HELICOPTER LIFE

Summer 2010 / £3.99 www.helicopterlife.com

Blades of Portugal HELICOPTER LIFE is the HIGH LIFE helicopter Summer 2010 liFe COVER STORY

Show & Tell Guide 4 Rotores de Portugal Aviation shows and conferences. 32 Menso van Westrheueu The Editor’s Letter 5 went flying with the Rotores de Portugal Aerial Forum 6 & 10 and experienced what David Philipott on the British AirMed market it is like to be an air show pilot and, even Letters to the Editor 7, 11, 15 more, part of a team involved in the daily Flying Crackers 8, 9 routine of aerobatics Boys’ Toys at EBACE 12 Alternative Fuels 40 Georgina Hunter- Helicopter Life looks at the alternative fuels Jones flew to market around the world. Geneva to visit the 10th show and to Rescue 42 see how business Leslie Symons jets and helicopters writes about the history are recovering from of the mountain rescue volcanic ash, down - services, its volunteers turn and debt and details of rescues in the Cairngorms and New Technology 16 elsewhere Eurocopter’s new OPOC engine was on display at Houston HAI Flying Falcon 48 Andrew Harvey Kyrgyzstan’s Golden Future 18 had one of the most Sophy Ibbotson and unusual flights of his others write about career when he was the Republic of asked to fly a falcon at Kyrgyzstan, a night in the Meydan mountainous region Stadium to celebrate where helicopters the 2010 World Cup are a major source in Dubai of transport for a variety of different Greek Olympics 54 applications John Hill flew with nine other Searching for a mystery helicopter pilot 22 helicopters to Athens Ken Smith continues his search to operate the Westcam during the Greek HAI HeliExpo 24 Olympics Helicopter Life staff visit the annual show at Helicopters Past and Future 62 Houston, Texas to hear the manufacturers’ pre - Book Reviews 63 dictions for the future and to see the latest Accident Reports 64 innovation including the Bluecopter House & Helicopter 66 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 3 S how & T ell helicopter G uide 8 June - 13 June 2010 liFe ILA BERLIN AIRSHOW Berlin Schoenfeld Airport Summer 2010 Ms Manuela Jank Phone:+49 (0)30 3038-2167 HON. EDITORIAL BOARD Fax:+49 (0)30 3039 000-2167 Captain Eric Brown, CBE, RN E-mail: [email protected] The Lord Glenarthur, DL Jennifer Murray 15 June 2010 Michael J. H. Smith COAST GUARD HELICOPTERS Wing Cdr. Ken Wallis, MBE, RAF BAe Systems Park Centre, GU14 6XN Ian McKluskie Contact CHC Ltd. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / PILOT Georgina Hunter-Jones [email protected] 19 June - 20 June 2010 CREATIVE DIRECTORS 10TH VERTICAL CHALLENGE HELICOPTER [email protected] AIR SHOW Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos Airport COPY EDITORS Evangeline Hunter-Jones, JP San Carlos, California John Wilson www.hiller.org/vertical-challenge.shtml. CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Andrew Harvey, John Hill, Sophie Ibbotson, 17 July - 18 July 2010 Max Lovell-Hoare, Michael Pye, David Philpott, CHOLmONDELEY PAGEANT OF POWER Ken Smith, Leslie Symons, Menso van Westrheueu Cholmondeley Castle Malpas, Cheshire CONTRIBUTED PHOTOGRAPHY Andrew Harvey, John Hill, Geoff James, Telephone: 01829 772432. Malvina Nicca, David Philpott, Ken Smith, website: www.cpop.co.uk Leslie Symons, Menso van Westrheueu. Email: [email protected] Maximum Exposure, Darren Wring, SPECIAL THANKS TO 19 July - 25 July 2010 Dave Smith ATPL(H)IR, Malvina Nicca FARNBOROUGH IINTERNATIONAL AIRSHOW Farnborough Airfield, UK ADVERTISING Telephone: +44-(0)20-7430-2384 Contact Farnborough Airshow Team [email protected] Telephone: +44(0) 1252 532800 Email: [email protected] SUBSCRIPTIONS Go to our website or turn to page 54 [email protected] 5 October - 7 October 2010 WEBSITE HELITECH EUROPE 2010 www.helicopterlife.com Cascais, Portugal Contact: Verity Newton Tel: +44 (0) 20 8910 7910 COVER PHOTOGRAPHS Fax: +44 (0) 20 8334 0588 Rotores de Portugal by Menso van http://www.helitechevents.com Westrheueu

2 November - 4 November 2010 HELICOPTER LIFE is published quarterly by FlyFizzi Ltd. HELISHOW DUBAI 2010 59 Great Ormond Street East Hall, Airport Expo, Dubai UAE London, WC 1N-3 Hz . Copyright © FlyFizzi Ltd. 2010. Contact: Julia Cuthbert ISSN 1743-1042. Mediac Communications and Exhibitions - UK All rights reserved. Opinions expressed herein are not neces - Tel:+44 (0)1293 823 779 Mobile: +44 (0) 7734 563 324 sarily those of the pub lishers, the Editor or any of the editorial Fax: +44 (0) 1293 825 394 staff. Reproduction in whole or in part, in any form whatever, E-mail: [email protected] is strictly prohibited without specific written permission of the Editor.

4 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 T he e diTor ’ S l eTTer

he International Air Transport sources. On the other hand, once up Association estimates that 1.2 and running maintenance costs are Tmillion passengers were affect - very low and, as our need for alterna - ed by the first ‘shutdown in the skies tive energy sources grows, geo-ther - above’ resulting from the Icelandic mal energy will continue to be Volcano’s ash cloud. The estimated researched. loss of revenue was 1.7 billion US For the UK and its European part - dollars. For six days there were no ners there have been two other impor - airline flights over Britain and tant issues. The British General Northern Europe. Election, which led first to a Hung Helicopters and helicopter compa - Parliament, and then to the first coali - nies, on the other hand, benefited. tion government since the Second their own party-biased views instead. PremiAir Aviation, for example, flew World War, and the Greek debt. (And As in the past there is a growing sorties out to Ireland and those parts other debt areas as they extend to emphasis on alternative fuel, on heli - of Europe that allowed it (the French Spain, Portugal and even to the UK copters with cleaner and more effec - closed their airspace) to pick up itself.) These matters have led to tive engines and on coalitions with stranded passengers. The difference instability in the financial markets, other companies to promote helicop - seems mainly to have lain with the which in itself has increased the pres - ters. We have previously seen how autonomy of the helicopter compa - sure on the debt-laden countries. Hermes offered a full decorative serv - nies (or perhaps you might say the A possible source of revenue, or ice of the Eurocopter EC135 both common sense attitude of helicopter increasing debt as it was in Greece, is external and internal. Now, at EBACE owners). While Turbomeca warned the Olympics. which will be held in (the European Business Association that there might be future difficulties the UK in 2012. Here we have a big Convention and Exhibition ) and damage to their engines, but left question: what, if anything, are heli - Mercedes Benz has offered the same it to the owners to make their own copters going to be doing during the type of make-over for the Eurocopter decisions, the airlines were ruled by Olympics? Will they be used at all? EC145, dressed, as one enthusiast NAATS and the CAA and were not What will be the police and security suggested, in Michael Schumacher’s allowed to make commercial deci - position in helicopters? At the colours! sions for themselves. The compensa - moment this appears to be a great The early part of this year has once tion issues that have now accrued unknown. again been a mixed time for helicop - illuminate to what the airlines are As Michael Hampton, MD of ters. Personally, I have found that the now calling the European govern - Capital Air Services, says: ”In a training schools are doing less work ments’ over-reaction. meeting with the officials dealing and have fewer students, airports and There have been two other results with infrastructure and transport at airfields are less busy and corporate from the volcanic shut-down: one the the Olympics I asked about what pro - events do not have so many arrivals realisation by the public generally gramme they had for helicopters, and by helicopter. However, I have still about how much we rely on aviation was told there was no position for had work as an examiner. People who and our ability to use the sky; the helicopter transport at the moment.” already have licences seem to be other a focus on the possibilities of Capital Air Services provided the retaining them and are continuing to s

r harnessing the output of volcanoes as helicopter support at the Greek e fly. So, my feeling is that many peo - t

P geo-thermal energy. Olympics in Athens, and we have a o

c ple are just waiting to see what will i l

e The drawback of geo-thermal ener - story by John Hill, who flew to

h be the result of the markets in the next

D gy, however, appears to be the length Athens from Oxford with a team of

M year or so. These are exciting times

, n of time it takes to obtain the neces - ten helicopters and did all the web- o let’s enjoy them as best we can. t n i sary equipment, the potential set-up cam work. Hill feels that, given the g g i costs and (something we are now security issues, it is unlikely there W y a

J very aware of as BP struggles to cap will be any VIP helicopter transport h P

a the oil-leak in Louisianan) the in London. He also has some pretty r g o unknown problems that may accrue stiff words for politicans who do not t o h from harnessing such volatile listen to experts in the field but give P helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 5 A eriAl F orum

With the Airmed World Congress due to be held in Brighton, england next may, David Philpott asks if the British Air Ambulance Service has finally come of age.

here is no doubt about it: In the race to provide opti - say ridiculous – feature of the UK funding system is that near - mum trauma care from the air, the British have been ly every penny of income needed to operate it – a sum in Tslow out of the blocks. First the Swiss in 1952, and two excess of £50 million (US$ 80 million) – is generated by decades later the Germans, developed a fully integrated HEMS fundraising. Only in Australia and New zealand do similar (Helicopter Emergency Air Ambulance Service) but their financing models seem to exist, where perhaps a shared sense European near-neighbours from across the English Channel of Victorian philanthropy remains as a vestige of Empire. barely noticed that the race had started, and spent almost half a How then did these ‘Johnny-come-lately’s’ of the air ambu - century burying their heads in the sand. Why the delay? How lance world manage to pull off the coup of hosting what many is it that a country that prides itself on innovation and inven - consider to be the most prestigious of all international aero- tion has languished for so long towards the back of the race, medical congresses? Why have they suddenly come of age and running almost shoulder to shoulder alongside nations in the been given the key to the front door? developing world? To be fair, it was probably always on the wish list of the Much of the reason is vested in Britain’s health system. The organising committee to hold the triennial event in England, National Health Service was born in 1948 to a fanfare of opti - not least because it had never been held there in the past. And mism and, to be frank, for most of the latter part of the twenti - then of course there is the language benefit. Like it or loathe it, eth century it provided its citizens with a good standard of English is still the most widely spoken language in the world. healthcare for all, irrespective of ability to pay. However, with An event in England would naturally attract delegates from all the development of complex and expensive surgeries and over the English-speaking world, and would certainly be no breakthroughs in drug treatments, the ability of the exchequer deterrent to scores of others who consider the Queen’s English to fund everything has meant a rationalisation – some would their second tongue. What made an aspiration a reality was a say a rationing – of health care. happy confluence of agendas. As the British air ambulance Little wonder then that helicopters were never high on the ‘charities’ began to flex their economic and political muscles, list of ‘must-have’ accessories for hospital managers or indeed they found succour in the bosom of EHAC (European HEMS politicians. And besides, there was scant evidence of their and Air Ambulance Committee) who had ‘been there, seen it effectiveness in the delivery of roadside healthcare. In the all and bought the tee shirt’ all across Europe, as country after 1980s and 1990s the British government commissioned a num - country joined up to its protocols. EHAC itself had never felt ber of reports, not a few under the direction of Professor Jon quite complete without the British in it. Nicholl at the Medical Care Research Unit of the University of However, not everything in the garden is rosy as far as the Sheffield, and they all made the same point. There was not UK air ambulance service is concerned. The spectre of more enough evidence that ‘Air Ambulances’ – the generic term robust clinical monitoring by the newly formed government used in the United Kingdom for HEMS aircraft – provided any agency, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has presented real benefit, except in a handful of exceptional cases. some unique challenges as Lynda Breslin, Chief Executive of Without any centralised planning or free market competition the North West Air Ambulance service, based in Liverpool, to stimulate an industry in airborne pre-hospital care, it was explained. largely down to enthusiasts to step in where health experts “One of the biggest challenges facing the UK Air feared to tread – first in 1987, in Cornwall, a large, sparsely Ambulance industry this year is the need to be registered with populated coastal county in the Southwest; and then in the cap - the Care Quality Commission by April 2011,” she notes. “As ital, where London HEMS was launched in 1989. However, by yet there are no clear guidelines for registration, which we 2008, when the Association of Air Ambulances was formed, understand will not be available until October 2010. It is vital there were eighteen individual services, covering every region we all get registered by then if we are to continue our work.” of the country. Lynda has good reason to be apprehensive. She has being While it might appear that 22 years is a long time for such doing the job for the best part of a decade, a decade in which an integral part of the trauma network to evolve, the real won - the British government has largely failed to acknowledge that der of the British system is that none of this happened with the HEMS service even exists. And it is not just the charities funding from taxation, insurance premiums or charging for that take this view. Dr Rod Mackenzie is a Consultant and use; indeed the service across the nation has been and always Senior Lecturer in Emergency Medicine at the University of will be free at the point of need. The incredible – some might continued on page 10 6 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 l eTTerS To The e diTor Letters continue on page 11 and 15

