Up, Up and away

[rickf]

What's wrong Horst, you don't want to get spoiled?

[Horst]

one is work, the other one pleasure. Still trying to figure out which one is which...

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[Horst]

But life is not always Instagram, real work is what we did last week, fixing power lines

ground crew is shutting down the power line

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we are getting ready to lift a bucket with 2 workers how will actually repair the damaged parts

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over the power line with the bucket about 80ft below

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only way to see the bucket is with the mirror at the nose of the helicopter

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very intense work (and officially high risk...)

[rickf]

Wow! I thought you flew rich people around to mansions. Here you are hanging working guys from cables. Over here (and probably there) I have watched them work off of a platform on the side of the chopper on the cables. The arc to the ground wire is always impressive but I can't imagine the pucker factor of having to hold that close to the wires not to mention having another persons life depending on your skills.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YmFHAFYwmY

[Horst]

Wow! I thought you flew rich people around to mansions…

Not only but also

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apart from that, over here power lines will be shut off when working on them, that’s more a legal requirement than a technical one. Takes a lot of preparation by the power company and is planned weeks and months in advance. Grounding the wire takes typically longer than the actual work.

[csmith]

Unreal, Your D man Horst. Driving a Mutt must be really chillin after a day of hanging guys over power lines.....

[Mark]

Wow! Horst I didn't know you was in the lineman trade

[Horst]

and back to some more relaxing work, ferrying a H130 from the island of Mallorca back to Germany. As I have done this already a few times, I am not so anxious anymore to fly for 2 hours over water single engine. Have a life raft, life vest and emergency floats on the helo in case something bad happens. Did not see a single boat or ship...

Take-off from Son Bonet airport, an airport with some not so nice history in the Franco era. However today, sitting right next to the main airport, it is a nice regional field.

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Crossing the Mediterranean See...

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[rickf]

I would assume that in an engine failure over water the procedure would be the same as on land which is autorotate down but then what? Choppers don't float like planes. Do you try to bail before it rolls or do you stay in until it rolls to avoid the rotors? I am thinking if you bail before it rolls you do not know which way it is going to roll and you could end up with it on top of you. The training we got in the military was wait until it flipped and then make egress using your bubbles to orient your position. Scary drills even though I grew up swimming in fast moving water.

[Horst]

The probability that the engine quits is very remote but I can think of many other reasons which could force me to put it down in the water. If the emergency floats deploy as they should, the helicopter should float.
If for whatever reason it does not, it will capsize almost immediately. The most important thing is to stay buckled-up until the airframe comes to a stop. Then, still in the seat, the door is opened und only then the seat belt is opened. Bubbles will not help at all because the cockpit is full with them and you cannot see anything. Therefore the reference of the seating position to the door unlocking mechanism is so important. Once outside you will either float to the surface or inflate the life vest.

[Hambone]

I've been flying to Florida with my son every couple weeks, he always cuts across the gulf, I tell him "Don't You Know There's SHARKS Down There?, plus, I can't swim very far anymore."

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[rickf]

What's the glide rate on a Pilatus? And the float time after that.

[Hambone]

I haven't even flown in the Palitus yet, he's flown right seat some, been waiting on an opening to get type rated, scheduled at the end of the month. He likes the speed of the TBM 850 but I like the size of the PC12.

[Horst]

Handover procedure for a brand new H130 in Marseille at the factory.

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[m3a1]

A very sweet-looking ride. I bet it flies just as good as it looks...