Chapter
18 – Working With Helicopters.
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Why Are Helicopters Important?
In the early years of
logging, companies tried to harvest their lumber in the most cost effective
manner, a practice which continues today.
Transportation expense (which is usually directly related to the
distance from the blocks to the mill) is often the number one concern. For this reason, tree stands that were easily
accessible and close to the mills were usually the first to be harvested. With each passing year, however, companies
ventured further into the bush (or into more inhospitable terrain) in order to
find decent harvestable stands. The
further one goes into the forests, the more likely it is that conventional road
systems (especially in areas with a lot of mud or muskeg, like
The
excitement of using helicopters on a work site is usually high among the
inexperienced planters in a camp, who are excited to go flying for the first
time. However, after a few days of
chopper work, the novelty quickly wears off, and the rookies begin to realize
the drawbacks of helicopter work. For
instance, many crew members may end up sitting for 30 minutes to an hour in the
morning, unpaid, waiting their turn to be flown into the block. Also, helicopter work can sometimes mean long
days, when a block must be finished before the crew can leave. For the foremen and supervisors, helicopter
work is even more stressful. While it
only costs about $150-200 per day to rent a truck (including fuel & maintenance),
a typical small chopper usually costs between $800 and $1000 PER HOUR. Companies that do not operate with maximum
efficiency on helicopter contracts will find costs skyrocketing, and can easily
lose their shirts.
This
chapter will cover three main areas that planters will find useful. First, helicopter safety will be addressed,
which includes learning about various features and equipment associated with
the aircraft. Although motor vehicle
accidents are the leading cause of death in the industry, planters should be
aware that helicopters are much more dangerous to work with than trucks. It is critical to be paying very careful
attention to the machine and pilot at all times. Second, we will cover some very basic
strategies to maximize efficiency on the blocks when using choppers. Finally, we will talk about some of the different
aircraft you may encounter in the field, and characteristics that are
associated with each.
Helicopter Safety
It cannot be
over-emphasized how dangerous helicopters can be. For instance, a tail rotor under power that
looks like a blur to a planter, who is barely paying attention, may actually be
spinning at a rate of over 12,000 revolutions per minute. Anyone who walked into the tail rotor would
unquestionably die instantly, and the overhead rotor is equally dangerous. On another front, the machines are incredibly
expensive. Damage incurred through
negligence on the part of planters, such as allowing a seat belt to hang out
the door and damage the paint job, may only run to a couple thousand dollars in
damages. However, a more serious
incident, such as allowing a loose tarp to blow up into the main rotor, will
necessitate grounding the machine with repairs costing upwards of a hundred
thousand dollars, and can shut down planting operations for at least the rest
of the day, and probably much longer.
For
starters, let’s take a tour around a machine …
Before
you get into a helicopter, every pilot will probably take you through a basic
safety course, and point out the features of his particular machine. Pay very close attention to him, even if you
have seen or heard a similar lecture before.
There is nothing that a pilot dislikes more than cocky planters who are
ignoring him, or who are talking to each other during his safety talk. Incidentally, many pilots also get quite
perturbed if they notice planters in their helicopters whose clothing reeks of
pot, because of safety concerns. You
should always been fully cognizant of your surroundings when working with dangerous
machinery such as helicopters – it is not wise to be cracked out or hung over
on any work site in general, but especially when working around
helicopters. If you have questions
during the safety talk, don’t be scared to ask, and make sure that you get up
close for a clarification or demonstration.
The whole point of the safety pre-work is to educate the planters about
this information, and the pilot will take as long as necessary until everybody
is comfortable.
The
very first thing that you should know is that you never move to the back of a
helicopter. The area behind the cargo
bay is extremely dangerous. For one
thing, the pilot cannot always see you when you are back there. Most machines do have a “rear-view mirror,”
although it is difficult for a pilot to see clearly behind the machine using
the mirror. Even more importantly, there
are turbine exhausts which emit hot gas (at high speeds) at hundreds of degrees
Celsius, and there is a tail rotor that looks innocent, but which is spinning
at over fourteen thousand revolutions per minute (on a Huey 500). If anyone ever walked into a tail rotor, they
would die instantly.
A
second very important thing to be aware of is that all of the landing zones
(LZ’s) that the chopper will use must be completely cleared of garbage and other
debris, at least as much as possible. It
is almost impossible to eliminate sticks and dust, of course, but you must make
sure that plastic and tarps and other such items are secured. Even a tiny bundle wrapper in the tail rotor
could cause the machine to crash within seconds. All planters should always take a close look
around any cache that the chopper is landing at, even if it is not your own
cache, to make sure that any plastic wrappers and tarps are eliminated or
secured. One of the most memorable
quotes I have ever heard from a pilot, which was very direct and to the point,
was from Doug of Silver Helicopters.
During one safety lecture, he pointed to a plastic shopping bag on the
ground nearby and said, “If that little plastic bag ever got caught drawn up
into the blades of my main rotor or tail rotor, it would be devastating. You could instantly be looking at over
$100,000 in damages.” No planter can
afford even a fraction of that amount.
Bundle wrappers may be just about the most dangerous item on the work
site, because they seem so innocent.
If
you are planting on a block, or assisting in the capacity of a foreman or
checker, you should always keep an eye on any cache near you. Your goal is to have all caches in a state of
being “ready to fly” at all times. Break
down boxes as you go and fold them up into other empties – don’t just go with
flats. Weigh the tarp down sufficiently,
so that the rotor wash from a visiting chopper will not blow it off the
cache. Keep the bundle wrappers buried
in the bottom of garbage boxes, and preferably covered with another flat box so
that even in high winds, the wrappers won’t be able to sneak their way
out. The planters can also help
efficiency by trying to always drain each cache of trees when finished a piece,
before moving to another area. This may
mean bagging up with the last box and walking it to your next piece. Obviously this is impossible if several boxes
of trees remain, but if the numbers are working out well, this won’t be a
problem. If you can bag up with the
remaining trees, your foreman won’t have to figure out a way to move any
remaining boxes to another area.
