Heli Alpine - Hightec am Himmel

Without these powerhouses, ski holidays in the mountains would be almost impossible. They build cable cars, transport snow cannons and save people. They are the heroes of heaven every day. Acrobats between the top and the valley,

heli

copters transport tons of material. At 3,000 meters they supply food to the cabins. They work with us. construction materials and saw the road with shovels of more than 4,000 horsepower. Some boys rise and swing as if on a tightrope. Every mission is a new challenge and every mission demands everything. from man and machine and

heli

copters take off from here in Ludesch in Vorarlberg.

Early in the morning, Bernhard Höglinger enters the hangar and inspects his helicopter, the Airbus h125. Before each takeoff, pilots check the most important components and. Ultimately, once the helicopter is in the air, they are solely responsible for the machines. In fact, we use it 5-7 days a week, which means that when the machine comes back from above, pilot Davis gives it a touch. full technical check and the so-called delicek, then there is a pre-flight check where all the different gear text indexes are checked. Oil levels are obviously checked or walked around the machine once to see if there are any obvious places and paths. what Christians are is just a minor oil leak, but around the machine to see if everything is as you imagine, you know and in the evening when you return from work there is a big or big technical check to see. through the entire machine as described in our case, which cannot fly despite the routine, there is always a little tension in the pilot before takeoff and that is good and everyone has their own personal ritual until it turns on the motors and turns on the rotors.

One of them is standard, then you come to work in the morning when you have a machine, you usually have a wait time of about a storm and then you have another short 20 minutes with the machine. crew, have a coffee, get the deposit number and then fly. For him it was also a childhood dream come true. Even when he was little, he really wanted to be a pilot, and now he himself sits in the cockpit. and it is part of Heli alpin and it flies this helicopter, now we are in a 350, it is a 3b plus, that means that, like the VW Golf, there are different variants, now it is with a one plus, with a 2S engine, it is a single engine.

Helicopter with ARM engine It is not operated by two Viennese, for example rescue helicopter children, but it is an English helicopter and is a multi-purpose light helicopter that is used in the Austria area or even in the Central European area mainly for En We use Austria mainly for external cargo flights, the time has come. The helicopter is ready to take off. Today he flies to Brandnertal, where a hydraulic plant is carrying out test drilling for new pipes. and construction personnel have to constantly be moved to new locations and relocated. With 750 horsepower in the rotor, the pilot takes off with his flight attendant, who supports him in all maneuvers and flight processes;

The weather conditions are ideal on this day. We estimate that we will transport at an altitude of 2300 meters where we will transport according to the standard, so normally the machine is designed for this temperature difference of about 15, which means that the machine today will simply depend on the temperature here. The performance limits come and in the area where we are now moving, that partner valley of God and that is not for nation 50, that means that in this valley there is relatively a lot of wind, usually very slowly beforehand until they become make pranks throughout the area.

This has moved me very often in an air situation and also in situations in an air situation with Vienna engines and that is simply something that we will analyze depending on the situation and decide in the short term and on the spot what exactly is possible today and what What pilots have to do constantly to adapt to new weather conditions, especially in high

alpine

areas, is that the situation can change in a matter of minutes and the pilot has to react immediately. He also has to adapt to the schedule and coordination with the ground staff. Very important because, especially here, time costs a lot of money.

The H125 consumes liters of fuel per hour. This model is something like the Golf among helicopters, versatile in its use, maneuverable and therefore easy to maneuver even in difficult situations. Bernhard Höglinger flies different types of machines and therefore always has to get used to the respective flight behavior. So preparing for the weather has a lot to do with looking at the view and seeing if there are fog or rain clouds when we fly, so we have to look at what we're doing, that means getting into the clouds getting into very poor visibility is just a logo because it is not possible for us otherwise the helicopter is closed control announcements that today several helicopters are used to move construction materials and workers in the shortest possible time.

The Bell 205 also curls in the air and is also called a carpet beater by the pilot. Why do you hear the so-called carpet beater here? This is due to the two rotors that modern machines now lift with three or three. four rotor blades, the balls only need two blades due to their design and their enormous power of 1800 HP, with which they can fly more than 1.5 tons of external load, depending on the wind and altitude. The multipurpose helicopter was originally built by. The Americans for military operations To quickly bring troops and troops to the front, different civilian variants have been built over the decades, which prove to be very robust thanks to their simple and mainly analog design.

