[High-Tech/Vehicles] Rugged, Simple SAR/Medevac Helicopters

[MrFix]

KA-26

Mil Mi-8

Both are in service with parts.

Stats for both from the anonymous GURPS Cars book

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Dalillama

Depends on your value for reasonable. I found several from the right time period for $500-750k, so I reckon you could get yhem a few years back for the same rates. I can't imagine they get less available the further back you go, but I can't find specific info easily.

Sure, sounds reasonable.

I was just looking over where qualified Huey pilots might have worked in 1973-2018, coming up with backgrounds for the first pilots who flew these for the 'Night Riders' in the late 80s and their heirs doing so in 2018.

I discover that the Louisiana State Police (among others) still use UH-1 Huey helicopters for law enforcement purposes. As I was planning for at least one cover company owning such helicopters to be located in Beaumont, TX, just over the state line, clearly one pilot can be a former Lousiana state trooper pilot.

Other suggestions for expert Huey pilots in 2018, ideally with experience in SAR, casevac, medevacs, etc.?

[MrFix]

Originally Posted by Icelander

Sure, sounds reasonable.

I was just looking over where qualified Huey pilots might have worked in 1973-2018, coming up with backgrounds for the first pilots who flew these for the 'Night Riders' in the late 80s and their heirs doing so in 2018.

I discover that the Louisiana State Police (among others) still use UH-1 Huey helicopters for law enforcement purposes. As I was planning for at least one cover company owning such helicopters to be located in Beaumont, TX, just over the state line, clearly one pilot can be a former Lousiana state trooper pilot.

Other suggestions for expert Huey pilots in 2018, ideally with experience in SAR, casevac, medevacs, etc.?

USMC, especially SOF-related, behind the stick of UH-1Y Venom variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_UH-1Y_Venom


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_212

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_412

are civilian variants used for multitude of roles.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by MrFix

KA-26

Mil Mi-8

Both are in service with parts.

Stats for both from the anonymous GURPS Cars book

I really want a Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter, but ten years ago, at least, you could not get them type certified with the FAA except as 'experimental' aircraft and the regulations that accompany such a certification (in particular the rules about distance from home airfields) make them useless for adventuring purposes.

Does anyone know if it different these days?

Or whether you could get them type certified in any nice Caribbean locations (aside from Cuba)?

The KA-26 seems to be that rare bird, a Russian helicopter that can actiually be type certified in the US as a commercial aircraft, allowing a charter company to own one to use for CSAR and medevacs of PC Monster Hunters.

I don't really have any frame of reference to know how KA-26 helicopters compare with UH-1 Hueys for that. Care to enlighten me on the benefits of the KA-26, especially in regards to simplicity, robustness and old-fashioned design?

[MrFix]

It's a classic soviet design, not explicitly better than Huey, it's just small, cheap and customizable. Plus it has GURPS stats. It also has good HT score so it should have better time surviving various effects.

Imho there really is no ideal helicopter for such concepts, most of the time people just buy what's cheaper and what's locally available, so looking at the popular civilian birds is the way to go, which UH-1 Huey in it's vietnam war loadout is afaik not. Further developments of the H-1 platform though as listed above? They're alright.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by MrFix

USMC, especially SOF-related, behind the stick of UH-1Y Venom variant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_UH-1Y_Venom

Excellent, thanks.

I shall employ a whole crew from the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 (HMLA-773) 'Red Dogs', reservists with a drilling station at NAS Belle Chasse, LA. Some or all can be former active duty.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by MrFix

Imho there really is no ideal helicopter for such concepts, most of the time people just buy what's cheaper and what's locally available, so looking at the popular civilian birds is the way to go, which UH-1 Huey in it's vietnam war loadout is afaik not. Further developments of the H-1 platform though as listed above? They're alright.

In this context, the people planning to medevac Monster Hunters expect electronics, and any technological devices, really, to behave erratically when around paranormal phenomena. Digital things are an order of magnitude worse than analog when it comes to malfunctions around supernatural events. Complex mechanical devices without electronics are not immune from this effect, but far more resistant, so that you can usually drive or fly TL7 vehicles around occult phenomena long after any 2010s era models have completely stopped working.

Broadly speaking, the less sophisticated technology an aircraft requires to stay aloft, the more likely it is to be able to survive rescuing Monster Hunters from a Place of Power. So while new, more efficient engines (with electronic injectors or computer chips) and upgraded avionics are obviously improvements in the real world, to Monster Hunters in a world with Vile Vortices, they're something that won't work in a high Mana field.

So, my Monster Hunters would be looking for solidly TL7 or at worst early TL8 aircraft that could still fly if all the electronics aboard started behaving erratically. And, ideally, skilled pilots who know how to fly helicopters without all these fancy modern avionics...

I'm thinking that until age forced him to retire from active SAR flying, the main Huey pilot in Beaumont for my organization was Obadiah Stark, an actual veteran of Vietnam who attended the Primary Helicopter Center at Fort Wolters, TX, in 1966 as a 25-year-old SSG (lately of the 7th Cav) and served as a warrant officer in 'Nam before leaving the Army in 1973. Later on, he flew some years for offhore oil rigs, did some work for sheriff's offices and ended up flying for the DEA until he retired from federal service at age 57, in 1997.

[MrFix]

Seems appropriate.

[dcarson]

Originally Posted by Icelander

I discover that the Louisiana State Police (among others) still use UH-1 Huey helicopters for law enforcement purposes. As I was planning for at least one cover company owning such helicopters to be located in Beaumont, TX, just over the state line, clearly one pilot can be a former Lousiana state trooper pilot.

Given Kesslers habits I'd expect a agreement with them that some of his pilots are Reserve State Police if they need more in an emergency and reciprocal spare part lending if a supplier is slow or out of stock.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by dcarson

Given Kesslers habits I'd expect a agreement with them that some of his pilots are Reserve State Police if they need more in an emergency and reciprocal spare part lending if a supplier is slow or out of stock.

Yes, absolutely.

I was disappointed that the Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Operations Division doesn't seem to have used Hueys at any point in their history, as it has already been established in play that Tim Ochsner*, the current Division Director and Chief Pilot, has a relationship with some senior people in Kessler's organization.

Kessler's influence is slightly less in Louisiana than in Texas, but still, he's been trying to build influence there for decades and it would be weird if he'd had no success. Kessler employs two former New Orleans PD detectives** among his 'Night Riders' (Monster Hunters). Now I'm just sad that neither of them is a State Police trooper. Perhaps some of those are among the intelligence assets Kessler has or perhaps there's even a retired Night Rider in Louisiana who was in the State Police.

*33 years in the US Army, including a combat tour as a Special Forces officer, currently Colonel of the Special Forces Detachment of the Texas National Guard, 24 years as a law enforcement pilot (concurrently with reserve service), 8,000 flight hours, qualified for several rotary craft, several small planes and multi-engine planes.
**One of whom is also Force Recon veteran and a Major of the USMC-R. The other is a PC who has the supremely valuable gift of being a powerful medium, spiritualist and magician.