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Whatsis?

April 5, 2006 | | Comments (20)

Okay, a disclaimer: technically, this isn't Plane Pr0n, it's Helicopter Pr0n, but it *is* an exposé of some of the fiddly bits.

Y'see, my collection differs from John's in that my items are either obsolete, non-functional (and uneconomically repairable), and/or of "no further military value"--and (except for the weaponry) they all are souvenirs of odd things that occurred in the course of one of my flights.

In a couple of instances, they were the *cause* of the odd things that occurred, hence, the non-functional aspect.

This thing is still functional.

RW Water Gauge

Yeah--a water gauge. It's from the instrument panel of one of the (several--heh) types and models of rotary-winged beasties I used to hurl myself through the heavens in and it ain't PhotoShopped. If you're suspicious, check out the hi-rez here. Sorry about the quality--my camera-holding paw is still a bit shaky.

The gauge is a tad over two inches (51.2mm) in diameter across the face and exactly two inches (50.8mm) across the body. Note the slippage mark at 3 o'clock--that tells you the operating ranges are externally applied. The shiny stuff on the face of the gauge is Scotch (don't forget--tomorrow's "Wear A Kilt To Work" Day) tape.

Here's the two-part question:

1. What helicopter used a water gauge on its instrument panel and

2. Why?

Heh. Guess away. I won't be around until later tonight, so you'll have plenty of time to research in between ironing the pleats of your kilts...
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Judging from the comments, it's time for a hint.

As we all know, oil and water don't mix.

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20 Comments

By John of Argghhh! on April 5, 2006 9:36 AM
Well, before I spend any time on it - one of the ICE-powered birds, like the Chickasaw and Choctaw come to mind.
 
By Neffi on April 5, 2006 9:37 AM
Water pressure gauge for the Goldberg In-Flight Debris Amelliorating System, Type III Mark I (Pat.Pend.) Early experience in helicopter operations from muddy locales (rice paddies and such)convinced The Smart Guys (O-6 and above) of the need to remove the 20 - 30 pounds of muddy goop left clinging to chopper skids after take-off. The installation of a pressurized 100-gallon stainless steel water tank and a system of piping and spray nozzles permitted the whirly-jockey to flush the excess weight from the skids whilst airborne, thus restoring proper weight-and-balance and aerodynamic efficiency to his bird... Pre-deployment test and analysis exercises of the system were disappointing however and led to several demotions and other disciplinary measures; after which no-one could be found who had originally endorsed the idea and so the project was scrapped (along with the modified aircraft that survived the testing schedule). Goldberg was arrested and exposed as an agent for the NV government after carelessly exposing his "I (heart) HO" tattoo and was exiled to Dubuque for life. C'mon Chief- give us a TOUGH one next time!
 
By John of Argghhh! on April 5, 2006 10:04 AM
Gad, Neffi, that one is so well done I can't tell if it's snark or not...!
 
By Barb on April 5, 2006 10:19 AM
I dunno either, John, but it smells like a snark ;-) I'm still goggling at the thought of adding 500+ pounds of water plus the weight of the tank, in order to wash off 100 pounds of mud. Sounds goofy to me. Then again, weirder things have happened, I suppose!
 
By J.M. Heinrichs on April 5, 2006 10:23 AM
I enjoyed learning that two inches equals 512mm. Thus the zipper is now 6912mm long. Cheers JMH
 
By cw4(ret)billt on April 5, 2006 11:54 AM
*dashing in to get out of the snow* *peering up at guesses* John - Nope. No water injection on radial-powered helicopters. Neffi - I see you used to write captions for AKO. Barb - We used to just slosh the mud off in a convenient swamp. JMH - Ah, yes--the curse of the misplaced decimal point. Of course, the zipper actually *is* that long until it's sectioned for use on each batch of flight suits... *nipping off to make corrections*
 
By Bad Cat Robot on April 5, 2006 12:14 PM
never mind the wreckage. I wanna see the accident reports! "Just happened to impact flock of very lost Canada Geese. Nosir, they don't usually migrate through the Mekong Delta. I was rather surprised myself, sir. But not as surprised as the water buffalo I landed on."
 
By Cricket on April 5, 2006 12:57 PM
That's IT! The chopper was a water buffalo! *attendant snark on why water buffaloes were airborn will be appreciated*
 
By John of Argghhh! on April 5, 2006 1:13 PM
Well, Cricket - the water buffalo didn't have to be airborne... just positioned off to the side of the helipad to fill whatever it was the Chief is sending us on this snark hunt for... BCR - somebody call Carborundum - he's prolly *got* the accident reports! Bill - Well, not all the ICE birds were radial engined (ICE being more my point, bad choice on the two that rolled of the top of my head). But I figured it wouldn't be *that* easy anyway.
 
By fdcol63 on April 5, 2006 1:37 PM
I'm guessing probably a water-cooled mini gun on an attack chopper.
 
By John of Argghhh! on April 5, 2006 3:23 PM
So, it prolly not being for and ICE-engined bird... hmmm. Spray-bird? Like the ones that spray for insects, or the ones that sprayed that sticky crap for NBC training?
 
By Pogue on April 5, 2006 5:14 PM
It isn't for a defoliant system, is it?
 
By cw4(ret)billt on April 5, 2006 6:09 PM
Cricket - Sorry, I don't have any time in a Buffalo... fdcol63 - Nope. The airstream cools the mini quite nicely. The pilot manually limits the bursts to avoid overheating the gun, although you *do* get an interesting barrel configuration after a runaway gun... Spray rigs all have the gauges mounted directly on the pump--this gauge was on the pilot's instrument panel.
 
By cw4(ret)billt on April 5, 2006 6:22 PM
Darn. I was kinda hoping Maggie'd stop by. "It's for the spa in the cargo bay. And if it's not, it should be."
 
By kat-missouri on April 5, 2006 6:25 PM
On a serious note, did we have a water cooled engine helicopter? On a non-serious note, is it the officers helicopter complete with showere stall and flushing toilet? Did we help propagate the rice fields?
 
By Neffi on April 5, 2006 6:34 PM
Hmmmm... looks like *someone* blew a gasket and thereby mixed cooling water with lubricating oil (and introducing cylinder compression into the cooling system, no less). Wait- that was me, with my '68 F-150 several years ago! Never mind... Close?
 
By Neffi on April 5, 2006 9:07 PM
ps- On a personal note: had I lately (or previously) been exploited by submitting to the demands of the hideous and hypocritical government taskmasters at AKO I would never admit same; yea verily, my friends- I would gladly fling myself into the Flaming Vortex of Unending Immolation (TM) rather than suffer that indignity... Neffi out.
 
By MCart on April 5, 2006 11:29 PM
Hmm... CH-37 Mojave, or H-34 Choctaw? Were those piston-powered monstrosities also water cooled? I'm not aiming insultingly far back in the hardware timeframe am I? :(
 
By cw4(ret)billt on April 6, 2006 5:45 AM
MCart - Piston-powered, but rotary-engined--Wright Cyclones, if memory still serves. Rotary snarlers are all air-cooled, but some of the fighters they powered had a water-injection system for short-term RPM boosts.
 
By Cricket on April 6, 2006 11:20 AM
LOL. I know what water buffaloes are, having seen a few in my time. I was just bein' obnoxious about refilling canteens in the air, is all. So...when do we plan a feast in honor of the Armorer's Return?
 
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