Hoist Characteristics and the Hoist Spectrum 

Every crew benefits from understanding that hoisting exists on a spectrum. Recognizing where a particular hoist evolution falls on that spectrum allows crews to adjust their mindset and tactics to optimize performance based on the environment. The two defining characteristics of any hoist are: 

• The stability of the platform or environment. 
• The degree to which the hoist area is bound by obstacles. 

The “Scalpel” Hoist – Precision hoists in tightly bound, stable environments. 

At one end of the spectrum are precision hoists, or what I refer to as “scalpel hoists.” Scalpel hoists require slow and precise aircraft movement and methodical cable control. They often take place in environments with tightly bound hoist areas, but where the platform is stable and predictable. Success depends on a trained, proficient crew and aircraft stability (i.e., minimal influence from gusts, turbulence, or rotor wash).  

Examples of stable platforms: 

• Large vessels maintaining steady course and speed with minimal pitch and roll. 
• Cliffs, towers, buildings, or rocks with no significant movement. 

Examples of scalpel hoists: 

• Hoisting from a cluttered ship deck where the subject must pass through rigging, masts, or near superstructure. 
• Lowering a swimmer into a tree-choked creek bed to reach a large rock. 
• Repelling down a cliff on the hoist cable to recover a subject from a narrow ledge. 
• Urban flood rescues through second-story windows. 
• Hoisting from the top of a vehicle trapped in swift water. 

These hoists require exacting control because small deviations can lead to entanglement or injury. Precision is paramount. 

The “Machete” (or “Chainsaw”) Hoist – Assertive hoists in unbound, dynamic environments.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are hoists in open, but highly dynamic environments—what I call “machete hoists,” or as one of our top surf-rescue flight mechanics put it, “chainsaw hoists.” Machete hoists do not involve tight obstacles. Instead, they are used in chaotic conditions—heavy seas, breaking surf, and high, gusty winds. In this environment, the threat is not hitting something; the threat is dynamic, unpredictable movement of the swimmer, survivor, and helicopter combined with the hazards from an unstable environment (e.g., fast moving cold water).  Machete hoists require: 

• Deliberate, assertive aircraft inputs. 
• More rapid and responsive cable control than in mid-spectrum hoists. 
• Excellent crew coordination to manage cable tension and avoid shock loading. 

With these hoists, the focus shifts from precision to timing and efficiency—recovering survivors between wave sets, managing drift, and anticipating the movement of the environment to work with it, rather than reacting to it. 

Most Training lives in the middle. In the Coast Guard, the majority of our maritime training hoists fall in the middle of the spectrum: 

• Calm to moderate sea states. 
• No breaking surf. 
• Hoist areas only partially bound (e.g., open bow or stern with obstacles amidships). 

These environments are ideal for proficiency maintenance at an acceptable training risk. However, because they do not fully prepare aircrews for the demands of either end of the spectrum, measured exposure to both scalpel and machete hoists is essential. Crews must be able to recognize when to switch tactics to match the scenario—to obtain precision for confined, stable spaces; assertiveness and adaptability for chaotic, open ones. Fortunately, the Coast Guard has benefited for more than 30 years from the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School (AHRS). The school not only trains crews across the full spectrum of hoist environments, but also gives instructors and staff the repetitions and environment needed to refine tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs).

In the next several hoist-related posts, we’ll explore ‘machete hoisting’ techniques—pioneered by the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School—for use in heavy seas and surf environments.