Walter Seifert is one of the most experienced pilots. the team and has been piloting the Dino for thousands of hours. Flying the Bell without power steering comparable to the helicopter is a Bell 205 from America. Its nickname is the classic war helicopter, so to speak, among us it is also known as a carpet beater because the authorized load capacity is one to two tons and in the mountains they weigh 1,516,100 kilos with the device, although the space system differs from the three space systems in its flight behavior, has relatively little electronics and no autopilot. so on, all of this still gets you closer to flying than what we do with just the computer game and yes, it's just necessary.

There is still a certain feeling behind it and yes, it is very interesting to fly after using helicopters. They clean immediately, especially on hot summer days when the rotor blades kick up a lot of dust, dirt and small stones. A new check is then carried out and the carpet beater joins forces in the hangar. The purchase price of these high-tech devices is. huge, so its maintenance is the top priority. Colleague Bernhard Höglinger is still in use and putting the last drill pipes in place. The important thing is always direct communication with the flight attendants with his camera, two machines at different points of the blocks. brutally good, but just the interaction between the two machines, the division means where they are going to return, who brings what is happening to the disadvantage of companies around the world, so, yes, the best, to be honest, actually It's good, Götz doesn't open afterwards.

Five hours in the air, he has quite successfully completed his mission between the peaks and is heading back to headquarters. He flies calmly towards the airfield and the tension slowly moves away from him. He and his flight attendant have dropped several tons of material. More than 2,000 meters with millimeter precision in a matter of hours While the pilots finish their work, the mechanics examine the plane. Tomorrow a new day awaits you with new missions and challenges, the flying SUVs are checked and revised every day. enormous forces and stresses during operation, so the work of these men is extreme.

The priority is to perform large and small inspections at set intervals and literally examine every screw, every wire and every cable. The technology is so complex that the training of technicians. These specialists are intensive and comprehensive. One of them is a mechanic and flies the machines. Although he doesn't have to be like that, we have to master the functions down to the last detail. Now we turn on the battery to check the status. computer and the fade, which now does a self-test self-test now carried out the GPS up now we upload the avionics system we check all the lights anti-colic light and Bosnian lights here with the external verification you have found your passion with your and there is a very special reason For this, diversity in the sense that this work is not an everyday thing and every day you have new challenges.

You only make money when the helicopters are in the air. That is the economic premise in aviation. in that mechanics have certain time windows in which they have to carry out their inspections. It's like with cars. The tires, of course, everything that is stressed, for example the turbine, the main rotor blades, but certainly because I compared it with the. In a car, you can imagine, as with tires, the main rotor blades, the corresponding erosion through the air through the dirt in the air and these are components that are very strong. In order for the helicopters to take off again on time, every movement has to be well, the processes are strictly regulated and then every movement is meticulously controlled, which is why we are now carrying out a 100-hour inspection here, for example, at the EC-135, where the helicopter is really thoroughly checked through the main and here visual inspections.

Now they are being carried out, they are looking for cracks, they are looking for errors, everything that in some way does not belong to the helicopter and that the helicopter is in the so-called airbt, the conditioners are in flying condition and for that almost all the parts. disassembly and reassemble the helicopter almost completely so that hidden defects can be discovered through flying stones, flying plastic bags that could get caught in the controls and stones and what is also not insignificant is the air erosion on the edge of the titan along with the dust. in the air it creates an abrasive effect.

To detect possible cracks at the flat root of the entire blade or at the tip of the blade, you need very, very good light, of course, also good eyes and now we will do a visual inspection of the heckrotter blade to detect fine cracks in the painting. Breakage and damage should not occur despite daily work, routine and negligence. If an error is overlooked, this can have fatal consequences. Men have to live with it. , we reflected very clearly When I get out of the helicopter, I get off and I know something is right. I've done everything else.

It makes no sense if at night I asked myself: have I tightened this screw or not? I would honestly say I'm not in the right job. Mechanics have to learn to deal with this pressure. Only certain characters are capable of doing meticulous work, each of them is highly specialized and has to blindly master different helicopters. , whose construction and operation is one floor above in the operations center, awaiting approval. Technician Bernhard Seeli has everything in sight at his workplace and must coordinate the fleet with his colleague. Yeah, that's basically ours. In our daily work, we try to process all the orders we have in the most timely and efficient way possible, always taking into account the current weather situation we have, we plan our helicopters, which now include 15 machines, in addition to the tanker vehicles, pilots of the staff, flight attendants, technicians, etc., that we work as efficiently as possible, that all orders you see here are processed basically well.

