RAF Merlin (Bird of prey) HC3 Helicopter in Iraq

[alexlinde56]

This helicopter is Beautifull.

[44magnum2146]

Awesome helicopter!

[Rafboy03]

@Solidboat123 yeah your right, hardly anybody knows about the Air Arm, except me I already knew :D they're based usually at RNAS Yeovilton, I want the Sea Harriers to come back into Airshows in the UK.

[MerlinEngineers]

Don't go anywhere near merlins!! one of the engineers is dan noland who's caused one to crash and the door to come off another

[MerlinEngineers]

just read the other comments on this if you don't believe me!

[superdan1875]

@MerlinEngineers

yeh, so has your mom

[morrisonltop]

id either wanna be pilot or gunner

[xxxxgerbilxxxx]

i wanna be a Weapon Systems Operator on a merlin

[cutedale19]

my dad does that and he loves it. Hes in afghanistan till January. how old are you ?

[xxxxgerbilxxxx]

just leaving school

[cutedale19]

@xxxxgerbilxxxx its hard work you need lots of skills im joining the army next year i finish school next year so i cant wait.

[xxxxgerbilxxxx]

@cutedale19 i like my chances but if i dont make it then it the rock apes for me

[0o0oDaNNo0o0]

please can somone say i have a stigmatism and wanted to know if i could fly aac helicopters???

[SheepJumpFish]

Does anyone on here know if your chances of becoming a rotary pilot in the RAF are much better with a degree?

[empmccoy]

It all depends you sign up for pilot and after training they decide depending on demand and your personnal qualities which you are best suited for.

[SheepJumpFish]

I think I may go for the AAC rather then the RAF as that has been my plan for a while, just looking at other options but thanks for the response

[kaanxxx]

I would imagine so yes.

They would always pick academic people when available...

Do you have a PPL ?

[SheepJumpFish]

I don't have a PPL but my A levels will be the 3 sciences and maybe geography, I have no flying experience except on home simulators which are meant to be realistic,

anywho my plan changed and I hope to join the AAC and fly in the army

[kaanxxx]

I heard from someone that the RAF sponsor academic people, they put you through flight training and pay all your university fees.

Not sure wether that is true but it's worth researching.

Best of luck in the future.

[SheepJumpFish]

You can apply for that but they only sponsor a certain number to my knowledge, the army do as well but I don't want to go to uni

[jordanstw]

surely, 2% of pilot applicants are successful, i heard.

[RAFMerlin101]

In the video there is someone cleaning the windows. His name is dan noland and he is a complete tool. He is also to blame for the door that came off in Ireland and has a reputation for playing with children.

[ChristianRoboRAF]

This Dan must have a bad reputation, ive seen on many merlin videos on youtube people have commented about him saying pretty bad things.

[MerlinEngineers]

Well, if the cap fits and all that. I've had to work with the guy and he's a complete buffoon! Drops tools, leaves stuff switched on that souldn't be etc.

[AirSquirrel1]

the side windows cost £30,000 for the UK Tax payer if they are scratched or craked.....the seats for the troops in the back are £10,000 each.

i spoke to the pilot while walking around the hanger

its expensive

[englishrose47]

Chrisbryant99 - your dad probably knows my son - he was in 28 up to last week, now posted elsewhere. He was in Iraq twice - he worked on te Merlins (avionics)

[MerlinEngineers]

Who was that? I work on the avionics desk on merlins.

[bodaz010]

i think that someof this is of both the  3 and 3a!

[olister21]

lol

[1azza1977]

yep

[olister21]

Despite what the name of this video says none of the helicopters in this video are acctualy Merlin HC3's, they are all HC1's. The HC3 has a black nose, the Merlins in this video all have green noses so they are HC1's

[1azza1977]

actually they are all mk3s the black nose cone you are on about is on the mk3a. the hc1 is the navys version

[olister21]

1 azza1997 i dont think ur in the position to argue, i am in the RAF, i am based at RAF benson, and i fly merlins all day long. The hc1 has a green nose, the hc3 has a black nose and was brought from the danish airforce a few years back. There isnt much differance between the two except the hc3 is much more modern inside the cockpit. And btw the RAF use the hc1 aswell as the navy.

