S. A. Agulhas II is operational with helicopter

[Cacophonix]

If I remember correctly, the rusty twotter, akb many other monikers, once of this parish, did some time on Gough Island and some here might be interested in this

My good mate Steve, currently still sweating the days in Saudi, teaching Saudi's enough mathematics to learn to fly Typhoons, spent a season on Gough Island after leaving the SADF. He also spent two seasons with BAS (once as base commander) in the Antarctic and he sent me these photos of the helicopter(s) they are utilising off the Agulhas now. Please note that these photos were taken by the named photographer.

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Caco

[Cacophonix]

S. A. Agulhas II is a South African icebreaking polar supply and research ship owned by the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA). She was built in 2012 by STX Finland Rauma shipyard in Rauma, Finland, to replace the ageing S. A. Agulhas, which was retired from Antarctic service in April 2012. Unlike her predecessor, S. A. Agulhas II was designed from the beginning to carry out both scientific research and supply South African research stations in the Antarctic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._A._Agulhas_II

She is used to support Tristan da Cuhna as well.



I am pleased to see that they have honoured Miriam Makeba on the side of the ship

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Caco

[Cacophonix]

I can't resist posting a clip (or two) by Ms Makeba, for those who don't know her music which is just as sweet as the good slap of a heli's rotor blades.







Caco

[Cacophonix]

Some more background on the Tristan da Cunha operation.

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http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/ZD9XF/ZD9-1.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha

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Caco

[CharlieOneSix]

Re the 212 take off video - ex-RN pilot he say, always take off as deck rises else in rough conditions (which this is not) deck may rise and smite your butt whilst you check T's and P's in the hover.

The marshaller has the right idea!

[Boac]

Thanks for Miriam, Caco, Still got an LP of hers somewhere! Great music.

[ian16th]

Question about marshalling choppers. Remember, I've never been anywhere near a chopper.

In the above clip, the marshallers 'shoo off' flap of his downward facing palms, is this correct?

If so, how should it be done with bats or wands?

[CharlieOneSix]

Ian - the marshaller's signals didn't really comply with any standards although the meaning was clear, especially the f-off at the end! Neither the CAA publication CAP 637 Visual Aids Handbook nor the ICAO Rules of the Air Appendix 1 have a signal for dispatching a helicopter from the hover.

The recognised signal to lift into the hover is arms outstretched to the side with the palms facing up to 'lift' the helicopter into the air with repeated upwards movements, and at night wands are used. If I remember correctly from a long, long time ago - perhaps FD2 can help me here - RN marshallers then pointed both arms together in the direction that was clear for you to depart, usually off to the side of the ship.

For UK offshore oil/gas support flights from rigs, platforms and ships, the helicopter pilot is on his own as far as marshalling is concerned. There is none. The pilot will ask the destination Helicopter Landing Officer(HLO) by radio for deck clearance to land. After landing nobody approaches the helicopter until the red anti-collision lights on the helicopter have been turned off. Prior to take off the pilot will get radio clearance from the HLO that he can depart. At that point the anti-collision lights are turned back on.

Each deck will effectively be licensed for various types of helicopter based upon the helicopter overall length (from the most forward position of main rotor tip to the most rearward position of tail rotor tip plane path. The aim of the pilot is to touch down, preferably into wind, with his backside on the outer yellow circle on the deck. This will ensure the helicopter and in particular the tail rotor is clear of obstructions. There are exceptions of course where certain arcs do not guarantee tail rotor clearance but the deck markings make this clear and the pre-flight briefing will have discussed this issue.

There is a 303 page CAA Publication - CAP 437 Standards for Offshore Helicopter Landing Areas - which defines amongst other things the design criteria and markings of helidecks.CAP 437

EDIT: I tried to find a photo online to post of an offshore helicopter on a helideck with the pilot's bum on the yellow line but was amazed that I couldn't. Some day someone is going to get bitten by this laxity - this awful accident in 1990 on the Brent Spar in the North Sea was the result of a tail rotor hitting an obstruction. That said it was a horrible deck to land on at the best of times with a most unnatural swaying movement unlike any ship.
Brent Spar AAIB Report

[Cacophonix]

EDIT: I tried to find a photo online to post of an offshore helicopter on a helideck with the pilot's bum on the yellow line but was amazed that I couldn't. Some day someone is going to get bitten by this laxity - this awful accident in 1990 on the Brent Spar in the North Sea was the result of a tail rotor hitting an obstruction. That said it was a horrible deck to land on at the best of times with a most unnatural swaying movement unlike any ship.
Brent Spar AAIB Report

I am surprised that more offshore helicopter types favoured by the offshore operators don't use the fenestron design for tail rotors.

