bags full of equipment an hour.This is very often in placeswhere people can’t get aroundvery easily, even without a 250lb bag, and you will not bepopular if you drop the stuff inthe wrong place. Although GPSis useful here, many pilots(including myself) prefer to mapread and get really familiar withthe area before starting. In myopinion, the cockpit is not thebest place for your head whenbuzzing around trees – oddlyenough, a little instrumenttraining can be beneficial here,as it gives you the basics fortaking in a lot of information inone glance. In any case, theground crews should mark thedrop off spots with an orangeX, at least 6 feet in size, with adouble one at each end. Ensureyour own ground crew have theserial numbers of all equipmentyou move – this will stop thecustomer unloading any oldjunk on the insurance if youhave to drop anything.·
Precision longlining means what itsays, and usually involvesmoving drills, etc. because theyare heavy and cannot be movedonce they are on the ground.The real finesse with longliningcomes when moving loads that takeup nearly all the payload available,although you should never use it all,because you leave yourself with nomargins, ether with power or pedals.Some companies (and customers)will expect you to "inadvertently"use more power than the maximumto get the load moving in the firstplace – that is, it's well known thatyou are not allowed to intentionallyuse more torque than that in theSpecial Use Of Aircraft 191Limitations section of the FlightManual, but you can do so byaccident. What you do is up to you,but that margin is for getting you outof trouble, like when a load sucksyou into a hole and you need to giveit a gentle landing – you shouldalways aim to do the complete jobwithin 100%, which is whatperformance graphs are for, talkingof which, remember that humiditycan reduce their figures by as muchas 10% or more, so be careful after agood shower. Put more simply,overtorquing (within limits) is forlanding, not taking off, but you knewthat already. Another considerationis looking after your engine – manyturbine failures are the result ofpulling too many cycles fromminimum to maximum Ng, so if youdon't need 100% torque, it's best notto use it. It's also best not to reducethe collective lever to the bottomwhen descending, either, and tomake power changes gently,avoiding over- and undershoots.It's when an experienced longlinergets on the controls that the wholeprocess becomes like poetry inmotion, with the load and helicopterbecoming a symbiotic pair, whenevery ounce of performance isextracted from the machine, even to
extent of bouncing a load against atree to set it in motion (withoutdamaging it of course!).Naturally, with the top half of yourbody twisted round, you have tolearn some new motor skills. Somepeople say there is a tendency to pullthe cyclic the same way as you areleaning, and back, but I found abigger factor was the drift thatoccurs when you lower thecollective, which you learn to copewith automatically when learning tohover. To take a LongRanger as anexample, from being nicelypositioned over the load with avertical line, and reducing power,unless you make a consciouscorrection, you will find yourselfvery much to the left of the loadvery quickly. It's too easy to acceptthe resulting parallax position as thenormal one and try to take off againwith a slanted line, which means apotential for dragging the load.This is something you thereforeneed to practice, that is, keeping thehook directly over the load and theline in sight whilst pushing thecontrols in a strange direction. Ifyou're likely to get the same trainingas me (i.e. none at all), get into ahigh hover, without a line first of all,and practice spot turns, keeping thebelly hook over the target (it is behindyou!). Get your head out of thewindow and get used to landing andtaking off by looking at the back ofyour skid, so you avoid the transitionfrom vertical to horizontal reference.Maybe do a circuit or two, as well.This also helps you if the enginestops, with no time to start lookinghorizontally – just moving yourfocus from the load to theinstruments, or vice versa, takes abouttwo seconds, let alone reorganisingyour whole body.Next, graduate to a line with a lightlyloaded cargo net, followed by aheavier one, finally working up to anunloaded hook. You will find that,up to a point, the heavier the load is,the easier longlining is to do.There is also a natural tendency totighten up on the controls, the sameas when you start mountain flyingthe first time. The same advice192 Operational Flyingapplies, however, which is toRELAX! If you have to take youraggression out on anything, do it onthe collective, as the key to goodlonglining is proper downwashmanagement, and spilling it withjerky cyclic movements does nothelp at all (this is one reason whythere are holes in bearpaws, to letthe downwash through. Even a skibasket can upset the downwashenough to spoil a lift).So, be as gentle as possible at alltimes. Small, longer, controlledmovements are always better thanlarger and shorter ones. The reasonyou “fly the load” is to stop youfocussing on the helicopter andinterpreting its larger angularmovements the wrong