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Aviation Investigation Report A06P0123
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigated this occurrence for the purpose of advancing transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
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Unintentional Lift-off and Collision with Terrain
Highland Helicopters Limited
Eurocopter AS 350 B2 (Helicopter) C-GBHH
Grande Prairie Airport, Alberta
05 July 2006
At 0830 mountain daylight time at the Grande Prairie Airport, Alberta, the Highland Helicopters Limited Eurocopter AS 350 B2 helicopter (C-GBHH, serial number 3180) was standing on the prepared hard surface outside the company hangar and running at flying rotor rpm (revolutions per minute). The pilot was in the process of conducting the pre-flight hydraulic servo accumulator test sequence when, during the lateral servo check, the helicopter tilted back sharply and became airborne.
The pilot could not push the collective lever down and was unable to prevent the helicopter from lifting off to about 15 feet above the ground. The helicopter then turned left, descended tail down, and rolled to the right. The main rotor blades struck the ground and broke off, and the fuselage fell onto its right side. The pilot was not injured but the helicopter was substantially damaged; there was no fire. There was minor damage to an adjacent helicopter, but no persons were injured on the ground. The accident occurred during daylight and in calm, visual meteorological conditions.
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Other Factual Information
History of the Flight
Following an uneventful start-up, the pilot of C-GBHH began conducting his normal pre-flight hydraulic test sequence. In preparation for this pre-flight test, the pilot engaged the collective lock in the cockpit and established the rotor rpm (Nr) at 100 per cent, as required by approved procedure.
Photo 1. C-GBHH accident site
His practice was to select HYD TEST on the hydraulic accumulator test switch on the "VanIsle" centre console panel (see circle in Photo 2) and move the cyclic stick a number of times (normally 12 to 15 movements) in two specific directions—fore and aft, and laterally—so as to exhaust the servo accumulators. The pilot habitually performed these two functions in the same order each time: forward servo first, followed by the lateral servos.
Photo 2. Hydraulic accumulator test switch
The pilot observed that the forward servo accumulator exhausted after 14 fore-and-aft cyclic movements, which was consistent with his experience. He was about to continue with the lateral servo accumulator portion of the test sequence when he saw the attending aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) approaching the helicopter from the right-hand side, with the aircraft journey logbook in hand, indicating his wish to deliver the logbook to the pilot. In this model AS 350 B2 helicopter, the pilot is seated in the right-hand seat. The pilot then paused his test sequence and centralized the flight controls to provide the AME safe passage beneath the rotor disk. Once the AME was at the right-hand cockpit door, the pilot resumed the lateral portion of the accumulator test.
The pilot had moved the cyclic laterally only five times when the nose of the helicopter began to rise. The pilot was unable to prevent the helicopter from continuing to rise and the AME quickly moved away from his position at the right-hand side of the cockpit. Despite the pilot's efforts to lower the collective and stop the nose from rising, the helicopter became airborne in a pronounced nose-high attitude.
The helicopter quickly drifted backwards from the asphalt apron, turned about 90º to the left, and the tail guard on the lower vertical fin struck the ground and dug into the gravel surface now below. The helicopter slid back and rolled to the right, causing the landing skids and the main rotor blades to strike the ground. As a result of this heavy contact with the ground, the helicopter rolled over onto its right side. The rotor head and main rotor blades were destroyed; the blades shattered and were thrown over a large area. At the same time, the rear section of the tail boom broke off near the horizontal stabilizer forward attachment point and the tail rotor assembly tore out from the end of the tail boom.
After the roll-over, the engine continued to operate briefly, with the main transmission and rotor head turning, until the pilot pulled the throttle and the fuel cut-off levers to shut the engine down. During the sequence of events, the pilot did not operate the collective hydraulic cut-off switch or reset the hydraulic test switch. The pilot did attempt to push the collective lever down but was unable to move it.
This accident was survivable and the pilot escaped through the broken right-hand windshield. In general, the cockpit and cabin structures were not substantially damaged and the occupiable volume was not compromised. Only the windshield, the pilot door structure, the pilot seat, and the seat support rails were substantially damaged by the impact and roll-over forces.
Helicopter Information
|Type and Model
|Year of Manufacture
|Serial Number
|Certificate of Airworthiness
|Issued 16 December 2003 (H-83)
|Total Airframe Time
|3831 hours
|Engine Type (number of)
|Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 (1)
|Rotor Type
|STARFLEX – 3 blades, composite
|Maximum Allowable Take-off Weight
|4961 pounds (2250 kg)
|Recommended Fuel Type(s)
|JP4, JP5, JP8, Jet A, Jet A1, Jet B
|Fuel Type Used
|Jet A1
The basis of certification for the AS 350 helicopter series is United States Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 27, Normal Category, effective 01 February 1965 including Amendments 27-1 through 27-10. Since France is the country of design, the French civil aviation authority, the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC), issued the original product type certificate (H9EU) for the AS 350 B in October 1977.
In June 1978, the Canadian civil aviation regulator, Transport Canada (TC) issued Canadian type certificate number H-83 to the AS 350. In December 1990, TC certificated the AS 350 B2. The DGAC has recently become the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with the same certification functions.
Helicopter Maintenance
Aircraft maintenance logbooks and records indicate that the aircraft was certificated, equipped, and maintained in accordance with existing Canadian regulations and approved procedures.
Engine Information
The engine installed in the accident helicopter was a Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 (serial number 9631) and was not damaged. Engine logs record that the engine was maintained and serviced in accordance with existing Canadian regulations and approved procedures. In consideration of the reported sequence of events, the investigation ruled out performance or mechanical malfunction of the engine in the accident circumstances.
Helicopter Weight and Balance
The maximum certificated gross weight for this model helicopter is 4961 pounds. Post-accident calculations reveal that at the time of the accident the helicopter weighed about 4040 pounds and that the longitudinal centre of gravity (CG) was about 136.5 inches from the datum. The weight and CG values were within the limits prescribed by the TC-approved rotorcraft flight manual (RFM).
The CG, however, was near the aft limit (see Figure 1). An aft CG position in flight requires the pilot to maintain more forward cyclic stick input than normal, thus reducing the available forward cyclic stick travel. In cases of limited cyclic travel in flight, the amount of forward cyclic movement available may be insufficient for the pilot to control the helicopter.
Figure 1. Centre of gravity calculation for C-GBHH
Pilot Information
Records show that the pilot was licensed and qualified for the flight in accordance with existing TC regulations and held a valid Canadian commercial helicopter pilot licence (CPL (H)). He had about 2100 hours of total flying experience on similar light helicopters, about 800 hours on the AS 350 helicopter, and had worked for the operator for just over three years.
In March 2006, the pilot received company flight training on the AS 350 B2 helicopter, including simulated hydraulic malfunctions that he performed correctly and well. Immediately after that training, the pilot successfully completed his most recent pilot proficiency check (helicopter) on the AS 350 B2.
Hydraulic Flight Control System
General Description
In flight, helicopter flight control loads, principally resulting from aerodynamic forces, are normally considerable. The flight controls in the Eurocopter AS 350 B2 helicopter are assisted by a single hydraulic system that reduces pilot workload during flight through servo actuators absorbing these flight control loads, thereby allowing the pilot to fly the helicopter with precision and reduced effort. Normal hydraulic system pressure is 40 bar (580 pounds per square inch (psi)). In the event of a loss of hydraulic pressure, however, the flight control loads revert to the unpowered condition. The helicopter can be controlled without hydraulic servo actuators but the pilot has to exert considerable muscular effort, which is difficult to gauge accurately, and, in some cases of extended flight, may exceed the physical strength or endurance of an individual pilot.1 The AS 350 B2 is also equipped with a yaw load compensator that offloads much of the aerodynamic feedback force generated by the tail rotor.
The servo actuators on the AS 350 series helicopter are made by two approved manufacturers, Goodrich Actuation Systems (SAMM) and Dunlop. Except for a minor difference in the slide valve operation, the two actuator designs are identical in function and installation. According to Eurocopter, the helicopter may be fitted with either SAMM or Dunlop servos, or both.
Hydraulic Servo Actuator Operation
In total there are four hydraulic servo actuator units: three main rotor servos—one longitudinal and two laterals—provide nose-attitude and roll cyclic control, as well as collective pitch control; one tail rotor servo provides yaw control. Each of the four servos incorporates a hydraulic actuator, a pressure accumulator, and a solenoid valve (also called an electro-valve). Apart from airframe mounting differences, the four servo actuators on the control linkages are identical. The tail rotor servo incorporates the yaw load compensator.
The electro-valve is an electrically actuated device that relieves the high-pressure hydraulic fluid at each servo and the regulator unit, thus unpowering the servos simultaneously. The function of each accumulator is to provide its actuator with a small reserve of pressurized hydraulic fluid so that, in the event of loss of system hydraulic pressure, the pilot has a brief opportunity to reconfigure the helicopter to a flight regime of 40 to 60 knots, where the control feedback forces without hydraulic assistance are acceptable. The position adopted by the collective stick in this condition is about the same position it seeks during the hydraulic test procedures on the ground. The AS 350 series helicopter has no hydraulic system pressure gauge in the cockpit, nor is there a static pressure monitoring device for the accumulators.
Hydraulic System Control
The operation of the hydraulic system is controlled by the pilot using two switches in the cockpit: the hydraulic cut-off switch and the hydraulic accumulator test switch.
The hydraulic cut-off switch is a guarded toggle switch with two positions—ON or OFF—and is mounted on the pilot's collective stick. The switch is normally set to ON, allowing the servos to be powered when the hydraulic system is functioning correctly. When the pilot selects the switch to OFF, the hydraulic system is depressurized, the accumulators on the three main rotor servos are depressurized simultaneously, and the tail rotor load-compensating system retains its assist function (Eurocopter complementary flight manual (CFM) RR 7D, section 7.7). The tail rotor servo accumulator is not affected. The pilot then experiences higher-than-normal feedback forces on the flight controls.
