Dog Sled Heli Weigh In

[HappyGirl1959]

This may sound crazy to some, but I have a member of our party that is stressing over the "discreetness" of the weigh in process for a dog sled helicopter excursion. Is it done out in the open for everyone to see, or is it done quietly? Sadly, this will determine their decision to join us. We are looking at Coastal Copters if that makes a difference. TIA

[Alaskanb]

This may sound crazy to some, but I have a member of our party that is stressing over the "discreetness" of the weigh in process for a dog sled helicopter excursion. Is it done out in the open for everyone to see, or is it done quietly? Sadly, this will determine their decision to join us. We are looking at Coastal Copters if that makes a difference. TIA

I would phone them for an accurate answer.

[laughing husky]

I am sure that Coastal can be discrete....However you need to realize that they fill the helicopters by weight, and it can be extremely dangerous if it wasn't accurate.

[HappyGirl1959]

Of course safety is the priority....I wouldn't want it any other way! Our worrier will either join us or not, I was just hoping to get an answer so they can make their decision. Seems silly to me to miss out for this issue, but to each their own!

[rockdoctor]

For us the scale was behind the counter, about 5 feet from the nearest passenger. Quite discrete. I got into trouble and slightly embarrassed by having to be told to have everything I was taking, backpack, jacket and me on the scale. But they were nice about it.

[peety3]

This may sound crazy to some, but I have a member of our party that is stressing over the "discreetness" of the weigh in process for a dog sled helicopter excursion. Is it done out in the open for everyone to see, or is it done quietly? Sadly, this will determine their decision to join us. We are looking at Coastal Copters if that makes a difference. TIA

Two things to think about here:

 

#1 Each person will probably need to tell the dock agent meeting your excursion what they weigh, "as dressed". They need the number to figure weight/balance for seating positions, whether it's 37.4 or 374 or anywhere in between. I'd anticipate that they'll ask for first name and weight, so they can say "Joe, seat 1, Betty, seat 2, Jimmy seat 3", etc. This will be somewhere in the general gathering area for excursions, not at the helicopter base, so figure out how to assemble the gaggle of people so this is less of an issue.

 

#2 If the proclaimed weight is close enough to but below the threshold, maybe within 20 pounds, the weigh-in will be necessary. The easy way to skip the weigh-in is to just buy the extra half-ticket up front: if you flop that onto the dock agent's clipboard with the regular ticket, they'll accept it and go with the flow, and I'd suspect there'd be no need for a weigh-in at the base. (If someone says here's a fare and a half, they're admitting that they're above the line, and there'd then be no reason to question someone saying 255 if the threshold is 250. However, if someone is close, say 245 if the threshold is 250, the operator knows that they might need to allocate 1.5 seats for that individual, so if they're going to give up 0.5-1 seats to accommodate, they know they "want" the revenue replacement.) It's up to the individual to decide if the extra fare is worth the decreased hassle/show.

[HappyGirl1959]

Two things to think about here:

 

#1 Each person will probably need to tell the dock agent meeting your excursion what they weigh, "as dressed". They need the number to figure weight/balance for seating positions, whether it's 37.4 or 374 or anywhere in between. I'd anticipate that they'll ask for first name and weight, so they can say "Joe, seat 1, Betty, seat 2, Jimmy seat 3", etc. This will be somewhere in the general gathering area for excursions, not at the helicopter base, so figure out how to assemble the gaggle of people so this is less of an issue.

 

#2 If the proclaimed weight is close enough to but below the threshold, maybe within 20 pounds, the weigh-in will be necessary. The easy way to skip the weigh-in is to just buy the extra half-ticket up front: if you flop that onto the dock agent's clipboard with the regular ticket, they'll accept it and go with the flow, and I'd suspect there'd be no need for a weigh-in at the base. (If someone says here's a fare and a half, they're admitting that they're above the line, and there'd then be no reason to question someone saying 255 if the threshold is 250. However, if someone is close, say 245 if the threshold is 250, the operator knows that they might need to allocate 1.5 seats for that individual, so if they're going to give up 0.5-1 seats to accommodate, they know they "want" the revenue replacement.) It's up to the individual to decide if the extra fare is worth the decreased hassle/show.

