Dogs in helicopters. No, really!
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Dogs in helicopters. No, really!
I'm after picking the brains of any of you, Worldwide, with experience in police or military flying where dogs have been carried onboard, in cages. I'm interested what type of cages or transit boxes you use, the manufacturers, type of fitment and pros/cons associated with their use. Please feel free to PM me if you would rather.
And before you ask... no, they will not be trained to fly and and yes, they could be trained to bite the pilot if he went to touch the wrong thing (I've heard that joke too
).
Thanks in anticipation,
DBChopper
And before you ask... no, they will not be trained to fly and and yes, they could be trained to bite the pilot if he went to touch the wrong thing (I've heard that joke too
).Thanks in anticipation,
DBChopper
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Have carried plenty of working dogs in Northern Ireland. IIRC they were supposed to muzzled and sat in the furthest aft seat (puma). However, they mostly sat behind the pilots and put the legs on the jump seat so they could see out of the window or they went to sleep under their handlers seat.
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Dog muzzled, seated on the floor in the rear with the leash attached to the collar/harness and looped through a floor mounted tie down so the handler can pull the dogs head to the floor if necessary. Cage? not needed. Carry unaccompanied by a handler? Never.
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Beware of enthusiastic dogs! I know of a case where a handler and his dog were sitting in the door of the helo and as they were coming in to land, the dog saw someone he did not like on the ground. He jumped out and as his leash was wrapped around the handlers wrist, they both took a dive. Luckily only bruises to the body and the ego.
My black lab used to sleep in the chin bubble of the 206. Had to make sure his claws were well clipped to preclude scratching the bubble.
Some dogs are bothered by the tail rotor on some helicopters - Hughes 500s seemed to attract them. A friend of mine landed a 500 at a fishing lodge once and some mutt ran out onto the pad and with a mighty leap "attacked" the tailrotor. Things went badly for the rest of the day.
I am sure that some of the guys who work with avalanche rescue dogs and suchlike will have lots of usefull info.
Some dogs are bothered by the tail rotor on some helicopters - Hughes 500s seemed to attract them. A friend of mine landed a 500 at a fishing lodge once and some mutt ran out onto the pad and with a mighty leap "attacked" the tailrotor. Things went badly for the rest of the day.
I am sure that some of the guys who work with avalanche rescue dogs and suchlike will have lots of usefull info.
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this may be what you're after....
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Originally Posted by TheFlyingSquirrel
Still makes me smile
Thanks for your replies so far. The idea at this stage is to fit a couple of cages so that handlers don't need to hang onto their dogs for the whole trip. It also means that a dog that suddenly decides it doesn't want to be in a helicopter any more, thank you, doesn't become a problem mid-flight bar a bit of barking from the back. I've not ruled out the dog being secured by the handler for short transits, but for longer trips I'd like them to be caged and out of the way, so any more input (or pics) would be greatly appreciated.
DBChopper
I think the UK Customs and Excise dogs have a special harness for winching down to ships at sea ?
In the 80s I flew specialist dogs around from time to time, for wanting a flight category code in the (mil) auth sheets/F 700, WOOFTAX always seemed appropriate !
In the 80s I flew specialist dogs around from time to time, for wanting a flight category code in the (mil) auth sheets/F 700, WOOFTAX always seemed appropriate !
DBChopper: We use a lightweight dog cage for sliding into the cargo bay of the EC135. It's tailor made to fit with minimum fuss and the dog gets into and outof the cage while it is in the a/c.
Our CAA flt Ops inspector confirmed that for commercial flights, a dog simply lying on the floor amongst the passengers etc is to be treated as loose cargo which is inacceptable.
PM me if you need details of the kit.
Our CAA flt Ops inspector confirmed that for commercial flights, a dog simply lying on the floor amongst the passengers etc is to be treated as loose cargo which is inacceptable.
PM me if you need details of the kit.
I think it depends on the dog and if you know it ! My two labradors leap into the back and just go to sleep, in fact all the dogs i have flown seem to fall asleep, could be the strobe effect from the blades , or just my super smooth flying ! In any event surely just a leed attached to the rear seat is quite enough ! unless you are one of those types thats into flying with little white gloves...
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Another alternative to dog transport can be found at http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=211801
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Or indeed this one: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=211615
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wow.. I assume they dont go crazy if they see birds etc? Does anything spook them?
On a slightly related note, there is an Aussie book written by Peter Haran titled "Trackers" The untold story of Australian Dogs of War. It is about his time in Vietnam in 1967 as a dog handler and has some humorous stories about getting into and out of Hueys.
TFS.. thats a great pic too!
On a slightly related note, there is an Aussie book written by Peter Haran titled "Trackers" The untold story of Australian Dogs of War. It is about his time in Vietnam in 1967 as a dog handler and has some humorous stories about getting into and out of Hueys.
TFS.. thats a great pic too!
TC,
Let me get this straight...your CAA guy says the trusty Police K-9 is unrestrained cargo? Does he consider a seeing eye guide dog to be unrestrained cargo as well?
Some folks just don't have enough to do it seems.
Let me get this straight...your CAA guy says the trusty Police K-9 is unrestrained cargo? Does he consider a seeing eye guide dog to be unrestrained cargo as well?
Some folks just don't have enough to do it seems.