Are there any civilian twin rotors out there?

[-]

FZ_Milkshake@reddit

Kaman K-Max for logging and a few Ka-27 derivatives I think.

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centexAwesome@reddit

Look up Wolf Creek's instagram. Seems like they have some videos of them hauling towers up a mountain. Also Kaman has a page. I would give links but I was recently purged from IG.

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joshharris42@reddit

PJ line services owns 2 chinooks for building power lines. Plus a ton of blackhawks

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Tvr280iboii@reddit

Didn’t think I would see a wolf creek mention in this thread lol.

[-]

I love WC I have a friend who loves Vail. Last night he was saying "Lets go to Vail my treat", and of course my answer was "Can we go to WC instead?" Vail is amazing but I am not and that place is pretty intimidating.

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dairy__fairy@reddit

Crested butte!

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Funkytitsfromspace@reddit

Nah, we full!!

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Redfish680@reddit

Whistler!

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Tvr280iboii@reddit

I should clarify. Scroll above was from a r/skiing so just surprised.

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Chupacabra_Sandwich@reddit

We had one flying around Steamboat all last summer hauling towers for our new gondola!

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Tybo929@reddit

Pagosa crew what's up!!

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SmokedBeef@reddit

Possibly when Egypt retires theirs, which have significantly better electronics, armor and landing gear. Because at this rate all the Russian examples will never retire, at least not in one piece, Putin can’t afford that and he doesn’t have the rubles to replace them with with something else

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ElenaKoslowski@reddit

Ask the Ukrainians they got one on storage that needs some love and care and it's good as new.

[-]

BigRoundSquare@reddit

Kamov KA-32a11bc to be exact VIH Helicopters

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YogurtclosetSouth991@reddit

Except with the war VIH has had to mothball the Kamov's. Can't get parts. Shame really, they loved the machines.

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Revolutionary-Jelly4@reddit

Did a lift with a twin rotor helicopter on 18 story cooling tower. The job was in Balt. Md and helicopter came out of Chicago. He flew out. Did lift. Took his off stick time at local airport and went home. They were better than local cranes.

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Many_Appearance_8778@reddit

Coulson has some.

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HeavyCruiserSalem@reddit

Ka-26 in Hungary and Romania

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HokieAero@reddit

The "civilian" Chinook is actually the Boeing 234. And there are a bunch of mil surplus CH-47Ds flying in FAA restricted category. And a few CH-46Es (the military version of the Boeing-Vertol V107-II).

p.s. the H-60 Blackhawks aren't multi-rotor but there are a ton of various H-60 models being sold by the U.S. Army (800+) and Air Force.

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woodworkingguy1@reddit

I see a few around here in Oregon during fire season.

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byerss@reddit

Columbia Helicopters

https://colheli.com/

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SidewaysGoose57@reddit

I believe I read somewhere that Columbia is the largest operator of Chinooks outside the US military.

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NodePoker@reddit

https://community.infiniteflight.com/t/the-hover-barge-famous-photo/312759

The best Columbia Helicopters picture.

[-]

ttystikk@reddit

Damn... Towing a hover barge loaded with 50 tons of cargo.

The balls of the pilots served as adequate ballast.

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salanki@reddit

So sick

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Buckoff10@reddit

I saw one of these flying earlier today

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Lonetrek@reddit

Coulson has CH-47s they use for firefighing as well

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Tommy84@reddit

This company has been flying a couple Chinooks around the fire in Malibu the past couple days.

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joshr03@reddit

CHI Construction Helicopters

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Eggplantappleoplis@reddit

They hold almost as much as the 737's used for firefighting in Australia from my memory.

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ginji@reddit

NSW RFS has the 737 - it's operated by Coulson. Holds 15,142 litres of retardant.

They also have a CH-47 - (again operated by Coulson, not sure if it's owned or leased by RFS). Has had a recent upgrade from a 10,000 litre bucket to a 11,000 litre belly tank.

So about two thirds of the 737 which is pretty impressive.