 

Thank you for your insight. #1) We will be meeting them at the airport as we will be renting a car & #2) we have been told by many that the weigh in is mandatory which is fine by me! I don't want anyone including myself to be in danger because of someone's vanity!

[HappyGirl1959]

For us the scale was behind the counter, about 5 feet from the nearest passenger. Quite discrete. I got into trouble and slightly embarrassed by having to be told to have everything I was taking, backpack, jacket and me on the scale. But they were nice about it.

 

Thank you! This is helpful :)

[peety3]

Thank you for your insight. #1) We will be meeting them at the airport as we will be renting a car & #2) we have been told by many that the weigh in is mandatory which is fine by me! I don't want anyone including myself to be in danger because of someone's vanity!

I was probably the heaviest in my group, and was the only one to weigh in. I'll gladly tell my story, though realize that I flew on TEMSCO not Coastal.

 

As I walked out the dock to meet the agent, she saw my camera bag and said "we can't do carry-on bags", and I replied "I know, but I can lock it up at the base, right?". Yep, all is well so far. Then, "how much will you weigh with your camera? Remember to add 10-20 pounds for clothes." I answered with a bit of a smile, "249.9". Her eyes got huge, and she said you'll have to get weighed! No problem, glad to do it, just tell me what to do. We get to base, I stow my camera bag in a locker and keep two cameras with me, leaving a third lens behind for afterward. (In retrospect, I took the wrong lenses and could have saved myself 1-2 pounds...) I headed over to the scale, and grinned like a little kid when it said 249.6 pounds. :D :D :D

 

Honestly, I'd be surprised if the weigh-in was mandatory if someone is paying the weight surcharge (and not likely to be 375 or whatever the boosted total is). I really suspect the weigh-in is used as a way to not get asked on an endless basis "c'mon, billy's only a buck fifteen, I'm 255, can't you let it slide", as they'd be giving up valuable revenue AND inconveniencing 1-3 other passengers (the weight surcharge "buys" a half-seat ticket, so the rear seat that normally holds 4 is now limited to 3 bodies with up to 2 weight surcharges; if they let Bob the Big Boy sit in the back with three others, it will be vice-grip tight back there...it's tight with four <200-pounders). If they say "weight surcharge applies over 250, you must weigh in to prove you're under", they don't need the weigh-in if you've already accepted the fare premium.

 

In the end, it's all about center of gravity. If it's an AS350, it's pilot +2 up front, 4 in back. The three in front can pull the cg forward, the two outer in the back seat can pull the cg to one side or the other, etc. The dispatchers at base do this 1-5 times per round for 4-14 rounds a day, so they know the math well, but they also can't spend too much time on it, so the 250# limit gives them an 'out' to make the math easy again.

 

As a 249.6 pounder on that flight, I was actually amazed that I had the left rear window seat. I fully anticipated I'd be in a rear middle seat, but perhaps the right rear passenger was nearly my weight. *shrug*

[HappyGirl1959]

I was probably the heaviest in my group, and was the only one to weigh in. I'll gladly tell my story, though realize that I flew on TEMSCO not Coastal.

 

As I walked out the dock to meet the agent, she saw my camera bag and said "we can't do carry-on bags", and I replied "I know, but I can lock it up at the base, right?". Yep, all is well so far. Then, "how much will you weigh with your camera? Remember to add 10-20 pounds for clothes." I answered with a bit of a smile, "249.9". Her eyes got huge, and she said you'll have to get weighed! No problem, glad to do it, just tell me what to do. We get to base, I stow my camera bag in a locker and keep two cameras with me, leaving a third lens behind for afterward. (In retrospect, I took the wrong lenses and could have saved myself 1-2 pounds...) I headed over to the scale, and grinned like a little kid when it said 249.6 pounds. :D :D :D

