EADS Vies for AAS

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EADS Vies for AAS

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DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 3 Editor’s Notebook 2012 Review: Future

Vertical Lift Forges Ahead [email protected] By Andrew Parker, Editor-In-Chief

t’s that time of year again where of Rotor & Wing newsletters, joining Raider for the OH-58D replacement Rotor & Wing looks back at the The Collective, our weekly offering, program (should the Army decide to Iyear’s events and tries to find and the monthly Military Insider and move forward with a formal competi- some logic to apply to the future. Hot Products. tion following the VFDs). As part of that effort, here is a sum- Of course a large share of high- One of my favorite experiences mary of some of the most interesting lights from the past year happened from this year was getting a chance to stories that I came across during 2012, in February during Heli-Expo, which see the Eurocopter X3 (X-cubed) first- in no particular order. saw the debuts of the Bell 525 Relent- hand at Manassas Regional Airport The future took center stage dur- less and Eurocopter EC130T2 (see on July 24 during the experimental ing the AHS Forum in May, as CEOs March issue, page 12) as well as the aircraft’s U.S. demo tour (see Sep- from the major manufacturers led a finalization of AgustaWestland’s pur- tember issue, page 4). It gave me the lively discussion about what it will chase of Bell Helicopter’s stake in opportunity to talk with the test pilots take for the U.S. military’s Future the BA609 (now AW609) tiltrotor while walking around the aircraft Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative to suc- (see March, page 13). The industry’s that one of my non-aviation friends ceed and how new entrants to the largest tradeshow also saw Sikorsky described as “the Nike of helicopters,” commercial marketplace will change and CTI open a new whirl tower a month after Editor-at-Large Ernie global dynamics moving forward (see (March, page 17); Honeywell forecast Stephens became the second person “Innovation, Collaboration Essential to an increase in the Asian and Latin in the U.S. outside company engineers Future Success,” June issue, page 32). American markets (March, page 18); to fly the X3 (see August issue cover The CEO panel followed a presenta- and Russian Helicopters teaming with story, “Pilot Report: Eurocopter X3” on tion from U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Tim IHST (March, page 26). page 26). Crosby, who told a group of engineers During Heli-Expo, Honeywell Another recent highlight was trav- that a “marriage” between S&T and offered the chance to experience its elling in October to Sikorsky’s Coates- program management is needed to Sentinel and Observer displays in the ville plant, where the production of advance FVL. An unexpected story air aboard the company’s Eurocopter the S-92 and S-76D takes place. There developed during AHS—the retire- AS350BA. Senior test pilot Ronald I had a chance to tour the facility ment of Sikorsky President Jeff Pino Wayman took me up to display the (see “FAA Certifies S-76D; Bond S-92 (June issue, page 13). functions of the system during a Feb. Completions Begin,” November issue, Other articles that focused on 11 test flight (see “Dallas from 500 page 12) and meet with the new CEO Future Vertical Lift include “Invest- Feet,” April issue, page 4). of Bond Aviation Group, Richard Gxgt{"ugeqpf"eqwpvu ing in the Future,” May issue page 26, Another event that stands out was Mintern, who was there to inspect “FVL: Have Plan, Need Money,” in Quad-A in April, where MD Heli- the first two S-92s that are part of a the July Military Insider on page M8, copters CEO Lynn Tilton announced 16-ship order. “Science & Technology Roadmap: Q&A the MD540F for the U.S. Army’s AAS These are just a few of the biggest with Bill Lewis,” on page M12, and competition (see May issue, page 13), stories of 2012, there are many more “Q&A with Army Aviation PEO Tim EADS enhanced its AAS-72X (May, online that didn’t make it to print. GOU" rtqhguukqpcnu" uvtkxg" vq" rtqxkfg" vjg" dguv" ectg" vq" vjg" rcvkgpv0" Crosby,” on page 54 of the July issue. page 13), and Army leaders focused Check out our Product Review starting CiwuvcYguvncpf" rtqxkfgu" wpkswg." kpvgitcvgf" cpf" chhqtfcdng" While Rotor & Wing continues to on Aim Point 2030 (May, page 12). on page 26 and Year in Review section expand its coverage of R&D topics The Armed Aerial Scout volun- on page 32 for more, and look for addi- rtqfwevu"vq"vjg"inqdcn"jgcnvjectg"fgnkxgt{"u{uvgo0 with the 2012 launch of R&D Report, tary flight demonstrations (VFDs) tional stories and in-depth analysis at Vqigvjgt."dtkpikpi"ectg"vq"vjg"rcvkgpv"ykvj"vjg"dguv"cgtq/ogfkecn" science and technology was just one of grabbed the headlines during the late www.rotorandwing.com. many areas that we focused on during part of 2012 (see story on page 18), uqnwvkqp0 2012. In June we launched Helicopter with a number of manufacturers tak- What are your favorite stories Safety & Training, a monthly e-letter ing part, including AgustaWestland, from 2012? What is your organi- specifically focused on training and Bell, Boeing, EADS/Eurocopter and zation’s outlook heading into 2013? NGCFKPI"VJG"HWVWTG how operators are improving their MD. Sikorsky didn’t have a flying pro- Please send your comments to SMS programs. This adds to the stable totype available, but is offering its S-97 [email protected] ciwuvcyguvncpf0eqo

4 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM

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Personal|Corporate Commercial Military Public Service DEPARTMENTS 13 12 Rotorcraft Report 16 People 16 Coming Events 17 Hot Products 42 Training News 45 Coming Up 45 Ad Index

(Above) Beijing Public Service Bureau AgustaWestland AW139. 47 Classified Ads (Below) Mercedes Benz-style Eurocopter EC145. (Right) Boeing AH-64D Apache at the Dubai Helishow. Photo by Douglas Nelms COLUMNS FEATURES 4 Editor’s Notebook

COVER STORY 8 Feedback 1 8 ■ AAS: Reviving a Lost Generation U.S. Army completes voluntary flight demonstrations for the Armed 10 Meet the Contributors Aerial Scout program to replace the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. By 46 Safety Watch Military Editor Andrew Drwiega and Douglas Nelms 48 Leading Edge 26 ■ Year in Review: Products Wrap-up of various new product offerings and announcements 50 Military Insider that ran in the pages of Rotor & Wing during 2012. 32 ■ Year in Review: 2012 Recap of the past 12 months, including highlights of some of the stories that didn’t appear in the print edition. 36 ■ Guardex Wind Farm Exercise Who responds to a major maritime emergency on the edge of a wind 12 farm? Rotor & Wing’s Military Editor observed one of the largest European offshore exercises in 2012. By Andrew Drwiega 42 ■ Training News FAA certifies CAE Bell 412 sim to Level D. Bristow Target Zero earns Flight Safety recognition. AeroSimulators expands in Brazil.

On the Cover: EADS North America AAS-72X over the mountains of Colorado during the Armed Aerial Scout voluntary flight demonstrations for the U.S. Army. Photo courtesy EADS North America

6 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Vol. 46 | No. 12 December 2012

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DIRECT TO YOUR DESKTOP: CHECK YOUR EMAIL DECEMBER 1: • Digital edition of Rotor & Wing December 2012. Electronic version with enhanced web links makes navigating through the pages of Rotor & Wing easier than ever. WEEK OF DECEMBER 17: • Rotor & Wing’s Military Insider e-letter. Get the latest updates from helicopter defense companies around the world, from Military Editor Andrew Drwiega. WEEK OF DECEMBER 24: • HOT PRODUCTS for Helicopter Operators—Latest in equipment upgrades, performance Get connected: modifications, training devices and other tools for the rotorcraft industry. Become a fan of Rotor & Wing on Follow us on @rotorandwing TO SUBSCRIBE TO ANY OF OUR EXCLUSIVE EMAIL PRODUCTS, GO TO: WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM

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WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 7 C30328.003_Thales_HELIAVIONICS_RotorWing_Jul12_273x199_v1_product 06/06/2012 16:34 Page 1

Helicopter Avionics. Feedback Better decisions deliver better outcomes. Personal|Corporate Commercial Military Public Service Training Products Services

Maximum safety? R&W’s Question of the Month Intuitive and interactive civil and military core avionics place all Increasing payload? Operational efﬁciency? functions at the pilot’s ﬁngertips Should the U.S. Army decide An integrated approach that saves to launch a formal AAS compe- A comprehensive range of mission, tactical equipment, wiring and consequently weight functions and equipment while offering wider functional capability tition following the voluntary

flight demos, which company is Critical support? Photo courtesy Roger Huffaker Cost savings? most likely to win it? A high growth potential open to new A global service network delivering World Trade Center Photo advanced supply chain solutions Let us know, and look for your and others’ responses in a software functionalities, modular system We received the following comments and innovative training solutions that and maintenance to this 1979 photo of a Bell 222 from future issue. You’ll find contact information below. significantly reduce ownership cost Roger Huffaker on the R&W Facebook page: facebook.com/rotorandwing hand as both of their aircraft are larger, Competition with current aircraft or That picture is amazing!!! twin engine and bigger fuel tanks for is this a competition for new manu- Doy Lee longer range/endurance. I’d have to facturing? I give it to EADS currently. give it to EADS as its a newer design Otherwise I have to say MD knows Awesome paint scheme. and new build airframe (as opposed to how to build a pretty good scout. Shannon Harding the recapitalized ones from Bell) that Blake R. Malo could double as a shooter/trash hauler Miss ‘em a lot with all my heart. if need be (if all that space in the rear None. UAS teaming with AH64D Block Ricardo Aguado isn’t taken with avionics). 3 makes the AAS concept obsolete. S. Robert Sliger II Cody SS Jackson Super helicopters ... up to today still. Hugo du Toit Bring back the Comanche. Tested, Kinda like the Comanche project... Who’s Likely to Win AAS? verified, qualified. Save some tax dol- But different this time? We received the following responses to lars with a proven ready-to-go aircraft. Tim Reynolds a hypothetical question about which Instead of throwing money away like company is most likely to win the U.S. the Blue Suit’s and the C-27J. Sikorsky. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout competi- James M. Stanco Josh McWilliams tion, should the Army move forward following the voluntary flight demon- Sikorsky X2! They need to get whatever they pick stration (VFD). Doug Warwick out of the FAA’s grasp and not require an A&P on whatever they pick next. I With the high level of interoperability, personally know its a nightmare. interchangeable avionics, and the fact AgustaWestland or EADS Andy Sutton that it uses Longbow software, the Lee Waller Army would do well to go with Boe- The winner will be whoever can make ing’s AH-6i. Robinson... LOL. Depends more polit- a helicopter the cheapest, underpow- Joe Belsha cally then the design, interoperability ered, and most uncomfortable for and performance. I wish they would pilots. Flying a helicopter relies on critical systems and split-second decision Bell, Boeing or EADS, because the a/c leave it to the pilots and keep it U.S. Felick Vallot making. This is why Thales offers the most advanced solution to their concepts are based on are already made, and apply some common sense constantly reduce pilot workload and increase safety so that full in service. Makes the logistics side a to the criteria and performance. Ford! attention can be given to the success of the mission. TopDeck®, by Nick Mancuso Roderick Bertrand lot easier. Bell & EADS have the upper Thales, is a state-of-the-art, integrated, modular avionics suite designed for both civil and military helicopters. Icube-S is the conceptual platform behind the strength of TopDeck® and ensures that the suite is Intuitive, Interactive, Integrated and Do you have comments on the rotorcraft industry or recent articles and viewpoints we’ve published? Send them to Editor, Rotor Safe. Combine this with our world-leading range of Training & Simulation solutions and & Wing, 4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA, fax us at 1-301-354-1809 or e-mail us at rotorandwing@ our service and support anywhere, anytime and you have the best value, most accessintel.com. Please include a city and state or province with your name and ratings. We reserve the right to edit all submitted advanced cockpit technology ever developed, flying now. Thales helps key decision material. makers master complexity and make timely decisions for better outcomes.

