emergency extraction
 

OK pruners imagine that your in need of emergency extraction be heli, you have 2 choices, which 1 would you choose?

Winch or Long line?

If it was a big enough emergency ( advancing bushfire, surrounded by enraged koalas, attacked by poisonous kangaroos) I would be happy to use either way.

A long line would generally be used to lift the rescuee a short distance to a clear area and then be boarded, and i wouldn't want to travel far like a teabag.

Winch, obviously. With a winch you can get inside. With a longline, you're dangling way down there until the pilot slams you back into the ground, and you pray he doesn't hit anything else with you on the way.

If it was a real emergency, I wouldn't be fussy!

If it is an emergency....time is of the essence....but then I think of bullets flying and the prospects of leaving "rat now" versus "when ya'll git around tu-it"....either way would be fine...but a fixed line ala...Mr. McGuire will do nicely if you do not mind. In the civvie world....the winch should be the preferred method...with a very good cutter system.

Winch.
 

There may be a few instances where a long line would do fine, but given the choice definitely a winch.

In reality, the rescuers have to find you first. You might not be healthy enough to help them much. With a winch, the time from target sighted to rescue completed is about 3-5 minutes (plus time required on scene for medical) for a trained crew doing it very carefully. With a long line, I expect the time for the sequence to be similiar, but you have to add two way transit to the nearest area to set up for the rescue.

From a safety standpoint, neither is a good place to be, but if needed there are more options available when your load is on a winch than on a long line.

Of course, my choice is made assuming all other factors are equal. If I was rock climbing near Banff, I'd prefer to be rescued by Alpine's long line than my squadron's rescue hoist.

I recall a video clip I saw a while back when the victim and the medic went into an "uncotrolled spin" whilst being longlined during the rescue. The landing wasn't so hot either, so for me, WINCH please.

:suspect: