Random Ramblings: Aerial Wildland Firefighting

I have blogged about aerial wildland firefighting since 2009. I am not a firefighter and am not a pilot, just an interested bystander who wants to learn more and share what I learn here. Join me here as I blog on the aircraft and the pilots who fight wildland fires from the air in support of crews on the ground. I also blog on concerns affecting fire crews on the ground as well as other aviation and meteorology issues. Learn what it takes to do jobs that are staffed by the best of the best.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Sikorsky S-76B Helo take-off and rotor wash

I shot this video at a local summer solstice festival about six weeks ago. This is the first time that I have been this close to a large helo taking off. The helo is a Sikorsky S-76B used by the NJ State Police for emergency medical operations. For more information about NJ's air medical services, go here.

I was especially interested in experiencing first hand the effects of rotor wash as the helo lifted off. You will see the effect for yourself at the appropriate point in the video as the camera shook a little when I experienced the effects of the initial rotor wash. As I understand it, rotor wash are winds created by the rotors of the helicopter. The "winds" from rotor wash are not dependent on altitude. Those of us on the ground, as I was when I shot the video can feel the winds from rotor wash as a helo flys low to the ground as it does during take-off.

I can't find a good short explanation about rotor wash to link to at the moment. I'll keep looking and if I find something, I'll follow-up with a link.

Here are some photos I took of the S-76B just before she took off.