+Couparangus Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 As above, does a handheld GPS receiver work okay in a helicopter? I'm wondering if the rotor blades will upset the reception? I'm being called upon to do some scouting via helicopter and will need to know this. Cheers! C-A Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 it should work just fine Quote Link to comment
+Sputnik 57 Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 I believe NightPilot uses one in his chopper all the time. You may want to PM him for details. Quote Link to comment
+Couparangus Posted March 29, 2005 Author Share Posted March 29, 2005 JohnnyV, have you used one yourself? Sput- I sent an email to NP, thanks for the lead. Cheers! Coupar-Angus Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 There's no reason it wouldn't work. The blades only cover a tiny portion of the sky. As long as you have a clear view of the sky, there will be no problem. The only thing I can think of is that some airplanes have some sort of coating on the cockpit glass that blocks GPS signals. I'm not sure if helicopters might have this coating too. Jamie Quote Link to comment
+fivegallon Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 The military would struggle if they didn't Seriously; the majority of helicopters flying today are like the majority of fixed-wing aircraft flying today...they use gpsr's to do most of their nav work Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 (edited) There's a difference between having a panel-mounted GPS display with an antenna mount positioned outside the aircraft for optimum reception and having a handheld inside the cabin. I would SPECULATE that the difference is probably minimal, and the handheld would work fine. But having never tried to operate one on a helicopter, I am only guessing. As Sputnik said, NightPilot is the best qualified member that I know to answer your question. He drives a Sikorsky S76A Edited March 29, 2005 by Neo_Geo Quote Link to comment
+McMurdo1 Posted March 29, 2005 Share Posted March 29, 2005 I know from personal experience that the fiberglass bodies of A-Star and Bell 212 helicopters are invisible to the radio waves from the satellites. It is impressive to see my GPSr registering 170MPH! Quote Link to comment
BilgeRat Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Contact Nightpilot. He flies helos for a living. If anyone on here would know, he's the one. Tom Quote Link to comment
+NightPilot Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 (edited) Yes, they work. I used one for a long time before we got our installed units. Just like in a car, you have to put it in the windshield, or someplace that it can see the sky. The roof, being aluminum in many cases, will block the signals, but the rotors don't. I used to keep mine in a holder the sheet metal repairman made, just like many of our pilots did (and many still do, even with an aviation GPS installed, just in case), which attached to the glareshield, right in front of me. Back then I had a Magellan Pioneer, rather primitive by today's standards, but it worked much better than the LORAN receivers we had installed, which quit working every time a thunderstorm appeared in the gulf, which was just about every day it seemed. The low-frequency signals were severely affected by lightning. GPS, when it appeared, was a wonderful thing, even though we had to use different coordinates than what we used for LORAN. The LORAN coordinates were up to a few miles off from the actual surveyed coordinates, but the GPS coordinates agreed exactly. Um...... There is no fiberglass in a B212. It's all aluminum alloy, including the blades. That's 1950s technology, and fiberglass wasn't used for much of anything back then. Those old 212s used in Antarctica are the last ones we have - we got rid of the rest long ago. You may be getting GPS signals through the windows, which are pretty big, and if you're in a window seat you can get a decent sky view. And if you're seeing 170mph, either you have a poor signal or a very, very strong tailwind. 100mph in a 212 is closer to average, which is one reason they're obsolete. BTW, tell Jack Hawkins I said hello. Edited March 30, 2005 by NightPilot Quote Link to comment
+McMurdo1 Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 (edited) Yes, they work. I used one for a long time before we got our installed units. Just like in a car, you have to put it in the windshield, or someplace that it can see the sky. The roof, being aluminum in many cases, will block the signals, but the rotors don't. I used to keep mine in a holder the sheet metal repairman made, just like many of our pilots did (and many still do, even with an aviation GPS installed, just in case), which attached to the glareshield, right in front of me. Back then I had a Magellan Pioneer, rather primitive by today's standards, but it worked much better than the LORAN receivers we had installed, which quit working every time a thunderstorm appeared in the gulf, which was just about every day it seemed. The low-frequency signals were severely affected by lightning. GPS, when it appeared, was a wonderful thing, even though we had to use different coordinates than what we used for LORAN. The LORAN coordinates were up to a few miles off from the actual surveyed coordinates, but the GPS coordinates agreed exactly. Um...... There is no fiberglass in a B212. It's all aluminum alloy, including the blades. That's 1950s technology, and fiberglass wasn't used for much of anything back then. Those old 212s used in Antarctica are the last ones we have - we got rid of the rest long ago. You may be getting GPS signals through the windows, which are pretty big, and if you're in a window seat you can get a decent sky view. And if you're seeing 170mph, either you have a poor signal or a very, very strong tailwind. 100mph in a 212 is closer to average, which is one reason they're obsolete. BTW, tell Jack Hawkins I said hello. I was going to ask if you knew Jack. You may see him before I do though! He should be back and flying the gulf as we speak. I guess the 212 is aluminum. Oh well I had no trouble with the GPS in either of the 212s. And yes a 50Kt+ tail wind is not too unusual between Black Island and McMurdo... Edited March 30, 2005 by McMurdo1 Quote Link to comment
+IVxIV Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 I didn't know LORAN was used in aviation, I thought it was just a marine navigation thingy.. Say, does LORAN still exist at all? Or has GPS technology put it to pasture? Quote Link to comment
+QDman Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Some people will go to great lengths to get that FTF, eh? Quote Link to comment
+NightPilot Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 Yes, LORAN still exists, and some aircraft still have them installed. In fact, the latest plan seems to be using LORAN to augment GPS. The Coast Guard wanted to abandon it, but was forced to keep supporting it, and it looks like it will be viable in the long term. LORAN was used in aircraft for a long time, even after GPS came online, because of the expense involved in replacing it in hundreds of helicopters and airplanes. I used LORAN far longer than I have used GPS, and we used to use it for instrument approaches offshore, down to the same minimums we have with GPS, combined with weather radar in ground mapping mode. It wasn't as accurate as GPS, but good enough. A platform hundreds of feet on a side in the ocean isn't quite as hard to find as a film canister in the woods. Quote Link to comment
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