Heli Skiing

[Gambler]

I have been reading this forum for a couple of years and I have decided to finally join the insanity. There seems to be a lot of knowledge out ther and I was wondering if anyone could share some heli-skiing rules to live by. I'm sure there are a lot of highly experienced heliski drivers on this forum from what I can tell, and I'm sure there are some tricks of the trade/ procedures that hopefully can be shared or PM'd to myself.

Thanks/ Look forward to many more posts

The Gambler

 

[4961]

While heli skiing, don't be a gambler.

 

[4961]

Sorry about that. Here's some basic information that I've cooked up over a few years.

There are several things to consider before a days work heli-skiing. The following are just a few:

1) Weather:
1) Your personal level of training and visibility limitations (are you half mile rated?)
2) What are the temperature and the due point, and how will it effect your day?
3) Fog and cloud in relationship to imbedded snow.
4) Is there going to be any icing, where and at what level?
5) What is the weather trend for the day? How will it affect you?
6) Find the wind direction and the speed.
7) Use the WAT chart for the 212. For the Astar, will you be torque limited or NG?
Power management is critical in mountain flying, do everything that you can to insure that you will have sufficient power to provide safe approaches. This being said the weather is usually the largest contributing factor in heliskiing mishaps. Arm yourself with all the information that you can. Use the discreet radio to get information on the weather in other places in the tenure. “Operation white thong†is a humorous way of getting the point across that the weather is unacceptable for continued operations.
Blackcomb Mountain patrol has a very useful weather briefing recorded message that gives both temps and winds for several elevations on the hill. Also there is computer-generated information on the Internet available from the mountain weather plots.

2) Mountain Flying:
a) The recci, gather information on:
1) Wind speed and direction; find the line of demarcation, both good and bad air.
2) Available references at the landing area. As well as available reference for an aborted landing.
3) Terrain, slope and obstacles. Use and eye level pass, where is the tail going to go? Is the spot level? How deep is the snow? Will the blades clear the reference once the nose sinks in?
4) Approach and departure paths.
B) On Approach be sure to always:
1) Plan your approach paths using your best reference, including your abort.
2) Plan your approach so that you remain un-committed for as long as possible.
3) Leave yourself an out until the last possible moment.
4) Complete a power check before you’re committed to the spot.
5) Plan a level touch down, no sideways movement.
6) Avoid a large run on landing.
Never:
1) Loose sight of your reference, sliding past your stake or rock. Be sure to have control of your rate of closure.
2) Flair at touchdown, you will put the tail into the snow.
3) Commit to the spot before it is necessary.
4) Assume the wind at the landing area.
c) Departures:
1) Vertical take off to clear out of the snowball from the rotor wash, also to clear the tail rotor from the clients.
2) Do a power check before committing to a take off; be sure that the skids are free from the snow. Don’t assume that you have the power.
3) Maintain your reference at all costs.
3) Reference Management:
a) Always maintain your reference. If this is becoming difficult then maybe its time to get out of that area.
B) Always turn towards your reference; never give it away until you have a fix on your next reference.
c) Remember that scale can be very difficult to judge. Be sure of the size of the object that you are, half buried steak, or a tree (is it big or small) think about how the illusion will affect your rate of closure.
d) It is harder to go downhill than uphill. Don’t get suckered into going for the landing when the vis is poor. Once you are there, your only half way. Once you’re off the landing in poor visibility, control your ground speed. Diving for the valley in bad weather is a recipe for disaster.
e) Have the demisting on before the clients get in the machine.
4) Operations:
a) Always maintain good communications with whom ever is flight watching.
B) Staking new landings with clients on board will be done (as all things) at the pilots discretion, and saved for sunny days and favorable winds.
c) Your job is to fly the helicopter and decide where and when it is safe to fly and land, not the guides!
d) Don’t park the helicopter in an area that is exposed to avalanche.
e) If you are uncomfortable, or unsure, don’t do it. Error on the side of safety every time.
5) Customer Pressure:
a) The most common heliski accidents are lack of sufficient power to land or take off and loss of visual reference, the question is what happened? Why did this experienced pilot find himself in that position?
B) Guides are not pilots, and have no say in aviation related decision making. Red flag phrases; “We can always get in there†“The last guy had no problem†“The rest of the groups are staying out†“It was fine a couple days ago†RECOGNIZE BAD ADVICE.
c) Other peoples decision making should not affect yours. Very small difference in weather, loading, comfort levels, experience can make the difference between go and no-go. Make your own calls and stick by them.
d) Make good safety calls, no matter what the customer says. We will back you up with great enthusiasm, every time. Heliskiing is no different than any other type of flying, our limits stay the same.
e) One half mile flight visibility, clear of cloud at all times. Max gross weight or below, always. Remain within the c of g envelope during all stages of your flight. Remain clear of icing. If you are unsure, don’t do it.

I've been skiing (flying) for seven years now, which makes me a rookie. PM me if I can help out in any other way.

 

[4961]

More good info http://www.flyinc.ca/downloads.htm

 

[cap]

4961 -----what colour are you used to seeing on any markers.......intn'l orange or black? Got a reason for asking.

