What's a helicopter good for?

[Dave Jackson]

This trite statement is a genuine request.

I would like to compile a list of every conceivable application that could be performed by a helicopter. Specifically, those applications that are in addition to the primary one of transportation; be it of personal or material.

Thanks

[helmet fire]

Its most important role is to transport the pilot's genitals around the countryside in order to give as many of the opposite sex as possible, exposure to a damn good shag.

[Dave Jackson]

helmet fire

To keep ahead of the lawyers and their paternity suits, you're going to need a craft that's faster than the helicopter.

Hey! This is a serious question. <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

[Vsf]

Not all women are pretty, though, so helicopters also exist to put money in the pockets of chopper pilots so we can drink beer and lower our standards when necessary...works for me...

[John Eacott]

Dave,

It must still be snowing in Vancouver, sure shows when you lot get posting <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Aerial ignition. .Aerial seeding. .Traffic reporting. .ENG (TV news, etc.). .Aerial photography. .Filming. .Firefighting (Air attack, air attack supervision, fire front mapping, fire team insertion [winch or rappel]). .Aerial crane. .Banner towing (flag flying). .Heli skiing. .Magnetic surveys. .Mineral surveys. .Coastwatch (coastguard ops). .Search and Rescue. .(Sea) Pilot transfers. .Police ops. .Air ambulance (primary and secondary retrievals). .Wedding transfers. .Joyflights. .Military: another long list.......

[Steve76]

Mustering. .Culling (pigs, deer, rabbits, reindeer....). .Hunting. .Fishing for wild run trout in the Erueras... <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> . .Firelighting (drip torch or the pingpong balls!)

[John Eacott]

"Fishing for wild run trout in the Erueras"

Oh well, if we're going to be esoteric:

Competing with Eagles for airspace (Do NOT take on an eagle bigger than you...). .Trout fishing down the Cobungra River. .Beach picnics in FNQ. .Family picnics at Magnetic Island (come back Freddo, all is forgiven). .Low flying past local firewood gatherers along deserted Nigerian beaches. .Swapping a bucket of JetA1 for a bucket of crays at villages along said Nigerian beaches. .Fishing for giant Manta Rays with rescue hoists off Indonesia. .Checking out Copacabana Beach (sigh....). .Airlifting bulldozers to Lan Tau (sp?) island. .etc etc. .having as much fun as you can get away with

[ 02 February 2002: Message edited by: John Eacott ]</p>

[chips_with_everything]

Looking for real estate

Taking fishermen/canyoners/whoever into spots they can't reach

Surveying fire damage

Heli-camping

Heli-hiking

Finding private beach

[md 600 driver]

going playing in. .going to the races. .going to the restauant. .going away for the weekend or longer. .FOR ENJOYMENT

[Lu Zuckerman]

Looking for lost little girls in Northern Michigan bear country.

Locating and retrieving dead deer hunters in Northern Michigan.

Assisting the Alcohol Tax Unit of the Treasury Department in the . .Location of illegal stills.

Carrying food and wives to fisherman stranded on their boats . .in the ice in Lake Superior.

Giving joy rides to the Governor of Michigan. The same for US Congressman.

Spotting cracks in the ice to assist in the movement of icebreakers.

Antagonizing polar bears off the coast of Baffin Island.

Carrying surveyors looking for spots for RADAR stations for the DEW line.

Creating a sham in order to bring beer aboard our ship.*

* If any one is interested I can elaborate.

[ 02 February 2002: Message edited by: Lu Zuckerman ]</p>

[Heli-Ice]

I totally agree with Vsf <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Its good for transporting a hot tub to one's summer house, and following up by performing what Helmet Fire expresses in his post.

The list is endless

Heli-Ice

[heedm]

Filming fly through sequences of golf courses to try and make golfing an enjoyable TV spectator sport.

[Dave Jackson]

Thanks for the ideas.. .There is a reason for this thread. (no kidding). .______________

If the mission of a helicopter flight is not purely 'transportation', then it is probably one that entails a function that takes place during the flight. I assume that many of these functions are too complex to be performed by the pilot simultaneously with his piloting the craft.

This dictates that one or more additional people be onboard the helicopter, or that the function be so simple that the pilot can conduct it on a part-time basis, with the limited attention he is able to provide.

Assuming that helicopters will eventually be built that are easier to fly, because of symmetry, fly-by-wire etc., then the market for a single seat helicopter will grow. This is because the piloting will be much easier. The pilot will then wear two hats because he will also have acquired knowledge in the specific function that is the mission of the helicopter.

. .Any thoughts about the above or more possible 'functions' ?

[IHL]

Turning jet fuel into noise!

[John Eacott]

Dave,

On the other hand, the control of some of the functions required for tasking is getting simpler, therefore making it easier for a pilot to control.

eg. .Mapping, whereby GPS co-ordinates are fed to a laptop, currently doen by an observer sitting in the helicopter. Quite feasible that the inputs could be remotely controlled by the pilot, and probably more accurately since he wouldn't have to interpret the observer's instructions

Filming, where stabilised turret cameras are now easily controlled from a remote on the collective, and linked back to the newsroom.

Winching, once upon a time, could be done by the driver using remote switching on the collective. Time has seen this function better carried out with multi crew...

[rotorque]

Frost prevention,. .grasshopper spotting;

both of which the pilot dosn't need to do much - he/she only has to fly around...and around....and around.....

[CTD]

Dave,

There are many examples of complex functions performed today by single pilots which require almost undivided attention on something other than flying the helicopter.

Some examples... . .Bird towing (airborne geophysical survey): The pilot flies within meters of an electronically generated line displayed on a display unit (PDU) at speeds up to 80KIAS, towing a 33' transmitter/receiver on a 100' string. The 'bird' must be kept 100' off the ground at all times (200 RadAlt). When terrain following in the mountains, the vast majority of this task relates to things outside the ship or on the PDU screen, with perfunctory glances at aircraft instruments. Workload compares to flying an ILS all day in severe turbulance, only if you descend 100', you hit the dirt.

Aerial Construction: Putting antennae on towers, stringing cable for suspension bridges, building hydro-electric structures, assembling drilling equipment etc. The pilot's full focus is on the task below using vertical reference.

The pilot's actions in flying the ship are virtually involuntary. Operators of construction equipment develop similar skills, where they pay full attention to the task outside the cab. All control movements are 'automatic', and the crane hook or excavator bucket become extensions of the operator. These types of flying are very much like this, but without the bonus of having firm ground under you.

Where are you going with this?

[Capn Notarious]

A helicopter is useful for Father Christmas, when the reindeer have done too many sectors and are tired

[Dave Jackson]

A big thanks to the few. <img src="smile.gif" border="0"> . .A minimal acknowledgment to others. <img src="eek.gif" border="0"> <img src="wink.gif" border="0">

. .John;~ Thanks for mentioning that many of the helicopter's 'tasks' are also being made easier.

CTD;~ &gt;" Where are you going with this?"&lt;

Perhaps it is stupidity or ignorance, but I believe that it is possible to produce a helicopter that is easier to fly. If this is true, then it will allow more people to enjoy the helicopter from a recreational perspective and it will allow the helicopter to serve more industry related applications.

A single seat helicopter will be the most economical one to prototype. It may also be positioned at a 'market' that is not currently being served.

[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: Dave Jackson ]</p>

[John Eacott]

Dave,

Has it stopped snowing yet, in Vancouver?