Emergency Vehicles!

 In light of Cars Montana, Switzerland?

Fire has killed between 40-47 and injured over 119 young people very seriously and despite the snow, the service got to the scene quickly with ground vehicles and helicopter air-ambulances to ferry the critically to specialist burns units in the country!

Some countries have adapted medical payload drops, that can treat the burned on the ground, and these may have more to earthquake struck places, where a patient could die en-route to a hospital?

As time goes on there will be many improvements on what we have now with A.I. and drone robots doing most of the more difficult places to reach, even with helicopters and mountain rescue teams!

Helicopters SAR and Civil!

 Search and Rescue and Civilian Usage?

Many helicopters most people think are for rich people who want privacy in travel, but they are wrong since many are used to ferry workers to our oil and gas rigs in the north sea and from time to time island communities in Scotland and the Scilley off Cornwall, Rathlin off N-Ireland and many other places to!

Helicopters are now common as air ambulances, saving may lives and transporting sick people over great distance from hospital to hospital apart of traffic and work incidents? 

Small types to large ones are employed in these essential roles in our modern world, getting over mountains and water are some of the key aspects of their roles!

Others are used by the national grid in relations to getting engineers to remote places to repair power lines after storms and bad weather, if not civil disturbances and deliberate acts of vandalism

 Meanwhile many are being replaced in some areas of work by drones, that are cheaper and can go places helicopters cannot, but they will also provide services in cities to move donor/ harvesting materials, blood samples and other, which cuts out getting stuck in traffic?

Other machines provide a taxi services for racing jockeys and moving materials that may be urgent for one reason or another and they also come in varied sizes!

The most common types in the U.K. Are the Airbus H135/145, Bell 207, Leonardo A189, 109, 139 and others in the family, the Airbus H225 is mostly deployed to gas and oil rigs and fitted out for 30-+, while the Sikorsky S-76 is the most popular air taxi and the S-92 for search and rescue?

New Technology. Part-One.

Drones to Robotics?

Much of what we are terming new has been around for some time in one form or another, but the applications are perhaps newer rather than new? Drones are improving all the time and plans for deployment in the Mars mission as a helicopter have been suggested, while back on Earth the police and search and rescue are using them with effective search and observation results!

Robotics, as in Androids are also improving but no suggestion as yet for sending into Space has been made? On the industrial front, they will perhaps in years to come have a great advantage with helping older folks and young children and the disabled as in both cases!

There are many military applications for both, at this time many poorer nations will probably opt for drones over that of Robots or Androids for border patrols and police work? Drones are much cheaper to deploy than helicopters, unless a large area needs covering or someone in trouble needs to be rescued?

Self-Propelled Guns. Part-Two.

Anti-Aircraft.

With the advent of the missile one would think that the days of anti-aircraft guns have come to an end, but you would be wrong. Every day and night our 24/7 media portrays militants around the world converting Toyota 4X4's for this purpose along with various types of trucks.

Guns from heavy machines U.S. and Russian 12.7, 14.5mm to small cannons of Swiss Oerlikon 20, former Soviet 23mm are used in general clashes. meanwhile bigger cannons are recovered from defunct military vehicles such as in the 30mm calibre.

Despite this many countries still have mobile anti-aircraft guns such as the Russian/Chinese built ZSU-23 quad 4X23mm and various takes on the 30mm rotary cannon and most successful Swedish Bofors 40mm.

All these weapon systems now make helicopters venerable to ground fire more than aircraft, unless they are coming into land or taking off.

Sleds...

From Santa to the Polar regions.

The sled business remains big business, because they are in their modern motorised form an essential for travelling across and working in all snowy regions. In my research since last time during this part of the year I have not been able to find out much more.

There does not seem to be any books on the subject, perhaps someone will be able to enlighten me to this. There must be many countries involved in the design and production of these machines, such as Scandinavia, Japan, the U.S. and Canada.

The Christmas sled has more of an origin in Russia, than Lapp land or Switzerland. This was used as transport from ancient times in winter and polar conditions. Rivers that are not frozen remain a problem, apart from that military vehicles today seem to be snow tractors of various types over sleds or skies. Many aircraft also are fitted with sleds and skis to cope with winter conditions of ice. 

Ski Planes and Floats.

Aircraft and Helicopters with...

Many aircraft and helicopters are capable of operating from ice and water, because they are fitted out for the job. This is seen in both Canada and Russia, were even aircraft up to medium size can be adapted.

 Aircraft from light Cessna's and Pilatus to DHC Beavers and Caribous to dedicated helicopters such as the Mil Mi-14 Haze. operate in hard and difficult conditions to supply essential goods to their respective isolated communities who depend on these types.

Nearly every helicopter can be adapted to carry floatation gear, but the Mil Mi-14 was designed with the hull of a flying boat.

Air Ambulance.Part-One.

Helicopters verses Aircraft.

Which is better? 

Both, because one helicopters can recuse/land from/in confined spaces. Aircraft can travel long distances. The Air Ambulance is one of the best invention adaptions in aviation history. From city copters to out back bush flying doctors, a whole host of machine types are employed. Light is perhaps a key essential here in this vital role, while pilot skill is another.

Nearly every nation now employs some form of aircraft to do this role, civil and military. The Cessna generations have proved invaluable in remote areas in Australia, Africa and Equatorial jungle. While the European EC-135/145 Helicopters are the most popular in Air Ambulance roles.

The U.S Sikorsky AH/UH/S-60 and the Russian Mil Mi-17 and derivatives possibly cover all other areas.

Search and Rescue.

Coast Guards, Lifeboats.

Every nation that has a Sea or a coastline, water has a boat and air rescue service of some kind. Big nations have coastguards, while smaller one just have a rescue service. The UK-Eire share the RNLI and Trinity lights. 

Equipment is made up of cutters and helicopters, while on the small scale Zodiac types. The RNLI have a series of their own publicly financed dedicated rescue boats. The Sikorsky Sea king and the Mil Mi-14/17 are the main stay of the worlds rescue fleets, because they have long range flying. Today are are a whole host of newer types becoming available.

The main aims are to get people out of the water, off boats and ships, which are either sinking or they are badly injured. Meanwhile helicopters serve to work with inshore mountain rescues and medivac.

Helicopters...

Since the first flight of the helicopter in 1946/7 by Sikorsky in the U.S. This machine has now become the prolific aviation invention so far. It was during the Vietnam war that the helicopter came into its own right, despite being limited in types available for military warfare and medical evacuation as we have to day. These machines made a serious impact on the psyche of all around them.


The Russian Mil Mi-1/2 must be the most commonly built, very basic and slow compared to today, it did allow many countries around the world to get a foot hold in to military aviation.


Today the U.S. AH-60 blackhawk is the symbol of multi-role type, but there are larger machines such as the CH-47, twin rotor, CH-53 Super stallion heavy lift. Meanwhile the Russians have their multirole Mil Mi-24/35, combining both troop transport and gunship. Russia also has the largest helicopter ever built the Mil Mi-26, with eight rotor blades and the capacity to carry at least 100 troops. 


Both Russia and the U.S. learned from Afghanistan and Vietnam the need for helicopters.


Later in the year I hope to return to the subject in more detail.