An R44 pilot noticed his oil temperature running near the red line in 100 degree weather and decided...

Narrative:

While out on a flight in my R44 helicopter I was orbiting over a mine approx 12 NM from the VOR on the 336 degree radial when I noticed that my oil temperature had started to climb noticeably. I noted that the outside air temperature was around 100 degrees F at that time. I made a decision to begin heading towards the airport but decided that a precautionary landing was in order to allow the oil temperature (now approaching red line) to cool down before causing engine damage or failure. I noted what looked like a old abandoned cement pad located approximately 17 miles from the VOR on the 340 degree radial immediately east of the river. This area was on a plateau above the river and allowed me to land in a safe location; away from boats and above the point where someone could easily walk to the helicopter. I landed the helicopter and brought the engine and rotor system to idle while waiting for the engine oil temperature to decrease. After the oil temperature dropped to a safe level; I took off into the wind; turned around and flew towards the airport where I landed and refueled. As a result of the high oil temperature and my belief that a precautionary landing was necessary to prevent an emergency landing; I exercised my authority under 14 crash fire rescue equipment 91.3 and landed in what I believe is a national wildlife refuge. I was on the ground only long enough to allow the oil temperature to drop to what I considered a safe level before departing. When I departed I did not feel it was safe to climb to a higher altitude in the event that I needed to set back down again. The overall cause of this issue was my flight into the desert where the temperatures were close to 100 degrees causing an increasing oil temperature problem that lead to the landing. While 100 degrees OAT is within the limitation of my helicopter; it is obvious that flights over the desert in my helicopter near that temperature will require much higher vigilance while monitoring the engine gauges.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An R44 pilot noticed his oil temperature running near the red line in 100 degree weather and decided to cool the oil by landing. After the fact he realized that he may have landed in a National Wildlife Refuge.

Narrative: While out on a flight in my R44 helicopter I was orbiting over a mine approx 12 NM from the VOR on the 336 degree radial when I noticed that my oil temperature had started to climb noticeably. I noted that the outside air temperature was around 100 degrees F at that time. I made a decision to begin heading towards the airport but decided that a precautionary landing was in order to allow the oil temperature (now approaching red line) to cool down before causing engine damage or failure. I noted what looked like a old abandoned cement pad located approximately 17 miles from the VOR on the 340 degree radial immediately east of the river. This area was on a plateau above the river and allowed me to land in a safe location; away from boats and above the point where someone could easily walk to the helicopter. I landed the helicopter and brought the engine and rotor system to idle while waiting for the engine oil temperature to decrease. After the oil temperature dropped to a safe level; I took off into the wind; turned around and flew towards the airport where I landed and refueled. As a result of the high oil temperature and my belief that a precautionary landing was necessary to prevent an emergency landing; I exercised my authority under 14 CFR 91.3 and landed in what I believe is a National Wildlife Refuge. I was on the ground only long enough to allow the oil temperature to drop to what I considered a safe level before departing. When I departed I did not feel it was safe to climb to a higher altitude in the event that I needed to set back down again. The overall cause of this issue was my flight into the desert where the temperatures were close to 100 degrees causing an increasing oil temperature problem that lead to the landing. While 100 degrees OAT is within the limitation of my helicopter; it is obvious that flights over the desert in my helicopter near that temperature will require much higher vigilance while monitoring the engine gauges.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	905845
Time
Date	201008
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Robinson R44
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Rotorcraft
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 80 Flight Crew Total 2700 Flight Crew Type 520
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Airspace Violation All Types

An R44 pilot noticed his oil temperature running near the red line in 100 degree weather and decided to cool the oil by landing. After the fact he realized that he may have landed in a national wildlife refuge.