Anyone recall what it was like to ride on one of the helicopters shown in this film? It seems like that would still be an ideal way to get around the city. Other than being a much shorter flight, how did it compare to fixed-wing airlines? Has there ever been a helicopter service anywhere else like this?
sharertlh 1982 , yeah , I wondered a lot about this helicopter service . thanks for your important question . Who can answer us ?
shareIn the fifties and sixties there were various attempts at airline helicopter operations in various parts of the world, few successful. New York Airways JFK-Pan Am Buiding service, using the twin rotor Boeing Vertol 107's, ran from 1965 to 1968, ending shortly after Coogan's Bluff was made. They restarted it in early 1977 using single rotor Sikorsky S-61Ls (civilian version of the SH-3 Sea King), but after a few months there was a fatal accident at the Pan Am building heliport which resulted in the death of three passengers and a pedestrian on the street below, hit by a falling rotor blade. Following this the Pan Am heliport was closed. New York Airways ceased all operations following a further fatal accident in 1979.
The longest running helicopter service was between Penzance and the Scilly Isles in the far south west of England. This started in 1964, using Sikorsky S-61Ns and continued until 2012, when the Penzance heliport was sold to a supermarket chain for redevelopment. Today, virtually all airline style helicopter services are for ferrying workers to oil and gas rigs.
Helicopters are expensive to operate, noisy and far less safe than fixed wing aircraft.
Ampak, thank you very much .
shareexcellent post - anyone who wants some supplemental reading look up "The Jesus Pin", or "The Jesus Nut" and come to your own conclusions regarding rotary-winged safety. bear in mind the engineering principles of "single point of failure".
also, check out the faa / caa regulations regarding how often you need to change the airframe on your 1-4 million dollar helicopter. not bulbs or filters or drive belts. not bearings. not moving components, but the airframe. i'll prepare you, the information is hard to find. purposely so.
There used to be a helicopter service much like that one between Oakland, CA airport and San Francisco's airport. I rode it once in 1969. It wasn't particularly memorable.
shareThanks for the information, everyone. I seem to recall a scene in the McCloud TV series in which the main character is nearly knocked off a roof by one of these helicopters.
share