In this particular helicopter, the hydraulic accumulator test switch is a two-position toggle switch mounted in the centre console switch panel (see Photo 2). Operating the switch on the ground verifies the correct function of the accumulators and it is normally set to the OFF position. Selecting the switch to HYD TEST depressurizes the hydraulic system (via the regulator unit) and simultaneously depressurizes the tail rotor yaw load compensator.
The RFM cautions pilots to avoid operating the hydraulic test switch in flight, because when the tail rotor yaw load compensator depressurizes, high tail rotor feedback forces are transmitted to the yaw pedals.
Hydraulic Servo Accumulators
By design, the hydraulic servo accumulators are charged with nitrogen to a pressure of 15 bar (218 psi ) that provides a finite reservoir of pressurized hydraulic fluid to the actuators. Since there is no device on the helicopter to monitor the existing pressure in an accumulator, Eurocopter requires the pilot to ascertain that all the accumulators are functional by conducting a specific pre-flight accumulator check. The prescribed test does not determine actual accumulator pressure, only that the accumulators are capable of providing hydraulic pressure for a limited number of flight control movements.
One of the principles of certification of the helicopter was the provision of a flight control system that, in the event of a hydraulic system failure, permitted the pilot to continue to manipulate the flight controls with reasonable feedback forces. The accumulator system was added to provide that opportunity, albeit finite and of short duration, for the pilot to establish a safety speed. The accumulators are an intrinsic part of the hydraulic system and crucial to its function; their proper function is required for flight, hence the pre-flight test.
Hydraulic System Examination
Main Rotor Hydraulic Servo Actuators
The hydraulic servo actuators installed on the accident helicopter were SAMM and Dunlop, which have a service life of 3000 or 1800 hours respectively before requiring overhaul (referred to as time between overhaulor TBO); the recorded time left on the main rotor servos before next overhaul varied from about 85 to 2326 hours. The following table summarizes the servo data:
|Servo Location
|Part number
|Serial number
|Time Left
|Left lateral
|Right lateral
|Tail Rotor
Servo Examination and Functional Tests
On 15 August 2006, the hydraulic servos were examined and functionally tested in Langley, British Columbia, undisturbed as fitted to the accident helicopter, under the direct supervision of the TSB. Each servo actuator passed all preliminary functional tests and no servo anomaly was detected.
Before the functional tests began, the accumulators for the three main rotor servo actuators were examined and all were found to have lower pressure than the specification value of 15 bar (218 psi) as shown in the adjacent table. The accident investigation team operated the hydraulic system components and found variance in the number of cyclic movements required to exhaust the forward and lateral servo accumulators after the hydraulic system pressure was shut off. It took 9 to 10 fore-and-aft cyclic movements and 4 to 5 lateral cyclic movements to exhaust the respective accumulators; these results were repeated consistently.
|Servo Location
|Accumulator Pressure – bar (psi)
|Left lateral
|10.0 (145)
|Right lateral
|4.1 (60)
|4.5 (65)
In September 2006, the four hydraulic servo actuators with their accumulators and the regulator unit were removed from C-GBHH and taken by the TSB to the Eurocopter Canada facility in Fort Erie, Ontario, for further examination and testing. Each servo was bench-tested completely against the certification specifications for a new servo under the direct supervision of the TSB. Each servo actuator passed all functional tests except for the extension and retraction speeds. The minimum and maximum travel speeds for the Dunlop servo actuators are 100 and 120 mm/s respectively. For the SAMM actuators, the minimum and maximum travel speeds are 100 and 160 mm/s. The maximum permissible speed differential between extension and retraction in an individual servo is 15 per cent of the faster speed. The following table summarizes the results of the servo speed tests carried out in Fort Erie:
|Servo Location
|Left lateral
|21 (16%)
|Right lateral
|18 (17%)
|3 (2%)
|Tail rotor
|31 (26%)
These servo actuator rates were measured under bench-test conditions, gathered from servos that had been in service for varying periods. The effect of in-flight conditions upon the specification performance of the servos is not known because in-service specification monitoring is not done, nor is it required by regulation. Servo functionality is based solely on condition; normally when a servo malfunctions, it is removed for overhaul.
It is important to note that a servo and its accumulator are not considered an inseparable unit, that is, the servo actuator has a TBO but the accumulator is an on-condition item and is not subject to periodic overhaul or inspection. It is conceivable that an accumulator, with undetected marginal performance, could remain on the airframe for an indefinite period.
During the examination of the servo actuators in Fort Erie, the nitrogen pressure charge in each of the three main rotor servo accumulators was again measured, with the results confirming the original lower-than-specification pressures. The tail rotor servo accumulator pressure was not measured, but the compensator unit was inspected and tested in accordance with overhaul procedures and no anomaly was found.
The wide static variance of accumulator pressure is of some interest because it indicates that the accumulators would have exhausted at different times following a loss of system hydraulic pressure, thereby potentially leading to asymmetrical flight control forces. By design, this undesirable situation is prevented by the pilot operating the hydraulic pressure cut-off switch on the collective stick, thereby dropping system pressure on each servo and accumulator at the same time, provided that the pilot operates the switch before any of the accumulators is exhausted.
In concert with recent investigations into other occurrences involving loss of control and hydraulic malfunction, the pressures in the accumulators from other AS 350 helicopters, both accident-related and in-service, were measured using consistent methods and tools. The results of some of those examinations are tabled below (values are indicated in psi):
|Servo Location
|Sample 1
|Sample 2
|Sample 3
|Sample 4
|Sample 5
|Sample 6
|Left lateral
|Right lateral
Hydraulic Servo and Accumulator pre-Flight Tests
Servo and Accumulator Test Procedures
The purpose of this pre-flight test is to assess the function of the main rotor servo actuator accumulators individually and to assure the pilot that they are capable of providing at least two flight control movements before hydraulic pressure is exhausted. This action is intended to allow the pilot to establish the helicopter in a stabilized flight regime that has been shown to have acceptable flight control loads, thus enabling the pilot to maintain control.
The accumulators are tested during each pre-flight check by the pilot operating the hydraulic test switch and moving the cyclic stick to verify that the accumulators are providing hydraulic assistance. Furthermore, the test verifies the integrity of each accumulator by checking its recovery time.
The pre-flight hydraulic test procedures prescribed in the Eurocopter AS 350 B2 RFM RR 3a, page 5 (see adjacent text box) state that there should be two or three cyclic control movements before pressurized hydraulic fluid from the accumulator is depleted. The accumulator test is carried out on the ground at normal flying (flight) rotor speed, that is, at least 375 rotor rpm, and with the collective stick lock engaged. In summary, the test requires the pilot to select the hydraulic test switch to the HYD TEST position and move the cyclic stick two or three times to verify hydraulic assistance in the pitch and roll axes. The pilot then selects the switch to the normal OFF position. At the end of this hydraulic isolation check, the pilot verifies that the accumulators recharge within two to three seconds, but no faster than one second. An interval of one second or less indicates that at least one of the accumulators is defective.
Uncommanded Collective Control Stick Movement
It is important to note that the pre-flight hydraulic accumulator test procedures prescribed in the TC-approved RFM caution that the collective stick will rise up when the accumulators exhaust or when the cut-off switch is set to OFF. This uncommanded collective movement is a design characteristic of the rotor control system in the AS 350 helicopter, but is prevented on the ground by engaging the collective lock correctly. This situation, however, requires two conditions before it can occur: the collective lock be disengaged, and at least one of the main rotor hydraulic servo accumulators be exhausted. This characteristic is known to the helicopter manufacturer, Eurocopter, TC, and many Canadian operators of the AS 350 series helicopter. It is the subject of Airworthiness Directive (AD) CF-2003-15 and subsequent revisions, as well as DGAC AD F2004-174 (CF-2003-15 was rescinded when F2004-174 was promulgated).
Canadian Airworthiness Directives and Airworthiness Notices
Transport Canada issued an urgent AD, CF-2003-15, dated 16 May 2003, which in part required pilots of the AS 350 helicopter to functionally check the hydraulic system and accumulators before flight. This original AD was superseded by revised AD CF-2003-15R1, dated 01 July 2003, which prescribed that the pre-flight accumulator check be carried out before every flight.
In September 2003, TC issued Airworthiness Notice (AN) D006, Edition 1, to address its concerns with the flight control characteristics of the AS 350 when hydraulic system pressure was lost. Eurocopter tests showed that an uncommanded servo actuator movement is possible when one lateral accumulator is depleted and the other is charged. The AN also notes that this uncommanded movement is prevented in flight when the pilot, following a hydraulic failure, slows the helicopter promptly to a specified "safety speed" and sets the hydraulic cut-off switch on the collective lever to OFF. When the pilot turns the switch off, any unbalanced force caused by asymmetric residual accumulator pressure is avoided. If the cut-off switch is not used, and if the accumulators deplete at a different rate by normal flight control movements, sustained and asymmetric hydraulic pressures may occur. In this Grande Prairie accident, the pilot had not yet operated the cut-off switch.
Testing Accumulators to Exhaustion
The accumulator portion of the test prescribed by the superseded Canadian AD purposely required the depletion of all the accumulators to provide a timely warning to the pilot that an accumulator was gradually failing (leaking internally). This deterioration would have been identified by the pilot noting a progressive reduction in the number of cyclic movements to reach accumulator exhaustion each time the pre-flight test was done. After such a test, the pilot knew that a certain number of cyclic movements caused the accumulators to exhaust, with the added benefit of giving the pilot a tactile demonstration of the associated cyclic response and forces. The negative side of this procedure is that the pilot is deliberately exposed to uncommanded collective movement should the collective lock disengage. However, that movement is expected and would be the same as if the accumulator were failing and became exhausted after the two cyclic movements. In either case, an unrestrained collective stick would rise sharply to the same position.