 

[407 Driver]

4961, you should bind all of that info into a book and sell it well done 😛

A great trick to stay alive with is ...on departure from the top, never pull and rotate forward off the stakes UNLESS you have positive reference. If the reference is questionable, I lift off vertically, back up 10 feet, then decide on the departure. It's nice to have those 2 flags in your forward view when you realize that the old '12 has created a fog bank when the group was unloading.....

I've only worked one job with multiple aircraft operating together. On that job, the RULE was ...one guy calls it for Wx, everyone calls it, no exceptions. I saw the pressure in "Blue" back in the old days when it was every pilot for himself. What a cluster-F#$k that was.

CAP, I've only seen black stakes with red or orange flagging material.

 

[4961]

4961 -----what colour are you used to seeing on any markers.......intn'l orange or black? Got a reason for asking.

Hey Cap.

Staking sounds like such an easy thing, but it ain't.
The stakes that I'm used to seeing are black with orange or red flagging. The flagging has to be the type that when cut doesn't leave strands of material left to freeze to the steak and make the whole thing useless.
Placement is critical too. I've seen both the simple single stake as well as patterns. The pattern is a triangle which on typical wind day as two stakes on the pilots side and one off the left. The Idea is that the two gives a larger target as well as more to look at to gain an idea about your rate of closure. If the wind switches you still have one to go to on the other side. The problem with this is that if you shoot to the first of the two stakes, you can hit the second with the blades, and end up not looking cool.
Ohhh god are we talking about going skiing? Eye twitch smilie here.

 

[4961]

4961, you should bind all of that info into a book and sell it well done 😛

A great trick to stay alive with is ...on departure from the top, never pull and rotate forward off the stakes UNLESS you have positive reference. If the reference is questionable, I lift off vertically, back up 10 feet, then decide on the departure. It's nice to have those 2 flags in your forward view when you realize that the old '12 has created a fog bank when the group was unloading.....

I've only worked one job with multiple aircraft operating together. On that job, the RULE was ...one guy calls it for Wx, everyone calls it, no exceptions. I saw the pressure in "Blue" back in the old days when it was every pilot for himself. What a cluster-F#$k that was.

CAP, I've only seen black stakes with red or orange flagging material.

Thanks Driver.

I use the back up thing too. It's the only way that I feel like I have an easy way back to the stake if it all goes for a crap.

We're the same on the Wx call. Once the flag goes up, it's a race back to the lodge for beers. Nobody can say "well they're still out"

 

[407 Driver]

Given the [] -heads here never improve their bad Wx areas, They ski all the tree runs on WX day 1 and 2, then ask us to go up above treeline on days with fairly flat light. In those cases, I insisted on up to 5 or 6 flags in a row across a wide white dome. It gives you great reference and closure info. Don't need to worry about chopping flags with the '12, 4961, that's an Astar thing mostly 😀 damn things are so nose low in the snow.

The "Empire" uses a red cloth flagging material, stands up well to the wind and sun. The local [] found some orange surveyors tape, with an imbedded thread woven into it, it worked well. ( must have been cheap too ? )

 

[cap]

Just wondered guys if they had gone back to the orange stakes. They used to and they diappeared from view until you had flat pitch. They caused a lot or 'wandering, cursing, tightened asses and the odd twisted metal....some more twisted than others. Took them awhile to figure out that the black showed up better then the intn'l orange.

 

[firehawk]

I think the guys answered it all for you. Always, always leave the back door open as long as you can. Pay attention to the performance of your aircraft for that day.
There are thousands of scenarios you can be faced with, Always be thinking and never get to comfortable thats when it will bite you.
My biggest saving grace is when things don't feel right and things are'nt falling into place, say no or go somewhere else or go home.
If you are flying with other pilots respect each others decisions. Do not give into the pressure of the guests wining and complaining about how bad they want to ski and that you should be out there getting them some skiing.

 

[Gambler]

Wow!

4961 Thankyou so much for your complete breakdown and great advise. Thanks to 407D and Firehawk as well. This type of advise could really save my bacon and I really appreciate the info. I'll see you on the hills!

The Gambler

 

[T-rex]

407,

You folks heli-skiing over that side of the ridge yet? (bad side ((BC Side))
Sunny and warm here!

 

[cap]

Gambler ------one final comment from me. Just to put ALL that you have been told into perspective, realize that you may one day want/wish for an a/c with a bunch more power or feel that 'mistakes' only happen to 'newbies'. If and when they day should ever arrive remember this: 214's have 'gone in' in the past on heli-skiing and so have 212's with some pilot's flying that had ten of thousands of hours and many decades in the busness. Don't wish to 'talk down to you' and that's not the intent, but just something to think about some day when you might be 'feeling your oats' a bit too much.....and we've all been "there". 🙄

 

[Gambler]

Cap-

Thanks for the advice, it sure is nice to see a place where people are looking out for one another and keeping everyones best interests in mind. Thanks again for all the coments and reeeaaaaaally helpful info!

Gambler