Serious skill?
Thread Starter
Serious skill?
Good skills or just stupid/lucky?
PS, I have no heli experience, except as a passenger, so just curious.
Last edited by Senior Pilot; 26th Oct 2020 at 01:04. Reason: Add YouTube: easier to watch
No idea why he would land there but you don't just land on the flatbed of a truck in the high street for no good reason. It looked to me as if the pilot had done it before. No particular skills required but competently flown for sure. I also see no reason why it would be classed as stupid or lucky.
Last edited by Same again; 23rd Oct 2020 at 17:21.
Except of course for the odd encounter with a low bridge and the rotor becomming untied during transit.
The flatbed is actually a purpose built trailer for transporting the Huey. The contract is over and he's going home, probably a long way away too. Far less engine hours and Blade time.
The both the main and tail blades will be strapped FLAT - i.e. horizontal - not tied down at the tail only, to reduce road height and ,as you can clearly see, even the skids are only inches off the road - He's landed on a cradle under the cross bars.
The both the main and tail blades will be strapped FLAT - i.e. horizontal - not tied down at the tail only, to reduce road height and ,as you can clearly see, even the skids are only inches off the road - He's landed on a cradle under the cross bars.
Serious skill? No. This demonstrates the basic skill required to accurately land a helicopter. I spent 17 years training military helicopter pilots and my students, at the end of training with around 180hrs of Royal Air Force training could have done this without difficulty.
Soooo...with a little internet nooding I come up with this:
The landing on the trailer was in the town of Boulder Creek, California, which is in the mountains southwest of San Jose, CA. There's a big, empty construction lot just to the right of where the trailer is parked, which is obviously where the pilot dropped the chokers (or whatever the things were dangling on the end of the hook).
The a/c is owned by an operator in Biggs, California, which is 160 miles northeast of Boulder Creek. Problem is, if they wanted to fly home, a direct route would take them through the San Francisco/San Jose area, which is *highly* congested/populated, and UH-1H N194BP is a Restricted Category ship, which is problematic. So it's just easier to trailer it. And yeah, looks like that guy has done that landing a time or two before.
The landing on the trailer was in the town of Boulder Creek, California, which is in the mountains southwest of San Jose, CA. There's a big, empty construction lot just to the right of where the trailer is parked, which is obviously where the pilot dropped the chokers (or whatever the things were dangling on the end of the hook).
The a/c is owned by an operator in Biggs, California, which is 160 miles northeast of Boulder Creek. Problem is, if they wanted to fly home, a direct route would take them through the San Francisco/San Jose area, which is *highly* congested/populated, and UH-1H N194BP is a Restricted Category ship, which is problematic. So it's just easier to trailer it. And yeah, looks like that guy has done that landing a time or two before.
Below the Glidepath - not correcting
My only bit of armchair Quarterbacking would be to say I would have wanted some solid proof that the PortaJohn/Portaloo next to the trailer was firmly anchored before I came in. In this case it obviously was, but they can be magnificently aerodynamic with the right down-wash.
Well,
still, not everything which can be done should be done.
Dont know the area, but I guess within five minutes flying time there would be a better place with less obstructions, no mobile loo, which surprisingly didnt flew off...
With a little bit more risk assessment the operation could have been done without relying on luck in case of...
still, not everything which can be done should be done.
Dont know the area, but I guess within five minutes flying time there would be a better place with less obstructions, no mobile loo, which surprisingly didnt flew off...
With a little bit more risk assessment the operation could have been done without relying on luck in case of...
I dunno. Looking on Google Maps at https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/...4d-122.1221869 there seems limited opportunity.
Plus the trailer and helicopter need to move once it's all tied down, so you need a firm surface...
Plus the trailer and helicopter need to move once it's all tied down, so you need a firm surface...
I dunno. Looking on Google Maps at https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/...4d-122.1221869 there seems limited opportunity.
Plus the trailer and helicopter need to move once it's all tied down, so you need a firm surface...
Plus the trailer and helicopter need to move once it's all tied down, so you need a firm surface...
Take a closer look - you can see Scopazzi´s in the clip, so the landing was on Big Basin Hwy.