 

Honestly, I'd be surprised if the weigh-in was mandatory if someone is paying the weight surcharge (and not likely to be 375 or whatever the boosted total is). I really suspect the weigh-in is used as a way to not get asked on an endless basis "c'mon, billy's only a buck fifteen, I'm 255, can't you let it slide", as they'd be giving up valuable revenue AND inconveniencing 1-3 other passengers (the weight surcharge "buys" a half-seat ticket, so the rear seat that normally holds 4 is now limited to 3 bodies with up to 2 weight surcharges; if they let Bob the Big Boy sit in the back with three others, it will be vice-grip tight back there...it's tight with four <200-pounders). If they say "weight surcharge applies over 250, you must weigh in to prove you're under", they don't need the weigh-in if you've already accepted the fare premium.

 

In the end, it's all about center of gravity. If it's an AS350, it's pilot +2 up front, 4 in back. The three in front can pull the cg forward, the two outer in the back seat can pull the cg to one side or the other, etc. The dispatchers at base do this 1-5 times per round for 4-14 rounds a day, so they know the math well, but they also can't spend too much time on it, so the 250# limit gives them an 'out' to make the math easy again.

 

As a 249.6 pounder on that flight, I was actually amazed that I had the left rear window seat. I fully anticipated I'd be in a rear middle seat, but perhaps the right rear passenger was nearly my weight. *shrug*

 

Thank you for sharing your story! It is a big help.

[K.T.B.]

Two things to think about here:

 

#1 Each person will probably need to tell the dock agent meeting your excursion what they weigh, "as dressed". They need the number to figure weight/balance for seating positions, whether it's 37.4 or 374 or anywhere in between. I'd anticipate that they'll ask for first name and weight, so they can say "Joe, seat 1, Betty, seat 2, Jimmy seat 3", etc. This will be somewhere in the general gathering area for excursions, not at the helicopter base, so figure out how to assemble the gaggle of people so this is less of an issue.

 

#2 If the proclaimed weight is close enough to but below the threshold, maybe within 20 pounds, the weigh-in will be necessary. The easy way to skip the weigh-in is to just buy the extra half-ticket up front: if you flop that onto the dock agent's clipboard with the regular ticket, they'll accept it and go with the flow, and I'd suspect there'd be no need for a weigh-in at the base. (If someone says here's a fare and a half, they're admitting that they're above the line, and there'd then be no reason to question someone saying 255 if the threshold is 250. However, if someone is close, say 245 if the threshold is 250, the operator knows that they might need to allocate 1.5 seats for that individual, so if they're going to give up 0.5-1 seats to accommodate, they know they "want" the revenue replacement.) It's up to the individual to decide if the extra fare is worth the decreased hassle/show.

 

Hm, that's slightly bothersome. I know for a fact that my wife definitely does NOT want to sit by a window. She's nervous enough about the flight, even though she's being a trooper about it and coming with me! If they tell her she needs to sit by a window, she won't go. And if she doesn't go, I won't go.

 

So hopefully there are ways around it.

[Chairsin]

Every helicopter ride I have been on the seats were assigned with no option to change. I have been lucky both times getting assigned a seat in front so I had great views. On a December ride into the Grand Canyon a young man on our flight was disappointed he was assigned the middle of the back seat as he wanted to take photos and that seat was not optimal for that.

[K.T.B.]

Every helicopter ride I have been on the seats were assigned with no option to change. I have been lucky both times getting assigned a seat in front so I had great views. On a December ride into the Grand Canyon a young man on our flight was disappointed he was assigned the middle of the back seat as he wanted to take photos and that seat was not optimal for that.

 

If that is the case, I'll just cancel my excursion then. That really pisses me off actually. I'm claustrophobic enough as it is, putting me in a middle seat like that would be like pouring spiders on someone who has arachnophobia. I'm fine as long as I can put my focus on the outside world by looking out a window. I'm the same way on airplanes.