The hydraulic test technique currently prescribed in the RFM (see page 10) requires the pilot to only make two or three cyclic movements and not to accumulator depletion. This procedural difference intends to reduce the exposure to uncommanded collective movements resulting from accumulator depletion. In this RFM procedure, the pilot is verifying that the accumulators are still charged after the two or three movements; however, there is no indication as to how many more movements any one accumulator would still provide.
It is clear that the test would not identify an accumulator that would exhaust after, for example, four cyclic movements. Furthermore, assuming the collective lock is defective or disengaged, the protection the pilot had from any uncommanded collective movements is also lost with the "two-or-three-movement" technique once the failing accumulator reaches the point where two or three movements exhaust it. The negative side to this procedure remains that the pilot is exposed to uncommanded collective movement should the collective lock disengage, except that in this case the pilot could be caught unexpectedly. In the previous "exhaustion" procedure, the pilot was expecting it to happen because that was the purpose of the test.
Although the prescribed pre-flight test assumes that the number of cyclic movements remaining before an accumulator is exhausted is two to three, the reality of control movements in flight is that a combination of collective and cyclic movements is necessary to return the helicopter to the safety speed, and in some cases, it is unlikely that only two or three flight control movements are sufficient to achieve that reduced speed.
In this accident, the pilot's practice was to use the accumulator test prescribed by the superseded Canadian AD rather than the procedure in the RFM.
Pre-flight Test Rotor rpm
The accumulator test is prescribed to be conducted on the ground at normal flying rotor speed (at least 375 rpm). This condition ensures that the hydraulic system operating pressure and volume are consistent with normal flight. Examination of the hydraulic system and the operating characteristics of the pump and servos show that full operating hydraulic system pressure is achieved at lower rotor rpm, in the order of 50 per cent rotor rpm. Discussions with several Canadian operators of this helicopter model reveal that the hydraulic system can be, and has been, tested successfully at lower rotor rpm without adverse effect.
Lower rotor speed produces lower aerodynamic forces that are insufficient for flight. Conducting the hydraulic test at lower rotor speed introduces a safety benefit by reducing the risk of unintentional and violent helicopter movement resulting from uncommanded servo response to accumulator exhaustion, should the collective lock become disengaged.
Collective Stick Locking Device
The investigation revealed a concern within the Canadian helicopter industry with the collective locking device on the AS 350 helicopter. Anecdotal information and documented cases show that the locking device is prone to premature or uncommanded release.
On 09 October 2003, Eurocopter France issued Alert Service Bulletin (ASB) number 67.00.27, which, in summary, requires the inspection of the collective lock device ("button") for wear on all AS 350 model helicopters. This ASB was precipitated by an accident where a helicopter became airborne during the hydraulic test procedure and it was found that the collective locking plate had disengaged because of excessive in-service wear on the lock button.
Preliminary examination of the locking plate in C-GBHH does show wear, but it also reveals clear signs of frequent improper engagement of the device (see Photo 3). By design, the locking plate engages the collective lock button in a machined groove intended to secure the spring steel locking plate. The plate is released by pushing down on the collective lever, allowing the plate to release from the groove and spring forward away from the lock button. In practical tests, this simple function occurred without fault when the plate was correctly engaged in the groove.
Photo 3. Collective locking button showing
groove wear
If the locking plate is engaged past the collective button, the plate catches on the machined shoulder on the button and locks the collective in that manner (see Photos 4 and 5). This position is outside the machined groove and it takes less force to release the locking plate than if it had been correctly engaged in the groove. Again, practical tests showed that the plate was positioned past the groove on most occasions, thus locking the collective improperly. The location of the device prevents this error being easily detected by the pilot and the only practical verification that the lock has engaged is the tactile sense that the collective cannot rise.
Photo 4. Collective locking plate
improperly engaged on shoulder of button,
not groove (accident helicopter)
Photo 5. Collective locking plate engaged
on shoulder of button, not groove
(different helicopter)
The consequence is that the collective lock may be inadvertently released by the pilot bumping the collective, a force that normally would not cause it to release were the locking plate in the groove. The intent of the ASB is to prevent uncommanded release of the collective lock owing to wear on the anterior lip of the lock button; however, the safety action of the ASB does not address the circumstance of improper engagement of the lock.
The ASB is a one-time only instruction. It is clear that this part will continue to wear through normal service operation and now-serviceable locks will deteriorate without benefit of further examination. Eurocopter has since changed the instructions contained in the master servicing recommendations (MSR) chapter 05-20-01, as well as the associated work cards, to incorporate a periodic check of the button every 500 hours of service.
The pilot of this helicopter experienced a sudden upward movement of the collective stick during the prescribed pre-flight hydraulic accumulator check procedure. However, the pilot was unable to prevent the helicopter from becoming airborne and could not regain control before the helicopter struck the terrain. The uncommanded collective stick movement is a characteristic of the rotor system design and pre-flight procedures are in place to prevent it.
The factual information in this report explains the mechanical reasons for the uncommanded collective stick movement during this hydraulic test. Without the collective lock in place, it is clear that the helicopter flight controls behaved in a predictable manner and no further analysis is needed to explain this behaviour itself.
This analysis will therefore focus on the reasons behind the chain of events that allowed the collective to move and cause the accident. Also, several physical and procedural anomalies were discovered that had an impact on the safety defences that are built into the flight control system and its operation, including those that have already resulted in TSB safety action.
Circumstances Leading to Uncommanded Collective Movement
The original design of the locking button on the pilot's collective stick permitted incorrect engagement of the locking plate. This anomaly created a situation where the downward force on the collective stick necessary to release the lock was considerably less than it would have been had the lock been engaged correctly. Once the lock was released, the collective stick was free to move up.
In this accident, the pilot exhausted the forward servo accumulator as part of his usual pre-flight checks, but stopped his test and centralized the flight controls to allow the AME under the rotor disk. This action likely included light downward pressure on the collective stick as a matter of normal reflexive action by the pilot. Such pressure was sufficient to release the improperly engaged lock and free the collective; at this stage, the pilot was unaware that the lock had disengaged.
Once the pilot continued testing, it was only a matter of time before the collective stick rose up as a result of the lateral accumulator(s) exhausting and causing the flight controls to move to the non-hydraulic-powered position.
Weight and Balance
The helicopter was well below maximum certificated gross weight and the longitudinal CG was near the aft limit. As a result of the relative light weight of the helicopter, a lesser amount of collective pitch application would have been necessary for the helicopter to become airborne. The aft CG condition would have required the pilot to maintain more forward cyclic input in flight than normal and thus reduced the available forward cyclic stick travel. Although not a significant factor until the helicopter became airborne, this reduction in forward cyclic stick travel made the helicopter vulnerable to nose-high attitudes; the onset speed and magnitude of this nose-up force may have lessened the pilot's ability to prevent the nose of the helicopter from rapidly rising.
Hydraulic Test Procedures
It could be said that the former hydraulic test procedures prescribed by the original Canadian AD incorporated a proactive approach toward detecting a failing accumulator whereas the procedure presently contained in the RFM is reactive. That is, the procedure only identifies a failed accumulator after it cannot supply the required two or three cyclic control movements; up to that point, the failing accumulator is undetectable.
There is some doubt regarding the number of cyclic movements prescribed by Eurocopter for the procedures for both the hydraulic system ground test and the in-flight loss of hydraulic pressure. This doubt was primarily created by inconsistent interpretation of the procedures promulgated in the RFM, and timely revision of the procedures by Eurocopter is necessary.
Furthermore, the diagnosis of the final stage of the test (both the former and current) relies on a small interval of one second or less to identify a defective accumulator. Given that pilots would have varying interpretations of this time, this subjective factor makes the recharging element of the pre-flight test an insensitive method of assessing the integrity of the accumulator.
Another factor in the circumstances leading to the accident was the procedural requirement to establish full flying rotor rpm (revolutions per minute) for the pre-flight hydraulic test procedure. Coupled with low gross weight and exhausted accumulators, the flying rotor rpm placed the helicopter in a condition to certainly become airborne were the collective stick lock to release.
Servo Actuator Anomalies
The servo actuators were tested and found anomalous in two particular areas: inconsistent piston extension and retraction travel rates, and low accumulator pressures.
Though it could not be proven that the inconsistent servo travel rates directly contributed to the accident, there is doubt that such servo behaviour is always benign. It is possible that a combination of servo performance tolerance limits, though individually insignificant, could act synergistically in a manner that causes the servo to malfunction. Because the servos always leave the overhaul/manufacturing facility well within the required specification tolerances, it is clear that, in some cases, a servo can deteriorate in service. At this time, however, no meaningful link to the servo malfunctions has been made.
Regardless, Eurocopter tests have shown that asymmetric lateral servo accumulator depletion can cause uncommanded servo movement. Information also exists to demonstrate that the helicopter is difficult to control in the event of unequal exhaustion of the accumulators. Following pertinent ANs and ADs, modifications to the hydraulic system were mandated by both Canada and France. These modifications allowed pilots to shut off the hydraulic system pressure and exhaust the accumulators simultaneously, thus providing a controlled transition into non-hydraulic-assisted flight.
Hydraulic Accumulator Pressure Monitoring
Part of the certification basis for the helicopter required that the pilot be able to continue to manipulate the flight controls with reasonable feedback forces in the event of a hydraulic system failure. The hydraulic accumulators are the sole approved mechanical devices providing that guarantee and they are crucial to the proper function of the flight control system in flight. With an unserviceable accumulator, the helicopter is not permitted to dispatch.
