This idea may well be baked as my understanding of helicopter landings relies entirely on medical drama television with flashing lights and wind blown about the face as people rush across open helipads. What I can't quite grasp or find information about is what happens when it is raining or snowing when the helicopter lands and then patients need to be transported a considerably long distance in this weather. Medical umbrellas?
Anyways, so im thinking - the helicopter should come flying onto the roof of the hospital to land within a marked circle or rectangle shape that is a little larger than the area of the cabin of the craft. Once landed, an hydraulic system lowers the entire helicopter cabin down (even as the rotors are slowing down or still spinning to save time) to a level under the helipad - which is the top floor of the hospital. It would only need to lower down far enough so that the patient could be removed and whisked into the emergency section - then the hydraulic deck is lifted again back up to roof level and copter can take off again if required.
The main problem I foresee here would be noise on the top floor of the hospital, but this could be countered with internal sound chambers in a series of sealed sections with doors - kind of like a photographic dark room.
The only thing I can find is a ramp and stair system to the side, that has a similar approach to this idea, but doesn't really resolve raindrops on bleeding heads - see link-- benfrost, Feb 08 2005 heliport design with side ramp http://www.heliport.com/MRHramp.htm [benfrost, Feb 08 2005] Just take the hospital to the patient http://www.aviation...licopters/aha70.htmAirborne M*A*S*H [AbsintheWithoutLeave, Feb 10 2005] Is just the cabin being lowered or the whole 'copter?-- skinflaps, Feb 08 2005 Not recommended for MASH.-- FarmerJohn, Feb 08 2005 Your right FJ, it would just sink into it.-- skinflaps, Feb 08 2005 the whole copter goes down about 7 feet, so the blades are then above the surface about 3 feet.-- benfrost, Feb 08 2005 What's needed here is a RAST system - cable pulls down the helicopter, then pulls it into shelter, all done chop chop.-- ConsulFlaminicus, Feb 08 2005 Some accordian styled dock-shelter would be much cheaper and as effective. It would retract flush with the the elevator roof house and then expand out and seal up to the cabin of the helicopter upon landing.-- JungFrankenstein, Feb 09 2005 ...while playing music strangely reminiscent of beer steins and lederhosen?-- david_scothern, Feb 09 2005 The helicopter could land on a giant piston, the use its own rotors to push itself down into the hospital.-- bungston, Feb 09 2005 Sure - why not? A little rooftop ER/oktoberfest kind of theme going on - with costumes. First impressions count when anticipating emergency spinal surgery.-- JungFrankenstein, Feb 09 2005 perfect solution! the nurses and doctors can hold hands around the heliport and engage in synchronised morris dancing to various polka tunes - for moments when the lighting beacons are on the blink. - or not on the blink-- benfrost, Feb 10 2005 //the whole copter goes down about 7 feet, so the blades are then above the surface about 3 feet.//
So this is the Vic Morrow (and two usually forgotten and unmentioned Asian kids) Memorial Hospital?-- ConsulFlaminicus, Feb 10 2005 I actually like the idea of putting a false bottom in the helicopter the whole size of the passenger cabin.
That way all the medics/doctors and equipment can be lifted by a forklift into an area where the patient can be transferred into a suitable room, then they can just hook up all the hospital stuff and continue on.
This way a whole lot of false bottoms can be maintained by staff at the hospitals leisure ready to slap into a helicopter ready to go again. I imagine that helicopters take a while to restock after a few traumas and have to go back to base and resupply.
We could get some disabled doctors back into the fold who don't have to leave the false bottoms and just sit there and become 'ferrymen'.-- BlownUpGnome, Feb 10 2005 I rather thought helicopters had a difficult time landing when it's blowing and blustery.-- RayfordSteele, Aug 31 2005 i think they do - but this idea is really about rain.-- benfrost, Aug 31 2005 Didn't the stretchers in MASH have little cocoon things on them to protect the patient?-- wagster, Oct 20 2005 [wags] Just the head/upper body, IIRC-- coprocephalous, Oct 20 2005 That'll do then - unless someone's run over the patient's legs. In that case shove 'em in backwards.-- wagster, Oct 20 2005 random, halfbakery