Volume 6 Number 3 June/July 2012 The flying squad Police aviation special report PLATFORM TYPE PREVENT, FOR INDUSTRY FOCUS PROTECT, LOCATE Bond Aviation Group Eurocopter EC120 Crew safety www.rotorhub.com RH_JunJul12_Cover.indd 1 22/06/2012 16:08:16 SETTING THE STANDARD OF CUSTOMER SERVICE m aintenance r epair 24/7READY TO SERVE AROUND THE WORLD o verhaul Photo Credit: Eurocopter engines • dynamic components • structures • avionics As a world wide leader in helicopter maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) - Vector Aerospace provides comprehensive support for Eurocopter, Sikorsky, AgustaWestland, Bell & Boeing helicopters. TOLL FREE: 1.888.729.2276 WWW.VECTORAEROSPACE.COM RH_JunJul12_IFC.indd 2 22/06/2012 16:10:37 ROTORHUB CONTENTS 1 31 Volume 6 Number 3 June/July 2012 CONTENTS Volume 6 Number 3 June – July 2012 Comment 3 News 4 • X3 ready for US debut The flying squad Police aviation special report • PW210 to power Eurocopter X4 PLATFORM TYPE PREVENT, FOR INDUSTRY FOCUS PROTECT, LOCATE Bond Aviation Group Eurocopter EC120 Crew safety • AW169 makes flight test progress www.rotorhub.com • Norway releases SAR shortlist Cover story 20 Las Vegas Metropolitan Platform for industry: Police officers practice Weathering the storm 8 rescue skills on a peak near Bond Aviation Group CEO James Drummond the city in their Bell 407. speaks to RotorHub about how the company is Type focus: Leading light 36 (Photo: Bell Helicopter) moving forward, rebuilding confidence and looking Eurocopter’s EC120 B is the smallest and lightest of for new market opportunities. the company’s civil range. It brings modern safety, comfort and technology standards to a sector long 15 Crew safety: Prevent, protect, locate 15 dominated by 1960s-era machines. Ensuring the safety of the crews who fly helicopters is a multi-layered activity. RotorHub Engines: Quantum leap? 42 speaks to operators and discovers how they Industry and governments across the globe are go about it. pushing forward efficiency and improvement programmes in order to create the next generation Police aviation: Cashflow crisis 20 of helicopter engines. RotorHub asks just how good The current financial downturn means that police the turboshaft can get. 27 departments around the globe have to find unique solutions in order to keep their airborne assets Hybrids: It’s not easy being green 47 operational. Helicopters are one of the most energy-inefficient modes of transport. RotorHub explores how the Police aviation: Air arm of the law 27 concept of electric or hybrid machines is becoming a Policing in Chile has often relied on aviation to real possibility for future generations of rotorcraft. be successful due to the country’s varied terrain. RotorHub speaks to the national police air Rotorcraft guide (part 29) 51 36 unit about how it has utilised air assets for law From Eurocopter EC175 to Eurocopter EC225 LP enforcement, and considers their future role. Collective pitch 52 Police aviation: Law and peace 31 Eurocopter CEO and president Lutz Bertling Russia has two large internal security organisations stresses the importance of conveying the benefits to enforce its constitutional order, protect the of helicopters to both decision-makers and the borders and fight organised crime and terrorism. public, while considering what future lies ahead for RotorHub explores their rotary-wing fleets. the industry. 47 Subscriptions Shephard’s aerospace and defence publishing portfolio incorporates six titles: Defence Helicopter, Digital Battlespace, Land Warfare International, Military Logistics International, RotorHub and Unmanned Vehicles. Published bi-monthly, all have become respected and renowned for covering global issues within their respective industry sector. For more information, including editorial content in the current issues, visit shephardmedia.com/magazines. Subscribe today via: www.subscription.co.uk/shephard or +44 (0)1858 438879 subs_portfolio.indd 1 23/8/10 17:15:02 ROTORHUB June – July 2012 RH_JunJul12_p01_Contents.indd 1 22/06/2012 16:20:26 Ka-32A11BC BEYOND COMPETITION IN EXTREME SITUATIONS A bi-turbine helicopter with a dual rotor system. Highly efficient in fire fighting operations, due to large water discharge capacity, manoeuvrability and fast cruising speed. Used in different application versions: firefighting, SAR, HEMS, land and sea surveillance, ecological monitoring, transportation of fire brigade, external lift, heliborne operations and transport. more at www.rus-helicopters.ru EXPERIENCE & INNOVATION 2a, bld 2, Sokolnicheskiy Val st. Moscow, 107113, Russian Federation Tel: +7 (495) 981-6373 • Fax: +7 (495) 981-6395 аn oboronprom group company E-mail: [email protected] RH_JunJul12_p02.indd 2 22/06/2012 16:23:38 ROTORHUB COMMENT 3 SAR