North Sea weather this winter
 

Sure we get the odd typhoon in the tropics - evac the rig and button down for a few days. Most time a strong wind means switching to your 10 meter kite from a 12 for that lazy afternoon kiteboarding after your second trip that week is done.

But WTH with the North Sea this winter! Is this normal for you guys, or are you just numb to such extremes?

Certainly not numb just very careful, we are used to ice wind and fire (offshore curry induced) but these past few weeks HAVE been a bit exciting.

Si

is the limit for landing out there in the order of 65 knots?

Decks close @ 60 kts, unless the client decides to do it earlier.

Si

As Simon says, the client sometimes closes the deck at wind speeds less than 60 knots, however, sea state is also important on a H & S basis as to the ability to launch a rescue craft in the vicinity of the installations. Then you run into the fact that certain offshore rescue crafts will operate to different sea states so you get different limits. (Well that is what used to happen in the days when I used to fly the NS)

Funnily enough wind speeds didn't concern me as much as the Icing Level not counting turbulence problems). I think the many discussions of whether you should go or not in the crewroom were lengthy and varied. In my day, Management never wanted a straight forward flow chart which ended up "Go" or "No Go" as it took away the decision making of the crews. Well that is what I was told. That side of flying I don't miss..........

JohnW

The reason they don't like it is that it takes away their possibility of pressurizing the crew when the flow chart says 'no' :E

For those out there who might hanker for a North Sea flying job, things I won't miss after I retire:

Winds en route getting close to 70 knots (less rare these days) with drift angles of 25+ degrees. Wind strengths approaching this level warn me that everything is going to be less than pleasant.

The nightmare (hasn't yet happened to me) of not being able to shut down offshore in turbulent winds above 50 knots, after a warning light e.g. MGB/IGB/TGB has appeared, or the offshore refuelling pump has failed which did happen to me, but the deck crew fixed it after 40 minutes.

Landing on a heaving deck particularly on a black night with no other visual references and the new junior copilot next to me is the only one who can see the deck, so he must do it.

Landing on any deck with obsructions near the tail rotor and the colleague who must perform the landing is a "diagonal" man rather than a "right-angled" man. What tension I get in my neck!

Violent windshear and turbulence when passing through weather fronts, or downwind of hilly terrain, such that it's difficult to keep things in limits even manually.

Lightning; increasingly frequent in this century.

Taxiing with no passengers on board and a low fuel state in order to proceed in gusty crosswinds from passenger drop-off spot to parking spot, especially when the other guy is doing it and doesn't seem to do much to counteract any leaning tendency.

Lifting off a deck into the inky blackness or blinding snow/rain and hoping that this isn't going to be the moment that a donkey quits. Thank goodness for EC225 automatics and performance which greatly improve the chances of climbing "out of the hole".

Weather which changes without warning at onshore destinations/alternates and could embarass us fuel-wise. Again, the EC225 performance almost always allows the carriage of maximum fuel, and anyone who doesn't avail him/herself of this deserves to be caught out.

I could drone on about the scary stuff, but I do love this job more than 90% of the time and can recommend it to those who want to try joining. We do actually earn our pay when you take into account the 10% scary times.

Jeez, Colibri. with a list like that, you'd put most people off the job forever. :bored:

Have to say, when I'm sitting at home with the windows rattling and I hear rotors outside, I get up and take a look at who's out there, as you know that they're earning their money....

This week in particular was bad on eastern side of NS with Lightning early in the week
and very strong winds Thursday and Friday 65ktsG85kts :eek: with the result that Sat and Sun are like normal weekdays here
Pv

By God you have it easy nowadays.

It used to be:
Single pilot.
Offshore VFR fuel.
70 kts enroute and 70 kts deck, no exceptions.
A rope between the stairwell and the helicopter to give the pax something to hang on to crawling across the deck.
Pitch, Roll and Heave; captains discretion.
Sumburgh to the Basin and back at 200ft.
No immersion suits and a twelve hour duty day irrespective of what time you started.
No pay increments year after year.

However, a fantastic Chairman and great Christmas Parties.

Fareastdriver. LOOXURY! When I were nipper, we used to live in t'shoebox in t'middle of motorway...................


Back in the late 60s and early 70s we used to enjoy low level night ops WITHOUT the aid of NVG, landing sometimes in clearings between the trees with only moonlight to see by and then returning to base with bullet holes through the airframe.