way, althoughyou shouldn't forget to watch whereyou're going.However, the big problem withconcentrating on the load is that it isvery easy to start it swinging. I find itbest to get over the area looking outthrough the windows, and lookdown for the final positioningmoves, for which you have to getused to your line's position relativeto the ground (use the altimeter).This also means being able to see theinstruments (i.e. torque) a lot better,and ensuring you don't hit anything.You can look down more as you getmore proficient.Having done the usual preparations,such as ensuring that the line isn'ttangled, and all the electrics work,you might also want to take a noteof the altimeter readings of thelifting and delivery points – just addthe length of the line and a bit forthe usual instrument errors to theelevation, so you get an idea of whenit is going to get taut. This meansthat, when learning, you only need tostick your head out of the windowjust before you lift, to make sure theline is straight and the load isn'tgoing to hit anything on its way out.As mentioned above, performancecharts are important, as a differenceof 5° can make the differencebetween getting a load off theground (or not) when operating tothe limits. Although the maximumpayload is there to be used, I still likea safety margin of somewherebetween 5-10%, because pulling fullpower for long periods is not goodengine handling (you need to watchyour pedals, too). Remember thatyou have to get the load moving
onwards and upwards (especially thelatter), which eats into the maximumcontinuous power limits.Another reason for the margin is toensure you have enough fuel to getto the destination – running short ofgas is one source of pressure youdon't need. It's all very well for thesales department to tell the customerthat your machine can lift aparticular load, but you also have toget it somewhere! A stage length of25 miles or so at 40 knots meansover 30 minutes' flying, or more ifthe load flies badly. Unless you havefuel there as well, you also have toinclude the journey to the fueldrums, so minimum fuel should beavoided, and neither should youhave to remove survival kits, etc. tomake a job happen.There is a certain springiness to aload as it comes off the groundwhich tells you it's a good lift. In myexperience, if you have to struggle toget the load off, and it's reluctant todo so anyway, that's the time tothink again. Reduce the payload, waitSpecial Use Of Aircraft 193for some wind or a cooler day, orwhatever, but STOP.Once the load is airborne,immediately ease the nose forward,adding a little collective, with the aimof proceeding smoothly forwardsand upwards. If it is out of the door,your head should be constantlymoving between the forward andvertical positions, to make sure youdon't lose situational awareness,which is another way of saying don'thit anything! Once you are clear ofobstacles, you can start thinking ofturning, and can put your head backinside the office and proceed as for anormal load (that's the time to spitout all the bugs that have splatteredall over your teeth). It’s alsoimportant to ensure that you don’toverpitch, and that you remain inbalance as much as possible. Don'tforget, reduce power when you havethe speed and height that you want.Now you've got to get it back on theground!Well before the landing site, startslowing down. The mountaintechnique of using the collective todo this works well, and this is alsoworth some practice. A slight crabwill not only help to keep the targetin sight, but the drag from the moresideways presentation of the fuselagewill also reduce the speed. Your scanat this point will be off the scale,especially if you are dropping off toa point higher than the ground (thatis, on a platform) and you don’t havethe shadow to give you an idea ofwhere the bottom of the load is.Do not overshoot, as the load willhave its own inertia and willcontinue forward of its own volition(this is what's meant by flying theload). Backing up to reposition isalways a problem, even with powerin hand, as it's easy to set the loadswinging, and it's better to go aroundand try again - there should alwaysbe movement, even if it's vertical.You should at this point be comingin nicely on a long approach, aimingfor a point just above the elevationof the ground plus the length of theline. Keep moving forward anddown. With power in hand, youcould probably afford to come to acomplete stop, but still aim for a nohover deposit of the load. Withoutmuch power, you have to aim forthe target directly and place it in onemovement, with a final check at thelast minute, which is something thatonly comes with practice.I have also found it useful, forpositioning, to extend my viewforwards and sideways to prominentpoints and line myself up with them,which is useful when I can't see thelanding point.In mountains, you have to learn toignore the slope, and be aware thatyour downwash may well bounce offit and push the load away fromwhere it should be, that is,underneath you, which is why youmight sometimes use very long lines,when the slope is very steep and youstill find your skids in the trees.After a job, when landing, curl theline up on itself, then pull back whenquite close to the ground, ensuring itis away from your skids.EM BirdThis is a large gadget used to detectterrestrial magnetism (anomalies mayindicate the presence of minerals). Itcosts around $1.2 m and needs to beflown very accurately at specific194 Operational Flyingheights and speeds, for which youneed at least a radalt and GPS,although some setups use a laseraltimeter, which is accurate to the
