Chinook over Dublin?

Knight990

Hey lads,

I wasn't here to see it, but apparently a helicopter resembling a Chinook flew over Dublin today (same flight-path as the C17 that passed over yesterday). Anyone get any snaps of it?

Description is twin-rotor with a heavy belt of noise from the rotors - enough for the person who spotted it (not an aircraft nut like me) to know it wasn't something we'd usually have here.

Any sightings?

s8n

Yep

Turbine

I saw a helicopter fly low overhead this afternoon, outbound from Baldonnel, but I'm nearly sure it was an AW139...

ian_m

I saw nothing like that myself. What time of day that it was it spotted?

Knight990

It was about 12:40 in the afternoon that it was spotted, over southern Dublin at that time.

andy_g

Havent seen anything on my radar box but lots of air corp movements

N7777G

Knight990 wrote: »

Hey lads,

I wasn't here to see it, but apparently a helicopter resembling a Chinook flew over Dublin today (same flight-path as the C17 that passed over yesterday). Anyone get any snaps of it?

Description is twin-rotor with a heavy belt of noise from the rotors - enough for the person who spotted it (not an aircraft nut like me) to know it wasn't something we'd usually have here.

Any sightings?

It was Irish Air Corps AW-139 279

Storm 10

N7777G wrote: »

It was Irish Air Corps AW-139 279

Never knew that the 139 had "TWIN" rotors, if it had twin rotors as the op says it was not a 139.

the beerhunter

saw it, single rotor. most likely the aw139, flying lower than usually seen over the south city which might explain the perceived louder noise.

bluecode

Don't know about Chinooks but an Air Corps AW139 was tasked with an SAR mission in Dublin Bay, rescued two people who'd been swept into the water. I imagine the Coastguard heli was tasked elsewhere.

Around 2:30 pm. So if that was the time you saw the 'Chinook' then you know what it was.

I can't remember the last time the Air Corps carried out a live SAR mission.

rallye150flyer

bluecode wrote: »

Don't know about Chinooks but an Air Corps AW139 was tasked with an SAR mission in Dublin Bay, rescued two people who'd been swept into the water. I imagine the Coastguard heli was tasked elsewhere.

Around 2:30 pm. So if that was the time you saw the 'Chinook' then you know what it was.

I can't remember the last time the Air Corps carried out a live SAR mission.

they carried out one last year donw around cork i remember reading about that and then two weeks ago on crough patrick

bluecode

rallye150flyer wrote: »

they carried out one last year donw around cork i remember reading about that and then two weeks ago on crough patrick

I mean as in a proper search followed by a winch job over water or on a mountain rather than casevac or air ambulance.

I think it's been quite a while.

Aerohead

bluecode wrote: »

I mean as in a proper search followed by a winch job over water or on a mountain rather than casevac or air ambulance.

I think it's been quite a while.

Still train for it though, the DF Youtube site has a nice video of one of the AW139's lifting with an Irish Naval Vesel.

lafors

bluecode wrote: »

Don't know about Chinooks but an Air Corps AW139 was tasked with an SAR mission in Dublin Bay, rescued two people who'd been swept into the water. I imagine the Coastguard heli was tasked elsewhere.

Around 2:30 pm. So if that was the time you saw the 'Chinook' then you know what it was.

I can't remember the last time the Air Corps carried out a live SAR mission.

Coastguard Heli passed over north dublin, just beside the hospital in beaumont heading towards the coast. I can't remember exactly what time but it was after lunch sometime.

cipro 55

Aerohead wrote: »

Still train for it though, the DF Youtube site has a nice video of one of the AW139's lifting with an Irish Naval Vesel.

Saw them train with the Howth lifeboat a few weeks ago.

kub

I wonder, thats all, are they going to be taking up the SAR duties again some time in the future?

Just considering that the country is broke, the contract with (can't remember who) costs a fortune and we have a functioning Aer Corp with a fleet of helicopters.

bluecode

kub wrote: »

I wonder, thats all, are they going to be taking up the SAR duties again some time in the future?

Just considering that the country is broke, the contract with (can't remember who) costs a fortune and we have a functioning Aer Corp with a fleet of helicopters.

No they won't. The AW139s are not suitable, even if they were the Air Corps itself is not capable of providing a 24/7 SAR service as it's currently established. We saw the result when they tried to provide a form of air ambulance service. Bang crash, lucky escape for all involved.

If you think the current contract is expensive, imagine how much it would cost to bring up the Air Corps to the standard required to provide a similar service.

I'm sorry to say the Air Corps has proved itself incapable of providing a similiar service to CHC.

As it stands the Air Corps is institutionally incapable of providing the level of experience and standards required.

That can change of course, but it will take a lot of money and time. Of which we have neither.

Knight990

Seems to be the consensus here that it wasn't twin-rotors. I'd be inclined to agree right away only for the C17 in town as well, so it leads me to wonder perhaps if the C17 was carrying one in for some particular duty.

I live under a flightpath followed by many military aircraft, so we're familiar with the sound of the AW139, so much so that we're pretty certain it wasn't one. With the description we got, it still leads me to wonder if it was a Chinook arriving for something.

Anyhu, good topic has developed here so might as well keep it up. See if anyone else spotted anything. :cool:

N7777G

Storm 10 wrote: »

Never knew that the 139 had "TWIN" rotors, if it had twin rotors as the op says it was not a 139.

Storm 10, I never suggested that the AW139 had twin rotors.
The original question was...

"I wasn't here to see it, but apparently a helicopter resembling a Chinook flew over Dublin today (same flight-path as the C17 that passed over yesterday). Anyone get any snaps of it?

Description is twin-rotor with a heavy belt of noise from the rotors - enough for the person who spotted it (not an aircraft nut like me) to know it wasn't something we'd usually have here.

Any sightings?"

Well, I did see the helicopter at the time mentioned in the thread and it was definitely Air Corps AW139 279 - hence my reply to that effect. Furthermore, I was listening to Dublin ATC from late morning to mid afternoon and no Chinook visited either Baldonnel or Dublin and it would have been widely reported if one had done so.