benyflyguy
En-Route
pretty slick job to rescue an injured skier.
Wow. The pilot compensated perfectly for the weight and CG shift as the crew reboarded the helicopter.
I wonder if sticking the wire cutter into the snow was beneficial. He definitely had the master's touch.
Well done if I do say so myself. I would have been worried to be on the ground that close. If things would have gone wrong, I doubt any of them would have survived.
Wow. The pilot compensated perfectly for the weight and CG shift as the crew reboarded the helicopter.
I wonder if sticking the wire cutter into the snow was beneficial. He definitely had the master's touch.
It actually makes it more stable. We used to unload/load stuff like tool boxes or components out of running helicopters with a skid on a safety fence or ridge line. Without that "fixed" point every push or pull would make the whole aircraft move. While it's always fun to watch, those types of ops are common in that environment, especially in Europe, and are usually part of the operators training program.I would have thought any contact with the snow/ground would make you less stable,
It actually makes it more stable. We used to unload/load stuff like tool boxes or components out of running helicopters with a skid on a safety fence or ridge line. Without that "fixed" point every push or pull would make the whole aircraft move.
I've never had anyone get in or out w/o the skids being firmly planted, so yes, that makes sense now. Thanks.
Kudos to the pilots who do this!! .got to know and trust your stuff.Same with a wheel(s),if the LZ allows for an anchor point, it makes for a more stable operation.
That's a fact. But one time I had to extract some rangers in trouble and the PZ was in a swamp, not quite large enough for the rotor disk. Used the blades like a bush hog to cut small bamboo on the way down. Huey rotors were tough. Thank God and Larry Bell.Of course, you read enough books by VN helicopter pilots who talked about the need to clear obstacles by a couple of feet
That's a fact. But one time I had to extract some rangers in trouble and the PZ was in a swamp, not quite large enough for the rotor disk. Used the blades like a bush hog to cut small bamboo on the way down. Huey rotors were tough. Thank God and Larry Bell.
I've never had anyone get in or out w/o the skids being firmly planted, so yes, that makes sense now. Thanks.
What you have to watch out for is the tail rotor, which is a lot more fragile than the main rotor. That's where crew coordination comes in - the crew chief and gunner usually stood on the skids on either side of the UH-1 (with long safety straps) to tell the pilot to turn left, turn right, etc. in close proximity to obstacles.I've heard stories like that before, guys using the rotors to clear bamboo and small brush to make their own LZ.