Within five flying minutes, you have a lot of opportunities - but even within town there were some - i.e. the school area - (have to make clear, nobody outside)
As long as nothing happens - but imagine any malfunction, high flying bin-lids going through the rotor and other stuff, which can easily happen in the chosen spot...
Flying Bull says that not everything that can be done should be done. And that is true. If we look at Google Maps, there would seem to be other sites in that town that the crew could have chosen. But for whatever reason they chose that one. Meh. Google map images are hardly current, nor do they show slope and other factors that would need to be considered, so I'll defer to the judgment of the guys who had to do it. They were there; I wasn't. Risky? Yeah. Everything helicopters do is risky. I'll give them this though: They accomplished that little task of putting that Huey on the trailer with little fanfare or farting around. Guy came in, dropped the chokers and then landed on that trailer faster than I've seen guys come into an airport and land on the grass. I'll bet you they were gone not long after the blades stopped. Say what you want, but it looked like a pretty professional outfit to me.
Hi FH1100 Pilot,
sure the pilot has some skill and they haven't done it the first time.
BUT - that doesn´t mean, that they and the helicopter are immun to failure.
Can a skilled pilot do it there - yes.
Should it be done there - well, I doubt it. I have seen things developing their own life through a little bit of downwash.
In a build up area you have no chance to know, how good a roof is build, where loose material is, you couldn't see before.
(there was a thread not long ago, where a rescue helicopter ripped open a caravan - departing a registered helipad)
And from "Oh shi...!" to a crashed helicopter it takes only around five seconds.
Just because they can do it, doesn't mean, they should do it there.
There are other areas around, less then five minutes flight - ok, half an hour drive may be (could be done into their direction anyway), where there would be much less risk.
A true professional (not only skilled) pilot would access the risks - and I doubt would accept unnecessary risks, only to save a few minutes time.
If you ask the price for safety - ask yourself, what the price of a crash is....
sure the pilot has some skill and they haven't done it the first time.
BUT - that doesn´t mean, that they and the helicopter are immun to failure.
Can a skilled pilot do it there - yes.
Should it be done there - well, I doubt it. I have seen things developing their own life through a little bit of downwash.
In a build up area you have no chance to know, how good a roof is build, where loose material is, you couldn't see before.
(there was a thread not long ago, where a rescue helicopter ripped open a caravan - departing a registered helipad)
And from "Oh shi...!" to a crashed helicopter it takes only around five seconds.
Just because they can do it, doesn't mean, they should do it there.
There are other areas around, less then five minutes flight - ok, half an hour drive may be (could be done into their direction anyway), where there would be much less risk.
A true professional (not only skilled) pilot would access the risks - and I doubt would accept unnecessary risks, only to save a few minutes time.
If you ask the price for safety - ask yourself, what the price of a crash is....
If you haven't been to Boulder Creek --- that is the flat spot. The trailer is parked next to an open lot on its right. Big Basin Way is not the main road, it is a side road, so little or no traffic.
PG&E used my riding ring to stage UH-1 lift of a power pole for installation in a park with no vehicle access. I've misplaced my video, unfortunately. The helicopter landed in the riding ring to rig the lift.
my riding ring
PG&E used my riding ring to stage UH-1 lift of a power pole for installation in a park with no vehicle access. I've misplaced my video, unfortunately. The helicopter landed in the riding ring to rig the lift.
my riding ring
Last edited by MarcK; 25th Oct 2020 at 23:02. Reason: add picture
Rigga:
...were you perhaps thinking of a particular UH1H aircraft and a particular set of circumstances when you wrote that? 
both the main and tail blades will be strapped FLAT - i.e. horizontal - not tied down at the tail only, to reduce road height
Why the hurry?
He may be practiced and aside from the fact that the location didn't look ideal, why did he have to fly the approach and landing so quickly? That's a 400ft approach to dropping off equipment, to lining up and landing in a minimal space in 90 seconds. There are sadly dozens of online clips showing how quickly things can go wrong - Why not show some added professionalism by taking the time required to fully assess the situation.