Admittedly this didn't happen in the North Sea operational theatre.

Yes, he was a great Chairman who wouldn't tolerate today's "shower" for one moment.

In some ways we do but then in others we don't, like operating much more complex aircraft than in the 1970's at night sometimes with inexperienced co-pilot.

Also the ops manuals these days try to legislate for every eventuality and remove captains discretion.

If it was down to me and the manuals allowed it, there are plenty of different scenarios when I would exceed today's rules in what I believe would be a totally safe way, but I don't because a committee says I am not clever enough to decide for myself.

There are other minimums which I add my own safety margin too because I still have captains discretion to do that.

I am very lucky to not be pressurised by management to fly, in fact the local management are very sensible about that sort of thing.

The changes over the years.....and the current crop moans?

GPS....no Decca with all its hans on fun.

SAR...the real kind that might even be offshore based.

Auto-pilots.....that will fly the aircraft.

Co-pilots...even if they are junior.

Sea State requirements...what a novel concept.

True single engine capability....dreamed of in those days.

Ability to carry max fuel....only if you were carrying just the newspapers.

HUMs....only dreamed of back then.

Glass cockpits...HSI's...RadAlts....well into the future.

Pay....time off...rest regs...sheer luxury it is now.

De-icing...Anti-icing....why not just fly a few feet off the Oggin?

Radar flight following....yeah right!



Yet...there are still improvments possible...and needed. Winter is when North Sea pilots "earn" their money....the rest of the year...you might as well be a thief.

SASless

You are going to upset a few out there.

Did I see that lamp swinging again. :D Did I tell you of my first flight in a S61N in command with a total of 8 hours on type and on the R/R turn round the outgoing Captain said to me "By the way, the weather is crap and the AFCS is u/s"

However, It is great to have memories of what it used to be and be alive and not too frightened and still live to tell the tale - especially when you have retired :)

't Hovis...
 

.... and

There was no such thing as a helicopter IR - just an Interim Helicopter Certificate. That would go to the blessed few as it cost too much. 99% of our activity was VFR anyway and the VFR minims were often lower than the IFR minims 'cos we flew around at 200 feet, including the infamous ADN Low Level Route.

We were in shirt-sleeves up the front and the pax had the 'new' immersion suits. On really bad days we would put on our UVIC jackets which were a bold - if largely ineffective - step in the right direction.

We - crew and pax - were all wearing 'once only' life-jackets tied around the waist.

Happy days.

G.

Have had many an argument about the VFR minima being lower than IFR....folks just don't grasp reality sometimes.

Never mind the low level route at Aberdeen.....think back to the Decca Approach at Sumbrugh. Done at night, single pilot, at wavetop height, in a two axis SAS machine....oh what fun!:{

The one with both a map and key change!:uhoh::uhoh:

Dacon scoop
 

Nice video of the Dacon there in an ideal conditions demo! Wind force 7, waves 4 metres. I wonder how that would be in reality. Considering that at the moment we are regularly flying when the wave height is well over 10 metres, often over 15 and sometimes well over this. In addition instead of one person lying in the water, you will more likely have 20, and it will be dark. Anyone who really thinks that this is a viable option for maintaining in poor weather our rescue capability is slightly deluded.

We had to do it by ourselves because junior copilots hadn't been born yet.

God, this thread is bringing out the old ones.....

Most of the youngsters won't know what we are talking about. Low level routes, decca approaches (I used to love flying those parabolic lines), decca chart and turrets changes, MADGE, 60 second level sector on the ILS, 300 metres RVR, HF position checks, groundspeeds worked on a stop watch over 10 miles, pickle tasting coffee and the legendary North Sea doorstep sandwiches but to name a few ...........

Just why are you flying in excess of the certification level of your emergency float system on the aircraft?

After the Newfoundland Crash....everyone under the Sun was harping about the 92 and its MGB issues.....yet no one seems to care about Sea State being an issue for "Weather Minima" decisions re Go/No Go!

Just when do you draw the line in clinging to your perch in the Tea Room?

Even Sea Gulls will take a stand down for weather!

I know....could not scare a flock off the Elephant's Head one morning in the Shumagin Islands near Unga.....turned around and went back to the Cook Tent when I realized what happened.