Posted on 06/01/2004 10:05:24 AM PDT by swarthyguy
NEW DELHI: In what is likely to be recognised as a new world record, an IAF Cheetah helicopter landed at an altitude of 23,240 feet on the Kamet glacier in the Garhwal Himalayas to rescue three critically injured climbers earlier this month.
Disclosing this on Monday, IAF's D-G, flight safety, Air Marshal A K Singh said what was even more remarkable was that Wing Commander S K Sharma and his co-pilot Flt Lt A B Dhanake managed to successfully take off from the glacier with an increased pay-load of 70 kg.
Sharma and Dhanake flew the rescue missions on May 11, 12 and 13 in severe turbulent conditions and in the face of jet speed winds.
"Landing a helicopter, above its service ceiling of 23,000 feet, at an unprepared site on a snow-covered mountain slope, at wind speeds of 35-40 knots, was definitely not a bed of roses," recalled Sharma.
Sharma, commander of the Bareilly-based 111 Helicopter Unit, who takes his inspiration from cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, said they managed the remarkable feat with sheer perseverance.
"The atmosphere was rare, the air thin... the controls were very sluggish and the engine was at maximum power," said Sharma.
Only one person - part of an IAF expedition to the Kamet peak - could be rescued at a time.
"The biggest achievement was that we were able to save three lives of our comrades... aim for the win and records will automatically come," said Sharma, echoing Tendulkar.
*-----------------ORBAT.COM----------------------*
RESCUE This story from the Times of India has nothing to do with the War on Terror, but it is a welcome example of what brave men can accomplish.
Three climbers from an Indian military team were critically injured on the Kamet Glacier.
An Indian Air Force Alouette 2 Lama not only landed on an unprepared deep snow slope on the Glacier at an altitude of 23,240 feet, it flew three sorties on successive days, lifting one climber at a time.
The winds were 35-40 knots - we don't have the Lama specifications off hand but that is surely way above safe operation limits, leave alone at an altitude above the helicopter's absolute maximum, and leave alone taking a 70-kg load off a slope.
The pilot, a wing commander allowed that the controls were "very sluggish" and the engine at "maximum power". No boasting or self-promotion, just happy to do our job, Sir.
Good show, old chappie!
TOI makes it sound rather significant. Accurate, or just a little cheerleading?
Nice going!
I say, Ol' Man, it certainly was. The rotor blades didn't have much air to get a bite, or the turbine to get even half of rated power.
Holy cow!
Blast from the Past.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/671350/posts
US wants to test chopper at Siachen Kashmir
Frontier Post ^ | April 23, 2002
I'd guess it was very significant to those poor shmo's who were rescued.
Very significant indeed!
Indeed! - Glad he only needed to go down hill from there, I am sure he didn't have much climb left!
aeronaut ping!
No kidding! Hooray for S+R pilots everywhere!
Didn't the US Air Force just break the old record about two weeks ago in a UH-60 Black Hawk? I thought they brought the larger, heavier helo up to 20,000 some feet? Very impressive, and it's only about 4 or 5 times the size of the new record-holder.
Wow! That's some flying!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.