Log - July-29-2003 by Gerhard Behrens Previous | Next Expedition Expedition | People Helicopter operations Gerhard Behrens Every day, one thing seems to grab the ship’s attention. Yesterday, the 28th, it was helo ops, which is Coast Guard talk for helicopter operations. No one says helicopter on the ship, everyone says, hee-low. Take off for Pond Inlet. Props folded in the hangar. That day’s mission was flying to Pond Inlet, a town of a few hundred on the northeast side of Baffin Island. There were three very good reasons to make this flight. One reason is a crewmember had to go home for a funeral, and this was the closest place to drop him off so he could get an airplane flight home. The second reason is more complicated. The team that is building the moorings (equipment that will stay near the bottom of the ocean for 3 more years) found out that some cables were missing from a box. It turns out the company who makes the moorings forgot to pack the cables. Ooooops. So, the company had to send a worker from San Diego, CA, all the way to Pond Inlet, Nunavut, Canada. The Coast Guard helicopter was able to meet the plane and pick up the cables. The third reason the helo flew was to give the pilots a chance to practice. Every pilot needs mins. That is short for minimums, which means each pilot and rescuer has to practice for a certain amount of time. They practice things like regular flying, landing, using the safety hoist, and doing a swim rescue. Lots of the science crew and ship crew came out to see the helo fly away and return. It was very beautiful to see it lift off and touch down so gracefully. The return of the helo with the cables was also very important. Without them, one set of experiments would have been in big trouble. Instrument Panel. Bob and Gerhard dream about a flight. If you want to learn more about the helicopters and the crew, click on the Fun Facts button.