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Helicopters and Superyachts

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Helicopters and Superyachts

Old 20th Dec 2012, 17:12
  #81 (permalink)  
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C-SAC: A warm welcome to the thread.

We are most receptive of those actively engaged in 'heli-yachting' and who are willing to share their experiences with us.

Thank you too for the notification of the pilot vacancy both on this and the job thread - this should be a wonderful opportunity for someone interested in such operations.

PNG is a unique yachting destination and has some wonderful aquatic life especially off the coast of New Britain and New Ireland. There are also some great sport fishing grounds in the Bismark Sea off the coast of Madang and Karkar Island and many other destinations besides, so enjoy!

Please keep us posted with your activities and, if possible, the odd photo!

Rgds

Sav
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Old 20th Dec 2012, 22:52
  #82 (permalink)  
 
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CaptainSAC

Welcome to the forum

I appreciate your confidentiality obligations, but even if the aircraft first flew on Jan 1st 2010, it would have flown an average of 2,800 miles each and every month since then.

Even if the owners were in residence throughout that entire period and didn't sail anywhere at all, it seems like a lot of flying hours... Where do they go?!

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Old 4th Feb 2013, 11:52
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TopToBottom

We did 90hrs in the first 3mths months. That will set you off right!! We all use the helicopter, not just him when the owner is onboard. Its a tool to help us out and luckily he has a very mature "no expense spared" attitude about it. We don't have to make a profit or answer to shareholders, so his attitude is, whats the point it sitting on the deck gathering dust when we could be using it!! He uses it all the time he is onboard, so it could be a 20min "pop" out to a dive site to meet the dive tender, a few people out to a BBQ on a sandy spit of land, or a full on 200nm trip back to the airport Island, to do guest transfers, and a trip later on that day to do a stores or spares run. One of our last trips was with 500 toilet rolls from Palau, back out to the yacht down island. Like I say, my pilot is never bored!!

Last edited by CaptainSAC; 4th Feb 2013 at 11:53.
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Old 7th May 2013, 19:24
  #84 (permalink)  
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EC130B4 N165WC landing aboard Attessa IV

For more on N165WC as well as her former mother ship, Attessa III, check out page 1.
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Old 8th Oct 2013, 07:12
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"Platinum Princess" yacht
LOA: 3140 ft / 940 m
Latitude: 400 ft / 120 m
Altitude: 534 ft / 160 m (incl. keel)
Floors: 41
Design: Jens Lages Incorporated
Year: 2008
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Old 8th Oct 2013, 08:57
  #86 (permalink)  
 
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An interesting concept.

But has been flogged to death on other forums as of "no substance".
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Old 24th Nov 2013, 07:02
  #87 (permalink)  
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EC145 M-SRNE departing Portland's Hillsboro Airport in Oregon, USA, for Bellingham Airport in Washington State on 13th July 2013 (Photo: Russell Hill)

M-SRNE was doubtless northward bound in order to be re-united with her mothership .. the MY Serene.


The Italian-built, Russian-owned 440ft MY Serene which is 'home' to M-SRNE
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Old 24th Nov 2013, 18:53
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Why does it say Nick Baker on the aircraft?
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Old 24th Nov 2013, 21:23
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He's the brother of Martin Baker, and he designed the helicopter ejection seat.
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Old 24th Nov 2013, 23:18
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Nick Baker was a senior yacht broker involved with the commissioning of Serene. He sadly passed away having battled lung cancer despite being a lifelong non-smoker. Having been diagnosed, he set up a charity named "AquaLung" and sailed the atlantic singlehanded to raise funds which aided the institute for cancer research.
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Old 25th Nov 2013, 14:53
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Wow

A great looking EC145 and an even more amazing MY Serene, the helicopter looks like a little toy on that ship! Great combination though!
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Old 25th Nov 2013, 19:19
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Cheers Blind Pugh.
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Old 27th Nov 2013, 08:09
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Attessa 1V

Did you notice the billowing tablecloths on the deck beneath the pad?
What if........?!

Hairy
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Old 27th Nov 2013, 10:28
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N165WC on Atessa (smaller one) post - how do you land on a space this tight?
I imagine there's no clearance for flare.