To learn more, scan the QR code or visit thalesgroup.com 8 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM C30328.003_Thales_HELIAVIONICS_RotorWing_Jul12_273x199_v1_product 06/06/2012 16:34 Page 1

Helicopter Avionics. Better decisions deliver better outcomes.

Maximum safety? Intuitive and interactive civil and military core avionics place all Increasing payload? Operational efﬁciency? functions at the pilot’s ﬁngertips An integrated approach that saves A comprehensive range of mission, tactical equipment, wiring and consequently weight functions and equipment while offering wider functional capability

Cost savings? Critical support? A high growth potential open to new A global service network delivering software functionalities, modular system advanced supply chain solutions and innovative training solutions that and maintenance signiﬁcantly reduce ownership cost

Flying a helicopter relies on critical systems and split-second decision making. This is why Thales offers the most advanced solution to constantly reduce pilot workload and increase safety so that full attention can be given to the success of the mission. TopDeck®, by Thales, is a state-of-the-art, integrated, modular avionics suite designed for both civil and military helicopters. Icube-S is the conceptual platform behind the strength of TopDeck® and ensures that the suite is Intuitive, Interactive, Integrated and Safe. Combine this with our world-leading range of Training & Simulation solutions and our service and support anywhere, anytime and you have the best value, most advanced cockpit technology ever developed, ﬂying now. Thales helps key decision makers master complexity and make timely decisions for better outcomes.

To learn more, scan the QR code or visit thalesgroup.com Meet the Contributors

KEITH CIANFRANI is a retired U.S. Army FRANK LOMBARDI, an ATP with both lieutenant colonel, master aviator and Army fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings, began instructor pilot, rated in both helicopters and his flying career in 1991 after graduating fixed-wing aircraft. He holds a master’s degree with a bachelor’s of science in aerospace in aerospace safety from Embry-Riddle Aero- engineering, working on various airplane and nautical University. Keith is a certificated flight instructor and helicopter programs as a flight test engineer for Grumman has flown commercial aircraft for more than 20 years in and Aerospace Corp. Frank became a police officer for a major around the New York City area. East Coast police department in 1995, and has been flying helicopters in the department’s aviation section since 2000. ANDREW DRWIEGA, Military Editor, is a He remains active in test and evaluation, and holds a master’s senior defense journalist with a particular degree in aviation systems-flight testing from the University focus on international military rotorcraft. He of Tennessee Space Institute. Manager, Sales has reported on attachment from Iraq three times (the latest of which was with a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 squadron), and three times with British DOUGLAS NELMS has more than 30 years forces in Afghanistan (Kandahar and Camp Bastion), as well of experience as an aviation journalist and as from numerous exercises. He has flown in a wide variety of currently works as a freelance writer. He has rotorcraft including the MV-22B Osprey, AH-64D Apache, served as managing editor of Rotor & Wing. Rooivalk and many others. A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Nelms specializes in writing about helicopters. THIERRY DUBOIS is a long-time con- tributor to Access Intelligence publications. He has been an aerospace journal- ERNIE STEPHENS, Editor-at-Large, began ist for 12 years, specializing in helicopters flying in the 1980s, earning his commer- since 2006. He writes on technical sub- cial pilot’s license and starting an aerial jects, both for professional media and a popular science photography company as a sideline. In his magazine in France. Follow him on Twitter: @aerodub regular job as a county police officer, he was transferred to the department’s newly established PAT GRAY is our “Offshore Notebook” contrib- aviation unit, where he served as the sergeant in charge utor, having flown in Gulf of Mexico helicopter and chief pilot until his retirement in 2006. In addition operations for 20-plus years. Prior to that, he to regular contributions in the pages of Rotor & Wing, was in Vietnam in 1958 as a young paratrooper. Ernie (aka “Werewolf”) has written for Access Intel- He retired from the Army Reserve as a chief ligence sister publication Avionics Magazine, www. Your mission relies on your aircraft, and at Aeronautical Accessories the success of your mission is our warrant officer 4, with more than 30 years active and reserve aviationtoday.com/av. He enjoys meeting our readers service. Gray’s civil helicopter experience covers crop dusting and flying a variety of helicopters. number-one priority. We’re committed to delivering fast, personalized service backed by an extensive and Alaska bush, corporate, pipeline and offshore flying. inventory and the expertise you’ve come to expect. That’s why customers rely on our personalized EMMA KELLY has been an aviation journalist TERRY TERRELL gained his early avia- since the late 1980s, starting her career with tion experience as a U.S. Navy fixed-wing approach to meeting their unique parts and accessories requirements. Air Cargo News International. Following a instructor and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft number of years working on regional airline commander, where his service included publications and for Inmarsat, Emma served SAR in Sikorsky S-61s. Terry served as a in various editor roles at Flight International. In 2003 Emma cross-qualified captain and safety special projects officer emigrated to Australia and became a freelance aviation jour- with Houston’s Transco Energy, and later with Atlanta’s nalist where she contributes regularly to aviation and defense Kennestone AVSTAT Helicopter Ambulance Program publications around the world. and Georgia Baptist LifeFlight. www.aero-access.com | [email protected] | 1-800-251-7094

Innovation. Reliability. Performance.

Your mission relies on your aircraft, and at Aeronautical Accessories the success of your mission is our number-one priority. We’re committed to delivering fast, personalized service backed by an extensive inventory and the expertise you’ve come to expect. That’s why customers rely on our personalized approach to meeting their unique parts and accessories requirements.

www.aero-access.com | [email protected] | 1-800-251-7094

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■ COMMERCIAL | AIRFRAMES ■ MILITARY | PROCUREMENT Russian Helicopters U.S. Army Continues UH-72A Acquisition Advances ‘High- Program with 34 Lakotas in FY13 Speed’ Project In line with the Department of the Aerial Scout acquisition, should its Moscow-based Russian Helicopters Army’s FY13 budget of $271,683 future bid be successful. has unveiled more details on its Russian million for the ongoing delivery of Twenty-four of the aircraft built under Advanced Commercial Helicopter the UH-72A Lakota program, EADS this latest contract award will receive the (Rachel). The Rachel program is North America has confirmed a security and support (S&S) battalion meant as an eventual replacement for contract award of $181.8 million for mission equipment package (MEP). Air- the Mi-8/17 family. The “high-speed” a further 34 helicopters. These will craft so equipped will be earmarked for medium twin will be capable of 194 be delivered from September 2013 missions ranging from disaster response knots, thanks to “streamlined main and will mean a total contract award to border security. The MEP includes a rotor blades and fuselage.” At 10 to 12 of 312 Lakotas out of a total of 347 moving map, EO/IR sensor, digital video metric tons (22,000 to 26,400 pounds), planned up to 2016. recording capability, digital and analog it will have a seating capacity of 21 to 24 Currently around five aircraft per downlink and a searchlight. The UH-72A passengers. Also dubbed V-37, Rachel month are produced from the Ameri- is a militarized version of Eurocopter’s has a conventional configuration with can Eurocopter plant in Columbus, EC145 and provides the Army with one main rotor and one tail rotor. In Miss. EADS North America suggests organic support at Corp and Divisional the baseline configuration, it will have that the same facility would be used levels. It replaces UH-1 and OH-58 heli- a convertible passenger/cargo cabin. It to build its AAS-72X for the Armed copters. —By Andrew Drwiega will use new—but so far unspecified— turboshaft engines. Mil, which is part of Russian Heli- copters, plans to build a flying testbed in 2013 to assess technologies pitched for the V-37. The results of these tests should be analyzed by 2014. The next phase will be supplier selection. Cer-

EADS North America tification is then slated for 2018, with deliveries to follow in 2020. The target cruise speed, not as high as the 220-250 knots Eurocopter and Sikor- sky are talking about with their respective X3 and X2 demonstrators, was defined after some market analysis. This enabled the manufacturer to define the future model’s technical pri- orities and specifications. Russian Heli- copters also ran a feasibility and risk- assessment study. Mil and Kamov design bureaus in 2011 and 2012 competed in a contest EADS North America UH-72A in flight. The Army has ordered another 34 UH-72As. for the best conceptual design of a high- speed helicopter. The Mil design was found to “better reflect the demands of the market.” —By Thierry Dubois

12 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Rotorcraft Report

■ PUBLIC SERVICE | EMS AgustaWestland AW119Kx Sees Debut at Air Medical Conference In front of attendees at the Air Medical Transport Conference in Seattle, AgustaWestland CEO Bruno Spagnolini celebrated the delivery of the first AW119Kx helicopter to Life Flight Network. The single-engine turbine, an upgraded version

of the AW119Ke Koala, is one of 15 ordered AgustaWestland by the Aurora, Ore.-based operation for emergency medical transport missions in the western U.S. Life Flight Network’s current fleet—which is operated by Air Methods— includes nine Eurocopter AS350B3 AStars, one EC135, one AW109E and one Bell 206. The new model “differs from the [AW119Ke] due to the newer avionics system that we are installing,” explained Spag- nolini. “We are installing a Garmin G1000H avionics system… This is something that will improve the aircraft’s capabilities, will improve the situational awareness of the pilot, [and] will assist in the navigation tasks for the pilot.” The first AgustaWestland AW119Kx has He added that plans call for the AW119Kx to retain all of the entered service with Life Flight Network, other basic qualities of the AW119Ke. — By Ernie Stephens, which is based in Aurora, Ore. Editor-at-Large

