Police helicopter rescues trapped deer from frozen lake

[Asrian]

Nice little heartwarming bambi story from Germany, two weeks before Christmas. And the hero is: a police chopper pilot:

German police helicopter rescues trapped deer from frozen lake (http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/german-police-helicopter-rescues-trapped-deer-from-frozen-lake-a-872184.html) (english)

:)

[GoodGrief]

They probably got the idea from here:
Helicopter gives deer blow job saving its life. - YouTube

[Coconutty]

Don't you just love "the media" and the guy with the beard ).

2 posts - one stating it was a Police helicopter pilot,
the other says it was a "Sky News 9" pilot listening to the Police radio.

Whichever, it looks like he did a fantastic job aftering having the idea of
"tilting the helicopter to create a strong downdraft" :rolleyes:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d129/coconut11/Coconutty.jpg

[Senior Pilot]

Don't you just love "the media" and the guy with the beard ).

2 posts - one stating it was a Police helicopter pilot,
the other says it was a "Sky News 9" pilot listening to the Police radio

Maybe that's because they're two different incidents, 5 years apart? Originally discussed in Down wash yarns. (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/261478-down-wash-yarns.html)

:p

[jethro15]

Helicopter Blows Deer Trapped On Ice To Safety (http://news.sky.com/story/1058176/helicopter-blows-deer-trapped-on-ice-to-safety)

[stuckgear]

Video: Helicopter blows deer trapped on frozen lake to shore in clever rescue - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/weirdnewsvideo/9900003/Helicopter-blows-deer-trapped-on-frozen-lake-to-shore-in-clever-rescue.html)



(NB: no mention of a fixed wing pilot then shooting the deer and tying the carcass to his fender)

[500 Fan]

This is possibly an irrelevant question given that very few pilots will ever find themselves faced with an opportunity to assist an animal stranded on ice but here goes.

The video in post #2 has two further videos linked to it of helicopters employing their rotorwash to push various animals off frozen lakes. One features a Jet Ranger v deer rescue and another features a Bell 407 v a small calf. In common with the latest video featuring the MD500E, the pilots seem to use the same technique, namely keeping the animal in the 3 O'Clock position for the two Bells and the 9 O'Clock position for the MD. Is this position the general area where the rotorwash is at its strongest, or are the pilots simply keeping the animal on one side or other of the heli while also keeping the tail rotor in a known area free of obstructions? If the 500E had nosed up to the deer, would the amount of energy being directed towards the deer be more or less exactly the same, taking into account factors like the shape and length of the nose?

I guess the main factor is the weight of the helicopter versus the size and weight of the animal. Thanks.

500 Fan.

[Helinut]

Being always keen to improve my understanding of (almost) anything, as a generalisation I would suggest that in a static hover the downwash at all angles would be pretty similar. Otherwise the helicopter would move away from the area of greatest downwash.

Azimuth chosen by the pilot is probably the one where the beast being rescued can most easily seen.

P.S. Can anyone point me to the section of EASA regs that covers this one? How often do I need to be revalidated?

[SASless]

This reminds us why Helicopter Flying is far different than Fixed Wing flying and why we Helicopter Pilots ARE different!


Helicopter blows stranded deer to safety. [VIDEO] (http://www.wimp.com/helicopterdeer/)

[Flyting]

A 130kt quick stop with a harsh flare would have been entertaining to see :\... could start a new winter sport at the next heli-competition - Deer Curling with a twist...... :eek:

[ShyTorque]

Rubbish - he didn't even loose a single round off at it.... :E

[Hughes500]

The power of the tail rotor would be quite strong given that it is hovering, ever stood " downwind" of the tail rotor when balancing it let alone when it is in the hover !