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Hoist operations open up a wide range of additional roles for helicopters. They allow us to get people and equipment into and out of locations which would otherwise be inaccessible or too dangerous to land. Rob Munday and David Callen from SR3 Rescue Concepts help talk us through some of the considerations.
The helicopter industry is so diverse that there will be aircrew that go their entire careers with conducting hoist operations and others where it is a regular activity.
This is a longer episode at over 90mins and provides a very good primer to anyone that has never worked with a helicopter hoist.
Hoisting does take time and exposes the helicopter, crew and people being hoisted to some level of risk. If there is the opportunity to land the helicopter then that is normally going to be the preference.
Examples of scenarios where a hoist is employed:
- Water rescues
- Transferring marine pilots to ships where the deck cannot support the weight of the helicopter or rigging is in the way
- Lowering people or equipment through trees
- Complex landing areas where obstacles or slope mean that a helicopter can not get low enough to land a skid or wheel
- Offshore wind turbine maintenance
- Powerline access
Dynamic Rollout is a term that we cover in the podcast. It relates to the ability for some D-shackles to interact with a hook such that they roll up and out of the hook gate allowing the person or load on the hoist to fall free. The video below explains in more detail. It has been the cause of a number of deaths and is believed to be what happened in the incident that lead to David Vanbuskirk losing his life while conducting a night mountain rescue in the US. A tribute video to David is at the end of this blog post.
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SR3 Rescue Concepts website. Find out more about the company and the courses they deliver.
Have a comment or feedback about Episode 77? Have a particular question about helicopter hoist operations for Rob or Dave? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.