One for helicopter experts or aviation buffs

[hooked_on_trout]

Well it happened a while ago but it still has me puzzled.

This experience happened about the same time that Barack Obama was in Australia a few months ago.

Anyway if anyone has seen the new section of the Princess Alexandra hospital (Buranda), you would see a large helicopter pad.

So one night about 8:00pm I was at the bus stop in front of the hospital and was amazed to see this huge helicopter, about the size of a bus, hovering overhead and eventually landing on the PA helipad.

But what was most interesting is that this huge thing never made the sound of a moth, it was silent, and it was a stealthy grey color, you could hardly make it out except for the few lights it had.

It did not look like a hospital helicopter or a military one or an industrial one, it looked very impressive indeed.

So was this Barack Obama making a stealth entrance into Brisbane?

Does anyone know what this helicopter was?

Cheers

[ryanyoung]

Scully, this is Mulder, I think we may have a case lol!!!!

I don't know of any helicopters, civilian or military that are THAT quiet, was there a lot of city noise around at the time??? There are some military types out there who have a reduced noise signiture, however totally silent??? Dunno Mate!!!

[hooked_on_trout]

I was across the road so about 100 meters away, might have been some traffic but not a lot.

It was definitely quieter than any other helicopter I have seen by far as I could not hear it at all.

It was a carrier of some sort, like it was big and fat.

cheers

[daveylad]

If it was a helicopter carrying a politician it wouldnt matter how quiet the heli was you would still hear the pollie inside it! :laugh:

[hooked_on_trout]

daveylad wrote:

If it was a helicopter carrying a politician it wouldnt matter how quiet the heli was you would still hear the pollie inside it! :laugh:

Yes cheers for that Davey, but Im still wanting to know what sort of helicopter flys around the night sky landing in stealth on our hospitals and is painted a single tone of mat grey?

cheers

[dhess]

If it was him it would have either been a VH6-0N Whitehawk or ASH-3TS Seaking.

Check out:

/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_One

Or it could have been a particularly good blotter.

[nadders]

did obama ever actually visit, i thought he postponed twice and didnt reschedule?

[hooked_on_trout]

dhess wrote:

If it was him it would have either been a VH6-0N Whitehawk or ASH-3TS Seaking.

Check out:

/>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_One

Or it could have been a particularly good blotter.

Similar to the one top right but it had a stealth paint job, all greyish looking.

Hard to say really when your at a 45 degree angle looking up.

If not obama it was most probably military.

Not sure what they use these days.

It could have been bringing patients in from overseas is all I can think of.

It could have been one of these, above the buildings it looked a lot bigger, but this is kinda what it looked like so probably was one, apparently they are reasonably new.

But I just looked at one on youtube and they are as noisy as hell, so its a mystery.

cheers

[hooked_on_trout]

nadders wrote:

did obama ever actually visit, i thought he postponed twice and didnt reschedule?

I thought he did an interview?

cheers

[plugger]

navy MRH-90. all i can say is i work on these, overhauling the gas turbines.

[ellicat]

Colour suggests Navy

It must have been an electric one (I bought a couple at the Ekka) or you had your ipod in :laugh:

[tugger]

i'm yet to see a stealth chopper and i've been around alot of diferent types, the larger types like super pumas or chonooks make a hell of a noise

[plugger]

tugger wrote:

i'm yet to see a stealth chopper and i've been around alot of diferent types, the larger types like super pumas or chonooks make a hell of a noise

the only helicopter you could call "stealth" in regards to radar detection is the Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche. we dont have the funding for things like that. the MRH-90 as i mentioned before is a quiet machine compared to other helicopters.

[ryanyoung]

hooked_on_trout wrote:

daveylad wrote:

If it was a helicopter carrying a politician it wouldnt matter how quiet the heli was you would still hear the pollie inside it! :laugh:

Yes cheers for that Davey, but Im still wanting to know what sort of helicopter flys around the night sky landing in stealth on our hospitals and is painted a single tone of mat grey?

cheers

Keep in mind, at about that time, some big military exercises were happening around this neck of the woods involving Us, the Americans and their Defence Force. My opinion is that it was a patient getting cross-loaded from one of their ships or something along those lines......Also keep in mind, that Private Hospitals are generally used for our Defence members if needed.

As for landing in "stealth" on "our" hospitals at "night", whilst painted "grey".......Maybe you could bump it up the chain a bit (your local member for parliament???), and ask to be kept in the loop a bit more :laugh: :silly: .

