Well, I have no long line experience and it seems to me very difficult a job to go flying around with people hanging from the hook. When we do rescues sometimes we have our rotor blades very near stones, ridges.... and most times in bad wind conditions. I just cannot imagine myself taking care of that and looking out the door to see way downthere where I have to put a person in places where most times there is hardly enough room to stand. For all that I said before: All my respect to you guys doing that job all by yuorselves but when you do that type of job 4 or 5 times a month you must be trained so I understand you spend a few flying hours doing it, hope your boss don't think that is expensive too... Of course EXPENSIVE is a consideration if we talk about using a CHINOOK for the job.... but that is not the point, I'm talking about a HOIST that is much cheaper
Anyway the more I think about it the more I realize that the job can be done in many different ways as long as it works for the team that is doing it.
As we say here: Everywhere you go, do what you see being done.
Buen vuelo