Good post 170', and all points taken, but your instruments and all pieces of information are there to be used. I certainly don't agree that you will kill yourself if you use the altimeter. Sure, you can reduce its importance in your scan once you get proficient, but when you're learning it is a very useful tool.
I always disconnect the line (and cable) when I land and connect it again before taking off.
Hidden Agenda - it's nice to have your head out if you can, but you can't in an Astar (I know you know that, but some here don't), hence the suggestion of not looking out. By the time I got to an official course (Remote Helis), that's the way I was taught. In a country where they don't have a hole in the floor, so there's no point in having the doors off, like UK, it works fine. Again, I don't think it will KILL you - I'm still here. It all depends on you buying into the rush and panic from the guys on the ground.
Now, I know a few readers are itching to try this, but in the spirit of helping you not to kill yourselves, as there's nobody here can stop you, here's the Northern Mountain starting longline course (i.e. how to get going with no training at all - I got this from an experienced longliner):
Get into a high hover at about the length of a line, without a line attached, and practice spot turns with your head out of the door, keeping the belly hook over the target (it is behind you!). Try a bit of ascending and descending as well, but this is probably best done with a line on, which you can use as a reference. Watch out for the left drift in a 206.
Next, get used to landing and taking off by looking at the back of your skid, so you avoid the transition from vertical to horizontal reference (if you do have to transition, do it as slowly as possible, from vertical to lateral to horizontal, and vice versa). Maybe do a circuit or two, as well. This also helps you if the engine stops, with no time to start looking horizontally - just moving your focus from the load to the instruments, or the other way round, takes about two seconds each way, let alone reorganising your whole body.
Next, graduate to a line with a lightly loaded cargo net, followed by a heavier one, finally working up to an unloaded hook. You will find that, up to a point, the heavier the load is, the easier longlining is to do.
One last thing - get used to the sound of a 206L gearbox at 100%!
Phil
Last edited by paco; 14th Jul 2005 at 07:51.