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Approved 141 external load course with UH-1


bossman

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Finally got our certificate in hand for the external load 141 course, using a restricted category aircraft. Will be long line to 150' and bambi bucket. This course will be in the mountains of West Virginia. A real challenge with real loads.

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Cheers bossman,

Congrats are in order!!!

You going to use Super B's or UH-1H's?

Just remember to remind the students that this bird is probably a LOT bigger than anything they've ever gotten a hold of before and that she is VERY susceptable to pylon rock - and if you push her when she has it, you'll get a rotor galloping like you've never seen! Had that happen to me flying with an AStar pilot just learning 212's. I "took command" of the aircraft and just held on for about 90 seconds while she decided NOT to come apart on us! A very REAL learning experience for both of us.

Again, congrats - and I'm sure you'll be in-demand, with all us dinosaurs getting out of the fire market this year.

 

Gentle winds,

cr

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Cheers bossman,

Congrats are in order!!!

You going to use Super B's or UH-1H's?

Just remember to remind the students that this bird is probably a LOT bigger than anything they've ever gotten a hold of before and that she is VERY susceptable to pylon rock - and if you push her when she has it, you'll get a rotor galloping like you've never seen! Had that happen to me flying with an AStar pilot just learning 212's. I "took command" of the aircraft and just held on for about 90 seconds while she decided NOT to come apart on us! A very REAL learning experience for both of us.

Again, congrats - and I'm sure you'll be in-demand, with all us dinosaurs getting out of the fire market this year.

 

Gentle winds,

cr

CR,

Well aware of the rock. Been there done that! We are starting out with a straight B model. In the process of acquiring a H. We've also got a 206 Blll that we'll use for giving a feel of smaller ships and smaller loads. This is the first course the FAA has approved using a restricted category aircraft. We had to jump through a lot of hoops to get approved. We're very excited about this. We've put a 4 person limit on our first couple of classes. The course will be about 14 days of intense flying with a lot of ground. We're going to go over the IHOG and US Forest Service requirements. Getting things ironed out with the first couple classes will be a learning process for us also. Go easy on us dionsaurs. Come see us. Always looking for input.

3 dinosaurs, trying to pass on knowledge and a passion for helicopters.

bossman

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Cheers bossman,

 

Where in "West by God" are you? Never know when I'll end up back there on a visit (CONUS), but it just might happen.

 

The BIII is a really good starting place. Guess you guys got your sh*t together!

 

If ya got a good FSDO, it makes things SOOOO much easier!

 

Best of luck - but with your prior planning, I don't think you'll need much "luck".

 

Genlte winds,

cr

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Cheers bossman,

 

Where in "West by God" are you? Never know when I'll end up back there on a visit (CONUS), but it just might happen.

 

The BIII is a really good starting place. Guess you guys got your sh*t together!

 

If ya got a good FSDO, it makes things SOOOO much easier!

 

Best of luck - but with your prior planning, I don't think you'll need much "luck".

 

Genlte winds,

cr

On top of a mountain that was a strip mine before it was an airport (6L4). Logan County Airport, Logan, West Virginia. In the heart of the coal fields. Our FSDO is coming around, we've worked through a few issues with them. You will be more than welcome anytime you show up.

bossman

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Okay, I'll bite.... What are your requirements for prospective students (time, ratings, etc...)

 

And I know that I can't be the only one wondering what this will cost. Let us know Bossman...

Must hold Commercial Helicopter Rating. The cost will be $16,500.00. This gets you a lot of ground school and at least 15 hours Huey time. Plus a few hours in the Blll. You'll come out of the course with a 141 certificate for external loads up to 3000 pounds. Plus fire fighting and real world Bambi Bucket training. Long line to 150 feet. This will all be done in the mountains and valleys of West Virginia. We know that this course will not make you Gods gift to long line, but it will give you a feel for a medium lift helicopter with real loads. It will be a very good initial training course. We've already had some operators contact us for information on getting initial training for new hires. This will be a cost savings for them and they will not have to tie up their pilots and machines for training. We are looking forward to progressing and acquiring a H model. The B model is a good ship to use because it makes you pay attention to your weights and fuel loads. We will make the students push themselves and the machine to the max. This gets their attention and forces them to do the math.

Input appreciated.

bossman

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Glad to hear things with local FDSO are looking better, hope you fill all the places and get finances back on track.

Would love to spend some time with LL training, I understand you fly the load not the helio, only talked to a guy who does it, he says you cant realy explain it till the person has tried it.

How goes other problem??and any further thoughts to expand\move to other venue

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Glad to hear things with local FDSO are looking better, hope you fill all the places and get finances back on track.