Caco

[CharlieOneSix]

Caco - the smaller operations like those offshore Blackpool have used types with fenestrons but the major fields in the North Sea and to the west of Shetland need the larger types which can shift more people. The numbers are limited to 19 to avoid the need for a cabin attendant but there aren't currently any 19 seaters as far as I am aware which have fenestrons. They still wouldn't help the situation where a cock up occurs and you clout the tail on an obstruction. As far as on deck safety is concerned there are always sufficient bods on deck to ensure no passenger walks around the tail.

[FD2]

C16 Yes just a I remember it. Once clear of the deck we were marshalled over the side and away. I guess single pilot types just had to be very quick with the hover checks. At least we usually had someone in the other seat to do ours at night or in the Sea King.
Sadly with Brent Spar D. A. was thought to have been to blame for insisting on doing an unnecessary cross cockpit landing and losing sight of the crane. Whether he was annoyed with his co-pilot or just made a bad error we’ll never know. Think it was pre-CVR.

[ian16th]

The numbers are limited to 19 to avoid the need for a cabin attendant

Thanks for the info on marshaling.

Re: 19 pax, isn't this also the limit where a toilet is required? and this is why the Beech 1900 is the size it is?

[CharlieOneSix]

I’m not aware of any regulations regarding the ratio of toilets to pax but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.

When our Company started North Sea Ops in 1980 we endeavoured to be different and put a toilet right down aft on the S61 helicopter. It was not popular, being very basic and shielded from the rest of the pax by only a curtain! It was soon removed. Apart from anything else, trying to remove a survival suit to do one’s business was rather impractical!

[FD2]

About 1980 on a long flight back to Aberdeen from the East Shetland Basin I went back to use the chemical potty for a pee. Swaying around at the back of an S61 i was a long time starting and finishing. Having failed to check the manifest and it being the very early days of women offshore I was very embarrassed to see, as I zipped myself up, that the passenger sitting just behind me was a rather good looking woman. I didn’t use the curtain being all boys together or so I thought and facing away from the forward facing pax. Then the walk of shame back to the cockpit with bright red face.

[FD2]

Sorry about the wee thread drift.

[Cacophonix]

Sorry about the wee thread drift.

The thread drift is the best part here as it is the worst part of my hovering!

Liked the wee pun or joke as well.

Caco

[Alisoncc]

Now that we're drifting - remember Miriam Makeba singing "the click song" a long long time back.



Alison
PS. Alison can do the clicky noises. Was taught by her amah (house keeper).

[Cacophonix]

I have wiped a little tear from my eye Alison. That song has made me feel very homesick.

Caco

[CharlieOneSix]

About 1980 on a long flight back to Aberdeen from the East Shetland Basin I went back to use the chemical potty for a pee.....

Was that still in the days when you guys in BAH on the North Sea flew in uniform white shirts and no survival suits?!!

The other thing that used to bring a smile back then was when I was flying the S61 in BCHL and inbound to ABZ we would find ourselves overtaking a similar type but slow BAH S61. It took a while to realise this only happened around lunchtime and that the BAH crews were slowing down to ensure they were still airborne during the criteria period when they could claim a lunch allowance!

[FD2]

Yup afraid so. Our M.D. was against anything which might hint that helicopters were not as reliable as fixed wing so we flew in clothing which was comfortable in the cockpit. We were issued with UVic Thermofloat jackets which were warm and helped buoyancy. Bristow flew likewise - Lee Smith’s ditching returning from the Forties luckily swung opinion towards goonsuits - I think his core temperature was in the 80s when we got him back to ABZ. The oil companies rightly expected us to be able to look after their people after a ditching rather than than the crew freezing to death but there was a period when the passengers were in suits and the pilots were not!
As for the meal allowances it rings a bell - some people were quite clever about that sort of thing though if it was a marginal thing there were other less obvious ways of losing a few minutes....