The 117 is quite good for longlining, if you don't mind a bit of a distance over to the door sill to get a decent VR. We generally used 100' lines for helitack work, and generally use the mirror for establishing bucket position for pick ups and eyeball for drops. Precision work was a bit more demanding, especially with the rigid head giving a positive response to control inputs, but any degree of experience on the BK will soon teach the finesse needed for smooth control. Power available is generally good, 1300kg on the hook was no big deal but with the Tq meter across the panel it isn't easy to keep an eye on the power when doing VR with your head out of the door.
I have done fire work door on and on a short line, but much prefer long line/door off. Interestingly, power required on a long line is generally 5%Tq
less than on a short line for identical loads.
Mirror work on a short line is doable, as is keeping an eye on the load with a long line via the mirror, but when it comes to VR you need your head out of the door and eyeball the end of the line