The pre-flight test is the last opportunity for the pilot to ascertain that the accumulators are functional. Apparently, the test methodology is not particularly effective since many instances of undetected low accumulator pressures have been found, with a range of pressures from 35 to 175 psi, where 218 psi would have been expected. Adding to the uncertainty of the test is the situation where these low-pressure accumulators were in service without any indication given to either pilots or maintenance personnel as to their low-pressure state, and where they all apparently passed the pre-flight test procedures. The underlying issue remains that the revised hydraulic accumulator test per se is not effective in identifying accumulators that do not contain the prescribed pressure. There is still the risk that flight in the AS 350 helicopter could commence with one or more marginally serviceable hydraulic accumulators, thereby reducing the level of defence against hydraulic system failure.
Given that this critical element of the flight control system is subject to progressive and latent failure, a simple method of measuring the actual accumulator pressures before flight would appear to be an indispensable component. While this device would not alert the pilot to in-flight failure of an accumulator, it would prevent take-off with a marginal pressure resulting from progressive deterioration of the accumulator unit.
Findings as to Causes and Contributing Factors
- The design of the lock button on the collective stick allowed improper engagement with the locking plate and led to premature release of the collective stick during the hydraulic test procedure.
- When the pilot interrupted his pre-flight hydraulic test sequence, the collective stick lock released without his knowledge.
- When the lateral accumulator(s) exhausted, the unlocked collective stick rose up sharply and caused the helicopter to become airborne; such collective movement is a predictable characteristic of the AS 350 B2 helicopter.
- The rapid feedback forces on the flight controls, resulting from the exhausted accumulators, were such that the pilot was unable to lower the collective stick and prevent the helicopter from becoming airborne, nor could control of the helicopter be regained before it struck the ground.
- The helicopter centre of gravity was within the limits of the approved rotorcraft flight manual (RFM); however, it was near the aft limit and this situation exacerbated the nose-up attitude.
- The rotor speed for the pre-flight hydraulic test was required by approved procedure to be at normal flying rpm (revolutions per minute); however, during the pilot's test process when one of the accumulators exhausted with the collective stick lock disengaged, such rpm enabled the helicopter to become airborne inadvertently.
Findings as to Risk
- The accumulators for the three main rotor servos had lower pressure than specification value, yet no indication of that condition had been given to either the pilot or maintenance personnel.
- The approved maintenance documents for the AS 350 B2 helicopter required that the accumulators be charged with nitrogen to 15 bar (218 pounds per square inch); however, there was no visual method of monitoring the pressure in each hydraulic accumulator and a significant pressure differential could develop before it became apparent to the pilot.
- In the event of a hydraulic system pressure loss in the AS 350 B2 helicopter, the condition of significant pressure differential in the main rotor accumulators leads to unequal depletion of the reserve of pressurized hydraulic fluid, thereby causing asymmetric servo actuator movement, high and unpredictable flight control forces, and a potential loss of control in flight.
- The current hydraulic accumulator test is not effective in identifying accumulators that do not contain the prescribed pressure. The risk is that flight in the AS 350 helicopter could commence with one or more marginally serviceable hydraulic accumulators, thereby reducing the level of defence against subsequent hydraulic system failure.
- The prescribed pre-flight hydraulic test procedures required the pilot to move the cyclic at least twice to verify that the servo continued to be powered. An earlier airworthiness directive from Transport Canada required the cyclic to be moved to exhaustion and gave a more meaningful assessment of accumulator condition.
- The prescribed hydraulic system ground-test and in-flight procedures contained in the RFM are not consistent with Eurocopter's procedures and need to be clarified.
- The hydraulic servo actuator has a time between overhaul (TBO) of either 1800 or 3000 hours in service and is therefore subject to periodic overhaul and specification adjustment, whereas the accumulator unit is an on-condition item and is not subject to overhaul. As a result, an accumulator with undetected marginal performance could remain on an airframe for an indefinite period.
Other Findings
- There is no meaningful data concerning the effect of in-flight conditions upon the specification performance of the hydraulic servo actuators because in-service monitoring is not done, nor is it required by regulation.
- The upward collective movement caused by the exhaustion of the hydraulic accumulators is a design characteristic of the rotor control system in the AS 350 B2 helicopter and is effectively prevented on the ground by correctly engaging the collective lock.
- Functional tests with the servo actuators revealed inconsistent travel rates that were beyond the manufacturers' specifications; however, no data exist to conclude that this anomaly was applicable to this or other loss-of-control accidents in the AS 350 B2 helicopter.
Safety Action Taken
Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB)
Collective Stick Lock Device
On 06 June 2007, the TSB issued Safety Advisory A06P0123-D1-A1 (Improper Engagement of Collective Lever Lock in AS 350 Helicopters) suggesting that Transport Canada (TC) may wish to pursue the issue of improper engagement of the collective lever lock with the helicopter manufacturer, with the aim of improving the functionality and durability of the collective lever lock, thus reducing the risk of unintentional release.
Hydraulic Accumulators Test Procedures
On 18 June 2007, the TSB issued Safety Advisory A06P0087-D3-A1 (AS 350 Helicopter pre-Flight Hydraulic Test – Duration of Cyclic Movements) to TC, which urged a review of the rotorcraft flight manual (RFM) approved pre-flight test procedures for the hydraulic accumulators. In summary, the advisory noted that the present procedures of moving the cyclic two or three times was insufficient to ascertain in a timely manner that an accumulator was failing, that is, losing pressure progressively. The TSB also noted that the former procedures prescribed in expired Canadian Airworthiness Directive CF-2003-15R2 took a proactive approach and were satisfactory in alerting pilots and maintenance personnel of a failing accumulator.
In July 2007, TC sent a letter to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) requesting that EASA review the issues referenced in the advisories to determine if corrective action could be implemented.
Rotor rpm for Hydraulic Test Procedure
On 06 June 2007, the TSB issued Safety Advisory A06P0123-D2-A1 (AS 350 Helicopter Hydraulic Accumulator Test – Rotor rpm Requirement ) suggesting that TC may wish to examine and review the requirement to conduct the hydraulic test procedure at 100 per cent rotor rpm.
Eurocopter France
Rotor rpm for Hydraulic Test Procedure
In September 2006, the helicopter manufacturer, Eurocopter France, issued a revision to the operating procedures of the approved RFM for the AS 350 B3 helicopter. It modified the rotor rpm required for the hydraulic accumulator test to be set to flight idle, which eliminated the possibility of the helicopter becoming airborne were the collective lock to disengage. At the time of this report, however, there has been no such change for the AS 350 BA/B2 helicopters.
Hydraulic Test Procedures
TSB research into the RFM procedures revealed an inconsistency in the interpretation of the number of cyclic movements required by Eurocopter for this procedure. As well, the prescribed hydraulic system ground-test and in-flight procedures contained in the RFM are not consistent with Eurocopter's procedures. As a result, Eurocopter plans to revise the RFM accordingly.
Collective Stick Locking Button
Eurocopter has designed a modified collective locking button to replace the original design as described in this report (new part number 350A27-3155-22). The shape of this new component evidently prevents improper engagement or premature release of the collective stick. Eurocopter has scheduled this improved part to be available to operators of the AS 350 helicopter in October 2007.
This report concludes the Transportation Safety Board's investigation into this occurrence. Consequently, the Board authorized the release of this report on 04 March 2008.
Appendix A – Technical Comments from the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
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subset: commoncrawl


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Emotions are a major part of human nature. They help us to understand information and teach us how to react. We start to learn about our emotions from when we are babies. When we are this young, we use facial expressions or act out the emotion such as laughter or crying. As a young child, Read More
Confidence & Self Esteem. How to get it and maintain it?
There are often a number of factors in a person's life that can lead to the loss of confidence in themselves. We are not all born as confident individuals so how do you build up your confidence? Often we hear people saying to us, "You just need to be more confident." But what does that Read More
What are our teen girls greatest struggles?
It feels like overnight I have gone from being an awkward teen to being 'that' adult that uses the most frustrating sentence ever….."When I was your age." Or another gem, "I know what you are going through." When I use any of these sentences on my Beautiful Minds teens, I can see the expression on Read More
The best gift you can give your daughter
Very few childhood memories actually include the gifts I received. I distinctly remember the year that I got a silver charm bracelet. But other than that, my gift-receiving memories are pretty sparse. Which got me thinking…. What type of gifts can we give to our children that they will never forget? What gifts will truly impact Read More
Beauty advise all mothers should pass onto their daughters
Ever since I watched my mother get ready for a night out, I learned a lot and couldn't resist sharing some of my favorite gems of advice. The first beauty product you should apply every day is sunscreen, even if it's cloudy or rainy outside. The sun's UV rays can penetrate clouds and car Read More


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Where's Waldo…um, Pete!Posted on 04/22/18 by admin
Nothing like a move from a monolithic, easy to maintain gem of a framework like Liferay to a distributed, micro-service based bespoke solution to suck the very life and free time out of your schedule. The whole of the IBM i community knows the beauty of a single, integrated operating environment and how that can reduce complexity, boost productivity and make troubleshooting issues easier. Now I get to deal with "where did it fail" mysteries of databases in one cloud, applications in another cloud, services from who knows where connected by a service bus in yet another cloud. I have been spoiled by living in a single ecosystem running on bullet proof hardware for decades.
So I have been scrambling and getting ready for a big move to higher complexity and stress. But I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned as the PowerUp18 conference comes to San Antonio in barely a month. MORE stress to get those presentations done!
Common spring conference 2017 – AWESOME!Posted on 05/12/17 by admin
I hope you are kicking yourself as you read the title. "Dang! I should have gone!" Yep. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.. Just sayin' you missed another great week with the IBM i family. I probably had the greatest session load I have ever carried and yet, I can't say that I have been to a better conference. I saw many new faces and *younger* faces, in case you think this is just the wrinkled masses migrating to the sunny climes of Florida to scout retirement homes.
