Landing on the Andes

[Velocity173]

Not a big Airbus fan but 22,840 ft is impressive.

https://www.heliopsmag.com/h145-lands-on-top-of-the-andes

 

[Bell206]

Airbus continues to hold the high market for whatever reason with this and the B3 on Everest. Landed at 23k in the Andes in a Lama when working in Peru. But to do it in a twin with free-turbines is a feat.

 

[Shepherd]

I'm impressed.

 

[Unit74]

I want one..... Come take my money.

 

[Velocity173]

Airbus continues to hold the high market for whatever reason with this and the B3 on Everest. Landed at 23k in the Andes in a Lama when working in Peru. But to do it in a twin with free-turbines is a feat.

Yeah the B3 is a beast when it comes to high altitude ops. They’ve got the HP over us (B407) so it makes sense. I’d be interested to see how a 407HP with 900 HP would fair against it though.

 

[Timbeck2]

Fun fact: Mt. Aconcagua is actually higher than Everest because of the equator bulge.

 

[skier]

Yeah, but the Cessna CH-1 skyhook was the first helicopter to land on Pikes Peak and it set a world altitude record for helicopters reaching 29,777 feet.

It was also the first IFR certified helicopter.

 

[Warlock]

Been to 13,000 in a light AH-1 doing a t check on an engine...crazy at that altitude...bet max forward speed just above effective translational lift ...would be interesting to see the telemetry data...

 

[PeterNSteinmetz]

Fun fact: Mt. Aconcagua is actually higher than Everest because of the equator bulge.

Interesting. It is further from the center of the earth yet considerably less high above sea level. Evidently the equator bulges 15 sm relative to the poles.

https://metro.co.uk/2016/05/17/theres-a-mountain-thats-actually-higher-than-mount-everest-5887559/

 

[Bell206]

I’d be interested to see how a 407HP with 900 HP would fair against it though.

Don't know about the HP with the 101/900 in it but they had a GXP zipping around Nepal and Tibet area a few years back with "flights to 20k and landings at 19k." However they never mention with what kind of load.

it set a world altitude record for helicopters reaching 29,777 feet.

Unfortunately Airbus/Sud Aviation/Aerspatiale has held that world record for the past 47 years also at 40,800 feet along with the longest autoratation since the pilot ran out of fuel at 40,800 ft. The French for some reason have always been big on aviation records.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Fun fact: Mt. Aconcagua is actually higher than Everest because of the equator bulge.

Isnt Chimborazo the 'furthest from the earth's center'?

 

[Palmpilot]

Fun fact: Mt. Aconcagua is actually higher than Everest because of the equator bulge.

I learn the BEST STUFF on here!

 

[Unit74]

Interesting. It is further from the center of the earth yet considerably less high above sea level. Evidently the equator bulges 15 sm relative to the poles.

https://metro.co.uk/2016/05/17/theres-a-mountain-thats-actually-higher-than-mount-everest-5887559/

Centripetal force....And i'm sticking to that....

 

[Unit74]

The French for some reason have always been big on aviation records.

I heard that’s because they never want to be accused of quitting again!

 

[Caramon13]

Impressive and doing the math that's about a 1370 FPM climb from the base to the summit, all the way up there.

 

[Mike I]

I was present for the H145D3 Aconcagua landing. I was part of the film crew on the B3 used for filming the landing. It was a hell of an accomplishment, and also a logistical challenge to get the filming B3 up that high with an external camera system installed.

We delayed the attempt for a few days waiting for calmer winds, but in the end the wind never got quite to where we hoped. The landing was brief, but it's impressive nonetheless.