Heavy Lift Helicopters

[Another Ahab]

Nice thread. Anything new?

 

[aheilmann68]

This is what I have picture wise of a sky Crane lifting 200' power line sections over a 10 mile span. The lz was less than a mile from my house and iit was so dry they needed our water tanker to respond to keep a wet lz. I have a few Videos but no clue how to get them on.
I will say, getting to spend a day playing under This thing was epic, the power and prop wash was encredible. Really cool to see the pitch of the blade change when the pick up a 15000 lb piece.

 

[PureMayhem]

Our Lady of the Rockies

Here is an example of heavy lift that I always liked. A Nevada Air National Guard Chopper that helped build "Our Lady of the Rockies" statue in Butte Montana back in 1985. The statue was lifted in 4 pieces to the top of the ridge East of Butte. On one of the lifts the wind became so bad they almost had to drop the piece because it started swinging and spinning.

 

[waayfast]

Columbia Helicopters Vertol 107-II pulling a hover barge. No- it is not crashing- the 25 degree nose down attitude was needed to pull the weight.
Did someone earlier in the thread mention something about "Serious Stones"? LOL!

 

[Another Ahab]

Columbia Helicopters Vertol 107-II pulling a hover barge. No- it is not crashing- the 25 degree nose down attitude was needed to pull the weight.
/QUOTE]


As in a "hover-craft" barge?

 

[waayfast]

Yeah, this was a photo taken during testing to see if the program would work as planned. The barge was built like a huge hovercraft to haul supplies over open water and ice in the far north for oil exploration. I found the pic and info on Columbia Helicopters home page--has a pretty good write up on it. Maybe someone on here more 'puter savvy can find the page there and post here.
Thanks, Jim

 

[donalloy1]

We could not work this morning due to lifting ops. I will post more pics. as I can, I was thinking of uses for duces as we left the site.

We - My Company has hired her for external picks. One bad *** Girl! Hope she is OK? A little spendy though!

 

[Another Ahab]

It Don't Seem Natural

Columbia Helicopters Vertol 107-II pulling a hover barge. No- it is not crashing- the 25 degree nose down attitude was needed to pull the weight.
View attachment 524572

I understand the physics of it:

- You need to pull the load horizontally

-But still, I have got to believe that it takes absolute brass ones for any pilot (male or female) to drop a rotary wing craft into a pitch like that -the first time anyway- to make it happen

Any pilots here to speak to that?

 

[steelypip]

This is one of those things where it's more a question of your faith in physics than your insanity. Yes, an extra seat for the pilot's personal valuables would still have to be installed, but mostly because it's got to be unnerving to be in the pilot seat with a wonderful view down at the ice going by way too close for minutes or hours at a time.

That said, if you've tested your lifting tackle before easing into the pull, your biggest worry is that the tow line parts, in which case the helicopter goes shooting forward and up until the pilot gets it under control. It's not in any state of blade stall, so control should be consistent. An engine failure results in a decrease in thrust, so you just pick the nose up and manage like usual. Gearbox/rotor driveline failures are exactly as bad as unloaded or with an internal load, so no change there.

I'm guessing the helicopter was empty but for crew and sufficient fuel for the test, so presumably plenty of reserve power in the event of an engine failure.

 

[cannonfoddertfc]

In the CH47 (or 46 even) a 25deg pitch attitude is not as bad as a single rotor aircraft (huey, cobra, etc). Single rotor aircraft are like a pendulum (the thing hanging under a grandfather clock for you youngsters) when a load is attached under it whereas a tandem rotor aircraft (Chinook) can equalize (somewhat) itself by changing pitch in one set of blades (fore or aft). Tandem rotor aircraft often hover nose up for extended periods (offloading troops on a rooftop) even without a load attached underneath. The UH60 is restricted to 30deg nose up/down by regulation but Sikorsky swears it will handle much more. Not sure if the pilots want to handle much more. Creates a serious pucker factor which in turn requires seat cushion replacement. I don't recall what the pitch attitude limit is for the CH47.

