New Helicopter type in NYC...

[Tom_Turner]

Well, actually its been here for months, but still relatively "new" on the local scene... and first time I have had a confirmed sighting..

http://myaviation.net/search/photo_sear ... size=large (http://myaviation.net/search/photo_search.php?id=01076571&size=large)

Easily mistakable for either S-76 or Agusta 109, but its actually the Agusta AB-139.

Tom

[Mateo]

The 139 is huge - the cabin has 3 rows of 4 across seating. Some are now being built at Agusta's newly-expanded factory at Philadelphia-Northeast/PNE.

[Tom_Turner]

The 139 is huge - the cabin has 3 rows of 4 across seating. Some are now being built at Agusta's newly-expanded factory at Philadelphia-Northeast/PNE.

Ah, thats right. You reminded me I had read something regarding their size recently. Looks like it might fit the same footprint of the S-76 though at the local heliports. Would that be right?

If so, something of an advantage over the S-92 - though I suppose that one holds even more passengers.

Tom

[emshighway]

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j12/emshighway/Aviation/JRB4.jpg

[AirtrafficController]

nice helicopter

[Tom_Turner]

Thats an S-76 isn't it?

[emshighway]

I believe it is a S-76C+ or C++. Proving your point on the similar look. The quick way to recognize is the five prop configuration on the 139 as opposed to four for the 76.

The 139 is register to AIG in NJ so it probably makes often visits to JRB.

[Mateo]

Yup - the AB139 is the same length as an S-76, but gets the extra capacity from the extra width (which doesn't matter with a helicopter, since the critical dimension is the rotor span). The S-92 is essentially a cargo helicopter with an airline cabin installed - the interior is like an S-61/H-3, but now standup height. The S-92 also seats ~20 people. They were both on static display at the Andrews show last year. The AB139 has the usual corporate helicopter cabin, but wider, and with an extra row (8 in a club plus another set of 4).

[Laxgoaly]

N71PS is one of our tennants at TEB, its owned and operated by AIG insurance ( they also operate a A-109E) that AB-139 is tiny compared to the S-92 which is in the area, soon to be a tennant at TEB also

[cancidas]

schweet!

[hiss srq]

Eeek AIG ! I am not abig fan of their flight department. I am not a big fan of their flight crews, major rude jerks. I have delt with them alot. Their flight department cheif pilot is very arrogant.

[cancidas]

come to think of it, now that the amounts and types of helos in the NYC area are multiplying, you'd think one of them would offer me a right seat job!

[hiss srq]

Matt the only job involving a seat you can gwet is the back seat job! ;)

[Gerard]

[71PS is one of our tennants at TEB, its owned and operated by AIG insurance ( they also operate a A-109E) that AB-139 is tiny compared to the S-92 which is in the area, soon to be a tennant at TEB also

There was an S-92 flying some time last year around here. Supposedly it was owned by the owners of the Cleveland Browns football team. Thanks for the picture of the AB-139. Nice to see new larger machines about.
I remember back in the 80s when there was plenty of big metal ships flying. Resorts (then Trump) had their S-61s, Pan Am the WG30s, Golden Nugget had a Super Puma and of course NY Helicopter had their S-58Ts (with the skeletal remains of one sadly sitting at the side of R 1 at FRG).

[Tom_Turner]

There was an S-92 flying some time last year around here. Supposedly it was owned by the owners of the Cleveland Browns football team.

I remember back in the 80s when there was plenty of big metal ships flying. Resorts (then Trump) had their S-61s, Pan Am the WG30s, Golden Nugget had a Super Puma and of course NY Helicopter had their S-58Ts (with the skeletal remains of one sadly sitting at the side of R 1 at FRG).

Yeah, I miss those days too. Even more so the 70s when Islanders had the S-62. There is still an S-61 in sort of a cream color I see about once a year, but never been able to ID it. I did manage to catch the S-92 at a distance last year... like you say, I was surprised to see it belongs to Cleveland Browns owners..

http://myaviation.net/?pid=00666569

Tom

[Laxgoaly]

Eeek AIG ! I am not abig fan of their flight department. I am not a big fan of their flight crews, major rude jerks. I have delt with them alot. Their flight department cheif pilot is very arrogant.

