LIFE HELICOPTER AuTumn 2014 AuTumn 2014 HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 2014 3 WPD Burns Brightly Georgina Hunter-Jones flies with the EC135P1s of the Western Power Distribution helicopter unit Farnborough Flies Georgina Hunter-Jones looks at the helicopter side of Farnborough, which, though small, was decently repre- sented Shoreham Lifeboat John Periam and Geoffrey Lee spend an evening with the lifeboat and record their time in photographs WaxBat Fly Scotland Chris Jones writes about the gyrocopter fly-out to Scotland SOFEX David Oliver 54 Book Reviews 58 CAA Legislation changes 59 Accident Reports 64 House & Helicopter 66 COVER STORY COVER STORY Flight Show & Tell Guide 4 Aviation shows and conferences. The Editor’s Letter 5 Aerial Forum 6 & 7 Letters to the Editor 10, 21 Flying Crackers 8 & 9 HeliTech International 12 New Technology Airbox Runway HD highlights new tech- nological develop- ments Ulan Ude A look back into the history of a thriving company in Russia NATO Helimeet Arjan Dijksterhuis, reports on the 50th NATO Helimeet MicroPowering Migrant Trauma David Oliver reports on MOAS’s use of the Camcopter to save lives 40 46 26 18 11 16 52 32 HELICOPTER HELICOPTER LIFE is the HIGH LIFE Autumn 2014 / £3.99 www.helicopterlife.com including gyroplanes LIFE
Transcript
LIFEHELICOPTER
AuTumn 2014AuTumn 2014
HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 2014 3
WPD Burns BrightlyGeorgina Hunter-Jonesflies with theEC135P1s of theWestern PowerDistribution helicopterunit
Farnborough FliesGeorgina Hunter-Joneslooks at the helicopterside of Farnborough,which, though small,was decently repre-sented
Shoreham LifeboatJohn Periam andGeoffrey Leespend an evening withthe lifeboat andrecord their time inphotographs
WaxBat Fly ScotlandChris Joneswrites about thegyrocopter fly-out toScotland
SOFEX David Oliver 54
Book Reviews 58
CAA Legislation changes 59
Accident Reports 64
House & Helicopter 66
COVER STORYCOVER STORY
Flight Show & Tell Guide 4Aviation shows and conferences.
The Editor’s Letter 5
Aerial Forum 6 & 7
Letters to the Editor 10, 21
Flying Crackers 8 & 9
HeliTech International 12
New TechnologyAirbox Runway HDhighlights new tech-nological develop-ments
Ulan UdeA look back into thehistory of a thrivingcompany in Russia
NATO HelimeetArjan Dijksterhuis, reports on the 50thNATO Helimeet
MicroPoweringMigrant TraumaDavid Oliverreports on MOAS’s useof the Camcopter tosave lives
40
46
26
18
11
16
52
32
HELICOPTER
HELICOPTER LIFE is the HIGH LIFE
Autumn 2014 / £3.99
www.helicopterlife.com
including gyroplanes
LIFE
HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 2014
14 October - 16 October 2014HELITECH INTERNATIONAL
The Imperial War MuseumDuxford, UKhttp://www.helitechevents.com
4 HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 2014
pilot’s and was the result of risk eval-uation. This is something we are‘allowed’ to do less and less in mod-ern life where most risk is taken fromus. Perhaps because of this, the pilotwas so unused to make his own deci-sions that he did not correctly sum upall the factors involved.
I recently read a piece by CaptainPaul Bonhomme, who flies in the RedBull Races. He was asked if this isrisky. He replied:
People often say that we must be
daredevils or mad, but I reckon we
are among the best risk-analysers
around. There's an argument that the
further you are from risk, the less
aware of it you become. We are very
aware, so we don't half keep an eye
out for it.
A good argument from a Captainfor a much greater exposure to risk inmodern life.
Helicopter Life is ten years old.Ten years is not so long, but publish-ing has had a difficult time in the lastcouple of decades and the number ofprint publications that have survivedten years is quite small; even large acirculation magazine like Heat is 29%down in print sales since 2004. So, wefeel this is cause to celebrate. Thankyou for subscribing.
MD. Colin James, who replaces themuch liked Marcus Steinke, has beenwith Eurocopter/Airbus since 1992,and was originally in software devel-opment. Marcus moves to AirbusGroup Headquarters in Toulouse asVice President Post MergerIntegration and Carve-OutManagement.
When I was looking at the accidentreports prior to adding them to themagazine, I came across the one below,which struck me forcibly because Ihave recently been thinking about theissue of ‘Captaincy.’
On arrival at the landing site, thepassenger, who was a helicopter pilot,requested that the aircraft be landed ona path to avoid damaging a lawn,which was ‘boggy’. He said that he hadestablished on a previous visit thatthere was sufficient clearance from aline of trees to the north west. The pilotagreed to the request and also judgedthat there would be sufficient clear-ance. However, the rotor blades clippeda small branch of one of the trees whilethe helicopter was manoeuvring.
The pilot believed he had allowedhimself to be persuaded to take aninappropriate course of action. Hewould not normally have landed soclose to obstacles and, although he sawthe trees, he did not see the overhang-ing branch, which was not in leaf.
An interesting situation because onone hand the pilot is Captain of hisaircraft and anything that happens ishis responsibility. On the other hand,and here I am assuming a bit, it couldbe that the other pilot mentioned wasthe owner of the land and hence in aposition to know where was best toland. In another situation, for exam-ple in a car, one would tend to listento the owner and take his advice,only here unfortunately, there wasanother factor: the overhanging trees.
Bloghttp://www.helicopterlife.blogspot.comSee Helicopter Life on Facebook & Twitter
HON. EDITORIAL BOARDCaptain Eric Brown, CBE, RNThe Lord Glenarthur, DLJennifer MurrayMichael J. H. Smith
LIFEHELICOPTER
The ediTor’S leTTerShow & Tell
Guide
One of the greatest challenges tothe helicopter industry at themoment may be the effect of
something completely outside aviation:the sanctions applied on the Russiansfor their incursion into Ukrainian terri-tory.
EU Regulation 833/2014 prohibits“the sale, supply, transfer or export ...ofdual use (military and civilian) goodsand technology ... to Russia.”
This is something that effects inter-national companies like AirbusHelicopters, AgustaWestland, Bell andSikorsky, Turbomeca and others whodo business with Russian and sell a sig-nificant amount of aviation parts andmachines.
However, there are exceptions tothese restrictions and these include:“exports of dual-use goods and technol-ogy for aeronautics and the spaceindustry... “
So far it is hard to know how muchthese sanctions will affect either Russiaor Europe and the USA, but atFarnborough this year RussianHelicopters did have problems gettingmany of their executives into the showas the UK government denied themvisas. In the same fashion, there werefew American or European compa-nies at HeliRussia.
These sanctions are still in theirearly stages but more are threatenedand the effects may be greater. This issomething to watch.
Something that has already comeinto effect is the North Sea breathableapparatus. The emergency breathingsystem has now been installed in allhelicopters in the North Sea. It is acombination life-jacket and aqualunghas replaced the re-breather currentlyused aboard North Sea helicopters.North Sea workers are currentlybeing trained in the use of thesebreathers and the companies say thattraining has been quick, successfuland generally approved.
Airbus Helicopters UK has a new
Wiltshire Air Ambulance have bought a new hel-icopter, the Bell 429, which will arrive fromCanada in October this year. It will become
operational when the current partnership with WiltshirePolice comes to an end in December. Owing to therestructuring of the police services, Wiltshire AirAmbulance, which was previously in coalition with thepolice, will be going solo from the end of 2014.
The new helicopter will incorporate yellow and thedistinctive Wiltshire ‘green’, which is used across thecounty on the Wiltshire flag. The belly of the helicopterwill also carry a distinctive ‘W’, again representingWiltshire.
“Developing the design of the livery for the new heli-copter has been a challenging process. We wanted toensure that the colour scheme not only reflected thecounty of Wiltshire, but is also sufficiently different fromthe current helicopter in recognition of this new chapterfor the county’s air ambulance,” said Richard Youens,
Chairman of the charity’s board of trustees. “We havealso had to take into account what would be acceptableto Bell Helicopters and develop a design which is botheasily identified and meets industry standards.
The Bell 429 is the world’s newest and most advancedlight twin-engine helicopter in service, equipped with thelatest in-flight technology. The helicopter will be the firstBell 429 to operate as an air ambulance in the UK. It hasa top speed of 150 knots and a range of 400 miles mak-ing rapid response to any incident within the countyachievable within minutes.
The aircraft is currently on the production line inMirabel, where it will be adapted to make it capable ofcarrying one or two pilots, two or three paramedics aswell as a patient on a stretcher. Prior to delivery the air-craft will be fitted out with the most recent Aeroliteequipment to meet the highest Helicopter EmergencyMedical Service (HEMS) specification. This autumn willsee a period of testing and training for the crew in
Wiltshire so that the new air ambulance is set to go liveby 1 December 2014. The charity currently anticipates itwill cost £2.5million a year to keep the air ambulanceflying - £6,850 per day.
Isle of Wight Institute of Directors, a Director of Gallery Ltd(an international technology group) and also lectures in eco-nomics and business management. He lives in Southamptonwith his wife and four children and has a BSC/MSC in MarineScience, MSC in Finance and is a Chartered Director.
In addition to overseeing Wiltshire Air Ambulance’s transi-tional aviation and operational arrangements, Mr Bendoni willalso oversee the charity’s search for a new base in the mediumterm as the air ambulance will need to find a new operationalhome from 2017.
The Bell 429 will be the first to operate as an air ambulancein the UK. Starting in the late autumn 2014, the contract withHeli Charter Ltd covers the provision, maintenance and flyingof the Wiltshire Air Ambulance for up to 19 hours a day, everyday of the year. It also includes a replacement helicopter to beprovided after five years paramedics and other medical supportwill continue to be provided by South West AmbulanceService Foundation trust (SWASfT), with whom the charityenjoys a close, efficient and effective working relationship.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr Bendoni said: “I amdelighted that the Charity entrusted me at this critical time toassist in the delivery of the program. The challenges ahead arenot trivial, but the team that I have the pleasure to coordinateis highly skilled and their dedication and commitment are trulyimpressive”
David Philpott, Chief Executive of Wiltshire AirAmbulance, added: “I have known Giorgio for many years andhad the good fortune to work with him on occasion when hewas deploying Agusta Helicopters in HEMS operations. Icount it a great privilege and coup to have secured his servicesat this exciting time for our charity”.
Giorgio Bendoni
To oversee the charity’s transition from its current collabo-rative partnership with Wiltshire Police to a completelyseparate and independent Helicopter Emergency Medical
Service(HEMS), Giorgio Bendoni joined WAA in May as Bell429 Program Co-ordinator.
Bendoni, who has a long history in helicopter aviation in theUK, will bring together all the parties involved in this new part-nership which follows on from Wiltshire Air AmbulanceCharitable Trust signing a 10-year contract with Manston-basedHeli Charter Ltd (Bell’s UK agent) to provide a new 429 heli-copter. The contract will come into effect in September 2014.The lease on the current 12-year-old MD 902 Explorer helicop-ter expires on 31st December 2014, when Wiltshire Police aremandated to use aircraft provided by the National Police AirService.
Mr Bendoni, 55, first trained with the Italian Naval Academyand the US Navy Naval Air Training School. During his 22years’ service he served as a pilot, Carrier Air GroupCommander and Commanding Officer. He then went on tobecome Director General of Helicopters Italia Ltd, Helitalia Plcand has also held senior positions with Camper NicholsonYachting (Managing Director), Sloane Helicopters Ltd (Salesand Marketing Director), and Avionomica Ltd (Director).
Mr Bendoni is the current Chairman of the Hampshire and
Testimony at a coroner's inquest in the UK hasrevived a disputed theory that a crocodile on theloose may have led to the crash of a Filair Let-140regional airliner in Africa in 2010. The aircraftcrashed near Bandundu, Congo, killing 19 of the 20passengers and crew on board. The inquest was toldthat a passenger had apparently carried the two- tothree-foot reptile onto the aircraft and it escapedfrom the bag it was in. It startled a member of thecrew, who ran forward to the cockpit and that starteda stampede of passengers to the front. The suddenweight shift pitched the aircraft down and it crashedinto an earthen house.The crocodile theory was advanced early in the ini-tial investigation but was discounted. At the inquest,the coroner's jury heard that the father of one of thecrew members was in contact with a crash investiga-tor in the Congo who had discussed the crocodiletheory. Although the crocodile theory makes goodheadlines crash investigators said they couldn't comeup with a definitive cause and determined the mostlikely scenario was a low-altitude stall-spin. CoronerDavid Dooley said at the inquest that problems withwitnesses and technical evidence precluded deter-mining a definitive cause and "all we have are possi-bilities rather than probabilities."
Droning Association
Every other aviation cohort has some kind of associ-ation -- from Ercoupe owners to airline pilots -- soit's no surprise that a new group has launched thisweek for those who fly unmanned aerial systems.
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July. Dubbed the “Go Fast JetPack,” Macomber’s sunrise flightwas just long enough to circle thebuilding and land back on theroof—endurance of most jetpacksis less than a minute due to highfuel consumption and lack of abili-ty to carry much fuel.