[-]

SeaManaenamah@reddit

They had a couple of these based out of Bagram back around 2013. I remember they referred to them as Cain and Abel.

[-]

Ranger1221@reddit

I've seen them in the California fires

There's a pink one flown by the daughter of the company's owner

[-]

verysmalltiki@reddit (OP)

Hi fellow Oregonian 👋 I hate to see the fires but I do love seeing the low passes. Haven't seen a twin rotor yet but I'll keep an eye out

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folawg@reddit

There's a guy in Mulino that has one

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Major-Ad148@reddit

Augusta Westland AW609 if that counts

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Starlifter40612@reddit

It does in my book except that it's now called the Leonardo Helicopters AW609

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Major-Ad148@reddit

Is is? I had no idea. What does the AW stand for now?

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Starlifter40612@reddit

Agusta Westland as you stated. Leonardo kept the AW prefix for branding and legacy reasons I'm guessing. This is the company background (from Wiki).

AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company,^([2]) which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo).^([3]) It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian^([4]) multinational company, when Finmeccanica and GKN merged their respective helicopter subsidiaries (Agusta and Westland Helicopters) to form AgustaWestland,^([5]) with each holding a 50% share. Finmeccanica acquired GKN's stake in AgustaWestland in 2004.

In 2016, AgustaWestland was merged into Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica), where it became the company's helicopters division under the Leonardo Helicopters brand.^([6])^([7])

[-]

Major-Ad148@reddit

Ooh, that makes sense

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sanmigmike@reddit

Columbia Helicopters at least a few years ago was flying CH-46s and CH-47s for different civilian applications. Don’t get by the Aurora Airport much anymore.

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Major_Mango6002@reddit

Ch-47 (you gotta buy through a commercial operator)

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balsadust@reddit

K-mAx

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Freeheel4life@reddit

I've caught concrete and steel under Timberlines KMAX. Back when I was doing it the owners son was piloting. He was phenomenal.

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Prestigious-Arm6630@reddit

This image was probably taken during when the concept of helicopter airlines was a thing . Why did they never really succeed ?

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JoePetroni@reddit

Wow!! Such a great Picture!

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dieterdistel@reddit

Did you ever watch Riptide? Sorry, ima kid of the 80s.

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irrelevantAF@reddit

I loved those guys. But Screaming Mimi was a Sikorsky S-58T, not a twin rotor.

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dieterdistel@reddit

Damn, you're right! I thought she was a two rotor…

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LazyPasse@reddit

boeing vertol 107-II

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SeaManaenamah@reddit

Which is what's in OP's photo, right?

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LazyPasse@reddit

correct

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choodudetoo@reddit

Joni Mitchell

A helicopter lands on the Pan Am roof like a dragonfly on a tomb:

https://youtu.be/GeDmeIgOlKg?si=W-2px_21b5BMSw_Q&t=105

Harry's House / Centerpiece

[-]

m3thodm4n021@reddit

Jesus. That was this same airframe and it happened on the top of this same building!?!!

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ISTBU@reddit

Not the same airframe, S-61L is a civilian Sea King.

Still, that's a big fucking helicopter.

[-]

kegman83@reddit

N619PA, suffered a static rollover onto its starboard side at the heliport on top of the Pan Am Building while boarding passengers. The accident killed four boarding passengers and one woman on the street. 17 additional passengers and the three flight crew members were uninjured.

Jesus.

The civilian See Kings had a bad reputation it seems. The ones operated by Disney both crashed in 1968, killing 44 people.

[-]

clockworkpeon@reddit

this incident led to NYC banning helipads on top of buildings and helicopter traffic over Manhattan itself is heavily restricted. so now helicopter traffic goes thru a few different heliports built on piers around the city. it's kinda funny cuz there are helitour companies but they just fly around the island and you don't really see much you couldn't see on a $3 ferry or the $60 ticket to go to the observatory of a tall building. maybe it's a cool experience idk.

anyway the interesting thing about this incident is: it was now defunct helicopter airline New York Airways landing on now defunct airline Pan Am's building, aptly named the Pan Am building. now it's the MetLife building. pretty neat building, it's got sky lobbies in two different sections where they used to throw swanky parties. nowadays they're not used so much due to a general fear of people unaliving themselves from the balcony (or drunk people falling off). wouldn't be a good look for an insurance company.