59 Great Ormond Street, London WC1N-3Hz, England. Agusta 109 incident at Redhill Telephone: 020-7430-2384, Email: [email protected]. Please include your name, and email or phone. Dear Georgina Johnnie Johnson I read with interest the accident report section concerning the Augusta A109 G- Apart from his cheery smile, ELTE at Redhill. Dear Georgina, French onion seller appearance As a professional pilot I often fly into It was with sadness that I heard due to his beret and ever pres - Redhill and have found the Air Traffic of the passingof Johnnie ent cigarette, I will remember controllers the most difficult controllers I Johnson. I do not know how him for telling me he flew have ever spoken to. Having flown for old he was, but he must have Spitefires during the Scond many years I have experienced a my fair been well into his late 80s. World War. Perhaps he is the share of Air Traffic Controllers and have I only came across Johnnie Johnnie Johnson depicted in the to say what a splendid job they have all about 15 years ago or so, when April illustration on Cyma done, Redhill on the other hand concerns he was already flying with a Petroleum 2010 calendar. If so, me. medical restriction and shortly that would be a fitting tribute. Often I have listened to the exchange before he was forced to retire. He also told me he did the first between Redhill ATC and other aircraft He was an ‘old time’ helicopter air test on the R-22, which he working their frequency and thought, instructor, who seemed to make found ‘interesting’ as he spent given the small size of the airfield, just his living by teaching people on most of his time flying Bell how intimidating they are towards pilots. their own helicopters from their 47s, and the R22 did not have Granted its proximity to the Class D air - own houses (but always from a tip weights! space of LGW means the controllers need licenced airfield!) before we I was wondering if any of your to ensure pilots don't stray from it. needed Registered Facilities, readers who knew Johnnie bet - However in a training environment it is FTOs etc. I still fly with a cou - ter than me, could let me have imperative that the information passed to ple of pilots for their LPCs who more information (via pilots is clear and helpful and ensures were taught by Johnnie and Helicopter Life) anecdotes etc that the P/UT is concentrating on the task who remember him with affec - so I could put together a suit - of flying the aircraft and not whether tion, and still display the high able obituary. ATC is going to give him or her another levels of competency he taught Yours sincerely bo**ocking! The rate of speech is far too them. Geoff Day fast at Redhill contributing to further confusion for pilots especially those not familiar with the airfield. P/UTs still learning to master the skills of operating a machine and competent pilots in emergency conditions will find their capacities compromised and difficulties with air traffic would only make the situ - ation worse. Stress levels rise and fall in flight as you'll be well aware being an y t

t instructor. One of the key areas covered u r

in CRM is dealing with stress and meth - n i t ods of how to reduce it. Redhill ATC r a

M would benefit from attending such cours - f o es and prevent them from being a stressor y s e t in an emergency situation. r u o

c With kind regards s h

P Name withheld at the pilot’s request a r g A109 landed safely on o t

o a bed of tyres

h Letters continue on page 11 P helicopter LIFE, Summer 2010 7 F lyinG C rACkerS

Does your pilot have a London Heliport Passenger licence? Terminal Thomas Salame was banned from Ahead of Farnborough Airshow and flying for a year after flying passen - ready for it, the London Heliport ger jets without a licence. Salame, Terminal is now open. The old termi - who flew for the Turkish airline nal was demolished to make way for Corendon, made his own licence and additional apron space increasing heli - applied for a job. He has been flying copter parking capacity and the ability passenger jets for 13 years without of the heliport to handle increased incident. He was fined Euros 1,700. movements. David McRobert, PremiAir’s Group Managing Director, said: “We’re all David mcRobert and really excited about the change the Greg Ward new terminal facilities will bring to Heeman’s Flying Hovercraft executive helicopter travel in the UK. ...heliport users will be able to use For Sale world class business aviation facilities Half Ozzie half Kiwi Rudy Heeman unique in the helicopter world. The has transformed his hovercraft into a terminal is directly linked to Hotel wing-in-ground-effect vehicle. Verta, a new 5 star luxury hotel. This Heeman says he's found the ideal has to be a first in business aviation.” flight altitude under the vehicle's 7- Hotel Verta, owned by von Essen meter wingspan to be about 1.5 Monitoring the Polar Bear Hotels, PremiAir’s sister company, meters, over flat water or land, where he reached a top speed of population will open in the summer. It describes about 60 mph in a test. Above, Ontario Ministry of Natural its position by the heliport as “the first integrated hotel helicopter solution in The hovercraft will hop small bush - Resources tranquilizes a polar bear es or short trees. Theoretically, at Hudson Bay part of a 3-year study the world.” Which rather begs the question, what was the problem? the vehicle can cruise at about 55 on the impact of climate change on mph for roughly 140 miles. the polar bear population Award for Hayward Aviation It is now for sale. The project includes parts from six Music to his Ears Hayward Aviation have been award - ed the Certificate of Appreciation by different cars, including a 1.8-liter A Canadian man publicly thanked Subaru engine, and a gas bottle from Kelowna, B.C.-based Flair Airlines the Royal Aero Club in recognition of their support for the helicopter an old barbeque. Its wings consist of

who not only saved the holidays of a front and rear aluminum tube spar, n o industry. Hayward Aviation is the i t a 900 stranded tourists, but also deliv - fiberglass ribs andfitted fabric cover - i v

first insurance company to receive a

ered his prized Takamine D Series r ing. These will separate for i a

the award, which started in 1998. i

guitar home after it went astray. M

storage/transport. e r

When Ottawa-based charter operator P

The vehicle is controlled by rudder P o t

Go Travel South went out of busi -

and elevator, actuated by a control , n o ness, leaving 900 customers, includ - i wheel (no rudder pedals). The t a i ing Vince Thompson, scattered v cockpit includes a GPS and engine a D r

around the Caribbean, Flair gauges, but Heeman has included a W y Airlines, which had flown the pas - other creative refinements. a h h

sengers south under contract to the To buy this and other flying oddi - P a r

charter company, went to pick them g

tions visit: o t o

up at a cost to the airline of more http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fl h P

than $300,000. Good hearts indeed. M

Hayward Aviation and ying-hovercraft-auction o t t

members of the HCGB o B 8 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 F lyinG C rACkerS

Eurocopter’s New VP, Cécile Vion-Lanctuit

Cécile Vion-Lanctuit has been appointed as Eurocopter Group’s Vice President of Corporate Communications . Vion-Lanctuit was Eurocopter’s Head of International Media G-JUGS picture courtesy Relations. of mrs Hornsby She came to Eurocopter in April 2006 from Factory Built Gyroplanes EADS. She joined the RotorSport UK Ltd can now supply factory built company in Paris as a gyroplanes fitted with in-flight variable pitch pro - Corporate Auditor in pellers, managed by a constant speed controller. The late 1999. first example, G-JUGS, was handed over to Mr Simon & Mr Peter Hornsby at the Midland Gliding Club in March 2010. It has taken a huge amount of effort by the RotorSport Team to get the UK CAA to accept this combination, but the fitment of the Woodcomp SR3000 propeller matched to a unique version of the Smart Avionics Constant speed con - troller takes flight in a gyroplane to a whole new level of capability. The SR3000 propeller blade has a wooden core and composite outer, and a polyurethane leading edge to prevent stone damage. The unit is electrically pitch adjusted, either manual - ly or using the Smart Avionics automatic control sys - tem that matches propeller pitch to the power avail - able, against a target engine rpm. There are three key settings; manual; climb, and cruise. The pilot presses climb before take off, cruise once in the cruise, and climb again for landing, and each has its own adjustable target engine rpm. Five more of propeller

t and controller combinations are already on site and t e r r due for fitment over the next month. a B l e g i G-JUGS picture courtesy n

D of mr Nigel Barrett n a y B s n r o h s r M s h P a r g o t o h P

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 9 continued from page 6 ly, from being a community asset funded wayside cafés and traditional British Leicester, and he also donates much of by donations into a big money-gobbling pubs. Then there is the internationally his time to an independent emergency monster. The funds may be coming in at famous Brighton Centre, situated on the medical charity called MAGPAS, based one end from model citizens who are central promenade, overlooking the sea. in Cambridgeshire. committed to doing their bit to help – This shrine to the concerts of rock and “There are two major challenges cur - sponsored runs, placing donations in col - roll superstars will yield its space for a rently facing Air Ambulance Charities in lections tins or playing air ambulance lot - few brief days to helicopters, exhibitions the UK,” says Mackenzie. “For those teries – but these funds appear to be and a packed conference agenda. Outside who aspire to be independent healthcare haemorrhaging out at the other end in the main congress arena, sponsors and providers in their own right, the first is spiralling costs. Although healthy and dignitaries will be swept along on a tide achieving full compliance with the regu - open competition has ensured formal ten - of Regency splendour in the Brighton latory requirements of the Care Quality dering arrangements on helicopter lease Pavilion, the one time seaside home of Commission (CQC). MAGPAS has found contracts and a consequent downward the Prince Regent himself. Aircraft that CQC registration, whilst costly in pressure on prices, the dearth of inde - demonstrations will be integrated into the professional, administrative and financial pendent clinical governance providers program at the wonderful art deco terms, has proven to be essential in has led to some charities buying this in Shoreham Airport, just a few miles along developing confidence within the from hospital consultants, and it is esti - the coast. If everything goes according to National Health Service regarding the mated that in 2010 upwards of £1 million plan, Brighton 2011 will set a new stan - ability of the charity to ensure clinical of charity donations will be spent in this dard for AirMed congresses. quality and patient safety. Such confi - way. If confidence is to be restored, air But there’s the rub. Will everything go dence will be required to meet the second ambulance charities will need to be able to plan? All being well, the world’s major set of challenges – that of integrating the to obtain this vital ingredient either free economies should be experiencing sus - Air Ambulance operations with evolving of charge, as part of the National Health tained recoveries by then, with the spec - regional, supra-regional and nationwide Service commitment – the nation does tre of recession well and truly banished networks for the emergency management get the air ambulance service for free as a distant memory. One must hope that of critical illness and injury. The evolving after all – or have it provided by not-for- the helicopter industry, as historically trauma networks and the new medical profit agencies that are above any suspi - generous sponsors of this triennial event, sub-specialty of Pre-hospital Emergency cion of profiteering. will rally around the organisers and make Medicine will provide an opportunity for So, with less than a year to go, what sure that this is the sensational congress just such integration.” Mackenzie should can we expect from AirMed 2011? Well, that it deserves to be. Only then will we know, since he is one of the architects of if the venues are anything to go by, this be able to say with confidence that the the new emerging government trauma will be an exceptional congress. Brighton UK Air Ambulance industry has truly networks. itself, known as London by the Sea, on come of age. David Philpott was Chief Executive of the Kent Air In addition to these concerns about account of its close proximity to the capi - Ambulance service for six years and founding chair - clinical standards, there are rumours of tal, will charm the socks off delegates, man of the Association of Air Ambulances. He now discontent and unease at the way the what with its charming little side streets divides his time between running his own business consultancy and freelance writing. industry is slipping, almost surreptitious - crammed full of stylish boutiques, and its ww.david philottandassociates.com

Not everything is rosy in the Air Ambulance garden P h o t o g r a P h c o u r t e s y o f D

Until recently heli - a v i copters were not D P h i

high on the list of l P o

must have items t t

10 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 m ore l eTTerS To The ediTor

continued from page 7

Course 119/120

Dear Georgina, I am a very proud dad these days, my son was awarded his wings on 19th Feb. He now goes on the Apache course. The others on the course are split Apache/Lynx. I'm sure they would appreiciate a pat on the back in the mag? My son is the shortarse like his mum, 2nd from left. I am at a Moth seminar this week - end, I thought we just kept the older pilots going but that’s obviously not true as I just showed you a load of new blood! Best wishes. Stewart Luck

continued on page 15

EC155 Boys Toys at EBACE

mercedeS benz and eurocopter Get toGether at ebace to create a neW StyliSh interior and exterior or the ec145

WordS by GeorGina hunter -J oneS pictureS by malvina nicca

he 10th annual European Schumacher’s ready for purchase in 2011 and has, Business Aviation Convention style in helicopters Eurocopter senior Vice President T& Exhibition (EBACE) took Oliver Lambert said, “already attracted place in Geneva from 4th - 6th May. much interest from potential buyers.”. It had 11,174 Attendees and a gener - The EC154 was, he added, “the heli - al air of optimism that the global copter of choice for helicopter opera - industry’s economic outlook is on the tions around the world.” upswing. There were 436 Exhibitors Michele Jauch Paginetti, the and 65 aircraft in the static display at General Manager of the Mercedes Benz Geneva International Airport. new concept design studio in Como As the exhibition is mainly centred said, “Mercedes Benz is extending its around business fixed wing aircraft activities to industries outside the auto - there were only a few helicopter motive industry, including furniture, companies there: principally Agusta industry and lifestyle projects.” Westland, showing its Agusta Grand After the unveiling, Paginetti said

New with its new avionics, Bell and that the EC145 was their first helicopter P h o

Eurocopter, Harrods Aviation based product. t o g at Stansted and Luton airports, “Merceds Benz and Eurocopter,” he r a P h

PremiAir, the helicopter charter oper - said, “are a perfect match as both com - s M ator, and Flight Crew Finder, a panies are known for style, comfort and a l v i n recently established company aiming efficiency.” a n i to find jobs for helicopter pilots. He explained that he had drawn c c Eurocopter unveiled their new influences from the saloon classes, a Mercedes Benz style Eurocopter including the E and S class Mercedes, EC145 with great aplomb. It will be “that means something that is spacious,