[1azza1977]

olister21, which squadron are you on. i am personally a loadie on 78 so i should know you. i hope you don't fly merlins all day long as you are wrong. the black nose cone is only on the mk3a as it contains the weather radar. it is passed onto us by the dansih who we bought them off. so position to argue i would say so

[1azza1977]

if you would like any more info on the merlins, you can come over to 78 squadron anytime as we are quite willing to go through them with you if you are interested

[olister21]

ok, i dont fly them all day long, anymore, i used to be on 28 squadron, but i moved last year, i am now flying seakings at 202 squadron at lossiemouth.

[1azza1977]

yeah ok!!!

[olister21]

I take it thats sarcasm

[MerlinEngineers]

if you are/were on merlins what do you think of dan nolan?

[slipersox]

i'm going to RAF benson this summer 8th to 15th august :)

[wanaplayrough]

I have flow the Grob Tutor twice at Benson and sadly have never seen a Merlin there :(

[AirSquirrel1]

The only Merlin sqaudron is based at benson. if you go on a weekday you will fly alongside merlins.

ive been there 13+ times :)

[drummerrhys14]

did u hear about the piss up the army and the raf did the raf got merlin to fit the land dover in the back but when the merlins arrived the army changed the land rover and now it doent fit lol

[hefalump11]

Nie ma to jak stary dobry Mi-8 :)

[jaywillo1234567890]

you apply to join as a WSOp (crewman)

go to your local AFCO and talk to the RAF recruiter,

[pizzaroleon]

Do it like the old days save millions and make paper helicopters Rofl joke

[freakliberator]

the merlin its arelly good helicopter better than USA uttilitary helicopters

[MerlinGroundCrew]

The man cleaning windows is dan noland. he's gay and open to offers

[Nosteratees]

@MerlinGroundCrew Hahaha!! Cheers. That just made me snot my morning cuppa out of my nose :D

[23vin850]

@MerlinGroundCrew He has a big chopper...............

[Junije1]

@MerlinGroundCrew ROFLMAO :DDD

[AirSquirrel1]

did you know that the side windows (small ones)

cost 30,000 to replace from slight cracks and scrapes and the seats for the troops inside cost 10,000 each

[keithevoixlover]

what's the difference between chaff and flares on jet fighters?

[BRITISHNINJA2007]

Chaff counters radar guided missiles while Flares counter heat seeking missiles.

[davidclaeys]

this one of best heli's out there atm

[bandp2]

This is a joint venture with Westland and Agusta however you will find that it is very much an English Miracle when the topic is the rotor blade as its mainly English as is the powerplant being RR, however the Augusta had a hell of a aerodynamic input without it this helo would be very avarage helicopter, this is the one of if not the best transport helicopters everbuilt and I have flown 22 types this one inclueded.

the Italian and English effort is very much equal, and other countries

[AACBrit]

Just to back this guy up, ROMA you are wrong.

GKN Westland(whl)(British) formed a joint venture company with Agusta called EH industries, hence the original name EH-101. GKN recently sold its share in Westland (the best rotary-wing manufacturer IMO) to Finmeccanica. However the British Government still has control over the company as part of the deal.

[damon2511]

ahh that brings back memories of hard stops and snap interdictions awsome

[richsigext]

yes if its British you know its Good .

[killkidnumber1]

uncle flew thm b4 he was outranked and now is a general

[bigmaaack]

that thing is bad

[jogigutierrez]

Merlin HC3? What?. All I know is thats a Big Helicopter!.

[vampov]

I love the brits they kick ass.

[sart123]

The Merlin is absolutly state of the art, the latest in Helicopter Technology, I would challenge you to find a Helicopter of a similar size with less brownout. The new BERPIV blades ahould help reduce this problem anyway.

[SuperSpannerX1]

MRH-90

[PatrioticandProud73]

Excellent piece of Engineering, for an excellent air force.

[rvsgamer]

An amazing chopper!

[R13V]

how i just love the Merlin, it extracted me in Iraq after an accident.

[DIAMONDBIRD4]

glad 2 c u safe.

[MrOmniscient]

That being exactly the reason I want to fly them, glad you're safe.

[AirSquirrel1]

im going to benson tommorow for shooting and AEF which is opposite to the merlin sqdrn with the gurker symbol on the hanger door

[nistrum21]

yeh the merlins brand new too. its a pretty nice helo. good for ASW

[bonneville750uk]

Nice to know our efforts at Westlands are appreciated!

HOWEVER..... If I have to ream one more 600 shaft I am going to go mad!

