Anyone ID this heli?

[mrloudly]

Sorry it's so small I grabbed it with my phone. Had two large turbine intakes above the cockpit area, military (there was two of them)
Thanks

Andy

[FourWheelDrift]

Puma.

[JagPJ]

Puma by the look of it, predominantly fly out of RAF Benson, Oxfordshire....

[mrloudly]

Definately not, they looked soviet origin. The intakes were far more pronounced and the tail end was different.

Edited to add completely different noise to Puma as well ;-)

[remedy]

Not an old Hip is it? MI8? Tail structure looks similar.

[KieronGSi]

If not the puma maybe it's the Mil Mi-8?

[mrloudly]

Here's a shot of the two.

Are they something to do with the Afghan Army training?

[KieronGSi]

They could be the ones that operate from boscombe down.

[KieronGSi]

They could be the ones that operate from boscombe down.

[mrloudly]

Camouflaged scheme ?

[dudleybloke]

a very sneaky soviet invasion force?

[anonymous-user]

The two QintiQ Mi-8s at Boscombe look like this.

[webby74]

Id say puma, the intakes are further forward than the mi-8 hip

[anonymous-user]

Puma I'd say. I don't think the Hips are being used now. I think they may have been used for training for Afghan ops, but don't think they are used now. Haven't seen any recent pics of them, from around Salisbury Plain, their usual haunt, for a while now.

That pic looks very much like a Puma to me. Can't think of anything else that is over here that it could be.

[anonymous-user]

Also check the number of rotor blades. Original pic looks like 4, Puma x 4, Mi-8 Hip x 5.

[motomk]

Polish PZL something or other? although tail looks a bit thick for one of them.

Edited by motomk on Tuesday 16th August 03:10

[mrloudly]

Trust me I've been aircraft mad since I was knee high to a Grasshopper and these were not Puma's (They also fly over here on a regular basis).
Frustrating me now as I can't ID them...

[Makila2A]

Perhaps a Mil 2?
http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?cx=pa...

[Mr Dave]

motomk said:

Polish PZL something or other? although tail looks a bit thick for one of them.

Edited by motomk on Tuesday 16th August 03:10

The tail fin on a PZL swidnik is angled back a lot steeper than that photograph looks, the pic looks more upright almost exactly like a puma.

In fact everything about that picture looks like a Puma and it doesnt look like anything Russian I have ever seen?

Apart from the Hind helicopter?

[Eric Mc]

I'd go with a Puma too. I copied the picture to my computer and used zoom to see if I could pick out any more detail. It looks very like the side-on view of the Puma that someone posted further down the thread.

Over the years Pumas have ben greatly modified (they are 40 years old now - some of them). The main visible airframe modifications have been to the engine intakes (added filtration) and to the engine exhausts (anti-heat seeking missile extensions).