Rotary Wing Roundup (Helos at work in Maritime Environment)

[BigRed389]

Me about throwing said idiot JG off the bridge wing. Followed by the CO yelling. I think the XO ate his soul after that. I think it was actually done from after steering, but I'm not sure on that.. All I know is it did not go like I thought it would go.. Boat rolls right, deck translates right, ship stern translates right, then starts going left. Not fun at night.

They has a RAS the next morning, and somehow the idiot thought we were "Done".. Nevermind you can HEAR helos on the bridge.

Yeah, it's the number of mindbogglingly stupid decisions made by a few "supposedly intelligent" people that had to happen just to get you to that point that truly amazes me.

 

[insanebikerboy]

We are pretty much taught the intake rate isn't going to beat the burn rate for a HOGE, so it's of limited utility.

If you're doing a ridiculously high hover. Get anywhere near ground effect and the system works fine.

 

[helolumpy]

Have they really done away with HIFR? When I was nailed/rescued (SH-3A) in No. Vietnam, we searched for the missing A-6 B/N, who had successfully ejected, until our fuel became critical. We were directed to the nearby SAR DDR "Red Crown" to hover refuel. This allowed us the remaining 2 hrs of daylight to resume our search, totaling 12 eyeballs... scouring the area of the dye marker in vain.

I recall that the refueling went fairly slowly, as we (A-6 Pilot & I), had time to drop down for coffee in the WR and to meet, chat with the crew. Had we had to return to "Gray Eagle" to gas up, further search that day would've been delayed until dawn. If the HIFR worked OK then, why do they not utilize it today? BTW, despite a 3-day search effort, the B/N was never recovered. Took 20+ years to pronounce him KIA.
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BzB

BZB,
Years ago, the Navy had ships (Knox Class for example) that couple not land some of the helos in the inventory. The Perry Class had to be lengthened to accommodate the H-60; hence the term "Stretched FIG".
When you had a deck you couldn't land one, there was only one way to get fuel and that was HIFR.
Today all ships can accommodate an H-60 so it's not really needed, hence it's doing away. I guess the 53 bubbas could still do it since they can't land on the CRU/DES ships, but I'd have to let Big Iron weigh in on that community.

About the only time I could see it being used is if a small boy had a clobbered flight deck and another helo needed fuel. Otherwise, you can land the helo which is faster and safer for all concerned.

I can't speak to the pump rates of the ships, but a helo in a hover will burn somewhere in the vicinity of 1000-1200 lbs per hour (weight and winds dependant). The pump rate, IIRC and other members here have mentioned, is slightly below that so you actually burn gas faster than you take it on.

 

[Gatordev]

BZB,
Years ago, the Navy had ships (Knox Class for example) that couple not land some of the helos in the inventory. The Perry Class had to be lengthened to accommodate the H-60; hence the term "Stretched FIG".
When you had a deck you couldn't land one, there was only one way to get fuel and that was HIFR.
Today all ships can accommodate an H-60 so it's not really needed, hence it's doing away. I guess the 53 bubbas could still do it since they can't land on the CRU/DES ships, but I'd have to let Big Iron weigh in on that community.

About the only time I could see it being used is if a small boy had a clobbered flight deck and another helo needed fuel. Otherwise, you can land the helo which is faster and safer for all concerned.

I can't speak to the pump rates of the ships, but a helo in a hover will burn somewhere in the vicinity of 1000-1200 lbs per hour (weight and winds dependant). The pump rate, IIRC and other members here have mentioned, is slightly below that so you actually burn gas faster than you take it on.

There are other Auxiliaries that can't necessarily take a -60, which is why the SAR I mentioned had to do it. Like IBB said, if you get low, it works well enough. More so on a DDG than a broke-ass FFG.

HIFR isn't gone, as it's still part of the Week One Workup (or whatever the NWP calls it now).