Best part, making new friends! Also, having some time to sit in on some refreshers in Python,Orion, Node.js, Bottle, Watson, testing strategies, how to manage and leverage credit cards (! – RECon), talk to vendors about new products…I came with more ideas than I usually have and I can't wait to give them a whirl.
So sign up for the Fall Conference you laggards! Even if you have to pony up your own cash, your career will thank you!
Common sensePosted on 09/24/16 by admin
I finished the book I have been working on for the past 4 months and just about the time I pushed the big button to send it off, I got a call from my wife letting me know that the A/C seemed to have been running constantly all day and yet the house wasn't getting any cooler. For you folks up north in the fall season, I am quite certain that you'd say to yourself "No big deal! I have 9 months to get it fixed! RELAX!" In south Texas, a non-functional A/C unit in September is a 4 alarm emergency. So the euphoria of "book finishing" led to a quick check of checking account balances and the looming knowledge of a weekend $ervice call adding up to the cost of a vacation trip to the Cayman Islands. Better take a look first, when I get home…
Now, you are probably thinking that a guy who would attempt an A/C repair is right up there in insanity with a guy who would do his own brain surgery. You are probably right, but after fixing things by making simple repairs, I operate under the assumption that a look a problem with some common sense can often save money and time in getting a broken thing running again. Most of the time, I am rewarded with success, and, even when you include trips to the emergency room, I am money ahead.
I have cracked our A/C unit open before for a little preventative maintenance. I have fixed two furnaces, simply by replacing a $50 igniter, so, foolhardy or just plain lucky, I feel pretty comfortable cracking open things and "taking a look". I wish I would have taken a picture of what I saw in the control box of the A/C unit that was non-functional. I HAD turned off the power (foolhardy yes, stupid no) and and almost immediately noticed a wire, burned at the end, that seemed to be going nowhere. Now, just because there is an un-terminated wire in an electrical circuit, it doesn't mean that is the issue. Sometimes a wire is clipped off because of an "engineering change" to accommodate a non-original part so I don't immediately assume that a loose wire is the culprit. In my case, I have TWO identical units, so I disassembled unit #2 so I could compare the wiring. Sure enough, the burned wire *should* have connected to the big honking capacitor and somehow had come loose. I called Debbie out to watch and call 911 in case the capacitor chose my tinkering as an opportunity to discharge, and pulled the now orphaned connector off of the capacitor and re-crimped the burned off end on the connector and re-connected it. I closed my eyes, I threw the big switch, waited for smoke and the unit rumbled back to life. Life-giving cool air was now flowing from the ceiling vents. Success!
When asked how I knew what to fix, I said "It was just common sense" but as I thought about it, I realized some folks have no common sense, especially when it comes to simple repairs. Yeah, I am a geek and I admit that I was in electronics class in high school: That is where I developed a healthy respect for capacitors which jokesters would fully charge and then toss back into the parts box, just *waiting* for someone to rummage through and find it the hard way…. But you don't have to be an electronics geek to be able to figure out simple stuff like I did in comparing the two wiring layouts. You don't have to be a licensed HVAC engineer to look at a furnace and notice that the "little thingy" in front of the burners isn't doing any thing and looks burnt out. What it takes is "common sense". To me that is having a way of evaluating things logically. You don't have to fully understand everything, you just need to be able to logically walk through how something works. That is usually enough to identify the problem, even if you don't have a damaged frontal lobe like I do that doesn't prevent you from proceeding to attempt to fix it.
Technology is working against humanity developing common sense because so much of the world's operation is now hidden in "black boxes". When I was a mechanic, long ago, most repairs to engine problems involved tweaking or replacing tangible items. Points, condensers, distributor caps, spark plugs were the items I worked with. Now my Chevy Volt is plugged into a computer that evaluates the computers in the Volt for software updates that may fix an engine issue. I may be a programmer, but hacking into my Volt to fix one of a million lines of computer code is beyond my capabilities or interest. Give me tangible hardware any day! But it brings about a bigger question and that is: Are we losing our ability to logically think through simple repairs because we have handed off "logic" to the "black boxes" in our lives? Is "common" sense becoming extinct? If so, I'd recommend a job in the "trades" like HVAC, electrician, plumber. Although I "robbed" my HVAC guy of $250 in fixing my A/C unit, I'll just be handing it over to the Chevy mechanic to update my Volt's software….zero sum, I guess.
Updating 5733OPS on IBM iPosted on 08/02/16 by admin
Sounds easy you say? There are already instructions elsewhere you say? More power to you!
So here are my curated instructions:
1) Obtain the latest version of the 5733OPS licensed program through ESS. There are some good instructions on Club Seiden for getting the image and mounting it (but stop at the installation step!).
2) To install the licensed program, I just took option 11 on the LICPGM menu. Following the good Dr. Franken's advice, I added install options 3-15 BEFORE I pushed the big button to install. Then I installed from the image catalog.
3) Download, install and apply group PTF SF99223 (V7R2M0). This is where the instructions are all over the deck, suggesting different individual PTF's for each feature. Bite the bullet and install the group. You added a bunch of new options, might as well get them installed.
That group PTF acted like a TR (maybe it is) It took a LONG time to install and IPL. Fortunately I am the only one using this partition so I didn't care.
After those three simple steps, you should be good to go. I am going to say *should* because I didn't do those three steps in the correct order. I installed the massive PTF first, thinking that it would magically put the stuff on for me. So, after installing the PTF and getting nothing for the effort, I then installed the updated 5733OPS, thinking that would fix it. It didn't. So then I re-applied the PTF thinking that it would fix it. It didn't! So I went back, re-installed 5733OPS, this time adding all 15 options and THEN applied the PTF (again). Still no joy until Buck point out the need to shoot the HTTPSVR subsystem and the magical "call qsysdir/qinavmnsrv *STOP" incantation plus re-apply the group PTF (was getting REAL good at applying the PTF!)
So again, I think the correct sequence is the 1,2,3 above. And, if you don't get an IPL out of installing the group PTF, then shoot the HTTPSVR subsystem and run the magic incantation and then apply the group PTF. That is what worked for me.
Living the Open Source life on IBM iPosted on 06/10/16 by admin
I realize that I have taken Open Source on IBM i for granted. Having run open source applications on IBM i for over 15 years, I just assume everybody knows that IBM i on Power is a great Open Source platform. I mean, the "i" is for INTEGRATION…uh, duh! But, it seems that there is only a subset of IBM i folks who realize that in many ways, they, too, have been running Open Source on i. For a decade even.
Let's start with web serving. The early HTTP server was based on the CERN open web server. Apache Tomcat has run almost forever on IBM i. PHP has been on i since 2006. Apache has been the HTTP server on IBM i since, what, 2002? Regardless of whether I got my dates right, the truth is IBM i has been running Open Source software (commonly referred to as OSS) forever in 'technology years'.
IBM upped the ante in the past two years by adding a new licensed program (free to those on SWMA) that contains a few, and soon, many open source packages that used to take a "real" bit-twiddler to configure and compile. Now it is all done for you in a nice, clean package and there is more to come. So what is the holdup in getting the community behind it? I am not exactly sure. Bill Gravelle, admittedly new to open source, happened to be in San Antonio this week and we sat down and had lunch and talked about Open Source and the IBM i community. I think we are on the same page (he'll let me know if I am not) in thinking that:
- Information about the open source community might be a bit fragmented.
- Information about how open source can be used in an IBM i enterprise might be lacking.
- Even though open source has been on IBM i for many years, there is still low visibility in and outside of the community.
There are multiple sources for open source information in the IBM i and I will be completely forthcoming in my interest promoting a more consolidated forum for finding solutions and sharing knowledge in the community. Bill thinks that the fragmentation is a naturally occurring and will eventually coalesce into a more manageable few over time. I am not sure who is right because I have tried multiple times to start a "central repository" of open source information (Open source on i was one such attempt) and I am trying again with the www.common.org/open-source website. Will this next attempt work?
Well, it will work if we contribute, so that is what I ask. Just send me an email about stuff you find helpful in your open source efforts (send it to opensource at the common.org domain). I'll take a look and post it up if it is helpful. We need to start somewhere! You can contact me either here at petesworkshop.com (send it to pete @) or at the opensource email address at common.org. Either will get to me. And, don't be shy…..
Heading to NOLAPosted on 05/09/16 by admin
I love it that Common is heading to NOLA for next week. It has been a long time since I have been in NOLA and it looks like attendance will be very strong. If you have had a chance to dig into the schedule a bit you will quickly see how deep and wide the IBM i has grown. I am not talking only about raw computing power, and not only about the variety of open source software that now runs on i (LOVE it!) but the community as well. There will be students who will be presenting on what they have discovered the IBM i can do, and "more mature" (ahem) folks like myself also showing off the new and exciting capabilities of IBM i. It is nearly guaranteed to be a very good conference and if you haven't already registered, it is NEVER too late!
If you will be there, check out my two sessions: JavaScript and JSON and Developing Defensible web applications
See you in NOLA!
The death of the IDE?Posted on 03/17/16 by admin
Every since I first played with Eclipse and marveled at how efficient and useful it was, I have been using it. I use MyEclipse (which I have become less enamored with over time) and RDi (Rational Developer for IBM i – or whatever they decided to call it this week). I use RubyMine, Eclipse for Android development, and on an on. I always enjoyed being able to do everything from within the IDE. It was always much more than just a text editor.
But, recently, I have noticed more and more frameworks are departing from the "one environment to rule them all" experience and are adding command line scripting to get the job done. You can no longer just build a Rails project from within the IDE. You can no longer create a PhoneGap project from within the IDE. Lately even some Java tooling I use requires I jump to a command line to run Gradle, or NPM or some script that "builds" the skeletal framework first. THEN you can use the IDE.
