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Use barrel hooks on a sling for lifting fuel drums, although you might find varying designs to suit different helicopters. For example, a 206 might have one for 2 drums while a 205 might have one for 5. Whatever you use, use the bungee cord to keep them together when there is no tension. Again, don’t connect the hooks directly to the aircraft, but to a sling.
Minimum Sling Specifications
Use heavier than normal shackles to accommodate multiple lines.
Loading and unloading areas
Non-involved people should be absent, and there should be no loose articles to be blown around by the downwash and cause damage (it is possible for slash to snag and inadvertently operate the manual release). Approach and departure lanes should be into wind.
Performance planning
Check your Hover performance Out of Ground Effect (HOGE), in case it places a ceiling on your Max All-Up Weight, although most helicopters have a higher Gross Weight anyway for external loads. Here are charts of suggested payloads for various types according to Pressure Altitude:
Preparation of loads
There are 4 basic types of load – rectangular, cylindrical, heavy compact and nets, and five ways of lifting them, starting with nets and ending up with a four-point sling (through 1-, 2- and 3-point). Nets are used for loads consisting of many small pieces, and are very useful for killing lift with loads that can act like a bucket as you fly (like an Argo). On a 206, one about 10-12 feet square with a 2” square mesh is quite suitable. Items should be carefully and evenly stacked in the centre, with the net stretched round the load on the ground before pickup. Individual light loads, such as jerrycans or containers, ought to be lashed together, since the net may not completely enclose them at the top. If there are many small items, consider a tarpaulin as a liner, which will stop them falling out. Be aware that lifting points already attached to anything may have been designed for cranes, which don’t, as a rule, fly sideways or get caught in updraughts, etc.
The weight of each load should be known, with sand and stuff kept dry and, if possible, weighed immediately before loading, as a good soaking will increase the weight dramatically and give you a surprise when you lift it. What happens most often, however, is that the guys just bundle stuff into a net, and as long as you don’t overtorque the machine you’re OK. Although convenient, and mostly used for nets, a single-point hookup is not always the best plan, particularly for short loads, and should only be used on loads designed for it, with a swivel, to stop the line unravelling. You also need to be particularly careful about the load’s C of G, or it may tip and start rocking, so keep the heavy end down. The shorter the cable, the less the tendency to swing.
For a single pole or log, wrap the rope or chain twice around the end of it and carry it vertically (steel rope grips best):
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