Mendip Aerial Mast - Heliswiss

[JBL99]

Anyone on these forums involved today in working on the Mendip Transmitter in Somerset? Saw a Heliswiss chopper this morning ready to lift a section of mast into place. Would loved to have been able to phone in sick and just watch - any video footage anywhere of the works?

Absolutely sure I don't yet have the skills to do anything like that !

JBL99

[Rotorbee]

If it was something special, you will find something about it here (http://www.heliswissinternational.ch).
But I suppose, that was a routine job for them.
(Not something a puddle hopper from the NS should try :E)
Which chopper was it? Kamov or Super Puma?

[TwoStep]

Twas the Kamov, apparently scarpered for home on Tuesday...

[mineuk]

This machine will be back for more missions of a similar nature. Its good to see there is such an interest in it!

[TwoStep]

Can you say when? Are you involved mineuk?

[gizmocat]

Pictue of it in the currant-bun today.

[nrh]

best headlines in the business...

Engineers work on top of 1,000ft TV tower | The Sun |News (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2341594.ece)

[craphat]

What a shame this work had to be contracted out abroad.
Surely we have some qualified UK pilots who could have done this.
Borrow a Super Puma off the North Sea etc.

Any sign of a 'Mablethorpe' type walk out by British pilots in protest?

"British jobs for British workers etc."

[TiPwEiGhT]

I thought Bond Offshore would have been a good one for this as they have done lots of ad-hoc onshore work before. Heliswiss are doing mast work in Scotland too I believe.

TiP

[Rotorbee]

There are probably several reasons why not Bond or anybody else in the UK can do a job like this.
1. You need a lot of experience in the air AND on the ground. Heliswiss Teams do nothing else then jobs like this and are highly experienced. Letting some north sea pilot (puddle hopper) trying something like that, would be extremely dangerous.
2. Setting something that high above the ground is different then setting someting on the ground. Flying a net to a rigg and set it on the helipad is peanuts that almost anyone can do.
3. The load was probably too heavy for the north sea Super Pumas with all their IFR gear. And without a bubble window and other modifications it is just more dangerous.
Don't worry. The Heliswiss Pilots will not fly IFR and therefore will not take puddle hopper jobs.
Cheers
:E

[R.OCKAPE]

lol... Can't wait to see the reaction to that....

[tecpilot]

@craphat

What a shame this work had to be contracted out abroad.
Surely we have some qualified UK pilots who could have done this.
Borrow a Super Puma off the North Sea etc.

Any sign of a 'Mablethorpe' type walk out by British pilots in protest?

"British jobs for British workers etc."

Such slogans "my country-my work" are difficult to find in other european countries. I try to imagine the situation if all other countries would like to push out brit specialists. Sure for me there are much more brits working around the world in special qualified jobs than foreigners do the same in the UK. As example in aviation there are many british engineers around the world. Met a lot different times on the Eurocopter production lines in France and Germany. Andrew Warner the former chief test pilot of EC Germany is a brit. Don't think there are no good testpilots in Germany to find. But he was simply the best to do the job, british or not.

To think any big-ship-operators are able to do such very very special and dangerous external load work, shows a remarkable lack of knowledge. I would like to recommend to lift up craphat on the top of the transmitter. At this airy view point he can wait for the multi-tons load to be placed just a few inches beside him with a non specialised pilot on the controls :) Would be interesting to see his underwear after that :}

[Rotorbee]

Still waiting for the reply ...

I don't think there are qualified pilots for this in the uk. Just not enough jobs like this to train them properly.
In the Alps this kind of work is daily business and since the uk does not have mountains (1085m is not consiedered mountain flying in Switzerland), there is just no need to do it.

Probably all the real brit pilots - those who do longlining - are flying in the alps.
Some of them tried and couldn't cope with HOGE over a mountain peak at 3000m

Now, where is the uproar?:E

[craphat]

I suppose for some people, there is just no room for a bit of light hearted sarcasm!

I was simply lamenting the fact that good old fashioned, VFR type skilled flying, is disappearing from the UK, for various reasons.

There was a time, when Scotia Pumas used to help out some of the Scottish aerial work operators, when the loads were too heavy for a Squirrel, such as the larger cell phone towers.

Of course it makes sense to have an experienced operator for such a challenging job, and of course, we don't have enough work of this kind for any UK operator to have specialist lifting aircraft sitting around, or skilled pilots kept current.

I have done enough vertical reference work myself, to appreciate just what's involved in a job like this, so I take my hat off to the Heliswiss guy's, and the poor b***ers strapped to the top of the masts.

Finally, I have absolutely no problem with pilots from anywhere in the world working in the UK. They bring new skills, experience and methods, which can sometimes improve our own procedures.

I was just being sarcastic, whilst having a topical "dig" at our illustrious Prime Minister.
Not everything on this forum has to be so serious, surely?

[500e]

craphat is quite articulate for a 10 year old he should be encouraged but not to the stage of being precocious,:E
Watched them for a time on Penhill\ Mendip mast above Wells in Somerset the precision was 1st. class no wasted effort or time :D

[craphat]

What's "precocious"? I thought it was an island in the Indian Ocean. :)
Is it good, or bad for a ten year old....................:confused:

[heliwes]

mb21 - The Transmission Gallery (http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/mendip/mendip11.php)