■ COMMERCIAL | AIRFRAMES Sikorsky Sells First S-76D, More S-92s into China The China Airshow, which ran from November 13-18, CITIC Offshore Helicopter, China Southern’s Zhuhai has been good for Sikorsky in that it has been announcing Helicopter and Eastern General Aviation are the three largest contracts for its civil helicopters, namely the S-92 and S-76D. players in the Chinese national market, according to China The Zhuhai Helicopter Company (ZHC), a subsidiary of Daily. The boom in the offshore sector is predicted to rise China Southern Airlines, has acquired two Sikorsky S-92s to from the current 300 helicopters to more than 1,000 within be used in offshore operations. ZHC will operate five S-92s the next decade. and 12 S-76s once the deliveries are complete, targeted for The Ruili Jingcheng Group (RJG) also contracted for the end of 2013. This means it is the largest Sikorsky fleet one S-92 and one S-76D during the airshow, representing operator in Asia and has in fact been operating Sikorsky heli- the first S-92 sale to a private Chinese operator and the first copters for around 28 years. sale of a S-76D helicopter into China. Both will be used for The acquisition is the fourth that ZHC has negotiated with passenger transportation. RJG is expanding its business and Sikorsky since 2007. In 2011 the operator also bought two has established three aviation subsidiaries. Although RJD S-92s for the offshore market. Ed Beyer, vice president of Sikor- will be the first operator of the S-76D, there are 31 S-76 heli- sky Global Helicopters, said that China was the fastest growing copters operating in China. The China Airshow organizers market in the world for his company and that “we look forward announced orders worth $11.8 billion in 30 contracts signed to expanding this cooperation to aircraft maintenance service, during the show. They said the orders represented a total of personnel training, and material distribution.” 202 aircraft of all types. —By Andrew Drwiega

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 13 Rotorcraft Report

■ COMMERCIAL | OFFSHORE ■ MILITARY | PROCUREMENT NHV Purchases 10 Eurocopter EC175s Indian Air Force

Colin Hancy, NHV’s Eurocopter has obtained an order from Replaces Mi-26s UK commercial mgr, NHV Helicopters of Ostend, Belgium with Chinooks with an EC155. for 10 EC175s that will operate from Boeing has won a $1-billion contract the company’s UK base in Norwich. with the Indian Air Force (IAF) to The helicopters will conduct a variety of supply 15 CH-47D Chinooks. The missions, including offshore transport, SAR, IAF will use the helicopters for air medial, security/border patrol and crew heavy-lift transport of equipment transfer. The agreement is worth around to the northern parts of the country. €150 million (approximately $191 million), The Chinooks will replace the IAF’s covering a phased handover starting in 2013 existing fleet of Russian Mi-26s. and running until 2015. The EC175s will be ■ | configured to carry up to 16 passengers 135 SERVICES CERTIFICATION NHV Helicopters nm or 12 passengers up to 190 nm. Colin Hancy, UK commercial manager for NHV, described the purchase as a China Greenlights “major investment” for the company, which operates in Europe, Africa and South Bell 429 Weight America. He added that NHV plans to expand its offshore services and wind farm Increase support, as well as operations at the Klyne Business Aviation Center in Norwich. Bell Helicopter has obtained “We’ve also just completed a three-month contract for Shell, flying maintenance approval from the Civil Aviation crews to various gas production platforms in the UK and Dutch sectors of the Administration of China to increase Southern North Sea,” Hancy said. With the 10 EC175s, NHV’s fleet will increase the maximum gross weight of the to around 40 helicopters around the globe. 429 by 500 lbs. Regulatory agencies in a dozen countries have approved the weight increase, with the notable exception of the U.S. FAA, which ruled against approving the request in August. China joins Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam in giving the thumbs-up to the weight increase from 7,000 to 7,500 lbs (3,400 kg).

■ SERVICES | FINANCING Mexico Receives Financing from Ex-Im for S-76Ds The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved a loan of more than $50 million to Aeroservicios Especializados S.A. (ASESA) of Monterrey, Mexico for a fleet of Sikorsky S-76Ds. ASESA will use the helicopters for transporting oil and gas personnel in the Gulf of Mexico. ASESA’s loan is the first for Ex-Im Bank’s business aircraft and helicopter qualified adviser program and was advised by AirFinance out of San Francisco.

14 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM CEOs on Training A SERIES

“FlightSafety shares Sikorsky’s safety-ﬁrst focus.”

MICK MAURER President, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

Mick Maurer joined UTC in 1989 at the corporation’s Otis Elevator Co. unit, where he worked in positions of increasing responsibility until 2000, when he joined Sikorsky as Vice President, Enterprise Planning and Development. Most recently, he served as President of the Sikorsky Military Systems unit, responsible for the U.S. and international military program and product line management, customer relationships and military aircraft delivery. He was an ofﬁcer in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine program and served onboard the ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington Carver prior to joining UTC. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a master’s degree in engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a master of business administration degree from Stanford University.

ikorsky Aircraft Corporation is powered by two The S-92® helicopter leads the safety category with fully principles: innovation and safety. The company’s redundant systems that are a generation ahead. Safety was Sinnovative helicopters have long been renowned not designed into the S-92, making it the first helicopter to meet only in the aviation industry, but also in the public imagination: stringent safety requirements established by the FAA and EASA. The BLACK HAWK.® The SEAHAWK.® The SUPER STALLION.™ Maurer adds, “FlightSafety shares Sikorsky’s safety-first focus. As The SEA KING.™ our authorized training provider, FlightSafety’s Level D helicopter Sikorsky military helicopters serve 25 nations throughout simulation helps us to achieve our innovation and safety objectives.” the world including all five branches of the United States BLACK HAWK,® SEAHAWK,® S-76,® and S-92® are registered trademarks of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. armed forces. Commercially, the S-76® helicopter is the leading choice of Fortune 100 companies. Not surprising, considering Igor Sikorsky is a renowned aviation pioneer whose legacy still leads the helicopter industry. Sikorsky was awarded the development contract for the United States Marine Corps CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter. It will be the U.S. military’s largest and heaviest helicopter with twice the lift and radius of action as its predecessor. For more information, please contact any of our Learning Centers or call Scott Fera, “Our constant innovation in aircraft design and manufacture Senior Vice President, Marketing: 718.565.4774. Our headquarters are at the Marine includes industry-leading safety systems and thinking,” says Air Terminal, LaGuardia Airport, New York 11371-1061. Email: sales@flightsafety.com

Mick Maurer, Sikorsky’s President. ﬂightsafety.com A Berkshire Hathaway company Rotorcraft Report

PEOPLE

The National EMS new vice president of technology. He medical person- Pilots Association will lead architectural definition and nel, mechanics, and has given its Pilot technical matters for all the company’s administrative staff. of the Year award software and data services. Head previ- Schitoskey comes to Jim Glasner, ously worked for the British Columbia from the Univer- who flies for Eagle- Ministry of Transportation, where he sity of New Mexico Med in Wichita, Kan. Glasner got his created the province’s architecture and Hospital in Albuquerque, where he was start as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot standards group and was responsible director of emergency services. He first in 1970, becoming an HEMS pilot in for the Ministry’s enterprise IT strategy. started working for the Level 1 trauma 1979. During his career, he has served Jennifer Hardcastle has joined center, children’s hospital and cancer as a line pilot, instructor pilot, check American Eurocopter as an air medical facility in 1998, working in various lead- airman, chief pilot and base manager. specialist sales manager. Hardcastle has ership roles from 2005 to 2010. Glasner joined EagleMed in 2001, more than 20 years of experience in the Rockwell Collins has named currently flying the Eurocopter AS350B air medical field, most recently as the Robert K. Ortberg as its new presi- and AS355N. NEMPSA presented the vice president of business development dent. He joins Clayton M. Jones, award to Glasner during the AMTC for Health Services Integration. who continues as chairman & CEO. Conference on Oct. 22 in Seattle, Wash. Kevin Schitoskey is the new Ortberg was formerly executive vice Victoria, BC-based Latitude Tech- program manager for AirLink CCT in president and COO of the company’s nologies has hired Brad Head as its Bend, Ore. He will lead a team of pilots, Government Systems business.

May 16–18: 6th International Helicopter Industry Exhibition,

2013: Moscow, Russia. Contact HeliRussia, phone +7 (0) 495 958 9490 or visit helirussia.ru/en Feb. 20–21: Avionics Europe 2013, Munich, Germany. Call 1-888-299-8016 or visit www.avionics-event.com May 21–23: AHS International 69th Annual Forum and Technology Display, Phoenix, Ariz. Contact AHS, phone 1-703- March 4–7: HAI Heli-Expo 2013, Las Vegas, Nev. Contact HAI, 684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org 1-703-683-4646 or visit www.rotor.com May 21–23: European Business Aviation Convention March 12-14: ATC Global, Amsterdam RAI Center, and Exhibition (EBACE), Geneva PALEXPO and Geneva Amsterdam, Netherlands. Visit www.atcglobalhub.com International Airport, Geneva, Switzerland. Visit www.ebace.aero March 18–20: 9th Annual CHC Safety & Safety Summit, Vancouver, Canada. Contact CHC, phone 1-604-232-7424 or visit June 17–23: Paris Airshow, Le Bourget, Paris, France. Visit www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com www.paris-air-show.com

coming events March 25–28: 56th Annual AEA International Convention & July 29-Aug. 4: EAA AirVenture, Wittman Regional Airport, Trade Show, Las Vegas, Nev. Contact Aircraft Electronics Assoc., Oshkosh, Wis. Visit www.eaa.org phone 1-816-347-8400 or visit www.aea.net Aug. 12-15: Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems April 8-10: Navy Lead Sea-Air-Space Exposition, Gaylord International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems 2013, Walter E. National Resort & Convention Center, National Harbor, Md. Visit www.seaairspace.org Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. Visit www. auvsi.org April 9-11: Aircraft Interiors Expo, Hamburg Messe, Hamburg, Germany. Visit www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com Oct. 21-23: AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. Visit www. April 10–14: Quad-A Annual Convention, Fort Worth, ausa.org Texas. Contact Quad-A, phone 1-203-268-2450 or visit www. quad-a.org Oct. 22-24: NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas. Visit www.nbaa.org April 16–18: Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE 2013), Shanghai, China. Contact NBAA, Nov. 17-21: Dubai Airshow, Dubai World Central, Dubai. Visit phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit www.abace.aero www.dubaiairshow.aero.

16 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM for Helicopter Operators

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WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 17 MILITARY | PROCUREMENT Armed Aerial Scout: Reviving a Lost Generation

As the U.S. Army concludes its discussions and voluntary flight tests with industry, Military Editor Andrew Drwiega asks whether the Armed Aerial Scout could provide a link to the next generation Future Vertical Lift.

EADS North America By Andrew Drwiega, Military Editor

EADS North America AAS-72X and the Eurocopter EC145T2 over the Colorado mountains near Alamosa.

