Stoopid kwestion

[Witch]

Well, maybe not, but what kind of flying does it take to long-line? Also, when long-lining, is it difficult to get into a hover 100' AGL without going all over the place? I know it can be done but I wonder about the flight dynamics of landing something 100' below you.

 

I want stories too.

 

Later.

[flingwing206]

Your second question pretty much answers your first question. For Q3, take a 20' piece of string with an egg tied to the end, get up on your roof with a unicycle, then put the egg into the egg-crate on the ground below without breaking it or any of the other eggs. It's best if you know how to ride the unicycle.

[Gomer Pylot]

You absolutely have to be able to hover without even thinking about doing anything. Then you have to have the skill and experience to do it way up high, while controlling the load way down there. Literally years of experience are necessary, because if you have to think about what you're doing, you won't be able to do it.

[West Coaster]

Amen to that.

 

I remember doing an 1 hour intro to using a line in a 206. It was just a 50' line too, but damn is it tough. Getting used to vertical reference flight with your head out the door doesn't make it any easier too. As far as the dynamics of it, you simply change from flying the helicopter to flying the load. Everything you do is done as if you were riding whatever is swinging at the end of that line. But saying it and doing it are to vastly different things as I found out.

 

After that day I bow to anyone who makes a living with a line under their machine, loggers especially. How you can have a 150' line (or longer) stuck to the belly of a Vertol or Aircrane or whatever and place it in a chocker's hand is beyond me.

 

I remember asking an engineer about how one gets to be a logging driver. He said it all comes in stages with various companies and jobs. You start off mastering the 50' line and move up to a 100' line. Then 120-150' before probably moving into medium machines and going for longer and longer lines. When you can put a line thru a car tire with a 250' line you can be a logging captain.

 

Like I said, it's beyond me to even imagine. Hats off to anyone who's developed any skill with a line!

[Wally]

Never done long-line, but here's a story I heard at PHI:

We (PHI) had sent some big birds somewhere in South America on a fairly long contract. At the time this happened, bidding jobs for mediums-212s, etc- and larger helo crew assignments had been closed for years. The medium and larger crew were very senior experienced aviators. But I digress-

The pilots assigned to the contract occasionally moved stuff on long lines, and these jobs were kicking their butts. At one point, they dragged a load through a power line. At the end of one of these long-line days, the PHI crew dropped their line at base, landed, and secured the aircraft. Then they watched as a crew from another operator returned to the base, practically "flaked" their long-line, landed and secured their aircraft, just another day in the office...

"Flaking" a line is what a sailor does to make those neat and tightly coiled pads of line you see on spit and polish decks.

[West Coaster]

Here's a story I remember from a ways back.

 

A pilot (not me) was sent out with a line to sling to gear from a camp one day on the edge of a lake. Everything is packed into the net, he fires up and lifts off with cargo in tow. About 100' in the air he looks down to check the load and sees smoke coming from something packed inside the net. A few seconds later he sees fire!

He quickly turns around, drops some altitude and approached the camp site with everyone watching. As he approaches the shore he punches the release and drops the whole load into the shallow water to extinguish the fire, then he lands back at camp thinking himself a hero.

Everone comes running up to him yellnig and swearing and calling him every name in the book. He is puzzled, as no one else saw the obvious fire.

 

Turns out the "smoke" was just ash venting from a small wood stove that hadn't been used in days, and the "fire" was a simple piece of bright orange tape flickering in the wind. Whoops!

 

Given a worst case scenerio he did the right thing, but try telling that to the crew! Damned if ya do, damned if ya don't.

[Witch]

The fire won't go up the cable. I think maybe putting it back at the campsite might have been... never mind, bad idea. Maybe just dunking WITHOUT releasing might have been a better option. I don't know.

 

I can sympathise with the guy, been there, done that. Not slinging cargo that is.

 

Later.

[Guest rookie101]

Here is a really good article about long-lining. Again, courtesy of justhelicopters.com

 

http://www.justhelicopters.com/Articles/de...hannel=Articles

 

Warning- this article is a little long winded so if you don't have the time I would wait until you do.