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kegman83@reddit

Its funny because other cities also followed suit. It used to be a requirement that ALL Los Angeles skyscrapers came equipped with functional helipads. The idea being that it would ease rescue in case of a fire or earthquake. After NYC banned their use, LA followed suit. Funny enough though, the requirement for helipads for buildings over a certain height still exists. So if you look at a map of Downtown LA, you'll see that every building built after the 1950s have huge helipads marked on them.

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FingerTheCat@reddit

I read this in a New York Accent and it works

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Tac50Company@reddit

Interestingly enough this incident led to a ban on building takeoff and landings in Manhattan in 1977 which still stands to today. Its why all the helicopters in the city take off and land from the piers surrounding the island instead.

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fiah84@reddit

what a nightmare

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mischanix@reddit

cw: meat blender

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SeaManaenamah@reddit

Sometimes it's safer inside

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spezbot69@reddit

If arial fire fighting counts

https://billingsflyingservice.com/

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vertigo5150@reddit

I’ve seen these fly over me in LA

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chasepsu@reddit

Only Helvetica firefighting in these parts.

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Boomhauer440@reddit

What is the world coming to? You people flying around all sans-serif like a bunch of cowboys. Firefighting should be done in Times New Roman like the good old days.

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eidetic@reddit

What about the Swiss and San Francisco based ones?

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Sweaty_List_9924@reddit

That’s bold…

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04BluSTi@reddit

We had lots of wingdings fighting fire

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eidetic@reddit

I love ariel firefighting vehicles. Especially the Swiss and San Francisco ones.

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somewittyusername92@reddit

Ya i see them all the time around here

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farminghills@reddit

I saw one at a mansion in Malibu California once. Big flex

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candylandmine@reddit

Sure that wasn't for firefighting? The helis siphon water from swimming pools.

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farminghills@reddit

After some googling it looks like it could have been Ventura counties ch47s but it was tied down on a pad right next to a massive hilltop mansion in Malibu, this was meant years ago.

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verysmalltiki@reddit (OP)

A good beater helicopter

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DomTheHun@reddit

That is a huge ass fucking building what the fuck

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Free-Ride-3762@reddit

Soviet Yak 24p had twin rotors as Chinook https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakovlev_Yak-24

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Neptune7924@reddit

I’m not sure if they still do, but they used them for oil field stuff at one point.

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Fine-Huckleberry4165@reddit

Definitely used to be used for transport to and from North Sea oil rigs.

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Neptune7924@reddit

I think there was an ACI episode about one that crashed. I remember because it was absolutely terrifying what happened to those guys…

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NOISY_SUN@reddit

There is an extremely good reason why helicopters don't transport passengers from this building anymore.

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MudvayneMW@reddit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Findlay_(filmmaker)#Death

Working link

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BonquiquiShiquavius@reddit

That was only the last straw. The helipad was controversial from the beginning due to the noise concerns. It only managed to operate for a little over 2 years before being cancelled for 10 years. It had only just started up again at the time of the accident and the accident was final nail in the coffin.

So I wouldn't say the accident was the reason. The real reason is rich people don't like to have helicopters constantly rattling their windows.

[-]

D0D@reddit

The real reason is rich people don't like to have helicopters constantly rattling their windows.

Suffering from my own success syndrome :D

[-]

JasonVeritech@reddit

To shreds, you say?

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DietCherrySoda@reddit

Your link is broke.

[-]

peteroh9@reddit

The good news is that we can tell that all these other losers are using new reddit or the app because they think the link isn't broken.

[-]

turtle_excluder@reddit

So a slasher director was literally slashed to death by giant blades... that's some final destination shit.

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EarCareful4430@reddit

Cancelling the service seems a little excessive.

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verysmalltiki@reddit (OP)

The optics on slicing up passengers isn't super great tho

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Tommy84@reddit

Arguably bad even.