Do
not slam the doors. They are
expensive. Most pilots recommend that
you first hold the latch open, then firmly close the door (pulling from the
inside, or pushing on it from the outside), and finally release the latch. Some pressure is needed to ensure that the
locking mechanism latches properly, of course, but think of it this way: you don’t like it when people slam the door
in your house, and pilots don’t like it when you slam the doors on their
helicopter. By the way, the outer door
latch on Bell choppers needs to be in the “out” position when closing the door
– if you have closed it properly, it will then fasten itself inward upon
closing. Huey 500’s usually have a twist
handle.
When
approaching the machine, do so from the front or from the forward part of the
side, and do not do so until the pilot gives you a visible nod. Sometimes, especially on rough ground on the
blocks, the pilot will touch ground but then once he starts easing off the
power, the machine does not seem to “settle” right, and he’ll lift a few feet
off the ground and move slightly to find a better resting place. You do not want to approach the machine until
he is fully settled into place and ready for you to join him.
To
get into a helicopter, do not ever put weight on the door by grabbing it for
support as you climb in. The doors are
expensive, and the hinges can break fairly easily if a planter is pulling
themselves up into the machine while holding onto the door. You should be grabbing onto the frame when
entering the machine. As long as you are
not wearing caulk boots, you can use the foot rests while getting in. Some pilots have stickers or nice paint jobs
on their skids and do not like planters standing on them, so use the designated
foot rests when climbing in the machine.
A considerable portion of pilots do not like planters wearing caulk boots
in the machine either, so they will either install hard plastic floor mats or
request that you wear different boots.
It is a good idea to bring a second pair of comfortable hiking boots in
some areas, although your supervisor will hopefully have checked with the pilot
beforehand to see if caulks are permitted in the machine.
Do
not ever approach the helicopter from the “high” side of the machine. The blade on the machine looks like it is
spinning at a very constant level, but the truth is that as the main rotor
spins it can wobble up and down by a couple feet at the tips. It is smart to duck slightly when approaching
the machine, and make sure that you never carry anything above your head. Do not carry a shovel over your shoulder, and
do not wear a backpack that has a high top.
If you are tall and do not duck, it is likely that the tip of the rotor
blade is coming very close to your head as you enter its shadow, and if it were
to ever hit your head, even just to graze you, you probably would be killed
instantly because of its weight and speed of rotation. If you are approaching the machine from the
high side or walking on a slight hummock (which effectively raises your height
and brings you closer to the rotor), you are even more likely to be in serious
danger.
You
should also make sure that you are not wearing a hat when you enter or exit the
helicopter. Even if it feels like it is
fastened on your head securely, the strong winds that surround the helicopter
can rip it off your head. If a hat comes
off your head and is sucked up into the path of the rotor blade, you will cause
a shutdown and potentially cause serious damage. For instance, each of the five rotors on a
Huey 500 costs in excess of $10,000 to replace.
Whether you are wearing something light and form fitting like a tight
ball cap, or something heavy like a hard-hat, take it off while traveling or
working around the chopper.
When
people are getting into and out of the machine, it is good to have someone
dedicated to assist with the loading and unloading process at the main landing
zone, and again at the central cache on the block, if possible. Often this is not feasible, especially on the
block side, so the person riding in the front of the machine should instead be
designated as the load assistant. At the
landing, the load assistant will collect the group of people scheduled for the
next flight and ensure that they are all standing together with their gear, and
ready to fly. Once the machine lands,
the load assistant will wait for the nod from the pilot, then approach the
machine with the load of passengers. He
or she will then start at the cargo bay and load all gear so it is properly
stowed, and makes sure that the cargo bay door latches are closed properly, and
the gear inside is positioned so that nothing is putting outward pressure on
the door. The load assistant then moves
to the back seat, where planters have been climbing in and getting settled into
the place. The back seat may vary in
numbers that it can accommodate. For
example, a Bell 206 will usually have three passengers in the back, while a
pilot can take the seats out of a Huey 500 and let the planters sit on the
floor (belted in).
The load assistant helps with seatbelts, to ensure
that everyone is buckled in securely, then makes sure that the door is closed
properly (everyone always loads from one side of the machine, namely the side
that the front passenger sits on). After
checking the passengers in the back seat, the load assistant will move to the
front seat and help with the seatbelt and door there. Finally, once all cargo and passengers are
properly secured with all doors closed, the load assistant will make eye
contact with the pilot and give a thumbs-up, and then move away from the
machine.
When
people are being unloaded, the process is very similar. First, the load assistant will go to the
cargo bay and start removing gear, while the passengers extricate
themselves. Do not throw gear. Hand it off to other planters, or place it
directly on the ground by your feet.
After the cargo bay is empty and latched, the load assistant will check
that the seatbelts are inside the machine and fastened (even if there is nobody
there) and the doors are closed properly.
One of the worst ways to damage a machine through oversight or
negligence is to leave the end of a seatbelt hanging out one of the doors. Once the pilot is airborne, the metal head of
the seatbelt will start flapping against the body of the machine, and can cause
significant damage to the paint job and bodywork. This is why the seatbelts are fastened after
use, because if they are fastened, they cannot reach far enough to hang out the
door.