12 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 versatile and something that will set new design standards.” Customers will be able to change ambi - ent lighting and to choose a range of dif - ferent woods and materials for the floor, walls and seats. There is also room for considerable baggage and golf club, and other large item storage Agusta Westland were launching their new AW139 HUMS (Health Usage and Monitoring System) Web service at the show, which they developed in collabora - Business jets ranged tion with GE Aviation. They consider this from VLJs to Falcons will be a significant addition to safety in various sectors of flying including the oil and gas sectors. AgustaWestland‘s GrandNew, launched at HAI HeliExpo, has achieved strong market success. The company says that fifty orders have been received to date. It already has EASA certification and FAA certification is expected shortly. Bell Helicopter, announced that Span Air Pvt. Ltd. has signed an agreement to purchase its second 429 following a demonstration of the world’s newest heli - copter. Span Air is based in New Delhi and is a pioneer of private air charter serv - ices that operates the light, single-engine Bell 407 as well as fixed-wing aircraft. An original 429 customer, Span Air is to receive its first new light, twin-engine hel - Sennheiser showing off its icopter later this year. Its second 429 is new headset HmE26 scheduled for delivery in early 2011. “The 429 is a great machine to fly,” said Capt. S.K. Malik, leader of Span Air, who piloted the light twin on a demonstra - tion flight during its recent tour of India. Captain Malik said Span Air’s new 429s will be used to expand those servic - es, as well as to support the campaigning efforts of individuals seeking elected office throughout India. PremiAir, the UK helicopter charter P h o operator, is expanding into fixed-wing t o g r business aircraft, and has recently been a P h

s granted a fixed wing AOC by the UK M

a CAA. Rather aptly they operate a Hawker l v i n a Beechcraft Premier 1, which is owned by There was a n i c von Essen Group, parent company of c vibrance about a PremiAir. the show that Harrods Aviation has spent $1.5 on had been missing refurbishing their FBO at Stansted last year

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 13 Harrods has been sold for 1.5 bil - lion pounds to Qatar Holding LLC

Airport. They now have two large customers lounges and a Although this year as not been an easy time for the separate VVIP lounge, which provides complete privacy for aviation market, which has suffered from the volatile passengers including heads of state. stock markets, debt and strikes in Greece, clouds of Harrods is now operating its own fuel trucks at Stansted volcanic ash, leading to a six day airspace close-down and at London Luton Airport, where it also has an FBO. in much of Europe’s airspace, and air crew strikes in Sennheiser Aerospace was displaying its latest aviation British Airways, there was an unexpected air of hope headset, the HME 26/HMEC 26, for which the company at the show. Most companies seemed to be suggesting guarantees reliable voice transmission in the cockpit. It is the that the worst was over, and that the summer might successor to the HME/HMEC 25 family of headsets and pro - well turn out to be a good one for aviation as the mar - vides the same audio level plus improvements in comfort. ket slowly reassembled. Whether that would be so if The HME 26 incorporates the modular microphone boom and the show had been held two weeks later, with volcanic cable construction of the lighter HME/HMEC 46 series ask clouds again shutting down airspace, renewed microphones that were introduced in 2007. British Airways strikes and more debt problems is hard to say. Next year’s EBACE will return to the Geneva PAL - EXPO from May 17 through 19. EBAA and NBAA have secured dates for EBACE through 2015. P h o t o g r a P h s B y M a l malvina Nicca, v

EBACE, while not majoring in i n a

helicopters, had some powerful jet pilot and pho - n i c

operators at the show tographer c a

14 helicopter LIFE Summer 2010 m ore l eTTerS To The ediTor

continued from page 11 This modification has also been incorporated in G- YROX, the aircraft now en route for the first gyroplane ever to fly around the world. RotorSport UK Ltd is very Rotor Sport Uk looking after its fleet proud to be supporting Norman Surplus in this intrepid adventure, and have spent considerable resources prepar - Dear Georgina ing the RotorSport MT-03 (serial no 005) with the CAA RotorSport UK Ltd is please to announce that, following a approved changes required for such a venture - for successful final aircraft audit by the CAA, AAN29134 adden - instance, an 80ltr auxiliary fuel tank for en-route refu - dum 4 has been approved for the flight of MT-03 gyroplanes elling, giving the aircraft a fuel capacity of up to 150ltrs,

P (with service bulletin SB-013) at 500Kg MTOW. The type

h and a range up to 8 hours, or around 550miles. o

t has been flying in the UK since 2006, and the 50 aircraft here o We wish Norman all the best on his journey, and are sup - g

r have been limited to a maximum take off weight of 450Kg. a porting him as far as we can. Furthermore, all the P h s The next generation MTOsport was permitted at 500Kg AutoGyro teams around the world plan to support him c

o MTOW, and as RotorSport always takes care of customers,

u too. The venture can be followed via his website r

t we committed to increase the take off weight of the MT-03 to

e www.gyroxgoesglobal.com. Some photos from his s

y match the sport model. We are very pleased to have met this

o departure from RotorSport earlier this week are included, f commitment. This means a payload increase of 50Kg, so an r with Gerry Speich and Norman Surplus shaking hands. o

t average useful total payload of over 240Kg. There isn't much o

r Regards to all, s to beat that! P

o Gerry Speich r t

Norman in his RotorSport

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242-248 High Street, Barnet, Hertfordshire EN5 5TDT Telephone: +44 (0)20 8440 0505: TELEFAX : +44 (0)20 8440 6444 Email:[email protected] www.cymapetroleum.co.uk n ew T eChnoloGy Further testing with the OPOC (opposite piston opposite cylinder) engine

t HAI Heli-Expo 2010 in Houston Texas major problems when working with two-stroke design: Eurocopter displayed a new compact, high emission control. Aefficiency, high compression two-stroke The OPOC engine optimises its scavenging over the engine called the OPOC (Opposite Piston Opposite entire engine range through the use of uniflow scavenging Cylinder). This is in line with Eurocopter’s project to controlled boost pressure, pulse turbocharging and asym - fly with a light single-engine helicopter powered by a metric intake and exhaust timing . An electrically-assisted diesel engine. The objective is to reach a power-to- turbocharger (both exhaust gas driven and electrically weight ratio capable of challenging the advantages of driven) allows the boost pressure to be independent of a classic turbine, with the OPOC engine being one of the engine operation. Thus, high pressure boost is avail - the top options currently under evaluation. able for acceleration at low engine loads and low rpm This engine concept has been around for years, but without any associated mechanical drag. The reduction of was never fully developed. The OPOC engine com - emissions are thought to be impossible without tur - bines two engine designs pre-dating World War II: an bocharging. opposed-piston, two-crankshaft diesel aircraft engine One of the advantages of the OPOC engine is that it developed by Hugo Junkers and the opposed-cylinder was made to run on a variety of different fuels, thus boxer engine developed by Ferdinand Porsche. Eurocopter is looking at using diesel, but in the future it Unlike a four cylinder engine the two stroke engine may also be possible to run the engine on alternative fuels has only two linear movements of the piston, instead made from algae or from ‘rubbish’ materials. of four, however it still has the same four elements of Other advantages over conventional four stroke engines the cycle: intake, compression, power and exhaust. As include the smaller size and weight, for the amount of there are no camshafts or valves in this design, the power produced. There are fewer moving parts, which crankshaft controls the position of the pistons to open means lower vibration and noise production, and cheaper the exhaust port before the intake port and close the manufacturing and maintenance costs. s i

exhaust port before the intake port. This two stroke Engines currently being tested include the 40 hp engine r r o

process, called scavenging, clears the cylinder of for air vehicles, which has a projected weight of 40 lbs, n n a

exhaust gases and fills it with a fresh mixture of air and the 325 hp engine (which can be coupled with a l a s

and fuel. However, it is the most difficult part of the clutch to achieve 650 hp) tested by an engine developer in h P a r

two stroke engine and managing the combustion con - an unmanned military helicopter. The weight of this g o t

trol and cylinder scavenging has led to one of the engine is around 450 lbs and it is 15 x 35 x 41 inches. o h P 16 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010

Kyrgyzstan’s Golden Future

by Sophie ibbotSon , m ax lovell -h oare and michael pye pictureS maximum expoSure

he little known, landlocked of conveyance within the country. Unlike its Central Asian neighbours, and mountainous Republic of The legacy of decades of under- the Kyrgyz Republic lacks the large TKyrgyzstan clings to existence investment and government corrup - and accessible oil and gas reserves somewhat perilously. April 2010 saw tion is that the roads rarely reach to that would bring it easy wealth. a violent political revolution, the sec - where you need to go, and those that However, to the south and south east ond in half a decade, and for a few are in place have been ravaged by of the country are significant quanti - days it seemed that the state and its extreme weather conditions, rock ties of gold, coal, uranium and anti - people were poised to destroy one falls, over use and neglect. In their mony. The former in particular has another. America, Russia and China place, twisting amongst the vast, caught investors’ eye and made sure maintain a pseudo-imperial interest snow-capped peaks, are 70+ locally- that the banks of Switzerland are the in both Kyrgyzstan’s economy and owned helicopters, deployed by greatest buyers of Kyrgyzstan’s politics, and the ever-shifting slopes everyone from the Kyrgyz armed exports. of the Pamir and Tien Shan mountain forces, heli-ski tour companies and Kumtor is the largest gold mine in

ranges make the development of the Aga Khan Foundation, to Central Asia to be operated by a e

r

u

s

agriculture and transport infrastruc - Presidents and other government Western company, and, at over o

P

x ture a challenge. officials needing to escape from 4000m above sea level, it also hap - e

M

u

As one might expect for a country angry citizens at speed. pens to be the second highest gold M

i

x which may be only a few hundred One of the more unusual (and eco - mine in the world. Only the a

M

s miles long but, if rolled flat, would nomically important) uses of the hel - Yanacocha mine in northern Peru is h

P

a

r occupy a space larger than mainland icopters within the country is that by at a higher altitude. Kumtor is in g

o

t

China, helicopters are a key means those in the gold mining sector. Issyk-Kul, an isolated province of o

h

P

18 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 manas International Airport, named after the traditional hero manas who united the 40 tribes of Kyrgyz against the Khitans

Inset: Russian and Kyrgyz flags. The forty ray sun on the Kyrgyz flag symbolises the 40 tribes

the south-east near to the Kyrgyz-Chinese border. By road, the 400km journey from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital city, mil m8mTV is used for heavy takes a minimum of nine hours. Snow fall, rock slides and lifting work traffic accidents regularly make it impassable. It will there - fore come as no surprise that Centerra Gold, the Canadian company that operates the Kumtor mine, has purchased a Mi-17 helicopter to ferry staff and supplies between Bishkek and isolated pit sites. The Russian manufactured Mi-17 is a modified version of the Mi-8 helicopter and, just like the Mi-8, it is also known by its NATO call sign as ‘Hip’. In the Russian mili - tary this helicopter is referred to as the Mi-8MT. The modi - fications make the Mi-17 more suitable for transport use and they include a strengthened fuselage and more power - ful engines: the Mi-17 has a 1545 KW engine as opposed to the Mi-8’s 1454 KW one. The Mi-17 is manufactured at the Mil helicopter plant in Moscow and also under license in China. The Mi-17 is suitable for use at the Kumtor mine for a number of reasons. It has a large passenger capacity – 32 persons – and a maximum take-off weight of 13,000kg. It can therefore be used to transport numerous combinations e r of personnel, supplies and equipment that would otherwise u s o

P have to be moved laboriously by road. The helicopter’s x e maximum speed is 250 kmh, which has cut the journey M u M i time between Bishkek and the mine to around 60 minutes. x a

M The Mi-17 has a range of approximately 950km and so can s h

P easily make the 600km round trip between sites without re- a r g

o fuelling. The altitude of the mine clearly requires consider - t o h ation, particularly as a number of neighbouring peaks are in P

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Agricultural land near Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, and located in the Fergana Valley near the Uzbekistan border

excess of 7000m. The Mi-17 has an operational ceiling of for development projects, including the ongoing 6000m above sea level, giving ample room for maneuver. improvement of the airport. Because of its limited number of flight paths, The Mi-17 has a reasonably strong safety record, Centerra’s helicopter has little problem in finding landing which Centerra considers to be among its greatest places. A heli-pad has been constructed at Kumtor’s strengths. Not only does it transport some of the compa - open-pit site in Issyk Kul province and, when flying in to ny’s most valuable human assets – its highly trained for - or out of Bishkek, the helicopter is able to land at Manas eign contractors – but the helicopter is also used to move International Airport. Located 40km from the city centre, controversial chemicals used in the gold extraction Manas is used both as a civilian airport and as the US process. In 1998 Kumtor was at the centre of an environ - military’s supply base for operations in Afghanistan. The mental and diplomatic fiasco when a truck carrying US government pays $60 million in rent for the base 1762kg of sodium cyanide (a chemical used to dissolve annually, and has also committed a further $117 million gold from granulated ore) fell into the Barskaun River en e r u s o P x e M u M i x Tien Shan mountains a M s

which straddle the h P a

border between China r g o t

and Kyrgyzstan o h 20 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 national exports. As Centerra and its competitors expand across the country and further exploit Kyrgyzstan’s mineral reserves, helicopters will be an increasingly valuable tool in ensuring that personnel, supplies and equipment can be moved safely and efficiently between sites. So long as the political situation is unstable and the wider economy depressed, ground transport infrastruc - ture will continue to be inadequate to meet the demands of the gold mining sector. Helicopters provide, and will continue to provide, the essen - tial transport link that makes gold exploration and extraction a viable business proposition in Central Asia. A miner showing his prized possession: The inhospitable land - gold teeth scape has few places to land the mi-17 route to the mine. Cyanide salts are among the most rapidly act - ing of all known poisons and the disaster led several people dead and many more injured. Environmentalists and government offi - cials alike questioned Kumtor’s ongoing operation in Kyrgyzstan, and the debate continues to flare up whenever it is politically expedient. Centerra is understandably keen to avoid such an event arising in the future. Gold mining is central to Kyrgyzstan’s economy. Kumtor’s output alone contributes between 6% and 10% of the country’s GDP each year, and the mine’s gold accounts for almost 20% of Searching for a Mystery Helicopter Pilot Ken Smith asks for help in trying to locate a female helicopter pilot he met in the 1960s or any information about her

n 1967, Ken Smith, was a flight engineer on the Navy P3 Orion, stationed at Brunswick Maine. One day, while he Iwas painting the boats, a woman with two small girls came into the boat yard. The adults got talking, while the lit - tle girls watched him paint. The three of them continued to visit throughout the sum - mer and at the end of the summer Ken was given their address in London and told to ‘stop by’ if he was ever in the area. He remembers that the little girls wore dresses and that all three of them came through the fence from the ‘posher’ side of the town. A few months later Ken was on R&R and had the chance to take a flight to London from Rota in Spain. He decided to try and contact the family while he was in London. Telephone systems being somewhat different in the 1960s Ken was able to phone the operator and ask for the woman’s phone number. The operator told him it was the Duke of Edinburgh’s house, and he later discovered that they were renting the house from The Duke. Ken and a friend visited the family while they were it London. It was during their conversations on these visits that the mother mentioned she was the first licenced female heli - copter pilot. He understood her to be the first licenced female helicopter pilot in the US, but as she also said her husband was Swedish and worked for Time Life, it could have been a European licence. He remembers that all the servants were Swedish. Ken says: “I have been googling London looking for the pub that my friend and I went to that day, which was near the residence. All I remember of the residence is a servant letting us through a large metal gate and the interior was all marble. I remember she was drinking straight ‘Scotch’ and had a beautiful Persian cat. The building was the typical grey stone, like the older buildings. I don't know why but I feel it was near St. James, and Piccadilly Circus also rings a bell.”