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verysmalltiki@reddit (OP)

Arguably.

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Mimshot@reddit

That was not the only rooftop helicopter crash in NYC.

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mowing@reddit

I was visiting NYC grad schools and rode that JFK/PanAm helicopter two days before the accident. The rooftop pad was above a swanky cocktail lounge, with a staircase up to the roof.

[-]

DakkarNemo@reddit

Here is more on the accident: https://gothamist.com/news/in-1977-five-were-killed-in-helicopter-accident-atop-midtowns-pan-am-building

Here is a much better picture of the Sikorsky S-61 on the roof of the PANAM building: https://exhibits.panam.digital/great-expectations/pan-am-building/a-reality-at-last/assets/mVRaezm0eK/ok-new-york-airways-helicopter-with-empire-state-bldg_-pahf-collection-2848x2351.jpg

While the accident led to the service to the PANAM building to be suspended, that was intended as a temporary suspension, which only became permanent as a result of PANAM's demise.

Meanwhile, commercial helicopter service to Manhattan continued after the 1977 accident. Even today you can get from JFK to Manhattan on a commercial helicopter flight (starting at $195): https://www.blade.com/p/jfk

Here is an AI generated brief on this type of transportation from JFK to Manhattan and why it struggled:

Financial struggles: U.S. Helicopter, the original operator of the service, faced significant financial difficulties. It lost money after the downtown heliport was shut down for five months, and then borrowed at a high interest rate to stay afloat. The economic downturn in 2008-2009 further exacerbated the company’s financial woes.
Regulatory issues: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed stricter regulations on helicopter operations, including increased safety measures and more stringent pilot training requirements. These changes increased operating costs, making it even more challenging for U.S. Helicopter to remain viable.
Competition from other modes of transportation: With the rise of Uber and other ride-hailing services, the demand for helicopter transportation decreased. Additionally, the construction of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub and the expansion of the 7 subway line made it easier and more convenient for people to travel between Manhattan and JFK Airport using traditional modes of transportation.
Safety concerns: The 2009 crash of a U.S. Helicopter Augusta A109 in Midtown Manhattan, which killed the pilot and injured several people on the ground, raised concerns about helicopter safety. Although the investigation ultimately attributed the accident to pilot error, it may have contributed to a decline in public confidence and demand for helicopter services.

As a result, U.S. Helicopter ceased operations, and helicopter service from JFK Airport to Manhattan was discontinued. However, it’s worth noting that BLADE, a modern helicopter transportation company, has since introduced a similar service between Manhattan and JFK Airport, with prices starting at $195 per person.

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41PaulaStreet@reddit

That was quite the rabbit hole.

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TheRauk@reddit

Come one deep lacerations, couple of stitches, what’s the big deal?

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Planesarecool456@reddit

God damn

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hat_eater@reddit

This could have happened anywhere.

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eggbean@reddit

Chinooks used to be used for ferrying people to oil rigs in the UK. Not sure what they use now. This crash is quite well known here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_British_International_Helicopters_Chinook_crash

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Bungeditin@reddit

As a kid (in the eighties) I took a British Airways Chinook from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly……

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GITS75@reddit

They have formers CH-47 Chinook from US Army , HKP-4 from Swedish Navy...

Columbia Helicopters

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wilsonianuk@reddit

Apparently ba helicopters operated a civi version of the chinook- 1980–86 Boeing Vertol BV-234

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GITS75@reddit

Lost at sea... They sold all Chinook to Columbia Helicopters Incorporated

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Karl_Rover@reddit

Bunch in Malibu rn fighting fires as well... wanna say they're coulson ? Iirc

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High_Tide_Ohana@reddit

Billings and Rotak

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NiceCatBigAndStrong@reddit

Yeah i have one

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Bobbytrap9@reddit

Mil Mi V-12 was a passenger carrier I think. It’s one of my favorite rotorcraft. It looks like a kid drew it up but they actually flew it

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fireinthesky7@reddit

It was originally designed to lift ICBMs for rapid deployment, with the side effect of being huge enough to carry a lot of people. That thing is one of the wildest aircraft designs ever flown, and the engineering required for it to even be controllable is really interesting.