Yes, you have to incorporate orders, requirements, flight paths and fuel requirements into one system. Helicopters stay in the air longer, there will be an unscheduled refueling stop and a delay. Bernhard Seeli has to take into account these time windows, but also the different machines in his system. It's mainly about the weight classes. We talk about a light multipurpose helicopter when we use our Airbus h125, the hp3 in universal helicopters where, depending on the altitude and temperature, it can of course fly up to 950 kilograms. In addition, we have a Bild 205 that raises. more, up to about 1500 kilograms.

It is then widely used for roller batteries for large cable car supports, etc. and then there are also the Super Puma and the camouf, which then go up to four and a half five tons where possible. then transport very heavy objects, that is, to the cabin, cars, etc. Each helicopter has to perform a different task. Often the cargo is sword or strong winds delay the transportation of the cargo. Therefore, it is necessary to have a lot of experience. to create a blueprint for each helicopter Here, in principle,different bars. Each of these bars with a blue background is a job or an order for us.

You can also see differences in the size of these bars. This means that the job lasts six hours if, for example, I have to pour 50 cubic meters of concrete, or smaller jobs if there are only two or three flights for private farmers or

alpine

pastures. . The red bars are also important. which are for technology, which means they are maintenance checks which of course we have to plan accordingly for ourselves because the machine is basically not available for flight operations during this period, but because it is parked in the technical department, as can see. which is very scheduled, so we have a job before this maintenance.

We have a job right after maintenance and that's why it's our job to coordinate how to get everything within a reasonable plan and here even the professional starts to sweat, how do the stars and celebrities get to the most important events when the streets and the approaches are blocked or blocked, of course with the helicopter but not with any transporter that otherwise only carries loads. No, of course there is also the luxury league between helicopters and some of these luxuries fly. cars in Formula 1 races like here in Spielberg, in Austria. Some are chartered, but others are also privately owned and of course you like to show what you have in front of this backdrop and also fly with the wucherhelikopter team, which coordinates this small helicopter armament when more than 50 Machines enter and exit a very small space.

You don't just need the best organization and communication, but above all concentration, we are here in Spielberg, at the Austrian Formula 1 Grand Prix, in the background. all shadow flights with people and that means we take people from outside on the express if you have a helicopter without a long trip with it. The car is free of traffic jams directly to the race where they fly noisily directly into the ring with the shuttle. The noble helicopters cost around 10 million euros, which of course with their exquisite leather and interior design can almost register the fine clientele in the pit lane.

Look at the ecological balance this weekend in view of the thousands of horsepower in the No one. in the air and there is no one on the street You have come to be surprised and enjoy the high-tech race between the sky and the asphalt. It is one of the greatest sporting spectacles on our planet and is ultimately crowned by. the air show and the enormous logistical but also material effort, partly afterwards. He's a racing driver on his bike, so he gets there quickly because all he wants is to escape all the hustle and bustle and all the onlookers, autograph hunters and bad guys. , but he comes on a bicycle and flies directly from the helicopter to the private jet or the nearest airport and yes, you always come back to live fun moments and meet interesting people.

Yes, it's a special day for him too. flight attendants carry cement stands or snow cannons today high society around the world, so the crew has dressed up and does not fly in safety clothing for the team an exciting and eventful change, but safety is the Maximum priority. We are responsible for the smooth operation and safe process so that guests can safely arrive from outside to the racetrack events. What is important to us is that everything is carried out with 100 percent safety, that is what we mean: we have put up barriers. , we have a fire department there so everything for safety and for the guests, we will be attending the race all weekend, we are there and we have thought of something special for Saturday and we wanted to offer our members a view from up and there.

Of course a helicopter flight is an option and thank goodness we were able to book it and we are really looking forward to it because it doesn't start anytime soon. I'm excited because it's my first helicopter flight. The VIP shuttles are landing. Just in front of the race track, a landing site with complete infrastructure was specially built from the ground every minute. Participants must have a potential level of experience to be able to handle hundreds of flights in a few hours. The thing is, an extremely large number of helicopters are in the same place at the same time, and can we make one?

