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Old 03-30-2020, 11:21 AM   #21
Icelander
 
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Default Helicopters for 'Night Rider' (Monster Hunter) Support

I've determined that, aside from the many helicopters that are actually used primarily for logistical purposes in the offshore oil industry, but are available to Kessler (Patron of PCs and their allies) if needed, they use a few helicopters nearly exclusively for supporting 'Night Rider' (Monster Hunter) operations. That means, they are available for CSAR/TRAP/Medevac/Casevac purposes.

1) UH-1 Huey

In Beaumont, TX, there are two old Hueys, pilots and crews for them. They support operations in Louisiana and Texas and can use several commercial airfields for that purpose, though their home hangar is at the Beaumont Municipal Airport.
Edit: As they were available really cheap for someone with the right connections, let's add a couple of other Hueys there, for a total of four at Beaumont. Generally, only a maximum of two would be expected to take the air at the same time, though.

A cover company also owns a Huey helicopter that was used by the Israeli Air Force before being acquired by the Rhodesian Air Force. We station that one on St. Lucia, mostly for training purposes.

I might add a couple of Hueys elsewhere, as I go through where the organization operates.

2) Sikorsky S-61 / Sea King

There is a Sikorsky S-61 home-based in Trinidad that allegedly services oil companies, but the contracts are all for appearances sake and come exclusively from companies connected to Kessler through intermediaries, and the flight crew are very much a semi-permanent SAR and medevac asset for Night Riders in the Caribbean.

3) Suggestions for Other Helicopters (Old-school ones)?

I have not decided what model of helicopter is used in Florida, for the team down there, or for the team based in Nassau, Bahamas. What do the forumites think?

4) Suggestions for Tried-and-True Helicopters (still commercially viable in the 2010s)?

There are also probably several helicopters owned by International Yachting and Racing Inc. (IYR Inc.), a logistics company that handles all sorts of travel arrangements for ultra-rich superyacht owners, including shuttling yacht crew and guests around the Caribbean.

Their flight crews probably are aware to an extent of occult phenomena in the world, as well as being highly paid, exhaustively vetted and subject to strict NDAs, because of what they know about Kessler's unorthodox operations.

I haven't decided what models of helicopters they use, though. Suggestions for something that is capable, economical to use for shuttling around over sea and on yachts, but still a tried-and-true design that might function even when the electronics start malfunctioning?

5) Alouette II

Two Alouette II helicopters from the Rhodesian Air Force are possessed by one 'charter' company bankrolled through layers of intermediaries, although they would never be practical for commercial operations in the 2010s. We'll put those in Dominica (the Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles).

Does anyone happen to know whether there would be any issues with type certifying those for charter work elsewhere in the Caribbean and/or in the US?

6) Soviet Helicopters

Yet other shell companies and/or cover companies in other names own two Mi-8 Hip helicopters and several lighter ex-Soviet aircraft, acquired cheaply after the fall of the Soviet Union, but problems getting them type certified with the FAA means that they are not used in the US.

I'll have to research where best to station them in the Caribbean. I want to have them somewhere not far from the Virgin Islands, depending on where they might realistically receive a type certification. Suggestions?
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Last edited by Icelander; 03-30-2020 at 09:21 PM.
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Old 03-30-2020, 01:16 PM   #22
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Default Re: UH-1 Hueys

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
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.
He's retiring. https://www.dvidshub.net/news/348356...res-retirement
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Old 03-30-2020, 01:28 PM   #23
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Default Tim Ochsner

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Originally Posted by dcarson View Post
Thanks!

It's January 1, 2019 in play, so that's a good few months off, but still, I was just looking for what his MOS as an enlisted soldier was and you found that for me. :-)
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Old 04-01-2020, 05:41 AM   #24
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Default TL7 Helicopters Still in Use 2018 That Are Good for Yacht Operations

Which of the above helicopters (or some other model that is TL7 or early TL8) would be most practical for basing off yachts?

If necessary, two different sizes, one for the smallest yacht that could have helicopter operations and one for bigger superyachts. Ideally, models of helicopters that are tolerant of marine conditions.
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Old 04-01-2020, 06:48 AM   #25
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Default Re: TL7 Helicopters Still in Use 2018 That Are Good for Yacht Operations

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Originally Posted by Icelander View Post
Which of the above helicopters (or some other model that is TL7 or early TL8) would be most practical for basing off yachts?