Seriously mate, don't let it bother you, I spent eight years in a garrison town, and that sort of thing is quite common, I think it is just the fact that our ADF is relatively hidden away here amongst such a large population, so it would be kind of weird to see such a thing.

Cheers,

Ryan.

[bootyinblue]

Drugs are bad!!!!!!

Nah seriously, the bigger the helicopter generally the more noise they make, not from the engines but the rotors 'beating' the air to create lift.

Mystery depends, but I will get on to my PA mates and see.

[ellicat]

Will someone please nominate this for Report of the Month.

[ryanyoung]

ellicat wrote:

Will someone please nominate this for Report of the Month.

LMFAO :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: !!!!!!!!!!!

[shortie]

No its stolen alien technology. When they americans captured that alien spacecraft they have managed to clone some of the technology.

well its a space story anyway. Maybe the space cake someone has been eating is a bit strong.

[tugger]

hahaha space cake

[Terry H]

There is different blades available to help reduce noise.

/>http://gizmodo.com/5481081/the-blade-that-would-make-helicopters-almost-silent

Would be one example.

Although I don't think you'd be seeing a chopper with that on it here in Aus anytime soon.

Correction:

Those blades are made by Eurocopter, who, funnily enough, manufactures the NH-90s mentioned above.

[ellicat]

Terry H wrote:

There is different blades available to help reduce noise.

/>http://gizmodo.com/5481081/the-blade-that-would-make-helicopters-almost-silent

Would be one example.

Although I don't think you'd be seeing a chopper with that on it here in Aus anytime soon.

Maybe we weren't meant to see it :whistle: :pinch: ROFLMAO

[Terry H]

Haha refer to my comment (I put one in on an edit).

Maybe it was one of them:P

[Mr FeLiX]

I'm pretty intpo military based technology and such, and I have'nt heard of or seen a 'silent' whirlybird mate. It's pretty much physically impossible, although there are all these new blade designs etc that reduce the noise footprint left by the bird.

I don't doubt you saw it, don't get me wrong.

The colouration you mentioned to me means navy or spec. ops of some sort, but who knows?

The Sikorsky is quiet too, but not that quiet from the bits and pieces I have seen. The distance from you to the chopper, I'm pretty sure you would of heard one coming

Gets me. I'll look into it

[daveylad]

shortie wrote:

No its stolen alien technology. When they americans captured that alien spacecraft they have managed to clone some of the technology.

well its a space story anyway. Maybe the space cake someone has been eating is a bit strong.

Ciome on shorty we all know it ws ELVIS :woohoo:

[hooked_on_trout]

Oh well, all I can say is that it was an impressive sight.

It actually flew over from the direction above video ezy, across the road and over to the pad.

cheers

[kreel]

I used to work with aircraft in Townsville which is a military airport - we got to see a lot of helicopters (military and civilian) and the truth is they are all quite noisy. However, I have had chopper sneak up on us. It was due to a combination of factors - high ambient noise, the aircraft approached from behind us so we didn't see it coming, there was a lot of structure around us which masked the noise and most important the wind was going head on to the chopper which helped to carry the noise away from us until it was almost on top of us.

I don't know what the exact circumstances were for you but I do know that given the right situation even loud aircraft can be sneaky.

[hooked_on_trout]

Thanks kreel

I think the surrounding ambient traffic and mostly the buildings may have masked the noise, along with the fact that the helicopter was above the main structural buildings in the area and may well have also had its sound carried away from the ground by the wind.

cheers

[hooked_on_trout]

Terry H wrote:

There is different blades available to help reduce noise.

/>http://gizmodo.com/5481081/the-blade-that-would-make-helicopters-almost-silent

Would be one example.

Although I don't think you'd be seeing a chopper with that on it here in Aus anytime soon.

Correction:

Those blades are made by Eurocopter, who, funnily enough, manufactures the NH-90s mentioned above.

yes also adding this fact if it was an NH-90 then all of the above + any blade technology it may have adopted would make it quiet.

cheers

[wesfish]

did you take you ipod ear pieces out? :laugh: :laugh: lol jj sounds interesting or quite anyways

[billythakid]

i would say that you were sitting at the right distance and angle that made it sound quiet . If you were on the other side of the Hospital it would sound different .

We get a few fly over our place , usually search ones heading to moreton etc .

Lately the Military ones have been buzzing around Wello point ???