Ken has talked to various aviation historians, including one whose speciality is female pilots and has still drawn a blank, P but he is very anxious to trace the woman or, if she has h o t already died, her children. o g r a P h

Can anyone help? c o u r

If you have any information please contact Ken via t e s

Helicopter Life. y K e n s

Ken Smith in 1975 M i t h

22 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 T E >> reedexpo.co.uk For more information more For +44 (0)20 8439 8853 8853 8439 (0)20 +44 please contact Brandon Ward Brandon contact please meet and do business brandon.ward for industry professionals to www.helitecheurope.com face to face networking platform Providing the Southern European Southern the Providing Book your space today space your Book helicopter community with a dedicated community helicopter

PORTUGAL DUXFORD Organised by: Organised Texas rides to

The 2010 HAI HeliExpo Houston Texas

Words by Helicopter Life staff photographs, Alan Norris, Ian Turner and Georgina Hunter-Jones the Challenge

AI HeliExpo 2010 was held in Houston. The operators spoke of their hope for the resurgence of the mood at the show was much more upbeat than heavy lifting market, and Erickson AirCrane, which has Hlast year, even though the civilian business mar - started a recovery section for disaster areas, spoke of ket is still in the doldrums. Some helicopter markets, some growth in that area. There were a few ‘new heli - however, have not been damaged by the recession, prin - copter’ announcements from the manufacturers but cipally the military market, which is booming thanks to inevitably, given the length of time it takes to certify a the many conflicts across the globe. Police and EMS helicopter, none were completely new: Bell, for example, markets have also kept their strength, while a few utility was promoting the Bell 429 which flew in Anaheim and GrandNew avionics

The Agusta GrandNew inauguration

Paris last year and gained EASA certi - ment, big enough to carry golf clubs year and 50 in 2011, in time for the fication last October, Agusta show - and a suitcase or two. predicted improvement in 2012. The cased the Grand New, a Grand with a The company has released pre - 429 has a new revised maintenance new avionics and instrument package, liminary performance figures: pay - manual which has reduced the num - and Eurocopter continued its promo - load with full fuel (73.6 US ber of lifed parts from 87 to 43, tion of the middle range EC175, Gallons) 927 lbs; cruise speed 120 which, as Garrison pointed out, will which had its first flight last knots; range 325 nm, maximum substantially reduce costs. December. Sikorsky is finally flying operating altitude 14,000 feet with While Garrison would not com - the S76D prototype, which was first hover OGE and IGE over 10,000 ment on Bell’s attitude to the AW609 announced in 2005. Frank Robinson’s feet. Depending on temperature and Tiltrotor programme in combination R66 is now on its third prototype and altitude you can expect a climb rate with AgustaWestland, he did say that, will be, he says, in production soon. of 1000 fpm. “The 609 continues to be developed.” There was also an emphasis on alter - Robinson said, “we are doing our Bell’s workforce was out on strike native fuels and green technology, led best to finish everything, but every - for six weeks over the summer at by the major operators such as thing has to be right, however long Hurst, the Texas plant, but Garrison’s Eurocopter’s Bluecopter and it takes.” He said they are close to comment was that in spite of the Sikorsky’s Sikorsky Innovations. certification, and as soon as it has strike Bell “had the best productivity passed the FAA it will go into full year we have ever had on several Robinson production. Orders are already models.” The Robinson R66 is probably one coming in and Robinson envisages He added that Bell accounted for of the most awaited helicopters of all building two R66s a week, and 27% of parent company Textron’s time. It is the stretch version of the moving up production from there. revenues and, in spite of Textron’s R44, with a turbine engine, the RR- Operational costs, he said, will be well-publicized financial difficulties 300, specially made for Robinson by similar to the R44, although the it will continue to invest in Bell. Bell Rolls-Royce. Frank Robinson flew it R66 will use “considerably more himself last month and said, “The fuel”. Pilas (Pilot transition from the R44 into this is Assistance System) extremely easy. The start-up proce - Bell Helicopters dure is really simple and once you get Bell Helicopters CEO, John under way, except for the fact that you Garrison, said he did not expect a are a little smoother and faster, you revival in the civil business-heli - feel like you are in an R44.” copter market until 2012, and Robinson has set an initial price of acknowledged that only 50 of the $770,000. Standard equipment 300 letters of intent for the Bell 429 includes leather seats, high definition had actually transmuted into firm landing lights and a stereo audio con - orders. However, two Bell 429s trol panel. Robinson is particularly were delivered last year, and Bell is proud of the large baggage compart - increasing production to 25 this 26 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Eurocopter Bluecopter EC175

had a turnover of $2.8 billion last year, of which 43% was part of their overall green strategy known as Bluecopter. in the civil sector, amounting to $672 million. Blue Edge features a re-designed main rotor blade. Last year Bell announced that they were discontinuing The ‘double-swept’ shape of the blade (angled around production of the Bell 206B JetRanger, but this year 45 degrees to the main span) reduces the noise generat - Garrison insisted that Bell will continue support of these ed by blade-vortex interactions, known as BVI. ‘legacy’ helicopters, in combination with the Rolls-Royce Eurocopter has been using the EC155 as a testbed and company. Rolls-Royce will also develop RR500TS STC the five-blade Blue Edge main rotor has logged 75 retrofit kits, which will replace the RR250 engines that hours in service, giving a noise reduction of between currently power the Bell 206 range. The RR500TS has three and four decibels. The company are ready to do more take-off power and better hot and high perform - further tests. Eurocopter VP, Yves Favennec, said that ance. FAA type certification is expected next year. Blue Edge is designed to reduce noise but not vibration. Bell Helicopter’s XworX advanced projects arm is “It is optimized to a fixed angle of descent,” which is developing a computerized fly-by-wire control system less expensive to maintain than more active systems. that could make manoeuvring the helicopter at night or in Blue Pulse is an active system that uses a ‘piezo- brown out conditions more precise. Nick Lappos, senior active’ rotor control system modified by Eurocopter to VP said, “NVGs are not the total solution to the visual reduce vibration in the airframe, and hence increase cuing problem… there still needs to be an interface to the passenger comfort and extend the life of components. aircraft controls.” Blue Pulse works by using three flaps on the trailing edge of each rotor blade. Piezoelectric actuators move Eurocopter the rotor flaps 15 to 40 times per second in order to Eurocopter was focusing mainly on new technology neutralize the ‘slap’ blade sound. Tests have been car - with two new systems: Blue Edge and Blue Pulse, both ried out on an EC145 and have produced noise reduc -

Blue pulse blade s i r r o n n a l a

, s e n o J - r e t n u h a n i g r o e g s h P

a Blucopter engine- r g

o see New Technology t o h page 16 P helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 27 As usual the Robinson booth drew the greatest crowd

R66 arriving at Houston Photo Ian Turner

tions of five decibels. This reduces and with the possibility of using For the future, Tilton noted that MD both noise and vibration and it can alternative fuel when this becomes is on track to receive certification for a take the place of other Eurocopter available. Testing continues. glass cockpit for the MD 500 in April. anti-vibration systems, preventing a The EC175 medium twin first It is also moving much of its manufac - weight increase. prototype is now undergoing tests at turing in-house including bringing the Eurocopter are also looking at the Eurocopter headquarter in construction of the MD 902 fuselage to future avionics and have produced a Marignane, France. The company Mesa, Arizona from Turkey. MD has PILAS system (Pilot Assistance expect to make several slight completed sales to several foreign gov - System) that provides virtual syn - changes including the position of ernments and is in discussion with the thetic vision. On the artificial hori - the horizontal fin. The EC175 is defence departments of several Asian zon, for example, instead of a line powered by Pratt and Witney nations. for the ground, the actual outline of Canada PT6C-67E engines, each Tilton said, “MD has some incredi - the terrain is displayed in relation to supplying 1,775 shp each. It has a ble programs for 2010. We have a the helicopter, giving a more realis - crew of two and can carry sixteen good order book for this year.” tic appreciation of the pitfalls ahead. passengers. It will have a cruise The aim, with this system, is to speed of around 140 knots and a AgustaWestland get the helicopter ‘thinking like a range of 270 nm. Accompanied by lights and music pilot’ using a satellite-based track - Agusta unwrapped its AW109 Grand ing and message system such as macDonald Douglas New, which has already had certifica - Outer Link, to allow the system to “Those who need, buy.” Simon tion from EASA. FAA approval is calculate a route taking into account Oliphant-Hope, British MD dealer, obstacles and terrain, weather and summed up the mood of the reces - traffic, by using a database. sion when he said, “we are now sell - r

Eurocopter have tested the system ing almost exclusively to people e n r

on an EC145 and flown 30 hours who need helicopters: the police, u t n

EMS operators, powerline and a since 2008. Stefan Maisch, project i

, s

manager, said the system could be pipeline patrols. VIP and Corporate e n o J

certified within five years. only buy a helicopter if they have to - r e t

Eurocopter is also developing a go from point A to point B.” n u new compact, high-compression, Although MD had a difficult year h a n i

two-stroke engine called the OPOC in 2009, with unpaid suppliers and g r o rumours of bankruptcy, CEO Lynn e

(opposite piston opposite cylinder) g s

Tilton, supported by a new manage - h as part of its efforts to develop a P

R66 engine the a r

new single engine helicopter with a ment team, said they were now g

Rolls-Royce o t

“back on track”. o diesel engine that uses 40% less fuel RR300 h P 28 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Sikorsky S64 Photograph Alan Norris

expected shortly. The Grand New uses the same Pratt & divided into three separate companies: Sikorsky Global Witney Canada PW207C turbine as the Grand. Helicopters which will command $1.1 billion and The major differences between the Grand and the include all FAA certified helicopters; Sikorsky Military Grand New are the avionics. The New has the Thales Systems, which will have $3.2 billion and Sikorsky TopDeck all-digital cockpit, and includes Chelton’s Aerospace Services with $2.0 billion. There will also be FlightLogic synthetic vision EFIS with highway in the sky the subsidiary companies including PzL Mielec in display, flight management system, and helicopter terrain Poland and Sikorsky Innovations for the new inven - awareness warning system. tions and testing. The Grand New also has HUMS and a helicopter emer - Pino said it had been a good year for Sikorsky gency exit lighting system. The max gross weight has although 75% of the sales had been military, and he been slightly increased to 7,000 lbs and the Grand New noted that the civilian market in both domestic and can hover at 14,500 feet. international spheres had been very complicated. Last year, Agusta bought PzL Swidnik to expand its The S76D was now doing flight trials. Although the presence in Europe. This year, the company has signed an S76D looks very similar to the S76C++ it has a brand agreement with Tata for AW119 Koala production in new Pratt & Witney PW210S 1000 shp engine and new India. Like many other helicopter companies blades. Testing is being done at Keystone and the first AgustaWestland sees the potential of the Indian market deliveries will take place in Summer 2011. The S76D with its poor infrastructure, large population and currently will have the same Thales TopDeck avionics system small helicopter numbers. used in the Grand New. CEO Giuseppe Orsi spoke of Agusta’s achievements in 2009 including four first flights, which he thought was a record: the T129, a new variant of the AW101, the AW159 Bell Helicopters and the AW149. booth with the Bell The major disruption in the Agusta family was the ter - 429 on display mination of the VH-71 (AW101) Presidential helicopter programme. AgustaWestland and Lockheed Martin have r e

n delivered several helicopters in various states of comple - r u

t tion and still believe that theirs is the best helicopter for n a i

, the purpose. Orsi said: “Based on our analysis of the s i r

r request for information released by the US Navy last week o n

n it is still the best answer, if not the only answer.” a l a s h

P Sikorsky a r g

o Jeff Pino, President of Sikorsky, said that asa result of t o

h the $6.3 billion revenues last year Sikorsky has been P helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 The Bell 429 is doing well in India