The biggest issue with that load is uneven tension on the sling line. Friction, bumps in the ice, difference from water to ice...etc. all play a factor in the tension on the line. It could lead to a condition called load bobble (which is basically bouncing) and this can have devastating effects on the aircraft itself if left unchecked. It also makes for an unpleasant ride for the aircrew (hope you didn't eat a big lunch).

Sweet picture, thanks for sharing

 

[M813rc]

I used to fly with a senior pilot (on CH-53D's) who liked to do serious nose-down takeoffs when the helo was empty. I don't recall the pitch angle, I was usually sucked into my seat and hanging on, looking out through the overhead windows to see forward, or straight down at the ground. It was a blast, but still near scared the shadooky outta ya! I never had the hoohoos to try it myself.

He also like to do hammerheads into an LZ. He was an exciting guy to fly with! He was a lunatic, but I learned a lot from him. He and that big old -53 were as one. He knew exactly what it would do, and flew it like a Ferrari.

Cheers

 

[cannonfoddertfc]

I used to fly with a senior pilot (on CH-53D's) who liked to do serious nose-down takeoffs when the helo was empty. I don't recall the pitch angle, I was usually sucked into my seat and hanging on, looking out through the overhead windows to see forward, or straight down at the ground. It was a blast, but still near scared the shadooky outta ya! I never had the hoohoos to try it myself.

He also like to do hammerheads into an LZ. He was an exciting guy to fly with! He was a lunatic, but I learned a lot from him. He and that big old -53 were as one. He knew exactly what it would do, and flew it like a Ferrari.

Cheers

In the Army, that type of take off is often called a "CAV" take off, referring of course to the old Air Cav Huey's in Vietnam. I wont bore you all with the aerodynamics lesson but basically in Vietnam they would often get overloaded, the pilot would have to keep the aircraft "in ground effect" (a few feet off the ground) until reaching fly away speed. The faster they needed to leave an LZ, the more pitch down they needed. This type of take off is generally frowned upon by the newer, kinder, gentler Army but every pilot has done it at least once in his career because you are correct, it is a blast.

 

[Another Ahab]

I used to fly with a senior pilot (on CH-53D's) who liked to do serious nose-down takeoffs when the helo was empty. I don't recall the pitch angle, I was usually sucked into my seat and hanging on, looking out through the overhead windows to see forward, or straight down at the ground. It was a blast, but still near scared the shadooky outta ya! I never had the hoohoos to try it myself.

He also like to do hammerheads into an LZ. He was an exciting guy to fly with! He was a lunatic, but I learned a lot from him. He and that big old -53 were as one. He knew exactly what it would do, and flew it like a Ferrari.

Cheers

Great story.

Had a teacher in high school was a Nam vet who had piloted what I'm guessing were Hueys. and funny that your story brings to mind something he said once that has stuck with me (though mostly forgotten, up until now):

- Someone had asked him a question about his flying (or the war I can't remember which, but he never once mentioned the war).

- And he spoke to the flying issue, and he said "The important thing is to fly the helicopter, and never let the helicopter fly you".

I don't know flying (other than a dozen or so student flights in gliders), but I sense that his comment held profound wisdom. A very good and thoughtful man, he died of cancer shortly after I graduated HS. Here in my mention of him is my brief blessing to his spirit. Amen.

 

[M813rc]

This type of take off is generally frowned upon by the newer, kinder, gentler Army...

Yes, this pilot had honed his trade in Vietnam, where the flying was...different. Such behaviour was technically frowned upon by the Corps during my post-Vietnam time, but flying with flair was still unofficially encouraged. You could be a technically competent pilot, but if you flew like Mr Milktoast, you were going to get shuffled off somewhere.

Cheers

 

[Speedwoble]

Here is a Russian MI-26 here in Brugge, BE. Largest Helicopter in the world. The only thing to give sense of the scale is the cockpit windows.They have one visible now, but on google maps, you can see they had three: (https://www.google.be/maps/place/51°13'46.0"N+3°13'06.0"E)

http://www.skytech-helicopters.eu/helicopters.htm