Why helicopters score in rescue and relief operations

[thestringshredder]

NEW DELHI: Helicopters have come to be the mainstay of India's search, rescue and relief operations across the country in all sorts of calamities because of their extreme agility and ease of operations. The crash of a Mi-17 helicopter on Tuesday involved in operations in Uttarakhand won't have any adverse effect on this position, but questions are bound to come up about the extreme risks being taken by helicopter teams to carry out such operations.

The Indian Army, Navy and IAF have been operating different types of helicopters for search, rescue and relief operations over the years and together they have built up an impressive capability, among the finest helicopter operating capabilities of any military.

In Uttarakhand, both the IAF and Army have been operating at least four different types of helicopters including Mi-26, the largest helicopter in the world. While the IAF has been operating Mi-17 and Mi-26, the Army has been operating Dhruv and Cheetah helicopters.

The IAF has deployed 45 aircraft and clocked over 1,000 flying hours in the last week, airlifting 11,826 pilgrims to date. Most of this operation is carried out by helicopters.

Pilots point out that there are several advantages that make helicopters ideal for the kind of challenges in a disaster zone. For one, choppers can land in very restricted spaces, even without a proper helipad. "While for civilians I may need to land in a proper helipad, I can drop soldiers even without landing," says a military helicopter pilot.

What adds to the advantages of helicopters are their slow speed and higher visibility, as opposed to fixed wing aircraft. And all helicopters are designed to operate rescue winches. The helicopters also have the ability to hover on a spot, which is extremely effective in carrying out a host of activities including precision airdrops.

Helicopters are used also to build air-bridges, linking up various locations to a larger safe location. For example, during the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and Gujarat earthquake of 2001, the Navy used helicopters to ferry people and aid from and to ships in the seas.

A military helicopter pilot pointed out that they are very careful while flying in the hills because high tension wires and other obstacles are not clearly demarcated. "In the developed world, these things are marked prominently with lights etc. So we are a little more careful when we fly here," he said.

Link - Why helicopters score in rescue and relief operations - The Times of India

 

[Pakistanisage]

Helicopter is an ideal aircraft designed for search and rescue operations because of its ability to fly at variable airspeed, its ability to hover above the ground and land on rough terrain at zero airspeed.

Helicopter is also the most difficult aircraft to fly smoothly because of so many forces and vectors that apply on it and to fly smoothly you have to overcome and balance all those forces.

 

[satishkumarcsc]

I fly a brick, a highly maneuverable brick. -USMC Black Hawk Pilot.