Yeah i know they are very set in thierways, i think that company just has very strict SOP's, Their line service guys are great though and really really nice...

[Gerard]

<[http://myaviation.net/?pid=00666569<

Nice picture. Thanks. And someone, possibly a Fortune 500 company like Colgate-Palmolive or Pfizer flew an S-62 (lgt blue and white) in the mid/late 70s. Saw it a number of times at the East 60 Street Heliport.

[Tom_Turner]

<[http://myaviation.net/?pid=00666569<

Nice picture. Thanks. And someone, possibly a Fortune 500 company like Colgate-Palmolive or Pfizer flew an S-62 (lgt blue and white) in the mid/late 70s. Saw it a number of times at the East 60 Street Heliport.

Yes, Yes, I remember that!

Never got to see it close up. Seemed to appear shortly after the Islanders (Red and White) disappeared. I had wondered if it was the same one, but who knows...

Tom

[Gerard]

[quote="Tom_Turner"][quote="Gerard"]<[http://myaviation.net/?. >Seemed to appear shortly after the Islanders (Red and White) disappeared. I had wondered if it was the same one, but who knows...<

Both times you wrote that I'm thinking, mmmm, I didnt know the NY Islanders had a helo back then. LOL. But I quickly came to my senses and realized you meant Island Helicopter (I hope). Actually the NY Islanders kinda have a helo. Wangs Computer Associates do have an S-76 and a few fixed wings hangared at FRG.

[Tom_Turner]

HaHa... Yes, Island Helicopter.. :)

They had service, for awhile in the S-62 from JRB to Garden City - for a couple of years overlapping with New York Airways S-61 JRB to several points (which changed over the years..).

I noticed the Blue/White S-62 show up not long after the Islander helicopter S-62s (they had more than one at some point) so it may have been them still - I don't know.

One of the more interesting choppers we had in the area at one time was one of the original Aerospatiale SA 360s Dauphins back in the 80s. Must've been only one and it disappeared after a couple of years. It was maybe the first choppers with that jet engine sound I remembered.

Also, back in the late/mid 70s I have no idea what the operator was but someone was flying (possibly more than one) orange colored Bell Huey Types with ENORMOUS Pontoons. Could hear it miles away.

Tom



[

Both times you wrote that I'm thinking, mmmm, I didnt know the NY Islanders had a helo back then. LOL. But I quickly came to my senses and realized you meant Island Helicopter (I hope).

[Gerard]

>One of the more interesting choppers we had in the area at one time was one of the original Aerospatiale SA 360s Dauphins back in the 80s. Must've been only one and it disappeared after a couple of years. It was maybe the first choppers with that jet engine sound I remembered. <

Like this? http://www.helispot.com/photo/03329

>Also, back in the late/mid 70s I have no idea what the operator was but someone was flying (possibly more than one) orange colored Bell Huey Types with ENORMOUS Pontoons. Could hear it miles away. <

The DEP flew one with pontoons...http://www.helispot.com/photo/00693
and Thompson Industries had an FH1100 with pontoons..
http://www.helispot.com/photo/03306

Thanks for the info. BTw I was told that the corporate S-62 was flown
by Johnson & Johnson.



]

[Tom_Turner]

Gerard - Great stuff there! Thanks for pointing it out.

I had been upstate most of the early 80s, and missed out on the Island Dauphin.. I had seen one before that, but yes, that is exactly the type. Never knew Island picked it up as well.

The DEP Bell with Pontoons is fascinating - even moreso since it is not the one I had seen on many occasions. Odd to have another example like that locally.

Thanks for the info on J&J S-62. That puts that one to rest.

I had once seen some suits come off an S-58 at JRB, and thought it an odd corporate transport, but perhaps it was simply a heavy lift company stopping by for business.

I do have some "out there" heli question loose ends you might know.. I generally have no one to ask about this so I'll just throw them all at you.. :D

IN the 70s there was a moderately tall building on the West Side of Manhattan that supported an Orange Bell Jet Ranger that made frequent roof top touchdowns. I had been led to believe this was a Port Authority Operation, but not really sure about that.

