96 Landing Sit es Prior t o arriv al of larger helicopt er s it is necessar y t o prepare loading and landing sit es free of loose debris and with dimen sions adeq uat e t o accommodat e freight being handled Normally the v olume of freight and w eight of individual pieces is such that v er y little can be organized once freighting begins If possible a tract or should be on hand t o mo v e hea vy pieces fr om ne ts and slings so that hernias and o ther muscle damage can be a v oided Experience will giv e y ou an idea of ho w much r oom is req uired and type of sit e each pilo t req uires Some pilo ts and helicopt er s req uire more r oom and more le v el sit es than o ther s F or y our o wn saf e ty it is essential that y ou fnd or prepare a sit e which y our pilo t will use with confdence R emember that e v er y helicopt er landing is a uniq ue combination of winds t errain ele v ation and t em perature If y ou are on the gr ound stand on the upwind side of the landing sit e if possible and signal the wind direction pref erably with fagging or alt ernativ ely with y our arms back t o the wind with arms pointing in wind direction R emember that all air craf t tak e of f and land int o the wind When directing machine f or landing stand with back t o wind with arms outstre tched t o w ar d landing pad Clear an y obstruc tions fr om the landing sit e area bearing in mind the clearance req uired f or the tail r o t or In tight landings the pilo t ma y w ant y ou t o help him position his tail which he canno t see whe ther y ou are inside or outside Use y our thumb t o indicat e direction tail is t o mo v e and y our palm t o indicat e v er tical mo v e ments see Signals If the t errain is t oo r ough at the sit e t o land solidly the pilo t will some times st eady the helicopt er b y resting only par t of the skids on the gr ound while y ou ent er or lea v e Y ou must shif t y our w eight v er y slo wly in these situations so that the pilo t can maintain his delicat e balance