foot. It is generally well behaved, butcan be tricky at slow speeds, and thedata gets fuzzy above 80 kts. It is atthe end of a 100-foot line, and needsto be 100 above the ground anyway,so you will be at 200 feet, unlessyou’re over water or ice, down to 30.There will be a 10-14 foot heightwindow to operate in.There is a PDU (Pilot Display Unit)on the top of the instrument panelthat gives you information on theline you're flying or intercepting,with horizontal track bars indicatingyour distance from the centreline inmetres. Although done in VFR, it’sthe sort of job where a little IFRtraining comes in handy, as it allowsyou to keep your head in the cockpita little more and cope with doingseveral things at once, such asthinking several hundred metresahead, planning approaches to hills,power lines and other obstacles. Thiswill include power and speedrequirements, and fuel.The operation is dependent on maythings which are critical, such asmaintenance, weather, solar activity,magnetic storms, etc., so bring abook. Or three.Aerial ApplicationAerial application (of pesticides orfertilizers) means either cropspraying or top dressing, the latterbeing used in forestry (although youcan spray cut blocks with boomson). Top Dressing is more akin toload slinging, except you use enginedriven devices like buckets to spreadsolutions over forests. Unlike cropspraying, it can be done in strongishwind conditions, but, otherwise, it'scharacterised by always being in, orvery near, the avoid curve and manyother situations that you're taught toavoid normally. You can tell withforests that have been sprayed in theearly stages of their growth as towhether the pilots were successful ornot—you very often see treesshorter than others, which is wherethey missed. Helicopters areparticularly useful when the leavesneed to be sprayed from underneath,because of the downwash.In fact, your downwash (or rotorwake) can be used to good effect. Atlow speed, you can spray a small areaunderneath the flight path. At higherspeeds, the wake helps spread theload behind and to either side (theterm rotor wake means all the airdisplaced by the helicopter, asopposed to just the downwash).Knowledge of wake managementwill therefore help you become abetter spray pilot.The Rotor WakeThis changes within three distinctspeed ranges:·
Up to 20 mph, the air movesprimarily downwards, most of itdescending from the outeredges of the blades, so you get arelatively calm area around thefuselage (in other words, youSpecial Use Of Aircraft 195are in the middle of a ring, like adoughnut - you can see this byhovering over water). The forcein the outer ring can agitate the
foliage so it collects chemicalabove and below, in a fog over arelatively large area. Slowspeeds, however, cost money.·
At 18-22 mph (on a Bell), theannular ring shortens in thedirection of movement tobecome an ellipse, coincidingwith translation. Above 20 mph,the annular ring disappears, anda large amount of separate,small airflows coalesce toprovide an area of ill-definedairflow with a generaldownward direction.·
Above 35 mph, two distinctrotating vortices are formedfrom directly behind themachine to a long way behind,assuming no outside influence(they are fully developed about1 rotor diameter behind themast, and can be sustained forup to 2500 feet). Each vortexstarts from where the annularring would be in the hover, andis relatively calm in the center(in fact, the centre to centredistance between them is justunder the rotor diameter, andslightly displaced from thecentre towards the retreatingblade). Regard them as largefunnels extending rearward anddownward, getting bigger asthey go. The point is, they canbe used to direct chemical intothe foliage. Ground cushion,however, can cause them toseparate, because there isnowhere else for them to go.There is still a downward flowas well as the vortices.Particle size at low heights should belarger to prevent them being suckedinto the vortex areas, where they willnot be effective – low leveloperations should plan to use thelower parts of the generated airflow(say for economical application ofpesticides, or where penetration isnot required). You would spray athigher levels if you want to spray theunderside of foliage, as with anorchard, and make full use of thevortices. In this case, particle sizewould be smaller, but large enoughto fall out of the air stream. Thedenser the foliage, the higher the airstream needs to be.It has been found that, between 40-80 mph, the swath width can berelatively constant, meaning that youcan get the same physical coveragewhile slowing down to concentrateon more heavily infested areas.Application is inversely proportionalto airspeed, so 2 gallons an acre at 60mph translates to 3 gallons at 40 or1.5 at 80.Note that there is a differentoptimum particle size according tothe foliage - a good reference bookfor your library in this respect isConcentrated Spray Equipment, Mixturesand Application Methods, by S F Potts(Dorland Books, NJ).The ProcedureCrop-spraying, like slinging, is verysatisfying when you get a goodrhythm and an efficient team that
