Who here has piloted a Bell 205?

[Plumcrazy Preston]

In the army I rode on a mil-spec Huey once as well as in the gunner's seat of a Cobra AH.

The 205 seems like the 1-ton pickup truck of flying conveyances. One workhorse of a whirly bird. 

I have a fantasy about one I'm on the verge of modeling as a private bird. If I were rich, I'd use her to hunt game, explore the American wilderness or follow the trail of Bigfoot as a form of recreation. Some custom creature comforts would be added to the cabin for sure. 

 

 

 

[Plumcrazy Preston]

Looking at the cockpit of a Bell 205, or any Huey variant, it seems awkward for the pilot or the copilot to get out of his seat and go to the rear of the cabin while in the air. The big center console is in the way and the collective lever is in the way of the copilot if he tries to clamber over the console. This cramped cockpit access is the case with some airplane cockpits as well. I would have to, in theory, customize the cockpit seats to allow airborne bird operators to safely go to and from their seats with perhaps a little gymnastics. Some type of sliding seats or folding seat backs with grab handles overhead. There are certain emergency situations where bird operators should be able to safely get in and out of their seats while in the air without going in and out of the (front) cockpit doors. These doors could even be jammed shut in a crash landing. 

The pilot or copilot may also need to use the loo bucket in the back of the helicopter while underway. 

[adam32]

3 hours ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

Looking at the cockpit of a Bell 205, or any Huey variant, it seems awkward for the pilot or the copilot to get out of his seat and go to the rear of the cabin while in the air. The big center console is in the way and the collective lever is in the way of the copilot if he tries to clamber over the console. This cramped cockpit access is the case with some airplane cockpits as well. I would have to, in theory, customize the cockpit seats to allow airborne bird operators to safely go to and from their seats with perhaps a little gymnastics. Some type of sliding seats or folding seat backs with grab handles overhead. There are certain emergency situations where bird operators should be able to safely get in and out of their seats while in the air without going in and out of the (front) cockpit doors. These doors could even be jammed shut in a crash landing. 

The pilot or copilot may also need to use the loo bucket in the back of the helicopter while underway. 

Nope. To everything you said. 

[Plumcrazy Preston]

48 minutes ago, adam32 said:

Nope. To everything you said. 

The rear cabin is normally accessible to the guys in the cockpit while a 205 is in the air? I'd like so see a video on how that's done. It doesn't look possible without customization. 

[adam32]

1 hour ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

The rear cabin is normally accessible to the guys in the cockpit while a 205 is in the air? I'd like so see a video on how that's done. It doesn't look possible without customization. 

No it's not. A pilot will not/cannot leave their seat to go about the rear of the helicopter. 

[Plumcrazy Preston]

7 hours ago, adam32 said:

No it's not. A pilot will not/cannot leave their seat to go about the rear of the helicopter. 

So, there must be two personnel in the cockpit at all times according to FAA regulations? 

[Eric Hunt]

You need one pilot to fly it. That pilot is not gonna leave the controls to clamber into the back, while airborne. Even if it had an autopilot, he wouldn't do it.

A copilot might be able to get into the back, if the seat rails were extended by about 2 feet. There was also a folding back on the armoured seats, to allow crew to pull an injured pilot away from the controls. But a layback seat might be a worry if it came loose in flight.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

It's all theoretical anyway. If I were to own a private 205, I would be the pilot, the captain, and I would have a copilot, either hired or a significant other. If my copilot were in total control in his seat, I would go to the rear of my own private chopper as I pleased. Yes, there would be custom provisions in the bird for either person in the cockpit to go to the rear while airborne. My civilian bird would have (and need) no armored seats but rather comfy car-like ones. Definitely a seat back that lays flat by operating some lever AND a seat that rolls back on a floor track at least 2 feet. Perhaps custom motorized power seats that move back and forth. The seats should be adjustable anyway to have proper comfort and fit for reaching the controls. I think of automobile interior designs even when I think of aircraft cabins. I'd want custom car-like comfy-ness in any private birds I were to own including airplanes with fixed wings. 

[TomPPL]

Sniff sniff.... Is there a bull in here somewhere?

[Nearly Retired]

LOL, I suspect our Preston might be a young dreamer.  But let's not discourage him!  Lots of us started our careers by dreaming of helicopters.

Speaking of which...  Can I add a little anecdotal story?  Back in the late 1970's, when I was just a wee student pilot, I was working at an operator as a charter dispatcher.  One Sunday evening when it was real slow, a friend dropped by in his Army Guard UH-1H.  He came in and offered to take me for a ride.  Of course, I accepted!  I hopped in the back.

In the air, my friend (who was flying in the left-front seat) had the guy in the right-front seat switch places with me so I could take the controls.  Talk about a treat, right?  So we did (carefully) switch.  Yes, it can be done.  We did it.  And I got to fly for a few minutes the legendary Huey...which...just felt like a *much* bigger version of the 47 I was learning in.

Can't say who, what, or where, of course, but it was one of the highlights of my budding career.

[Eric Hunt]

Preston, your comfy seat can't be too comfy or you would doze off, that's why Bell instal such awful seats - you are so uncomfortable, you cannot sleep. And develop lumbar spondylosis.

Your comfy seat might not provide the required vertical g crashworthiness either. Electric seats? I can imagine the emergency drill for a runaway seat rearwards...have had a couple of these in Aerocommander planes, when the fuselage flexes on rotation.

