Special night operations.

[ollycopter]

Hey rotor heads.. I use to be a heli boy but have moved to the boring world of fixed wing flying. Initially for the hosties but ended up in citations:( That taught me....Anyway my question is how hard, if at all possible would it be to get a helicopter to land in an open field to pick up a newly married cousin of mind and his wife to whisk them off to their honeymoon? It may be at night. The wedding is near Derby and I know that there are plenty of heli companies in the area.. Can anyone help me? Am not a huge fan of such operations but I have been asked to check up on it.. Thanks for help guys and gals.. All the best.... Ollycopter (the nick name stayed with me:)

[ollycopter]

Hey, thanks for the help.. It would be a private operation. The plan would be to take off from a field next to or near the wedding location and fly to an airport. Is this easy to organise in the UK?

[B Sousa]

Sounds like another U.K. Regulation disaster. Have them go to the U.S. Virgin islands. We can take them out to be married on a private island. Do it all the time. Leave them there on the beach for a while and then pick them up. No paper work or Government interference in something that belongs to them...

www.aircenterhelicopters.com

I have pictures??

[Droopy]

Err....we're talking newlyweds here Bert - pictures of what?

On a serious note, aside from the legal stuff, think about the practicalities...dark...private [small?] aircraft....large wedding dress....tipsy guests....I'm not at all saying don't do it, just spot the pitfalls before you finalise your plans. Good luck.

[B Sousa]

Sorry Droopy let me fill in the blanks. I fly tours and charters in the V.I. over the Winter months. We do a lot of off island weddings. I have pictures of those...........
I also have some nice peeectures of other things seen on the islands but thats another thread.

[ThomasTheTankEngine]

It sounds like a commercial flight to me, I don’t think a helicopter company will fly it free of charge, someone will have to pay (Bride, Groom or there family) therefore it's public transport.

I would also recommend Nigel Burton from East Midland Helicopters, In regard to the night operation if Nigel is not happy doing it I would abandon the idea. It won't be cheap so if someone offers to do it for 1/2 the price in a single don't do it you get what you pay for.

[ShyTorque]

I agree, ask the operator who will be aware of the regulations. Carrying out the type of flight you need isn't a big problem by day (after all, that's what helicopters do), but by night it is more complicated because of the lighting requirements. It's less complicated if the helicopter can arrive in daylight.

From the BHAB handbook (See www.bhab.org )

"1.6 Responsibility for the safety of all helicopter flying operations lies wholly with the helicopter operator. Additionally, at night for Public Transport passenger flights, whenever a helicopter is taking-off or landing, the person in charge of any area in the United Kingdom intended to be used for the taking-off or landing of helicopters, other than at licensed aerodromes or government owned aerodromes, is responsible under Article 101(4) of The ANO for causing to be in operation such lighting as will enable the pilot of the helicopter:

i) in the case of landing, to identify the landing area in flight, to determine the landing direction
and to make a safe approach and landing; and

ii) in the case of taking off, to make a safe take off.

A helicopter flying for the purpose of the public transport of passengers at night shall not land at such a site unless there is in operation such lighting. Privately operated helicopters, although not bound by law to conform, are nevertheless advised to exercise caution when using unlicensed sites in the dark. It is recommended that operators adopt the same standards as for public transport operations.