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beachsand83@reddit

There’s a firefighting chinook at the airport I fly out of

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hartzonfire@reddit

Coulson Aviation has a few for sure.

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Lost_Beautiful_8398@reddit

Vancouver Island Helicopters uses several Ka-32s for heli logging and fire fighting. They had an interesting news article about the difficulty of translating the service manuals from Russian to English

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BigRoundSquare@reddit

Not operating anymore now sadly due to sanctions. But they were an amazing machine for logging, beat everything out there

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Lost_Beautiful_8398@reddit

Makes sense, that’s a shame though. I watched one on a fire in the north a few years ago and it was incredible how fast their turnarounds were and how much water they could fly.

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BigRoundSquare@reddit

Yea it is a shame, they are a pretty amazing machine and anyone that got to witness them truly saw some spectacular!

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LittleAlienGrey@reddit

These used to take oil workers out from Aberdeen in Scotland to the rigs in the North sea.

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Furaskjoldr@reddit

British International Helicopters (part of British airways) used to use them. Mainly for commercial flights to oil rigs and stuff. One of them crashed back in the 80s when a transmission malfunction caused the rotors to collide and I'm pretty sure it was the deadliest helicopter crash in history

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_British_International_Helicopters_Chinook_crash

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the_silent_redditor@reddit

https://airfactsjournal.com/2020/04/i-survived-the-deadliest-helicopter-crash-in-european-history/

The captain of that flight wrote this article.

It’s a good read.

[-]

viperfan7@reddit

Had one flying around my city for construction purposes recently

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Old-Car-9962@reddit

Yes, I was about to say "getting Chinook vibes" but then read the description!

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Likesdirt@reddit

The Vertol 107, aka the CH-46 Sea Knight with seats and windows is the one in the picture.

New York Airways even ran piston powered Piasekis for a bit.

Kaman's K Max is a single seat longline machine also built for civilian use, intermeshing rotors side by side from the same transmission.

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Freddan_81@reddit

In Sweden a Kawasaki Vertol 107, or Hkp 4 (Helicopter 4) as it was called in Swedish service, took to the skies again just a few days ago, now as a veteran on the civil registry as SE-JLY. This makes ’Yngve 70’ as this individual is called, the only airworthy Vertol 107 in Europe.

Link in English

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Particular_Ticket_20@reddit

I worked up there in the early 2000s. The pad and the flight control room were still there. I think in the photo the pad is on the right. It was a heavily reinforced bump in the roof with thick windows for 360 visibility. It had oddball stuff stored in it.

Most of the roof had telecom and satellite antennas by that point. Interesting to read it was a fancy lounge at one point. It was storage, telecom, and mechanicals when I had access.

Great views.

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verysmalltiki@reddit (OP)

That's so cool, jealous of the views I'm sure you took in

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Particular_Ticket_20@reddit

It was pretty cool.

Took great pics of the Chrysler building from up there

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wilsonianuk@reddit

What about intermeshing-rotor helicopters?

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TheCrewChicks@reddit

In your mind, what's the difference between what you call an intermeshing rotor helicopter and the Chinook?

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ZZ9ZA@reddit

Tandem rotor can’t collide. Intermeshed is timed so the blades of the two rotors pass through the same air.

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TheCrewChicks@reddit

Chinook blades absolutely can collide with each other. Granted, other things need to go wrong in order for that to happen, but it is totally possible.

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wilsonianuk@reddit

I was trying to be a smart arse by bring these up rather than what the OP was implying with the front and rear tandem rotor style.

[-]

domsylvester@reddit

I’m assuming they’re talking about more of a K-Max type setup

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JJohnston015@reddit

New York Airways operated the Boeing Vertol V-21/Piasecki H-21 and the Boeing Vertol 107-II. Clint Eastwood rode on one in "Coogan's Bluff". The one in the image might even be the 107-II.