The Sikorsky S92 has had a good and UH-60s are still maintained and the purchase could run through to year, including being chosen as the it would be a natural progression for 2014. The 480B currently costs helicopter platform by Soteria, the Sikorsky to continue supporting the $995,000 for a basic machine. winners of the United Kingdom President of the United States, as SAR-H contract, a programme of £6 they have been doing for the last Presidential VXX Helicopter billion over 25 years, starting in sixty years. The US Navy last week issued a 2012. Soteria is a consortium that Sikorsky also has a contract to comprehensive 27 page request for includes CHC, who already use the revamp the S-61. The company plan information (RFI) for the next VXX S92 for SAR in parts of the UK. to purchase up to 110 S61 Ns and Ts Presidential Helicopter, following Sikorsky Innovations has a budg - and upgrade them in combination the termination of the VH-71 heli - et of $1 billion over the next 10 with Carson Helicopters. The new copter programme by the Pentagon years for research and development. S61s will have an increased ballistic last year on the grounds of cost. SI is currently working on the X-2 tolerance, composite main rotor Although the President continues to coaxial helicopter. Jeff Pino said that blades, and a glass cockpit. The first use the Sikorsky Helicopters these the X-2 would be back in flight in flight is expected before the end of are said to be ageing and in need of March at their West Palm Beach the year. replacement, but at a considerably facility, and that it had already reduced budget. Responding parties reached 100 knots in flight tests. Enstrom have until March 3rd to submit a let - Sikorsky envisages a vehicle that Enstrom only sold five helicop - ter of interest and until April 19th to allows for pilot choice. Calling the ters last year and was forced to lay submit their final responses to the system Actualisation and Adaptive, off more than half of its work force, Naval Air Systems Command. Pino explained that the X-2 would but is much more hopeful this year, s

have one system and be able to be thanks to new opportunities in Asia. BAE continue to grow their use of e n o J

flown either with or without a pilot, Doug Smith, Director of Quality Q-sights in the civilian arena. They - r e adaptable by the use of one switch. Assurance, said that the company is have a very steady military follow - t n u

They are also looking at intelligent finalising an order for sixteen 480Bs ing and hope to add more civilians. h a n i

piloting, so the helicopter will be for the Royal Thai Army, and could Warthog Aviation has been grow - g r o able to advise the pilot on the best be selling up to 30 480Bs to the ing in strength and is involved in e g s

way and place to fly. Japan Self Defence Force. The many new projects in the Far East. h P a r

On the subject of the Presidential Japanese are currently testing one Erickson Air Crane were also g o t

Helicopter Pino said that the VH-3 helicopter, and if that is successful stressing their improvements to the o h P 30 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 This always looks easy when airlines do it...

S64 in three fields: Composite Blade Program, with Advanced Technologies Incorporated, which will facili - tate the development and production of composite blades: Vacuum Lift Technology: technology that allows more efficient and swift transportation of large pipelines and various types of support equipment such as Conex or ISO Containers Water Usage Tracking System: EAC is integrating Absolute Fire Solutions FASTTrack to provide advanced data recording and transmission for quantities of water, foam mix or retar - dant deliveries and locations during firefighting opera - BAE Systems Q- tions worldwide sights used with a The focus of the 2010 HeliExpo was both new and military helmet long term: developing for the future, either in terms of speed and height, or in ways of powering helicopters by using alternative fuel. The excesses of the early 21st Great big bug? century had been left behind and the new emphasis was on lean machines designed for workers, not players. It will be interesting to see how this vision develops over the coming years. I had one small complaint about HeliExpo Houston: according to the HAI website press would be allowed to go into the show area one hour before the show started. However, every morning I had to argue with the securi - s i r

r ty people to allow me in. Eventually, bejewelled with an o n elegant rubber band I was allowed in, but why wasn’t n a l

a the press pass enough, as per the website? s h P a r g o t o h P r e P P u

, r e n r u t n a i s h P a r o t o h P o W

t Schweizer r e 300CBi in W o l downtown helicopter LIFE , Summer2010 Houston Blades of

32 Summer Portugal 2010

Flying with the Rotores Portugese by Menso van Westrheueu

he Rotores de Portugal operational and budgetary reasons as part of Esquadra 552 at Beja, still (Blades of Portugal) aerobat - they were disbanded in October flying the venerable Alouette 3. Tic display team is among the 1980, but reformed again only two Esquadra 552 operates a dozen lesser known aerobatic teams in years later with a two-ship display Alouettes. A few of those still sport u e u

Europe. Formed in April 1976 by as part of Esquadra 552. In 1991 the a standard brown-green camouflage, e r t order of the Air Force Chief of team moved to Esquadra 111 (still while most (about eight) have the s e

Staff, the team made its debut dur - at Tancos) made up of instructor same camouflage scheme but with W n a ing an air show at Sintra. At that pilots, but after two seasons they Rotores de Portugal stickers v o s n time it formed part of Esquadra 33 stopped performing when their applied. These decorations can e M h

at Tancos airbase and flew four squadron was disbanded. After an quickly be removed when a helicop - P a r standard SE3160 Alouette 3 heli - absence of over ten years Rotores ter is needed for operational use. g o t o

copters for their display routine. For de Portugal was reactivated in 2005 Apart from displaying to the pub - h P Pictures courtesy of Menso van Westrheueu 33 To apply for Rotores de Portugal pilots meed a minimum of 800 - 1000 hours flying on the Alouette

34 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 It takes fifty training hours to learn to exectue all the manoeuvres safely

lic, the Alouettes also fulfil a variety of roles including some 700 hours on the Alouette pilots start to train rotary flying training, supporting army and navy troops, some manoeuvres of Rotores, even if they are not (yet) search and rescue and occasional fire fighting. selected for the team. That way they learn perfectly how After completing the basic training course pilots con - to handle the helicopter and they don’t have to learn all tinue to fly on another helicopter types (such as the the manoeuvres for the first time when they enter the EH101 Merlin) or they stay with the squadron and fol - team. Only after 800 hours flying can a pilot become an low the advanced training course becoming operational instructor.” Alouette pilots. It will take further time for them to That is also about the moment at which they can become instructor pilots. apply for Rotores de Portugal, which requires a mini - Major Candeias explains: “Training flights with the mum of 800 to 1000 hours on the Alouette. It still takes Alouette often take place close to the ground and another fifty training flights, starting solo and working instructors have to know the helicopter’s limits by heart up to a three-ship formation, to learn to execute all the to avoid accidents. Therefore we do not have ‘young’ manoeuvres safely. instructor pilots like some other air forces. After logging Rotores de Portugal is run by fifteen military volun - helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 35 After logging 700 hours on the Alouette the pilot starts to train for the team

instructors have to know the helicopters limits by heart

The team deploys four alouettes to dis - plays with one spare

Pre-flight check

Rotores de Portugal is run by fifteen military marshalling volunteers

36 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 The display takes seventeen minutes

teers, spending their spare time with the team. They take Marcão with Captain Pedro ‘Mikoli’ Ferreira on his left pride in representing the Portuguese Air Force at air and Lieutenant Paulo ‘Trinitá’ Melo on his right. A shows and other events, mainly in Portugal and Spain. ground force of nine maintenance crews (technicians The team’s objectives include creating awareness among and mechanics) make sure the helicopters are ready to the public of the expertise, professionalism and disci - fly at every location. pline in the Portuguese Air Force, contributing to better The team normally deploys four Alouettes to a dis - recognition and public appreciation of the armed forces, play location, with one acting as a spare. acting as a recruitment platform and representing the air Demonstrations are preceded by a 30 minute famil - force at manifestations and air shows of regional, nation - iarization and training flight. The display itself takes 17 al and international importance. minutes (excluding take off, landing and waiting time) Rotores de Portugal is led by Major Carlos ‘Stout’ and includes several formations and manoeuvres such Candeias, who has logged over 3,000 flight hours on the as the stall turn, mirror, rising spiral and carousel. Alouette 3, many during operations in East Timor before During a display each Alouette burns some 600 litres of 2002. He is the first ‘spare pilot’, and normally leads the jet fuel (F-34) and another 50 litres of diesel (F-54) for team from the ground. the smoke pods. Two different display profiles are The ‘Leader in flight’ is Captain Mário ‘Speed’ available, one over land and the other for displays over

During the display each alouette burns 600 litres of jet fuel

The display includes formation stall turns, mir - rors, rising spirals and carousels

37 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 In 2010 Rotores de Portugal enters its fifth decade of flying the Alouette in front of the public, after having performed in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. major Candeias is optimistic about the future. He says, “We would like to display again with four heli - copters, painted in the same colour as the helmet that we are currently using, but we are limited by the budget and support that we get from our headquarters.” A team of nine maintenance crews (technicians and mechanics) make sure the hel - icopters are ready to fly at every location.

water. The latter differs slightly in terms of manoeuvres rebuilt again, test flown at the display location and after and display altitude due to the lack of reference points. the show the same procedure has to be repeated. A In 2010, Rotores de Portugal enters its fifth decade of weekend with two displays of only 17 minutes each flying the Alouette in front of the public, having per - would take a full week of preparations. formed in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and 2000’s. Major However, if a country offers us aerial transport to and Candeias is optimistic about the future: “We would like from the air show, we are always happy to consider it,” to display again with four helicopters, painted in the he concludes with a laugh. same colour as the helmet that we are currently using, The Portuguese Air Force is due to retire the Alouette but we are limited by the budget and the support that we within a few years, probably replacing it with the get from our headquarters. After that, we would like to AgustaWestland AW109 or Eurocopter EC120 Colibri. visit more European air shows, but looking at the flight Only future will tell if the Rotores de Portugal continue range we are mainly limited to our neighbouring coun - to exist after the transition. tries Spain and France. For instance, a flight to the The author would like to thank all the members of the United Kingdom is impossible for us because it will Rotores de Portugal display team and the rest of take too much time away from our normal operations Esquadra 552 personnel. The author would especially and training courses. Being airlifted by C-130 is a possi - like to thank Lieutenant Elisabete ‘BETA’ Gomes for bility but will cost a lot of effort. Imagine the fact that being such a great host during our three day visit. five of our Alouettes have to be dismantled, airlifted, Obrigado!

Rotores de Portugal is led by major Carlos ‘Stout’ Candeias, leader in flight is Captain mário ‘Speed’ marcão with Captain Pedro ‘mikoli’ Ferreira left and Lieutenant Paulo ‘Trinitá’ melo right.

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 39 Methods of using Alternative Fuels Including - USA’s DARPA looking at cheap jet fuel made from algae

ARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects The possibilities have set off a scramble to discover the Agency) of the Pentagon is just months away from cheapest way of mass-producing an algae-based fuel. Dproducing a jet fuel from algae. DARPA claim that Even Exxon – which once dismissed biofuels as moon - production will start in 2013. shine – invested $600m in research last July. While this cheap, low-carbon fuel would originally be Unlike corn-based ethanol, algae farms do not threaten for the US military, incidentally the single largest con - food supplies. Algae also draw carbon dioxide from the sumer of energy, there would also be applications for civil - atmosphere when growing; when the derived fuel is ian flying world-wide. burned, the same CO2 is released, making the fuel theoret - Darpa's research projects have already extracted oil from ically zero-carbon. algal ponds at a cost of $2 per gallon. It is now on track to Earlier this year, the US Environmental Protection begin large-scale refining of that oil into jet fuel. Barbara Agency (EPA) declared that algae-based diesel reduced McQuiston, special assistant for energy at Darpa says that greenhouse gas emissions by more than 50% compared will be at a cost of less than $3 a gallon. with conventional diesel. The Obama administration The work is part of a broader Pentagon effort to reduce awarded $80m for research with algae and biomass fuels. the military's oil usage, which runs at between 60 and 75 For Darpa, the support for algae is part of a broader mis - million barrels of oil pa. Much of that is used to keep the sion for the US military to obtain half of its fuel from US Air Force in flight. Commercial airlines have also been renewable energy sources by 2016. This means that the looking at the viability of an algae-based jet fuel, as has the Pentagon will need to make its hardware capable of run - Chinese government. ning on any energy source including methane and D

McQuiston said. “Oil from algae is projected at $2 per propane. n a l t

gallon, headed towards $1 per gallon.” The US Air Force wants its entire fleet of jet fighters s e W

She added that a larger-scale refining operation, produc - and transport aircraft to test-fly a 50-50 blend of petrole - a t s ing 50 million gallons pa, would start in 2011 and she was um-based fuel and other sources by next year. This is part - u g a hopeful the costs would drop still further .The projects, run ly driven by cost, but is also due to military commanders h P a r

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h y HELICOPTER MOUNTAIN RESCUE

The history of mountain rescue and the additional vital role played by volunteers by Leslie Symons

42 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 UNLIMITED

eadlines such as ‘Helicopter rescue on which the first major climbing catastrophe occurred in Snowdon’, ‘Climbers rescued by helicopter’, 1820, when eleven members of a large party ascending H‘Mobile phone saves three’ and ‘Mountain res - the mountain were swept into a large crevasse by an ava - r

e cue team saves mother and child from cliff-face’ appear lanche. Three of the victims were beyond help but the l h c

s with great frequency in the newspapers – with disturbing others managed to climb out, or were pulled out by the t i