Would love to spend some time with LL training, I understand you fly the load not the helio, only talked to a guy who does it, he says you cant realy explain it till the person has tried it.

How goes other problem??and any further thoughts to expand\move to other venue

Hey 500E,

Come see us. We'll let you try the longline and will not cost you a penny. The other problem is progressing, according to the lawyers. Can't prove it by me. The FH1100 is going to work out well for us. Still going to do the business in the Phillipines.

bossman

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  • 3 weeks later...
Must hold Commercial Helicopter Rating. The cost will be $16,500.00. This gets you a lot of ground school and at least 15 hours Huey time. Plus a few hours in the Blll. You'll come out of the course with a 141 certificate for external loads up to 3000 pounds. Plus fire fighting and real world Bambi Bucket training. Long line to 150 feet. This will all be done in the mountains and valleys of West Virginia. We know that this course will not make you Gods gift to long line, but it will give you a feel for a medium lift helicopter with real loads. It will be a very good initial training course. We've already had some operators contact us for information on getting initial training for new hires. This will be a cost savings for them and they will not have to tie up their pilots and machines for training. We are looking forward to progressing and acquiring a H model. The B model is a good ship to use because it makes you pay attention to your weights and fuel loads. We will make the students push themselves and the machine to the max. This gets their attention and forces them to do the math.

Input appreciated.

bossman

 

 

Can you post the School's Name? maybe web page?

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  • 3 weeks later...

We've had great response to this course. The feedback has led us to split an approved fire fighting 141 from the main course. This will just concentrate on the fire fighting aspect. It will be about half the cost and still get hours in the medium helicopter.

bossman

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  • 3 weeks later...

We've just been approved to do this course in several different ways. We can now offer initial in a Jet Ranger or 1100 and finish up in the Huey. You still have to get at least 5 hours in the Huey. This lets us lower the cost. It puts us at $11,200.00 for 10 hours in the FH-1100 and 5 hours in the Huey.

Any combination in between can be decided by the student. Still a minimum of 15 hours total flight time with at least 5 in the Huey.

bossman

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Question for you guys:

 

All my external load time is with 35' lines and a crew chief. I'm a 2000hr military pilot with no VR time and getting out pretty soon. I'm sure I'll get a biased answer here (haha) and it depends on what I want to do but would there be a significant benefit to getting this type of formal training in relation to both marketability and employment options available? My concern is whether the benefit will outweigh the cost for me. I'm perfectly willing to spend the money if necessary but I don't want to if employers are still going to want prior experience as opposed to just formal training. There are plenty of options for me otherwise but it would be nice to have even more.

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I've got a bunch of VR experience flying 53D's... The question I have is this: Do I need some 141 documentation saying I'm a "utility or long line" certified guy, or can I expect someone to honor my external experience while flying assault support? I'm thinking I'm going to have to spend some of my hard earned money demonstrating proficiency, rather than recieving practical training.. Starting to wonder how anyone gets into this utility world. Cheers

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I've got a bunch of VR experience flying 53D's... The question I have is this: Do I need some 141 documentation saying I'm a "utility or long line" certified guy, or can I expect someone to honor my external experience while flying assault support? I'm thinking I'm going to have to spend some of my hard earned money demonstrating proficiency, rather than recieving practical training.. Starting to wonder how anyone gets into this utility world. Cheers

This course is for the commercial pilot that has limited long line experience, or the pilot that has long line and no bucket work. If you are comfortable with your ability you should have no difficulty demonstrating it to a potential employer.

bossman

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you should have no difficulty demonstrating it to a potential employer.

bossman

 

Or demonstrating it to get your card. Once you get carded....I think thats really all the employer wants to see....especially if you have a ton of military time.

 

Search OAS card on this site, should be plenty of previous threads to look at.

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  • 1 month later...

Ok, here is my hypothetical question. This course sounds really cool, I mean long lining in a Huey, stuff dreams are made of...at least mine. But here is my question. Lets say someone goes to school and gets there 200 hours and then becomes a CFII then instructs for 800 and then has the "magic 1000 hrs". Even then wouldn't this course be a little premature? My thinking is that a long line company wouldn't look at you until 2000hrs most likely more. So, is this something that would only be good for an experienced pilot only? I mean sure, a 200 hr pilot could do it but wouldn't that knowledge be forgotten by the time you were hireable by a long lining company?

I hope this reads right. This is in no way bashing...I don't want to be misunderstood. I guess my question in simpler terms is at what time would this course be practical for a pilot. I hope I'm wrong in my assumption.

This would require me to stay overseas for 3 more months to pay for it :(

 

Matt

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