keeps you in the air as much aspossible. Unlike it, however, you willbe operating a heavy machine withunwieldy spray booms (actually justlike bouncy missiles, if you ever did196 Operational Flyingthat sort of thing) at some speed inconfined areas, and the low levelmanoeuvres will require a lot of coordination and forward thinking. Forexample, you have to continuallykeep a note of the ground so whenyou turn round you can pick upfrom where you left off andremember where you've beenalready. When lining up, you need toget the speed and heading right, andpick a spot to aim for so you cankeep straight, all in the space of afew seconds. There are GPS-basedsystems that will even turn thebooms on and off automatically.There's usually very little wind tohelp you, either, because of the legalrestrictions on wind speeds and thepossibilities of Spray Drift (see later),and spraying cotton in Australia isactually done at night. In fact, youcan only really count on about 5hours' productive time during theday, 3 in the morning and 2 in theevening. Anything else is a bonus.The big problem with doing it atthose times is that the Sun is alwaysin your eyes from one direction,which may not be the ideal if there isany wind about.The idea is to fly between 35-45knots at about 5 feet along the"grain" of the crop (if you don'tneed penetration), at the end of therun pulling up and pivoting aroundto face the other direction on theend of the boom that is pointinginto wind, so you start where youleft off (the speed and height wouldbe about 50 kts and 50 feet in forestblocks, allowing for obstacles). Thus,you turn into wind at the end ofeach run, progressing towards thewind direction. The trick whenturning down wind is to pull up, turnhalfway, then let the machine fallinto the right spot, with maybe alittle help from some backwardcyclic. Hopefully, after each run, youcan still see your load settling andcan use it as an aiming point for thenext one, so you could liken it tousing a paintbrush, even to theextent of using pedals to twist theswath into the fiddly bits of forests.Expect to overlap about 10%. Thereason for starting from a downwindposition is so that you're not flyinginto your own spray. Before youstart, however, make sure you havethe right blocks, and you have thepermits for them!Pesticides come in various forms, assolid, liquid or gas—in general,insecticides kill insects, herbicideskill plants (i.e. weeds) and fungicidesmake short work of, well, fungi, buteven these classifications can befurther broken down. Withinsecticides, a stomach poison mustactually be ingested, while a contactpoison needs merely to be touchedby the insect. A systemic insecticidecan be applied to one part of theplant from where it spreads by itselfto the rest, although it may need to
be applied in a particular way to beproperly effective, such as at the rootor on the leaves.Herbicides can also be selective, in thatthey go after a certain species ofplant. Residual herbicides providelong-term control, sometimes for upto three seasons. However, timing isimportant—they must be appliedwhen the plants to be protected arestrongest and the weeds at theirweakest. You might find pre-plant,pre-emergence or post emergence types,which really speak for themselves.A protectant is a fungicide designed toprotect the plant rather than doSpecial Use Of Aircraft 197damage to a fungus. Eradicants areused when it's too late. In with themix may be an inert substance,which might be talc in a dustformulation, or a petroleum productto assist emulsification.Aerial Application, in UK, at least,takes place under a “Certificate”,which is broadly comparable to anAOC. Other countries will have asimilar system. Under the terms ofthis, a Ground Operations Managermust always be present, who musthave certain minimum qualifications.There should also be a field supportengineer, who monitors aircraftperformance and attends to routineservicing (the same person could doboth jobs). There may also be aflagman, who marks out the areas tobe sprayed and the routes to befollowed. Other ground staff includeloaders, who mix and load thesolution, which usually requires fastaction to keep things going, but,when things are happening quickly,there is more danger of spillage andcontamination.Wherever you are, though, it is likelythat you'll need some ground schoolin order to pass exams forregistration as a spray pilot, whichmay involve some calculations aboutnozzle sizes, etc. You must also learnto read the label on the product, whichwill have some legal status. It willcontain instructions concerningequipment required, first aidprocedures, compatibility, amountsto be used, and where, and storage(pesticides are often DangerousGoods, as well). If you spray outsidethe conditions in the label, you willnot be legal.To make money out of spraying, setprices are usually charged for anarea, which means