D or reassuring frequency, according to one’s point of view. others. For many years rescues in the Alps remained on y n n

e Few readers are likely to give much thought to the organ - an ad hoc basis, but early in the twentieth century teams B n isation and dedication of the rescue teams that lie behind were formed in a number of areas where climbing had a J r

a these rescues, and probably least of all to the volunteer become a popular sport, such as Chamonix and s h

P part-time members of local mountain rescue teams. Garmisch-Partenkirchen. A similar sequence followed in a r g Rescuing mountain climbers has a history that dates Great Britain, with the Lake District leading the way. o t o h back at least to the early ascents of Mont Blanc, on Today, the UK has undoubtedly one of the best moun - P helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Photographs courtesy of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue team and 43 HMS Gannet SAR Flight Cairngorm rescue case The Cairngorms are not high by Alpine standards but their almost arctic plateaus are bounded by wicked cliffs, with plenty of scope for advanced ice climbing in winter, and high-grade rock climbing in summer. The Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, based at Aviemore, provides the ground-based search and rescue services for the northern parts, and is supplemented when necessary by other teams, including the RAF Mountain Rescue Teams. The RAF teams were established to find aircraft that had crashed in the hills, but the majority of their callouts today are to rescue civilians. Air support is pro - vided by the RAF and the Royal Navy Search and Rescue flight based at HMS Gannet, Prestwick, the Coastguard based at Stornoway, and by other units if necessary. Visualise a cold and stormy New Year’s Eve when most people just want to be at home relaxing and cele - brating. Hogmanay is, however, also a time of high activity in the mountains, and accidents are common. In this case a mobile phone call from a narrow ledge high on a Cairngorm climb led to the turning out of the Cairngorm MRT and an RAF Sea King. The leader had dislodged a boulder on a partly frozen ice route, and it mRT lowers stretcher and had smashed into his second–who was also his casualty down the cliff father–and may also have caused a serious spinal injury. face The RAF Sea King flew into the corrie at 1545, but the turbulent and gusty conditions made it impossible for it to hover close enough to the cliff to effect a rescue. tain rescue services in the world – and it is entirely free! Therefore the pilot flew down the valley and picked up Whatever the cause, wherever it occurs, however long it the rescue team members and their equipment and flew takes, however many helicopters and rescuers take part, them in, at considerable risk, and deposited them on the whatever the weather and whatever the dangers (and plateau above the climb. By 1600 the leader on the sometimes casualties are incurred by the rescuers) there is ground had made contact with the stranded pair. It was no charge to the rescued. This subject will be returned to already growing dark. later. First a summary of how it is organised. The easiest way to lift or lower a stretcher is vertical - The police play a dominant role and are officially ly, but in the case of spinal injury every effort must be responsible for deciding whether or not to call for the made to keep the casualty horizontal. The rope manage - help of a helicopter, including those of the fully trained ment of such injuries is complicated, and requires dou - and equipped units of the Royal Air Force, the Royal ble the usual number of ropes. One strong climber Navy and the Coastguard. Some police forces run their abseiled down and confirmed the suspicion of a spinal own teams, and all work closely with the independent injury, and another followed. They made the man secure volunteer rescue teams. In practice, a mountain rescue on the narrow ledge. When all was ready, another res - team (MRT), particularly if already out on the hill, may cuer went down with the stretcher, keeping it away from be able to request a helicopter directly from the the wall to avoid dislodging more rocks. As the stretcher Aeronautical Rescue Coordinating Centre (ARCC) at was wafted about by the wind the three hacked away Kinloss, Morayshire. The deployment of a service heli - with their ice axes to make the ledge a little wider, copter is subject to the overriding demands of air force or which took another fifteen minutes. Then the lowering naval requirements, but subject to availability, help to commenced, with one rescuer clipped to the stretcher civilians in distress is never refused. between it and the cliff to keep it away from the rock. Here it seems appropriate to describe an actual case, to This was the crux of the operation and extremely nerve- show how the air and ground services work in co-ordina - wracking for all. Members of an RAF MRT, also sum - tion. moned to the spot to provide more manpower, lit flares

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 44 RAF Sea King in the Cairngorms

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 45 HmS Gannett SAR flight

mRT (mountain Rescue Team) take a stretcher to the Sea King to light the operation. The son was lowered and the capabilities were far short of what was needed in the father was carried down to safe ground. Unfortunately, Alps. The alpine teams got their breakthrough with the when the helicopter pilot again tried to fly into the corrie Alouette III in the 1960s, which made possible even res - the weather made it impossible. Hence the casualty had cues from the top of Mont Blanc (15,770 feet). to be carried all the way to the road where an ambulance In 1963 RAF rescue helicopters in the UK were called was waiting. It was 2345 before the teams stood out eight times as frequently for civilians in trouble as down–too late to join their families to greet the New they were for military purposes:–348 occasions against Year–so they made the best of it at their Inverdruie base. 45 (Air Historical Branch). The Royal Navy also (Ref: J. Allen, Cairngorm John, Sandstone Press, became busier as holidaymakers around the coast Dingwall, 2009) became more ambitious in their explorations of cliffs In Great Britain, volunteer rescue teams had been and caves. RAF and RN call-outs together soon topped a formed well before the war by climbers working in col - thousand a year. laboration with police forces, but a development able to The RN specialises in marine rescues, and its helicop - cope with all British mountains and hills came with a ters often fly to the limit of their fuel reserves far out need that the RAF faced: to trace and rescue or recover over the Atlantic, even in atrocious weather. However, the bodies of crews when airmen had the misfortune to even on sorties to vessels in distress or people needing crash into high land owing to the rudimentary nature of help in some of the non-mountainous areas on the west - navigation equipment, or to engine failure or other caus - ern coasts and in the Hebrides, helicopters on mercy es. After the war the (then nine) RAF MRTs were offi - missions from HMS Gannet at Prestwick airport must cially permitted to become involved in any rescue. The sometimes include mountains and hills in the hazards post-war boom in hill walking and climbing resulted in they have to face. This is especially so when flying low their being called out with increasing frequency. All along the short-cut route via the Crinan Canal, in order searches and rescues were done the hard way, by teams to reach the open sea as quickly as possible. Increasingly that had to struggle up the mountain on foot, thankful for they have been tasked to accidents inland, and they are any help that could be obtained from trucks or jeeps, now as competent as the RAF at mountain rescue. merely to get them in position to set out on the hill. Indeed they have become particularly familiar sights In the 1950s, the modest height of British mountains over Ben Nevis, Glencoe and other western mountains. made it possible for helicopters to offer significant help The number of times the RAF and RN have been to rescue work. The Sikorsky S58, built under licence in involved in search and rescue missions has continued to Britain by Westland Aircraft at Yeovil, and named the rise in recent years. Their helicopter call-outs in the UK Wessex, became the workhorse of the British mountain totalled 1756 in 2006, 1851 in 2007 and 1963 in 2008, rescue services, and air-sea rescue, for many years. It supplemented by fixed-wing aircraft searches, which was also used in alpine regions as probably the best all- numbered 29 in 2008. In addition, RAF mountain rescue round transport helicopter of the time, but its service teams turned out 91 times. Many incidents result in ceiling was lower than many summits, and its hovering more than one unit being called out, and so each year 46 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 the number of call-outs is higher than the number of inci - burgeoned, and the numbers of participants requiring dents (MOD/DASA statistics). Along with Ben Nevis, rescue has also risen relentlessly. Despite the constant Glencoe, the Cairngorms and nearby Craig Meagaidh struggle needed to raise funds, however, the British and Lochnagar frequently appear in the call-outs, togeth - civilian MRTs have steadfastly argued the benefits of a er with the peaks in Skye and Wester Ross in the north - free service. They receive a modest fixed sum annually west, and to the south Ben Cruachan and the Cobbler from the police budget for the replacement of ropes, (Ben Arthur). In England the Lake District needs most clothing, flares, etc. Otherwise the teams are dependent interventions, as does the Snowdon group in Wales, as on donations and their own fund-raising efforts. The would be expected. The government agency’s statistics deployment of a military or naval helicopter is met from do not identify mountain incidents separately, but they the budget of the service that provides it. This is said to can be identified with some reliability from the geo - cost several thousand pounds per hour, so the total cost graphical coordinates that are available for every inter - of a rescue may be £10,000 or £20,000, or even more. vention. Although it is more involved in marine and cliff From time to time the subject of charging the person rescues, the Coastguard rescue team based at Stornoway, who has benefited from the mountain rescue is raised. and equipped with the Sikorsky S92, carried out a record Such charges are routine in many countries. In France 183 search and rescue operations in 2009, 43 of which there has been a partial dilution of the principle of free were mountain rescues. mountain rescue, which remains mainly in the hands of The local MRTs handle many incidents without calling the extremely efficient gendarmerie’s specialised Peleton on helicopter assistance, and are also involved in search - de Haute Montagne (PGHM), which is essentially a mil - es and rescues along with the helicopters. When a heli - itary organisation, and of the Civil Security Service. copter cannot reach the casualty or carry out a search Since 2002, however, regional authorities have been owing to weather, or in some cases because of the con - empowered to impose charges, and some have exercised figuration of the mountain, the ground-based teams are this right. At Chamonix, which has the greatest number the only method of rescue. It is, of course, a great help if of call-outs, a bill may be expected only by casualties of a helicopter is available to fly the MRT into the nearest en-piste skiing. Skiers are expected to have arranged full possible point on the mountain and can then, subject to insurance, and private companies specialise in their rescue. considerations of weather, fuel and operational require - With the British SAR organisation soon to change, the ments, wait to transport the casualty to hospital. mountain rescue teams will have to work with new avia - The MRT will often have to walk out after the heli - tion partners, but they will undoubtedly remain dedicat - copter has departed for the hospital, because of the ed as thoroughly as ever to life saving in a difficult and restricted number of places, or other limitations on the dangerous environment. It is hoped that it will continue capability of the aircraft. As in the case described above, to be possible to offer a free service wherever and when - the rescuers may have been out for hours, in appalling ever needed. conditions, sometimes all night and with their daily The author would like to thank John Allen and Bob Davidson (CMRT workplace anxiously awaiting their return, to say nothing and Sandstone Press) and MoD DASA staff for their help. of their long-suffering families. Why do they do it, year after year? All members have their own reasons but they must all be dedicated mountaineers, and very fit and competent. Statistics collected by the co-ordinating Mountain Rescue Committee for Scotland show that, in 2008, the local volunteer mountain rescue teams went out to 387 incidents occurring on the mountains, and to 140 not directly related to mountain or wilderness activities. Ninety-three of the incidents were answered by the Lochaber team, which covers Ben Nevis. Together with the members of the Search and Rescue Dog Associations also involved, the Scottish civilian teams clocked up some 20,000 man-hours. In Wales, the Llanberis and Ogwen Valley MRTs (covering Snowdon, and the more northerly mountains) were called out to more than 300 Cairngorm mRT incidents last year, a substantial increase on previous years. members in the In recent years walking and climbing in the hills have Sea King

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 47 The Flying

orning Captain,” said the voice on the phone, not a falcon”. “ever flown a Falcon?” At this point Darren is sniggering. MThose four words were to lead to one of the “No, we need to fly a falcon with a 60ft wingspan more interesting jobs I have ever done while flying under a helicopter in Dubai for Sheik Mohamed at the helicopters. The conversation with Darren continued. opening of The Meydan Stadium in six weeks time”. “No, never been in an F16.” As you might have guessed there was a pregnant ”No, I meant the bird.” pause., “Let me think about that, seems a bit of a laugh, “Well, I have flown a buzzard off my hand, but certainly let’s go for it.”

48 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Falcon

Flying an illuminated falcon at night at the opening of the Dubai 2010 World Cup by Andrew Harvey n e s e n r a h P l a r f o y s e t r u o c s h P a r g o t o h P helicopter LIFPE h, Soutmogmrear p20h1s0 courtesy of Andrew Harvey and Darren Wring 49 After much discussion on the aerodynamics of 60 ft falcons and how they would fly under a helicopter we came up with a flying crucifix with a drogue chute to stop it rotating. The Falcon would hang under that, complete with winch so that the back half of the bird could be lowered to make it look like it was flaring. Our next problem was finding what sort of helicop - ter we could get in Dubai to lift it. The choice came Dunkeswell, the week before the falcon has to be shipped to down to a Bell 412. Dubai. While Darren’s team assemble their bird, I remove As you may know, there are virtually no civil 412s in all the excess from my little bird and attach a 75 ft longline the UK, so how were we going to test fly it? After all, to her. Having got G-BIOA over the bird, am given over the we would look very stupid turning up in Dubai with a radio to pick her up, with the parting comment, “ just don’t bird that didn’t fly. Darren and I also didn’t fancy an drop it”. extended trip staying at the Sheik’s pleasure (!!!) if So no pressure then! things didn’t go well. The outcome was the old venera - Well, getting it off the ground was no problem, but trying ble Hughes 500. With our falcon weighing in at 536kgs to fly with it was something else. Having used 75psi to get we were just inside the limit of G-BIOA’s capacity. the bird off the ground, I then needed to use max continu - The scene turns to a windy March day at ous power to move forward at a stunning 10 kts ground speed. The drag on the bird was something else! So much so that I couldn’t get enough airspeed to dare turn down wind, well not in 20 kts of wind. I was obviously wearing the wrong underwear! Having moved it 700m I gently low - ered her back to mother Earth, with no damage! That was the Wednesday, the next Monday the team was flying to Dubai, the falcon was on a 747 freighter (you would not believe how expensive that is !) Well, the bird went out on the Monday. But - the rest of A cold and windy the team were booked on BA, who very kindly have gone day in Dunkeswell - on strike! What to do. Thankfully, it was Emirates Airlines test flying the falcon to the rescue! We were out there, and ready for the deed. Well, what a difference from 20 kts of wind and plus 1 degree of tempaerature. Here we had no wind and 40 degrees centigrade. Welcome to Dubai. Have a nice day! The next three sweaty days are spent assembling the bird and persuading the local Bell 412 pilots that they can lift the bird and fly down the home straight at night at 200ft, with 550 kgs of bird 50 ft under the 412.