Once
planters have disembarked, two options are available, and the preferred option
depends on the pilot. Some pilots prefer
for the planters to crouch and walk 20-30 feet away from the machine, then turn
and crouch in place until the helicopter has departed, so if a problem occurs,
the machine does not have to land on the planters. Other pilots realize that the safest area to
be (with respect to the rotor blade) is as close as possible to the machine
(without being on the skids, of course), and ask that planters who get out
simply kneel in place directly beside the machine until it has lifted and moved
out of the area. There are pros and cons
to each approach. Your best bet is to
ask the pilot which method he prefers – in my recent experience, many pilots
are now opting with having planters stay put and kneel, rather than leave the
rotor canopy.
Some
seat belts are very easy to operate, and look exactly like the lap belts you
would find in a car or an airplane.
Other belts are more comprehensive, especially in the front seat of the
helicopter. A “four point” harness belt
will have two straps that come over your shoulders and down to a point in your
lap. The lap belt then fastens with the
two shoulder straps attached. This way,
in a crash, your upper body is also restrained against the seat, not just your
lap.
There
is some safety gear on the helicopter that you should be aware of, namely the
fire extinguishers, black box, and first aid kit. In the event of a crash, the black box is
probably the most important item. This
is similar to a black box on a plane, except that it contains an emergency
transmitter beacon. If the chopper
crashes, the beacon may arm itself, but to be safe you should always
double-check and manually arm it. There
should be a set of instructions written on this box which tell you how to arm
it – usually by flipping a switch. When
the box is armed, it sends out a signal to alert authorities at monitoring
bases, so they know that an aircraft has crashed somewhere. They can then home in on the signal, through
the assistance of GPS systems, and find the crash site as quickly as
possible. This box is usually located
within the pilot’s reach, inside the machine, and may be yellow or orange or
red in color. The other items, a fire extinguisher
and first aid kit, are pretty self-explanatory.
Ask the pilot to point out to you exactly where they are located.
When
you are in the helicopter, you may want to talk to the pilot or to people on
the ground, if they are tied into the same radio frequencies. In that case, you will want to wear one of
the headsets, so you can hear and speak.
Helicopters usually have access to several “sets” of frequencies,
including UHF, VHF, cellular, and other bands.
Some headsets are designated as “VOX” which means
“voice-activated.” Your microphone does
not transmit anything to listeners until you speak above a certain volume. On other headphones, you have to push a
button (usually on the headset cord) to turn the microphone on. Usually, although the occupants of the
helicopter can hear what is happening on the ground, the conversations that
take place within the helicopter are only heard by the occupants of the
helicopter, and the pilot has to press a special button if the occupants want
their speech to be broadcast, so people on the ground can listen in on the conversation. Of course, the passenger should never press
any button on the control panel of the helicopter, assuming that it is the
external radio transmitter, without getting permission from the pilot first.
Here
is something important to remember:
never ever carry cans of bear mace inside the helicopter. Have you ever been maced? I have.
If so, you’ll know that there is not a chance you can see anything for
quite a while. If a can of mace were to
go off accidentally in a helicopter (and they go off accidentally in motor
vehicles occasionally), then the pilot would be blinded. I will be very direct and to the point: if this happened while you were airborne, you
would crash and die. Bear mace must
always be carried inside the cargo bay in a closed container, or far better, in
the cargo nets.
Fuel
is another potential hazard. There are
obvious caveats with respect to fuel:
never smoke while refueling, never smoke close to the fuel drums (within
25 feet), never fuel the helicopter while it is running, be careful while
unloading barrels of fuel from the back of a pickup, and so on. In theory, helicopters can use two types of
fuel, Jet A and Jet B aviation fuels. From
what I understand, Jet B was originally developed for military purposes several
decades ago, and is specially designed with an additive to make it effective in
colder weather. This additive is called
a FSII, which stands for Fuel System Icing Inhibitor. Right now, only PetroCanada produces Jet B
fuel. Although it is a more versatile
fuel for choppers, the fact that big planes (which consume about 99% of the
world’s aviation fuel) only use Jet A means that Jet B is a “specialty market”
fuel. It is slightly more expensive than
Jet A, but not much more, because if the price differential got to be too
great, most pilots would probably switch to cheaper Jet A. I believe that the ignition point of Jet A is
around 127 degrees Fahrenheit (about 55 Celcius) which means that it is not
very explosive, except when misted and mixed with oxygen. However, I haven’t had time to research this
properly, so that is about the only information I can provide at the current
time.
Slinging
Cargo
Underneath
the helicopter there is a hook mechanism, called the “belly hook.” This is a special one-way hook which allows
an “O-ring” from a cable or net to slide onto the hook with no resistance, but
once it is on the hook, it cannot be removed without the hook being
mechanically released. Due to this, the
loader can attach a sling (net) full of cargo or gear to the helicopter while
the helicopter is hovering a few feet over the sling, and then when the pilot
gets to the destination, he has a switch inside his machine which releases the
hook and allows the sling to fall off the machine. Most pilots will always set the cargo load
down on the ground gently before releasing the hook, so the cargo does not drop
and get damaged (the only exception might be for empty nets which are sometimes
dropped from the air). Occasionally,
there will be a problem that prevents the hook release mechanism from working
properly, and the pilot will be stuck hanging in mid-air with the sling
attached to the machine. A ground
crewperson can (under the direction of the pilot) approach the machine and
manually release the hook by twisting a round knob on one side of the hook
mechanism. If you are ever in the rare
situation where you have to do this, make sure that the sling is resting on the
ground so that it doesn’t fall or roll onto you after you release the load.
Each
sling typically has four hooks in the corners, one of which is the “master
hook,” as indicated by the fact that it may have a larger hook, or may be
attached to an “O-ring”. When the sling
is being prepared for moving cargo, typically it is laid out flat on the
ground, then all the cargo is loaded into it.