Flying Bikes from 2016
The PAL-V ONE, a roadable gyro-copter or flying motorcycle—takeyour pick—has announced that itwill make its first deliveries in2016. Made by PAL-V Europe NV,based in Raamsdonksveer in theNetherlands, the two-place PAL-VONE (PAL-V stands for PersonalAir and Land Vehicle) uses a 230-HP engine to turn a pusher prop—the main rotor autorotates to pro-vide lift. Top speed on land or inthe air is 112 MPH. Flight range isclaimed to be 315 miles with a fuelconsumption of 9.5 GPH—groundrange is said to be 750 miles at 28MPG. Conversion between modesis reported to take 10 minutes andtakeoff distance is claimed to be540 feet. Orders are currently beingtaken only in the Netherlands; how-ever, the company said it intends toexpand internationally this fall at aprice of $395,000.A three-wheel design gives thePAL-V ONE the upper handagainst proposed flying carsbecause it needs only to meetmotorcycle regulations for highwayuse rather than the extensive crashtesting requirements for automo-biles. Composite materials allowthe vehicle to be light enough to flyand strong enough for road use—amechanical-hydraulic articulatedrear suspension enables the PAL-VONE to lean into turns like amotorcycle, giving adequate stabili-ty in road use despite a high center
of gravity. Transformation fromgyrocopter to motorcycle involvesshutting the engine down, at whichpoint the propeller folds itself intothe driving position. A button pushcauses the rotor mast to lower to ahorizontal position and the tail tolower. The outer rotor blades arefolded over the inner blades viahinges. The pilot/driver then pushesthe tail into driving position andsecures the rotor blades. Accordingto the manufacturer, flying the PAL-V ONE in the U.S. requires at leasta sport pilot certificate.
New Emergency Breathing System
in all North Sea Helis
A combination life-jacket andaqualung has replaced the re-breather previously used aboardNorth Sea helicopters. It is intendedto be used in the event of ditchingand subsequently all offshore work-ers have been trained in its use.Les Linklater, team leader for StepChange in Safety, said: “The newbreathing system is a small part ofthe aviation safety picture. The safe-ty of the workforce is our main pri-ority and we must strive to continuethis level of collaboration and dedi-cation with everything we do.”Rob Bishton, head of flight opera-tions at the CAA, said: "The safetyof those who rely on offshore heli-copter flights is our absolute priori-ty. The introduction of the newbreathing system is a significantmilestone in the on-going work tofurther improve the safety of off-shore flying."The system was developed inresponse to a government inquiryinto helicopter safety following afatal Puma helicopter crash last year,on the approach to one of theShetland mainland runways.
Uber Flying
An app that makes it easy for travel-ers between New York City and theHamptons to book helicopter rides,is partnering with Uber, the car-serv-ice app that angered taxi drivers inLondon and caused a capital widestrike. The Blade service enablesusers to either book a seat on ascheduled flight or to pick the timeyou want to fly and “crowdsourceyour own flight.”.
Gaol Break Helicopter
For the second time in a little morethan a year, a helicopter has beenused to help alleged organizedcrime members escape from prisonin the Canadian province ofQuebec. Three inmates wereplucked from the OrsainvilleDetention Centre about eight milesnortheast of Quebec City in June by
what Quebec Provincial Police saywas a green helicopter.The three escapes were later rear-rested from their hiding place in anupscale part of Quebec.
Fly from Denver Hotel Roof
Harking back to the 1930s whendowntown rooftops became run-ways as major newspapers flewautogyros from the tops of theirbuildings, Nick Macomber, in part-nership with the SmithsonianChannel, made a 30-second jetpackflight from the roof of the FourSeasons Hotel in Denver, Colo. in
The new Drone Pilots Association aims to promote theinterests of those who are interested in commercial use ofUAS. "The DPA is not intended to represent pure hobby-ists, who have long been represented by the Academy ofModel Aeronautics," wrote Peter Sachs, who organized thenew group. "If you are strictly a hobbyist, join the AMA."Sachs said the new group's goal is to promote the commer-cial use of drones and oppose "the FAA's overreach, itsfalse statements regarding the law and its intimidation tac-tics."Sachs, an attorney who works as a private investigator,writes a blog called Drone Law Journal. John Goglia, aformer NTSB member who blogs for Forbes, wrote thisweek that he is on the Advisory Board for the new group.Goglia said he believes "the FAA could safely allow thecommercial use of small UAVs (for example, those underfive pounds)" so the U.S. could benefit from "the commer-cial promise of this exciting new technology." Sachs saidthere is no charge to join the DPA; however, he expectsmembership fees will be set in the future. "We all want theability to operate commercially, and we all want to operatesafely and responsibly while doing so," he wrote. "Let'scombine our voices using the DPA and see what we can doto reach those goals. If enough members sign up, we willthen raise funds to mount a challenge to the FAA'sInterpretive Rule."
Royal Aeronautical Society and IAWA
A MoU was signed between the Royal AeronauticalSociety and the International Aviation Women Associationto help retain and increase talent within the aviation indus-try. Signed at the IAWA Reception hosted by AirbusGroup at Farnborough Air Show it will promote closercollaboration between the organisations and providewomen across the globe additional opportunities for pro-fessional development.Abby Bried, President of IAWA and Judith Milne, Chair ofthe RAeS Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committeesaid, "We believe ... we have an opportunity to make astep change in the aviation and aerospace industry'sapproach to diversity ..."The signing of the agreement was followed the next daywith the RAeS Amy Johnson Debate when the questionwas posed to executives at Airbus Group, Rolls-Royce andThales of “what would Amy think of diversity in the avia-tion industry?” The panellists agreed she would be fairlydisappointed, however spirited discussions suggest theindustry is taking measures to address these issues andbring about change.
59 Great Ormond Street, London WC1N-3Hz, England.Telephone: 020-7430-2384, Email: [email protected] include your name, and email or phone.
Apologies to Chris Kirk
Dear Georgina Having just read the Summer issue, and being an ExArmy veteran, read the item on ‘’going the distance ‘’pages 46,47. but was disappointed with the person thatshould have proof read. The SPELLING ERROR onpage 47, should never have happened, half way downsecond column line 12, The word LEG has been print-ed as ‘LOG’.It was horrific enough for Chris Kirk to have theinjuries he sustained during the conflict, but then to beinsulted by the spelling error.
RegardsClive B McDonnell
Senior Field Support Engineer Serco Technical Services
Editor’s reply: we are extremely sorry that the error
occurred and no offence was intended.
Helicopter Museum
Dear GeorginaThe Helicopter Museum (THM) has successfullysecured two grants totalling just over £14,000 from theArts Council PRISM Fund to complete the restorationof its Fairey Ultra Light helicopter G-AOUJ originallybuilt in 1956 and rediscovered in an Essex farmyardby THM founder Elfan ap Rees in 1978.Following a period in storage, some preliminary workon restoration was carried out by the CotswoldRestoration Group (CRG) but had to be abandoned andthe airframe returned to the museum in November2010. Here a new Volunteer Team, led by John Derrickwas formed in March 2011, beginning immediatelywith a survey of the whole project and then restorationof the fuselage box structure. With ownership of the helicopter now officially trans-ferred to THM, the next major challenge to be tackledis the manufacture of replacement cockpit glazings andthe replacement of a multi-curvature fuselage panel atthe rear of the cabin which is another missing part. Asubstantial part of the PRISM grant aid is allocated tothese works, with the glazings being manufactured
commercially and the fuselage panel being built inhouse. With typical ingenuity the team has made amould to replicate the latter in fibreglass. Variousother detailed parts that need to be replicated will alsobe manufactured in the museum’s workshop withmaterial costs covered by the grants.THM Restoration Manager Rod Holloway says “Weare immensely grateful to the PRISM Fund for recog-nising the value of restoring the Ultra Light to a dis-play condition. The funding will allow us to acceleratecompletion of the project and we now hope this exam-ple of early tip-jet helicopter technology will be readyto take its place in the THM line up of rare prototypesby Spring 2015.
Airbox Runway HD has had an upgrade. The frontpage shows many companies who use the service,and the maps now include side tabs for Notams,
Weather and Checklists. The first two work automatically,the last, obviously, has to be set up for your particularmachine.
New features include:Data in the cloud
Routes, points of interest and flight logs can now be storedon Airbox serversData is automatically shared over all your devices runningRunwayHD and using your accountNOTAMs:
New side tab on iPad and accessible from the route buttonon iPhoneDisplays enroute NOTAMs when you have a routeDisplays nearby NOTAMs shown when there is no routeSimplified NOTAM settings including route check widthand surrounding area radiusRocket Route:
Free flight plan filing via Rocket Route (max 10 flightplans per month)Weather:
Enhanced weather engine drastically speeds up airfieldweather downloading and cachingNew side tab on iPad and accessible from the route buttonon iPhoneDisplays enroute airfield weather when you have a routeNearby airfield weather shown when there is no routeSettings for route check width and surrounding weatherradiusChecklists:
New side tab on iPad and accessible from a bottom tab oniPhoneComplete checklists through the tabCreate, edit, order and delete checklists in the settings
Snap to:
Snap to airfields, navaids and points of interest (with nameindicator) when moving a route waypoint around the mapMinor changes:
Sticky north up map rotation
Subscription expiry reminders
Automatic deletion of older charts when you update to anew edition of that chartNumerous other minor features, bug fixes and perform-ance improvements.
I have been using Airbox Runway HD since the begin-ning and I do think this upgrade has been very beneficial.One thing I found particuarly useful was the compass atthe top left corner, which allows you to force the map tobecome North up. In previous editions of the map I hadfound it would sometimes swing and spiral away on itsown with no sense of direction! This seems a greatimprovment.
I found the sidetabs for weather and NOTAMs veryuseful, tAirbox has also made route planning a little easi-er. While Navigate to, is only one stop, you can addWaypoints to make a muliple stop route, and they haveadded direction and length of each leg to the map, which Ifound very helpful.
So, overall a good upgrade and no doubt there will bemore in the making. I look forward to seeing what comesnext.
The new Revised HeliTech International EThe new venue in
Amsterdam
Helitech International, the largest dedicated heli-copter exhibition in Europe that represents everytier of the supply chain, is a must-attend event
for anyone involved in the rotary wing industry. Takingplace at the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam, theNetherlands from 14 – 16 October and organised byReed Exhibitions, Helitech International is being stagedin association with the European Helicopter Association(EHA) and is supported by leading industry primes suchas AgustaWestland, Bell Helicopter, Airbus Helicopters,Russian Helicopters, MD Helicopters, Pratt & Whitney,Rolls Royce and Turbomeca.
To date, 164 companies from 20 countries will exhibitthe latest technologies and services for the rotorcraftindustry covering everything from batteries and head-phones; protection and finishing services; navigation sys-tems and cameras; MRO services and storage; to newhelicopter models.
On the exhibition floor
Among other exhibitors Aelia Assurances are an avia-tion insurance broker specialising in aeronautical risks,mainly in General Aviation, in both fixed wings and rotorwings operation, as well as wide body airliners. SwissCompany, Helipool, are also exhibiting in Amsterdam;Helipool is an independent helicopter trading companythat work with specialised and certified maintenance cen-tres for customising helicopters according to EASA orFAA regulations.
Another company exhibiting this year is LeaseCorporation International. LCI is a commercial aircraftand helicopter leasing company with offices in Dublin,London and Singapore, and a fleet of brand-newAgustaWestland and Airbus Helicopters platforms avail-able for flexible and immediate lease. Also of interestwill be McLarens Aviation who is a leading provider ofclaims, risk and asset management services to the globalaviation community.
Milestone Aviation Group, one of the world’s leading
Words and pictures courtesy of HeliTech International
helicopter lessors is also exhibiting; and German compa-ny, Societe Generale Equipment Finance who is one of theleading equipment and vendor finance companies inGermany offering loans, leasing, hire purchase and insur-ance solutions for mobile assets. Tech-Tool Plastics Inc isshowing off its services this year. Tech-Tool manufacturea full line of replacement windows for Bell, AirbusHelicopters, Schweizer, MD Helicopters and Robinsonmodel helicopters.
MRO companies such as Able Engineering andComponent Services and AV Tech L.L.C will be exhibit-ing at Helitech International this year. Vector AerospaceUK will use Helitech International as a platform to helppromote a move into the civil sector. Vector Aerospace’sheritage has been built primarily on world class deepmaintenance, repair and overhaul for a range of militaryhelicopters; however Amsterdam will be a timely forum toinform visitors about its business transformation in thecivil sector.
Concorde Battery Corp will also be showcasing itswares. Concorde are a leading designer and manufacturerof sealed lead acid batteries. Concorde manufactures over90 models of OE and FAA, ANAC, Argentinean,Canadian and EASA certified direct replacement batteries.Flightcell International will also be exhibiting who are aleading supplier of satellite and cellular communicationssystems.
Tackling key issues within the industry -
Education Programme
The Helitech International Education Programme willspotlight key areas of the rotary wing industry and willfocus on strategic topics and visions over each of the threedays, with particular emphasis on visions for the future toinclude sector and regional trends. The programme willoffer visitors excellent networking opportunities to keep
ahead of the industry.
Business and Strategy Conference
An introduction from session moderator, AoifeO’Sullivan, Head of Aircraft Finance, KennedysAviation, to the Business and Strategy Conference onTuesday 14th October will be followed by an IndustryBusiness Leaders’ Forum where participants will discussthe key business and strategy issues facing the rotorcraftindustry over the next five-to-ten years. Business lead-ers and experts from across the supply chain are partici-pating including Jonathan Baliff, President, BristowGroup; Guillaume Faury, Chief Executive Officer,Airbus Helicopters; Robert Dranitzke, ManagingDirector, Milestone Aviation; Keven Baines, Director,Baines Simmons; and Chris Seymour, Head of MarketAnalysis, Ascend.
This inaugural forum is a must attend event with awealth of experience, knowledge and potential insightaround the table for attendees to feed off, and havequestions answered.
The theme of the afternoon will be ‘FutureOpportunities and Challenges for the EuropeanRotorcraft Sector’. The first session will address,‘UAVs: New Frontiers in Unmanned Aerial Operations’,with the first presentation looking at ‘ATM InnovativeRPAS Integration for Coastguard Applications (AIRI-CA) Project’.
After a case study and question and answer session,the agenda will then move on to look at the ‘Growth inAerial Fire-Fighting Services across Europe’. The open-ing day will be concluded with a panel discussion focus-ing on ‘Evolving Helicopter Emergency Operations inEastern Europe’.
HELICOPTER LIFE Autumn 2014 HELICOPTER LIFE Autumn 201414 15
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EHA Rotorcraft Seminars
On Wednesday 15th October, the European HelicopterAssociation (EHA) will be running a series of informa-tive seminars. The theme for the second day of the edu-cation programme will be Rulemaking and will openwith a welcome from Vittorio Morassi, Chairman of theEHA. Mr. Morassi will then hand the stage over to DrNorbert Lohl, Certification Director of the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA), who will give thekeynote address.