standardisation ith Greece teetering on an economic precipice, there has EDITORIAL been much debate in recent weeks about the concept of Editor ‘Europe’ and its future survival. Tony Skinner, [email protected] W Tel: +44 1753 727020 However, it was cooperation of a different kind that absorbed the attention of delegates at the SAR Europe 2012 conference in Dublin Deputy Editor earlier this year, with discussions surrounding the potential creation Tony Osborne, [email protected] Tel: +44 1753 727024 of a unified European Coast Guard. Chris Reynolds, director of the Irish Coast Guard, outlined Contributors measures the EU is taking to bring broader coordination to the Rahul Bedi, James Careless, sector, including commissioning a feasibility study that will look at Peter Donaldson, Jim Dorschner, Scott R Gourley, José Higuera, how to offer a standardised SAR service across Europe, potentially Alexander Mladenov, Matthew Smith cutting across civilian and military lines. Jim Winchester, Thomas Withington While this is by no means a new idea – the last such report to be commissioned stalled before PRODUCTION any concrete recommendations were made – this time the European Commission, through the Production Department Manager Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, is examining three SAR ‘products’: structured David Hurst, [email protected] cooperation forums; member nations working together on an ad-hoc basis; and permanent coordination in certain areas. Sub -editor Adam Wakeling, From a SAR helicopter perspective, it is certainly a provocative image – the pooling of assets [email protected] by need rather than national boundaries, the introduction of common training and branding and bringing greater buying power to the collective. ADVERTISING Commercial Manager Despite this, when it comes to the pooling of helicopters, the concept is easy to dismiss, Jane Smith, [email protected] especially given the current situation that sees responsibility for the tasking of assets among the Tel: +44 1753 727004 member states fall to a myriad of government organisations, both civilian and military, and private SUBSCRIPTIONS companies, all with their own cultures, priorities and motivations. Tower House, Lathkill St, Sovereign Park, In developing an acceptable and workable model that covers the three desired end states, Market Harborough, Leics LE16 9EF, UK the European Commission will be examining the activities of the European Defence Agency (EDA) Paid subscription contacts: as a guide. Tel: +44 1858 438879 Fax: +44 1858 461739 On the helicopter front, the EDA’s most high-profile initiative is the Future Transport Helicopter Email: [email protected] project, which is seeking a new heavy-lift rotorcraft for France and Germany by 2020. However, it is an indication of where Europe finds itself that a two-state collaboration to buy essentially off-the- MANAGEMENT shelf equipment for a well-defined mission is often described as ‘ambitious’. E-mail: [email protected] More relevant to what the European Commission is trying to achieve with this latest feasibility Publishing Director – Darren Lake study is the EDA’s Helicopter Training Programme, which was launched in 2010 and has since CEO – Alexander Giles trained more than 150 crews. Chairman – Nick Prest In addressing the training element, the EDA hopes to raise operational output for a relatively ROTORHUB (ISSN 1754-520X) is published 6 times low cost through the hosting of multinational exercises, helicopter tactics courses and operational per year – in February, April, June, August, October and December – by The Shephard Press Ltd, 268 Bath Road, English language training. Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4DX, UK. The 2012 US Institutional subscription price is £65. Airfreight and mailing in the Helicopter training is just one of 11 pooling and sharing (P&S) initiatives the EDA coordinates USA by agent named Air Business, c/o Priority Airfreight NY Ltd, that have been endorsed by EU ministers of defence. This model of identifying shortfalls in national 147-29 182nd Street, Jamaica, NY 11413. Periodical postage paid at Jamaica, NY 11431. capabilities for potential P&S is supposed to promote savings, efficiencies and rationalisation, while US Postmaster: send address changes to Air Business Ltd/ Priority Airfreight NY Ltd, 147-29 182nd Street, Jamaica, simultaneously raising overall capabilities for member states. NY11413. Subscription records are maintained at Another possible vehicle for change is the European Coast Guard Functions Forum, which is a CDS Global, Tower House, Lathkill Street, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9EF, UK. non-binding, non-political gathering of the various heads of coast guard services across each