Next, the four corners are brought up to the center, and the three
smaller corner hooks are all attached to the main hook or O-ring. It is important at this point to check the
sides of the net, and try to figure out if there is anything in the load that
might fall out when the sling gets lifted off the ground. If you are transporting smaller objects that
could fall through the net, and especially shovels, it is wise to either pack
them inside a set of planting bags, or if you have a D-handle shovel, to clip
the waist straps through the D-handle so it cannot fall out of the sling while
in mid-air. This is one of the most
significant drawbacks of the staff shovel, since a staff is sometimes too long
to fit into the cargo bay, and cannot be tied firmly into a sling load of
gear. If you are placing a tarp in a
sling of trees, always place the tarp (folded) at the bottom of the sling,
under some boxes of trees.
IMPORTANT: if you have loose bundle wrappers in your
planting bags, ALWAYS dispose of them in a garbage box before you load them
into a sling of gear, or else secure them in a silvicool insert bag and tie the
drawstring, so they cannot spill out of the planting bags and get sucked up
into the rotors.
Slings
are very rarely hooked directly to the hook that is on the belly of the
helicopter. Usually, a lanyard is used,
which is a very strong interwoven fibre-based metal cable. Lanyards are usually short, from three to six
feet in length. The lanyard will have a
strong hook at one end, and then a pear-shaped or circular ring at the other
end. The lanyard’s hook will attach to
the main O-ring on the net, while the other end is attached to the hook on the
belly of the helicopter. If you are
using a pear-shaped ring rather than a circular one, it is wise to put the
wider “bottom of the pear” end facing upward, because that end will slide off
the hook more easily once the pilot releases the hook. The one notable exception to this rule is
when you are hooking an empty net and short lanyard to a helicopter. If this is the case, you should hook the
O-ring directly to the belly hook and let the lanyard dangle beside the net. The reason for this is simple – the lanyard
adds extra length to the net. When the
net is empty, it could possibly swing back and into the tail rotor of the
machine. By hooking the O-ring directly
to the belly, it shortens the overall length and makes it almost impossible for
the net to swing all the way back into the tail rotor.
Sometimes,
rather than using the hook on the belly of the machine, the pilot will bring
what is called a “long-line”. This is a
long cable of anywhere between 30 and 100 feet in length, with a single cord or
pair of power cords running along the cable.
At the top of the long-line, there is a hook to attach to the
helicopter. At the bottom of the
long-line, there is a hook mechanism exactly like the one on the belly of the
helicopter. The power cords allow the
pilot to control the release mechanism of the hook exactly the same as he
controls the release mechanism of the belly hook (and there is also an
emergency release knob on the long-line hook, just as there is on the
belly-hook). The power cords at the top
of the long-line get plugged into cords hanging from the belly of the
helicopter, and often the pilot will use black tape to fasten these in place so
they do not come loose during a flight.
There
are advantages and disadvantages to using a long-line. The major advantage is safety. If the block has a lot of standing timber or
residual trees, or was selectively logged, there may not be a lot of areas
where the pilot can land easily. Using a
long-line allows the pilot to remain above tree level while lowering the cargo
loads to the block. This is also handy
at the landing zone for pickups, because the load assistant does not have to
get as close to the machine while it is operating. Of course, the pilot also likes to stay
higher off the ground, to minimize damage from dust or debris swirling around
the chopper. A drawback of using a
long-line, however, is the fact that the helicopter is not supposed to carry
passengers while the long-line is attached.
The pilot has to land and get out of the helicopter every time that the
long-line is attached or taken off, because of the fact that it is plugged in
and the plugs are usually taped together.
This wastes a few minutes of flying time. It is therefore not feasible to constantly
alternate between loads of people and cargo when using a long-line, without a
significant amount of wasted time.
One
other safety concern to mention is with respect to the hook mechanism at the
bottom of the long-line. This is a
pretty heavy ring assembly on most long-lines, which probably weighs in at
twenty pounds or more. Never turn your
back on the ring, and always anticipate the swing of the ring. If it starts swinging at you quickly, it can
build up a lot of momentum, and if it ever hit you in the back of the head it
would almost certainly give you a concussion (at best), or crush your skull if
it hit you hard enough. Another danger
to be aware of when hooking up loads relates to the netting. If you are lucky enough to have very large
nets, and your tree loads are not exceptionally large, you may have quite a bit
of excess netting accordianed around the full load. Be careful that you do not catch your foot in
this while hooking up the sling, and then have the chopper lift and throw you
off your feet or twist an ankle.
When
using several slings at once, it is sometimes hard to keep track of where each
net is at any given time. This problem
is compounded by the fact that the nets are made of dark woven material, and if
they are thrown on the ground away from a cache, they can be very difficult to
locate visually. You don’t want to leave
a net behind since they are worth close to a thousand dollars each. It can be useful to put a couple pieces of
flagging tape on the corners of the net, so it can be spotted more easily in
the grass. My only reservation about
this trick is that you should use fairly short pieces of flagging tape, and
make sure it is a strong brand of tape, so that they don’t just rip off during
the day and get sucked up into the rotor blades. Lanyards are also easy to lose (perhaps even
more so than nets), so you should never remove a lanyard from a net. Keeping it attached to the net at all times
reduces the chance of losing it.
If
you are hooking a sling up to the chopper, you should stand beside the sling, and
always pay attention to an “escape route.”
It is not wise to stand directly between the sling and the incoming
machine – you want to be able to step out of the way after the sling is
attached. Hold the lanyard up in the
air, and let the pilot come to you. He
will come as close as possible, and then hover within a couple of feet
(hopefully). At this point, you can
reach over and attach your lanyard to his hook, as long as he is close enough
(remember that your lanyard is pretty short).