Last year, during Fleet Week, a Red/White&Blue Schweitzer hugging the Brooklyn shoreline at no more than what looked (at a great distance) about 20 feet off the water, flew under!! the Verrazanno Bridge and withIn the space before the Brooklyn tower. Any notion where this example came from? Never seen it before or since. Untitled from what I could tell - but then again, where would titles fit on a Schweitzer?

ALSO - Now this is REALLY odd. Sometime late 70s/early 80s I witnessed a mid size chopper I was not familiar with (early version Agusta or something like that I am guessing now) with one of the European Airline Liveries pop into JRB! Wish I had remembered the airline. NOT to be mistaken for Pan AM..I knew my stuff airline-wise. It was not Air France or Luftansa.. I want to say probably KLM or SAS or something..don't think it was BA. But certainly a special occasion.

Tom



>One of the more interesting choppers we had in the area at one time was one of the original Aerospatiale SA 360s Dauphins back in the 80s. Must've been only one and it disappeared after a couple of years. It was maybe the first choppers with that jet engine sound I remembered. <

Like this? http://www.helispot.com/photo/03329

>Also, back in the late/mid 70s I have no idea what the operator was but someone was flying (possibly more than one) orange colored Bell Huey Types with ENORMOUS Pontoons. Could hear it miles away. <

The DEP flew one with pontoons...http://www.helispot.com/photo/00693
and Thompson Industries had an FH1100 with pontoons..
http://www.helispot.com/photo/03306

Thanks for the info. BTw I was told that the corporate S-62 was flown
by Johnson & Johnson.



]

[Gerard]

>The DEP Bell with Pontoons is fascinating - even moreso since it is not the one I had seen on many occasions. Odd to have another example like that locally.<

It was probably the first DEP ship which was a Bell 205 and yeah it was pretty loud though Hueys do have the instantly recognizable sound from a distance. Love that seen in "Apocalypse Now" when they cut to the quiet of the Viet Cong village and all of a sudden you can hear the faint sounds of the incoming Hueys. BTW the DEP has been flying a TwinStar lately.
Of course PD had their UH-1 with pontoons also before transitioning to the 412s.
http://www.helispot.com/photo/03314

>IN the 70s there was a moderately tall building on the West Side of Manhattan that supported an Orange Bell Jet Ranger that made frequent roof top touchdowns. I had been led to believe this was a Port Authority Operation, but not really sure about that.<

Check this out....
http://www.signal8-2/asucloud.htm

>Last year, during Fleet Week, a Red/White&Blue Schweitzer hugging the Brooklyn shoreline at no more than what looked (at a great distance) about 20 feet off the water, flew under!! the Verrazanno Bridge and withIn the space before the Brooklyn tower. Any notion where this example came from? Never seen it before or since. Untitled from what I could tell - but then again, where would titles fit on a Schweitzer?<

Not sure of that one. You'd need good binocs to see the N # on the tail boom. I would think they had to have prior permission from the PD to fly like that.

>ALSO - Now this is REALLY odd. Sometime late 70s/early 80s I witnessed a mid size chopper I was not familiar with (early version Agusta or something like that I am guessing now) with one of the European Airline Liveries pop into JRB! Wish I had remembered the airline. NOT to be mistaken for Pan AM..I knew my stuff airline-wise. It was not Air France or Luftansa.. I want to say probably KLM or SAS or something..don't think it was BA. But certainly a special occasion.<

Mmmm, you got me on that one. And I was pretty heavily into copter-spotting back then. LOL, maybe not heavy enough.

Gerard






[

[Gerard]

Check this out....
http://www.signal8-2/asucloud.htm \

Actually it is......
http://www.signal8-2.com/asucloud.htm

[Tom_Turner]

Fantastic Gerard - Great Stuff..!!!!!

Indeed thats the building and the Bell PA chopper from the late 60s.

I remember their MBB as well. Only saw it once, but it was over at the temporary heliport by the base of where Battery Park City is now.

Also thinking the Dauphin may have been Islanders after all..maybe before they applied the livery or just never saw it up close.