What is UP with that? The "I" in IDE is for "Integrated" not incidental. When I am using a framework I expect everything to be generated from *within* the IDE. I am not sure if it is just laziness or lack of understanding of the IDE tooling but I am getting a little tired of jumping from command line to IDE and back again just to get a project built.
Come ON you IDE and framework providers. Get your game together…..
The pieces of Java 8 on IBM iPosted on 10/19/15 by admin
Ah, pieces of 8, wish it WERE gold.
So this is a short story about installing Java 8 on IBM i. A quick Google search on "Install Java 8 on IBM i" takes you here: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/jdk/ Which is exciting because the big blue button says: "Download Version 8" AWESOME (well, um, not…). First you have to find the download link for IBM i which is at the bottom of the page and takes you to ESS. There, the challenge is to find the licensed program 5770JV1 (for me…). The product isn't listed. More Googling…which finds a reference on how to find the licensed product for JAVA….
As it turns out, 5770JV1 is found as part of 5770-SS1. Select it in ESS and click "Continue" (NOT at the top of the list…click the "Continue" at the bottom of the list…). Then click "Continue" on the next page…..
to continue….
Here is where you need to understand how the "hide/show" works ("hide/show" WHAT? would be my first question but IBM assumes you know what "hide/show" does: It hides/shows details…..)
So click on "hide/show" and you should see a long list of packages which again, you need to click on "hide/show" on "5827: i7.2 B_GROUP1 v07.02.00,ENU,DVD" There you will see the two entries for Java 8 (32 and 64 bit). Select these two small files (416MB) and you'll get a 1.8 GB download (yeah, you get the whole DVD anyway)
Once you have downloaded and mounted the DVD, go to install licensed programs and take the option to install 5770JV1 option 16 and then install 5770JV1 option 17 (you will probably need to use the "Add" option rather than finding the product/option in the list)
Make sure you install the latest PTF's after you finish installing the licensed programs.
Now your Java is no longer in pieces…..
Loving the IBM i-life!Posted on 10/15/15 by admin
Been WAY too quiet on the blogging front which I hope to change in the next few weeks. I need to blow the dust off of my Ruby/Rails skills so expect to see a bit more on that front. My good friend Aaron Bartell has been rocking and rolling in the node.js space and I am a bit jealous. We'll be doing some side by side presenting at the Common "IBM i Forum: New Open Source Languages" to be held in Chicago on December 9th and 10th so maybe we'll do a little competitive hacking.
Nothing like a little competition to get those creative juices flowing! Loving the IBM i-life!
Mobile web or mobile native?Posted on 06/04/15 by admin
This has been a long running discussion and I recently tripped across yet another blog post that picked up the debate. This is from Quirksmode.org . I'll admit that in that "web vs. native" discussion I assume Peter-Paul is talking mobile web vs native. If not, well then, never mind…..
However, my 2 cents is that the mobile web vs mobile native debate is at the same stage as back in 1995 when the nascent Internet was beginning to get some notice from software developers. "Fat client", multi-tiered apps were all the rage in 1995 and now 20 years later there are very few companies that are pushing "native" Windows or Mac apps out into the consumer world. Email "native" client apps, even developer tools these days are becoming more "webby". I don't hear of Google conceding defeat on the Gmail web client and instead that they will be developing a new "native" app for Windows and Mac. Ain't gonna happen! And, IMHO, that is the way native mobile apps will eventually go. Eventually the "browser" will basically BE the desktop.
The only reasons that mobile web apps haven't gained more traction (that I can think of) are 1) performance and 2) being able to run in a "disconnected" state, both of which are solvable problems. I can think of very few reason why I want to develop a native app so it can join the millions of "zombie" apps taking up space in iTunes and Google Play stores.
So that is my rationale and I will continue to write mobile *web* apps and deploy an occasional hybrid mobile app but that is about it. Mobile native apps' time has come and quickly gone. We need to be writing better mobile web applications, not taking them native.


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See I told you, this would help!
Going Nuts? I can help you understand coupon terms and abbreviations
Home > Bi-Lo Deals > Bi-Lo Ad & Coupons 6/15-6/21
This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
Here are all the deals in the Bi-Lo ad starting 6/15. There are a few stock-up prices here, so take a look!
If you see any other deals or coupons leave a comment below.
Wow another slow week.
I know right! what gives??
Ball Park hotdogs for $0.62 each after you use the $0.75 off 2 coupon at the Cedar Springs Bi-Lo in Spartanburg.
Another bad week with Bi-Lo… I am becoming a Publix only girl it looks like.
Publix isn't much better :-( Thankful for a week off!!!!!!
where do you get the: get more from your pharmacy booklet?
Yoplait YoPlus hasn't been availalble for weeks now….at least for me. Has anyone else been able to get it?
Jenny, thank you for the matchups. I appreciate what you do, even if it looks like a slow week!
I just returned from my local Bi-Lo in Winnsboro, SC to catch a few deals before the new ad starts. I presented my coupons at checkout only to have the cashier tell me that they do not accept internet printed coupons. (Last week they took mine without questions!) I had her call the manager over who said yes that is the new policy since he received an email from corporate yesterday stating this is due to all of the recent coupon fraud. He did agree to accept my coupons tonight; otherwise, I was prepared to not buy a thing. The manager said this is policy for all the stores, not just our area. Does anyone else know anything about this??
That's funny, since they still have a link to printable coupons on their website.
My husband is a manager for Bi-Lo. There has been no email out to any Bi-Los regarding no acceptance on printed internet coupons. The only ones they will not take is photocopied printed coupons.
How would they know if it was a photocopy? Technically, all of my internet printed ones look like a copy since I don't have a color printer. They do all have bar codes on them, so they will scan.
Most of the time mangers get emails warning about certain coupons. They pretty much know which one is which.
Every internet coupon has a unique barcode. If the numbers are the same on 2 or more coupons, we know they're copies and can't take them. We won't be reimbursed for those coupons.
That's what I thought. I even mentioned that all of mine had unique barcodes. I think he just shrugged.
I believe the above post was referring to a photocopied COUPON. ie: taking a copy of a ss or rp coupon.
If you have 2 like internet coupons, the bar codes could be the same. However, the serial number or pin number would be different.
Its the water mark that prints behind the exp date. If you photo copy the printed coupon water mark will not show up. I think it says in fine print at the bottom or around the edge of printed coupon.
in the upper right hand corner of the printed coupon is a barcode (12 or 15 digits) and on each coupon they should be a little different.
I am a manager at Bi-Lo and have received no such email.
My BiLo is Royston, GA has stopped taking competitor coupons. Do you know if this is a district or store policy?
This same store told me the same thing a few weeks ago but the manager on duty did take mine that night but he shouldn't had. I was wondering the same thing.
that is probably just a store level thing. I have never heard of that either. I am going there tomorrow so we will see. I live in sc
Ididnt know that they took competitor coupons there. Thats where I do all of my shopping. I did have a problem with them not doubling my coupons but the manager corrected it for me.
I just contacted customer service through Bi-Lo's website about this. I'll see what their response is and update.
I have been using internet coupons at bi-lo with no problem.
New management must have misunderstood corporate communication. The email alerted about fraudulent coupons circulating including some coke coupons. Nowhere in that email did it state Bi-Lo no longer accepts internet printed coupons. Trust that it will be straightened out today.
No issues in Lake Wylie, SC. I used about 5-6 this morning.
Here's the coupon policy on Bi-Lo's web site: http://www(dot)bi-lo(dot)com/images/uploads/pdfs/DblCouponPolicy.pdf
I received an email this morning from my local Bi-Lo store director stating that they DO accept internet coupons, that it was a misunderstanding on his part, and to please accept his deepest apology.
I'm glad to have that cleared up! I was expecting to hear back from the corporate office, but I guess they just had him handle it. I'm happy.
It has been several slow weeks, but I end up going and walking about looking for non-advertised deals. One week I got 10 bottles of Worcestershire for free!
there was some printables not to long ago for .50 off 1 package of carolina pride smoked sausage would that work for the ones on sale?there was some .50 off on all varieties of carolina pride jumbo franks also.please tell me i can use them :) and what is ur stock up price for these?
there is also in the smartsource cpn insert this wed- for carolina pride sausage which would make them 99cens
Darlene- I hope that isn't true!!! I've noticed everytime I go to the grocery, they mess up my Q's…don't scan one or one doesn't double correctly. It's driving me crazy!! If they take away IPs, that will really be a bummer. I spent a little too much last week, so pretty good for me that this week is slow, hubs will be happy!
My Bilo store does that too….if the coupon doesn't scan and they type it in as a store coupon it won't double either…..They always skip at least one of my coupons. I've gotten to where I put 4 or 5 coupons together and fan them out like cards and hand them that 4 or 5 at a time.
I always hand them to the clerk 5 at a time. It helps me know how many I should have credit for/
If a coupon doesn't double when they input it, be sure to tell them and they will manually double it. That's what they did for me when a couple of mine didn't scan and then I noticed that it did not double when they entered it.
There is a .50 printable coupon on the dixie crystals website for the 4 or 5 pound bag of extra fine granulated sugar, is this coupon for the same sugar that is on sale this week for $1.99?
yes it is.. i printed mine and will stock up on sugar this week
thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the tip, will be making homemade blackberry jelly Friday and really need the sugar.
where did you find the sugar coupon!
on the dixie crystal website, and it does not say "do not double" so you can get it for 99cents!
You are correct I just got me 4 bags for .99 each…yay
Thanks for the heads up!
I highly doubt Bi-Lo is not accepting internet printables when they offer them on their website..I emailed them just in case.
