The General Staff and the Helicopter

Hi Chris
Holiday read for North Uist in 2 weeks just ordered via Pay Pal! Thank you for all your efforts, and the other authors/contributors here involved in the 3 Helicopter books. It's been utterly fascinating to see a collective light shone on a much overlooked subject.
 
Order placed late Friday evening, received in mail this morning, currently devouring with relish.
Thanks for the prompt service
 
I don't understand how to order this title. From what I can see, blue.envoy.services@googlemail.com -- the only ordering point I've yet been made aware of -- is just an Email service and not an ordering form. I've searched for a website for Blue Envoy Press but haven't found one, and independent dealers such as Book Depository report that The General Staff and the Helicopter is unavailable. I have a PayPal account and I'm all ready to go but I need help with how and where to order. Can anyone help?
 
you order by sending an email to that address, with your mailing address. Also mention your PayPal acct if it's not the same as the email acct you're sending from. Then pay via PP.

Mine arrived today.
 
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Order placed on Friday evening, arrived today in NL :)
 
Orders received before 1200 today have been dispatched.

I am now going to have a mild rant.

Please ensure that the address on your PayPal account is the correct address, then I won't look like a...

1601400729143.png
 
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I've finally figured it out, more or less . . . I ran the Pound Sterling figures Mr. Gibson quoted on the preceding page through PayPal's converter, came up with the correct item, Airmail and grand totals and then sent off my order -- in two separate but consecutive payments, one for the book and the other for Airmail. Mr. Gibson, if I've done anything wrong please let me know and I'll correct it! Thanks again for your help!
 
PayPal will let you enter an amount in any currency in the 'user will receive this amount' box, no need to do manual conversion.
 
Thanks, Hobbes! PayPal's 'user will receive this amount' box is in fact what I actually used. I was lucky to find it.
 
Thanks, Hobbes! PayPal's 'user will receive this amount' box is in fact what I actually used. I was lucky to find it.
I haven't seen either payment. You didn't happen to use a PayPal cheque by any chance?

Chris
 
Thanks, Hobbes! PayPal's 'user will receive this amount' box is in fact what I actually used. I was lucky to find it.
I haven't seen either payment. You didn't happen to use a PayPal cheque by any chance?

Chris
No. I did receive confirmation from PayPal that the money had been sent. I meant to send it as a grand total (US $29.00 by PayPal's own conversion box) but through inexperience was obliged to break it down into (first) a payment for Airmail (US $12.96) and then (second) for the book itself (US $16.04).
 
Just checked my PayPal activity summary: It confirms GBP 11.95 and GBP 9.65 both sent (as separate transactions) to Blue Envoy Services Ltd.
 
Twwarren - got them!

UK75 - got it!

Will post today.

Thanks

Chris
 
Quick (dumb) question; What are the Harrier / Sea Vixen hybrids on the cover ?

cheers,
Robin.
 
It's the BAC P.70 EAG.8450 drawn up to meet AST.396. It's in Typhoon to Typhoon.

Orders placed before 1500hrs have been dispatched.

Chris
 
D'OH !! . . .
Course it is. I have T to T, but these days, memory like a sieve . . .

cheers,
Robin.
 
My copy arrived safely and takes me back to the exciting years when gunship helicopters seemed to multiply in exotic designs. Another much needed Blue Envoy tome which is already well thumbed.
 
Well...I think the General Staff had the right line on it - use it as a big utility Lynx.

UK75 - I note the writers of your link credit Westland with the big cabin we see in passenger helicopters today. Having squatted like a sh1tting dog in the back of a EC225 for hours on end, the space available in a WG30 would have been welcome.

Chris
 
http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/west_30.php has interesting comments.
During the short, sad life of the WG-30 in the USA I worked for Westland, Inc., first in Newport Beach California in support of AirSpur, and then in Herndon & Arlington, Virgina as PanAm /OmniFlight & then other potential operators such as Midway began to start up operations. As an A&P I worked in technical and spares support.

There was a fundamenal design problem with the power train system that manifested itself by the tail rotor 90-degree gearbox essentially beating itself to the point of catastrophic failure, which was the cause of the LA crash and an event nothing short of a miracle given that no one was killed or seriously injured. All anti-torque was lost and the aircraft went through high power transmission lines before impacting the ground. Certainly the fuselange is /was robust. Nice piloting as well, as the power lines were obscured until the last moment by ground fog.

This problem, and others related to the main rotor blades, were known in Westland-Yeovil management and engineering circles prior to the crash, but not widely discussed, and certainly not with the staff in the US. Despite this knowledge by Westland, no notification was given to the operators or airworthiness authorities. In fact, immediate and successful measures were taken in the US offices to remove all relevant intra-company correspondence from the USA offices and ship it to the UK before the FAA arrived. Had this not been done the company would most likely have been ruined consequent to exposure to US product liability /tort law. Because removal of these records was likely a criminal act as well, had such an action become known at the time the Agusta-Westland "US-101" (the 'maybe' presidential helicopter) would certainly have had some difficulty "getting off the ground" in the USA.

As a stop-gap measure BIM indicators, customarily used on main rotor blades, were introduced to the oil filler cap of the 90-degree gearbox and the boxes were charged with nitrogen. The BIM indicators did their job, and number of boxes were subsequently changed, however the basic design problem remained for these aircraft. I left the company after all US helicopter operations ceased and the remaining Westland-owned US airframes "rescued" from Evergreen Air Center in Marana, Arizona (another interesting, and this time amusing, story). I am unaware if the design problem was cured on existing or subsequent builds.
I worked w30s for airspur at LAX as a mechanic. I started after the crash in Long beach, it was my first A&P job. Those Gem 60s did not like california weather. We swapped them out often. Must have been at least part of reason the company failed.
 