After three nights the local boys have got it cracked, with beaming smiles!

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Three sweaty days spent assem - bling the bird and persuading the local 412 pilots they can fly it

The final rehearsal on the Thursday night goes swim - The finale, thankfully, went without a hitch. mingly well, even the Sheik is blown away. Falcon back on the ground, 1 km of lit rope taken All that is left to do is to finish putting 1 km of lit 2mm off by 23:00 and we are on the Emirates plane back to rope to illuminate the bird, and put the claws on a cold wet Heathrow and reality! For those who do YouTube have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qCH11bcksjk The author wiring up the Dubai World Cup opening celebrations - wind for - the claws ward to about the five min mark to see the part of the video with the falcon flying.

The finale went without a hitch

The finished product awaiting its Bell 412

51 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Greek Olympics

Ten helicopters flew from Oxford to cover the 2004 Olympic Games - what plans do we have for 2012? by John Hill

52 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Athens 2004

arion Melbourn stood on the heli-pad at was desperate for a cup of strong builders’ tea. The air - Elstree as I shut down G-OHCP, poured me a craft was filthy, I hadn’t shaved for three days and was Mglass of champagne and remarked on my exhausted from the transit back, which had seen Ian scruffy appearance. I had just flown in from Troyes, the Evans and myself fly through the mountains from Nice last leg of a journey which had seen me leave Elstree to Grenoble Versoud in close formation at 14,000’ four weeks and 105 flying hours before, bound for AMSL as well as dealing with all the usual European Stapleford Tawney and then on to Athens. I adore transit problems (what am I bid for the rights to use Marion and champagne, but at 09:25 in the morning I Naples as a nuclear test site?) Photographs Geoff James and John Hill 53 At each stop the engineers, who were flying in the other aircraft, checked on us Opening photo above: the full helicopter team

The initial tasking came in the day we arrived back every one else was; my aircraft was at Redhill having a from the Bahrain Grand Prix where Rod Wood and I had camera kill switch mounted to protect the battery in case been flying the circuit air ambulance. The hows and of a generator failure. I travelled down by train to collect whys of that trip are for another time, but the night flight it and found the biggest thunderstorm I had ever seen in from Bahrain to Dubai will probably disturb Rod’s sleep the UK raging in the Gatwick zone. This was a snag: and mine for years. Simon Cooper had collared me in the although I could have left from Redhill next morning all office as I was trying to make sense of my writing in the of my kit was at Elstree and I think there would have tech log and asked me if I fancied a month filming the been complaints if I had tried to get through the next Olympics in Athens. By the time he had finished the month on the clothes I stood in. Mark and Theresa question I was on a satziki diet and immersing my Souster offered me a bed for the night, but luckily the epiglottis in retsina. storm passed and I got airborne for Elstree at 20:30. Jerry Grayson and David Voy were heading the project The following morning I arrived at work to find the and they needed ten helicopters, plus pilots and engineers viz 200m with the cloud on the deck. I took my time to fly out to Athens, rig the aircraft for filming and relay loading the aircraft. The rear seats were removed and a work and then get on with the job. Little else was known large spares package replaced them, along with my bag - at the time, but we would hear more as time progressed. gage and a picnic box of pilots favourite goodies. Mark Over the next four months all of us sent several copies Barry-Jackson, the leader of the formation I was to travel of birth certificates, passports, license details and, believe in, called from a fog bound Denham and we briefly dis - it or not, inside leg and chest measurements to Jerry. In cussed the situation. Our original departure was sched - return we heard about his series of new best friends, uled for 08:00, but we eventually got away to Stapleford most of whom appeared to be Greek Air Force colonels at 09:30 where we were again held by weather. This was who were in charge of the airspace side of things. not good; all ten aircraft had to be in Athens within a two Eventually a plan of sorts had been formulated, Rolie hour time block on the Friday afternoon (it was now James had carefully flight-planned the ten aircraft in Wednesday the 4th of August) and we had hotels and a three formations, and we were ready to go. Or at least meal booked for that night with Heli-Riviera in Cannes. 54 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 Eventually the fog lifted enough for the four aircraft to Albanian airspace. What the Albanians had to say about get away. For Mark, Gary Butcher and myself the transit ten helicopters entering their FIR without permission has was quite easy; our aircraft were all full IFR with good never been told, and hopefully never will be, but if the auto-pilots. Ian Evans was flying a very basic 355 with a Albanians are still seeking the culprits then they need ‘floppy stick.’ Station keeping in such poor visibility look no further than Mark B-J and Geoff James! must have been mighty hard work, but twenty miles past Corfu got us away quickly and we routed direct to the French coast the weather cleared and we flew onto Athens via the Gulf of Corinth, the Corinth Canal and Paris in stunning sunshine. the mountains, landing at 15:00 local on Friday the 6th Our first stop and turn-round were very quick and we of August. David Voy, Gerry Grayson and Mark Souster were straight off to Grenoble and then through the moun - were waiting for us, along with the CAA, as we touched tains to Cannes. At each stop the engineers, who were down on the abandoned Hellenico Airport. They strug - flying in the other aircraft, checked on all four, which gled to believe that we had got ten aircraft from the UK was a comfort as we moved further from base. to Athens in three days without leaving one in a pile of Day two saw us in Brindisi after a long hold-up in parts en route. Grossetto (never been since, would only go again in dire There was no time to settle in or relax, we were emergency) a joyous flight down the Bay of Naples to loaded straight onto two mini buses and sent to the Sorrento, and a simple transit across Italy to Brindisi. Olympic Stadium to clear Olympic security and receive On the Friday morning we arrived at the airport, our passes. As soon as we left base an example of Greek flight-planned as a ten-ship formation to Corfu, but the efficiency became apparent. The Greeks had created a weather gods had other ideas. The rain was bouncing off traffic lane specifically for Olympic traffic. We arrived the tarmac and the lightning was giving a stunning show. at the stadium less than twenty minutes after leaving There was only one thing for it and a large number of Hellenico through the Athens rush hour. We went pilots and engineers mooched off to the coffee shop. straight through the system in less than hour and were Eventually the weather cleared and we got airborne very heading back to base where our accommodation was late for Corfu. There were still highly active CBs around sorted, and we were sent off to rest and eat. and the two aircraft with radar watched our track and Our accommodation was a revelation. Each pilot and steered us around them, including once right into engineer had a suite comprising lounge, bedroom,

Sent to the Olympic Stadium to clear Olympic security they went through the system in less than an hour John Hill filming low level over Athens in G-OHCP kitchen, bathroom and huge balcony. There was a swim - known threat in southern Europe/North Africa from ming pool in the grounds, a private bar, room service at Stinger shoulder-launched SAM missiles. We were given any time and the Danish ladies sailing team, although I a quite serious threat brief and a list of actions to take on don’t think the latter were actually listed as amenities. receiving a SAM threat. One codeword would have us The next day started with familiarisation flights and high tailing for base, and another would have us landing filming ‘pretty shots’ for the broadcast library, to be used immediately, even if that meant a landing in the middle during breaks in the action. We pilots had a lot of ques - of an Athens street. tions about the rules we had to abide by. Charts were As Richard Evans pointed out, however, if someone almost unobtainable, and at the end of the event I was did fire a SAM and we saw it, we wouldn’t have enough still using a tourist map and an Athens street map I had time to do anything anyway. From the surface to the five picked up on the first day to get around by. However I hundred foot band that the Wescams would be in would was very lucky; the day we left England I had installed take less than a second. We decided en masse to ignore the latest Jeppesen chip in the Garmin system on the air - the problem until there were bits of 355 raining from the craft, and all the Olympic airspace was marked on the skies and then do something about it. moving map screen. A far more serious problem was that the Greeks had The Greeks had adopted a very simple system for the realised that some of the events passed sensitive areas, airspace. For the duration of the Olympics all Athens air - such as the Secret Service HQ, a couple of barracks and space was closed to all VFR traffic except us. Around several Patriot missile sites. To stop us filming them they each event cylinders of airspace were created which went made the Wescam aircraft fly with a Greek Air Force from the surface to infinity and were roughly five nm officer as an observer making sure that the camera opera - across. Even military aircraft were banned from the cylin - tor didn’t film anything the Greeks thought he shouldn’t. ders, but there was the odd mishap. We had specific On my first trip the somewhat overzealous observer routes to follow to the events and our air traffic was co- seized the film and refused to release it to the broadcast ordinated by one of Jerry Grayson’s colonel friends sit - authorities. He was over-ruled, but only after many hours ting on a mountain top some miles away. There were and after he had tried to have my moving map disabled major security concerns at the time and there was a as it showed where all the sensitive areas were!

56 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 On the Friday night we started filming events with the Pilots John Hill opening ceremony and then went straight into the centre, Pete Barnes Olympics proper with the Men’s Cycling Road Race left and Ian through the Athens streets. We had been given laminated Harding right A4 maps of the routes which were to an unknown scale and had no regular orientation. In the back of my aircraft were a Portuguese camera operator and a Greek observer. The aircraft were tight on fuel so as to maintain Group A performance over the built up area, and the addition of the observer made things far worse in the fuel stakes, and made a planning nightmare for Jerry Grayson. Jerry had worked everything for what he called the ‘dance’. All the aircraft (two Wescams and four Relays) had to be on site for the technical rehearsal and the start. The aircraft would then take it in turns to slope off for gas and then return to relieve someone else. Running in the pack of competitors were four motorbikes, each carrying a cameraman. The cameramen wore different coloured dayglo helmets and the relay pilots had to pick out from task at an altitude of up to 5 000’ closing in to close for - 2 000’ which motorbike the director wanted them to relay mation. When the relay operator had a firm signal from for. Each motorbike was broadcasting its own film sig - the camera bike the pilot on take over would tell his col - nal, which was then picked up by the relay helicopter and league that he had the signal, and at that point the aircraft sent on to the main broadcast centre. The signal from the being relieved would pull up and away and head for base bike was in a narrow cone that tilted as the bike went at high speed. round a corner, the relay pilot had to anticipate the tilt For Pete Barnes and myself it was far easier. We went and position himself to keep the signal. This at the same for fuel on schedule and on return checked where each time as flying the aircraft, monitoring his fuel state and other was, prior to slotting back into the race. To assist in possibly handing over the signal to another relay aircraft. locating eachother one aircraft would drop to very low The relay handover was effected by the recently level and ‘skyline’ the other. Our biggest concern was fuelled aircraft intercepting the aircraft about to leave getting too engrossed in the task and getting too close to

Relay pilots had to pick out from 2000 feet which motorbike the director wanted them to relay for each other. That did happen towards the end of the We left Athens mid-morning on the first of September Olympics and it scared the hell out of both of us. We in formation for Corfu. At Corfu we split up into three were tired and had a tiny mutual lapse in concentration. It formations and took different routes home. was the only time it happened, but that was enough. When I look back on the event, I remember what The next two weeks were a blur of flying, heat, cold seemed to be a chaotic planning stage, but a well run beer and meals at strange times. The cockpit tempera - and, once communications difficulties had been sorted, tures in the Wescam aircraft reached as much as 50 excellently staged event. Sadly I don’t think London degrees and dehydration was a problem which we 2012 will be the same. The politicians have no idea of attempted to mitigate with as much water as we could, the problems involved in filming an event like the and sports drinks to help replace lost electrolytes. David Olympics. The vested interests are all fighting for what Voy would jump into aircraft to cover for pilots needing they each want. They have no idea that so much of the to answer the call of nature. The rate of dehydration in Athens Olympics was filmed by helicopter. It is physical - the Wescam aircraft meant that Pete Barnes and I both ly impossible to do this with overhead cameras: helicop - finished the day lighter than when it started, and in two ters are vital. The grating stupidity of politicians and offi - weeks of flying up to six hours a day never once needed cials who will not listen to the experts from a particular the relief David offered. field makes me believe that London 2012 will be a very Suddenly it was over. We de-rigged the aircraft, dull event to watch, Possibly the change in government packed up and at the final party said farewell to the cam - may help, but only if the incoming Olympics Minister is era and relay operators, who had become close friends. prepared to listen and not to spout a party line as the last We had flown 200 plus sorties, and not missed one. We one did. had only lost some 20 seconds of live broadcast, com - And Elstree? Marion was waiting and pouring the pared to several minutes at Sydney. All we had to do was champagne in the rain. I think it was to soften me up for to get home to the families who had waved us off four the fact that after three days off I had to be in on Sunday weeks before. to fly nine tourist flights around London.