Can't remember the Port B-47s or the NYPD with floats, but do remember NYPD Bell 47s - and the ubiquitous Bell 47s tourist choppers.. Hel Air Dec Air or something like that.

Good stuff...

Tom




Actually it is......
http://www.signal8-2.com/asucloud.htm

[Gerard]

[
>I remember their MBB as well. Only saw it once, but it was over at the temporary heliport by the base of where Battery Park City is now.<

Yes, I spotted there a number of times when it was open. The PA
also had a 222UT but surprised no pic on the website.

>Also thinking the Dauphin may have been Islanders after all..maybe before they applied the livery or just never saw it up close.<

Before they went to the red paint coloring the Island Dauphins had a
number of different colorings on the ships so it is quite possible it was
theirs. Also Pfizer was flying a Dauphin as was the Gannett Newspaper
chain. Sony had two Dauphins but only flies one now (N38TH) as does
Liberty Helicopters (886TW which used to be based in FRG owned by
Robo Dauphin.


>Can't remember the Port B-47s or the NYPD with floats, but do remember NYPD Bell 47s - and the ubiquitous Bell 47s tourist choppers.. Hel Air Dec Air or something like that. <

Actually i think Island had some 47s as well. I remember the old PD 47s. One or two also had floats as did one of their JetRangers.
http://www.alea.org/pics/images/nypd4.jpg

Gerard

[Gerard]

> http://www.alea.org/pics/images/nypd4.jpg<

This doesnt seem to be working directly so go to alea.org,
click Images then NYPD Aviaton. Scroll down and check out the
pic of the old Bell 47 (I believe a "J" model) and look at the
medevac basket hooked up to the pontoon. So cool.

[emshighway]

I did a medevac once in Aviation 14 to East 34 St tons of years ago. Set up an LZ in the park across from Elmhurst (now a parking garage) also. People playing ball were not too happy and didn't believe us until the distinctive whoop of a Huey was heard.

[Gerard]

>I did a medevac once in Aviation 14 to East 34 St tons of years ago. <

Yeah "tons of years" sounds right. When I was scanning back in the late 80s/early 90s while living in Forest Hills, PD Aviation flew numerous
medevac missions. I listened to PD & EMS SOD freqs constantly and from my apartment in F.H. i picked up LGA pretty well also. Lots of missions. Actually was on scene for a number. Nowadays they are few and far between especially when FDNY took over EMS but also I would guess the amount of Level 1 trauma centers in each borough makes it unnecessary for the mission.

[cancidas]

Nowadays they are few and far between especially when FDNY took over EMS but also I would guess the amount of Level 1 trauma centers in each borough makes it unnecessary for the mission.

you're right. all medics are trained to handle traumas, and i think most of not all hospitals in the city are equipped to handle them as well. it's been a while since i worked in that sector.

[Gerard]

>ou're right. all medics are trained to handle traumas, and i think most of not all hospitals in the city are equipped to handle them as well. it's been a while since i worked in that sector]<

About the only time you would see a medevac now would be an injury in the outer boroughs like the Rockaways, SI or Brooklyn in the Coney area that required specialized care like microsurgery, burn center or the Hyperbaric chamber up in Jacobi. Even then it seems they are more content to go with a PD highway escort than by air depending on traffic and time of day.

[Mateo]

Do any hospitals in the City even have helipads? I believe the rooftop ban applies to everyone, even airevac flights. The funny thing is that New Jersey, which never had much Medevacking because of the sheer density of hospitals (and good ones, at that), now has all sorts of operators because of the sheer profit involved.

Washington is littered with Medevac missions because the hospitals aren't that dense, and the good ones are in the central city, and thus not accessible from the suburbs. There's lots of flying to Georgetown, GW, Childrens' [whose pad I can see from the roof of my building], and even Shock Trauma in Baltimore, which is only a 15-20 minute flight away, especially in the Maryland State Police's speedy Dauphins.

[emshighway]

For Bellevue East 34 St (just up the block) is used
Mount Sinai uses a spot in Central Park
New York used E 61 St
Kings County uses a baseball field across the street
Jacobi is the parking lot behind the ER


With a hospital about 5-10 minutes from any location in the city the medevacs have become just for the specialized jobs.

