2.0 Helicopter Landing Area Markings (See Figure 1 Below)

For the smallest landing areas (typically <16m) it may be necessary to reduce the size of the helideck markings appropriately. In such circumstances, the Aviation Inspection Body should be consulted as soon as possible.

2.1 The colour of the helicopter landing area should be a contrasting colour to the rest of the vessel's deck (preferrably dark grey or dark green). The perimeter of the SLA should be clearly marked with a white painted line 0.3 metres wide. (See Section 3, paragraph 4.1).

Figure 1 Markings (Single Main Rotor Helicopters)

2.1.1 The light grey colour of aluminium may be acceptable in specific helicopter landing area applications where these are agreed with the Aviation Inspection Body. This should be discussed in the early design phase. In such cases the conspicuity of the helicopter landing area markings may need to be enhanced by, for example, outlining the deck marking lines and characters with a thin black line. Alternatively, conspicuity may be enhanced by overlaying white markings on a painted black background.

2.2 The origin of the 210° obstacle-free sector for approach and take-off as specified in Section 3 should be marked on the helicopter landing area by a black chevron, each leg being 0.79 metres long and 0.1 metres wide forming the angle in the manner shown in Figure 2 below. On minimum sized helicopter landing areas where there is no room to place the chevron where indicated, the chevron marking, but not the point of origin, may be displaced towards the D circle centre. Where the obstacle-free sector is swung in accordance with the provision of Section 3 paragraph 3.3 this should be reflected in the alignment of the chevron. The purpose of the chevron is to delineate the separation of the 210° OFS and 150° LOS. Prior to the helicopter being given clearance to land, the officer(s) in charge of the helicopter landing area operations team(s) should ensure that there are no obstacles in the 210° OFS. The black chevron may be painted on top of the (continuous) white perimeter line to achieve maximum clarity for the helicopter landing area operations team.

2.3 The actual D-value of the helicopter landing area (See Section 3, paragraph 3.1) should be painted on the helicopter landing area inboard of the chevron in alphanumeric symbols of 0.1 metres high.

2.4 The helicopter landing area D-value should also be marked around the perimeter of the helicopter landing area in the manner shown in Figure 1 in a colour contrasting (preferably white: avoid black or grey for night use) with the helicopter landing area surface. The D-value should be to the nearest whole number with 0.5 rounded down e.g. 15.5 marked as 15 (see Section 3 Table 1).

2.5 A maximum allowable mass marking should be marked on the helicopter landing area in a position which is readable from the preferred final approach direction i.e. towards the obstacle-free sector origin. The marking should consist of a two or three digit number expressed to one decimal place rounded to the nearest 100 kg and followed by the letter 't' to indicate the allowable helicopter weight in tonnes (1000 kg). The height of the figures should be 0.9 metres with a line width of approximately 0.12 metres and be in a colour which contrasts with the helicopter landing area surface (preferably white: avoid black or grey).

2.6 An aiming circle (touchdown/positioning marking) for each helicopter landing area should be provided as follows: (see Figures 1 and 3).

2.6.1 On smaller helicopter landing areas with a D value up to and including 16.00m and for bow-mounted helicopter landing areas the aiming circle should be concentric with the helicopter landing area centre to ensure maximisation of space all around for safe personnel movement and optimisation of the visual cueing environment. On larger areas with a D-value greater than 16.00m, the centre of the aiming circle should be displaced 0.1 D from the centre of the D circle towards the outboard edge of the helicopter landing area along the bisector of the obstacle-free sector in order to achieve an increased safety margin for tail rotor clearance. The marking should be a yellow circle with an inner diameter of 0.5 times the certificated D-value of the helicopter landing area and a line width of not less than 0.5m for landing areas with a D-Value up to and including 16.00m and not less than 1.0m for landing areas with a D-Value greater than 16.00m.

Figure 2 Helicopter landing area D Value and Obstacle-free Marking (Not to scale)

Figure 3 Aiming Circle Marking (Aiming Circle to be painted yellow)

Figure 4 Dimensions of 'H'

2.6.2 On those decks where the aiming circle is concentric with the centre of the D circle or SLA, the need for some mitigation against concerns over tail rotor clearances should be considered; either by achieving more obstacle clearance in the 150° LOS or by adopting appropriate operational procedures (e.g. vessel to provide relative wind from beam or stern).

2.6.3 A "H" painted in a colour contrasting with the deck (preferably white) should be colocated with the aiming circle with the cross bar of the "H" lying along the bisector of the obstacle-free sector. The minimum H dimensions are shown in brackets for landing areas with a D-Value up to and including 16.00m, and without brackets for landing areas with a D-Value greater than 16.00m.

2.6.4 Where the obstacle-free sector has been swung in accordance with Section 3 paragraph 3.3 the positioning of the aiming circle and "H" should comply with the normal unswung criteria. The "H" should, however, be orientated so that the bar is parallel to the bisector of the swung sector.

2.7 Prohibited landing heading sectors should be marked where it is necessary to protect the helicopter from landing or manoeuvring in close proximity to limiting obstructions which, for example, infringe the 150° limited obstacle sector protected surface. In addition, for existing vessels where the number of deck access points is limited prohibited landing heading sectors may be desirable to avoid placing the tail rotor in close proximity to access stairs. Where required, prohibited sector(s) are to be shown by red hatching of the aiming circle, with white and red hatching extending from the red hatching out to the edge of the safe landing area as shown in Figure 5.

2.7.1 When positioning over the touchdown area helicopters should be manoeuvred so as to keep the aircraft nose clear of the hatched prohibited sector(s) at all times.

2.8 For certain operational or technical reasons the master of the vessel may have to prohibit helicopter operations. In such circumstances, where the helicopter landing area cannot be used, the 'closed' state of the helicopter landing area should be indicated by use of the signal shown in Figure 6.

2.9 Colours should conform with the following BS 381C (1996) standard or the equivalent BS 4800 colour.

.1 RED

BS 381C: 537 (Signal Red)

BS 4800: 04.E.53 (Poppy)
.2 YELLOW

BS 381C: 309 (Canary Yellow)

BS 4800: 10.E.53 (Sunflower Yellow)
.3 DARK GREEN

BS 381C: 267 (Deep Chrome Green)

BS 4800: 14.C.39 (Holly Green)
.4 DARK GREY

BS 381C: 632 (Dark Admiralty Grey)

BS 4800: 18.B.25 (Dark Admiralty Grey)

Figure 5 Example of Prohibited Landing Heading Marking