18 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Reviving AAS

ith the U.S. Army now reallocated to Army Aviation, there is businesses in these organizations. What seemingly on a timeline no doubt that both Boeing and Sikorsky, the $39-billion Comanche program was Wfor the acquisition of a new the original industrial pairing behind the intended to do was create a next gen- reconnaissance helicop- RAH-66, benefited strongly from the deal. eration armed reconnaissance helicopter. ter—the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS)—to Modernization and upgrade has been the The modernized Apache Block III is the replace its existing Bell OH-58 Kiowa key with Boeing’s AH-64 Apache Block closest the Army has come to this tech- ation Warrior fleet, the main question in these III acquiring “blue ribbon” status and the nologically, but it cannot be described as budget wracked times must be: How heavy lift CH-47F fleet not far behind. next generation in design. much “bang for the buck” can the U.S. Sikorsky too has a full schedule of work So the big dilemma the Army must Army afford? The challenge is one that while it continues the transformation of decide upon is this: Is now the time once has been delayed for decades due to the Army’s Black Hawks into UH-60Ms. again to lift up their eyes ambitiously the hugely expensive failure of its first Even American Eurocopter benefited, and look for a new next generation plat- replacement program, the Boeing-Sikor- winning the award of a fully funded light form, do they perpetuate the traditional sky RAH-66 Comanche, followed by utility program which they paid back designed ethos (even if that is a relatively another expensive cancellation, this time with a smooth delivery of the full fleet of modern Eurocopter UH-72X), or do they of the Bell ARH-70A Arapaho. It should UH-72 Lakotas on time and on budget. play it safe and replace like-for-like with a be remembered that the Comanche The negative side of this story can modernized Kiowa Warrior Block II? cancellation in February 2004 was good be found in the fact that the Army took The budget that the Army leadership news for the rest of Army Aviation. At the golden opportunity to modernize its says they have to spend on the AAS is the time Gen. Richard Cody, then Army existing airframes as a result, rather than between $13-15 million per copy. This Deputy Chief of Staff (G-3), promised keeping the pressure on industry’s devel- should be seen in terms of what can be to use the $14.6 billion that would have opment teams to forge ahead and look understood from the figures (reproduced gone to acquiring Comanche helicopters for new ideas and designs. While there below) taken from the DoD’s FY13 Bud- toward buying new aircraft and upgrad- can nearly always be a downside to every get Request, published by the office of ing others within the Army’s helicopter story in some ways, it has been nearly a the Under Secretary of Defense (OSD) in fleets. Although not all of the money was decade of easy money for the rotorcraft February 2012.

Major Weapons Systems Summary FY11 FY12 FY13 Base OCO Total (US$) Quantity AH64 Apache Longbow Block 3 581.7 758.3 1,109.2 71.0 1,180.2 50 CH47 Chinook 1,430.3 1,409.2 1,231.0 231.3 1,462.3 44 LUH Light Utility Helicopter 303.5 250.4 272.0 - 272.0 34 UH60 Black Hawk 1,808.8 1,706.6 1,305.5 - 1,305.5 59

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 19 MILITARY | PROCUREMENT

According to figures from the combat areas]. That reveals much recognizes the enduring shortcom- Army, the Apache Block III costs about the complexity it will be able ings of UAS systems but empha- around $23.60 million per air- to offer as a new start aircraft (and sizes the importance of manned-un- craft fully equipped. The Chinook this perhaps gives a clearer idea of manned teaming (MUM-T): “a com- CH-47F costs around $30 million where Army decision makers may bination of manned and unmanned per aircraft ($33.23 million fully have to focus their selection crite- platforms (teaming) provides an equipped). The LUH UH-72 costs ria). It goes without saying that they enhanced capability and best meets around $6.04 million per aircraft ($8 will want the best that their money aerial scout requirements [AAS million fully equipped). The UH-60 can buy, but at $13-15 million this Project Office].” While an AAS Black Hawk costs around $16.4 mil- is not going to be a next generation helicopter with all the attributes lion per aircraft ($22.12 million fully aircraft. of increased speed, range, endur- equipped). Under the RFI/voluntary flight ance and hover out of ground effect According to DoD’s appropria- demonstration (VFD) plan, the (HOGE) is the ideal, the Project tion budget figures, Kiowa Warrior Army will analyze the results of the Office concedes that “higher-per- OH-58F Wartime Replacement Air- flights and discussions with indus- forming mixes cost significantly craft (WRA) will cost $183,900 for try to “determine if an achievable, more than lower performing mixes 16 aircraft in FY13, making the unit affordable capability exists with and results in extreme risk to avia- price around $11.49 million per air- moderate risk.” But as Program tion portfolio affordability.” craft fully equipped. The AAS aver- Executive Officer (PEO) Aviation The Army’s operational expecta- age procurement unit cost target set Maj. Gen. William “Tim” Crosby has tion, matched against current capa- at $13-15 million (base year 2012). explained, as have the documents bilities then set against the identified On this evidence the AAS appears given to industry for this exercise, budget still appear difficult, if not to be budgeted as the second least the VFD and discussions with indus- impossible, to balance. With the expensive combat helicopter in the try are not part of any down-select Joint Requirement Oversight Coun- U.S. Army Aviation portfolio until process; it is and remains a demon- cil (JROC) beginning to examine beyond 2030, being only beaten by stration of current capability. the Army’s findings from December the reworked Kiowa WRA [a provi- This has been a safe line for the 2012, an approval from the Defense sion of the UH-72 acquisition was U.S. Army to take in laying out what Acquisition Board (DAB) would not that it is not supposed to operate in it expects the aircraft to achieve. It be expected until the middle of 2014

20 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Reviving AAS

at the earliest, with a request for pro- being developed. “Everything that ogy demonstrator achieving speeds posal (RFP) following that. In other will fly in the S-97 Raider is already of 232 knots and more (Sikorsky’s words, the potential competitors in performing elsewhere in other X2 achieved 250 knots), these two this acquisition competition have at products including fly-by-wire [in seem to be nosing ahead with future least another 18 months to further the CH-53K]. The U.S. Army does potential in their flight bag. But at develop and refine what they are not have a lot of fly-by-wire so the what cost? working on. USMC program is leading the way Engebretson makes convinc- This may play into the hands of for DoD.” He added that government ing closing remarks bringing in the Sikorsky—the company that cur- analysis into the CH-53K capability Army’s desire to introduce a Future rently has nothing to demonstrate. would also be useful in proving the Vertical Lift aircraft (ex-Joint Multi Steve Engebretson, Sikorsky’s AAS S-97’s capability. Continuing on the Role). “The way the Army is going program director, said during the “new but not new” line, Engebretson with JMR contracts they are talking Army’s AUSA annual exposition in said that the concept of using rigid about replacing their medium fleets October that the manufacturer will rotor blades was not new and that by 2030. Once they start that there have a flying S-97 Raider prototype coaxial drive systems have been won’t be any money to address the by mid-to-late 2014. Although the around forever. armed reconnaissance fleet, so they most futuristic looking of all the In conclusion, in terms of the will have to live with their selection current proposals, Engebretson overall AAS competition, the longer to 2050-60 until after they get past stated that in fact the aircraft would the DAB takes, the later the RFP is the Black Hawk/Apache replace- represent a combination of much issued, the better position Sikor- ments.” that was possible today: “We have sky will be in to offer something What he is leading to is the asser- been working a long time to debunk approaching next-generation capa- tion that a new generation type the myth that because this is high- bilities. In contrast, Bell Textron’s aircraft selected for the AAS would performance aircraft it is going to Kiowa Warrior will keep on aging allow the Army to assess capabili- be very complex and expensive—its as a platform design, as will Boeing’s ties before transiting to replacement actually just the opposite of that.” AH-6. EADS North America has aircraft for its medium fleet. “Maybe He points out that the concept the drive of Eurocopter behind its we should try them in a 300-aircraft blends capabilities from other plat- AAS-72X and with this summer’s fleet before we take it into a 3,000 forms as well as some currently displays of its X3 (X-cubed) technol- fleet,” he suggests.

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WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 21 MILITARY | PROCUREMENT

The lone competitor of six not to have a flying prototype for the Army’s VFDs, Sikorsky plans to have a prototype S-97 Raider available by mid-to-late 2014. Shown here are the various planned X2 offspring at AUSA. Photo by Andrew Drwiega Photo by Andrew Army Completes VFD Phase of AAS Program By Douglas Nelms

he U.S. Army has completed 25). Sikorsky said that it participated expected to lead to the final competi- the antepenultimate phase through a series of briefings and tion for the new AAS. The idea for Tof its competition for a new flights in its S-97 Raider simulator. flight demonstrations was announced Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) A meeting of the Defense Acquisi- last year, but with emphasis that this helicopter to replace the venerable tion Board will follow the VFDs to was not a competitive fly-off. It was OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. Three of develop a defense acquisition strategy. strictly a “show us what we can get for the key players in the competition— “That strategy covers a range of alter- what we can afford” on the part of the Bell, Boeing and EADS North Amer- natives, but principally it is either to U.S. Army. ica—demonstrated to the Army continue the course it is on, which is The Army issued its Request for what their respective aircraft can to keep the minimal capability that Information earlier this year, with do in recent weeks during a series they have and maintain it for a period the manufacturers following up with of voluntary flight demonstrations to time until the (current) asset can be their responses. Those responses were (VFDs) designed to show the Army replaced in its entirety, or (to) select a then followed with meetings between what it can get for the money it can competitive alternative that in the near industry and a team of around 30 to spend. This follows AgustaWestland’s term could be ready for production 40 representatives from some seven participation this summer with the to replace older assets that have been agencies. AW139M demonstrator (the manu- operating as diligently as they have,” Dave Haines, vice president of facturer plans to offer the AW169). according to Sean O’Keefe, Chairman rotorcraft programs for EADS North MD Helicopters has also proposed and CEO of EADS North America. America, told reporters prior to the its MD540F (see sidebar on page Development of that strategy is AUSA meeting in Washington that

22 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM The Interactive Hub for Aviation Pros

