Long Line Operations In Mountains..

[DGP]

I would go with what OMT has said...get some training and stay alive...I first flew in the mountains having less than 125 hrs and having trained at Canadore...no mountains out there...was scared s#$^less to say the least...asked head office for some training and was suprised that they sent a former employee from Kenting...first name was Ted..last name starts with a P..most old guys here will know him...gave me a couple of days of ground school and did one full day of hands on...probably enough to tell me I should be VERY carefull..well..never did do much mtn time but I did do a full day off slinging on some pretty scary hills...around 6,000'...the next time I was even thinking of moving to BC and doing the mountain thing I had over 2,000 hrs and the chief pilot of a fairly large BC outfit told me I wouldn't have any trouble in the mountains with the hours I had and the little bit of training that I had years before was plenty...I did not agree and said...see you later...never did go out to the coast and if I ever did I would look up my good friend Jan at Canadian and get some Very good training...not sure if Jan is still doing his thing in penticton or if he has hung of the gloves

[LTE]

Hey Heli Havok.....read what people are saying on this thread...especially Mike Hunt and Scully...re read Scullys posts...sit back and dont dismiss what the man is saying...I for one learned a bunch from him...and ya he knows what he is talking about..cause he's trained fellas like yourself for years who want a quick tip or the quick and easy answer...well moutain flying isn't like that..and throw(sp?) on a longline...well you better be thinking several steps ahead instead of at arriving at the "spot" and finding out...oh s#$t this is not the place to be!!! Part of learning is to recognize the signs and symptoms of getting into an area, reading and feeling the tell tale signs that may be leading you down a negative outcome (torque/airspeed/GS/visuals..just to name a few) In my opinion that is done with an instrutor who can demonstrate proper technique coupled with pre and post flight briefings.

Thank you scully and HV for being those mentors that took the time and cared to make me relize there is differnt ways at looking at a situation.

LTE

[sirlandsalot]

Well for one, your meantioning that you would like to know about the demarcation line with different line lengths, the answer is as ambiguous as the question. How steep is the mountain? How strong is the wind. Setting a load down on the top of a vertical cliff in a strong wind the demarcation line is vertical for some height above the mountain and that it may be impossible to do the set without a 150' line or longer. Yet a laminar shaped top with a very strong wind will have a demarcation line which is as shallow as the terrain and that the only turbulence will be from rocks or obstacles in the way thus a short line will be sufficient. For mountain top ops I have used 50 to 100 foot lines mostly. Basics of demarcation line is that it cannot get steeper than terrain and the base of line moves towards wind as it gets stronger and the top point of line moves away from wind and gets longer as it gets stronger even though the angle will be no greater than the terrain.

 

 

 

 

 

Good Stuff!

[Grasshopper]

...asked head office for some training and was suprised that they sent a former employee from Kenting...first name was Ted..last name starts with a P..

 

That's probably E.B. (Ted) Protheroe. Knew him there at KK in the 60's. Super guy!

[VERTICAL REF]

The longer you fly in the mountains the more you will learn...

And there is a difference between flying in the mountains and working in the mountains.

I have worked above 14,000' with ease yet had my a$$ handed to me at 2,000' along the coastal regions. Each geographic has its own challanges.

 

Trust in the helicopter Gods and the little hairs on the back of your neck. Listen to what your a/c is telling you and know its limits and your own.

 

...sometimes it is better to be downwind in up flow than into wind in down flow...

[DGP]

Grasshopper...you are correct about ted on all points... :up:

[ISE DA BY]

I would go with what OMT has said...get some training and stay alive...I first flew in the mountains having less than 125 hrs and having trained at Canadore...no mountains out there...was scared s#$^less to say the least...asked head office for some training and was suprised that they sent a former employee from Kenting...first name was Ted..last name starts with a P..most old guys here will know him...gave me a couple of days of ground school and did one full day of hands on...probably enough to tell me I should be VERY carefull..well..never did do much mtn time but I did do a full day off slinging on some pretty scary hills...around 6,000'...the next time I was even thinking of moving to BC and doing the mountain thing I had over 2,000 hrs and the chief pilot of a fairly large BC outfit told me I wouldn't have any trouble in the mountains with the hours I had and the little bit of training that I had years before was plenty...I did not agree and said...see you later...never did go out to the coast and if I ever did I would look up my good friend Jan at Canadian and get some Very good training...not sure if Jan is still doing his thing in penticton or if he has hung of the gloves

 

Yep, he is still there, although a little scaled back with the flying. Pretty humbling experience flying with Jan on the mountain course a couple of years ago to say the least!