| Ship's Diary |
| During her time at sea, HMS Endurance will be sending back regular diaries to keep us all up to date with what is happening on this deployment. Use the links below to read extracts from the diary. |
| Loadlifting by Lt Scott ‘Stimpy’ Simpson & CPO ‘Rowley’ Rowland |
 WHAT
IS LOADLIFTING?
During the work periods both Helicopters are extremely busy. The majority of tasking that is undertaken is to move people and stores. However, often the stores are too bulky and awkward to fit inside the Helicopter. In these cases CPO Rowland and his team prepare the loads for the Helicopter to lift them, hence the term ‘Load-lifting’. Load-lifting involves fitting a strop (either 2.5m or a 30 ft) to a large hook under the Helicopter. When either strop is connected to the helicopter, the 2.5m textile strop can carry up to 1360 kg of load and the 30 ft steel strop can carry up to 680 kg of load. Click here – to watch loadlifting WHY DO YOU HAVE DIFFERENT LENGTH STROPS? We have two different strops because occasionally the Helicopter is restricted as to where it can hover and the strops provide a swivel facility to steady the load during flight. For example when we lift from the forward hatch (see photo above) we are restricted by the foremast and the bridge. This is quite a tight squeeze for the Helicopter with a rotor span of 12m. With the 2.5m strop fitted we would have to hover very low. Instead we fit the 30 ft strop which allows us to sit in the high hover and avoid any obstructions. In the picture below Lt Simon ‘Clyde’ Collins RN is conning Lt Lee ‘Eggi’ Evans RN into position to pick up a Quad Bike, as you can see there is not much room for error.
As mentioned earlier we tend to Load-lift any stores which we cannot fit into the Helicopter. This can sometimes be quite varied. When we take Scientists ashore, they have lots of equipment to go as well. For example, all of their food, clothes, tents, scientific equipment and also sometimes their Quad Bikes, which look a lot of fun as ‘Clyde’ and ‘Eggi’ discovered.
Some of the equipment that we have to load-lift is not always easy. The majority of the time we tend to use a thing called a ‘Cargo net’ to transfer the loads from one place to another. These are similar in design to a scramble net on an assault course. The awkward shaped load is placed inside the net and the four corners brought together and connected.
Sometimes it is not always possible to carry a load in a cargo net because it is too light, if the load is too light it will swing unpredictably under the aircraft during flight. If this happens we have 2 choices, we can either carry the load internally or place extra weight in the net to steady it.
When the Helicopters are Load-lifting, the Observer gets in to the back of the aircraft to act as a second set of eyes for the Pilot. When the pick up or drop off point has been identified the Pilot calls ‘Running In’ from here on the Observer takes up the con (gives the pilot instructions) and controls the movement of the Helicopter. The helicopter is controlled in all three dimensions for example, “Line good, Height good, Speed good you have 100yds to run”. With this the pilot, although he cannot see the load has some spatial awareness as to what is happening. If at any time the Observer is unhappy with the position of the Helicopter he can get the pilot to move with some simple instructions. And at all times both Aircrew are ensuring that both the main rotor and the tail rotor remain clear of any obstructions. The Observer continues the con until he is happy at a safe height over the Load, at this point CPO Rowland takes control with his team either on the deck or at a drop off point ashore. WHAT DO THE GROUND TEAM HAVE TO DO? When the aircraft has to conduct load-lifting operations we have certain strict regulations that we have to abide by. CPO Rowland’s team will be responsible for the correct rigging of the load and also the safe despatch and receipt of it. The conditions and terrain that the load will be arriving at will be assessed. From that point on the team which consists of an ‘earthing rating’ and a rating to connect the load to the aircraft will be briefed. The brief is mainly a safety brief of the hazards involved but also what is being load-lifted. The load needs to be earthed by an ‘earthing’ pole because during flight the aircraft can build up static electricity, which at times can be several thousand volts. DOES THE LOAD AFFECT THE HELICOPTER IN ANY WAY? Some loads fly well and some don’t and usually the heavier the load the better. Throughout the transit the Observer monitors the load and ensures it flies true. You need to avoid any excessive movement or swing. Sometimes the Load can start to control the Helicopter and it is important to avoid this. WHAT IF THE LOAD BECOMES UNCONTROLLABLE? If the Load becomes dangerous the Aircrew can manoeuvre the Helicopter to try and correct the movement. If it is swinging back and forth then by altering the Helicopters forward speed the load can be recovered and if it is swinging left to right, then slow turns can also help. However if the load becomes too uncontrollable then the Aircrew will jettison it. Both the Pilot and the Observer have jettison buttons if required and although this not ideal, the safety of the Helicopter and the Aircrew is paramount. |
| Website designed and maintained by Westover Computing |