Bonanza 33
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 24; Flight Crew Total 4700; Flight Crew Type 500
Other / Unknown; Communication Breakdown
Conflict NMAC
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Airport; Human Factors
After waiting for an arriving aircraft to clear the runway; I was taking off VFR on Runway 36 at ASW. The winds were out of the north at seven knots. Very shortly after I became airborne a helicopter appeared from behind a hangar to the east of the runway near the departure (north) end. The helicopter flew to the centerline of the runway approximately 500 feet from the departure end directly into my flight path at an altitude of less than 200 feet AGL. He then turned slightly right to the runway heading. I made a radio call that the 'helicopter on Runway 36 at Warsaw had just flown in front of a Bonanza taking off.' As soon as I saw the helicopter I could see the potential conflict. Since he was moving from my right to left I started a turn to the right away from his relative movement. I passed about 100 to 200 feet right (east) of the helicopter at the same altitude. The helicopter replied that he had radioed his takeoff on Runway 36 but did not hear any other transmissions. Since I had been receiving transmissions from the aircraft which landed before I took off; I assume the helicopter's transmission was blocked by the hangar mentioned previously. The problem appeared to be that the helicopter did not taxi to the runway before taking off; but took off from a position east of the runway not visible from departing aircraft. The helicopter flew north and west from his liftoff point and did not clear to see if there was traffic departing on Runway 36 before he flew directly to the runway centerline. A contributing factor was that the helicopter's position north of the hangar blocked radio transmissions to/from aircraft on Runway 36.
BE33 pilot taking off to the north reports a NMAC with a helicopter departing from behind hangars on the northeast quadrant of the airport and flying to the runway centerline. The hangar apparently blocked VHF communication between the two aircraft.