Landing in Rough Seas

About 12 years ago, some friends and I got a personal tour of an Aegis Cruiser my friend was captaining, in Norfolk. Great experience.
One of things they explained was that a crewman would attached a cable from the deck to the helo as it hovered, then once attached, the pilot would full thrust upward as the winch cable pulled the helo down steady. Then it was pulled into the shed via a rail and cable. Pretty neat.
 
It requires commitment to the landing. Or to an asylum... or both!

:)

Tough job, well done.

Pilots who operate from vessels are definitely special.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Veebyes

Those pilots have nollys made of titainium.

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And they're the size of softballs...even when the pilot is a lady.
Anyone who lands anything on a pitching ship...has my admiration.
 
Don't ever tell airedales that stuff. The hair products have already altered their brain chemistry enough that they don't need any praise giving them delusions of grandeur.
 
And I get nervous docking my boat...
Jim
 
quote:
Originally posted by 32carv

And I get nervous docking my boat...
Jim

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Speed, power, and momentum are the trinity of boat handling - but try to juggle more than two of those at a time and see how it ends!
 
Sure beats an open water landing in the same conditions.

Ken
 
quote:
Originally posted by November Charlie

Don't ever tell airedales that stuff. The hair products have already altered their brain chemistry enough that they don't need any praise giving them delusions of grandeur.

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I agree. Most, if not all of them have massive egos...but they earned it.
Just imagine...an F18 pilot coming in for a landing in the middle of the night and the ship is pitching up and down in 20 foot seas. Talk about anal clinching.
 
Greetings: System to land a helos on decks was introduced by the Canadian Navy about fifty or more years ago. It is called the "bear trap". Sea Kings used it landing on the decks of our Destroyers and Frigates. Basically the helo would approach the ship and drop a cable which would be attached to the device then the helo would draw itself to the deck. The pilot had complete control. Interestingly the US navy were very late in using this system. We still fly the Sea Kings which are at least 50 years old. Regardless the of the safety CWMS comment re anal clinching is the normal state for almost all landings when you consider the airfield is almost the size of tennis court.
 
I trained in landing the HH-52 Sea Guard helo on the US Coast Guard WMEC 210-ft cutter. Our landing device was a grid of 2x4 lumber and a tie down crew in baskets over the edge of the flight deck. Deck the beam of the ship, 34-feet, about 10-meters. When an HH-52 came out to meet us at sea, it was escorted by an HU-16 Albatross amphibious fixed wing, or later, an HH-3 Sea King. Sea King was too big to land on a 210. The NOW generation of helo to land on 210 is the zoomy HH-65 Dolphin.
 
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