If
you are the person hooking slings up to the chopper, it is very useful to wear
safety glasses. The helicopter will kick
up a large amount of dust and debris, and this foreign material can get in your
eyes and cause a great deal of discomfort over the course of several hours, let
alone increase the possibility of a distinct injury if a larger item strikes
your unprotected eye. A second item that
you should be wearing is a high-visibility vest. This lets the pilot see you more easily. On the landing, a high-vis vest is helpful;
on the block, it is almost indispensable.
Unless you are wearing a vest, it can be incredibly difficult for the
pilot to see you, especially if you are dressed in earth-tone or dark clothing
on the block, and if the skies are cloudy & raining. Finally, especially when there is a lot of
moisture in the air, be prepared for a possible shock when hooking up a
net. A large amount of static
electricity can be built up between the helicopter and the ground as the rotor
spins through the air, and sometimes that electricity uses your body as a
conduit to go to ground as soon as you touch the helicopter, resulting in a
rather strong shock. These friction or
static shocks certainly are not strong enough to injure you (unless the
helicopter gets hit by lightning while you are hooking up the sling – but then
you have bigger problems than just the electricity!). However, the first time you get such a shock,
it can be quite startling.
Your
pilot will show you how he prefers the empty nets to be rolled up at the end of
the day, once they are no longer needed.
Usually, the sling will be laid out on a flat surface. Then, you look at it and imagine a line
stretching diagonally through the net, starting at the corner with the main
hook or lanyard. The two corners that
are not on this imaginary line are then folded into the net, so it becomes one
long drawn-out line. Then, you start at
the end opposite the lanyard and start rolling up the net, tucking in the loose
edges and making the package as tight as possible. Sometimes, the lanyard can be used at the end
to wrap around an extra time and secure the net closed in a bundle.
Organizing Blocks & Maximizing Efficiency.
Controlling costs on a helicopter
contract is very important, whether or not the contractor pays for the flight
costs directly. On some contracts, the
licensee or forestry company may agree to pay for all helicopter costs
directly. In this case, the planting
contractor feels less pressure to control costs. However, the licensee still gets the bill at
the end and compares it to budgeted flight costs. Poor performance by the contractor can have
ramifications for future work which are just as poor as if cost overruns had
been borne internally.
The planting contractor
can also include helicopter costs in the bid price on a contract. For example, let’s use a case where a
contract is for one million trees, and the contractor wants to bid $400,000 or
40 cents per tree to cover labour and other expenses and a profit margin. Let’s also assume that the contractor
estimates that the contract will require 125 hours of flight time at $800 per
hour, for another $100,000. Therefore,
the bid price will have to be raised to $500,000 or fifty cents per tree to
cover the flight component. If the
contractor performs the work inefficiently and an extra 20 hours of flight time
are used ($16,000), this means that an extra sixteen thousand dollars must be generate
elsewhere to cover the cost overruns on flight time. Unfortunately, it is very easy to have
problems arise that necessitate extra chopper time.
The
following is a list of over a dozen points which top-notch planting employees
(planters, foremen, and supervisors) can follow to maximize efficiency while
working with helicopters.
1. Try to
avoid “empty” trips when the chopper is flying without passengers or cargo
loads. This works best when you are
flying several days in a row. If the
work is being performed over a period of several days, then efficiency can be
improved at the end of the day, by taking loads of trees into the block, and
then bringing planters back out to the trucks on the returns. The same concept should apply the following
morning, when planters are flown into the blocks and garbage loads can be
brought out on the return trips. There
are some complications to this. For
instance, some licensees do not like trees left on the block overnight,
although they will usually relax this restriction on chopper blocks as long as
the trees are properly tarped and cached on the block. Also, to be able to fly loads of garbage out
in the morning, they have to be prepared the night before, and for each garbage
load point, a planter has to be prepared to hook up the garbage sling immediately
upon disembarking.
2.
Calculate sling loads properly so that you are able to fly the maximum
efficient weight at all times. For
instance, let’s assume that a pilot can fly 23 boxes in a sling load at maximum
in an emergency, but that 20 boxes is the best “full weight” which gives him a
bit more maneuverability and fuel efficiency.
Let’s assume that each box holds 270 trees, and that the block is
scheduled to take approximately 24,300 trees.
This many trees is equivalent to 90 boxes. However, since each sling can hold 20 boxes,
that means 4.5 slings are required to get the trees into the block, neglecting
gear. Let’s assume next that the entire
crew’s gear goes into the block in a single sling, so the gear can be ignored
in this specific example. Since five
slings will be required to be flown in anyway to take the 90 boxes of trees,
they may as well be filled, so it would usually be smart to take 100 boxes
(five full loads). This saves money if
it is discovered at the end of the day that the block is going to take an extra
couple thousand trees because the planters are planting slight higher density
than expected. However, do not fly too
many trees in, as they may have to be flown back out. I usually try to figure out the maximum
number of full sling loads which will give me between 100% and 110% of the
block’s expected or prescribed tree totals.
There is often room to fly four to six extra boxes back out of the block
after it is done, by putting them in with a sling of garbage. However, if you have many more extra boxes
left over than that, you may have to make an extra trip, which wastes money.
3. Minimize
garbage disposal when possible. On some
contracts, you may end up planting blocks on which the slash piles have not yet
been burned. If so, they may be
scheduled to be burned the following winter.
