Winnipeg to Santiago Chile!

[Darcy]

Got another ferry flight! Since the epic Gabon to Poland one (I did a daily update here), I did a Louisiana to Trinidad & Tobago, and Montreal up to the very top of Baffin Island. Now they want me to fly a Super Puma down to Santiago to fight forest fires. Don't want to get too excited as things often change, but scheduled to depart Winnipeg Jan 2nd.

Rough idea of routing. Have to add/change stops as we can only do 300 mile legs, this is just a very rough first draft.



It'll be a far cry from this power line construction job in Northern Ontario...



Taking this same helicopter....

[vagabond]

Wow, that's pretty awesome. Do you have to make any adjustments to the helicopter as it transitions from extreme cold to humid or higher altitude climates?

[Darcy]

Wow, that's pretty awesome. Do you have to make any adjustments to the helicopter as it transitions from extreme cold to humid or higher altitude climates?

Some types you do, the blades need to be adjusted for large temperature changes, but the Puma is pretty stable and temperatures don't affect the track and balance. There's a huge process to operate down to -54C (-65F) like change to thinner oils, longer warm up procedures, etc but we haven't had to make those changes yet. We can operate normally down to -30 C (-22), just cover it up and preheat it with a Herman Nelson before flight. These past weeks we've had to wait for it to warm up to -30C every morning. The crews building the power lines don't operate below -30 C either.

Imagine being up there and its blowing 30 knots at -30.....


I've got some cool video of them pulling wire but internet it too slow here in camp to upload it.

[Kurt]

You mapping out fishing spots?

[ReptilianKittenEater]

Santiago is a nice place, a bit smoggy but otherwise ok

[vagabond]

Thanks for the info! I guess hearing about helicopter crashes and how they seem more dangerous than aircraft made me think they're more fragile in what they can handle.

No thanks to that power line work, even in nice conditions. Good for them braving the winds and temperatures - basically nothing happens here in LA if it rains or the temp gets below 50, nor can the infrastructure handle it half the time. The only place I've had consistent brownouts throughout a month outside Kosovo.

[Darcy]

You mapping out fishing spots?

Always! All my best brook trout spots were spotted from the helo, and I don't go anywhere (except now when everything is frozen) without a 6 weight and a bundle of flies I've tied in my pack. There's all kinds of untouched little lakes with monsters in them. And International...

Trinidad & Tobago on an 8 weight:


Gulf of Aden (maybe) with T5 guys on one of their zodiacs...


Hot spot somewhere with an SF buddy

[Darcy]

Santiago is a nice place, a bit smoggy but otherwise ok

Thanks! I think we'll be out in forestry camps in the hills away from everyone. Bringing my fly rod! My third novel (underway) is about a guy dreaming of fly fishing Patagonia.

[vagabond]

Santiago is a nice place, a bit smoggy but otherwise ok

Thanks! I think we'll be out in forestry camps in the hills away from everyone. Bringing my fly rod! My third novel (underway) is about a guy dreaming of fly fishing Patagonia.

Flying, fishing, writing...doesn't sound bad at all :)

[Darcy]

Thanks for the info! I guess hearing about helicopter crashes and how they seem more dangerous than aircraft made me think they're more fragile in what they can handle.

No thanks to that power line work, even in nice conditions. Good for them braving the winds and temperatures - basically nothing happens here in LA if it rains or the temp gets below 50, nor can the infrastructure handle it half the time. The only place I've had consistent brownouts throughout a month outside Kosovo.

Here's a shot from this morning, threading a 150' line and a 6500 pound reel through the power lines to place on a line puller. I've got some video I'm trying to upload too.



and the second one....

[Darcy]

some video

Here's the link if anyone knows how to embed it.....

https://photos.smugmug.com/Custom-Helicopters/i-g7WGFX2/0/eb315d4c/1280/IMG_7409-1280.mp4

[Darcy]

Flew back to civilization yesterday, in Winnipeg now. Will be flying to Western Canada Thursday to pick up the other Super Puma to fly back here, then home for the holidays. Supposed to depart Jan 2nd. Route is being finalized and all the necessary overfly and cross border permits getting sorted. I've heard of guys being posted in barbed wire compounds in the mountain to stage for fire fighting but my boss seems to think we'll be in a nice beach house with a hot tub. I guess I'll see. Fly rod will be going along...



Also, here's a video (I didn't shoot it) of my buddy pulling wire earlier in the season. I can't seem to embed it.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Custom-Helicopters/i-LSsq6cS/0/11be91db/1280/IMG_2454-1280.mp4

[sparrow]

^Fantastic. I wish you well, and safe journey.

[Alphabet]

Jealous because it seems super epic, even though with my time it helos, I think your fucking skeleton would just shake out sometime after day 3..but..

Wouldn't it just be less expensive from anything including wear/tear on helo, avgas, airport fees, hotels, etc..to just break it down, throw in a cargo plane and fly it there in one shot?

Just curious.

[Kurt]

What does the "diamond" shape mean after Grand Forks?