Helo training day photos

[Flying Pig]

Some training day pictures.  Towing boats, picking up swimmers and stuff.....I love helicopters.

[Flying Pig]

Picking up rescue swimmers.  (Hes already in the back)  However, you can see that the MD500 can submerse about  2 1/2 feet above the skids.  Makes it nice for when a victim or swimmer is very tired.  They can just float onto the skid vs. climbing.

[Timothy]

Well now your forum name makes sense. Thats a lot of skill on the stick, expecially if the weather is not cooperating. I'd imagine you end up working a lot of searches with CAP then. I know we've had quite a few searches recently where the terrain was too rugged for search and/or for ground teams to get on-site.

Looks like L.A. Counties Rescue 5 would be better suited for water retrievals

http://flickr.com/photos/deadeyebart/2513383025/

It tickles me to see Sea Kings used by a Sherriff's department... wonder what the upkeep costs.

[SarDragon]

Four digits per hour. I don't recall the olde USN figures they used to throw at us, but that airframe is very expensive to maintain.

[Flying Pig]

I can only imagine what the costs are.  There is a member or two here on this site from LASO.  From what I understand, the only use it on very mission specific flights.  

[SJFedor]

Robert....

....I want your job.

[PHall]

I can only imagine what the costs are.  There is a member or two here on this site from LASO.  From what I understand, the only use it on very mission specific flights.  

Yeah, Air 5 doesn't fly routine patrol. They only launch her when they have a reason to.

San Bernardino County has a H-3 too. Of course, as big as San Bernardino County is, they need it.

[stratoflyer]

 

Suddenly my cessna aint so hot.

[SarDragon]

Suddenly my cessna aint so hot.

I'd rather ride in any Cessna than any H-3, derivative, or variation. BTW, the cillivilian Sikorsky designation is S-61.

[bosshawk]

About two or three weeks ago, we lost one S-61 from Carson Helicopters fighting a fire up in Norcal: 13 KIA.  I am not sure that they have determined yet what caused the crash.  It was in very rugged terrain, just west of Mt Shasta and he had picked up a group of fire fighters to evacuate them from the fire area.  Most of the fire S-61 are former H-3 from both the Air Force and the Navy. 

I remember them very well, when they flew the Jolly Green Giant missions in SE Asia(back in the day).

[Pumbaa]

I have one of the best seats in the house from my office window.. I see on a daily basis helo's flying in and out of our integration facility... US-101 Presidential Helo, CSAR-X, MH60-R, an old huey used as a test bed, and recently the KMax.. This is the (tail) rotor less helo.

But those photos you posted are way too fun!!!

[PHall]

Suddenly my cessna aint so hot.

I'd rather ride in any Cessna than any H-3, derivative, or variation. BTW, the cillivilian Sikorsky designation is S-61.

Well Dave, both Air 5 in LASO and the San Bernardino County bird are both ex-Navy H-3's via the bone yard at D-M.

If they had been S-61's, I would have called them S-61's.

[SarDragon]

Even more reason I wouldn't want to ride in them. 

As for the S-61 thing, it was just a general FYI thing, and not a dig at you. Sorry if you caught it that way. 

[PHall]

Even more reason I wouldn't want to ride in them. 

As for the S-61 thing, it was just a general FYI thing, and not a dig at you. Sorry if you caught it that way. 

Usually when a civilian rides in these birds it's because they just pulled them off the side of a mountain.
So actually, I think you would be very happy to ride in them!

[hatentx]

Helicopters are awesome.  They are better with guns on them though 

[SarDragon]

Even more reason I wouldn't want to ride in them. 

As for the S-61 thing, it was just a general FYI thing, and not a dig at you. Sorry if you caught it that way. 

Usually when a civilian rides in these birds it's because they just pulled them off the side of a mountain.
So actually, I think you would be very happy to ride in them!

Lighten up, Phil.

I usta work on H-3s WIWOAD. Any A/C that spends that much time around salt water is questionable at best. Two buddies of mine are fish food because the rotor head on their H-3 came apart at 2000', about 60 miles out at sea back in the '70s.

Yes, if someone in an H-3 was dragging my butt off a mountainside, I probably wouldn't object, but would certainly kiss the ground at the conclusion of the ride.

[SarDragon]

Helicopters are awesome.  They are better with guns on them though 

Helicopters don't fly. The are so ugly, the Earth repels them.

Helicopters are a massive collection of parts held together by grease and copper wire. When the grease gets low, they fall apart. Ask Nin, he'll tell you.

[IceNine]

While I always have the utmost respect for gents that can fly Helo's, I am usually amazed by someone that can do it with precision as shown above. :clap:

I used to work at an FBO and it 2 years I saw 2 helo crashes on the same field.  One had to do with winds (that the best I can tell you).

The other was pilot error, he crashed into the fence surrounding the aor.

[hatentx]

Helicopters are awesome.  They are better with guns on them though 

Helicopters don't fly. The are so ugly, the Earth repels them.

Helicopters are a massive collection of parts held together by grease and copper wire. When the grease gets low, they fall apart. Ask Nin, he'll tell you.

Wow making it just a little simple huh?  I have worked on several Airframes and I have always thought that the Helicopter is so much more difficult than any fixed wing.  There are so many moving parts on a helicopter it isnt funny.  Copper wire and grease???  While lubrication is important just like any aircraft it isnt as simple as you put it.  Copper wire I have never seen on an aircraft.  Steel or Nickel saftey wire yes,  I have even seen brass but not on anything flight related. 

I have more respect for anyone who works or pilots a rotary winged airframe. 

[SJFedor]

Helicopters are awesome.  They are better with guns on them though 

Helicopters don't fly. The are so ugly, the Earth repels them.

Helicopters are a massive collection of parts held together by grease and copper wire. When the grease gets low, they fall apart. Ask Nin, he'll tell you.

Wow making it just a little simple huh?  I have worked on several Airframes and I have always thought that the Helicopter is so much more difficult than any fixed wing.  There are so many moving parts on a helicopter it isnt funny.  Copper wire and grease???  While lubrication is important just like any aircraft it isnt as simple as you put it.  Copper wire I have never seen on an aircraft.  Steel or Nickel saftey wire yes,  I have even seen brass but not on anything flight related. 

I have more respect for anyone who works or pilots a rotary winged airframe. 

Ah, he's just playing  Helicopters are a whole different world. I'd love to learn how to operate one someday.

So...

[CadetProgramGuy]

The analogy (sp?) I've heard about Flying Helo's is thats it like keeping a ball bearing on the top of an upside down bowl.

[SarDragon]

Re: copper wire - what do you thing the hundreds of feet of electrical connections are made of? Bubble gum? If you were to separate out all the different materials in any aircraft, the second or third heaviest pile would be all the copper, with the other two being the aluminum and steel.

[Flying Pig]

Learning to fly a helicopter isn't any harder than learning to fly an airplane.  Sorry to ruin everyones analogies.

[PHall]

Learning to fly a helicopter isn't any harder than learning to fly an airplane.  Sorry to ruin everyones analogies.

I had a CFI who told me the only difference between flying fixed wing vs rotary wing was that rotary wing can screw up 10 times faster!

[Flying Pig]

Now that I may agree with.....