After a short keynote question and answer session theagenda will then move on to look at ‘EASA Rulemaking– the Impact on Rotorcraft Operations’. A roundtable dis-cussion will follow, ‘SESAR – What's in it forRotorcraft?’ This will provide a clear overview of whatand how this complex program will affect the rotorcraftsector and how the challenges ahead can really improvethe safety and efficiency of rotorcraft operations.
The afternoon agenda will then switch to ‘RulemakingBriefings’, with Age 60 Rule, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles,Flight Time Limitations, Annex 14, General Aviation andAerial fire-fighting across Southern Europe all in thespotlight.
Dr. Britta Herbig, Senior Researcher, Institute for
Occupational, Social and Environmental Medicine,Ludwig Maximilians University said; “The Age 60 Ruleis a hot topic politically within the rotorcraft industry.Europe has adopted the Age 60 Rule and this also takesin Air Rescue operations. The rule itself can potentiallybe difficult to implement as pilots may find themselveshaving to retire early without social provisions in place.HEMS is especially affected by the rule as pilots usuallyfly solo during HEMS operations so as not to exceed themaximum takeoff weight of the helicopter, which has tocarry additionally an emergency doctor, a paramedic,and, when required, a patient. Whereas the Age 60 Ruleforbids pilots over the age of 59 to act as a commanderin single pilot operations, so the consequences are ratherhigh for a HEMS pilot."
Dr. Herbig went on to say; “The Institute forOccupational, Social and Environmental Medicine of theLudwig-Maximilian University Munich conducted someresearch with German and Austrian Air Rescue organisa-tions to see if the Age 60 Rule is reasonable. My presen-tation will divulge the results of this research that wasprimarily based around three key areas including medicalreasons, simulation results testing pilots’ performance inage critical demands and liability damages as an approxi-mation for pilot errors.”
Safety Workshop
Michel Peters, Director, National Aerospace Laboratory(NLR) will welcome delegates to the Safety Workshop onThursday 16th October. Delegates will then have theopportunity to listen to a presentation on ‘EHSIT STTechnology Work’ that will assess the benefits of technolo-gies and/or technical solutions on alleviating safety con-cerns. This will then be followed by a session on ‘EHESTDissemination’ that will highlight a set of educational mate-rial that has been compiled to improve the safety of helicop-ter operations.
Late morning the agenda will then switch to ‘USHSTDissemination’. This presentation will provide an updateon the United States Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) ini-tiatives currently in the place in the USA and being man-aged by a professional group of rotorcraft experts. The con-tent will then move on to ‘Helicopter Flight DataMonitoring (HFDM)’ and will be led by the Global HFDMSteering Group who will teach delegates what HFDM actu-ally is and show why it’s important to launch a program inyour operation.
Following lunch there will be a briefing session on‘Safety Management Systems (SMS) and the finally sessionon ‘Safety Management Implementation Training’.
For further information on both the exhibition and educa-tional programme please visit www.helitechevents.com
Today we celebrate the anniversary of a uniqueenterprise, the only plant in the country to havebrilliantly mastered the production of both air-
planes and helicopters. In 75 years of activity here, wehave built more than 8,000 different aircraft,” RussianHelicopters CEO Alexander Mikheev said in his messageto the plant’s staff. “UUAP occupies a key position in theRussian helicopter industry. The company has continuedto grow successfully: over the last five years, the numberof helicopters produced has doubled, while sales of spareparts and services has more than quadrupled. On behalfof the Russian Helicopters team, congratulations toUUAP on your anniversary! I wish the staff of the enter-prise good health, optimism, boundless energy and con-tinued success!"
UUAP traces its history back to 1939, with the cre-ation in Ulan-Ude of Aircraft Repair Plant No. 99, whereIL-16 fighters and SB bombers were repaired. During theSecond World War, the factory produced various modelsof fighter planes. 1956 marked a new page in the historyof the enterprise: the era of helicopter manufacturing.The first models produced were coaxial helicoptersdeveloped by the Kamov design bureau: the Ka-15, Ka-18 and Ka-25. In 1970, UUAP began production of theMi-8, the world’s most popular helicopter, designed by
the Mil bureau. The now legendary Mi-8 is produced in avariety of different models and distributed to many coun-tries around the world.
In the 1990s, the company began production of anupgraded version of the Mi-8 helicopter – the Mi-8AMT/ Mi-171 – and later a military transport helicopter, theMi-8AMTSh / Mi-171Sh. These helicopters are in serv-ice in a number of countries in South-East Asia, theMiddle East, North Africa, Latin America, EasternEurope and the CIS. In total, UUAP has produced morethan 4,000 Mi-8/17 helicopters in different versions fordomestic customers and for export.
UUAP is a modern high-tech enterprise, which pro-duces around 100 Mi-8/17 helicopters per year. Theenterprise is actively upgrading its production capabili-ties and investing in social projects. UUAP is the largestemployer in Ulan-Ude, and a major contributor to thesocio-economic development of both the city and thesurrounding region. In 2013, the plant paid about RUB 4billion in taxes to budgets at different levels; payments tothe consolidated budget of Buryatia increased by morethan RUB 1.5 billion from 2012, and amounted toapproximately USD 2.7 billion. Today, the plant todayemploys more than 6,500 people.
Given the importance of Russia’s national defence
programs, UUAP works hard to meet state defenceorders, with some batches of helicopters delivered wellahead of schedule. Under its contract with the DefenceMinistry, UUAP supplies Mi-8AMTSh military transporthelicopters, and is preparing to produce an upgraded ver-sion. The plant also produces helicopters for export: forexample, in July 2014, the company completed deliveryof a large batch of Mi-171E under a Rosoboronexportcontract in China.
UUAP offers customers more than just helicopters.Operators can take refresher courses and pilots and tech-nical personnel can receive more training at the plant’sAviation Training Centre. This program includes theoreti-cal courses and classes on an integrated Mi-171 simula-tor, which allows trainees to practice the full spectrum ofpiloting and navigation: in different flight modes, allweather conditions, and in the event of pilot error andother emergency situations. Operators of Russian helicop-ters in China have already taken this training course, andMongolian crews began their studies in July.
Today UUAP is involved in developing the helicoptersof the future, including prototypes of the new mediummultirole Mi-171A2, currently being tested. All subse-quent modifications of Mi-8/17 helicopters will be builtusing the solutions incorporated in the design of the Mi-171A2.
Although the 50th anniversary of the NATO TigerMeet was celebrated back in 2011, this years edi-tion was actually the 50th time that the NATO
Tiger Meet took place. In the early days, the Tiger Meetwas mainly a social event where squadrons from severalcountries came together. A tiger, panther or lion in theunits badge was only needed to become a member of theNATO Tiger Association. Things changed rapidly intotactical flying exercises. Nowadays this includes a wholerange of missions including air-to-air refuelling, rangefiring missions, low level navigation flights andCOMAO (Combined Air Operations) missions. Plus, thescale of the exercise has grown.
The exercise took place at Schleswig-Jagel, NorthernGermany hosted by the TaktischesLuftwaffengeschwader51 ‘Immelmann’ that operates the Tornado.
The NATO Tiger Association is mostly about fast jets,but a few members of the Association do fly helicopters.Unfortunately, not all the NATO Tiger Association-unitswere present due to various reasons. On the other hand, aGerman Tiger helicopter participated in the exercisewithout being a member of the association. Fast jetsincluded the Austrian Armed Forces four Saab 105Ötrainers, The Netherlands and Turkey F-16s. JAS39Gripens represented the fast jets from both the CzechRepublic and Hungary. Germany participated withTornados and Typhoons. The French Navy (Aeronavale)was present with their Rafale M while the Armée de ‘lAir participated with both the Rafale C and Mirage2000-5. The Swiss Air Force attended with five F/A-18
Hornets. A NATO (NAEW&CF) E-3A AWACS flew forthe third time in a row from their Forward OperatingLocation (FOL) Ørland, Norway. The rotary elementscame from the Czech Republic, Germany and the UnitedKingdom.
Local missions are mostly flown in the morning whenthe participants fly against each other. In the afternoonthe COMAO missions are flown against ‘red forces’which are mostly fighters from the hosting country act-ing as such. This schedule is followed for most of thedays. A lot of hours are spent in the planning, briefingand debriefing of the missions. By the end of the opera-tional week it is time to tighten social bonds between allparticipating units. The well known tiger games are exe-cuted during these days.
Two Merlins of 814 Naval Air Squadron based atRoyal Naval Air Station Culdrose, United Kingdom,were present and quickly adapted form their traditionalrole of submarine hunting into transporting troops in andout of landing sites. The sonars were therefore replacedby rows of troop seats. However, during one of the mis-sions they could prove their maritime environment skillswhen they were tasked with locating a German frigate inthe North Sea. The location of the frigate was reportedand resulted in the attack by the fighter aircraft.
The Czech Air Force participated with both fast jetsand helicopters. A pair of Mi-24V ‘Hind’ attack helicop-ters and a Mi-171Sh took part in the Tiger Meet. Bothtypes of helicopters are operated by 221 HelicopterSquadron (221 Letku Bitevních Vrtulníků) based at
Námest. One of the Mi-24Vs helicopters, with serial7353, is still wearing the tiger livery that was appliedback in 2005 for the Tiger Meet that year. The Hindsexecuted a variety of missions during the exercise, vary-ing from slow mover protection, Close Air Support mis-sions with Forward air Controllers in the field and due tocapability to transport troops, they were also able tocombine both the transport and attack role during thesame mission. The Mi-24V’s also flew during CombinedAir Operations (CAMAO). Combat Search andRescue(CSAR) missions were flown with the Mil Mi-171Sh, the successor of the Mi-8. The transport helicop-ter was also used in flying participants and equipmentfrom and to the landing sites. A non Tiger Meet memberwas the Tiger UHT
(Unterstützungshubschrauber/Support Helicopter) fromKampfhubschrauberregiment 36 (KHR36) based atFritzlar. The Tiger can be used for a variety of tasks suchas armed reconnaissance, attack, ground fire support,escort and air-to-air combat missions.
Missing ‘Tiger’ helicopters at Schleswig-Jagel werethe Puma helicopters from 230 Squadron, Royal AirForce and the Italian Air Force AB-212s, operated by 21Grupo, based at Grazzanise, Italy.The Tiger Meet ended with the traditional closing cere-mony on Thursday the 26th when all the National flagswere lowered. After this the farewell party is started andthe various trophy’s are handed out. The 2015 edition isscheduled at Konya Air Base, Turkey and will be hostedby 192 Filo of the Turkish Air Force.
and bring the rpm back from the lowest position I have everseen it. My little heart was racing!
As with every Rotorway flight I learnt something new!In this case it was that as an examiner you have to be farmore ‘anticipatory’ than you do as a pilot. Looking at ourdeparture from the farm you can saw that we were ham-pered by the temperature, the weight of the pilot and pas-senger and the lack of wind. However, that is not the wholestory. The truth is that the rpm was too low before take-offand that was the reason that we nearly did not make it overthe hedge. So, the question is: as an examiner do you say tothe student:
“Get your rpm up, or we are going to hit the hedge?”which is then interference in his flying skills, or do we lethim make the mistake and nearly kill you?
While academically this may be a dilemma, practically Ifeel everyone would give the same answer, assuming theydid not have a death wish!
Another weekend I was doing another PC. The studentwas flying very well and I asked him to position for some360 degree autos. He found a good field, positioned intowind and then thrust the lever down as fast as life couldtake it. We plummeted towards the ground at100 mph, withthe rpm jumping up and down, and his collective followingthe pace to ensure he did not overspeed. We thrust roundthe turns with g-force battering my stomach, and it waswith relief I asked (and got) a go-around. Interestingly,when I then explained that although autorotation is anemergency measure there is not need to enter it as thoughthe world was ending, he saw the point and the next twoautos were inceasingly gentle and the last one was welljudged, with good speed and rpm control. The old adagestill rings true: enter gently and maintain control to thegound!
One reason why the Rotorway helicopters have fewermechanical incidents than elsewhere is owing to the distrib-utors, engineers and centre of the Rotorway culture in theUK: the Bull Brothers at Street Farm. The Bull brothershave made the Rotorway at bit of a life’s mission and sell,support and generally preserve them in the UK. However,in spite of this the CAA do not allow them any help or lee-way and hence the Talon, which has been certified outsidethe UK for several years, is still not available in the UK. Nowonder Scotland wants to leave and set up without us!
There is another lingering question and it is: if Rotorwaykit helicopters are allowed in this country, why not other,more technologically advanced, kit helicopters? The currentanswer appears to be that the Rotorways are lucky to behere at all, and only got through on grandfather rites. Andyet they fly a lot of hours and have proportionately fewincidents. So, why are they not a successful testing groundfor the other kit helicopters available? I await an answerfrom the CAA. Luckily, I am very patient!
Acouple of months ago, I had an interesting exam-ple of how a little prior planning could havesaved embarrassment.
I went to do a 162F owner's test. When I arrived atStreet Farm the helicopter was already there, althoughthe pilot was to arrive later, brought up by a friend anddelayed by M25 traffic. This is probably an importantfactor, since, although he thought he had brought every-thing necessary for the test ie log book, licence, medicaletc he actually forgot to bring the second collective forhis machine.
This being a test, and as he was anyway not current, Icould not fly without the collective, so, this would havebeen a disaster had the Bull Brothers not once moresaved the day. We were able to use a collective fromanother machine... luckily it fitted, and this luckilyshould be underlined, since, as Rotorways are 'hand-made,' the parts are not always interchangeable.
The collective in and we were ready to go... flat bat-tery.
Rotorway pilots know just how important a battery isin the Rotorway machines. The engine runs directly fromthe battery, there is no intervening magneto etc to help.