If necessary, two different sizes, one for the smallest yacht that could have helicopter operations and one for bigger superyachts. Ideally, models of helicopters that are tolerant of marine conditions.
I'd definitely go for the Sea King or Hind on the super-yacht for marine operations. I'm not sure which of the smaller models would be marine-based; what gets used in Hawaii the most?
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Old 04-01-2020, 08:16 AM   #26
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Default Re: [High-Tech/Vehicles] Rugged, Simple SAR/Medevac Helicopters

If you are looking for NPCs with a recent background in SAR operations in old UH-1s, the SAR squadron at MCAS Yuma (Arizona) still uses them. They support the Marine operations in the area, but also do civilian SAR in the region akin to Coast Guard SAR. They are actually going to disband this year because the UH-1s are getting too old to safely operate. Some info here: https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/new...ma-to-disband/

Last edited by phayman53; 04-01-2020 at 08:20 AM.
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Old 04-01-2020, 08:19 AM   #27
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Default Re: [High-Tech/Vehicles] Rugged, Simple SAR/Medevac Helicopters

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Originally Posted by phayman53 View Post
If you are looking for NPCs with a recent background in SAR operations in old UH-1s, the SAR squadron at MCAS Yuma (Arizona) still uses them (though that is supposed to end in the near future). They support the Marine operations in the area, but also do civilian SAR in the region akin to Coast Guard SAR. They are actually going to disband this year because the UH-1s are getting to old to safely operate. Some info here: https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/new...ma-to-disband/
Cool, thanks!

Kessler can hire Marines with that background, either directly after they separate from active duty or while they are serving in Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 (HMLA-773) 'Red Dog' in the Marine Forces Reserve.
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Old 04-01-2020, 01:11 PM   #28
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Default Re: TL7 Helicopters Still in Use 2018 That Are Good for Yacht Operations

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Originally Posted by Phantasm View Post
I'd definitely go for the Sea King or Hind on the super-yacht for marine operations. I'm not sure which of the smaller models would be marine-based; what gets used in Hawaii the most?
The 220' superyacht was built in the 1960s and didn't include a helipad. Obviously, a helicopter can hover above it, as with any larger craft, but I think that adding an ugly and unaerodynamic superstructure to the sleek and fast lines would not have been accepted by the owner.

On the other hand, it's plausible that surplus naval or Coast Guard cutters and/or research vessels with helidopter facilities might have been purchased especially for supporting occult research, charting of paranormal phenomena and operations against supernatural threats. Selected especially so helicopter SAR, casevac and medevac operations could be run from them.

After all, a billionaire has been devoting a sizable sum yearly for three decades, going from tens of millions a year in the beginning in the late 1980s to pehaps half a billion a year in the 2010s, to researching, investigating and combating the supernatural threat. That's a hell of a lot less than major US federal agencies or military branches get, but it's not nothing, either.

The money is spent through intermediaries, hidden in corporate expenses like surveying and exploration (major interests in offshore oil and gas, mineral extraction, logistics and corporate security) and as contributions to any number of research initiatives, academic trusts, charitable concerns, endowments and the like, and is by no means all dedicated to cool toys, but it still means that if some of the highly valuable employees whose job it is to confront supernatural threats require clandestine Combat Search and Rescue, there will be some method of trying available.
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Old 04-01-2020, 04:52 PM   #29
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Default UH-1 Huey for Maritime CSAR/TRAP/Medevac/Casevac

How are Hueys for the purpose of operating over ocean, supported from ships?

The UH-1 was allegedly used by all branches of the US military, including the US Coast Guard, but I don't know how long the USCG used Hueys, for what or if they were heavily modified for operations in heavy weather and over salt water.

Does anyone know anything about the USCG use of Hueys and/or generally how practical it would be to use carefully-maintained, but very old-school (avoiding TL8 electronics, at least for anything vital) UH-1 Iraquois 'Huey' helicopters for similar operational purposes as the USCG uses their rotary craft?
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Old 04-01-2020, 08:47 PM   #30
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Default Re: UH-1 Huey for Maritime CSAR/TRAP/Medevac/Casevac

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How are Hueys for the purpose of operating over ocean, supported from ships?
Not quite what you asked about but you might look at the Cobra gunship. It has a significant overlap with the Huey in terms of mechanical systems and I beleive the Marines still use the Sea Cobra variant.

If you found someone talking about how the Sea Cobra was modified for the conditions in question it might shed at least some light.
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