If that is the case, then you can sometimes get permission to bury the
garbage boxes in slash piles, so they will be burned along with the piles in
the winter. If you are allowed to do this,
make sure that you bury the cardboard VERY thoroughly. Cover it entirely with sticks & mud so
that it can’t be seen from the air, so the licensee doesn’t get complaints from
environmentalists (you’d be surprised how many people do over-flights of blocks
and report garbage and visible dumping to authorities). Also, cover the garbage piles with enough
heavy logs so that there is no way a windstorm in the fall can uncover the pile
and spread hundreds of flattened boxes around the block. It is better to bury boxes which have been
packed inside each other than ones that have simply been flattened, for this
very reason. I’ll go into this in more
detail below.
4. Set up
slings properly – gear with trees works sometimes if you are organized enough
to make sure that the sets of planters who are working out of each cache can be
organized in advance, and can also ensure that the sling of trees which
contains the gear destined for a particular cache makes it to the right
spot.
Some pilots allow the planters to bring gear with
them in the chopper or in the cargo bay.
However, if you are on a large crew (12-20 people) which is going to one
large block, it usually makes sense to fly all the gear into the block in one
single sling load. Once the pilot has
done an over-flight and knows where the foreman wants everyone to land (a
central cache), then the sling of gear will go in first and be dropped a
hundred feet away from the central meeting spot. As each load of planters goes into the block,
they are dropped at the central cache and retrieve their gear, and the foreman
sends them to specific sections of the block.
The efficiency of using a single sling for gear is debatable, although
it definitely does save some time in loading each group of planters into the machine,
and the extra minute saved in loading and unloading each group of planters can
sometimes add up to enough time to compensate for the one extra trip for the
gear, especially if the blocks are close to the trucks (landing zone). Safety might also be increased somewhat by
this method, since everything is packed and secured in the sling beforehand,
rather than being loaded into the machine “on the fly”. On long flights between the blocks and the
truck however, it probably is more efficient to let the planters take their
gear with them in the machine, if it will all fit into the cargo bay.
5. Minimize
planter downtime – doing a “reccie” flight (reconnoiter) and then setting up
caches and flying trees into the block previous night added to direct flight
costs, but can be worthwhile. Transit
time from the base to the blocks is one factor, in addition to the flying
time. However, if the block is all set
up and ready to go when the planters arrive, then they are not wasting time
sitting on the landing in the morning, waiting for the first loads of trees to
get flown into the block. With a big
camp in fast ground, the time required to fly trees in can be
considerable. For instance, if a camp
has to plant a 90,000 tree block or group of blocks in one day, and each box
holds 180 trees, and a sling can hold 20 boxes, and the turnaround time of each
flight is 8 minutes, then a total of 200 minutes will be required (or 3.3
hours, which translates to almost four hours when refueling downtime is
considered) just to get the trees in, assuming only one chopper is
available. Even if the gear and a sling
of trees are flown in first, and then all the planters are flown in, the first
planters on the block will have bagged out and will be sitting and waiting for
more trees before the last half of the camp is even on the block. In a situation like this, the entire camp
& crew is slowed down because everyone is waiting for trees all day, and
tempers and frustration rise. The goal
of the supervisor is to ensure that the planters can plant as efficiently as
possible, and sometimes the extra costs of flying trees the night before will
result in more efficient production the following day. Although helicopter costs at over $900/hour
are very significant, you cannot ignore the cost of downtime for several dozen
planters.
6. Fly the
fastest planters in first. You may want
to vary this routine sometimes, especially on longer jobs, to try to be more
equitable to everybody including the slower planters. However, for the critical jobs when a big
block has to be finished in one long day, the fastest people should always be
flown in first, and flown back out to the trucks last. Some people will complain – the fast planters
may not want to have to work the extra hour or two at the end of the day, and
the slow ones may wish to have the opportunity to stay inside and make more
money, so the foreman has to make personnel decisions in split seconds at
times. Do what is best for the team
overall.
7. Work
your blocks from the outside in. At the
end of the day, the foreman should not have to worry about judging areas from
five or six separate remaining pieces, spread far across the block. Planters should be spread out in a manner
that gets the back corners done first, by putting more planters (or the most
powerful planters) in those areas. If
the planters need a morale boost at 5pm when the message goes out that “we’re
staying until it is done,” it is much more reassuring to see a large group of
the crew working in one area and knowing that it is the last piece, even if it
is a big one, than to be working with just a couple people and to know that
there are five or six pieces left on the block.
In addition, it is easier to clean up at the end of the day if
everything is centralized. If a sling of
trees (20 boxes) is dropped in one corner, it is not economical to fly those
same 20 empty cardboard boxes back out to the truck by themselves. However, if that corner gets finished by mid
to late afternoon, the foreman can probably carry the 20 garbage boxes to a
central cache while he or she is walking around the block, which will eliminate
one pickup point.
8. No
matter how much pressure there is to push and get a large block done in one
day, NEVER allow sloppy planting or sacrifice quality. Having to fly a crew back into a block the
following day to rework pieces is extremely expensive, and extremely
demoralizing.
9. Avoid
“pushing the top” by trying to go with the heaviest cargo loads possible. Figure out what the machine can carry
comfortable and quickly. Talk to the
pilot so he understands what you are trying to accomplish. Determine his preferred load size and his
maximum load size. Do not load a net to
his preferred load size, and then just throw in three or four extra boxes
without letting him know in advance. The
chopper can move more efficiently if the load weight is not completely
maximized. Once you hit that “full”
sling load size, adding an extra 10% in weight (if the pilot can move it around
at all) may decrease efficiency and speed by as much as 30%. This is especially true at take-off and
drop-off, although the speed (once fully airborne and moving) is not affected
much. If you have, as an example, five
overloaded slings to go into a block, it may be better in the long run to split
them up into six slings which are not overloaded, especially if the block is
close and/or there are significant differences in altitude. However, if you’re looking at a long flight
of perhaps 10-15 minutes into a block, you are probably better off going with
the five heavy loads. Always consult
with the pilot.