Cockpit temperatures reached as high as 50 degrees

58 helicopter LIFE ,Summer 2010 Two Westcams refuelling after the technical rehersal for the women’s triathalon

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!$ helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 61 Helicopter Futures

COMPANY NEWS FOR 2010: Eurocopter’s Gate

urocopter and Funkwerk Avionics have success - failed. In future, this ‘integrity information’ would make fully completed a helicopter test flight with an it possible for a suitable navigation system to warn the EEC145 in the Galileo test bed GATE in pilot that continuing the flight may be unsafe if the nav - Berchtesgaden, Southern Germany. igation provided by Galileo can no longer be guaranteed The test flight was part of the European research proj - to be reliable. ect MAGES. MAGES (Mature Applications of Galileo During the test flight it was also possible to demon - for Emergency Services) a project funded by the Galileo strate other innovative solutions to existing problems. Supervisory Authority (GSA), aiming to demonstrate the For example, the helicopter crew was able to fly benefits of EGNOS and Galileo for emergency services. straight to an injured fireman and rescue him thanks to For helicopter air rescue services Galileo could one a transponder, powered with rechargeable batteries, day lead to a paradigm shift, as there would then be an which allowed his position to be displayed on the navi - additional satellite navigation system, independent of gation system’s screen in the helicopter. The system and compatible with the American Navstar GPS, which demonstrated is based on transponder technology devel - would, as part of the Safety Of Life Service, provide oped by Funkwerk Avionics. The ADS-B transponder information on the reliability of the signal. used by the system determines its current position via During the test flight in Berchtesgaden the test pilot GPS and transmits this information continuously. The used a synthetic vision system developed by Eurocopter, receiver located on board the helicopter receives these on which the terrain below and around the helicopter is signals and sends them to the helicopter’s navigation P

shown in perspective. The positioning of the synthetic h

system, where the position is displayed on the basis of o t o

terrain displayed is based on the data from the Galileo the data received. g r a

satellite navigation system. As an additional navigational P The great advantage of this system is that it operates h c

aid, the pilot was also provided with a special ‘tunnel-in- without the need for any ground infrastructure, such as o u r t

the-sky’ symbology for the planned flight path, which a GSM network, as such infrastructure is not available e s y

led him safely through the mountainous terrain to its everywhere or may be destroyed by the event itself. o f e

landing site. The ADS-B system was originally developed for use u r o

As part of the test flight an ‘integrity alarm’, on one in air space surveillance, but has proved worthwhile in c o P t

of the simulated Galileo satellites was marked as having various other applications. e r

62 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 B ook r eview

Dressed to Kill The true story of a woman flying under fire

by Charlotte madison £14.99 published 2010 Headline Review

his is the story of the face of a man on the first British army ground. At night the system Tfemale helicopter pilot can detect a person more to fly an Apache in the war in than two miles away. Afghanistan. It is written in There are three weapon the historic present, a style systems, including the can - more commonly used in non on the underside with French than English litera - 1,160 rounds in the maga - ture, but one that works well zine, incendiary semi- here, giving you a feeling of armour-piercing rockets, being part of the action. multi-purpose sub-muni - When chosen for the tions, flechettes - a maxi - Apache course Charlotte mum 76 rockets loaded into Madison (apparently not her four pods on the side wings real name, which has been of the aircraft. And the changed to protect her) says: pièce de résistance - the “It’s angular, black and angry Hellfire missile. They're looking. It's like I shouldn’t laser guided, and accurate be anywhere near it. No won - enough to be posted P

h der US pilots call flying it, through a letter box. All the o t o ‘Riding the Dragon.’.” weapons can be automati - g r a cally slaved to the pilot's P Her instructor says. “it is a h s very intelligent piece of kit.” line of sight. c a self-depreciation her compatriots (although presumably o u And points out that it is the Towards the end of her r not those she calls 'the Dicks’) may share but are rather t e s most expensive attack heli - third tour in Afghanistan y more likely to keep to themselves. Clearly she is a very o f copter in aviation history. the killing, the life away a good pilot and an excellent officer. g u On her first tour of duty in from her husband, and to s Madison was the first woman to be out in Afghanistan t a Afghanistan Madison writes some extent the lack of W fighting for the UK, although she has been followed by e s about the use of the Apache, sympathy she experiences t

l a few more. Even as the book progresses we learn about a n working in a war environ - at home, become too much D other women Apache pilots joining her in the war zone. , h for Charlotte, who decides,

e ment, being out in Camp a It is also interesting to see her progression from junior D l Bastion and other places in with some nostalgia and i n officer, unsure of herself, to leader of the team. e

r Afghanistan but all on a very regret, to leave the service. e There are a few scenes in the book of the Apache in v i e personal level. She is very I thought it was a really W action and killing, which demonstrate the way pilots, a

n honest and open both about good book, easy to read,

D ground military and ATC work together. She writes g her feelings in relation to informative and in some e

o about the weaponry and ‘sending the data’ in the same r

g other pilots and team mem - parts extremely touching. i way as someone else might write about ‘cashing up the n a bers, and in relation to the Anyone who is interested h tills for the evening’ or sending an email. u n stresses and strains of the job. in what Apache pilots are t e The desription of the ‘tools’ used are fascinating: r

- doing in Afghanistan

J Sometimes she seems to o Cameras in the nose that provide the pilots with x127 n e overdo her modesty, showing should read it. s magnification. While flying in daytime you can see the helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 63 A CCidenT r eporTS

Robinson R44 Raven, G-CDXB facturing quality, resulting in the failure of several of the The pilot was undertaking a refresher course to renew gear teeth. This led to the de-synchronisation of the his R44 rating, the previous one having expired a month camshaft, allowing the connecting rods to hit the before. He was going to do a training flight as part of his cramshaft, breaking it into four sections. The pilot was course and had been briefed by the instructor to start the 52 years old, had 1,471 hours of which 43 were on type. helicopter on his own, after which the instructor would join him. The helicopter was started and after allowing Westland Bell 47G-3B-1, G-BFYI some time for engine warm up, the instructor was The helicopter was lifted into a hover in a strong and approaching the helicopter when it suddenly became air - gusting tailwind. It yawed rapidly to the right and, before borne. The right skid then contacted the ground, and the a stable hover could be re-established, the tail rotor aircraft rolled onto its right side. The pilot isolated the struck the ground. Due to significant vibration through fuel and was assisted out with only minor injuries. Parts the tail rotor control pedals, the pilot carried out a run - of the helicopter were found up to 90 metres away, but ning landing on the grass and shut down. There was there were no injuries to anyone on the ground. The damage to the tips of both tail rotor blades. The pilot was training organisation carried out a post-accident inspec - 45 years old, and had 179 hours, of which 44 were on tion of the helicopter, and reported that the governor was type. off, collective friction was off, but cyclic friction and the hydraulic switch were on. RAF 2000 GTX-SE, G-CBCJ Given the position of the collective, it was thought that The pilot planned to fly the gyrocopter from Henstridge either the collective had been inadvertently raised, or Airfield, Somerset to Little Rissington Airfield in that, with the governor off, the rotor RPM had been set Gloucestershire for its Permit to Fly annual inspection, excessively high, at which point the lever was raised. returning later that day. This would lead to the aircraft becoming airborne. Once G-CBCJ left Henstridge several hours later than planned, it became airborne the pilot would have difficulty con - and arrived at Little Rissington around 13.15 hours. trolling it, both as a result of surprise and because the On completion of theannual inspection, the pilot fuelled cyclic friction was still applied. the aircraft to full and departed Little Rissington at The pilot was 39 years old and had 220 hours, of which approximately 16.07 hours. He planned to fly at an alti - 106 were on type. tude of 2,000 feet, and at an IAS of 60 mph, and expect - ed to achieve a groundspeed of 50 mph and a flight time Robinson R44 Raven 11, G-TIMC to Henstridge of 87 minutes. henstridge Airfield closed at During take-off the helicopter developed a nose-up and 1800 hours. right-skid low attitude. The pilot compensated with Another gyroplane had accompanied G-CBCJ on the cyclic control and lowered the collective lever. The heli - inbound flight and flew back with him to Henstridge. copter touched down, bounced and came to rest at 90˚ to Pilot B recalled that during the return flight the two gyro - its starting point. The pilot checked the controls but no planes were flying at an altitude of 2,500 feet and an air - problems were evident. The landing site, which was speed of about 55 - 60 mph. This resulted in a ground - unlicensed, was constructed of concrete ‘waffle-type’ speed of approximately 35 mph, and he was concerned paving stones. The pilot believed that the rear shoe of about their slow prosgress. Sunset was at 17.30 and Pilot the right skid had become snagged in the grooves in the B commented that from about 1700 hours it became very surface of the landing site. The pilot was 44 years old cold and damp and, despite wearing gloves, his fingertips and had 165 hours, of which 65 were on type. became numb. Both aircraft were equipped with radio and G-CBCJ Rotorway Executive 162F, G-JONG transmitted all the radio calls on behalf of both of them. The helicopter was in flight when the engine stopped Pilot B reported that everything seemed normal when suddenly and without any warning. During the subse - they transferred from Bristol Radar frequency to the quent forced landing onto soft ground the helicopter Henstridge Radio frequency. Thereafter he heard no fur - pitched forward, the main rotor blades hit the ground, ther calls from the other pilot. and it rolled onto its right side. The flight proceeded without incident and, after passing It was established that the cast aluminium gear that the A303 approximately 5 nm north of Henstridge, G- drives the camshaft within the engine was of poor manu - CBCJ commenced a descent, which Pilot B followed. It

64 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 A CCidenT r eporTS

was about 17.50 and it was getting dark, with unlit ground features becoming indistinct. During the descent G-CBCJ accelerated to about 65 mph and Pilot B matched the descent and speed increase. Pilot B then slowed his aircraft slightly to take up a position astern of G-CBCJ to allow it to land at Henstridge Airfield first. Using G-CBCJ’s tail light as a reference, Pilot B then accelerated to maintain his distance. In order to do so, Pilot B had to increase his speed to 95 mph. Almost immediately Pilot B became concerned that his airspeed was above the VNE of 70 mph and reduced speed. Pilot B attempted to call G-CBCJ on the Henstridge fre - quency, but received no reply. He looked where he expected to see G-CBCJ but could not see the other gyroplane, and concerned that he might have caught up with it, turned to the right and reduced speed. As he did so he looked left and saw what he believed to be a white blade spiralling down in an eccentric circle at 60- 120 rpm. He also recognised the colour of G-CBCJ’s air - frame and watched the aircraft descend until it reached cancelled and the helicopter was re-registered as D- the surface of the field below. He considered it was too HGVW. Both helicopters were present during the fleet dark to conduct a safe field landing and continued on to presentation of Heli Flights Helicopters at Bennekom Henstridge Airfield, where he landed safely and contact - on February 20. The Robinson R.44 Raven II is seen ed the emergency services. here parked in front of the office of Heli Flights Numerous witnesses around the village of Kington Helicopters. Magna reported hearing noises like misfiring or pinking, A few weeks later the EC.120 was involved in a pre - followed by what sounded like a very large backfire. The cautionary landing at Rotterdam The Hague Airport on witnesses, who were immediately below the flightpath April 2. The helicopter was scheduled for a flight with described seeing a gyroplane much lower and louder a locally well-known Chef when the experienced pilot than normal, hearing a loud bang and seeing debris took off and suffered a power loss during takeoff falling from the sky. Several witnesses went immeidiate - around 11.50 local time, and was forced to make a pre - ly to the large field into which the aircraft had descend - cautionary landing, hitting the ground close to the run - ed, arriving within minutes of the accident. The pilot had way. The hard landing resulted in a substantial damage suffered fatal injuries. to the Colibri and a broken off tail boom resulted. Both The RAF 2000 is a kit-bult two-seat gyroplane, powered pilot and passenger were able to get out of the helicop - by a 130 hp Sabaru carburetter engine driving a three- ter by themselves, and were transported to a local hos - blade ‘Warp Drive,’ carbon fibre propeller. It is fitted pital for a precautionary check-up. Both were released with a two-blade, glass-fibre main rotor which rotates from the hospital later that day. anit-clockwise. The cockpit is fully enclosed although, following an earlier Mandated Permit Directive, the RAF 2000 is required to fly with the doors off. Bennekom by Arjan Dijksterhuis P h o In February 2010, two helicopters left the United t o g

r Kingdom for the Netherlands; EC.120B Colibri with a P h serial G-LHCC and Robinson R.44 Raven II with seri - s B y al G-CGGR. The registration of the EC.120B with con - a r J

a struction number 1379 was cancelled on 15 February n

D 2010 and the Colibri was re-registered as D-HHLF. i J K s t Three days later, the registration of the Robinson R.44 e r h

u Raven II with construction number 12958 was also i s

helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010 65 h ouSe & h eliCopTer

Gateway to the African Market - Abou Aisha

gustaWestland has opened a new AgustaWestland has announced that the Full Ice Protection facility at Abou Aisha airport, 60 kms System (FIPS) for the AW139 medium twin helicopter has Asouth of Tripoli called LIATEC’s received FAA certification. The FAA certification follows EASA (Libyan Italian Advanced Technology certification which was issued in February of this year. TCAA Company). (Canada) certification is expected soon. LIATEC has three shareholders - Libyan Below the AW139 is seen doing tests behind a cryogenic creator. Company for Aviation Industry (50%), Finmeccanica (25%) and AgustaWestland (25%). The facility at Abou Aisha airport includes final assembly lines for single and twin engine helicopters, support and maintenance capabilities for helicopters. It also does upgrading training and fits transport airplanes with the latest generation of avionic systems. It will assemble four AW139s a year. The AW139 is a medium sized twin turbine

engine helicopter. P i c t

Tripoli is located in the northwest of Libya u r e on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky s c o

land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea u r t e

and forming a bay. It was founded in the 7th s y o

century BC by the Phoenicians, who named it f a g

Oea. ‘The iceman cometh’ u s t a

Tripoli is the largest city, the principal sea AgustaWestland testing the W e

AW139 FIPS for which they have s port, and the largest commercial and manu - t l a

received FAA certification n

facturing centre in Libya. D

66 helicopter LIFE , Summer 2010