Skyhook Helicopters Pty Ltd

[Rell Jette]

Jockis a New Zealand citizen who has made Scotland his adopted home. He has been involved in the helicopter sector for approximately 45 years and has considerable experience of the utility helicopter mobilisation. Jock was a founding member of Dollar Helicopters, an ex Director responsible for Forestry and lifting operations in UK and also managed Seismic exploration operations in the Middle East and South America. He has also undertaken Safety audits of helicopter operations globally for the Oil Industry, Aviation QC for Perenco on their seismic operations in Turkey, and for Statoil in Iran.

Murray was our first Task specialist for Skyhook having been involved in aviation from a young age, he has crewed both for the HESLO Operations and as a mixer loader for bracken spraying. Murray holds a UK CPL(H) and gained HESLO 1 in 2019 and since then has been flying as a HESLO Line pilot, with 1200 hours total flight experience, and over 6000 lift cycles on HESLO 1 operations. Murray is a key part of the lifting team and will be moving up to HESLO Levels 2 and 4 as his experience increases. In 2022 Murray will also be taking up a role in Skyhook's Agricultural operations.

Guy started flying in 2000. Since then he has accumulated over 7000 hours of flight time. His knowledge and experience in the agricultural crop spraying sector makes him the most qualified pilot in his field in Britain. He also has HESLO 1, 2 and 4 qualifications as well as a CAA Flight instructor and Examiner Qualification.

Joining in 2016, Lewis is Skyhook's most experienced ground task specialist. Lewis is a qualified rope access technician and so has extensive knowledge and experience with rigging and lifting in both onshore and off shore envirnonments. His climbing and rigging skills are essential to skyhook's high accuracy aerial crane operations. Lewis leads the ground teams for all telecom and elevated platform lifting operations. He is also an active member of the Glen Coe mountain Rescue team. Lewis also holds a PPL(H) and is working towards his CPL(H), hoping to join Skyhook as a line pilot.

Officially joining the Skyhook team in 2021 as task specialist , Michael has a background in Forest Management and Timber Harvesting within Scotland. He has achieved his Commercial Pilots licence for Helicopters and is rated to fly the Robinson R22 and R44, as well as the Bell 206. We are aiming to have him rated to fly our AS350 B3 Squirrel aircraft in the future and build him up to be one of our HESLO pilots.

Terry has a millitary background, having served 20 years in the British Army. Afterwards, he worked in the power and transmission sectors before coming to Skyhook as a Task Specialist, for a new challenge. He is a keen outdoorsman and enjoys mountain biking and snowboarding in his spare time. In 2020 Terry completed the West Highland Way on his mountain bike.

Eamon is from New Zealand but is also part Irish. he gained his EASA CPL in 2019 successfully converting his New Zealand licence. He is a highly experienced Ag pilot and has carried out a hugely varied range of aerial application work across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Eamon is a core part of the bracken spraying pilot team his expertise in crop treatment is second to none.

The Cessna CH-1 Skyhook is the only helicopter ever built by the Cessna Aircraft Company. It was the first helicopter to land on the summit of Pike's Peak and the last piston-engined helicopter to set the helicopter altitude record. The CH-1 had a single, two-bladed main rotor, and a front-mounted reciprocating engine which gave the aircraft a stable center of gravity (CG). Its semi-monocoque airframe greatly resembles its light airplane siblings built by Cessna. The CH-1 was named Skyhook for the civil market, similar to the marketing names used in the Cessna single engine airplane line, such as Skyhawk, Skylane and Skywagon.[2] The United States Army designated the CH-1C as the YH-41 Seneca. While the CH-1 achieved several helicopter firsts and set a world record, it never became a commercial or military success.

Cessna Aircraft Company acquired the Seibel Helicopter Company of Wichita, Kansas on 14 January 1952[2] through a stock swap with Seibel investors. All equipment from the Seibel Helicopter Company, including the Seibel S-4B, was moved to Cessna's Pawnee Plant in Wichita and work began on the CH-1 design during the summer of 1952. Charles Seibel, who became the new Helicopter Division's chief engineer as part of the acquisition, believed that the S-4B with a Cessna body would make an excellent helicopter. Cessna pilots test flew Seibel's S-4B for several months to familiarize the engineers with helicopters, and then it was scrapped.[2]