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19878 MILITARY | PROCUREMENT

they had responded in mid-summer to The AAS-72X is a joint program is around 7,500 feet, with mountain the Army’s RFI with “about 1,100 pages with EADS North America as prime peaks reaching to 14,000 feet. of very detailed data. The Army will contractor and Lockheed Martin as EADS-NA had already taken an tell you that (the RFI) was just a mar- the integrator at the Lockheed Martin EC145 to Alamosa in July 2009, weight- ket survey. This was not just a market Systems Integration Lab in Orlando, ed to the anticipated weight of the sur ve y.” Fla. This includes weapon systems and Army’s AAS weapons mission equip- The EADS-NA response was fol- sensors, the navigation/communica- ment package (MEP), to show that lowed up by “an oral discussion with tion package, and mission management its ability to operate at those altitudes the customer,” including the Aviation computers and software. in hot weather. It very easily met the Engineering Directorate (AED), dur- These meetings were followed by Army’s “6K/95” requirement, or the ing a visit to American Eurocopter’s the VFD, which started this fall. For its ability to hover out of ground effect UH-72A assembly plant in Columbus, VFD, EADS-NA flew two demonstra- (HOGE) at 6,000 feet at 95 degrees F Miss., according to Haines. Assembly tion aircraft out to Alamosa, Colo. For at maximum gross weight. Haines also of the AAS-72X, if selected, will also be demonstrations held from Sept. 24 to noted that during the VFD the aircraft done at the Columbus facility alongside Oct. 3. The two aircraft included the hovered out of ground effect at 14,000 the UH-72A. AAS-72X, which is an armed version of feet at just under MGTOW. The purpose of the meetings was the highly successful UH-72A Lakota The “6K/95” requirement was one to validate the information EADS-NA now being flown by the active Army all of the competitors were able to had provided in its response to the and Army National Guard units. The prove during their respective VFDs. RFI, “and we wanted them to be very UH-72A, in turn, is the militarized While the Army has not put out specif- comfortable with where we thought version of the EC145. The second air- ic requirements for the weapons MEP, we were and understand the detail, the craft, dubbed the AAS-72X+, was the the manufacturers are outfitting their data and our assessment of where we EC145T2, basically the EC145 with an AAS entries with weapons such as the thought we were.” The idea of an Army upgraded Turbomeca Arriel 2E dual M260 Hydra rocket launchers holding study team sitting down across the FADEC engine and a Fenestron anti- seven 2.75-inch folding fin aerial rock- table from industry officials to discuss torque system. The Arriel 2E engine ets, both GAU-19 50 cal. and 7.62 mm what the Army needed, what it could increases maximum takeoff weight mini-guns, other heavy 50 cal. machine afford and what industry could pro- from 7,903 lbs on the 72X to 8,267 lbs guns such as the M3P and Hellfire mis- vide was “a step outside the traditional for the 72X+. Turbomeca’s Arriel 1E2 siles. It will also be required to have a mold,” Haines noted. Traditionally, the powers the 72X. highly capable target acquisition and Army simply states its requirements EADS-NA held its VFD at Alamosa designation system. and expects industry to meet those because of the high altitude in order The two EADS North America requirements, with the low-cost com- to showcase the hot/high capabilities aircraft accumulated more than 20 petitor getting the contract. of the aircraft, Haines said. Elevation hours during the two-week period, with American Eurocopter pilots, active Army combat experienced pilots and Army experimental pilots and engineers taking the controls. Flight tests were done to ADS-33 standards, the performance specification handling qualities requirements for military rotorcraft. “It is a number

AgustaWestland of helicopter maneuver normally done at sea level, but we did it in a high and hot environment. And the results speak for themselves,” Haines said. Following the VFD, EADS- NA also conducted a tour with the AAS-72X, visiting four U.S. Army facilities—Fort AgustaWestland flew its AW139M this summer for the Army’s AAS voluntary flight demonstrations. The manufacturer plans to offer the in-development AW169 should AAS proceed into a formal competition. Riley, home of the 1st Infantry

24 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Reviving AAS

MD540F Flight Evaluation or the next generation of the Boe- predecessors, but with a variety of Mesa, Ariz.-based MD Helicopters is ing AH-6 Little Bird attack helicop- upgrades to its powerplant, rotor looking to increase its presence in ter. (The AH-6 was an MD product system, avionics and other select the military helicopter market with until the sale of its design rights to systems. its MD540F, which can either be cat- Boeing several years ago.) The end Although it is still technically egorized as a militarized version of product is a body style that looks under development, MD invited the company’s civilian MD500 line, very similar to its single-engine Rotor & Wing for a hands-on evaluation the MD540F, which is being offered for the Army’s AAS competition. Editor-at-Large Ernie Stephens took the company up on its offer to learn about the aircraft and put it through its paces. The result is a comprehensive technical briefing provided by the designers, as well an appraisal of its handling characteristics and flight systems. Look for a complete report on Photo by Frank Tucker, MD Helicopters Photo by Frank Tucker, the MD540F in the January 2013 issue of Rotor & Wing, including an inspection of its 50-year bloodline, The MD540F is a militarized version of the MD500 with several performance upgrades. A review of its legacy, as well as a flight evaluation, will appear in next month’s issue of its recent upgrades, and how it feels Rotor & Wing. in the hands of a pilot.

Division; Fort Hood, home of the as well as cockpit and sensor upgrades ment, noted that maximum gross 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Campbell, under the OH-58F CASUP program. weight of the aircraft is around 4,700 home of the 101st Airborne Division, A Bell spokesperson stated that lbs, “and if you put a combination of and Fort Bragg, home of the 82nd Air- the demonstration aircraft was not missiles, rockets, and machine guns, borne Division and XVIII Airborne flying with any weapons mounted plus the ammunition and fuel, you Corps. Completion of the tour was on it, although it did have the sensor don’t even get close to 4,700 lbs. You’re timed to coincide with the beginning ball profile on the nose to represent right around 3,900 to 4,000 lbs. And at of this year’s AUSA meeting in Wash- the weight and dimensions of the real that weight, the aircraft is very maneu- ington, D.C. thing. Bell said that since the Army verable and has great endurance. EADS was the only one of the four is already flying the OH-58D Kiowa Sikorsky does not currently have competitors to take its demonstration Warrior, the Block II aircraft “will a flying demonstrator, but is offering aircraft away from its home facility. blend seamlessly” into the existing the S-97 Raider as its entry in the AAS Bell began its VFD on Oct. 22 at Army supply chain, training and pro- competition. A Sikorsky spokesman its facility in Fort Worth, Texas, using curement system “without the expen- said the manufacturer had conducted an OH-58 Block II demonstration sive disruption caused by a completely numerous in-depth briefings with aircraft. The OH-58 Block II had new airframe.” By employing the Block the evaluating agencies, with combat already achieved the 6K/95 require- modernization concept, Bell said that experienced pilots “as well as experi- ment last spring, exceeding its maxi- it can deliver “a helicopter that meets mental test pilots and engineers” fly- mum gross weight of 5,500 lbs during or exceeds today’s requirements while ing the S-97 simulator. flight trials in Colorado. The Block II providing a clear roadmap for future The S-97 is being built based on aircraft was developed in Bell’s Xworx upgrades as well.” technology developed through Sikor- research and development facility in Boeing conducted its VFD at its sky’s experimental X2 program. The Fort Worth, Texas, with first flight on production facility in Mesa, Ariz., X2 is a high-speed rotorcraft that has April 14, 2011. The Block II aircraft using a single AH-6. It flew approxi- already flown in excess of 250 kts. replaces the 650-shp Rolls-Royce mately 10 flight hours and accom- “We believe this next-gener- T703-AD-700A engine with the plished all flight requirements, the ation rotorcraft will give Army 970-shp Honeywell HTS900. It will company said. Aviation a decisive edge on the bat- also have upgraded transmission and Mike Burke, Boeing’s director of tlefield through 2060,” the spokes- rotor systems taken from the Bell 407, attack helicopter business develop- man said.

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 25 PRODUCTS | ACCESSORIES Year in Review: PRODUCTSE 2012 turned out to be a far more interesting year than many of us expected it to be in terms of newast products and new uses or iterations of existing products. is article began with a simple concept— to provide an overview of all the products and services that industry vendors believed in strongly enough to showcase on the Hot Products pages for you during the past year. After all, the surveyshat always tell us that keeping up with new products and new technologies are the primary reasons you read this publication. But as we searched the archives and back issues, we kept running across fly other products and announcements that would have seemed wrong to ignore. e Hot Products pages are just not the place you are going to fi nd an announcement about a new aircraft being rolledout to market. What the Hot Products pages have instead become are a very eff ective way 12for vendors to highlight and showcase some of the less sexy products and services that are nevertheless key components, and integral to running a successful helicopter operation. So while the articles onas the following pages are by no means intended to be a comprehensive account or even a rating of the most important announcements of the year, these stories do represent an overview of a few of the shiny things that caught our eye in 2012, as well as those which industry vendors believe would be of signifi cant value to you.

AIRCRAFT Arriel D2-powered single engine heli- To help minimize pilot workload copter. Its improvements were said to and improve safety during VFR/IFR, Bell 525 Relentless, include 10 knots higher cruise speed, day/night, all-weather operations, the Eurocopter EC130T2 2 percent less fuel consumption, better AW189 will feature a Rockwell Collins Debut at Heli-Expo hot and high performance and a higher digital glass cockpit designed around sling load of 30 percent. Six out of seven four 8 x 10-inch liquid crystal displays new customers lined up to support with synthetic vision and enhanced Eurocopter by saying the company had vision systems. The avionics suite also delivered what they had asked for in this includes a four-axis dual-duplex digital type of machine—among them Maver- automatic flight control system and ick, Papillon, Enloe (an EMS provider) dual flight management system (FMS). and Blue Hawaiian. Read the full story at According to AgustaWestland, certifica-

Photo by Ernie Stephens Bell 525 at Heli-Expo 2012. rotorandwing.com tion is still on track for 2013, with deliveries expected to start in 2014. Two dramatic launches—mood music, AgustaWestland Shows helicopters behind screens and clever Off AW189 MD Helicopters audio visual presentations—accompa- AgustaWestland came to Heli-Expo Uncovers ‘Lethal’ 540F nied the launches of the Bell 525 Relent- 2012 fresh off the recent first flight of its After 15 years without unveiling a new less super medium transport (SMT) and prototype AW189. AgustaWestland offi- rotorcraft, it only took around three the Eurocopter EC130T2. While you can cially uncovered the AW189 program months for MD Helicopters to pull find the full specifications elsewhere in at the 2011 Paris Air Show in response together its latest offering—the 540F. An this news section, Bell President & CEO to an increasing demand for a versatile, upgrade to the 530F, the new model will John Garrison told a packed audience multi-role helicopter. The prototype feature a Rolls-Royce engine, avionics that this was “Bell on a mission to revi- took its maiden flight on December 21. from Elbit Systems and a six-blade rotor talize our commercial business.” A new Powered by a pair of General Electric system. The company plans to enter the five-bladed, 10-ton helicopter, the Bell CT7-2E1s and equipped with FADEC 540F into the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial 525 Relentless has been launched with and built-in particle separators, the Scout (AAS) competition, in addition to the corner just having been turned from 19-passenger AW189 is designed for getting interest from international opera- the bad times of the last few years. long-range, offshore transport and SAR tors through the DoD’s Foreign Military The crowd then moved from one end applications. Bristow Helicopters, Bel Sales (FMS) program. of Heli-Expo to the other to see Eurocop- Air and Weststar Aviation Services are “This is really development at Mach ter’s launch. The curtain pulled back the among the operators that have placed speed,” said CEO Lynn Tilton. “Three wraps on the EC130T2, a Turbomeca orders for the AW189. months ago, we went over to team up