Think about Sunday night this week. I think there are about 23 helicopters there and they all want to leave at about the same time. time, that everything works well and that they do not disturb each other is mainly the task of the controller via radio, but we just have to make sure that it works smoothly, that nothing happens, but basically you can say passenger When flying, as in the classic transport plane, there is also the safety aspect and the fact that 100,000 people move along the route and the importance and closure of a heliport, more than 30 helicopters cannot be recognized immediately and want to fly quickly. is that the communication is always great 14 30 or 15 30 now only 30 which is already past UTC so we have that there is nothing more than like a bed of strips, that's what I mean I have a pre-planning plan for each machine. if it enters or leaves, and that also helps me, apart from the fact that I don't have a radar image here, it helps me to have an overview of which machine enters, which leaves and which machine do I have to give traffic information or is it lying down?

From the moment of zero landing, in addition to transportation, refueling must also be coordinated. For this purpose, a transporter with a gas station attendant was made available. Rush hour event at the airport, the hose man has a lot to do today and needs to know immediately which helicopter is thirstiest and new power is needed during refueling the rotors are usually still running, turning it off and on. Again, it would take the gas station attendant too long, but that's a reason to be even more careful: we have 250 cups full and we hear flying for a long time while we refuel.

International safety standards also apply, for example doors. It must remain closed and there must be no passengers on board. Many requirements are noted here for each helicopter thank you. Then we have an overview of the liters you have in the tank and also for billing at the time. end Suddenly, thousands of liters ran out in an instant. Some racing cars take advantage of the winter to put on a spectacular show and, of course, a helicopter is needed so that the power monsters can offer their performance not only on the asphalt but also on the asphalt. Snow and ice: one of the most famous ski racing track of the world's best racers will take on the legendary Streif.

Starting today, a Formula 1 car travels by helicopter to the starting point. winterized and the enormous power is released with the accelerator pedal. The pilots are also prepared for this absence and solve the transportation problem down to the centimeter. A racing car on top is no problem. IT'S SHOW TIME and when things get serious, the air rescue men spring into action. The satisfaction even when the complicated missions have gone well, of course, is extremely intense in a matter of seconds the men have to signal to be ready. for action Lech am Arlberg air rescue base The men now know every step and maneuver down to the last detail on a monitor You will receive all the important information The pilot Stefan Ganahl can now prepare for a possible scenario - very important if the team does not harmonize between yes and no If the division of labor is precisely regulated, this system will also No work with the accident doctor Dr.

Christian Bürkle on board. I think that is the special motivation of each of us to dedicate ourselves to this profession. After less than a minute, EC 135 leaves the hangar as the weather worsens. in rescue aviation because we want to get the doctor to the patient as quickly as possible and these are our challenges. The two turbines with a total of 1380 horsepower make the rotor move. The equipment must be in the air in less than three minutes. , Gallus has made 1 sortie for us in rescue aviation, of course it is very important to get the doctor to the patient as quickly as possible, especially when life is at stake.

Shortly after, the cow arrives at the scene of the accident. over Lech at more than 2000 meters altitude A young man was injured while walking in the mountains, the elderly doctor immediately went to the patient and was at first alone while the air rescue service and the pilot prepared the transport. The spectrum is certainly greater. But the biggest difference is that I am in the ground rescue service with a much larger team. That means I always have five six paramedics plus an emergency doctor on site and other emergency services on the mountain. The three of us arrive and usually get there within a few minutes, which simply increases the demands on us even more from correcting the lower leg, lying down, carrying while the child performs first aid and life-saving measures, flying.

The lifeguard prepares the assembly of the transport rope. Our areas of responsibility are the cockpit, we support the pilot in radio navigation and of course also in various emergency procedures. The flight director must also be a Burger King expert. , a very large area of ​​responsibility for the emergency doctor's assistance, since everyone has to be an emergency paramedic, so the plane is actually an all-terrain vehicle and is completely vertigo-free and quite brave. the pilot and the doctor The doctor often has to work in tense conditions. The fact that with us, when doing a rope rescue, you just have to go fast, you don't have time to tell someone half an hour in advance what needs to happen. come, which means that we have to be able to build a relationship of trust in a short time, of course, I think it is unnecessary to say that you have to imagine that you address children by their name, that you are naturally professionally distant, but.