[Tom_Turner]

I seem to remember seeing some hospital on the east side of Manhattan had a helipad... not that I know if it is ever used.

Staten Island University Hospital has a helipad out by its parking lot. Never seen it used, but I beleive it is once in a while for their burn unit, and/or also from shoreline or just along the coast.

Tom

[Gerard]

>"]Do any hospitals in the City even have helipads? <

Peninsula General in The Rockaways is the only one ( think) Jacobi
used to have a pad by the Nurses Quarters but I think that is closed due to construction.

> The funny thing is that New Jersey, which never had much Medevacking because of the sheer density of hospitals (and good ones, at that), now has all sorts of operators because of the sheer profit involved.<

MONOC 1, University Medevac and Atlantic Air 1 (Morristown) all
have set up business in NJ the past year. There is a big controversy
involving them and the State PD with the State PD saying they should
always be first due at an on scene call even if the privates are closer.

>Wshington is littered with Medevac missions because the hospitals aren't that dense, and the good ones are in the central city, and thus not accessible from the suburbs. There's lots of flying to Georgetown, GW, Childrens' [whose pad I can see from the roof of my building], and even Shock Trauma in Baltimore, which is only a 15-20 minute flight away, especially in the Maryland State Police's speedy Dauphins.[/quote]

I go down to the DC area and can attest to that. Last summer I was
hanging out by the Washington Hospital hellport and three MedSTAR
copters were in and out all day along with LifeLine out of Johns Hopkins,
another Stat Flight ship and Maryland State PD.

[emshighway]

WPIX Channel 11 is running a story tonight (6/19/07) about Medevacs.

[Gerard]

>WPIX Channel 11 is running a story tonight (6/19/07) about Medevacs<

Thanks. I'll set up my DVR. Probably the NJSPD vs Everyone story again. LOL!!

[Gerard]

[> Thanks. I'll set up my DVR. Probably the NJSPD vs Everyone story again. LOL!![/quote]<

Yup just watched it and it was the same controversy. In fact it was the same story of the woman whose fiance was hit while on his motorcycle
and the nearest copter wasnt dispatched. Some pretty damning evidence from the dispatchers tapes. Interesting why the NJSPD doesnt just do the right thing and agree to share the first response load. They just tout their safety record and say this is the way it has always been so why change.
Nice progressive attitude there.

[Mateo]

Where are the NJSP helos based for Medevac response? I know one is at SMQ (7NJ?), and one is in or around Camden (9NJ). I'm guessing one stays at the main garage in TTN, and that leaves 2 more unaccounted for.

[emshighway]

Interesting why the NJSPD doesnt just do the right thing and agree to share the first response load. They just tout their safety record and say this is the way it has always been so why change.
Nice progressive attitude there.

Because when they want the nice new shinny ones they use the medevac angle to get it.

[Gerard]

Where are the NJSP helos based for Medevac response? I know one is at SMQ (7NJ?), and one is in or around Camden (9NJ). I'm guessing one stays at the main garage in TTN, and that leaves 2 more unaccounted for.<

Looking up I see that 1NJ, 5NJ, 7NJ, 8NJ and 9NJ are all S-76s
2NJ is a Bell 206L-3
3NJ is a Bell 206L-4
6NJ is a Bell 206B (which I believe is an Army surplus OH-58 that
was bought and refurbished as a training ship).
No 4NJ but the # is reserved by the State PD.
BTW after they moved NorthSTAR from the rooftop of University
Hospital in Newark to Somerset Airport in Somerville NJ for better
response times to the northern areas of NJ the residents around
the airport have been up in arms concerning their 24 hour operation
caring not the least bit that it is a PD/EMS operation. From what I read
they want the WHOLE airport closed.

[Mateo]

I haven't heard anything about Somerset being closed, but the Solberg family has been fighting with the town of Readington and its residents for years and years now.

I like seeing the big tank of Jet A at SMQ - it's got to be used for the NJSP Sikorsky, the PC-12 that's based there, and uh, err, um...