26 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Product Review

with Elbit Systems on flight display at a glance. Proven AHRS attitude/head- systems and new weapons systems. ing reference replaces old-style, main- Together in three months, we were able tenance-intensive mechanical gyros for to bring this new aircraft to life.” Tilton greater precision and reliability. Plus, a added that certification will occur in the helicopter-specific database, included first quarter of 2013. The MD540F rep- with the G500H, features more than Eurocopter EC130T2 at Heli-Expo. Photo by Ernie Stephens resents the first new aircraft the Mesa, 7,000 heliports and nearly 30,000 addi- See story on page 26. Ariz.-based company has launched since tional low-altitude obstacles in addition Patriarch Partners purchased MD in to the already extensive database found mance and will work with most major July 2005. Tilton described the 540F as a in Garmin’s fixed-wing G500 system. encoders in addition to Becker’s encoder, “lethal fighting machine.” For more information, see your nearby which attaches directly to the BXP6404, Read the full story at www.aviation- Garmin authorized dealer or check the according to Schmitz. Read the full story today.com/rw/airframes company website. at www.rotorandwing.com AVIONICS & Universal Debuts Archangel Systems INSTRUMENTS EFI-890H Helicopter Introduces AHRS & INS Display (From Hot Products) To support cost- The List of Helicopters Universal Avionics of Tucson, Ariz., has sensitive and space-constrained avia- Certified with G500H uncovered the EFI-890H, a helicopter tion applications, Archangel Systems, Continues to Grow flat panel display based on the company’s Inc. has developed two highly com- (From Hot Products) Providing an inte- EFI -890R. The display will include a pact embeddable aviation sensor prod- grated “glass cockpit” solution for both collective cue and X-video night vision ucts scheduled for release in 2012. The retrofit and new production installations, imaging system (NVIS}. Universal is AHR50, slated for second quarter 2012 Garmin’s G500H electronic flight display seeking approval for a number of heli- release, is an enhanced AHRS (Attitude system has now received supplemental copter types, including the Bell 212 / 412 and Heading Reference System) in a 2.5” type certification (STC) on a number of and Eurocopter EC155/ AS332, and the x 2.0” x 1.2” form factor. A micro DB9 today’s most popular helicopters. The Sikorsky S-76 and S-61. connector provides two communica- list includes the Bell 206 and 407 series; Becker Introduces tion ports. A RS422 interface connects Eurocopter’s AS350 and EC130; and to a remote Magnetic Sensing Unit the Robinson Helicopter R44. Available AR6204 Transceiver, (MSU) for heading data. The second, through Garmin Authorized Service BXP6404 Transponder an RS232 bidirectional port, provides Centers industry-wide, the G500H sys- During a Feb. 13 press conference at the the AHRS output and “enhancement” tem combines full WAAS GPS nav- company’s Heli-Expo booth, Becker features. Enhancement: Via the RS232 igation with the latest in situational Avionics President Markus Schmitz port, the customer may input either air awareness. Dual 6.5-inch LCD screens, uncovered two new avionics units— data or GPS words for blending with mounted side-by-side in a single bezel, the AR6204 VHF transceiver and the IMU data. With air data inputs, the allow primary flight display (PFD) and BX6404 Mode S transponder. “The AHR50 is effectively an ADAHRS. With multifunction display (MFD) capabilities AR6204 is a single-box-mounted VHF GPS position, velocity and time data to be positioned right in front of the pilot transceiver which provides 8.33 or (PVT) the AHR50 becomes a loosely for easy scanning and interpretation. The 25-kHz spacing,” Schmitz explained. coupled INS/GPS system. The latter PFD shows attitude, airspeed, climb rate, “It has an integrated digital intercom- scenario is ideal for aircraft that already altitude and course/heading informa- munications system and also provides a have GPS and the installer chooses not tion—while the MFD provides highly dual-channel watch function.” The radio to duplicate that hardware and cost for detailed moving-map graphics depict- incorporates automatic dependent sur- INS functionality. For installations with- ing the helicopter’s current position in veillance-broadcast (ADS-B) technology out GPS, Archangel will offer the INS50 relation to ground features, chart data, “and provides 10-watt output at 24 volts,” in third quarter 2012. By augmenting the flight plan routings, and more. Optional he said, adding that the AR6204 features AHR50 with an integrated C/A code Garmin HSVT synthetic vision capabil- a simple design for retrofit installations. GPS, the INS50 is a standalone INS/ ity adds a 3-D virtual perspective view of Schmitz went on to unveil the BXP6404, GPS product. Archangel design teams terrain, traffic, airports and obstacles to describing it as “the only dismount Mode are available to support OEM, STC and the pilot’s PFD. And on each of the dis- S transponder with ADS-B Out capa- upgrade programs. Contact Archan- plays, large numbers and graphics make bilities on the market.” The unit will be gel Systems at www.archangel.com or the data even easier to read and interpret available for Class 1 and Class 2 perfor- 1-334-826-8008 x14.

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 27 PRODUCTS | ACCESSORIES

significant milestone by delivering its MRO PRODUCTS & 1,000th DVCS since introducing its Digi- SERVICES tal Audio System family. For more information, contact Brett Gardner, Director CTI Opens Whirl Tower of Sales, at [email protected] or visit Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary Composite www.beckerusa.com/dvcs Technology Inc. (CTI) invited local officials to its Dallas-Fort Worth rotor SATCOM PRODUCTS blade repair facility on February 14 for the opening of its new whirl tower. Photo by Andrew Parker Photo by Andrew WebSentinel iOS App The $15-million “rig” and control room AgustaWestland AW189 at Heli-Expo. Gets an Upgrade See story on page 26.. are diagnostic tools used to conduct Latitude Technologies Corporation has controlled tests of rotor blades under Sandel HeliTAWS released an upgrade for its Latitude Web- simulated operational conditions. When Chosen for Sikorsky Sentinel iOS App. Now registered users damaged or repaired blades need to be S-70i of the SkyNode Satcom product can use tested, CTI technicians can mount them Sikorsky Aircraft has contracted Vista, their WebSentinel account to view live on the whirl tower’s high-tech rotor hub, Calif.-based Sandel Avionics to supply a flight tracking data, modify reporting along with a master that is known to Mil-Std version of the HeliTAWS wire parameters and send two-way text mes- be completely flawless. The tower then and terrain alerting system for the S-70i, sages. Flight data from previous flights rotates the blades while sophisticated the international version of the Black are also available. lasers identify the changes required to Hawk. The ST3453H will include San- make the test blades match the master del’s WireWatch and TruAlert functions High Frequency blade. allowing pilots to take off, cruise, hover Demands Higher and land at off-airport locations without HEATCON Provides Quality 50 ohm Positive Pressure encountering nuisance alerts, while still MicroMATES Assemblies being able to receive Class-A terrain and Repairs obstacle warnings during the flight. (From Hot Products) MicroMATES (From Hot Products) A large number of from PIC Wire & Cable are engineered composite repairs can be accomplished Becker Delivers to advance microwave coaxial cable by a Hot Bonder, utilizing vacuum pres- 1,000th DVCS technology and serve Ku and X Band fre- sure for material compaction. However, (From Hot Products) Becker Avionics is quencies. Manufactured with minimum there are many instances for which the a privately owned hi-tech avionics com- 200° C rating on all materials plus Inner Structural Repair Manual (SRM) stipu- pany. For more than 50 years, Becker has Flat Braid or Strip Braid, High Temp lates that a positive pressure, typically been an industry pioneer, manufacturing Polyimide Foil, Dual Braided Shields up to 50 psi, must be used, as that cre- affordable, sophisticated digital intercom and Silver Plated Copper throughout. ated by vacuum alone is insufficient for systems, communication & navigation Military/Defense Applications include carrying out large area repairs on major radios, transponders, personal locator SatCom, MUMT, and Command and components. In such instances, up until beacons and air traffic control radios. Control. Two-week lead time on many recently the only alternative to utilizing Becker is recognized by savvy customers assemblies. In addition to MicroMATES, an Autoclave was to combine vacuum for their leading-edge design and quality the PICMATES Line of Interconnect with a ‘Dead Weight’, such as sandbags, products made for a variety of market Solutions for the Civil, Military and in order to achieve the equivalent of the segments including general aviation Parapublic/First Responder Helicop- required positive pressure. As it is dif- and rotorcraft (air medical services & ter Sectors also includes RF MATES, ficult to achieve pressure uniformity over airborne law enforcement), along with VideoMATES, and DataMATES. Take the repair area, plus the fact that sand- special mission and military customers. flight with over 40 years of proven suc- bags act as a huge ‘heat sink’, most repair Becker’s flagship product is the highly cess in recognized aerospace programs stations without an Autoclave would successful Digital Voice Communication worldwide. At Pic Wire & Cable, we aim either decline the job, or subcontract the System (DVCS). The DVCS was the to: Improve Platform & System Perfor- repair to a facility with one. Our patented first commercially certified digital inter- mance; Lower Total Costs; and Reduce HCS3100 (Series) Portable Autoclaves com system in the marketplace (ETSO Development & Manufacturing Sched- are custom built semi-portable pressure & TSO’d). This current generation ules. For all your advanced electronic vessels. They are designed to provide DVCS6100 has incorporated a variety applications, there’s only one PIC. For controlled temperature, vacuum, and of unique and popular ‘customer-centric’ more information call 1-800-742-3191 pressure during composite and metal features. Recently, Becker reached a or visit the company on the web. bond repair processes. The positive

