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Ropes, nets and bags

Photo 1 – Eliticino mechanic Artur Muller carefully inspects the load contained in the net attached to the helicopter’s centre-of-gravity cargo hook (HAB)
Photo 1 – Eliticino mechanic Artur Muller carefully inspects the load contained in the net attached to the helicopter’s centre-of-gravity cargo hook (HAB)

Ropes

At the beginning the ropes were made of twisted hemp. Nowadays the so called "ropes" are actually polyester endless round slings of variable length. For the transportation of logs (logging) the helicopter companies usually use chocker cables. The cable suspended to the ventral hook of the helicopter can have a variable length. Some of these cables, as for example, the "long line" used for logging operations, are electrically released by the pilot.

Nets and bags

The net is a widely used equipment. On the market there are nets of different sizes. The biggest are usually used to transport hay from the mountains to hay-lofts. The others are used to transport supplies, equipments, furniture, firewood, etc. Modern nets are made with synthetic materials and are extremely light and resistant.

Photo 1, taken in 1966, shows Eliticino’s Agusta-Bell 47G3B-1 HB-XBY transporting a metal panel to Mount Sumbraida in Italy, where it was to be used in the construction of a television repeater.

Photo 2 – This photograph, dating from the late 1960s, was taken near Samedan Airport, Canton of Graubünden (HAB)
Photo 2 – This photograph, dating from the late 1960s, was taken near Samedan Airport, Canton of Graubünden (HAB)

Photo 2 - Jean-Pierre Füllemann prepares to hook up a net containing supplies for a hut to the Bell 47G3B-1 HB-XBT.

Photo 3 - The Agusta-Bell 204B HB-XCG remained in service with Heliswiss from 1967 to 1987 (HAB)
Photo 3 - The Agusta-Bell 204B HB-XCG remained in service with Heliswiss from 1967 to 1987 (HAB)

Photo 3 - The Agusta-Bell 204B HB-XCG in service with Heliswiss uses a net to carry some metal panels.

Photo 4 - The heli-bag is vastly used by the customers of the Swiss helicopter operators (M. bzazani)
Photo 4 - The heli-bag is vastly used by the customers of the Swiss helicopter operators (M. bzazani)

Heli-bags

Nowadays to save time and money helicopter companies suggest the use of the “heli-bags" (photo 4), a light big bag of variable volume made of polypropylene. With this equipment the customer can calmly prepare his cargo. Heli-bags are now widely used for a large variety of transportations.

HAB december 2009