Originally Posted by Gomer Pylot
That's about average. At least there aren't many obstacles sticking up, only the flare boom. I've landed on many platforms that had only one leg, the heliport (if you want to call it that) on top, and the only way down was through a hole in the deck, through which the pax crawled to check the well. You have to land rather precisely, so as not to cover up the hole. In a stiff wind with high seas, the pax crawl to and from the hole, because the deck is moving too much to walk. I've also done lots of sling loads to these things, and the only way to see the platform when over it was via a 2.5" convex mirror mounted under the chin bubble. Not long lining, but hovering up there seeing only the moving waves while spotting the load was difficult enough for me.
I wish someone would post a picture of a toad stool. I used to drop my guys off and go back to a regular platform because the movement would get me sea sick. In high seas, the patform would rock back and forth several feet, or at least it seemed like that much.
barryb