Bi-Lo in Seneca, SC has been refusing to accept internet printables that do not come from the Bi-Lo website for well over 6 months now. I emailed corporate and was told each store chooses whether or not to accept them.
I use printables at the Bi-Lo in Seneca and have never had a problem. They don't usually scan, but the cashier enters them.
I also have used printables in Seneca, SC Bi-Lo without problems many times.
Thank you guys for replying. I normally go on Saturday mornings, so I'm going to attempt to take some printables in this morning and get them to work. Maybe I'm choosing to shop at the wrong time. I'd love to be able to get them to take my printables there!
Hey Jenn, there are a few female cashiers at the Seneca store that work in the evenings Mon-Friday (I'm not sure about the weekends however). They are usually very friendly and don't roll their eyes when I hand over tons of coupons, and that's always a plus for me. I hope you have a better trip next time at this store! Good luck :)
You should have no more problems with this particular store not accepting printed coupons. a meeting was held last week and that particular manager was told it's NOT up to manager discression whether or not coupons are exepted. Policy is policy.
Hope this helps.
ALL bi-lo's take printed coupons. ALL. PERIOD.
That's what happens at my Bi-Lo in Surfside Beach. They never scan, but they will take them off. Sometimes if you get a cashier who doesn't know much, you just ask them to find a supervisor.
Which store in Seneca? I use the one by Lowe's sometimes and it is WAY more coupon friendly than the other one…
I agree!!! I will NEVER go back to the one on Rochester Hwy after my last bad experience there.
Morgan, me too!!! I have had SO many coupon problems at the Rochester Hwy Bi-Lo store. About a year ago, I had a raincheck they wrote me for dog food (a good stock-up price that other couponers must have nabbed up too, lol). I used it the next week, along with my coupons, and the young cashier didn't know what to do.
The manager (or assistant manager or whoever he was) came over with his bad attitude and entered it manually in the computer. He basically treated me like I was coming to HIS STORE to get free things and empty his shelves. Btw, I was only buying 3 bags of dog food.
I have had too many problems couponing with that store to ever want to go back. Not to mention the disgusting bathroom and leaking ceilings every time it rained.
I've been going to the Seneca Bi-Lo by the Goodwill, Staples and Lowe's store too. I HIGHLY prefer using coupons at this store more than any other in Oconee county! :) I have had a few coupon problems over the years but not many. Never had a problem with printables, and the cashiers enter the amount by hand if they don't scan correctly.
I always leave extra coupons on the shelves at this store if I don't need them. There are also other "coupon fairies" that have left coupons in random spots (thank you!).
Found this on Bi-Lo's web site: http://www(dot)bi-lo(dot)com/images/uploads/pdfs/DblCouponPolicy.pdf
I feel it's a mistake to allow individual stores to choose their own coupon policies…it ends up being so massively confusing, I would just choose a different chain.
which Bi-Lo in Seneca? I am new to the area and I am in between the one on Radio and the one across from Ingles. Are both not accepting? UGH!! Not good news!!
I was at a Bi-Lo in Chattanooga about 3 hours ago and used many internet printables without a problem.
I cant find any purex laundry coupons. help
there is a .50 coupon for the Dixie Crystals Sugar at there website dixiecrystalssugar.com
Oh no, I was not able to print a list this morning. It isn't working like it usually does.It just makes a noise (boop) and doesn't print.
where can i find the Get More From Your Pharmacy booklet?
Oh, PTL…. it must have been something with my computer…. I restarted and it worked. Jenny, thank you so much for all you do. It is truly a blessing.
I wish that Bi-Lo would offer something more than pizza for the Meal Deal.
They sometimes do. A few weeks ago they had Chinese food and I love when they have the pasta, but they haven't done that in awhile. I wonder why. But, yeah, they have pizza A LOT. My kids love it, though, so it's not a problem in my home. :)
Agreed. It would be nice for them to have healthier options once in a while
And no more chicken nuggets, please!
my bilo still had the bounty napkins for $1 and there was a $1 coupon in the last P&G making it free. I got the 4C green tea tub less than .50. It's only the green tea tub or sticks that are b1g1f and there is a $2 coupon. I got 2 and used 2 coupons but 1 beeped. Might just need to get 1 next time. Got 2 hefty cups with the .55 off 2 coupon making them cheap.
Glade IP no longer available on the Johnson Right at Home web site.
Driscoll berry coupon is only available if you sign up for a new account. If you have signed up in the past, you'll need another email adress to do it again.
Also the wise coupon is for two regular size bags of chips, not the multi pack of single erve bags.
They would not take my Cole's Q because they said it was already free. Both the cashier and the team leader said this. I didn't want to escalate it to manager status it was free, so okay. It will probably go on sale on its own soon anyway.
When I got home to review my receipt (it's not practical for me to do it in the store for various reasons) I noticed that they charged me for the 6 pk Mt Dew that I should have got for free with the Meal Deal, so I guess I'll take them back.
My 11 yo son wanted to buy a pack of TicTacs with his own money, so I said okay, but that I thought I had a Q with me and to check my file. Sure enough, I had a .75 Q and when they doubled it, he got it for free!
most of the time when you take in your receipt in (or call) they will just refund the money to you for the item that rang up wrong.
hello how does fuel perk work 5participating item.like.2 for 5 is that one count or does it court as two.
it will count as two.
My Bi-Lo in Royston, GA has there Suave Professionals and Mens Suave for $1.69. a couple of weeks ago there were coupons for .50 off two bottles. I got 8 bottles making them only 1.20 each.. Not a great deal but thats still less than half price.
I'm in Royston too!! Kudos to you fellow couponer
When I went to my Bi-Lo today Di-Giornio 8oz refrigerated Parmesan Cheese and and three-cheese blend were BOGO plus almost all of them had a $1.00 coupon on the lid. That made the price just .81 ea!
all set to get 20lb bag of pedigree for 6.99. alas the 3.00 off coupon is no more. only 1.00 off available. i can get ole roy at Walmart cheaper. also going to get the old el paso and the .50/1 is gone as well. only showing the .60/3. oh well. maybe next time.
I emailed Bi-lo regarding their no longer accepting internet coupons and they said it is up to the manager. I called my local Bi-lo here in West Columbia, SC and was told they do accept internet printables at this location, but they were having a problem with people making copies. They now have to check that little bar code at the top of eac h"like" coupon to make sure they are different!
So the other Bi-lo's not accepting them are obviously LAZY for not checking the bar codes…
I also called the corporate office. They sent me this email.
BI-LO does not have a specific Corporate Coupon policy. We have not told stores this, but you need to ask your specific store manager if he has approved to accept them, since we leave it up to manager's discretion.
Thank you,
LaurenConsumer Relations
I shop at the bi-lo on St Andrews Rd in Irmo, and I do not have a problem using printed coupons at all. Only the bi-lo coupons don't scan
I shop at the one on St. Andrews Rd. and the one on Broad River ,likewise, I NEVER have a problem with the printed coupons.
I found this policy on Bi-Lo's web site: http://www(dot)bi-lo(dot)com/images/uploads/pdfs/DblCouponPolicy.pdf
I just find that crazy b/c some coupons have the same barcode when you print them off the internet it doesn't always change
I am really having trouble using the coupons.com coupon printer, I have installed it a 100 times but yet I still cant print these coupons, someone help a girl out!!!
what kind of web browser do you use? I can't print from Firefox, but have to open Internet Explorer to be able to print from coupons.com.
Use IE, not Firefox (I had the same issue).
IF YOU LIKE MAYFIELD ON FACEBOOK YOU WILL GET A $1 OFF COUPON FOR 1.5 QT CARTON OF ICECREAM. YOU HAVE TO LIKE THEM FIRST, THEN ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE THERE IS "TASTE APOLOOZA(sp)" CLICK IT AND ON ONE OF THE THREE CITY ZONES AND YOU CAN PRINT IT OFF! THAT TAKES THE MEAL DEAL DOWN TO 7.98 WITH THIS COUPON AND THE COLE'S BREAD COUPON!
you cant use a coupon on a meal deal item unless its what you are buying (the pizza). the free items are free and most stores wont let you use a coupon on something thats already free.
hey all bi-lo shoppers, i got to thinking that if just maybe everyone that got to enjoy the .99 double coupon week last week would email Bi-lo and tell them how much fun it was and how grateful we are of them doing that even tohught it was due to an error in the paper, just maybe they will start doin g it more often for us, just request them to do it for us, i ahve doen emailed thme, i beelive if they get a big response they might do it often for us…www. bi-lo.com scroll to bottow where it says contact us then click on consumer relations to send email…worth a try i loved the .99 double coupon week..
I just sent in my thanks and suggestion that I would love another opportunity. Thanks for the reminder to thank BiLo.
your welcome, i just hope they get a big response we need some coupon breaks with all the policies changing and not for the better,always have agrudge agains tpeople trying to save abucks, we put alot of time and effort into couponing for them to try to limit us on everything,now i feel better after venting :0)
Hi Guys (ladies)I am a little confused again…ok, on the Pet Nutty Royale cones are 5.99,divided are 2.99 please explain how you got the 2.49. I also have the coupon for 1/2, which makes it 1.99. Believe me, I NEED all the sales that I can get. i may have mis-calculated. PLEASE HELP!!!!
5.99 for 2 minus $1.00 = 4.99/2 = $2.49 each. Also Bi-lo is printing catalinas for an add. -.55 so you can use both, would make then $1.94. Hope that helps.
Thanks!! I got you now!!! I also have the catalina for .55 :-)
when did you get the catalina coupon?
It would be $1 off of 2, which would be $5.99 for 2, then your coupon of $1 so $4.99 total which would be $2.49 each
also with the gushers, 2.00, I have the .50 coupon, which doubles as 1.00… If I miscalculated, PLEASE let me know where I made the mistake!!!