However, we were able to jump start the battery. Thisis not an easy matter in the 162F as the battery is behindthe passenger seat, and hence external starts are not aseasy as they are in full-grown machines. But yet again
the brothers were marvellous, having everything weneeded. Once the leads were in place the battery startedeasily and we were soon good to go.
The pilot flew extremely well, and there was no needto fail him, but I think he will remember this test for awhile.
Flying the Rotorway gives one constant insight intoflying on the edge. I was doing another test a few weekslater on a very hot day in July. The temperature at thefarm was 30 degrees centigrade and the E162F was aslightly less powerful one, with a novice owner of somesize. We had a very tight take-off, in a direction that wasnot into wind, but crosswind. We could not take off intowind because another Rotorway owner had parked hishelicopter there making it risky for us.
The novice owner tried to get far enough back in thefield, but was hampered by a tree. He decided to go for agap in the hedge. Unfortunately, before he started heommitted to get his rpm up to the top of the green. Westarted our departure run, the rpm dropped further and itwas quickly clear we were not getting much lift. As therpm descend further, our only option was to keep thenose forward and fly the helicopter out using relative air-flow to edge up our climb inch by inch. We got out ot thefield, swooping past an orange coloured emergency life-raft which now features in my dreams. And, finally, wewere free of the ground and able to lower the collective
Examining on the Rotorway 162F by Georgina Hunter-Jones
see: http://www.helicopterlife.blogspot.com
Helicopter Training
The 162F has now been replaced by the Talon but that
After opening the frontiers of flight during arecord-setting test program, Airbus Helicopters’X3 is now ready for its place in history as this
high-speed helicopter demonstrator is welcomed for dis-play at the French national musée de l’Air et de l’Espace(Air and Space museum) of Paris-Le Bourget.
The X3 will be exhibited in the musée de l’Air et del’Espace’s hangar facilities at Paris-Le Bourget airport,being strategically located with other high-speed legends– Europe’s supersonic Concorde jetliners.
“We welcome this illustrious addition to France’s lead-ing aviation museum, where our collection includes otherhistoric rotorcraft from Airbus Helicopters’ lineage – likethe S.A. 3210-01 Super Frelon, which 50 years earlier seta world speed record of 350 km/hr,” explained CatherineMaunoury, CEO of the musée de l’Air et de l’Espace andtwice world aerobatics champion. “The X3 continues atradition of excellence at Airbus Helicopters, building ondecades of innovation, research and development.”
Airbus Helicopters pursued the X3 development as
part of self-funded company efforts to evolve rotorcraftthat offer new ways to perform missions, fly faster andfarther, and reduce operating and maintenance costs. TheX3, known as a hybrid helicopter, demonstrated the com-pany’s high-speed, long-range, Hybrid Helicopter (H3)concept.
From its maiden take-off in September 2010 to itsretirement in 2013, the X3 fully validated AirbusHelicopters’ hybrid concept, using a pair of turboshaftengines to power both a five-blade helicopter main rotorand two propellers installed on short-span fixed wings.
During more than 155 hours logged by the aircraft in199 flights, milestones achieved included a level flightspeed of 255 knots (472 km/hr) on June 7, 2013 – sur-passing previous high speeds reached by a helicopter.While exploring the full flight envelope in cruise, climb,at altitude and during descent, the X3 validated this high-speed concept’s qualities – including outstanding stabili-ty, intuitive piloting characteristics, as well as low vibra-tion levels without the need for anti-vibration systems.
Final Home for X3 at Le Bourget
AgustaWestland demonstrated its RotorcraftUnmanned Aerial System / Optionally PilotedHelicopter (RUAS/OPH) to the Italian Ministry
of Defence. Trials were conducted to evaluate modernremote controlled rotorcraft technology and its potentialto provide enhanced capabilities for the Italian armedforces in the future.
Under the Research and Development contract, includ-ed in in the National Military Research Plan, and signedwith the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) Directoratefor Air Armaments the company successfully demon-strated ground station-based remote controlled capabili-ties for the modified SW-4 Solo RUAS/OPH single-engine helicopter. The basic aircraft has been developedas a result of close cooperation between AgustaWestlandand PzL-Swidnik in Poland.
The aircraft successfully completed the planned mis-sions in OPH configuration with a safety pilot on board.The development phase and flight trials, undertaken both
in Italy and Poland, were performed from September2013 through to May 2014, with the final testing com-pleted in Frosinone, Italy. Test activities included systemmonitoring, ‘hands off’ and remote controlled manoeu-vres, hovering and a range of mission profiles.
The SW-4 Solo RUAS/OPH is one of the most techno-logically advanced achievements of aviation technologyin recent years. The SW-4 Solo RUAS/OPH, based onthe proven SW-4 light single-engine helicopter, has beendesigned for both unmanned and piloted operations, pro-viding users with maximum operational flexibility. TheRUAS version of the SW-4 is capable of performing anumber of roles, including intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance, as well as cargo re-supply. In pilotedconfiguration, the SW-4 can undertake a number ofactivities, including transportation of personnel, surveil-lance and intervention. It can be fitted with a comprehen-sive mission equipment package including search andcommunications/intelligence systems.
SW4 Flies unmanned for AW
Around the World
HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 201424
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Three EC225s African O & G operations
Three Airbus Helicopters’ EC225 workhorserotorcraft were acquired in June byMilestone Aviation Group and leased to
SonAir, an African operator, which will utilize themin Angola.
The helicopters delivered are part of MilestoneAviation’s record orders with Airbus Helicopters for30 total EC225s, which were announced in 2012and 2013.
“We are excited to commence a relationship withSonAir, Africa’s largest offshore oil and gas opera-tor, with these three EC225s” explained MilestoneAviation’s Managing Director Robert Dranitzke.“As a true workhorse in offshore oil and gas opera-tions, the EC225 continues to demonstrate its capa-bility in the most demanding operational conditions– from the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico to Africa– and we are confident these aircraft will serveSonAir and its customers well in the years tocome.”
SonAir is a subsidiary of the Sonangol Group, astructured aviation service provider in Angola, andthe largest African helicopter operator. Its inventoryof helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft provide serv-ices to major oil and gas companies as its core busi-ness.
“By further growing our EC225 fleet, SonAir’scustomers will benefit from the performance deliv-
ered by this helicopter,” added SonAir’s Andrade. “The EC225has become a mainstay of our operations, and proves its capa-bilities every day.”
The EC225 is Airbus Helicopters’ latest version of its SuperPuma family, providing a high-performance rotorcraft in the10-11 metric ton category. This heavy twin-engine helicopter’smodern technologies, excellent useful load, five-blade mainrotor and low vibration levels make it an efficient solution foroil and gas missions – including offshore and passenger trans-port as well as search and rescue (SAR) operations.
micro Powering migrant TraumaStory by David Oliver
paramedics and humanitarians. Based in Malta, theorganization was founded by US-born ChristopherCatrambone and his Italian wife, Regina. The project isheaded by Martin Xuereb, Malta’s former Chief ofDefence, who studied at the Royal College of DefenceStudies and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.During his career, he was the representative for Malta atthe European Defence Agency and NATO’s Partnership
for Peace programme and led expeditions to deploy aidinto war-torn Kosovo.
MOAS’s Chief Paramedic, Aebhric O’Kelly, spent adecade in the US military as an operational maritimemedic after which he worked in North America leadingtroubled teenagers on extended wilderness treks provid-ing therepy and life transition skills. He is adjunct facultyfor Middlesex University faculty for the Irish Forces tac-
This year more than 65,000 migrants from NorthAfrica have attempted to reach the shores of Italyand Malta. Between August and October of 2014,
the Malta-based non-government organization (NGO),Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) operated twoSchiebel Camcopter S-100 rotary-wing unmanned aerialsystems (UAS) from its 40-metre expedition vesselPhoenix in major migrant shipping lanes in the
Mediterranean from where the crew monitored the areato locate migrant vessels in distress, using sonar, thermaland night imaging. When a boat in distress is located, therespective Rescue Co--ordination Centre was informedand two 6-metre rigid-hull inflatable boats (RHIB) werelaunched from Phoenix to rescue the refugees.
MOAS, a privately-funded humanitarian initiativeconducted by a professional crew of rescuers, seafarers,
tical trauma courses and past faculty for the BattlefieldAdvanced Trauma Life Support (BATLS) course run bythe UK Ministry of Defence.
The Austrian-built Schiebel Camcopter S-100 is a ver-satile, fully autonomous vertical take-off and landing(VTOL) tactical UAS that made its first flight in 2004.Since then, more than 200 S-100s have been delivered tothe armed forces of the United Arab Emirates, Jordanand China, and commercial customers in Austria, Russiaand Malaysia where it is used for power line, and oilpipeline inspection and border patrol. Schiebel hassigned a teaming agreement with the Boeing Company tomarket the S-100 in the United States and Latin America,and Diehl in Germany.
The 3.11 m (10 ft 2 in) long unmanned helicopter hasa two-blade 3.40 m (11 ft 2 in) diameter main rotor witha Bell/Hiller-type stabilizer, a T tailfin with an underfinand a two-blade tail rotor. The streamlined pod and boomfuselage is a carbon-fibre monocoque. With a maximumtake-off weight (MTOW) of 200 kg (440 lb), the S-100has a never-exceed speed of 120 kt (138 mph) and aservice ceiling of 5,485 m (18,000 ft).
Powered by either a single 41.0 kw (55 hp) Diamondrotary engine with dual-pump fed fuel injection or aSchiebel-designed 38.0 kw (50 hp) Wankel-type rotaryheavy fuel engine with the ability to use JP5, Jet A-1 orJP-8 fuels, the S-100 can remain airborne for up to six
hours cruising at 55 kt (63 mph). For maritime applications, the S-100 can operate from
ships equipped with a helicopter deck without the use ofadditional landing aids. The Camcopter can complete itsentire mission automatically, from take-off to landing,controlled by a triple-redundant flight computer using aC-band command uplink with a secondary UHF. Theoperator can take control manually at any point duringthe flight and can add, delete and modify waypoints viaan interactive user interface. The ground control Stations(GCS) are scalable ranging from laptops to a fully inte-grated ground unit. The former comprises tworuggedised network-based mission planning/control andpayload workstations, tracking antenna, UHF back-upantenna, GPS reference module, pilot control unit and acentral processing unit (CUBE)
Mission planning and preparation uses GeographicalInformation System (GIS) data, with the complete mis-sion viewed and rehearsed within a 3D synthetic envi-ronment to which other layers of GIS data, such as threatzones, no-fly-zone and other intelligence data, can beadded for greater situational awareness. The payloadworkstation enables to operator to control the payloadwhile having access to mission planning information,video viewing, capture and recording. The command sys-tem is also designed to allow control of more than oneair vehicle via either a stand-alone or through integration
The Camcopter S-10 UAS land-
ing on the MOSH expedition
vessel Phoenix. (MOSH)
Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS OE-YAC on
the helicopter landing deck of the MOSH ship
Phoenix at its base in Malta (MOSH)
Phoenix RIBS rescuing refugees from an
overloaded wooden boat in Mediterranean
(MOSH)
into existing tactical networks. The Camcopter S-100 has been particularly successful
in the maritime application having been trialled with thenavies of Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India andPakistan, and has been selected by the Italian Navy.
Payload options include the Thales Optronics Agile 2,FLIR Microstar II, IAI Tamam POP 200 or L3 WescamMX-10 stabilized and gimbaled EO/IR sensors RieglLIDAR and Selex Galileo PicoSAR lightweight AESAradar.
On 30 August, S-100 OE-YAC (serial 000303) regis-tered in July 2014, taking part in Operation Phoenixlocated for the first time a fishing boat carrying 227Syrian and Palestinian refugees and later a rubber dinghy96 men from sub-Saharan Africa. On 8 September,another two boat was intercepted carrying a total of 700migrants from Syria, Palestine and Eritrea, and the fol-lowing day, another 245 were rescued. All were rescuedwithout loss of life in an operation successfully co-ordi-nated by MOSH under the guidance of the MaritimeRescue Centre in Rome that involved a merchant shipand warships from the US and Italian navies includingthe offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Borsini.
MOSH’s Operation Phoenix has already demonstratedthe value of the VTOL Schiebel Camcopter S-100 in suc-cessfully detecting and monitoring the seeming endlesstraffic of desperate migrants fleeing from war torn zonesin North Africa, and potentially saving their lives.
The Western Power Distribution unit (WPD)EC135P1, flown by Mike Callum, picks up fromBristol Airport and heads into the Chew Valley.
Mike, like all the pilots, is positioning to the far end ofhis work area and will then work back down the electriclines, so the observer, Simon Richards, can check thelines.
In this case, the flight is in response to a call from aline manager at Western Power, who had been alerted by
the computer that an electric connection had tripped andthen gone back into service. He wants the helicoptercrew to find out why this happened, and whether thiswas a simple one-off now-resolved problem, or some-thing more serious that would need further work.
As we start down the power lines Mike notes that thisjob is not simply about flying along the power cableslooking for faults, it also involves being aware of peopleand animals on the ground and taking care not to alarm
Georgina Hunter-Jones spends the day
with the WPD from Bristol Airport
3332
them or cause and damage. The flying itself, he com-ments, is some of the best available; low level, visual,full of twists and turns, but you do need to concentrateon what you are doing, power lines nestle amongst trees,and often cross other power lines or telephone wires andyou need to be sharp and alert to potential dangers.
There are three main types of line that the helicopterunit work with, Towers (pylons) which hold 132kilovolts, EHV medium sized wooden poles between 66 and33 kilo volts, and the smaller wooden poles with 11 kilovolts. Of these, most of the work is done on the 11kvs, asthere are more of them. There are also the very smalllines, which go into housing areas, which are serviced bythe power company on foot, as the helicopter would betoo intrusive here and too close to people and habita-tions.
We start on the 11kvs, and Simon explains that he hasbeen told which area needs checking. We work from thefirst likely problem pole.