the quicker thejob is done, the quicker another canbe started, which is about the onlyway to maximise income - theproblem is that your company'saccounts are based on flying hours,not acreage. The aircraft should beplaced centrally, and its production(in acres per hour) will depend onpayload available, endurance, deadtime between sites, volume of workat each site, terrain, pilot'sexperience, time spent on theground reloading, rate of applicationand weather (I think that's all).Organisation, however, is mostimportant. If you keep changingchemicals, the whole pattern of workwill be disrupted, so grouping cropsthat require the same cover on aregular basis can get rid of not onlydead ferrying time, but alsounnecessary cleaning of tanks. Veryoften, you can expect to top up withfuel after every delivery, to get themaximum spread.To minimise weight, liquid solutionswill be more concentrated thannormal, and exposing yourself andground staff to the spray must beregarded as a possibility, either byingestion, skin contact (sometimesthrough the eyes) or inhalation.Remember, whatever it is killsthings, so it will be toxic—the largerthe LD50 value, the less it will be, butbelow 10 is regarded as extremelytoxic (LD50 indicates a dose that willkill 50% of test animals within acertain period, and refers to acutetoxicity). Minimise skincontamination with rubber glovesand boots (unlined), and cleanclothing which includes longtrousers and sleeves, which is justwhat you need on a hot day,especially with coveralls on top198 Operational Flying(wear trouser legs outside boots). It'snot essential to use anythingwaterproof unless you actuallyexpect to get drenched, or areworking in a mist. Cover cuts andabrasions. Flaggers can avoidexposure to whatever is beingsprayed by simply keeping out of theway of each pass.Acute poisoning refers to a singledose, while chronic poisoning arisesfrom many non-poisonous doses
over time.Spray DriftThis is the movement of whateveryou're spraying to areas it was notintended for. It's undesirable, notonly because it reduces the chemicalused on the job, but it also causesdamage in non-target areas due toconcentrated amounts accumulatingdownwind, sometimes more thanthat applied to the target (it's alsotrespassing). Spray Drift is affectedby greater wind velocity at height,volatility of the solution, temperatureinversions combined with spraypressure, nozzle spray angle and airmovement around the aircraft. Youcan reduce the chances of it byreleasing large droplets close to thetarget, by:·
Flying as low and slow aspossible.·
Locating nozzles away fromrotor tips.·
Placing the spray boom as farforward as possible.·
Orienting nozzles backward andspacing for uniform patterns.·
Using low nozzle pressures.·
Using larger orifices in thenozzles.·
Spraying when winds are lightand the air is cool, about 4 a.m.·
Using herbicides that do notproduce damaging vapours.·
Using buffer zones, particularlyaround waterYou can also modify the solutionwith additives that produce moreviscosity (adjuvants), or with an invertemulsion system, which will apply amayonnaise-like material. They bothhave disadvantages, though, in eitherneeding specialised equipment ormixing techniques.If you're trying to increase thevolume of solution over a particulararea, you're better off tinkering withthe nozzles than reducing speed orraising spray pressure. This will helpto avoid small droplets, or 'fines',that are more likely to drift. Thereare some crops, however, thatrequire good coverage and smalldroplets, which is the opposite. Thisis where you need to be a bit of achemist as well as a pilot to satisfythe customer.Vapour drift is a similar effect arisingfrom evaporation.Accurate records are essential, notonly as aids to the business but alsofor later complaints of drifting. It'shelpful to note such items as nozzlesize and spacing, wind velocity andweather conditions, rate ofapplication and time on task,together with a diagram (which youshould have made anyway, forplanning purposes—many pilots usean aerial photograph and keep a logof the tracks flown with a marker).Special Use Of Aircraft 199SeedingWhen a pipeline, or similar, has beenlaid, the countryside has to made tolook attractive again as soon aspossible. A large hopper full of grassseed is used to do this, and you willget to do a series of runs over the
pipeline to spread it.The hopper is basically a largefibreglass bucket that weighs about300 lbs. It has a large petrol motoron the bottom, about the size of theaverage lawnmower engine, with agate that is opened and closed fromthe cabin, and the important thing toremember is to positively switch offafter a run, otherwise you will dropthe seed everywhere. In other words,just letting go of the On buttondoesn’t automatically stop the flow.The other point is that, like alongline, it is attached to thehelicopter in two places, that is, thehook and the electrical cable, and thelatter has to be pulled out by groundstaff or you will strip the cableswhen the hook is released.If you have a lot of ground to cover,think about placing the seed on atruck and operating from variouspoints around the countryside,which will save a lot of dead flyingtime. Lastly, depending on themachine and how far you have to fly,it’s not uncommon to top up withfuel after every delivery.Fire SuppressionYou may be asked to turn your handto many jobs, including:·
