How easy/safe is it to lift a seasick passenger from the deck of a deep-sea fishing boat into a hovering helicopter? On TV they make it look like a pretty reliable operation.

I've often thought a helicopter pilot and crew could make a pretty good business of flying out to rescue seasick passengers from deep-sea fishing expeditions, small-boat cruises, or other cases where the boat is not going to return to port for a relatively long time. How much do you suppose a seasick passenger would pay?
-- beauxeault, Jul 11 2001

Small helicopter used as air ambulance. http://austin.bcent...9/09/20/story5.html
$4 million, plus $300 per hour. [angel, Jul 11 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Cornwall Air Ambulance http://www.cornwall...ulance/Welcome.html
'Operational costs currently average over £65,000 each month' [angel, Jul 11 2001, last modified Oct 05 2004]

A Sikorsky S-61 Sea King, as used by Royal Navy Search and Rescue, costs around £35,000 per day. You do the math.
-- angel, Jul 11 2001


Would it really require such an expensive helicopter? I know the little ones used for traffic reports are too small, but what about the size used by hospitals, or to ferry executives from Manhattan to the airport?
-- beauxeault, Jul 11 2001


How do you then rescue the victims from the helicopter when they become airsick?
-- snarfyguy, Jul 11 2001


give them parachutes...
-- RobertKidney, Jul 11 2001


Thanks for the links, angel. You must be a helicopter enthusiast -- or if you're a pilot yourself, you have my admiration. The smaller vehicles you cite would seem to be well suited to the task. I don't think my service would need to be outfitted with all the medical gear, and I think I could get by with just one crew member in the back. I also think I could probably get by with a used helicopter.

Even so, it's not clear from the Austin article, but it seems most reasonable that the $300/hr. to be charged for ambulance services would include debt servicing on the $4 million. At 140 mph (Cornwall machine), I'd expect you could complete a run out and back in an hour, and I think many people in the midst of seasickness with no hope of reprieve for many hours would pay $300 or more for quick relief. The Cornwall figures are high, but even so I'd only have to make about 10 rescues per day at $300 each to break even.

With regard to airsickness: I personally am much less prone to airsickness than seasickness. I wonder if that's true for most who are sensitive to motion sickness. I also wonder if the experience of being lifted into the helicopter wouldn't be bracing enough to quench the seasickness. Even so, what the service would offer is a quick, if not immediate return to land, as opposed to many more hours of suffering.
-- beauxeault, Jul 12 2001


[beauxeault]: Note that the figure for the Cornwall Air Ambulance does not include costs for the crew, who are already funded. The $300 per hour seems low to me, knowing how frighteningly expensive helicopters are to run.
I'm not a pilot, but I've always been fascinated by helicopters, and the Cornwall Air Ambulance is a favourite charity of mine.
Regarding motion sickness, I would think that seasickness is more common than airsickness. On a choppy sea, even the best skipper cannot offer a smooth ride.
-- angel, Jul 12 2001



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