A quarter-size wind tunnel model of the CH-1 was created and tests were conducted at Wichita State University. The first full-size machine did not have an enclosed fuselage or cowling, nor a horizontal stabilizer. This test bed skeleton, referred to as CH1-1, first hovered in July 1953, eventually making test flights as high as 10,000 feet (3,000 m).[2] The actual prototype CH-1 was built based on modifications made to the test bed aircraft and this second ship made its first flight in 1954, at the Prospect plant.[2]

On 9 June 1955, the CH-1 received CAA type-certificate 3H10. Originally certified as a two-place helicopter, stability problems at higher gross weights required additional engineering solutions. A larger, free-floating horizontal stabilizer was introduced. During forward flight, the stabilizer pivoted to a variable mechanical stop, which was linked to the fore and aft cyclic control, thereby altering the stabilizer angle of incidence during flight. Reworking the stabilizer permitted the addition of a second row of seating, and the four-place ship, designated the CH-1A, was certificated on 28 February 1956.

In December 1955, Cessna was awaiting a contract to produce a limited number of CH-1s for evaluation by the Army. In preparation for the contract, Cessna began modifying the CH-1A with a Continental FSO-526 engine and other aerodynamic and structural changes in the possibility of eliciting a production contract. In spring 1956, the Army awarded Cessna with a US$1.1 million contract for 10 test aircraft, designated as the YH-41 Seneca. For marketing purposes, the CH-1A prototype (N5156) was painted in an olive drab Army scheme.

The CH-1 external design was created by Richard Ten Eyck, an industrial designer for Cessna. It was a low profile streamlined aircraft-style body, featuring the engine in front and cabin seating behind the powerplant. The forward engine location provided "ease of access,...efficient cooling, and frees the center of gravity behind the cockpit for use in disposable load,"[2] but also presented a problem for how to vent the exhaust which would prove to be a problem throughout the aircraft's life. Additionally, the tail boom size, resulting from the airplane-style fuselage, created aerodynamic problems in hover and forward flight that would have to be solved by later aerodynamic structural changes.

The prototype CH-1 was originally equipped with a supercharged Continental FSO-470 six-cylinder engine, producing 260 hp (190 kW) at 3,200 rpm. The engine's supercharger and cooling fans were driven by belts. Cessna had a long relationship with Continental who provided engines for the company's light airplanes, but the use of the Continental engine in a helicopter was as much of a test for the engine company, as Cessna's foray into the helicopter market, itself. This was especially true when considered that most other light helicopter manufacturers were using Franklin and Lycoming engines.

The CH-1 established many firsts. The CH-1A was the first helicopter to land on Pikes Peak, at an altitude of 14,110 feet (4,300 m) on 15 September 1955,[2] it had a higher cruise speed than comparable machines, and a CH-1B, modified with an FSO-526-2X engine, set an official FAI world altitude record for helicopters of 29,777 feet[note 1] on December 28, 1957, while being piloted by Army Captain James E. Bowman.[2] The previous record had been set by a turbine powered Arospatiale Alouette II and was later broken by another Alouette II, but the record set by the CH-1B remains the highest altitude ever achieved by a piston-powered helicopter.[4] The CH-1C was the first helicopter to receive instrument flight rules certification by the Federal Aviation Administration.[citation needed]

Production was ended in December 1962. The company indicated that this was due to the civil aviation market not being ready for this type of aircraft, although CH-1 owner Rex Trailer claimed that it was due to catastrophic transmission failures.[5][6]

Approximately 50 machines were built before Cessna ended their venture into helicopters. Most of the aircraft built were bought back and scrapped by Cessna, and the type certificate was revoked, presumably to remove any liability to Cessna for continued operation of any helicopters they could not retrieve. The Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel, Alabama has a YH-41 Seneca prototype (serial number 56-4244) as a part of its collection, although it is not currently on display.[7]

Note: For international orders, tax, duty and shipping will be applied to the U.S. MSRP by our International Distributors.On selected military products, Skedco offers discount for active duty personnel.Please e-mail us to receive a discount code to use at check out with your active Military e-mail address.

This capstan style winch is rated to haul people into helicopters. It fits onto a Sked-Evac tripod. It can handle unlimited lengths of rope and is self tailing. It has recently been discovered for use in the WMD/Haz-Mat environment. When using continuous loops of rope it can haul as many as 6 victims at one time while delivering empty HMD Skeds back to the Hot-zone.

The Cold War promoted the invention and dissemination of highly experimental systems to gain an edge over opponents. Many of these, from a modern perspective, seem absurd and impractical. However, they were an important stopgap while more advanced technology was still in the works. One such system is the Fulton surface-to-air Recovery System, which must be explained to be believed.

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