I have never used a fixed line but every time I see it performed on the news the hairs on the back of my neck rise as I envisage the dilema that the pilot would face should an engine fail and he has to jettison the line to complete his flyaway. I have always used a hoist and believe that there is no other safe way. The safety of the winchman is paramount and we took care to ensure that the winchman was always at a safe height should the cable break or have to be cut due to an engine failure. During mountain ops we would always brief an escape route and responsibilty for cable cutting should an engine fail. It is safer to have the winch op cut the cable at a suitable time as the pilot concentrates on flying the escape route.
The Aux hover trim in the Seaking was only used over water and came into its own on still nights when trying to winch to a small target. It had 10% authority but could be given full authority if certain ccbs were pulled!! If this was done quietly it could really surprise the winch op as he accelerated thru' 60kts!!
Safe Flying
HF