If this were a routine job, Simon would be looking at50 potential fault areas on each pole. These include treestouching, or nearly touching, the cables (there can evenbe signs of singeing in the trees from the cable contact;)insulator damage, either wire damage, conductors, tripwires, or crossing arms; stray wires; foreign bodies(Simon explains that people will throw things on thelines, such as shoes tied together, or dog leads, fishermenwill get their lines caught in the cables when casting, oreven vandals will try and shoot out the insulators!) Therecan be rot on the poles (a telltale sign of rot is wood-peckers attacking the poles for hidden grubs) or there
may be damage to the poles from diggers or local work-ers. For all these reasons it is important to have noticeson the poles warning members of the public that the linesare there and can be dangerous.
Simon is equipped with a laptop, set up with a dedi-cated computer program, on which he marks down eachfault, preparatory to sending them to the server for exam-ination by the power company managers. If this is for aroutine job he will send the findings to the server afterwe have landed. In an emergency, he can send the infor-mation by 4G from the helicopter. In some emergenciesthe helicopter will need to land and wait for the powercompany officials to come and fix the fault, while thehelicopter and crew protect the public from the faultyarea.
In an emergency or special call out, like this one,while Simon may note the routine details he is actuallylooking for the specific cause of the tripping, and hencewill be returning later for more routine observations. Helooks for tree damage, and in fact we find several placeswhere the trees do impinge on the line and will needclipping back to prevent further damage, and possibleclumps of feathers that might indicate a bird has hit theconductors. Even little birds, who regularly sit on electri-cal cables, can hit a live wire and incinerate themselves,falling into the transformers and causing damage, biggerbirds, such as swans, have difficulty seeing the lines andconsequently may hit them in flight, their bodies stretch-ing over two cables and causing a connection and hencetripping out the electricity. For this reason, little glassballs (known as Swan Balls) and other discs and
coloured objects may be put on the lines to alert the birds totheir presence.
As we fly further down the lines Simon notices a clumpof feather on the ground in the distance. “It could just berubbish,” said Mike hopefully, but as we get closer we seethat, sadly, a dead swan lies on the ground, some of hisfeathers left on the cables above. This has probably been thecause of the trip out, but, even so, the crew continue alongthe rest of the cables checking for other damage or currentor future problems. There may well be more than one causeto the trip-out, and some of these, such as the impingingtrees, will need to be dealt with before they cause furtherproblems.
The observer and pilot work very much as a team andhelp each other as much as they can. When Simon wantsMike to work a line he will also tell him whether lines crossother lines (particularly important if large towers areinvolved) in case the pilot has not seen them, and where theare fours lines coming off one pole (known as four-ways)the observer will try and route the pilot around the groundareas so he is not crossing the same place four times andannoying people or livestock on the ground.
“The flying,” Mike explains, “is amazing. The EC135 is aperfect machine for the job, with huge amounts of powerand excellent single engine performance, and the variety ofboth the work and the places we cover is huge.”
WPD now covers an area from north of the Midlandsdown to the south coast, and both east and west sides of thecountry, after a recent purchase of the WPD Midlands.
“Our current responsibility,” says Robin Tutcher, theChief Pilot of WPD, “is routine and emergency patrols for500,000 miles of overhead 11, 33 and 132 kV lines acrossthe UK. We have 7.8 million customers (the general public)and an area of 55,300 km squared, we have 92,000 kms ofoverhead lines, 1.38 million poles, 17,000 towers and 34%of all Distribution Networks (DNOs). We also cover emer-gencies and the effect of storms. Last year we were dealingwith storm damage from the St Jude’s storm on 31stOctober, right through until the last storms in March 2014.It was a huge effort by the whole team to get people back topower usage as soon as possible.”
He adds that any of the regions can be reached in an hourand 15 minutes from lifting at Bristol. However, if theyhave a lot of work in one area they can also base a crew in asuitable location.
Although WPD has been around since 1963 very fewpeople know that it exists, let alone what the company does.Their work, which is all for the company and the distribu-tion network, can include long line work, heavy lifting,including lifting poles and transformers into position,patrolling the lines, and sometimes extra unexpected events.For example, Simon Richards explains, as they fly throughthe hills and valleys they occasionally come across livestock
Simon Richards has been
an observer at WPD for
seven years
Pole with GVR (Gas
filled voltage regulator)
otherwise know a pole
mounted widget!
The WPD started with
Bell 47s, moving to
Bell 206s, AS355s and
now the EC135P1
HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 201434
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in danger, a sheep on its back, cattle in rivers, and theywill land, alert the farmers or help the animals. An extra,but necessary, aid.
They also do visual patrons, emergency inspections,post storm work, most of which is looking to returnpower to the consumers as soon as possible. “Our aim,”explains Robin Tutcher, “is to keep the customer’s powersupply working.”
Recently, they have started using thermal cameras tocheck for damage, and these have proved extremely suc-cessful in spotting hidden areas of damage. The camerawork is usually done in the colder months because of theextra weight, and works by highlighting areas of damageby showing ‘hot spots’.
In 1963, WPD used Bell 47s, by 1983 they had movedonto the Bell 206, which they kept even after movingmost of their fleet into AS355s. Last year they finally soldthe last single turbine and moved entirely into EC135P1s.“The Pratt and Whitney engine,” says Mike Callum, “waschosen by our engineers as it is a much cleaner runningand more reliable engine.”
The WPD have their own part 145 engineering base, somost of their maintenance is done on site, and they havebusiness deals with Airbus Helicopters and Pratt andWhitney to charge on an hourly basis, which helps keepthe costs down.
For the future, Robin explains that the company has
been so successful it is growing, and hence they needmore pilots. At present they work nine to five, and doweekends on a voluntary basis, they have five full timepilots plus two freelancers, and five observers. However,thanks to the increasing number of storms and the largeareas they cover they have so much work they need toincrease their flying hours (last year they flew 2800hours and still could not cover everything) and hencemore pilots. WPD is now recruiting, and hoping to findsomeone who likes flying low level, covering the countryand helping the public keep their lights on.
30 Kms of 11kV line can be patrolled in one hour, and
reports of any faults communicated within three hours of
the request to fly. In comparison a ‘walk the line’ patrol
done in-house at Bell and current machines will be ableto apply for an upgrade for 100,000 US dollars.
The 525 meets all the requirements for the UK CAACap 1145 changes to the North Sea operations apartfrom the position of the floats just below the rotors,which Bell think is unsafe, and the sea state sixrequirement, which Bell say is not yet sufficientlydefined as operators would normally seek to achievethe state above the requirement. These caveats will beresolved by the time the helicopter comes to produc-tion. John Garrison pointed out that, since the 525 wasbuilt with operators on the advisory panel, it was alsogoing to be up-to-speed on day to day oil industryrequirements, since the advisors were the ones whowere living with these daily challenges. The Bell 525Relentless is in the same class as the AW189, which isnow in Bristow’s fleet in the North Sea.
John Garrison pointed out that these adaptations forthe North Sea helicopter fleet are likely to be followedup by other oil and gas areas using helicopters.
The 429 has had an increase in sales, even thoughthere is still dispute in some authorities over the maxi-mum gross weight of the machine. While 18 countrieshave now approved the increase in gross weight to7500lbs, EASA and the FAA have insisted that the 429gross weight remains at 7000lbs. On the military sideBell is promoting a version of the 429 to replace theGriffin trainer used by the Defence Helicopter School.
AgustaWestland announced that the AW149 multi-
AW 149 has been certified by the
Italian ARMAEREO
Commander Ben
Franklin explain-
ing the use of the
Merlin Mark 2
in operation
Deep Blue Sea
Farnborough is traditionally the meeting ground ofrivals Boeing and Airbus and the subsequent tour-nament of their artefacts, and this year was no dif-
ferent. So, as the A330neo battled with the Boeing 787,Helicopter Life set out to find out what was happeningat the lower level of hoverers and cushion creepers.
Many helicopter companies do not go to the expenseof coming to Farnborough and this year this includedRobinson, Enstrom, MD, and Sikorsky (although parentcompany UTC had a large pavilion). Airbus Helicopterswere there more in spirit than in fact, with its only visi-ble hardware the Turkish aerospace Industries T129ATAK, and Russian Helicopters had problems gettingstaff to the show when the British government deniedmany of their executives visas, following the Ukrainianproblem. However, two helicopter companies were outin force: Bell Helicopters and AgustaWestland.
Bell Helicopters CEO, John Garrison, was keen topoint out that Bell is back in business and looking fornew commercial markets. While they still have consid-erable interest in the military side of the operation innew markets, the Far East and the Middle East, it ismuch less in the traditional areas of the USA andEurope. Instead, Bell is looking at the oil and gas mar-ket for the first time, with its 525 Relentless, andrevamping its training credentials by bringing out the505 JetRangerX. They are also catching much of theEMS and paramilitary market with the 429, and the 407.
The Bell 407 is being upgraded with a new autopilotthat will be fully integrated into the Garmin 1000. Thishas been met with great enthusiasm even though it willnot be ready until 2015. The cockpit upgrade is being
The Bell 407 is getting a
new integrated autopilot
Bell 429 in EMS version
Helicopters at Farnborough 2014 by Georgina Hunter-Jones
rotorcraft demonstrator Airbus Helicopter said: “With today’s formal CleanSky 2 go-ahead, the Airbus Helicopters-led compoundrotorcraft program’s timing calls for preliminary stud-ies, architecture and specification activity starting thisyear, with development and testing of component andsubsystems envisioned in the 2016-2018 timeframe.Flight evaluations could start in early 2019.”
Thales’s Scorpion Helmet Mounted Sight andDisplay (HMSD) System has been selected by AirbusHelicopters for integration into its future HelicopterWeapons Systems. Scorpion will be available for allnew Airbus helicopters or as a retrofit upgrade.Scorpion provides full colour symbology and videofor day and night missions, in addition to targeting,sensor video, and potentially Degraded VisualEnvironment (DVE) imagery giving armed helicop-ters considerably improve mission situational aware-ness and effectiveness. The company says: “Itdecreases combat helicopter pilot workload, facilitatescrew exchange during the most critical phases of themission and helps to improve safety and security lev-els. Scorpion uses the unique Hybrid Optical basedInertial Tracking (HOBiT) system, which ensures thehighest accuracy and reliability with absolutely mini-mal intrusion into the cockpit.”
Scorpion will be interchangeable between helmetsand pilots, reducing the total numbers needed for anygiven fleet. For night missions, it can be used withstandard issue Night Vision Goggles (NVG).
Orders and commitments on the first day of theshow were approximately US$41.9bn – over threetimes that announced on the first day of 2012. By theend of the show this had translated into sales of $130billion, of which $70 billion was down to Airbus and$40 billion to Boeing, with Embraer catching ordersof over $7 billion and Bombardier $5.81 billon. 2014was the biggest show for many years and gave a feel-ing of hope that the recession has really ended andthat now growth can flourish in the aviation market.
Interestingly, what the show lacked in helicopters itmade up for in politicians; not only is there a UKelection next year, thereis the French Presidentialelection in 2017, and, with a shadow hanging overSarkozy, there is no current suitable candidate to beatHollande. Over the week there were visits from sever-al of the UK Prime Minster’s team and DavidCameron himself, the UK Premier, made announce-ments about funding, some suspiciously similar toprevious commitments. For the French side, FrenchDefence minister was vocal in showing his ability tosupport and move markets.
Wildcat Lynx on the
AgustaWestland booth
role military helicopter had been issued with military cer-tification by the Italian Directorate of Air Armaments(ARMAEREO). AgustaWestland said the AW149 is nowready to enter the international market.
The AW149 is in the 8 tonne category. It has a fullydigital avionics system with a fully integrated missionequipment, a modern NVG compatible glass cockpit anda 4-axis autopilot. It was specifically designed for mod-ern battlefield operations. The helicopter is powered bytwo 2,000 shp (1,500 kW) class GE CT7-2E1 turboshaftengines with FADEC. The AW149 has a 50 min ‘run-dry’capable main gearbox. For all weather operations a rotorice protection system will be available as a customeroption. The AW149, due to its open architecture design,will be capable of being fitted with a wide range of roleequipment and mission avionics as required by the cus-tomer. It can seat up to 18 troops in its 11.6 m3 (409 ft3)cabin, or can be used in CASEVAC or VIP roles.
The Merlin Mark 2 (AW101) has also been formallyintroduced into the Royal Navy service. Commander BenFranklin explained that, owing to the reduction in sizeand budget of the British military, it is very importantthat both hardware and manpower are as close to fullserviceability as possible. Exercise Deep Blue Sea, whichtrained the young personnel to use the new Mark 2Merlin, was a three weeks of preparation for the future. Itlooked to a time when the Royal Navy will have 25 heli-copters of which 23 must be fully serviceable at anytime.
The RN is very pleased with the Mark 2 Merlins,which have touch screen displays, a cockpit fully inte-grated for NVGs (Night vision goggles), upgraded loom-ing and sonar data in the cockpit. They also haveenhanced secondary roles owing to their open architec-ture and can be easily converted for stretchers or anti-pirate roles.
Airbus Helicopters were promoting their Clean Sky 2program. The manufacturer is going to design a large-scale compound rotorcraft demonstrator, which has beennamed LifeRCraft (Low Impact Fast and EfficientRotorcraft). The company says they are going to build onexperience gained from their X3 hybrid test-bed. At pres-ent they are looking at a combination of fixed wing forlift, open propellers for the most efficient propulsion anda main rotor with VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing)capabilities.
The Clean Sky programme was created by a coalitionfrom the European Commission and the AviationIndustry and was launched in 2008. It has been workingwith a variety of cleaner fuels, efficient engines and elec-tric and battery propulsion. Ground tests, based on amodified EC120 are planned for the third quarter of2014.
Enstrom is pleased to announce that the FederalAviation Administration has certified the GarminG1000H all-glass, integrated flight deck for instal-
lation in its 480B helicopter model. The new configura-tion will be designated the 480B-G.
“This program is a significant milestone for Enstromas we continue with future developments in our productline offerings” said Tracy Biegler, Enstrom President andCEO. “Every department in the company pulled togetherto make this happen. My congratulations to Garmin andEnstrom teams in accomplishing this huge task.”