I still tried to build trust and pass it on to people. Listen, I know this is a very stressful situation for you and to shout confidence, that will be fine, we will get you safely to where you can treat the injury you have. Well, meanwhile, the air rescuer floats with the rope. Everyone knows how to handle each other and everyone is at eye level. Everyone finds his role and works together. That will not work if you are the boss alone, it is clear that in medical matters the emergency doctor. Decide where to go. It is clear that I cannot choose a clinic that the pilot cannot fly to when the storm approaches, so every decision we make about aviation rescue technology and medical care is always a team decision.

It can change over and over again, so it's important to get it out of the accident scene quickly. He is placed on a vacuum mattress, which repairs the injured leg and prevents further damage. With three people on the rope, special. Pilot attention is required when we fly with external load or when we take people in the Tao to the patient, so of course this seventh sense of flying the helicopter is very important and yes, we have a minimum of 2000 hours of flight experience That rescue planes can come and that is very important for the rescue pilot, it is also important to give patients a feeling of security and ward off panic and fear.

With routine calm, the rescuers fly towards the clinic. For added care, the operation lasted less than 20 minutes. Time saves lives with increased tourism. In the Alps the number of rescue missions is also increasing, especially on weekends, rescuers have to set out several times and be extremely focused. Of course, it is very important to stay calm and deal with this situation correctly, but also, of course, to know when things get dangerous and when to stop the operation. We can no longer fly so as not to threaten the crew. The doctor reflects on the increase in rescue missions.

The area lives off of tourism, tourism brings people to the mountains, so it must also serve public health, of course something happens then, but there is a certain responsibility on the part of society that then the supply is also adequate. You cannot build a cable. cars and taking people up into the mountains and then not being prepared if something happens up there, which means it's a mutual responsibility. Many missions can be avoided in an emergency with the right equipment and, above all, common sense. But these guys are. there and they will take you out, that's why they have our respect.

In Kitzbühel they are preparing for the next ski season and the necessary white gold no longer falls from the sky, but is sprayed from more than 1,200 high-tech cannons. The devices must be transported by truck. But above all in the helicopter, the crew is supported by the employees of the mountain railway, theThe pilot has to do absolutely millimeter work while floating, he has to hit the foundations to be able to fix the cannon and attached to the water pipe by the snow master Angela Hölzl. We're just getting started At the end of September, at the beginning of October the cannon is placed in the canyon and then they are taken out of their summer camp and taken there. to learn on the respective axis and then connect it and each axis has a number and this number is stored, which we then have to enter manually in the barrel and then it can start on our own program, so we know in winter, in the snow, where it is used the canyon, there is a Eurocopter as350, there is also a world record holder flying here.

In 2005, this guy landed on Mount Everest, of course, without passengers and for five years. later the as350 rescued three passengers at 7000 meters in the Himalayas life is no longer possible unless it is about weight then this piece is very high the camov k32 is a miracle of power and its appearance is almost terrifying more than 5 meters the flying colossus rolls in the sky and when it takes off, 4,400 horsepower from two turbines ensure sufficient steam under the rotors of the Russian-made helicopter. It is characterized above all by its robust appearance but above all by its robust technology, which is why the helicopter is.

It is not only used in alpine terrain but also on oil platforms, which is what makes this helicopter special. It is true that we can lift very heavy loads of up to five tons. Of course, 5 tons are only possible at sea level or at very low altitude. cooler temperatures something like what we flew today, which is three and a half tons, it is the maximum in terms of temperatures at altitude. Yes, there are always two of us in the cabin, this is a requirement of the helicopter certification and we have. a double rotor, without a tail rotor, all the power can be transferred to the lifting force, so we do not lose power through the tail rotor and therefore we can fly very high loads despite its weight of almost 7 tons and a possible payload of 5 tons, the helicopter could climb up to 6000 meters.

The camov's own weight also has the advantage that it is not susceptible to wind and is more stable in the air, which benefits the pilots, so we are two people: one. whoever flies, who flies the loads, sits on the opposite side and then looks out the window from the side. The other, who does not fly, monitors the instruments, gives the weights and gives very useful information such as temperatures. engines and other things what kind of traffic in the air things like the camov 32 is so robustly built that it is also used for rescue missions in the Arctic at extreme temperatures and in 2014 it rescued the crew of an icebreaker from the ice in In this regard, in Austria it is just warm-up exercises for the old lady, it is the flying all-terrain vehicles all over the world and now electric helicopters are also being developed, an important milestone and proof that the future is not over yet.