A-rockin' and a-rollin' on the high seas!

The video clip below shows a Westland Lynx Mark 90B helicopter of the Danish Navy, flown by test pilots from Prism Defence, a company specializing in ship-helicopter integration. The vessel is the HDMS Ejnar Mikkelsen, a Knud Rasmussen class patrol vessel. This footage is of a test to demonstrate how the helicopter's systems can help it to land on a ship in extreme weather conditions, when the deck is so unsteady that a 'normal' landing might not be possible.

Notice a couple of things:

• The helicopter tries to hover on a level plane in relation to the horizon, not the ship. Although it looks from the deck as if the helicopter is tilting first to one side, then the other, in reality it's the ship doing the moving.
• The flag-waving crewman in the foreground is indicating a clear deck beneath the helicopter, but isn't trying to tell it what to do. It's the pilot's responsibility, aided by his onboard systems, to make the decision when to land.
• This helicopter isn't using a system such as RAST, whereby the helicopter can be winched down onto the deck against the upward pull of its rotor in the hover. Such a tether system can also permit landings in rough weather that might otherwise make them impossible. It seems that Prism Defence's systems are good enough to make that unnecessary, which is impressive.

Here's the video. There's no sound, so don't adjust your speakers. I recommend watching it in full-screen mode . . . as long as you don't get seasick doing so!

Many years ago, I landed on a South African Navy frigate off the Cape of Good Hope (initially named the Cape of Storms - with good reason!) as a passenger aboard a Westland Wasp helicopter, and was badly frightened doing so. I wish our pilot had had these systems available to help him!





Peter