HORGs

[Geoffersincornwall]

The conventional HORG is a Jeppesen/Aerad style document that provides data on offshore installations/vessels on the basis of one page per unit. Phot/sketch is included.

The question is - "Is there a better way"?

We will be creating a new HORG from scratch for the 100+ units down here in Brasil. With modern technology (internet etc) has anyone got any bright ideas about how we can do it better? ..... or do we just do the same old thing but publish electronically?


:confused:

[arm the floats]

Wouldn't it be great to have a 3d image of the rig.
The technology must be there with a CAD type program.

[Geoffersincornwall]

That sounds like a good idea. The technology may even be able to allow the pilot to feed in the prevailing wind so he can view from the planned approach angle. We can do photos but how do you get a 3-D image.

Any ideas guys?

:ok:

[Woolf]

The idea sound great and the technology is certainly there. Most Flight Sims nowadays allow you to insert custom made 3d structures which can then be viewed and flown by from all directions. I am pretty sure that at least for the more modern rigs very accurate 3d models already exist from the design stage but whether oil companies would release them is another matter.

Certainly very crude 3d models could be created without much effort just outlining the basic layout and obstructions if the dimensions are known. It is probably a matter of someone being willing to pay for it.

I'd guess most experienced pilots would be happy with a well drawn plate (Including North indication!!) and description (a la BHAB in the UK). These plates would also include information on turbulence and obstructions that deviate from the norm. Ideally this would be complemented by a few pictures from different angles if available.

[jbrereton]

What a brilliant idea. That would certainly help picture the wind in relation to rig heading and any problems with turbulence. You would need quite a few pictures from different heights and positions. Not impossible, I might try it myself.

[Geoffersincornwall]

Can you let me know how you get on.

We can do as many phots as you like and we may be able to justify special software so if you have some success let me know please

[Wizzard]

A couple of points:

A 3D view would be useful at the planning stage at first but once you have been to a location several times it would be of little value. We all know that the time you really need the HORG is when you are re-routed from the original plan to a rig or platform that you have never been to before.

The oil companies would go balistic if they thought there were nice 3D planning facilities available for any terrorist nutters out there. They are very sensitive about pilots taking unapproved photographs as it is.

A decent represetation of the rig layout with a good orientation is all that should be required IMHO.

Hi JB!

Wiz

[Geoffersincornwall]

Well, terrorist issues aside, (I'm sure there are ways of blurring the detail without loosing the essence of obstacle environment and the orientation of the helideck), the question for us down here in Brasil may be a simple mathmatical one. There are 85 manned platforms for me to fly to and I work 13 days a month (15 ON 15 OFF) for 11 months of the year (I have 30 days leave months that must be taken as a single block) and visit an average of 2 decks per day.

It would take me just over 3 months to get back to the first deck I landed on. Would I be able to recall the detail I require? In reality, given the way these things go I'll end up visiting 10 decks 50 times and the first time a return to a deck is a year after my first visit only this time it's dark and I'm on Night Standby and my co-captain has never seen it before and we can't be sure, given the weather data available, whose landing it's going to be.

At the moment there is no HORG available, no HCA, no HLL and few of the luxuries we take for granted. The theme of the thread is how can we leapfrog to something even better than is currently available given that the committment and the funds are available.

Given the 3-D suggestion wouldn't it marvellous if we had an 'Electronic Flight Book' with 3-D images that could be oriented as required - I know - it's a pipe dream.

We'll probably end up with Jepp type plates but with more photos and better detail with a bit of graphic detail overlaid on the picture.