[-]

boggle-coach@reddit

Saw billings, PJ and Columbia already mentioned. Throwing ROTAK in as well, they operate a few K-Max and a converted CH-47D for a lot of powerline assembly work.

[-]

Led-Slnger@reddit

Checkout Coogan's Bluff with Clint Eastwood. New York Airways Chinook landing on Pan Am building. Youtube scene.

[-]

colin8651@reddit

Helicopters landing on buildings in Manhattan ended because of that building.

Helicopter wreckage landing at the sidewalk of that building during an accident ended this rich man’s luxury.

In 1977 a Sikorsky S-61L had a less than graceful landing when it was the PanAm building.

[-]

kegman83@reddit

Thats a Boeing 234 Chinook. I know British Airways operated a few.

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Finyon@reddit

AW609 is undergoing certification right now for late 2020s introduction.

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nousernameisleftt@reddit

Beat me to it. Civilian tilt rotor

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guitarsandbikes@reddit

All I can see is an unnecessary crosswind landing.

[-]

merkon@reddit

Gotta get the building name in the photo, safety is less important

[-]

denverpilot@reddit

Could be departing, no?

[-]

Bravo-Buster@reddit

Whole bunch of eVTOL are being designed with multiple rotors. Can't wait til the operators learn the true cost of maintenance for that many propellers. 🤣🤣

[-]

makgross@reddit

Yes. There are fire converted Chinooks out there.

[-]

timbea12@reddit

LA county has chinooks for fire fighting purposes

[-]

These-Bedroom-5694@reddit

That is a civilian version of the Chinook.

[-]

Specific_Same@reddit

Nah, those stub wings tell me it is a civilian H-46

[-]

cruiserman_80@reddit

The Kaman K Max is an interesting one and apparently the US Marines are trialling a couple but no idea for what mission. I've only just realised that Kaman's first helicopter (with intermeshing rotors) was produced in 1947.

[-]

CrashSlow@reddit

Kmax drone, used to fly munitions to forward operating bases apparently. Very interesting articles about the challenges of drone flight. Kaman built its first drone in the 50s, there is black and white video of a full size drone flying around.

[-]

DeltaDartF106@reddit

Others have mentioned most of them, hoping to see the AW-609 tilt rotor join the civil fleet in the next years as well.

[-]

TaskForceCausality@reddit

Whats the helicopter in this image?

A surplus CH-46/ Vertol 107 operated by New York Airways. Basically it was helicopter air service from NYC airports to downtown and back. You could book a 40 minute flight from the Pan Am JFK or LaGuardia terminals directly to downtown Manhattan via this helicopter airline.

[-]

GG14916@reddit

British Airways had 6 BV234 Chinooks, mostly to resupply North Sea oil rigs (although I believe they were used on passenger services from various London airports, too). These did get full British Airways livery.

British European Airways evaluated a single prototype Bristol Type 173. It was not chosen for large-scale production but was the subject of a small diecast Dinky toy.

Then, of course, there's the Rotodyne, which I guess is a tri-rotor or plane/helicopter hybrid but again was used for evaluation civilian flights.

[-]

Swisskommando@reddit

There’s a random Swiss chinook that does this

[-]

Cool-Acanthaceae8968@reddit

Tandem rotor? Almost every heli has twin rotors.

Yeah.. the Chinook is used in the civilian world for aerial firefighting.

And for coaxial and intermeshing rotors (also two main rotors) there’s the Kamov KA-26 (used for crop spraying and top dressing) and KA-27 (helilogging and heavy lift) and the K-Max (helilogging and fire fighting).

[-]

verysmalltiki@reddit (OP)

Those are definitely the right words

[-]

thsvnlwn@reddit

Apparently.

[-]

DutchBlob@reddit

Love this picture!

🌐PanAm

[-]

WLFGHST@reddit

Billings Flying Service and Coulson Aviation (and maybe a few other) aerial fire fighting companies have them; I don’t think there are any civilians out there operating them solely for private use.

[-]

Kon3v@reddit

The chopper in your photo is not a chinook for a start.