10. Think
about fuel loads at all times. A chopper
can lift an extra 200-250 pounds when low on fuel, compared to when the machine
has just been topped up (using small machines as an example). If you need to fly 105 boxes into a block in
five loads, instead of distributing the weight into five slings of 21 boxes
each, it would probably be best to send three loads of 20 boxes, then one load
of 22 boxes, then one load of 23 boxes (if your nets are big enough to
accommodate). If you are flying trees in
the summer and you have some boxes that are heavier than others (perhaps due to
uneven watering), you can fly loads of the drier (lighter) trees when the
chopper is fully fueled, and then fly loads of the wetter boxes after several
trips have lowered fuel levels in the machine.
Occasionally, depending on the circumstances, you might even want to
send lighter planters in on the first load or two, and the heavier guys later
in the schedule.
11. Ride
quads into the block rather than flying them in. Let’s assume that flying a quad into a block
takes about seven minutes for the pickup plus trip in plus drop-off. That means it is costing you $130-140 in flight
time to get the quad into the block. It
may be better to try to drive the quad in, even if it is a long trip, and save
yourself some money. Of course, weigh
this option against potential damage if the route into the block is especially
rough and may cause mechanical damage to the quad. Also, remember that many foremen become more
attached to their quads than necessary do you really need a quad on a chopper
block? Probably not, if you are working
on a single block or two that are very close to each other, and if you are
smart about how you work the block(s).
If you do end up having to fly a quad in, duct
tape the brakes closed so the brake handles are less likely to get caught in
the net and snap. Lift the quad slowly
and carefully, so the netting doesn’t break anything on the quad, or get ripped
as it lifts the quad.
12. The
foreman and checkers should do a careful pre-flight around the block for three
or four minutes. This may cost upwards
of $100 in flight time, but understanding how the block is laid out can avoid
confusion when directing the pilot about where to drop caches, and can save
time in the long run, so the foreman can concentrate on assigning pieces to
planters right away and arranging caches, rather than having to run into corners
of the block on foot to try to judge how big a “finger” or back corner is. Putting your cache in the right spots is
critical to planting the block efficiently.
13. You
pay for the chopper when the engine is running.
You don’t pay when the chopper is sitting grounded and turned off
(within reason – sometimes there are minimum numbers of hours billed for a
day’s work, usually two to four hours guaranteed to the company for having the
machine on site). If you are falling
behind and the chopper is wasting time in the air, waiting for caches to be
tarped and garbage slings to be loaded, etc., it is sometimes best to just shut
down for 20 minutes on the block to allow support staff time to catch up. Remember though that the whole shut-down and
start-up processes take five or six minutes, so don’t bother trying to save a
couple minutes here and there – if you are going to shut down, make it
worthwhile.
14. Try not
to start the machine up in the middle of the afternoon just to move one or two
loads around. Maximize use of the time
when the machine is in the air – hold off until the last possible moment, in
case you can get some other work done at the same time.
15. Teach
your crew to pack empty garbage boxes inside each other, rather than flattening
everything. Flattened boxes blow around
too easily, and cause problems when loading and unloading garbage slings.
Commonly Used Helicopters
“Jet
Ranger” - Bell 206 Series
The
legendary Bell 206B Jet Ranger III is the most successful commercial helicopter
ever manufactured. It flies in every
type of climate, from the Arctic Circle to South American and African jungles
to the hottest deserts, and is an ideal machine for use in tree planting. The Jet Ranger was initially designed in 1962
for military use, but the first prototype did not fly until 1966. Several models were released, including the
206A in 1967, the 206B in 1971, and the 206C in 1977, as a well as a larger
heavy-duty 206L. We usually call the
machine simply by the name “the 206”.
The 206 has the world’s best safety record among all single-engine
aircraft, and it has [relatively] low operating and maintenance costs. A Jet Ranger usually costs somewhere in the
range of $900,000 to $1.3 million.
Facts about the Bell 206:
- Designation:
Light utility helicopter.
- Engine:
Allison 250-C20 turboshaft, driving a 2-blade main rotor and 2-blade
tail rotor, at 400 shp.
- Seating:
Pilot plus four (one passenger in left front beside pilot, three on
bench seat in back seating area).
- Length of main overhead rotor blade: 10.16m (33’ 4”).
- Length of machine: 9.50m (31’ 2”).
- Height of machine: 2.91m (9’ 7”).
- Weight when empty: 732 kg (1615 lb).
- Weight at maximum: 1451 kg (3200 lb).
- Maximum speed:
225 km/h (140 mph).
- Ceiling:
13,500 feet (4100m).
- Range:
550 km (340 miles).
- Maximum sling load: approximately 680 kg (1500 lb), dependent on
weather, fuel load, altitude, etc.
- Approximately 7300 built to date, world-wide.
”Huey”
- Boeing/MD Hughes 500
The
Hughes 500 is another of the world’s most successful and useful light turbine
helicopters. This model was also
designed in around 1962 at the same time as the Bell 206, for US military use,
and was first produced in 1963. There
are a large number of variants which have been produced over the years,
including the 500C, 500D, 500E, 530F, 500U, and others. Hughes Corporation was acquired by McDonnell
Douglas in 1984, and that company was then merged with Boeing in 1997. This is another chopper which can easily be flown
with the doors removed to increase visibility, and one that can hover and land
almost anywhere.
Facts about the Hughes 500:
- Designation:
Light utility helicopter.
- Engine: Allison
250-C20B turboshaft, driving a 5-blade main rotor and 4-blade tail rotor, at
420 shp.