[jag3rnaut]

It's an Agustawestland helicopter the Westland has been acquired by the Agusta .

[pvritsthewayahead]

well if you made your stuff properly in the first place perhaps less would go wrong!! cheap crap!! just like ldv wagons and trucks...............bailed out!!

[cornwall357]

i know the person that was in the merlin crash in cornwall and he still flies them so they must be good

[pvritsthewayahead]

its his job he gets paid!! i had a crash in a car and i still drive one they must be good!!

[cornwall357]

its abit different, dont you thing????

[carpy1991]

rookie 431, having just spent some time doing a pre telic gunnery course, i can tell you that your wrong. the gimpies are good, and we are good, and the aircraft are better than the black hawk

[al3xt3hl0nly]

i understand its fast and all but jesus! wouldn't a .50 cal machine gun at least help protect the heli?

[owenbreon]

isnt it pretty ? :)

[joedaviesuk1]

my mates dad is one of the best and most experience merlin pilot in the u.k!

[krispeacock]

God I bet he is an old duffer!!

[Rookie431]

Bird of Prey my arse. More like Soup and blankets. Ive seen your gunners shoot. Barn Door springs to mind. Oh Shite Vid

[krispeacock]

Crawl back under your little rock you silly little squaddie

[TooStOnEdToPee]

The RAF werent as powerfull as the Luathwaffer,but they beat the germans out numbered 40-1,And were out numbered by the Argentina in the Fawlklands war,but still came out on top in dog fights,But as you say were allies so we`re all good

[Solidboat123]

"The RAF werent as powerfull as the Luathwaffer,but they beat the germans out numbered 40-1,And were out numbered by the Argentina in the Fawlklands war,but still came out on top in dog fights,But as you say were allies so we`re all good "

It was Fleet Air Arm in the Falklands, not RAF

[Rafboy03]

@Solidboat123 The RAF did do some sorties in The Falklands War, With Chinook and Vulcan support.

[Solidboat123]

@Rafboy03 Yes, I know. But the Sea Harriers (and Sea Kings and Lynx) were Fleet Air Arm. A lot of people don't even seem to realise that there is a Fleet Air Arm, they just assume that everything is RAF

[indianian1195]

haha..the RAF is ok bt not as powerful as the USAF..although they are allies so we're all good

[chrisbryant99]

The merlin helicopter is awesome!! Dad used to work on them when he was on 28(AC) and they'd just arrived. They're so quiet as well (for a helo)!! They've just been picked to be the next US presidential helo!!

[Wiggstaz]

they're quiet due to the flared rotor tips and this also means that when they land in a desert it forms a wide round, clear area to land

[chrisbryant99]

Actually they're called BERP (British Experimental Rotor Project). They allow the rotor tip to approach supersonic speeds without rotor stall, and stop lift from 'slipping' off the rotor. Have you ever seen the Merlin land in a desert? I have. It's just like any other helicopter, and still gets whiteout, i.e sand getting blasted everywhere.

[Wiggstaz]

uugh.. yes i have seen a merlin land in a desert and it does create a small circle in which to land

[pvritsthewayahead]

dont be so silly! how is this possible!!  physics, its simple rotors if you like 'blow wind down' how can it accurately position it??????? so i t creates a 'clear area to land' .............i love it....hahahahah

[rossatron82]

yes well that would be simple physics....in reality - which is a bit more detailed - each rotor creates different patterns of "blown wind down", containing swirling vortices - where they go determines where the sand goes. The pattern of flow associated with this rotor blade design sends all the crap out further than others, ergo "clear area to land"

[pvritsthewayahead]

its called a brown out!!

[chrisbryant99]

Ah, white out, brownout, same thing. I knew what i meant...but you're right, it's simple physics. No helo can land without kicking up stupid amounts of whatever they're landing on.

[Tigger137]

I used to work for your dad ! How is Graham ?

[chrisbryant99]

Still on SAR, but he's out soon so frantic job hunts ensue. What's your real name, i'll ask him if he remembers/likes you, lol!

[Tigger137]

I know someone who is recruiting for SAR at Wattisham when it goes civi in Nov (28K) Chris, tell your dad to call Dave or I'll call him if ur on the same number number. You remember me, I flew RC planes, you came to watch me fly a couple times with dad.

[12487643]

i love the merlin helicopter its gr8

[Raverbaby1000]

Always see these merlins over thame.

[Sioux1990]

nice chopper