Question For The Experianced Long Liners Out There

[fan]

Well lets say that you spend 70%+ of your time looking down on your loads on all the jobs you go to and then one day your company tells you : hey, we are changing all the long line gear for some good old(regular, NOT braided) $teel long lines because its WAY better and $afer .......... what would be your thoughts on that one, oh oh i almost forgot and no remote hook at the end either just a $wivel and a landyard????

[nakhigh]

Sounds like your company went cheaper not better and safer.

[Cez]

whats the reason for no remote? Steel lines okay, having no remote hook, just doesn't make sense. Mind you steel lines okay for light helicopters, however nice not to struggle with that heavy line on the heavier helicopters.

[fan]

what bothers me is that from the info i have if you lose a load or the rigging breaks or the line, chances are she's coming up in the tail or the rotor....any input

[MEOB]

Steel lines are all we use and very rarely do we use a remote hook. I don't see anything wrong with it on till you have to coil it up but event thats not that difficult after you figure it out, just a little heavy if you have to carry it any distance to the helicopter.

[Slinger]

Hmmm! I think the big problem is proper care. I worked with both, spectrum(if I remember correctly) and steel. The non-steel has to be wrap from top to bottom to protect it from sun light, the UV will damage and sudden breakage has occur. Don't drive over it, especially line trucks on seismic job or even your own pickup. You need to care for those longline just like a soldier would with his gun. It is very important to have a remote or some weight at the end, to keep it down. They are very nice to work with but pricey and if it's poorly maintained, then losing a load becomes even more pricey.

 

The steel is heavier so a heavy weight at the end is not as critical but you must have a swivel, and make sure it's greased daily. Take the proper size for the helicopter capacity, 3/8" cable is plenty for loads up to 2000lbs. But have at a 10 lbs weight at the end for empty loads. 1/2" is more for 2000lbs and up, but I don't remember it's max capacity. Usually the max load is always stamp on longline gear, if not don't use! The main problem with steel is the weight to carry around and kinks. You can't do much about weight but you can do something about kinks. Don't pull the long line if it's caught behind a rock or tree stub. Don't drive over it with any machinery. If there is kinks then undo them by bending them back straight. Kinks will damage the line and will affect the way the long line will fly. The straighter the line, the nicer it flies.

 

So the main thing is proper care for your gear. It's all part of being a good long liner!

 

Mike

[Slings]

Hmmm! I think the big problem is proper care. I worked with both, spectrum(if I remember correctly) and steel. The non-steel has to be wrap from top to bottom to protect it from sun light, the UV will damage and sudden breakage has occur. Don't drive over it, especially line trucks on seismic job or even your own pickup. You need to care for those longline just like a soldier would with his gun. It is very important to have a remote or some weight at the end, to keep it down. They are very nice to work with but pricey and if it's poorly maintained, then losing a load becomes even more pricey.

 

The steel is heavier so a heavy weight at the end is not as critical but you must have a swivel, and make sure it's greased daily. Take the proper size for the helicopter capacity, 3/8" cable is plenty for loads up to 2000lbs. But have at a 10 lbs weight at the end for empty loads. 1/2" is more for 2000lbs and up, but I don't remember it's max capacity. Usually the max load is always stamp on longline gear, if not don't use! The main problem with steel is the weight to carry around and kinks. You can't do much about weight but you can do something about kinks. Don't pull the long line if it's caught behind a rock or tree stub. Don't drive over it with any machinery. If there is kinks then undo them by bending them back straight. Kinks will damage the line and will affect the way the long line will fly. The straighter the line, the nicer it flies.

 

So the main thing is proper care for your gear. It's all part of being a good long liner!

 

Mike

[Slings]

I have over 21,000 hr. total time of which about 15,000 would be on the long line.I have done all types of long line work with 500D,Astar,206 and 205 with steel cable with and without remote hooks (of all types) and kevlar lines with a remote hook and lengths between 50 and 250 ft.

As far as I am concerned the best system (I have found to date) is an Airborne Systems Talon remote hook with Emergco plasma lines with the electrical cord inside the line.I do not like having any sheathing or covering on the line anywhere as it is not necessary and only adds to drag at higher speeds bringing the line closer to the tail rotor.I am currently using lines with many thousand hours on them under very harsh conditions (dragging up through tree branches while shake blocking) and have not had one break.For slinging anything that has a tendancy to spin I always use a bearing swivel attached at the remote hook end.

Though I have done it with companies past that were only set up for it, working a line without a remote hook limits the type of slinging done as a receiver is always needed to unhook the load.

Should I find myself employed by a company that only provided me with a steel line and no remote hook, I would seriously consider early retirement or get a job elsewhere.

 

Happy longlining !!

[Slinger]

Well Slings, I believe that I have learn something new today and this is why we share our knowledge here with others. I guess I was working with what I had to deal with from company to company. Thanks for the info!

 

Mike

[mg42]

hey fan,

i have used both types of hooks, elec and manual, if u always have someone to receive the load, manual is where it is at, lots of times using a elec hook i wouldn't even plug it in, or if it was plugged in i would just pull the cb and have the ground crew manually release it anyways, i could still kick the whole line off if i ran into trouble but i could never inadvertantly punch the load (like pilot switching error) a high timer taught me that one and it works well. if u r going to use a swivel hook try to get the heaviest one so it has some weight to it when the line is empty. good luck, happy LL