help fight the fire itself, withbuckets, attached directly to thehelicopter or on a long line·
move men and materials overnatural barriers, between theircamps and the fire·
scan with FLIR (Infra red)·
report fire dimensions back tothe fire boss·
recover equipment afterwards·
search for hotspots·
do Initial Attack patrols·
Command and ControlGenerally, what job you get isdetermined by the fireboss the nightbefore (once the fire's organisationalstructure is in place) and you getyour orders in the morning whenyou turn up for work.Of course, what often happens is asystem of organised chaos, where it’shard to tell if anyone really knowswhat’s going on and you end upfighting a little bit all by yourself.Otherwise, if you're not part of theoperation, you should not be within5 nm and below 3000 feet agl of thefire's limits. Anyone joining inshould be in touch with the birddog, if there is one—this is a lightplane or helicopter used for airtraffic and controlling the watertankers, and you need to be told200 Operational Flyingwhen they are coming so you can getout of the way for 15 minutes or so.If there is no bird dog, the local fireauthority should have a UHF flightwatch frequency, and the fire itselfwill have a common aeronauticalVHF frequency allocated to it.Expect also to need a VHF FMfrequency for the ground crews,which means you have to listen outon three very busyfrequencies.Water bomberswill be used either
to drop retardantor water,sometimes withfoam. Retardant isphosphatefertiliser andwater, with a dyeso they can seewhere it hit. It isnot actually usedon the fire, butaround it, so it iscontained in asmaller area andallowed to burnout. Skimmers(like the CL415)pick water up from nearby lakes, butothers get reloaded from nearbyairstrips prepared for the purpose.There will often be dozers trying tocreate a break round the fire for thesame purpose if it is small enough.Bombers do not usually get below150 feet, as the water pattern will getdisrupted, so your safest height iswell below that, amongst the smoke,so be careful.Helicopters also make use of handysources of water, like swimmingpools or small rivers, typically usingthe Bambi Fire Bucket. Such sourcesshould ideally be close, upwind andat least the same elevation as the fire,so you don’t have to keep climbingwith a load on. The Bambi can betransported at quite a speed (up to80 kts), as long as you don’t pitchmore than 15° either way.These days, the minimum machine islikely to be the AStar B2, or aLongRanger with a good engine,with anything lower in performance,such as the 206,being relegated toobservation orputting out hotspots, since thebucket size is only90 gallons. In mostcases, the killingtime is between 30-45 minutes from thestart of the fire, so, ifyou're on standbyfor Initial Attack,your response timeshould be as fast aspossible (takeoffinside 3 minutes).For Initial Attack,you will typically beteamed up withthree or four firefighters and theirassociated gear, which will fill everyavailable hole in the cabin andbaggage compartments. You willneed enough fuel to get them to thespot and be useful while you'rethere, and get them back again, so,on the way, take note of the nearestairfield or refuelling spot. If the firegets big enough, they may well bringfuel down in drums, but by that timethe bombers could well be thereanyway and you will be sent off toanother one. Your task, as an initialattack team, is just to stamp on a fireSpecial Use Of Aircraft 201just starting, but you could well beinvolved in just slowing it downaround people or property. You willget your instructions from the birddog if it arrives before you get there(directions are given with referenceto the head or tail of the fire, whichare the downwind and upwind ends,respectively. Left and right flanks arecounted from the tail to the head).Once a fire has been detected, it willbe allocated a number. When it getsbeyond a certain size and becomespart of a more serious effort, it willalso get its own traffic frequency, asmentioned above, which should beused by all aircraft entering orleaving, once the bird dog has leftfor greater things.Anyhow, picking up water in singleengined helicopters beyond glidingdistance from shore has the usualproblems, plus possibledisorientation if you go too far in.Fast moving streams don’t help,making you feel as if you weremoving the wrong way, so it’s bestto find a calm area, as otherwise youwill have to move the helicopter tokeep up with the water, ending up ina fast taxi unawares – always face theflow of the stream. Approach thewater with some forward speed sothe bucket tips over and starts to fillas you progress, as it has a tendencyto drift forward otherwise. Get intoa low hover, which will help push itunder, and lift it mostly out. If you'reheavy (i.e. with a lot of fuel), keepthe power on and pull the bucketforward in one smooth movement,using translational lift to getairborne. You will find that the winddirection is critical.Be careful if you're longlining with a
