inputs such as "touch forward/left/right/aft/ steady" etc. go a long way in improving the pilot's ability to put the helicopter down on the desired spot on the helo deck
I'd say buy the pilot a pair of glasses if he needs this sort of guidance. Or better still, a seeing eye dog, much cheaper than feeding a co-pilot. What can a co-pilot see that a pilot can't? And it certainly aint going to work on a pitching/rolling/heaving deck.
As mentioned by Oogle the ideal position to be in is to have the wind about 20° off the ships bow, off the port (left) if the helo is right seat and starboard (right) if the helo is left seat. It places the helo into wind and gives the driver a clear and unobstructed view, and depending on the nature of the ships superstructure, minimises turbulence.
Try and get guidance as to the deck pitch, roll and heave limits that the particular helo type may be subject to. It’s not something you’ll find in the flight manual. Your Aviation Authority should be able to give guidance, or point you to some one who has the necessary experience with that type helo.
Landing Gear. Skids are hopeless on board ship due to the lack of friction and you can easily find yourself slip sliding away on a steel deck when the ship rolls. A wooden slatted deck helps to give the skids something to grip. The helos inertia comes into play when the ship rolls as well. The ship rolls about a point well below the level of the helideck, so in effect the helo is being subject to whiplash, for want of a better term. Fixed floats (at least on a 205) stand up well to a pitching, rolling deck and had plenty of friction, although the rocking and rolling of the helo on the flexible floats was a bit disconcerting until you got used to it. Wheels are the best IMHO. Plenty of friction. Some people like to put nets over the deck. I’m not sure exactly of the rationale but personally I’m not a fan. Saw a 212 nearly come to grief when the rear of a skid got hooked under the net on take off. Fortunately slipped off before it became a problem. Something for pax to trip up on and if you have a hangar you can’t use a net anyway. If the rationale for a net is to restrain a wheeled undercarriage I may go along with the idea, but I never had a wheeled undercarriage slip on me.
If the ship is pitching/rolling do not even think about winding throttle off until the helo is secured to the deck with tie downs. Same, same if you are cranking up, don’t unstrap tie downs until all checks are done and ready to pull pitch. And make absolutely sure that all tie downs are undone before pitch pull. A good deck crew who know what they are on about are a god send and absolutely essential when working on a pitching/rolling deck.
The particular helo will have features that either enhances or detracts the deck experience. The lower the disc loading the more you get bounced around in the superstructure turbulence, increasing the control difficulties. High centre of gravity also makes life more difficult, as does a narrow track on the landing gear. One thing about a skid equipped helo is its ability to walk sideways across a rolling deck if shut down and unrestrained (due alternate flexing of the skids with weight transference as the ship rolls).
If the deck is pitching/rolling and you are patient you will find a moment when the deck movement quietens down. That is the moment to make your landing/take off. Do so positively, don’t **** about. If landing don’t get into an extended hover over the deck because you’ll end up chasing the deck and can be almost guaranteed an over torque/over temp and possibly a hard landing. I used to find that after about every seventh wave you would find a quiet period in which to make the take off/landing. Remember too that once you go over the deck edge on take off you are instantly in OGE territory.
Should the ship be at anchor it may be tide ridden and you’ll have to contend with a wind coming from any point of the compass. It may very well be that the landing has to be conducted with the tail pointing towards the superstructure and you looking over the stern. Have it all checked out before hand, do I have the necessary clearances, markings on the deck to enable super accurate positioning etc.
If the ship is under way and punching into a sea you will find the ship makes a weird cork screwing motion as it pitches and rolls. If you have the ability to get the master of the vessel to change course it is often beneficial to have him run down sea, which of course generally means down wind as well. It’s really surprising how quiet the deck becomes if you have this ability. This of course then may entail a tail towards superstructure landing. Remember you are not much interested in the “real” wind but in the apparent wind relative to the ship. If the ship is running downwind at 20 knots in a 20 knot wind you obviously have zero wind on the deck. Theoretically that would mean you could make an approach from any direction you liked but I would still make it into the “real” wind if there were no other over arching concerns (eg the ship may be running downwind at 20 knots where the “real” wind is 10 knots. That then puts the apparent wind at 10 knots on the ships nose).
If working blue water (away from land) don't rely on the ship to be at a given position at a given time. Essential aids here are a gps, reliable comms with the ship at all times, VHF homer and an absolutely reliable person manning the comms. Don't ask me how I know.
As with all things there is more than one way to skin a cat and people have different ideas, but the above seemed to work for me - with no co-pilot or marshaller.
PS The quote actually is,
The three best things in life are:
- a good landing,
- a good orgasm,
- a good bowel movement.
The night carrier landing is one of the few opportunities in life to experience all three at the same time.