Is this just Florida, or...?

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Imagine a standard USA strip mall: some unremarkable shops in a standard line building, flanked by parking lots.
This is Orlando, so there is commercial demand for helo sight-seeing flights.
So what do you want, and what do you get an FAA permit for?

http://www.hoppie.nl/tmp/helipad-strip-mall.mp4

Is this usual?!?

https://goo.gl/maps/hV84n3xZhn5evPr4A

Hoppie

[Bluestar]

Looks like an accident waiting to happen.  No smiley face.

Bode

[Will]

Those power lines look pretty tall and pretty close... Good thing there's never any fog and rain in Florida. /sarcasm

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Those power lines look pretty tall and pretty close... Good thing there's never any fog and rain in Florida. /sarcasm

Power lines are 181 ft from the closest edge of the closest landing pad. And yes even while standing there I thought the same. Notice the helo just drifts sideways... but exactly as he took off, there was a BIG wind gust, so I wonder whether the drift was intentional...

Parking your car under a pad is also interesting. I wonder what your insurance says if you are in a fuel rain shower. I wonder whether they actually fuel those copters on the pad. I saw a few people making the rightmost copter ready and they dragged a ground earth cable, but I did not see actual fueling.

Hoppie


EDIT:
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orange-county/os-helicopter-tours-orlando-20170420-story.html
The ninth one is the one on film above.

[Robert Staudinger]

Hi Hoppie,

the drift to the right is to avoid the building in front and thereafter he turns to the right to be clear of the powerlines. I think the wind gust is from the downwash of the helicopter.

This pad doesn't look to be capable for refueling and on a landing pad with non metallic surface (looks like blue PVC) its standard to use a ground earth cable.

For me personally it would be safer to use a twin engine helicopter.

Helicopter flying is different, especially in the states. In most european countries you could never do this kind of operation.

Robert

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Hey Robert! What? 15 years since we shared a beer in Vienna?

the drift to the right is to avoid the building in front and thereafter he turns to the right to be clear of the powerlines. I think the wind gust is from the downwash of the helicopter.

That would make total sense, the timing definitely suggests it. The wind also came roughly from the platform. Probably the time shift of a few seconds made me ignore the source. Duh. It is rather obvious...

This pad doesn't look to be capable for refueling and on a landing pad with non metallic surface (looks like blue PVC) its standard to use a ground earth cable.

It is possible they covered the pad with PVC; originally it was painted dull brown/red metal. Maybe also the Florida lightning makes it better to firmly ground everything. Could the skids of these small Robinson-44s be non-metal?

For me personally it would be safer to use a twin engine helicopter.

Sure.

Helicopter flying is different, especially in the states. In most european countries you could never do this kind of operation.

I thought so...


Hoppie

[Will]

I know this fear is irrational, but I always felt worried about the idea of helicopters with piston engines.

[Hardy Heinlin]

With piston in particular or engines in general?

[andrej]

From my EMS days (NJ and MD), I remember a safe helicopter landing zone area should be 100' x 100'. Hence, it is somewhat interesting that the landing pads are in the parking lot (even if on elevated platforms). But maybe Florida has different limitations.

[Bluestar]

the drift to the right is to avoid the building in front and thereafter he turns to the right to be clear of the powerlines. I think the wind gust is from the downwash of the helicopter.

What's the pilot going to do if he experiences a tail rotor failure or an engine failure, besides roll it up in a ball?

Bode

[Will]

With piston in particular or engines in general?

Helicopters with piston engines, like most Robinsons. I know they're pretty reliable, but helicopters with turbine engines feel safer than helicopters with piston engines.

However, that said, the leading cause of helicopter crashes seems to be spatial disorientation after flying into clouds, or human error, like the time when the drunk passenger on a sight-seeing flight pulled the fuel shutoff lever and crashed the helicopter into the East River off New York. So maybe the type of engine is less determinative than it feels.

[Bluestar]

Helicopters with piston engines, like most Robinsons. I know they're pretty reliable, but helicopters with turbine engines feel safer than helicopters with piston engines.

I flew TH-55s and OH-13Ts when in Army flight school back in 1969.  They were fine, both had the same Lycoming engines.  That being said there is no way I would fly on a helicopter with a low inertia rotor system. 

Bode

[cagarini]

Hoppie, I really don't have an answer for that, but I did love the :

"Amor em Pedaços Bakery" to the South of the helipads :-)

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

Well Portuguese food was the ONLY reason I even got there... the Seabra supermarket in the first second of the shot is where my wife was collecting the required sustenance for the weeks ahead  :-D

There's a Brazilian/Portuguese core right there in that shopping center.

Hoppie

[Robert Staudinger]

Hello Jeroen,

I have overseen your post from a month ago, sorry. I think 15 years is long enough to visit Vienna again.

Servus Robert