[Plumcrazy Preston]

The dream scenarios I have for a private helicopter. 

Wilderness exploration at low altitude.  What fail-safes could be employed in a custom helicopter pilot/copilot seat capable of 2' of rearward movement? A  very sturdy locking system to keep it from moving in the tracks when in operator position. Instead of motorization, they could have a small crank which turns a set of gearing to move them forward and aft. The gearing would have a worm gear (jackscrew) in it to inhibit forward/rearward movement of the seat due to inertia. The seat backs could still drop flat to aid extraction of injured crew persons. Do automobile seats adjust? Yes they do. I know how bad it is to try to manually adjust a seat while the car is accelerating and braking. I've been thrown into the steering wheel before doing this like an idiot. Not very painful but a bit rattling of the nerves. Electric seats in cars are geared which keeps them from breaking loose suddenly while car is changing speed. 

[SBuzzkill]

I used to dream like this all the time!  Sounds like you want an aerial RV.

Some sort of extended range tanks will be important to get enough range to effectively tour the country.  Stopping for fuel every couple hours severely limits how far you can get in a day.

I wouldn’t worry TOO much about the seat locks.  Helicopters don’t experience nearly the same horizontal thrust that an airplane does.  By nature most of your thrust will be on the vertical plane.

External baggage pods will certainly increase your interior space for passenger comfort.  Tents, sleeping bags, etc can all be stowed outside the bird.

A FLIR would be perfect for Bigfoot hunting too, with some extra dough you could get a pretty nice sensor.

All in all, with the extra weight and drag you’d probably end up with a 90 knot bird and enough fuel to get you 4-5 hours, and carry you a pilot and a few friends and would be a pretty rad setup.

That was a fun daydream my brother...  

 

Edited November 21, 2020 by SBuzzkill

[Plumcrazy Preston]

9 hours ago, SBuzzkill said:

I used to dream like this all the time!  Sounds like you want an aerial RV.

Some sort of extended range tanks will be important to get enough range to effectively tour the country.  Stopping for fuel every couple hours severely limits how far you can get in a day.

I wouldn’t worry TOO much about the seat locks.  Helicopters don’t experience nearly the same horizontal thrust that an airplane does.  By nature most of your thrust will be on the vertical plane.

External baggage pods will certainly increase your interior space for passenger comfort.  Tents, sleeping bags, etc can all be stowed outside the bird.

A FLIR would be perfect for Bigfoot hunting too, with some extra dough you could get a pretty nice sensor.

All in all, with the extra weight and drag you’d probably end up with a 90 knot bird and enough fuel to get you 4-5 hours, and carry you a pilot and a few friends and would be a pretty rad setup.

That was a fun daydream my brother...  

 

Well, if I were that rich anyway, I would have fuel trucks and other vehicles supporting my missions from the ground out of base camps. I'd want to use enough rear cabin space for a small lavatory. The Huey platform seems conducive to this. Jet Rangers seem too small and incommodious for my purposes. I'd also want cabin heating and a/c. Auto-pilot and auto-hover if feasible and GPS of course. 

[adam32]

S-61 is what you want. Or even an S-62 for the budget minded. 

[SBuzzkill]

4 hours ago, Plumcrazy Preston said:

Well, if I were that rich anyway, I would have fuel trucks and other vehicles supporting my missions from the ground out of base camps. I'd want to use enough rear cabin space for a small lavatory. The Huey platform seems conducive to this. Jet Rangers seem too small and incommodious for my purposes. I'd also want cabin heating and a/c. Auto-pilot and auto-hover if feasible and GPS of course. 

Definitely, you’ll need the lav especially if you’re eating food you brought with you into the wilderness.

You may also want to consider a TV or some other sort of entertainment center, since the bigfoot hunt could end up being rather unproductive.  You don’t need surround sound either you can just pump it to your Bluetooth helmet.

Speaking of Bigfoot, I happen to know a few facts about them if you’re interested.

[MLH]

On 11/20/2020 at 6:09 PM, SBuzzkill said:

I used to dream like this all the time!  Sounds like you want an aerial RV.

 

 

 

Winnebago flying motor-home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJRlQrN8RAY&feature=youtu.be

[Helirescue65]

Helicopters are not like corporate jets.  you cannot get up and go to the loo or grab some coffee.  the basic Huey has a mag-brake to hold flight controls in place ( to aid the pilot ) but they fail.  Where there is an autopilot, it  will hold controls as well. but they fail also.   if a plane pilot leaves his seat and S hits the fan, at best he can get back to his seat and react appropriately.  however not even a fixed wing pilot would dream of leaving his seat unless someone else is there to back him up.   if a helicopter stopped working, the controls would need to be handled immediately.  Helicopter pilots  must always be ahead of the game.  there is no time to catch up if the aircraft loses control.   no time to run back to the cockpit.  you are a passenger now. until the very end.  Helicopter cock[its are set up to place all necessary switches controls at their fingertips.  not only that.  all seats are crash attenuating now.  they absorb vertical impacts.   FAA requires 2 pilots in Most IFR multiengine helicopters.  The caveat is if the Helo was already certified Single pilot IFR.    as far as the door jamming, EVERY pilot is Taught to unlatch the door prior to landing for just that reason.   Any pilot, in any small aircraft is taught this.