Alaska, land of beautiful nature, millions of gallons oil. The 80s was actively pumping fuel from the Northslope of Alaska to Valdez where ships would bring the oil to the States to refine it. In 1982 Sohio Oil hired Columbia helicopters to test an idea out, pull a barge, The purpose of this test was to evaluate the ability of a helicopter - the Boeing Vertol 107-II - to tow a fully-loaded hover barge over water, snow and ice and see if it could be potentially useful.
The test began in Prudhoe Bay on June 17. The Vertol’s 600-foot long line was connected to hover barge ACT-100, jointly owned by Global Marine Development and VECO. Air blowers on the 170-ton barge forced a cushion of air under the barge, which was kept in place by rubberized skirt material. This first test was run around Prudhoe Bay with an empty barge, and was successful. During this and subsequent tests, the aircraft often flew with a nose-down angle approaching 25 degrees. Next, ACT-100 was loaded with 40 tons of cargo for another close-in test run. Once more, the helicopter showed it could move the barge despite the additional weight. The final aspect of the test was to tow the hover barge over a 50-mile course to a drill site named Alaska Island where Sohio had just completed an oil well. During the tow to the island, headwinds over 30 knots were encountered, and snow and ice buildup were also factors. Regardless, the Vertol was able to bring the empty barge to the island successfully. On the return trip to Prudhoe Bay, when this photo was taken, the barge carried 50 tons of cargo, bringing the total weight to 220 tons. As with the previous tests, this task was accomplished successfully. This photograph is one of longtime Columbia Helicopters’ photographer Ted Veal’s most famous photographs
8 Likes
Copilot: where are we?
Captain: I don’t know, all I see and feel are snow, ice, and g’s
2 Likes
Is this the Sea Knight??
Yes, the civilian version of the Phrog
2 Likes
I just showed my not so aviation knolagable friend this:
Me: look at this cool picture
Him: how many people survived?
I guess I have a reputation 😂
1 Like
I am asking the same question
1 Like
The Chinook is better ! Sorry
1 Like
Everyone I think, it was intentional, not a crash
1 Like
Just remember, the Chinook developed from the Phrog ;)
2 Likes
You would think that this helicopter is taking a dive straight to the ground XD
Love how it can hover like that
1 Like
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.