Up to 4 Army Blackhawks have been carrying out training exercises all afternoon and it is set to continue until 11pm.
It is around 8.30, dark, cloudy and only a quarter moon partly hidden by the clouds. My house is right alongside the railway line and they seem to be now using the line as a landmark to fly in. Through the day they were higher up and it wasn't near me but tonight ...
They are in complete blackout - no lights and they zoom along the line seemingly only metres above my house. I am sure I could stretch out my hand and touch them. I am amazed how low they are and how close to the treetops they are flying.
It is real eerie - you hear the throb, throb, throb, of the rotor blades, then the house starts to shake but you can't see them. You know they are close then suddenly they are right on top of the house deafening you with the noise.They are flying in pairs.
One has been flying along the line and the other a 100m behind and probably the same distance beside it - I am standing on my back steps and look up to see the belly of one as it zooms past.
Actually it is rather fun although if they are still rattling my windows at 11pm I probably won't be feeling as friendly.
The army has used this area a few times for its exercises so we are starting to get use to it. Just prior to the Olympics it was mayhem here. They were practising day and night and had men hanging out of the helicopters. They were 6 or so and they would zoom in and sometimes hover above the house.
Shame my grandson isn't here to see them - I am sure he would be excited, actually I think both my sons would be just as excited as him.
This quote is from the local newspaper
Operations Officer of the 6th Aviation Regiment, Major Cameron Satrapa, said the training is designed to have as little impact on Blacktown residents as possible but some noise would be noticeable.
“The Army would like to thanks the people of Blacktown for their patience and co-operation while this necessary and essential training is undertaken,” Major Satrapa said.
Talk about an understatement on the noise....lol.
Ah, the joys and excitements of living in Blacktown....rotfl.
Some trivia for you -
- In a moving helicopter the speed of the blades relative to the air depends on the speed of the helicopter as well as on their rotational velocity. The airspeed of the advancing rotor blade is much higher than that of the helicopter itself. It is possible for this blade to exceed the speed of sound.
- Helicopters also vibrate; an unadjusted helicopter can easily vibrate so much that it will shake itself apart. To reduce vibration, all helicopters have rotor adjustments for height and weight. Blade height is adjusted by changing the pitch of the blade. Weight is adjusted by adding or removing weights on the rotor head and/or at the blade end caps.
- The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft
- S-70A-9 Black Hawk: Export version for Australia, assembled under licence by Hawker de Havilland. First eight delivered to the Royal Australian Air Force, subsequently transferred to the Australian Army; remainder delivered straight to the Army after rotary-wing assets divested by the Air Force in 1989
- It can carry 11 troops with equipment, lift 2,600 lb (1,170 kg) of cargo internally or 9,000 lb (4,050 kg) of cargo (for UH-60L/M) externally by sling.
- Australian Army Aviation has 35 S-70A-9 Black Hawks in service as of January 2010.[67]
- Royal Australian Air Force received 39 UH-60L (S-70A-9) Black Hawks, transferred to Australian Army Aviation in 1989.[82]
Oops got carried away - there is a lot more I can give you but I think that's enough Trivia for the day .... lol
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