The 480B-G is now one of three helicopters in theworld—and the only helicopter in its class—to offer aG1000H Integrated Flight Deck System. “Combining theG1000H with the safety and handling qualities of the480B make this an exceptional helicopter for anything,
including personal use, police work, and training,”according to Bill Taylor, Enstrom’s Director ofEngineering. “We partnered with RSG Aerodesign duringthe design phase, and that really helped get the projectmoving. We would not have been able to accomplish thisin the time we did without their support early on.”
The G1000H reduces pilot workload and presents allcritical flight and engine information at a glance, therebyincreasing simplicity, safety, and situational awareness.“We are excited to bring this technology into the helicop-ter market,” said Orlando Alaniz, Director of Sales andMarketing at Enstrom. “It is a logical addition to our lineof aircraft designed for safety, performance, and innova-tion.”
The first 480B-G is already in production and will bedelivered to the customer in the near future.
FAA Certifies Enstrom 480B-G
Leak testing
tion including dimensional fuel stability, higher strength andstronger seams.
The crashworthy tanks are proven in military helicopterservice and comply with MIL-T-27422, MIL-DTL-27422and FAR 27/29. Aero Sekur’s tank products are compatiblewith aviation fuels to MIL-G-5572 (gasoline) and MIL-T-5024 (turbine fuels).
Aero Sekur presented their expertise in flexiblefuel tanks at Farnborough International AirShow. An advanced multi-layer construction
for the company’s crashworthy, self-sealing tanksoffers a number of advantages over metal designs:fatigue / weld failure are avoided, complex shapescan be produced and maximum use is made of avail-able space.
As part of Aero Sekur’s focus on providing inte-grated safety systems for aerospace and defence, thecompany’s tanks benefit a range of civil and militaryairborne applications including helicopter installa-tions and ultra-light aircraft. Prestigious aerospaceapplications include adoption across Agusta Westland139, 169 and 189 helicopters.
Dedicated in house expertise, development andmanufacturing facilities at Aero Sekur include leak-age test pools, purpose built frames for high pressureleakage tests and a specialist device for ammoniumleakage tests. Jigs and templates for dimensional con-trol are also housed at Aero Sekur’s primary produc-tion plant in Italy.
Manufactured from rubber (nitrile/HNBR) and rub-ber-coated fabric (nylon/Kevlar/Mylar), a number ofadvantages are offered over polyutherane construc-
London’s Air Ambulance has performed the world’sfirst roadside balloon surgery to control internalbleeding. Use of pre-hospital Resuscitative
Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta (REBOA), atechnique used first in the UK at The Royal LondonHospital, to control haemorrhage in trauma patients is aground breaking move by London’s Air Ambulance.
On average the charity is called six times a day todeliver its life-saving medical interventions to people seri-ously injured in the Capital. Many of these patients aresuffering from catastrophic bleeding. Tragically some dieat the scene as a result of their severe blood loss and nevermake it to hospital. London’s Air Ambulance can nowperform REBOA on patients suffering severe pelvic haem-orrhage, an injury most commonly associated with cyclingincidents and falls from height.
Dr Gareth Davies, Medical Director for London’s AirAmbulance, said: “Our aim is to provide our patients withthe world’s most innovative and effective pre-hospitalcare. Being able to effectively manage blood loss at thescene is a significant advancement in pre-hospital medi-cine.”
“We believe the use of REBOA can lead to a reductionin the number of patients who quite simply bleed to deathbefore they have the chance to get to hospital where thereare highly developed systems for stabilising and prevent-
ing blood loss.” REBOA works by controlling or preventing further
blood loss. Blood carries oxygen which is delivered tomajor organs including the heart and the brain. Starvedof blood our organs stop working effectively and canbecome permanently damaged. The balloon is fed intothe bottom end of the aorta, the largest blood vessel inthe body, and then inflated, temporarily cutting offblood supply to damaged blood vessels. The patient isthen transported rapidly to the Royal London hospital toundergo further vital interventions.
London’s Air Ambulance has worked closely withThe Royal London Hospital to deliver REBOA safely inA&E before embarking on the surgery outside of hospi-tal.
Speaking about this partnership, Professor KarimBrohi, Consultant Vascular and Trauma Surgeon atBarts Health NHS Trust said: “We have to stop peoplebleeding to death - it's one of the world's biggest killers.Over 2.5 million people bleed to death from theirinjuries each year around the world. The Royal LondonHospital Major Trauma Centre and London’s AirAmbulance have together led the way in developingnew strategies and treatments to reduce this death toll.
“While it sounds relatively simple it is an extremelydifficult technology to deliver in the emergency depart-
London Air Ambulance performs the first
roadside balloon surgery to control bleeding
ment in hospital, never mind at the roadside. This suc-cessful deployment of REBOA represents nearly 2 yearsof development work by our staff. We are excited aboutthe potential for REBOA to reduce death and sufferingafter trauma and will continue to evaluate and developthe technology into the future.”
Having treated over 30,000 people in the Capital,London’s Air Ambulance has an international reputationfor pioneering medical procedures which have beenadopted across the world. London’s Air Ambulance pio-neered thoracotomy (open heart surgery) at the roadsideand in 1993 produced one of the World’s first survivorsfrom this procedure.
Dr Gareth Davies continues: “We have always provid-ed highly trained, expert teams to care for injuredLondoners and today we are pleased to further improveour service by adding this innovation. As a charity, it isonly through the support of the community we serve, thatwe can save lives of seriously injured people in London.”
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “London’sAir Ambulance delivers a world-class service for aworld-class city. It’s astonishing to see how these stun-ning advances in medical care are helping people surviveserious injury in London, injury that they probablywouldn’t survive elsewhere in the world. That change isbeing pioneered and delivered by an incredible group ofmen and women - the doctors, paramedics, pilots andsupport staff of the London Air Ambulance.”
About London’s Air Ambulance (www.londonsairam-bulance.co.uk)
Our medical innovations
We were the first air ambulance in the UK to:• Carry a doctor on board at all times• Provide 24/7 service• Perform open heart surgery (thoracotomy) onscene • Administer anaesthesia on scene• Administer blood transfusions on scene
Our current fundraising aims: • Maintain the current service• To acquire a 2nd helicopter• To deliver extended daylight flying hours• To fund The Institute of Pre-Hospital Care
Our work in 2013:
We treated 1,818 patients and attended 2 major incidents
Mechanism of Injury:• 34% Road traffic collisions• 27% Falls from height• 23% Stabbings and shootings• 16% Other (incidents on the rail network, indus-trial accidents, drownings etc.)
To find out more, please visit www.londonsairambu-lance.co.uk
RNAS Yeovilton Air Day took place on 26th July2014, at Yeovilton, to celebrate celebrate CarrierAviation following the recent naming of the
Royal Navy’s largest ever aircraft carrier HMS QueenElizabeth.
Visitors experienced over five hours of amzing flyingdisplays including naval aircraft through the ages fromrare historic warbirds like the Swordfish, Sea Fury andSkyraider to classic jets such as the mighty Sea Vixenand Hunter.
The resident squadrons performed spectacular roledemonstrations such as the famous Commando AssaultFinale, full of pyrotechnics. And ground displays show-cased modern Royal Navy assets and equipment withinteractive displays showing the qualities, skills andprofessionalism of Royal Navy personnel working as ateam to provide Front Line support to Protect OurNation’s Interests.
Amongst the helicopter displays the Royal NavyBlack Cats Display Team incorporated the Wildcat intotheir routine and the unbelievably agile RAF Chinookreturned to amaze all.
Every day around our coastlines fishermen take tosea. Sometimes with a crew other times singlehanded. Sadly, the current rules and regulations
are forcing many to take risks by going to sea ininclement weather and further, to earn a living.
The public take it for granted when they purchase fish.The national press do not give enough coverage of fish-ermen’s hardships, other than when there is any incidentat sea involving a lost fishing boat.
Safety at sea is of the utmost importance. The industryconsiders this when developing new boats, and this issupported by the RNLI and MCA along with theFisherman’s main charities.
Every time a lifeboat is launched or a SAR Helicoptertakes to the air, the crews have to be able to prepare forthe worst and that is why exercises are so important. Wemust not forget that lifeboat crews are made up mostly ofvolunteers who have normal jobs.
Recently we joined Shoreham Harbour Lifeboat on anight exercise to see first-hand how crews prepare for
such an incident. Technology has changed and theShoreham Tamar All Weather Lifeboat has state of the artequipment to deal with such incidents. It is a proven andfast boat travelling with 2000 hp engines up to a speed of25 knots.
Launching from the boathouse Steve Smith thecoxswain positioned ‘Enid Collett’ several miles off theShoreham coast. Radio procedure is very important whenworking with helicopters and a casualty. Valuable timecan be saved. If a vessel is lost, sectored searches takeplace to try and locate those in the water.
It was not long before H104 the Westland Augusta 139medium twin engine helicopter appeared, having takenoff from Lee on Solent. Steve Smith said, “We reallyhave to make the most of these exercises, as they are nota regular occurrence. Lee is currently the busiestMaritime SAR helicopter in the UK and it is not uncom-mon for exercises to be cancelled at the last minute dueto a shout.”
Mark Blatcher, the Shoreham Lifeboat Mechanic
works with Simon Tugwell the Second Cox to get thoseon board involved in the exercise, which can include sev-eral incidents. “Our training now, is to get as many crewmembers acceptable for the All Weather Lifeboat. Withan inshore lifeboat we are a busy station, especially inthe summer. First hand opportunities such as this must betaken,” both said.
The helicopter arrived out of the dark and positioneditself very low over the Tamar dropping its winchmanonto the deck. A brief discussion relating to the exercisewas agreed, and the first crew member was winched up.This was followed by a medi-vac in a stretcher alongwith a search for a casualty in the water.
Whist this was happening Steve was at the helm keep-ing a steady track at a fast speed, with the helicopter tothe stern whilst in radio communication to the pilot.“Safety is of the utmost importance for all involved, andthe relevant protective gear is now standard. It was calmtonight! However; it puts things into a different perspec-tive when we are out in a force +9. That is why we dothese exercise to the book,” said Steve.
Once over Enid Collett returned to the boathouse. Acrew briefing and the all-important thank you to theHelicopter crew for their help was followed by a washdown of the lifeboat, fuel checks and a reassuring ‘We
are now ready for service’ to the Coastguard.Our fishermen, often at sea when others are not, need
to know that these services are there to help them whenneeded. The national press does at times have to reportthe sad outcome of incidents; but seeing first-hand howThe RNLI and MCA work together it proves how impor-tant such joint exercises are.
The National Press should give more coverage to theplight of the inshore and offshore fishermen that workaround our UK Coastline. The current rules and regula-tions are often putting them under a lot of hardship thatthey do not deserve!
Our thanks go to Steve and the crew’s at Shoreham Harbour Lifeboatfor their continued support in allowing us both to work with them. Also tothe MCA Media team at Southampton for providing additional editorialsupport
JOHN PERIAM is Press Officer for the RAFA Shoreham Airshowwhich this year celebrates its 25th Anniversary and has raised almost 2million pounds for RAFA Funds. An established Photojournalist withover 350 features published – his two books ‘Shelley the LifeboatLabrador’ and ‘A Veterinary Tail Up Hill - Down Dale’ are available onAmazon Kindle!
GEOFFREY LEE is an established Aviation Photographer who runshis own Company Planefocus limited. His work involves him flying withmany of the Worlds Air Forces. Currently he is involved in taking imagesof the Eurofighter Typhoon for the Manufacturer. He has written fourbooks on RAF Aircraft, and has just completed his second book on The
Eurofighter Typhoon.
Words and pictures by John Periam and Geoffrey Lee
As with every form of flying it’s not just aboutgaining your licence and going through torture toget it but looking at the bigger picture just what
are you planning to do with your new licence now youhave it?
Having taught hundreds of guys to fly gyroplanesthen I wanted a way of encouraging them to expand theirhorizons and fly to the far corners of the earth. So withthis in mind I formed the Waxed Bat Flying Club, it’s aclub which organises a gyroplane fly out every twomonths to different destinations with the idea that oncesomeone has flown to a new airfield they are more likelyto return on their own or with a couple of friends.
The first fly out consisted of four gyroplanes, threeopen cockpit tandem Rotorsport MT03s and a fullyenclosed Magni side by side M24 and the group consist-ed of myself a gyroplane instructor and examiner, Dave acommercial helicopter pilot and gyro pilot, Roger,Andrew, Malcolm and Colin all gyroplane pilots.
So the day dawned and with PPR confirmed we head-ed for Strathaven our first port of call, flight time wasonly one hour thirty minutes but it gave us the chance torefuel before then heading off to the Scottish island ofIslay which being a further one hour thirty away wouldput us at the end of our fuel endurance especially the air-craft with two POB. Fuel burn one up is fourteen litres
per hour (Mogas or Avgas the Rotax can run on both) buttwo up its more likely to be 20 litres so with a capacityof seventy litres including a reserve of ten litres threehours is our limit.
The new generation of gyroplanes are radio andtransponder equipped so Prestwick and Glasgow weremore than happy to talk to us so after leaving Strathavenwe headed North West towards the Island of Bute. I’msure that this route has been flown by many pilots but thebeauty of an open cockpit aircraft is that like a motorbikein the sky you are out there in the wind and at 800 ftAGL and cruising at 80mph then it’s the journey thattakes place rather than just arriving somewhere different.
A quick hop over Lock Fyne to Tarbet then acrossSound of Jura, I should mention at this stage we were allwearing either floatation or dry suits as well as lifejack-ets and PLBs, then our destination of Islay came intoview, a call to Islay information confirmed our intentionsand we all landed with a 15 knot crosswind which beingin a gyro simply means landing across the runway with aground roll of a few feet. Having stowed our kit we thenheaded by mini bus into Bowmore and a tour around theBowmore Distillery, following a bite to eat then it wasback to the airport, a rather expensive refuel (£2.74 perlitre )before heading off across ten miles of water to ourfinal destination for the night Gigha Island.
