Sywell Aerodrome in Northampton on 29th August 2014 (Photo: Mick Bajcar)
Steve - could you say what the artwork/design is on the stabiliser end plate?Comment
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I'm still not sure about ID of the machine. But she is a stretched Gazelle (note the cropped end plates) and and also that it was equipped for IFR flying (antenna atop of the fenestron).Originally posted by Savoia View PostComment
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Not sure how to do that on this (small) photo of Mr Famolare's Gazelle?Originally posted by md600driver View PostComment
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Sadly the photo quality isn't brilliant.
This is the best I could get:
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More North American Gaz .. these one's more recent:
Ex-RAF Gazelle filming the 'Pikes Peak Hill Climb' in Colorado 2014 (Photo: Rotor Leasing)
SA341F N250KS (cn 1598) as seen near Tahoe in California in 2014 (Photo: Rotor Leasing)Comment
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Re unknown ID, take in consider the machine on these photos isn't the same Gazelle...Comment
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Looking at the photos, although they both have the phone, the top one has a different instrument panel and the bottom one does not have any stabilisation system for IFR.
Just a little point - the bottom photo has the same type of [manufactured non-Gazelle] radio rack, similar to the one which went into N505HA, one of the ex-Japanese Gazelles/Hoffman Gazelles now residing in Belgium.
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SA341F N918GZ (cn 1672) 'somewhere' Stateside 'fairly' recentlyComment
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Seeing as Steve mentioned Japan ..
Btw, what were the 'Hoffman' Gazelles?
Toho Air Service SA341G JA9098 (cn 1012) as seen at Tokyo Heliport in 1987Comment
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The videographer of the first video has captured an EC135 landing next to a Crabtree Gaz (indeed the one which features further up the page) but .. he has ascribed the Gaz to Hidroplan Nord! Ah .. what a difference the tail on a "Q" can make!
But seeing as Hidroplan was mentioned, it would be 'rude' not to take a little peek at some Gazelles in Budapest:
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Great stuff Steve, thanks for the various comments.
I guess the videographer got is right then .. except for the registration.
Also been into Blackpool - a looong time ago, with the Towers LongRanger. We would lob in there on occasion for minor snags in order to save chugging back to Brooklands.
From one thing to another - does anyone know the story as to why Soko closed down? Are there not still quite a number of Gazelles in Serbia/Bosnia etc. Where are they maintained now?
Last one (for now) from Rotor Leasing's album:
Rotor Leasing's ex-RAF Gaz 'chasing' a newly resorted P-51 Mustang, 2014Comment
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L'armée de Terre SA342 'GBY' Aéroport de Limoges – Bellegarde 22nd November 2011 (Photo: Alain Fradet)Comment
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More HGUN .. !!
SA342J(S) F-HGUN at Courchevel 2014
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Oh, I don't think chaps there needed any foreign help to "close" the Soko aircraft industry (and much more!) at the time. It's well known that a few properly armed imbeciles can quickly cause lot of damage and destroy decades of hard work in just a few days!
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Well it is certainly very interesting.
So does the Serbian Air Force do all their 'heavy' Gaz maintenance 'in house' now?
The former Soko factoryComment
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Iraqi Air Force SA342M YI-295 (cn 1930)Comment
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SA342J(S) F-GJGT (cn 1094) at Héliport de Paris, Issy Les Moulineaux, in 2010 (Photo: Olivier Cabaret)Comment
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SA342J YU-HEV (cn 1393) as seen at Goodwood. (Date unknown)Comment
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SA341G N341AH s/n 1032 as she appeared in "The Gauntlet" movie back in 1977 starring Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle.
This a/c would eventually become F-GESG.
And the same aircraft appearing in "The Bionic Woman" TV series between 1976-'78, starring Lindsay Wagner.
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Why the Americans can't just enter the aircraft like everyone else .. I don't know!
You mention that 1032 ends up as F-GESG. Its astonishing just how many Gazelles which are put onto the French register end up being written off or withdrawn from use. Of the one's I can see on my list (provided by Jos of Rotorspot), I have: F-GOCV, F-GETS, F-GESG, F-GEHG, F-GFGM, F-GEHA, F-BUUX, F-GBLK, F-BVUI, F-BVVU, F-GEME, F-GGKU, F-GMJL, F-GHGU, F-GGKV, F-WXFI .. to mention but a few!
More American Gaz ..
SA341G N505NM (cn 1408) as seen at Adelanto Airport in California on 21st February 2009 (Photo: Steve Conaway)
SA341G N505NM (cn 1408) as seen 'somewhere' in 2003
SA341G N505NM (cn 1408) as seen 'somewhere' in 2003Comment
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Speaking of unusual ways to operate Gazelle ...
A scene from "The Cat From Outer Space", a movie filmed in 1978 with N341AH, and flown by the famous stunt pilot James Jim Gavin:
By the way, does both doors open in flight have any impact on the helicopter structure?
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Not sure what the Gaz flight manual says but would imagine that flight with doors 'open' would be prohibited. Perhaps back in the 70's the FAA permitted it for filming purposes as a 'stunt', presumably with the operator guaranteeing to take certain precautions?Originally posted by Zishelix View Post
I don't think any sort of reasonable forward speed would be possible with the main door pinned open (as in the lower photo), not only because of stresses (which one imagines would mainly be on the door hinges) but also because of the disturbed airflow around the fuselage which would cause buffeting. I suspect therefore that shot was most likely taken in the hover - but who knows - they did some 'wild' things with helicopters in the movies in times past!
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