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Re: Can someone please show me a picture of a HIP

Posted by Steve Young on Thu Dec 06, 2001 02:25:28 PM

In reply top Can someone please show me a picture of a HIP posted by Paul McMillan on Thu Dec 06, 2001 12:33:34 PM

: with a STEPPED Bottom aka our Afghan Photo!
:
: Please!
:
: Paul


Sorry Paul, it's not a stepped bottom, but a view of the port fuel tank from UNDER the aircraft. After looking at a number of views and considering the comments already made, I'm in agreement with Tim, Jim and David, in that we're definately looking at the underside of a Mil-8 Hip, lying on it's starboard side, with the nose pointing to our left as we look at it.

Unfortunately I don't know how to post pictures on here to back up my findings, but I've found eight similarities between the picture of our "B24 / Hip" and the three view schematic drawing that Chris Martin referred to at:

http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/ar/rotor/Mi-8.html

If you can print the schematic, rotate it anticlockwise through 90 degrees, then compare it with the original photo on Scott's posting. That's what I did and I've found the following eight similarities, working across the images from left to right:

1 - Glazing frames on the nose. These are the bottom centre and bottom left cockpit glazing holes.

2 - Dark line at very top edge of visible wreckage. This is the lower rail for the sliding door on the port side of the Hip.

3 - Dark stump in centre of flat surface, directly below the left end of the door rail as we look at it. This is the remains of the front undercarriage leg.

4 - 'Stepped' area which we feel may be the B24 cockpit. This is the underside of the port side fuel tank, which is faired in to blend with the underside of the Hip's fuselage.

5 - Right end of visible wreckage. Remains of port main undercarriage leg.

6 - Flat surface of wreckage. Corresponds exactly with flat underside of Hip fuselage.

7 - National insignia (nationality unknown). star point facing left is actually top star point, and is facing forward as per the underside of most former eastern bloc air forces.

8 - Rotor assembly in foreground. As David pointed out, this matches the tail rotor assembly of a Mil-8 Hip.

Sorry to rain on anyone's parade, but it's most certinly a Hip.

Steve

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