28 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Product Review

internal pressure applied to the repair The tape meets FAA 14CFR 25.853 free slide camera windows are available enables operators to achieve the high- standards. for aerial photography. The company er pressure when required by aircraft Optically Superior fills most orders within 24 hours. Tech- manufacturer repair manuals. Heat is Tool offers standard and customized applied only where required using spe- Windows from Tech- windows for the most popular models cially constructed silicone rubber heat Tool Plastics from Bell, Eurocopter, MD Helicopters, blankets. This method results in reduced (From Hot Products) With a full line Robinson and Schweizer. Tech-Tool operational costs and fewer problems of windows available for your MD500 Plastics has manufactured and support- due to temperature induced part dam- series helicopter, Tech-Tool Plastics ed helicopter replacement windows for age. For more information, visit www. offers the finest in replacement and nearly 50 years. Tech-Tool’s affordable, heatcon.com custom windows for your aircraft. Cabin high-quality windows are FAA, EASA, PAA Offers Extended Comfort Windows, provided exclu- ANAC and Transport Canada approved. sively by Tech-Tool, are available in clear They meet or exceed OEM standards, Life Starter Generator or tinted, Smoke Gray or Dark Gray are easy to install, and fit every time. For Program options. These wedge-shaped windows more information, please visit www. (From Hot Products) Professional Avia- allow for more shoulder and elbow tech-tool.com tion Associates’ Helicopter Starter Pro- room for passengers and give pilots more gram for starter generators offers a cus- freedom to maneuver. In addition, their tom designed inspection process to track clear-view design improves visibility and brush wear. These custom solutions provides a custom appearance. Quick may extend the life of your starter gen- Change Windows are another option for erators, increase reliability, and reduce those interested in reduced installation unscheduled removals and operating time and replacement costs. These are expenses. Our alliance partner A.O.G available for all door windows and chin starter/generator overhaul facility is bubbles. They fit better, eliminate rivets Photo by Andrew Parker Photo by Andrew well maintained to provide consistent and eliminate the need to repaint. Years and quality service. Ultrasonic cleaners of experience and a strong focus on inno- MD Helicopters CEO Lynn Tilton with are used on all armatures and stators to vation have allowed Tech-Tool Plastics to the MD540F at Quad-A. See page 26. eliminate carbon shorting. This ensures a become the leader in replacement and INSTRUMENT more dependable operation and a longer custom windows for rotorcraft. Ensur- life for the armature and stator. Two high- ing durability, ease of installation and an REPAIR/NVG speed generator stands are available to unwavering focus on quality—Tech-Tool MODIFICATIONS test the operation of the unit after it has customers experience immediate service been serviced. Our reputation was built with little or no down time. Contact DAC International’s upon providing a high level of quality Tech-Tool Plastics at 1-800-433-2210 or Bell 212/412 along with competitive pricing. For more visit the company on the web at www. Solution for Tarsyn information in the U.S. and Canada, tech-tool.com please call 1-800-283-2015 or visit us at Tech-Tool Windows for (From Hot Products) If you have issues www.proaviation.com AS350/355s with your Tarsyn gyro installation, 3M Gel Tape Helps consider replac¬ing the Tarsyn gyros (From Hot Products) Thanks to Tech- with the proven Northrop Grum- Protect Against Tool Plastics Cabin Comfort windows, man Litef LCR100 fiber optics AHRS. Corrosion Eurocopter AS350 AStar and AS355 Installation consists of removal of the St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Aerospace TwinStar operators can enjoy clear existing rate gyro, replacement of the has introduced its 3M Removable Gel views essential for safe flying. Tech-Tool’s Tarsyn VG/DGs with two AHRS and Tape, which is designed to help protect wedge-style Cabin Comfort windows trays, which mount into the existing substrate corrosion in helicopters and provide increased crew and passenger Tarsyn position and wiring an addi- fixed-wing aircraft. The tape is available shoulder and elbow room throughout tional panel annunciator. Advantages in one-sided and two-sided versions. the AStar’s cabin. In addition to added of replacing the Bell 212/412 mechani- According to 3M, the Gel Tape is eas- visibility and comfort, Tech-Tool’s Cabin cal gyros with the dual LCR-100 AHRS ily removable and does not pill or ball, Comfort windows add a customized include Fiber Optic Attitude Heading leaving behind little or no residue. Other appearance at an affordable price. Win- Reference System—no moving parts; features include easy cutting, low roll dows are available in standard clear or a long MTBF (mean time before fail- unwind tension and simple application. custom gray tinted acrylic. Vibration- ure) equals reduced maintenance and

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 29 PRODUCTS | ACCESSORIES

cost; the LCR100 has increased accu- System (NVIS) solutions for commercial intensities racy and less weight than the gyros it and military aircraft. ADI is a full line and come replaces; simplified one-time flux valve dis¬tributor and certified repair station ready for calibration—no compass rose required for Aspen Avionics and offers internal operation and it comes with a two-year warranty. NVG instrument modifications for s t r a i g h t The installation is simple with a kit Aspen products that do not compromise from the that includes two Tarsyn adapter trays, on the Aspen factory warranty. Featured box sup- Photo by Ernie Stephens one rate gyro jumper/annunciator here is the Evolution 1500H Package, plied with Sikorsky/CTI whirl tower. See harness, one panel annunciator and a which combines the powerful, award- the frangible story on page 28. flight manual supplement. Downtime winning Pro PFD 1000H with the versa- mount assembly. The solar flood light for installation is minimal. Give DAC tile MFD 500H to deliver a full-featured, (also radio-controlled) provides uni- International a call today at 1-512-331- exceptionally easy-to-use glass panel. form surface lighting across width of the 5323 to discuss replacing or upgrading The Pro PFD 1000H provides profes- helipad while the optic’s ‘hood’ prevents your Bell 212/412. Or for more infor- sional-grade EFIS primary flight instru- potential glare to pilots upon approach. mation connect with us at dacinfo@ ments, with a full-featured electronic Just one of Avlite’s radio controllers can dacint.com HSI with moving map. The MFD 500H control multiple solar Avlite fixtures adds photo-quality moving maps, terrain including; heliport beacons, taxiway Aero Dynamix Provides awareness, geo-referenced charts and lights, obstruction lights, lighted wind- Garmin Avionics airport diagrams, and (with optional or sock and other products. The radio Products and Repairs existing sensors) traffic displays, WX500 controller supports several operational (From Hot Products) Aero Dynamix, Inc. Stormscope display, and the full suite modes including 3-step intensity adjust- (ADI) is the industry leader and principle of XM WX aviation weather products. ment and switching the system between innovator of integrated Night Vision Contact Aero Dynamix today at sales@ visual and IR. The solar Pilot Activated Imaging System (NVIS) solutions for aerodynamix.com for more information Lighting Control (PALC) can also be inte- both commercial and military aircraft. or to request a quote. For more informa- grated with the system for remote opera- ADI is a full-line distributor and certified tion, visit the company’s website at www. tion of an unmanned heliport. Visit the repair station for Garmin avionics, and aerodynamix.com company on the web at www.avlite.com offers internal NVG instrument modifications for Garmin products that do FIXTURES SOFTWARE not compromise on the Garmin factory & GROUND CORRIDOR Aviation warranty. Featured here are the Garmin EQUIPMENT GTN 650 and GTN 750. The GTN Maintenance Software family combines GPS, COM and NAV Solar-Powered Heliport (From Hot Products) CORRIDOR is functions with powerful multifunction Lighting System industry-proven software developed display capabilities like high-resolution Supports Night to streamline the aviation maintenance terrain mapping, graphical flight plan- process. Created by aviation profession- ning, satellite weather, traffic display Landing and Lift-Off als more than 15 years ago, CORRIDOR and much more. The GTN 750 offers a (From Hot Products) Avlite Systems solar- continues to improve efficiency, reduce 6.9-inch diagonal high-resolution display. powered heliport lighting for emergency, errors, increase control and visibility, Contact Aero Dynamix today at sales@ temporary or permanent helipads and reduce costs, and elevate customer ser- aerodynamix.com for more information helidecks offers helicopter crews a safer vice levels for rotor and fixed-wing or to request a quote. Let Aero Dynamix place to lift-off and land during night service providers. CORRIDOR handles be your one-stop-shop for Night Vision flights or in low-visibility conditions. all functions in real time. CORRIDOR’s solutions. For more information, visit Meeting ICAO’s Annex 14 and CAP437 modular design allows each organization www.aerodynamix.com Offshore Helicopter Landing Areas to tailor the application to their specific recommendations, this world-first, solar- needs. Modules include those for Inven- Aspen Avionics and powered heliport lighting system is self- tory Control, Procurement & Logistics, NVG Modifications contained and easy to install. The radio- Maintenance & Shop Management, Part from Aero Dynamix controlled solar heliport perimeter lights Sales & Retail Distribution, Customer (From Hot Products) Aero Dynamix, Inc. give over 50 hours of continuous opera- & Vendor Management, Aircraft Main- is an industry leader and principle inno- tion at both CAP437 and ICAO Annex tenance Record Keeping, Accounting vator of integrated Night Vision Imaging 14 Touchdown Lift-Off perimeter light Integration, and more. CORRIDOR is

30 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Product Review

backed by an experienced in-house staff market.” For more information in the U.S. the aircraft. Customers can also take to support each business throughout and Canada, call 1-800-283-2015 or visit advantage of Air Comm’s unmatched training and implementation and con- www.proavation.com customer support, featuring five full- tinued user support. Contact us today time customer support represen- for more information or to request a SAR PRODUCTS tatives, online technical manuals, demo, call 1-512-918-8900 or visit www. Direction Finding SAR and 24/7 phone support. Backed by corridor.aero from Techtest exceptional engineering and technical Sikorsky Aerospace capabilities, Air Comm Corporation (From Hot Products) Techtest has intro- designs, manufactures and supports Services Launches duced a new DF system designed to more than 20 heating and air condi- Helotrac 2X reduce the time to locate emergency tioning systems for a range of helicop- Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) locator beacons. It is compatible with ters, including AgustaWestland, Bell, has unveiled a new software system both 121.5MHz swept tone distress bea- Eurocopter, MD and Sikorsky. for Sikorsky’s commercial helicopters, cons and 406MHz COSPAS-SARSAT Elbit All-in-Small Helotrac 2X. The new web-based soft- transmissions on current and future ware is an upgrade of Helotrac RL and frequencies. The user is able to monitor Offers Helicopter Self- allows operators to access compliance four frequencies and detect emergency Protection System information and links to OEM bulletins, transmissions. Each transmission is Elbit Systems EW and SIGINT-Elisra FAA airworthiness directives and main- allocated a unique identification which is offering its All-in-Small united tenance tracking records. Monitoring can then be selected for more detailed self-protection system for both rotary and maintenance reports, including information. For 121.5MHz the system and fixed-wing applications. The elec- projections, history and archives, are part can display relative bearing details. For tronic warfare suite includes advanced of Helotrac 2X, along with the ability to 406MHz the system will provide all multi-spectral DAS and ESM capabili- interface directly with interactive elec- the same information as 121.5MHz ties in a single line replace¬able unit tronic technical manuals (IETMs). The but in addition will record and decode (LRU). The lightweight system has a software is available for the S-70i, S-76, the COSPAS-SARSAT message, giv- modular design and open architecture S-92 and S-434, as well as other helicop- ing details of the distress beacon and for multiple interfaces. The All-inter types and fixed-wing aircraft. if available the GPS beacon location. Small is made up of an EW control- Using digital processing and advanced ler, digital radar warning receiver, IR PARTS & SPARES beam forming techniques, the system is missile warning system, advanced Professional Aviation able to discriminate between multiple laser warning system and chaff/flare Associates Offers a trans¬mitters and direction find on the dispensing system. signals. All the data is processed using L-3 Wescam Introduces Global Reach intelligent algorithms to reduce system (From Hot Products) Professional Avia- noise and spurious responses. For more MX-10D, MX-Sim tion Associates, located in Atlanta, information, visit www.hr-smith.com Burlington, Ontario-based L-3 Wes- Ga., operates a 30,000-square-foot cam has launched its MX-10D electro- warehouse just minutes away from COMPONENTS & optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging and Hartsfield International Airport, with ACCESSORIES designating turret for helicopters, tactical sales support staff in Greer, S.C. and UAVs and fixed-wing platforms. The London, England. “We are excited Air Comm: Superior Canadian division of New York City- to extend our support offering of the Choice for the AS350 based L-3 Communications unveiled EC155 fleet in addition to our Euro- (From Hot Products) Offering high- the turret at the Farnborough Interna- copter support program for AS350/ performance and an easy-to-install tional Airshow. L-3 Wescam has also AS355,” said Professional Aviation system, the Air Comm Eurocopter introduced a simulator that will allow Associates President Glenn MacDonald. AS350 Air Conditioner provides operators to train with its MX Series of “Our sales force spans the United States, dedicated cockpit and cabin cooling EO/IR turrets. Designed with German Spain, Latin America, Canada and the in a lightweight design. The condenser company INSYEN AG, the MX-Sim United Kingdom. It is a continuation of features a direct flow air path and only connects to multiple L-3 Wescam stan- our goal to grow this part of the business one 6” diameter circular baggage door dard control systems to provide various and become the largest inde¬pendent cutout. This simplifies installation and pre-planned scenarios in various weath- global supplier of parts for the rotor wing does not detract from the aesthetics of er conditions.

