Confined area mission tomorrow

[StanFoster]

The Turbinator is all fueled for tomorrows mission of flying myself to a jobsite to work on a spiral stairway I built. The contractor wanted to install the spiral himself.....and I offered him one emergency trip in case he needed my assistance. He hasnt even started on it and is crying Uncle.....so I am flying in tomorrow to help out. This is a very confined area, and I will occasionally do these confined area landings.

It takes 2 full hours to drive to this home...and I will be able to fly it in 40 minutes. Last time I drove up I used my GPS and recorded the exact longitude and latitude for such a future mission. This data is entered into my Avmap Geopilot....and will guide me there tomorrow.

More pictures tomorrow late.


Stan

[ylf]

Looks like maybe a slope landing as well.

[All_In]

Man this is the coolest buddy!!!

And it is tax deductible!

What a life of the rich and famous?

[All_In]

Originally Posted by StanFoster

John- I worlk for the rich and famous...but never will be either.

This guy happens to be a major owner in the Cabellos sporting goods store chain. He is wanting to be there when I take off. I usually work till about 4 pm....but I will be so antsy for that escape flight to home....that I can see myself strapping in at 2 p.m.!


Stan

Ok... well then ask the owner of the house how often he flies his helicopter to the job site and lands at friends homes?

If you do it more then...???

[Steve McGowan]

Gonna Sling Load that rascal in there Stan?? Bet ya can..

[Aussie_Paul]

Good luck with it Stan.

Aussie Paul.

[StanFoster]

Getting ready for my departure. I would have normally left at 6 a.m....but due to the contractors crew not starting till 8 a.m....I just have to cool my heels

Love this under the seat storage bin. I packed a sandwich, chips and a bottle of water in there....along with my other essential tools including tape measure...calculator....router bits, etc. Vice grips...electrical tape...screwdriver...etc. Still plenty of room in that box left.

The box is see thru plastic and I find it handy to be able to look at my fuel lines...and cyclic controls under my floor pan. Plus...I can take the box out and physically get to stuff instead of unscrewing the bottom of the cabin.

I am going to install another box on the right side of my seat for even more storage.

Getting ready to take off in a half an hour.

Will try to post some cellphone shots while up there. I can only imagine how many times I will be going to a window and looking at the chopper sitting there.

Stan

[choppergabor]

OK not to be pushy but????? where are the pics????

[StanFoster]

I had the time of my life flying up to northern Illinois to a home to work on installing a spiral stairway.

Flat as pancake ground with corn -soybeans and an occasional wheat field.....and two huge windfarms that are going up everywhere. That is until I arrived at the wooded country alongside a huge river. This is where millionaires love to build.

My GPS steered me right to the home....I did a high recon over solid trees....then a low recon....and snapped some pictures....then it was time for the very serious confined area landing. My approach brought me in slowly downward over a pond with steep banks all around that were not landable at all I had some sloped ground next to the driveway to set down...so no l set up for an uphill landing.

All the workers were outside waiting for me as I was right on the minute when said I would arrive. My GPS had me adjusting my speed a few mph as my estimated time enroute coincided with my clock.

The contractor was simply full of a million questions. He was asking about my approach and I said I dont know what was more important...the prayer or the turbine running perfect. He just laughed.

It took me 20 minutes to let the adrenalin from this experience burn off....I could not have been more pleased with the trip....and sometimes one must use the helicopter to what its designed for. I would not do this on a daily basis at all.....but the risk versuse reward card was played.....and I can tell you I will SAVOR this memory for years.

The contractor took a video of my departure out of that hole...and when he sends it to me...I will upload it to YouTube and post it here.

Many more pictures to come...but I am going home and go cook a ribeye!


Stan

[BEN S]

Stan,
Forgive the lack of knowledge question here, but from the picture it seems you had plenty of space to set it down, What made this a difficult landing as opposed to any other landing. I don't fly helos so I honestly don't know.
If you tell me the flux capacitor was not firing on all circuits, I'll believe you.
Surely those trucks arrived after you landed,lest the be sand blasted right?
Ben S

[ylf]

Looks like there were even some power lines thrown in for good measure. Must have been fun!

[hillberg]

No need for all the drama, You could land a Sikorsky 58 on that patch of dirt.
(Fun wasn't it?)

[BEN S]

Stan I gather from your answer to Don's comment that these make up for a difficult landing. I just assumed that when landing a helicopter that there was a shaded area in the HV curve that is un-avoidable on EVERY flight. That's why helos are more dangerous. I have two hours in a helo and enjoyed it immensely, but not enough reason for me to consider a ticket. I'll probably never own one. I sure do like the idea of flying to your destination though. Good job piloting, whether it was hard or not doesn't matter to me.
Ben S

[jebthereb]

stan-i get it. just working on steep approaches is eye opening for me. in my relation to you, you are a high time pilot. i soak up everything you are saying. its great to hear what the person with just a few more hours/years of expierience is doing.

If you tell me the flux capacitor was not firing on all circuits, I'll believe you.

the flux capacitor is what makes time travel possible....

[9aplus]

Thumb Up Stan.....

That was great job, evaluation on this landing in your single engine Cat C
helicopter was right. No mistakes allowed. No easy rejected landing possible....

With Cat A that is another story, and for non believers here easy definition:

Category A (CAT A)
The helicopter must provide adequate performance to guarantee that, in the event of an engine failure, the flight can continue safely. Moreover, the helicopter must manage the failure of one of its two engines at any given moment while maintaining satisfactory safety margins, especially during the takeoff or landing phases. To achieve this CAT A helicopters must fly a relatively specific profile during takeoffs and landings to ensure the helicopter will be able to fly away or make a safe landing on the pad.