Might explain ALYCAT and the twin tail rotors of later designs!

Chris
 
All orders placed before 1500hrs today have been dispatched.

Thanks

Chris
 
http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/west_30.php has interesting comments.
During the short, sad life of the WG-30 in the USA I worked for Westland, Inc., first in Newport Beach California in support of AirSpur, and then in Herndon & Arlington, Virgina as PanAm /OmniFlight & then other potential operators such as Midway began to start up operations. As an A&P I worked in technical and spares support.

There was a fundamenal design problem with the power train system that manifested itself by the tail rotor 90-degree gearbox essentially beating itself to the point of catastrophic failure, which was the cause of the LA crash and an event nothing short of a miracle given that no one was killed or seriously injured. All anti-torque was lost and the aircraft went through high power transmission lines before impacting the ground. Certainly the fuselange is /was robust. Nice piloting as well, as the power lines were obscured until the last moment by ground fog.

This problem, and others related to the main rotor blades, were known in Westland-Yeovil management and engineering circles prior to the crash, but not widely discussed, and certainly not with the staff in the US. Despite this knowledge by Westland, no notification was given to the operators or airworthiness authorities. In fact, immediate and successful measures were taken in the US offices to remove all relevant intra-company correspondence from the USA offices and ship it to the UK before the FAA arrived. Had this not been done the company would most likely have been ruined consequent to exposure to US product liability /tort law. Because removal of these records was likely a criminal act as well, had such an action become known at the time the Agusta-Westland "US-101" (the 'maybe' presidential helicopter) would certainly have had some difficulty "getting off the ground" in the USA.

As a stop-gap measure BIM indicators, customarily used on main rotor blades, were introduced to the oil filler cap of the 90-degree gearbox and the boxes were charged with nitrogen. The BIM indicators did their job, and number of boxes were subsequently changed, however the basic design problem remained for these aircraft. I left the company after all US helicopter operations ceased and the remaining Westland-owned US airframes "rescued" from Evergreen Air Center in Marana, Arizona (another interesting, and this time amusing, story). I am unaware if the design problem was cured on existing or subsequent builds.
I worked w30s for airspur at LAX as a mechanic. I started after the crash in Long beach, it was my first A&P job. Those Gem 60s did not like california weather. We swapped them out often. Must have been at least part of reason the company failed.


The Fast History seemed a good and objective write-up, the author had done some work themselves, rather than perhaps re-using the usual detail floating around the internet.
I enjoyed the response's in the comments too.
I recently had a good conversation with a retired Westland Engineer, who was out in California at Long Beach with the Airspur set-up.
His recollection of the company was that they had a different take on Mtce and Operating procedures(or their adherence to them), than perhaps Westlands usual European military customers). There seemed something of high turnover of aircrew, more often then not related to their having been some kind of operating incident; such as the tail rotor incident mentioned- which Westland were firmly of the opinion was resultant to mis operation of flying controls by aircrew unfamiliar with the FCS.
 
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Book arrived last week- very prompt. Trying hard not to read it before I go on holiday Friday!!! Thanks :)
 
My copy arrived today! Great work, Mr. Gibson, and thanks to both you and Blue Envoy for getting it to me so fast!
 
recieved General Staff and the Helicopter today, an excellent volume and ideal companion to the previous 'Air Staff' and 'Admiralty' helicopter profiles in the series. very very recommended :)
 
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The General Staff and the Helicopter is the third book by Blue Envoy on British Helicopter development. The first book, The Air Staff and the Helicopter by Chris Gibson, traced the progress of the RAF's army support helicopters, while the second book, The Admiralty and the Helicopter, examined the Royal Navy's helicopter development. The General Staff and the Helicopter is an interesting account of the British Army's path to procurement of armed helicopters, leading ultimately to acquisition of the WAH-64 Apache.

Contents

1- Beginnings

This charts the origins of the Army Air Corps
2- First Rotors
Contenders to Specification HR.144, Fairy Ultra-Light, Skeeter
3- Towards the Scout
Sioux AH1, Skeeter to Scout
4- Weapons for a Tank Killer
ATGWs from SS.11/Malkara to TRIGAT and Hellfire
5- Wild Cats on the Battlefield
Charts the development of the Lynx family - WG.13, Lynx, WG.30
6- Panzerabwehrhubschrauber: A flawed concept
Westland/VFW-Fokker P.277, GST.3791 contenders including WG.44, A129 Mk2
7- Avoid Detection
LO optimised attack helicopter projects - WG.45, WG.47, Tonal
8- Towards the Advanced Attack Helicopter
US AAH developments and acquisition of the WA-64D Apache

Additionally there are two appendices, a timeline, glossary, selected bibliography and an index.

If you've read any of Chris's books for Crecy you'll have a good idea what to expect. Chris likes to tell the story of development and procurement as a whole, so the book includes cancelled projects and built rotorcraft, and also the weapons which would have armed them.

The cover artwork paintings by Luciano Alviani front and back are awesome in a "Period Airfix Box Art" way. The paper stock is good quality and printing feels professional, with a good and readable layout. We agree to differ on justification or ragged right text, Chris preferring the latter. I spotted one typo, but overall it puts most recent books to shame with editing and attention to detail.

There is a good mix of photos, original company artwork, and drawings by Chris, which includes some explanatory drawings which are a bit reminiscent of the old "Salamander" books. Some of the drawings are a little small, but that's really a consequence of the number of drawings and the page count, plus the inclusion of drawings and photos of the "built" helicopters as well.

Personally I'd have liked a brief section on avionics like HMDs, LLTVs, FLIRs etc to go with the section on weapons. Then again, I like avionics :)

This book is highly recommended if you are at all interested in helicopters and specifically British helicopter development.
 
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