WaxBat Fly out to Scotlandby Chris Jones, gyrocopter pilot and instructor
Day two saw the four gyroplanes heading up the coastto Oban, for those that haven’t flown round the coast ofScotland then you are missing out, the beaches, theturquoise sea and the Islands are well worth taking timeout from a busy work schedule and seeing what Scotlandhas to offer.
A quick fuel stop at Oban and we always receive avery warm welcome from all the staff who seem gen-uinely pleased to see us, then we flew onto Glenforsa agrass strip on the Island of Mull where two of my stu-dents were waiting patiently for an hour’s flight aroundtheir home ground, with the flights completed we thencaught our mini bus for a night in Tobermory. All of thehotels had been pre booked due to the fact that this triptook place over a bank holiday weekend and to be honestcamping at our age would leave a lot of stiff backs andgrumpy pilots in the morning plus the fact that similar toan R22 luggage space in a gyroplane is at a minimum.
A very pleasant evening spent in the local hostelry anda cooked breakfast stood us in good stead for our nextleg up to Plockton across from the Isle of Skye, again agreat place to visit with a short walk into Plockton itselfwith great fish restaurants set in its own harbour area.
A return flight to Oban via Mallaig and along the rail-way line to Fort William passing the viaduct made
famous in the Harry Potter films the scenery is indescrib-able and gyroplanes make excellent camera platforms soplenty of shots were taken. Flying through some rain, thefirst shower on the trip, a short while later saw us backon the ground at Oban and an hour later, kit stowed, air-craft refuelled, pilots checked into hotel and into the oys-ter bar for the evening meal.
The final day took us from Oban via Loch Lomond toCumbernauld to refuel and after a coffee back into the airand a final leg returned us to our home airfield ofKirkbride in Cumbria with a total of thirteen hours flighttime for the weekend
The main points that came out of the trip are that it’sgreat to fly somewhere with a small group of like mind-ed individuals for the weekend. Using Sky Demon meansyou know exactly where you are at all times and it’sprobably the easiest GPS you can operate. The new gen-eration of factory built gyroplanes are great touring air-craft and have the reliability of getting you to your desti-nation and back again. All of the guys on the trip wouldbe happy to return to any of the airfields on their own inthe future.
So whatever you fly get a few guys and a few aircrafttogether and head north, you won’t be disappointed.
The Middle East’s biggest special operations con-ference and exhibition, the 10th SOFEX 2014grew this year, with more than 360 exhibitors
from 41 countries — marking a 10 percent increase since2012. This biennial event took place at the KingAbdullah I Airbase in Amman.
The 10th SOFEX also witnessed wide regional andinternational participation, with the attendance of defenceministers and senior civil and military officials from 41countries.
The opening event of the 10th biennial SpecialOperations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX 2014) at the KingAbdullah Air Base in Amman was an impressiveJordanian special forces demonstration.
Involving Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) AS332M Super Puma, MD530F and UH-60L Black Hawkhelicopters, Special Operations Forces and a CBRN unitinvolved in rescuing hostages from a terrorist group infront of His Majesty King Abdullah II, SupremeCommander of the Jordanian Armed Forces. An airborneSchiebel S-100 Camcopter operated by the Jordan ArmedForces Reconnaissance Squadron, and one of the twoAirbus AC-235 light gunships recently delivered to
Jordan’s Special Operations Command aviation compo-nent, the 5th Prince Hashim Royal Aviation Brigade, sup-ported the rotary-wing assets.
Two days after the show ended, RJAF helicopterswere involved in a real operation when they destroyedtwo vehicles that crossed the border from Syria carryinga large amount of contraband.
Reacting to the lack of a firm order for the BoeingAH-6i that was announced at SOFEX 2010, MDHelicopters was showing its latest armed competitor tothe AH-6i which Boeing announced had flown for thefirst time a week before SOFEX, but did not bring it toJordan.
The fully armed prototype MD 540F made its overseasdebut at SOFEX 2014 with demonstrations of the ThalesScorpion Helmet Mounted Cueing System (HMCS) andthe LK-3 Wescam MX-10D sensor that are being inte-grated with the helicopter. It was displayed with an arrayof weapons including the M134D Mini-Gun, EX-34Chain Gun, Herstal gun pod, Hellfire missiles andunguided 70mm rockets.
According to Roger O’Dell, director of MD 540F pro-gramme management, on its return to Mesa, the helicop-
ter will be stripped down to be fitted with the new Rolls-Royce M250-C47E/3 and will begin a full certificationtest programme in early 2015.
In the meantime, the MD 530MG is ready forweapons testing and marketing will begin in the nextthree months. The type has already attracted threerequests for information and a lead customer will beannounced before the end of the year.
Bell Helicopter displayed its 407GT mode, the milita-rized variant of the commercial 409GX fitted with anintegrated Garmin G100H flight deck, is being offeredfor the armed reconnaissance and escort roles equippedwith either the Westcam MX-15Di or FLIR Talon/8500EO/IR sensor.
The 407GT was displayed with a full array ofweapons including a 7-tube rocket launcher with theBAE Systems Advance Precision Kill Weapons System(APKWS) laser-guided rocket carried on a OH-58DKiowa Warrior universal weapons pylon (UWP). Bellalso displayed a Huey II equipped with an M134 Mini-gun, with a folding pintle mount, a 70mm rocket launch-er and a light machine gun.
While in Jordan, the Bell 407GT will carry out a seriesof live-fire exercises according to Bell’s Chief Pilot andFlight Operation manager.
One of the RJAF’s Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawks
was displayed in the static park equipped with the M134Gatling Mini-gun modified by the US company Profensethat featured a slotted barrel for extra cooling and aNobles flexible composite ammunition feed system. Itwas also fitted with an assault rifle-style ergonomic fir-ing handle and an easy-to-read indicator for checking theammunition status.
The largest rotorcraft exhibited at SOFEX was US AirForce CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor from the 8th SpecialOperations Squadron “Blackbirds’, part of the 1st SpecialOperations Wing based at Hurlburt Field, Florida.Rumoured to have been taking part in demonstrations forthe Israeli Air Force, the Osprey was to take part in themultinational Exercise Eager Lion 2014 that followedSOPHEX in Jordan.
A strategic joint-venture between the Jordan’s KingAbdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB)and the South African Paramount Group was announcedat SOFEX 2014, will open the Middle East market up toParamount’s aviation division according to its CEO, JohnCraig. He told 4Rotors that following the successfulacquisition of the failing South African aerospace com-pany, ATE, the latter’s Mi-17 and Mi-24 upgrade pro-grammes are back up to speed and new UAV projects areunderdevelopment. The company has retained most ofATE’s specialists and building on Eurocopter’s relation-
David Oliver visits SOFEX 2014 Words and pictures by the author
ship with the former company, which is being maintainedwith Airbus Helicopters, Craig is confident that follow-ing the joint-venture with KADDB, Paramount will be ina good position to pitch the Royal Jordanian Air Force’sfuture AS332 Super Puma upgrade programme. JohnCraig said that while Russian Helicopters were notenthusiastic about ATE’s Mil Mi-17 and Mi-24 upgrades,its SuperHind Mk III/IVs are operated by the Algerianand Azerbaijan Air Forces, Paramount has had low-keycontact with the Russians but as they were not in theupgrade market themselves, he saw no conflict of interestand hoped to foster closer relations.
Serbia’s Yugoimport displayed a model of a Mil Mi-8with a side-mounted 12,7mm HMG with optoelectonicflight sensor computer, containing a daylight camera,night vision camera, laser range finder and ballistic com-puter, as well as a backup daylight optical sight with highaccuracy of up to a range of 2,000m, intended for inte-gration with various medium-size utility/troop transporthelicopters.
Several quad-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)concepts were on display on the King Abdullah KADDBquad-rotor UAV, while another from the Canadian com-pany Aeryon made its debut. The 1-metre diameter 2.4kg(5.3lb) SkyRanger min-unmanned aerial system (UAS)can fly at 1500m with a beyond line-of-sight range of3km (1.9 miles) for up to 50 minutes endurance.Equipped with a stabilized dual EO.IR high resolutioncameras with options for additional payloads. Itsadvanced autonomous capabilities and simle touchscreencontrols require minimal training for soldier, squad, orplatoon-level deployment.
Seen hovering over the exhibition site was anotherquadrotor mini-UAS form the Chinese company, AEEAviation Technology Co. Ltd.. Although smaller than theSkyRanger, the AEE F50 has a similar performance andcan be equipped with a variety of video camera payloadsand can be controlled by either a portable ground controlstation or a hand-held remote tablet.
The Chinese AEE Aviation
Technology Company F50
Quadrotor mini-UAV
An RJAF Schiebel S-100 Camcopter
provided real-time airborne surveil-
lance of the demonstration
The prototype MD 540F displayed
with guns, rockets and Hellfire
missiles.
Inset: The Bell 407GT carrying a seven-tube rocket launcher for
the BAE Systems Advance Precision Kill Weapons System
(APKWS) laser-guided rockets.
58 59HELICOPTER LIFE Autumn 2014HELICOPTER LIFE,Autumn 2014
IN-2014/109: Amendment to the Procedures for
Examiners to Sign Licences to Renew Privileges
The purpose of this Information Notice is to make clearwhen an examiner can sign a licence to renew a rating.http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pag
etype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=6301
CAP 740: UK Airspace Management Policy
CAP 740 describes the UK approach to airspace man-agement giving UK specific guidance to the MOD andNATS. CAP 740 describes UK Airspace Management(ASM) and the application of the Flexible Use ofAirspace (FUA) concept. The basis for the FUA Conceptis that airspace should not be designated as either mili-tary or civil airspace but should be considered as onecontinuum and used flexibly. The Policy sets out the reg-ulatory framework and governance of UK ASM and indoing so provides a structure within which both civil andmilitary guidance and protocols can be shaped, providingdetail of procedures and requirements for the implemen-tation and application of the FUA concept at the strate-gic, pre-tactical and tactical levels of operation.
IN-2014/105: Publication of Regulatory Material for
the Mode S Code Allocation IR (EU) No. 262/2009
Commission Implementing Regulation (IR) (EU) No.262/2009 lays down the requirements for the co-ordinat-ed allocation and use of Mode S Interrogator Codes (IC)for the Single European Sky. This IN informs the AirNavigation Service Providers (ANSPs) andCommunication, Navigation and Surveillance Providers(CNSPs) that the CAP 670 Issue 3 Amendment 2 recent-ly published by the CAA contains the national safetyregulatory requirements and policy statements fordemonstration of compliance with the EuropeanCommission Regulation No. 262/2009 (Mode S IR) inSUR 05 "Requirements for Secondary Radar Systems".
IN-2014/106: Continuing Airworthiness Management
and Maintenance Organisation Approval Certificates
The purpose of this Information Notice is to adviseapproval holders of revised CAA policy on the contentsof Part 145, Part M Subpart F and G approval certifi-cates.
IN-2014/107: CAP 413 Radiotelephony Manual
The purpose of this Information Notice is to highlightthe publication of Amendment 3 to Edition 21 of CAP413 Radiotelephony Manual.
CAA Legislation Changesconcerning helicopters and gyroplanes
IN-2014/108: CAP 774 UK Flight Information Services
The purpose of this Information Notice is to highlight thepublication of Amendment 1 to Edition 2 of CAP 774 UKFlight Information Services.
CAP 1190: Rebalancing ATOL: Consultation on propos-als to ensure a fair and proportionate financial protectionschemeThe CAA is consulting on proposals to rebalancethe regulatory approaches it uses and extend the risk-based approach to all businesses it regulates. The CAAhas identified a number of ways in which the likelihoodthat a consumer is affected by insolvency can bereduced and the protections against calls on the Air TravelTrust (ATT) can be strengthened.
IN-2014/102: EASA Proposals to Change the Basic
Regulation (Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008)
The purpose of this Information Notice is to advise theUK Aviation industry that there is an open consultation onthe EASA Basic Regulation and to encourage them tosubmit comments to EASA.
CAA urges uk aviation to improve noise performance
and do more to engage communities
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published aseries of recommendations to help drive improvements inthe way the aviation industry manages aircraft noise.More people in the UK are affected by aviation noise thanany other country in Europe. With the AirportsCommission currently considering proposals for increas-ing the UK's aviation capacity, the CAA is clear that theindustry will not be able to grow unless it first tackles itsnoise and other environmental impacts.
IN-2014/113: European Air Operations Regulation -
Status of CAA Flight Operations CAPs
The purpose of this Information Notice is to advise AOCholders and other aircraft operators of the current status ofinformation contained within certain Civil AviationPublications (CAPs) in relation to the introduction of theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Air OperationsRegulation.
CAA Board Minutes for March 2014 published
CAA Board Minutes for March 2014http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/1743/CAABoardRedactedM
inutesMar14.pdf
BookS For AuTumn
my Life and Other Difficulties
Ian Parker
Amazon Kindle £1.81
When I was a teenager one of my greatestamusement was the ‘game’ of removingany visiting motorist’s rotor arm from
his car and waiting around with great excitementuntil the person left... or tried to. This kind ofhumour Ian Parker’s book shows him to have inabundance. He plays tricks with electricity on hissister, his mother, those friends who apparentlystuck with him throughout his youth! And, later onhe plays one of these tricks on, a no doubtextremely pompous, senator on a aviation journal-ists plane. Ian is clearly a man who likes the prac-tical joke.
Ian Parker was an journalist in the Cold Wardays, when being an aviation journalist meantsomething rather special. Aviation was changinggrowing and there was still widespread interestand suspicion in the field.
His book is full of short and eccentric anecdotesof the time: electricity, Yaks, model planes andeven girl-friends feature in his life as an aviationjournalist. This includes being ‘kidnapped’ by theKGB in the 1980s and working as an explosiveexpert.
He has a rather acerbic wit when telling thesestories that can be very funny. However, in thesepolitically correct days he might find himselfostracized by quite a few groups of people includ-ing those from the West Midlands.