- Seating:
Pilot plus four to six passengers (one passenger in right front beside
pilot, or two very small passengers possible in front; three on bench seat in back
seating area OR with back seats removed, four passengers can sit and be belted
into the floor).
- Length of main overhead rotor blade: 8.1m (26’ 6”).
- Length of machine: 7.0m (23’ 0”).
- Height of machine: 2.6m (8’ 6”).
- Weight when empty: 598 kg (1320 lb).
- Weight at maximum: 1360 kg (3000 lb).
- Maximum speed:
244 km/h (152 mph).
- Ceiling:
12,500 feet (3800m).
- Range:
603 km (375 miles).
- Maximum sling load: approximately 660 kg (1450 lb), dependent on
weather, fuel load, altitude, etc.
- Fuel load:
400 pounds (60 gallons) standard, with 560 pounds (85 gallons) on
machines equipped with auxiliary fuel tank.
- Fuel burn rate:
180 pounds/hour, or 28 gallons/hour, under average conditions (can vary
quite widely).
- Approximately 4700 built to date, world-wide.
“A-Star”
– Eurocopter AS 350 Series
The
“A-Star,” known in Europe as the Ecureuil (Squirrel), is Europe’s most
successful civil helicopter. Another
light chopper, the A-Star sees extensive civil and military use around the
world. The A-Star was originally
developed by Aerospatiale in the early 1970’s, with the first prototypes being
produced in 1974 and 1975, and regular production starting in 1978. Again, a number of variants have been
manufactured, including the AS 350B, 350C, 350D, 350B1, 350B3, and others. Manufacturing currently takes place in
France, with American Eurocopter assembling and marketing machines in
Texas.
The
A-Star is considered to be the Ferrari of civil helicopters. It is very powerful and agile, and its large
doors and spacious cabin provides for easy access. A-Stars are often a preferred chopper for
tourism-based operations, and activities like heli-skiing.
Facts about the AS 350:
- Designation:
Light utility helicopter.
- Engine: single
Turbomeca Arriel 1D1 turbine engine, powering a three-blade main rotor, and a
two-blade tail rotor.
- Seating:
Pilot plus six passengers (one passenger in left front beside pilot, and
remaining passengers in rear).
- Length of main overhead rotor blade: 10.7m (35’ 1”).
- Length of machine: 12.9m (42’ 5”).
- Height of machine: 3.1m (10’ 4”).
- Weight when empty: 1170 kg (2580 lb).
- Weight at maximum: 2500 kg (5510 lb).
- Maximum speed:
246 km/h (153 mph).
- Ceiling:
15,100 feet (4600m).
- Range:
670 km (415 miles).
- Maximum sling load: approximately 1000 kg (2200 lb), dependent on
weather, fuel load, altitude, etc., and dependent upon exact model variant.
- Approximately 3000 built to date, world-wide.
Bell
212 Helicopter
The
Bell Model 212 is a medium-sized helicopter which is not often encountered in
planting operations, except on very large contracts that are pure helicopter
access (ie. even the camp must be flown in) or that may feature very long travel
distances and extensive tree delivery requirements.
The
Model 212 is a twin-engine machine which follows the earlier 204 and 205
series, developed as a joint venture between Bell and Pratt & Whitney
Canada, with support from the Canadian government. Prototypes flew in 1969, and commercial
production began around 1971. This model
is significant due to its Twin-Pac engine installation. Although engine failures are certainly not
something that planters need to be worried about, from an engineering viewpoint
this is interesting because if one engine should fail, sensors in the gearbox
instruct the remaining operating engine to switch to full power, thus providing
a true “engine-out” capability, even at maximium takeoff weight. The differences between the 204/205 and the
212 are very minor, although the 212 looks slightly different due to an altered
nose structure.
Facts about the Bell 212:
- Designation:
Medium twin utility helicopter.
- Engine: A
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3 or PT6T-3B Turbo Twin-Pac, consisting of two
turboshafts linked by a common gearbox to a single output shaft, running at
1800 shp derated to 1290 shp, powering a twin-blade main rotor and a twin-blade
tail rotor.
- Seating:
One or two pilots plus fourteen or thirteen passengers.
- Length of main overhead rotor blade: 14.7m (48’ 2”).
- Length of machine: 17.5m (57’ 3”).
- Height of machine: 4.5m (14’ 10”).
- Weight when empty: 2765 kg (6100 lb).
- Weight at maximum: 5080 kg (11200 lb).
- Maximum speed:
206 km/h (128 mph).
- Ceiling:
12,500 feet (4600m).
- Range:
450 km (280 miles) with standard fuel configuration, at long-range
cruising speed.
- Maximum sling load: approximately 2270 kg (5000 lb), dependent on
weather, fuel load, altitude, etc.
- Fuel load:
1430 pounds (220 gallons) standard, with 2600 pounds (400 gallons) total
on machines equipped with dual auxiliary fuel tanks.
- Fuel burn rate:
625 pounds/hour, or 100 gallons/hour, under average conditions (can vary
quite widely).
- Approximately 900 built to date, world-wide.
Conclusions
If
you have any suggestions or additions to the above information, please send an
email to djbolivia@gmail.com or post
feedback in the appropriate thread of the training forum on the Replant Message
Boards at www.replant.ca/board
Also,
please feel free to print this page and pass the information along to other
potential planters, and let them know the link to www.replant.ca
Special
thanks to Doug of Silver Helicopters in Prince George, all the guys at Alpine
Helicopters in Hinton and Highland Helicopters in Edson, Matt from Mustang
Helicopters in Whitecourt, all the other pilots who helped provide assistance
and answer questions, and to Kyle Matthies for proof-reading and feedback.
-
Jonathan Clark
(Scooter), author.
Copyright
1990-2004, Jonathan Clark.