I believe that coupon was .50/2, which would double to 1.00/2. If you buy two at $2 that would be $4, then $1 off of that would be $3 for two, or $1.50 each. HTH
I got a manufacturer coupon at the register last week in Bilo for $2.00 of always pads that will make them .99 yay!!!!!
cant find the .50/1 cheerios printable
Thanks for the fellow couponer giving the info on sugar coupon> Millie
jenny, on your next workshop schedule, do think you can come to chattanooga, tenn.? A lot of us would like to meet with you, and share some our shopping experiences(and coupon strategies & difficulties) with you. I checked your schedule for now and you`re at places that miles away from chattanooga.
You know as soon as she shows up in your area and does a 'class' you are suddenly going to have more competition and it's going to be harder to get your deals. That's why people that teach these 'classes' normally travel away from their own shopping area to do it. Your best bet is to research online and learn more tips and tricks to couponing rather than asking someone to do something that's really going to make things harder on you. You can learn everything you need to know for FREE and without encouraging other 'extreme couponers' in your area by soliciting a class. Check out afullcup(dot)com or weusecoupons(dot)com . There are lots of other sites out there, ones that make it a bit easier to learn to coupon more on your own.
Old El Paso coupon on Spanish site is .75/3 not .50/1…
I have tried to get the Mayfield ice cream coupon on facebook, I can' get it.
Was at Bi-Lo yesterday (NC) and was told I could not use coupons on the items that are free for the meal deal (bread sticks and ice cream)…was able to last week but couldn't yesterday …I'm a newbie so last week was my first week so not sure what the "norm" is.
However, the carpet fresh at my Bi-Lo was only $1.26 with the B1G1 and so I was able to get 24 cent overage!
you are not able to use a coupon on an item that you get for free.
Depends on the store. Mine has taken them in the past on this promotion.
My bi-lo wont take the coupons on the meal deal free items but will take them on the b1g1 stuff (SC)
My Bi-lo (Simpsonville SC) will take coupons on the free stuff. The trick is to have a LOT of coupons and go when they are busy so the cashier is too busy/tires/annoyed to look through all of them :)Also the bonus card thing works too! If they ask you for it at the beginning just say to them "I like to wait until the end so I can see how much I am saving" Works every time :)
Make them ring up the meal deal first don't give them your bonus card yet. After it has been rung up give them your coupons then your bonus card. It will work then. Coupons won't come off if you have already given them your bonus card! There is no rule as to when you have to give them your bonus card!
here is the trick to this problem. don't scan your bilo card til after your total and coupons have been scanned. it tricks the computer because it hasn't given them to you free yet. :)
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites or Large Breed Dog Food, 20 lb, $3USD off coupon is not loading, I did get a dollar off however (its the only coupon currently showing for me on their site).
i was shocked. the Driscoll coupon didn't even have a pic and the cashier still scanned it thru on raspberries. LOVE THIS COUPONING. not extreme by any means but happy to save!!!
Has anyone else been able to use the Driscoll coupon and it worked?? I'm going to try it later on this afternoon on my shopping trip. Thanks for the heads up :)
Used mine at Publix no problem!
Great deal go to dixiecrytstalssugar.com print .50/1 double up to .99 sugar cost 1.00 yahoooo. don't forget to print 2!!!!
I printed the dog food coupon that has the 3 free items but it says it can only be redeemed at H E B. Will bi-lo still accept it?
NO, not unless BILO and HEB are local competitors. I don't think there are any HEBs in SC?
I am heading to the Isle of Palms tomorrow. Can anyone tell me whether the Bilo in Mount Pleasant doubles up to .50 or up to .99? Any other tips about other grocery stores in the area? Thanks in advance!
Yes, the Bilo doubles coupons. The Harris Teeter downtown triples its coupons. This isn't very far. It's on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston,
Harris Teeter in Charleston is great-I wish we had one here.
And Harris Teeter will double up to 1.99 Q's too I think starting this weekend or Monday for sure.
does any1 kno where a harris teeter is in tenn.. the store locator will not work
Tlwefuqua, there's an awesome new Harris Teeter on Hwy 41 in Mt. Pleasant. It's going to be the closest one to you on IOP. BTW, pick up a Post and Courier on Wednesday. Every week, it has a $10 off $40. Your best bet is to get it early. They have been selling out.
I'm having trouble printing the Cottonelle Q. It says to follow the prompts but after I enter name and email, the page it goes to has no prompts. I haven't printed in the last month, either. Anyone else have trouble or figured it out?
Fast Fixin' Popcorn Chicken coupon just sends you in loops. Even once you sign in, it sends you 3 different places with NO coupons. Very Annoying website!
Thank you! I thought it was just ME! No coupons for me either :
Anyone find the Purex Qs? Thanks!
Only at Purex.com. Only problem is you can print two at a time from one computer it locks you out.
That's not a 'problem', it's a limit, and the vast majority of internet printed coupons are limited to 2 per computer. A few are less, some are more, but most are a limit of 2.
The bilo in greenville, sc had the Purina Chef Michael's dog food for 1.99. We got a $2.00 coupon in the last paper, making it free. I bought 9.
which Bi-Lo????
The one off pelham near 85. The super bilo.
go to Dixie Crystals and get coupons for 50 cent off
Thank You!
Yeah, I'm surprised the Dixie Crystal didn't get an "acorn" picture next to it. Maybe it's been priced much lower before. 4 lbs for $1.99 is a pretty good deal! The last time it was that low they had a limit of 2. This time, I don't see a limit.
I was unable to get the Purex coupon on the zip code 20910 but was able to buy it from Walgreens for 2.00 with the 1.00 off coupon. I am a first timer! I live in Chas, SC and will have to start shopping at Harris Teeter!
I don't know if anyone posted – but at my Bi-Lo the Driscoll's Strawberries were included, I'm going back with my coupons in hand tomorrow :D Into the freezer they shall go – I hope I get more berry deals as the summer progresses!
2days paper had 50cents off carolina pride sausage with on sale bogo 99cents piece would be free right?
Yes, if the coupon is for the roll sausage. What paper was the coupon in?
it was in the state news paper
These were BOGO at 3.49 in my store. 75¢ each with coupon. I have checked their ad online and both the printed and category views show it as "Save 1.98 on 2." I will definitely be doing that survey. Wish I'd thought to check the flyer while I was in the store.
I went to BI-LO tonight after finding the roll sausage coupon, but I showed the ad to the manager, he was so dumb he was telling me I was getting a better deal cause I was saving 1.75 on each roll for a total of 3.50 on two, he did fix my total to my liking somehow, but my mom was behind me and he would not fix hers because he said that we were wrong, I called and did the survey and they are supposed to call me back, They need to give their managers more training, math class, or a brain!
I heard there were Powerade BOGO at bilo?!?!?!? anyone know for sure????
yes they are
yep it's true
I went to bi-lo and was soooo discouraged!! 1. I couldn't use the coles coupon, the cashier told me that because it was free in the meal deal, I couldn't use it. 2. I tried to use the glass plus coupons on the glass plus, I tried to somehow, I wasn't charged the sale, I was charged full price I had two coupons for the b1g1, I had two coupons for the fast fixin, and I still had to pay full price. I's sure that I had the correct amount of coupons for the items that I was going to purchase. The mgr. explained that if I were to buy both of the b1g1 items they would take half off each item. I was so discouraged, and embarrassed @ the same time. Ya'll please help me before I just go back to just shopping without coupons. I NEED to save money, but it's hard.
I work at a Bi-Lo and for the free meal deal items I know we are allowed to use a coupon on them. The cashier will probably have to put it in manually or even get an override depending on the number of other coupons you have. That might be up to the individual stores however, and it is always good to check with management. For BOGO offers, you never have to buy both of them; they just ring up as half price. You can use a coupon for each of the items. (For example, something is originally $4.00, it is BOGO so each rings up at $2.00. Then you have a $1.00/1 coupon for each, then you would pay $1.00 for each of them.) If you think you were charged full price you can go back to the customer service and they can correct that for you.
Thanks guest, I just think that I was a little agrivated . I don't know. But I'm gonna try again.
If you scan your bonus card after you scan the coupons they will work on a meal deal. I did that a few weeks ago.
I had no trouble using coupons on the free items in the meal deal last week in Fort Mill, SC
Sounds like you just got a lazy cashier. I've never had a problem. I'm in spartanburg, sc.
I saved 20 dollars today with coupons at bilo. I just wish I would have discovered couponing a long time ago. I buy things now that I otherwise could not because of coupons. THANKS SO MUCH TO JENNY FOR YOUR HELP!
Just saw that in today's SS in Greenville, SC new paper I got a .50/1 Carolina Pride breakfast sausage. Bilo has it B1G1 at .99 making it free after coupon.
I went to Bi-Lo and with the coupon it made it .79. Did you have another coupon aside from the .50/1?
Bi-lo in myrtle beach was also .79 after Q. No freebie here.
I went to the one on Verdae. They had a sign posted that the pricing in the paper was a misprint. :-(
Has anyone ever did the ecoupons? If so how does it work?
Can someone please answer this. On the fuelperks if it says buy 2 participating items and there is a 2 for $4.00. Is that the 2 items you have to buy or do you have to buy that 2x.
for those of you who are having a hard time using your coupons for the meal deals or b1g1 items..if you will give the cashier your coupons before you use your bonus card you should not run into near the problems because the machine will not recognize the item as being free. besides its kinda fun to watch the total go down after you scan your card. Hope this helps
Our bi-lo in SC has a sign posted that you must scan your card before ringing up groceries. Might be just that store.
Are you going to be posting the new bilo ad soon?
I don't have the Oscar Meyer hot dogs in my SS for 6/19, nor the brownie mix in my rp for 6/12…..am i missing something here?
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