The disadvantage is, it is a very short book andyou are just getting into all these stories, only tofind that you have come to the end. I would rec-ommend a sequel or a longer version but until thathappens this one is definitely worth getting onKindle or Ipad.
Another book I want to recommend is Spitfire Girlby Jackie Moggridge, the youngest ATA pilot,and the one who delivered the greatest number of
wartime aircraft. In spite of that she had huge problemstrying to get flying again after the war, and battled withauthority to force them to let her fly. It could well besubtitled One Woman’s War in Peacetime.
Her various ventures to get herself flying, includedsome of duious legality, until she got a job ferryingIsraeli Spitfires to Burma: Ferrying though lands atwhich the Israelis were at war. This part reads like athriller even though you know she clearly surivived.
Moggridge died in 2004 and one of her last flights wasin the first Spitfire she flew, with Caroline Grace.
Spitfire Girl, my Life in the Sky by Jackie moggridge
Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance has selectedan AW169 twin-engine light intermediate heli-copter to perform emergency medical service
missions. The aircraft will start operations from its baseat Henstridge on the Dorset / Somerset border in SouthWest England in 2016 and will be able to reach any pointin the two counties faster than ever due to its maximumcruise speed and quickly transport patients to hospitalsand major trauma centres in the South West.
The AW169 was selected following an extensive eval-uation process by the Charity and its clinical partners.This contract marks the first EMS tender win in the UKfor this new generation helicopter.
Bill Sivewright, Dorset and Somerset Air AmbulanceCEO, said: “The capability and flexibility offered by theAW169 made it a clear winner in our selection process.”
The Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance’s AW169helicopter will feature a full air medical interior, the lat-est avionics, and can be operated under NVG rules. Itcan comfortably accommodate one or two stretchers,
either longitudinally or transversally. The large unob-structed cabin can also accommodate wheeled stretchersand be configured with a full suite of advanced life sup-port equipment.
The AW169’s avionic suite introduces state-of-the-arttechnology including a full digital NVG compatiblecockpit with three 8” x 10” large area displays and touchscreen technology with enhanced graphics capability formaximum situational awareness. A 4-axis digital auto-matic flight control system with dual Flight ManagementSystem minimises crew workload allowing single/dualpilot VFR/IFR operations. The avionics suite also com-plies with satellite-based navigation, communication andsurveillance requirements and has the capability to per-form satellite-based IFR LPV (localizer performancewith vertical guidance) approaches. Safety enhancingavionics such as Terrain Awareness Warning Systems,and airborne collision avoidance systems can be added tothe standard.
Bristow Norway AS has secured a three year con-tract for the supply of helicopter services toLundin Norway AS and Det norske oljeselskap
ASA. The Contract is the result of a cooperation agree-ment between Lundin Norway AS and Det norske olje-selskap ASA to secure safe, efficient and predictableflights to Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen in the comingyears, operated by Lundin Norway and Det norskerespectively.
The contract will be administrated and operated fromBristow’s base at Stavanger Airport in Sola.
Bristow will dedicate one Sikorsky S-92 helicopter tothe three year contract which will commence in Q1 2015,with the potential for three two-year extensions and addi-tional helicopter support as required by the two compa-nies.
Speaking about the deal Arne Martin Gilberg, AreaManager Norway, said: “We are pleased that we havebeen awarded this contract by Lundin Norway and Det
norske and look forward to continuing our strong rela-tionship, based on safe, efficient service, with both com-panies. The S-92 is the most advanced aircraft inSikorsky's civil product line and we operate 17 of thesein Norway at present. The S-92 is a twin-engine helicop-ter with a flight range of 573km at a full capacity of twocrew and 19 passengers on board making it an idealchoice for this contract.”
Bristow Norway AS is affiliated with the globalBristow Group which has 60 years of experience in pro-viding helicopter services. It operates facilities aroundthe world in some of the most hostile environmentsdelivering helicopter transportation, search and rescueand maintenance services to clients.
Bristow’s industry-leading aircrew and engineeringtraining programmes ensure that its clients receive thehighest degree of flexibility and the safest, most experi-enced flight and maintenance crews available ensuringconfidence in flight worldwide.
Dorset Air Ambulance chooses AW169 for 2016 Bristow’s secures Norway Contract
The oil flow check after the last filter disturbance indi-cated the oil system was operating normally. A subse-quent oil flow check 56.6 engine hours later showed amuch higher than normal oil flow, but still within main-tenance manual limits. It was not possible to determinehow or when the O-ring entered the check valve.
Agusta Bell 206B JetRanger 11 G-SUEZ
The helicopter was carrying out a pipeline inspectionapproximately 2 nm north-west of Perth. At 600 ft agl aloud bang was heard by the crew and the helicopteryawed to the left. The main rotor rpm decreased and theengine was seen to ‘wind down’. The pilot completed asuccessful autorotation into a field after which he report-ed the incident to ATC. There were no injuries.Theengine failure was a result of a fracture in fatigue of astage-two compressor blade. Analysis
The damage observed to the compressor was consistentwith a failure within the stage-two compressor rotorwhich resulted in significant downstream damage to theengine. The examination of the remains of one stage-twoblade root indicated that the probable cause of the eventwas the fracture of a stage-two blade due to crack pro-gression in fatigue. Whilst the origin of this crack couldnot be identified, there was no evidence of ForeignObject Damage to the stage-one compressor blades, or tothe inlet guide vanes. It was not possible to eliminate thepossibility of the presence of pitting which had beenobserved on other blades. If pitting was present thiscould have been a potential initiator of the fatigue crack.The manufacturer’s inspection programme for the enginetype includes visual inspections of the compressor rotor-for damage and pitting during the 300-hour compressorcase inspection task. Whilst wording of the compressorinspection task in the maintenance organisation’s 300-hour inspection programme reflected the wording of themanufacturer’s manual, it did not provide the referenceto the specific tasks associated with the inspectionrequirements contained in that manual. This lack of ref-erences were such that the requirements were ambiguous,and therefore could result in an incomplete visual inspec-tion of the compressor rotor.Safety action
As a result of this investigation, the maintenance organi-sation has revised its maintenance programme to includea specific task for the inspection of the compressor rotorduring the 300 hour inspection. In addition, the inspec-tion task now includes specific references to the sectionsof the manufacturer’s manual which lay out the inspec-tion criteria and limitations.
were clearly visible to the pilot at this point.The pilot had been largely navigating using the groundlights but, at about 500 m from the site, he switched onthe landing lights and was immediately dazzled by theglare from the mist which had formed at low level. Hestates that he was momentarily blinded and disorientedbefore he switched the light off again. Although onlytravelling at about 40 kt, he descended too rapidly andfailed to see a line of trees, approximately 30 ft high,which the helicopter clipped with its tail rotor. It immedi-ately started to yaw and the pilot force-landed in a fieldsome 300 m short of the landing site. In doing so, thehelicopter span through about 180 degrees and the land-ing gear sank into the soft, wet ground, detaching thenosewheel. The pilot was uninjured. Although the mainrotor had not struck the ground, the tail rotor blades andlanding gear were badly damaged.
Bell JetRanger 111 G-BPWI
The pilot noticed that the engine turbine temperature hadincreased to close to its maximum limit and prepared tomake a precautionary landing. During the approach theindication returned to normal, so he decided to continuethe short distance to his destination. As the helicopterclimbed away, the engine failed. The pilot carried out aforced landing during which the tail boom struck theground. He candidly commented that, on reflection, itwould have been better to continue with the precaution-ary landing, rather than having to attempt a forced land-ing without power from low altitude.The engine failure appears to be as a result of the disinte-gration of the No 7 bearing, which was most likelycaused by oil starvation. This bearing supports part of theturbine assembly and therefore relies on oil flow forcooling, as well as lubrication. Any reduction in oil flowcould lead to the bearing overheating and ultimately fail-ing.The foreign O‐ring found in the oil filter housing checkvalve was probably the one missing from the oil filterspigot.The O‐ring is likely to have caused a restriction to the oilflow around the engine, which may also account for thefluctuating torque indication, as the torque meter usesengine oil pressure for its operation. It also seems likelythat this O-ring prevented the check valve from closingon engine shutdown for the previous few flights. Withthe engine shut down and the check valve still open, oilcould leak from the oil filter housing into the hot parts ofthe engine and then vaporise, producing a bluehaze/smoke in the exhaust similar to that reported by thepilot.
6564
ACCidenT reporTSACCidenT reporTS
AS350B Squirrel G-JESYI
The helicopter had been airborne for approximately 25minutes on a private flight from a private site nearMilton Keynes to Manchester when the pilot becameaware of an acrid burning smell in the cockpit. This wasaccompanied by smoke emanating from behind the lowerleft side of the instrument panel. Flames appeared andthe smoke worsened so the pilot took immediate actionto land in a field and vacate the helicopter, which wasthen destroyed by the subsequent fire.AAIB comment
The remains of the helicopter were examined in detail byAAIB at Farnborough. It was noted that all the cabin andcockpit components had been completely destroyed inthe fire. An examination of the recovered items was car-ried out and found the damage attributable to the post-incident fire. The few items that may have been in thevicinity of the approximate seat of the fire, as describedby the pilot, were more closely examined but owing tothe extensive fire damage it was not possible to establishwhat initiated the fire. However, given the description ofthe events by the pilot it is most likely to have been relat-ed to the electrical system components or wiring behindthe left side of the instrument panel.
Agusta 109S G-IOOZ.The helicopter had departed from St Mawes, Cornwall,intending to fly to a private landing ground on Exmoornear Withypool, Somerset - this journey would takeabout 30 minutes. The pilot was aware that another heli-copter was scheduled to land at the same site somewhatlater and had arranged for landing lights and a vehiclewith a radio to be present. He contacted the vehicle driv-er before departing St Mawes and was told that every-thing was set up and the weather was clear.As he approached the site at 2,500 ft, the pilot contactedthe operator on the ground and was told that “it had start-ed to cloud over but the moon was still visible and hecould be heard coming”. Flying over the site at 2,500 ftQNH with the radio altimeter showing over 1,000 ft agl,the pilot could just about make out the lights below himbut noted that, to the north and east of the landing site, itappeared to be totally clear. He lowered the landinggear, carried out the landing checks and tested the land-ing lights, setting the moveable landing light to thestraight ahead position. He took up a southerly headingtowards the site and descended through a thin layer ofcloud over the village of Exford, commencing hisapproach to the landing site which he saw about a miledistant and at a height of about 500 ft; the lights, and inparticular the flashing lights on the operator’s vehicle,
EC225 LP Super Pumas G-REDW & G-CHCN
While operating over the North Sea, in daylight, thecrews of G-REDW and G-CHCN experienced a loss ofmain rotor gearbox oil pressure, which required them toactivate the emergency lubrication system. This systemuses a mixture of glycol and water to provide 30 minutesof alternative cooling and lubrication. Both helicoptersshould have been able to fly to the nearest airport; how-ever, shortly after the system had activated, a warningilluminated indicating that the emergency lubricationsystem had failed. This required the crews to ditch theirhelicopters immediately in the North Sea. Both ditchingswere successful and the crew and passengers evacuatedinto the helicopter’s liferafts before being rescued. Therewere no serious injuries.The loss of oil pressure on both helicopters was causedby a failure of the bevel gear vertical shaft in the mainrotor gearbox, which drives the oil pumps. The shaftshad failed as result of a circumferential fatigue crack inthe area where the two parts of the shaft are weldedtogether.On G-REDW the crack initiated from a small corrosionpit on the countersink of the 4 mm manufacturing holein the weld. The corrosion probably resulted from thepresence of moisture within the gap between the PTFEplug and the countersink. The shaft on G-REDW hadaccumulated 167 flying hours since new.On G CHCN, the crack initiated from a small corrosionpit located on a feature on the shaft described as theinner radius. Debris that contained iron oxide and mois-ture had become trapped on the inner radius, which ledto the formation of corrosion pits. The shaft fitted to G-CHCN had accumulated 3,845 flying hours; this wasmore than any other EC225 LP shaft.The stress, in the areas where the cracks initiated, wasfound to be higher than that predicted during the certifi-cation of the shaft. However, the safety factor of theshaft was still adequate, providing there were no surfacedefects such as corrosion.The emergency lubrication system operated in bothcases, but the system warning light illuminated as aresult of an incompatibility between the helicopterwiring and the pressure switches. This meant the warn-ing light would always illuminate after the crew activat-ed the emergency lubrication system.Ten safety recommendations have been made. In addi-tion, the helicopter manufacturer carried out several safe-ty actions and is redesigning the bevel gear vertical shafttaking into account the findings of the investigation.Other organisations have also initiated a number of safe-ty actions as a result of this investigation.
HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 201466
AndhouSe heliCopTer
Armoury House and the Artillery Garden
by Sean Crane
If, in 1735, the builder of Armoury House hadthought about it, he would almost certainly havesaid: “If God had meant us to fly he would have
given us wings…” How wrong he would havebeen and the House he built has seen at least fouraeronautical manifestations over the two and a halfcenturies that it has stood.
First there was Lunardi who, watched by thefuture George IV and a ticketed audience of200,000, made the first ever Hydrogen filled bal-loon flight from English soil from the ArtilleryGarden, just in front to the House, in 1784. Hisfriend, Biggin, was late that day and so Lunardi setoff on his 24 mile flight accompanied only by hiscat and a pigeon. The cat suffered from air sicknessit transpired and had to be returned to the groundbut Lunardi (secretary at the Neapolitan Embassy)and his bird went all the way.
Then there were the zeppelins which bombedLondon in the Great War. The House and Gardenhosted one of the first Naval anti zeppelin gun bat-teries; the idea of which still upsets theGroundsman! And the same was repeated in the
Second World War when 5 incendiary bombs came through theroof and were valiantly put out by the caretaker and his familyin the wood panelled Long Room.
But it is the helicopters that would probably most shock ourbuilder. The Garden often acts as a landing site for Chinook,Merlin, Sea King and here, the AH09. It’s a great sound as thenoise of the Chinook build up in the enclosed space and eyesappear at every window around to watch the helicopter land.
