Having learned a little about how the ‘highways in the sky’ work from my pilot brother (approach vs. airport controllers, A, B and C controlled airspace etc.) I was wondering…
What do helicopter pilots that land at hospitals do beyond talking to the approach controller? Hospitals don’t have control towers, so does approach stay in contact the whole time? Or are they pretty much on there own once they get within a certain distance to the landing pad? When they take off again, do they just announce it to any air traffic who might be in the area (like when leaving an un-controlled airport) or do they contact approach again?
I’ve done a lot of flying in the same airspace as our local emergency helicopter.
It’s no big deal. The helicopter files a flight plan like everyone else. When it’s inbound, it gets priority. It’ll generally get a direct routing straight to the helipad at the hospital, and other air traffic is vectored out of the way.
There is no ATC in the hospital. There’s no need for it since there is generally only one helicopter and one helipad. I suppose if there were some gigantic hospital with four helipads, some coordination would be necessary.
You’re in Canada, right? Do they really have to file a flight plan?
In the U.S. flight plans are not required, day or night, for flying in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC – not to be confused with V[sub]mc[/sub], which is engine-out minimum control speed in a multi-engine aircraft) under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). (Sam, I know you know this. I’m just spelling it out for those who don’t.) Helicopters operate under less stringent rules that fixed-wing aircraft. The rules say “except helicopters” in a couple of places. Generally, and with the tongue only slightly in the cheek, the rules are: Avoid fixed-wing traffic patterns. Don’t run into anything. I’d look up the rules, but it’s before coffee right now.
Flight plans are required for flight in instrument conditions, although the definition of IMC is different for helicopters. Oh, what the hell… Here are some links: Minimum altitudes.
You can search the linked site for other rules. Basically, helicopters are capable of more flexible missions and the rules recognize that. Flight under VMC does not require a flight plan.
I would assume that hospitals have a dispatcher. That is, someone would say that an air evac is needed on I-10 at Cross Street. The dispatcher would send the helicopter there. When the helicopter nears the hospital on the return trip, the pilot would let the dispatcher know they’re coming and their ETA so that the emergency room personell can be there waiting for it.
Of course helicopters operating in the vicinity of controlled airports need to contact the tower before entering the controlled airspace. As Sam Stone said, an emergency flight will get priority over other flights if there is a conflict.
There is no approach controller unless the hospital happens to be near a radar-equipped airport. However, lets take a special case: Shock Trauma here in Baltimore.
According to my trusty terminal area chart, the hospital is just inside BWI’s class-B airspace surface layer. So is MD State Police’s heliport. A few times on my scanner I’ve heard tower talking to helicopters, but most of the time they’re so low (~500’) that they pose no conflict to the inbound jet traffic (~2000’). Usually tower is just telling the jets to keep visual contact with the helos. So I guess technically the helos always need permission to take off, but I think that generally they’re so far from the airport that they don’t. At least, I’ve never heard it.