Pardon my ignorance, I am just a fixie driver.
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Old 27th Nov 2013, 10:43
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Helicopters don't need a flare for landing.
Famous critique from Instructor to student during training:" If you have to flare at the end, you were too fast".
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Old 27th Nov 2013, 13:58
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The MY Serene is quite impressive indeed! I found this in an article featuring the vessel when it visited Seattle earlier this year:
The Serene has two helicopter-landing platforms and a hangar, along with a storage area for a submarine that can dive to 300 feet.
Full article here
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Old 27th Nov 2013, 15:26
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Having watched the Heli land on the Attessa it is a really good and controlled landing, but it seems to need to be near'er to the Hard bits further forward so they lift again, if they plan a ship to that sort of luxury and toys being available why dont the architects/designers build in a motor/hydraulic driven deck that can be extended to recieve and then powered in really close when the rotor has stopped turning, it only needs a breath of wrong direction wind to spring up and that rotor would be mincing things or bodies,... if the Riva Speed boat on the below deck is where it is..that must have been winched or powered in by some sort of moving floor so whay not the Heli!

Only asking ..?

Peter R-B
Lancashire
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Old 5th Dec 2013, 12:44
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Is this real?

I must have gotten on the wrong railway track as I always thought that helicopter jobs were tough jobs, in the soul-draining heat or freezing cold, flying to the maximum every month, creeping over high mountain passes at gross weights in turbulent downdrafts and swirling fog, lifting loads that shouldn't be lifted, flying through cells that you'd rather not fly through, and living in countries where if you happen to land outside the fence you won't be going home that month or maybe that year and that sort of thing. This heli-yatching is not like that at all. Is it a real industry or are these pictures just photo shopped? If it is not a dream, then how does a fellow go about finding addresses to apply to or do you just have to know the owner or stumble into him at the Harley dealer in Monaco?

Do they only hire unichs as I suppose there may be a few concubines on board the ships?
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Old 5th Dec 2013, 14:31
  #99 (permalink)  
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AWO: Yacht-borne aviation (specifically helicopters) has been around since the early days of 'helicoptering'. Initially these were naval and coast guard exploits (and I am thinking of Anton Fletner's Kolibri which landed on German U-boats in the early 40's .. and there are other examples too).

In the civilian market I am guessing that 'helicopters-used-as-tenders' would have gained momentum with the development of large private yachts (aka superyachts) which have the capacity to accommodate a helideck. These emerged in earnest in the mid-to-late 70's with yacht-borne helicopters becoming more popular during the 80's and really 'taking-off' (so to speak) in the 90's, but there are certainly earlier examples, particularly of course on private exploration and fishing vessels.

There is an article about flying from yachts on page 2 which you can read here.

'Yacht flying' is an 'established' practice and there are several companies which specialise in providing and managing such services. One such company is Luviair of which Nigel Watson (ex-RN and ex-Sultan of Oman's Navy) is CEO. Another firm is HeliRiveriera and several executive operators (such as Starspeed) have a 'yachting division' catering for those with yacht-borne requirements. At Starspeed this is headed by Gary Butcher. The firm also has 'ex-yachters' such as Richard Poppe among its staff. You can contact any of these companies if you are interested in learning more about flying in such a role.

Yacht-borne (or yacht-based) flying is probably ideal for someone wishing to retire as, for the most part, the work is undemanding but (and it is a big but) this does vary according to the set-up of each particular operation. These days helicopter pilots in this role can be given a variety of functions to perform .. some, for example, are also the yacht's captain (as was the case with Nigel Watson above) while others are also the licensed aircraft mechanic and still others take-up different duties on-board the yacht.

A number of helicopters with regular 'yachting' duties are mainly used by the owner for onshore requirements so that the 'sojourns at sea' are merely temporary assignments within the overall flying requirement.

As with anything, find out as much as you can beforehand. Yacht-based flying (as glamorous as it may appear) is not always the easy ride it may seem and it certainly isn't everyone's cup of tea.
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Old 16th Jan 2016, 14:08
  #100 (permalink)  
 
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Superyacht Vava 2 is in Stanley (Falklands) this morning. Owned by Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertorelli, according to Wiki. Has a helicopter on the back, under wraps - was wondering if anyone here knows what type it is.
Will try and post a photo later.
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