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 31 PRODUCTS | NEWS COVERAGE

August 2012 Serving the Worldwide Helicopt

November 2012 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing.com

rotorandwing.com

from

Spring 2012

MILITARYThe Definitive Source of Worldwide Rotorcraft INSIDER Procurement Intelligence and Insight London’s Olympic Pil Dubai Helishow Preview rotorandwing.com Eur Guardian AngelsIn-Flight Connectivity Engine Maintenance September 2012 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry Flying the Brass Olympic Aerial Support ITEP’s Impetus Dubai Helishow Preview Era Training Center Profile

In-Flight Connectivity Hot Blade3/21/12 12:49:15 PM Exercise in Europe

Robinson: Safety from the Start rotorandwing.com The Evolution of NOTAR AW159 ENOUGH? WILDCAT Rotorcraft Training Guide Afghan Pilot Training Robinson’s Focus on Safety D: WILD Surviving DVE Unmanned K-Max Update October 2012 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry

MIL_01_RW_0412_Cover_M1.indd 1

Operator Profile: Metro UTair Training Center Military Insider Sikorsky S-76 FAAy Certified 10/22/12 4:41:48 PM Selection of digital-only covers from 2012, as well as from the Military Insider and R&D Report supplements. Graphic design by 100thEvolution Tactical of NOTAR NH90 Gretchen Saval

01_RW_1112_DigitalCover_p01.indd 1

8/23/12 9:25:00 AM Survival of the Fittest?9/21/12 11:32:30 AM

01_RW_1012_DigitalCover_p01.indd 1 YEAR2 IN0 1REVIEW:2

32 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Year In Review elicopter Industry rotorandwing.com June 2012 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing MILITARYOctober 2012 INSIDER

The Definitive Source of Worldwide Rotorcraft Procurement Intelligencerotorandwing.com and Insight

from

Operator Profile: PHI

CEOs Examine Future

Synthetic Training Pilot Report: UNMANNE May 2012 Eurocopter Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing.com D 5/22/12 12:49:45K PM M A X

rotorandwing.comAW169 Lifts Off

Summer 2012 R&D: T-Rex Lives! from Gibbings’ Lessons MILITARYThe Definitive Source of Worldwide Rotorcraft INSIDER Procurement Intelligence and Insight

Digital_01_RW_0612_Cover_p01.indd 1 MIL_01_RW_1012_Cover_M1.indd 1

Science & Technology Future Vertical Lift Utility Takes T: 30 Forefront Flying the Brass ITEP’s Impetus

Future R&D Funding: Where Will It Come From? Sharing the Airspace: Manned6/20/12 11:23:28 AM & Unmanned

DIG_RW_0512_DigitalCover_p1.indd 1 : What is the outlook for the helicopter industry in 2013? Compiled by Rotor & Wing staff n an effort to provide a snapshot Products and Helicopter Safety & Train- about what readers would like to see of the hundreds of stories that ing, a new training-focused newsletter and open the door of communication Iwe cover each year, Rotor & Wing launched during 2012. This list does with those companies that warrant has assembled a list of items not cover the entire spectrum of Rotor additional coverage. What are your published from January to November & Wing’s various offerings—it is just favorite stories of 2012? What would 2012, with special emphasis this year a sampling of our coverage, as there you like to see in the pages of Rotor on stories that you may not have come are many additional news stories and & Wing in 2013? What areas should across in the print edition—stories that in-depth freatures available online and we focus on, and what topics, events, appeared online at www.rotorandwing. through our other distribution chan- markets and companies do we need to com or in one of our e-letters, including nels. One reason we undertake this cover more? Please send your sugges- The Collective, Military Insider, Hot annual exercise is to gather feedback tions to: [email protected]

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 33 PRODUCTS | NEWS COVERAGE

The Collective Story of the Week Headline Date Story of the Week Headline Date

Unmanned K-Max Operational Research Helicopter July 11 in Afghanistan Jan. 4 Australia Plans Aerial Firefighting Future July 18 Helicopter Industry Struggles to Improve Skeptics to Smiles: Eurocopter Woos Ditching Survivability Jan. 18 DC Military Operators July 25 NTSB: Pilot Tried to Outrun Storm Feb. 1 Russian Medium Twin KA-62 to Fly Countdown to Heli-Expo 2012 Feb. 6 in One Year Aug. 1 Open for Business at Heli-Expo Feb. 8 CAE 3000 Series S-76C++ Simulator Two Debutantes Take Stage at Heli-Expo Feb. 15 Heads to China Aug. 8 Sikorsky CEO Jeff Pino’s View from the Top Feb. 23 Milestone Orders 19 S-92s, Bell 407GX Russian Helicopters Eyes China Civil Market March 1 Enters Africa Aug. 15 Operator Profile: Oil & Gas Operators in Brazil March 8 Exxon Valdez Disaster Recovery, Japan to Replace Earthquake-Lost EC225 March 14 Boeing Tests Unmanned Little Bird Aug. 22 Russian Helicopters to Squeeze Out FAA Announces SMS Requirement, UUAP Shareholders March 23 PAG Increases Space Aug. 29 Turbomeca Gives Operators a Boost March 28 PZL Takes Wraps Off Optionally Watch and Wait: Leadership Won’t Piloted SW-4 Solo Sept. 5 Race into the Breach April 4 Russian Helicopters Secures Large Fleet Brooks: Debt Biggest Threat to Order from China Sept. 12 National Security April 11 Northrop-AgustaWestland Enters Lightning Detection: Stormscope Marine One Round Two Sept. 19 and Strikefinder April 18 Designer of Electric Helo Reflects on IHST: 30% Lower Accident Rate ‘Step 2011 Flight Tests Sept. 26 in the Right Direction’ April 25 FAA Declines Bell 429 Weight Increase, Crosby Calls for ‘Marriage’ of S&T, Approves R66 Police Variant Oct. 3 Program Management May 16 MSP Receives First AW139 as Part Eurocopter Preps for First Upgraded of Fleet Upgrade Oct. 10 EC130T2 Delivery May 31 Sikorsky Strengthens Bond with Offshore, Russian Helicopters Continues Latin HEMS Operator Oct. 17 Expansion June 6 Bell, EADS Detail AAS Proposals; A2D Deliveries Start as Army Replenishes AgustaWestland Secures UK Funding Oct. 24 OH-58 Fleet June 13 Countdown to Dubai Helishow: Eurocopter to Push Speed Envelope with X3 June 21 2,000-Plus Visitors, 100 Exhibitors Expected Nov. 1 DoD Stresses Need for Previously Experts Discuss High-Rise Aerial Firefighting Unseen Cooperation if Future Vertical at Dubai Helishow Nov. 7 Lift Ambition is to Take Off June 27 Russian Helicopters Rachel Concept NASA Seeks Electronics Fix for Rascal Advances; NHV Buys 10 EC175s Nov. 15

Military Insider Hold the Front Page/Insider’s Notebook Month Hold the Front Page/Insider’s Notebook Month

Industry, Working With or Against U.S. Army: Money for Old Rope: Demise of the a Toe-to-Toe Discussion at AUSA January Manned Helicopter? June Boeing Hosts Annual Review January Cassidian Displays Tanon Rotary UAS at UK Apaches Confirm Littoral Capability Eurosatory June Over Libya but Center Stage Reserved for Spagnolini Bonds with Russian Helicopters Typhoons February as the Bear Looks Over His Shoulder July Finmeccanica 2011 Results: Helicopter Bell-Boeing Continues Push to Sell Orders Take a Hit from ‘On Hold’ V-22 to International Militaries July Government Contracts February USMC Looks at K-Max in Afghanistan ‘Gray Hairs’ With Nothing to Prove Strive to September 2013; Wider Mission for Future Vertical Lift Solution March Profile Possible August ARSOAC Commander Mangum Talks Why the Chinook Still Sells at 50 August of Transformation in Special Forces Aviation March Apache Pilot With a Difference; Armed Aerial Scout Comes Second to He’s Been a JTAC as Well September Future Vertical Lift Development April Eurocopter Delivers First of 40 Upgraded NATO-Russian Project Kicks Off Afghan CH-53GAs to Germany September Air Force Maintainer Training in Russia April Apache Block III now AH-64E; DAB UK Ab-initio Crewman Add Virtual Approves Full-rate Production October Gunnery to CRM Skills May Industry Gives Army AAS Testers A Day at the (Motor) Races Beats the Thumbs-Up October Recession May

34 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Year In Review

Helicopter Safety & Training Headlines Month Headlines Month

Russians to Develop ‘Intelligent’ Approval, Enstrom Hands Over Last Thai Flight Safety System, Heli-Union Receives 480B Trainer September Eurocopter Sim June TSI Plans Moral Courage Award, Plan Annual Training with Safety in Mind, AgustaWestland Delivers 1st AW119Kx, NTSB to Host Search and Rescue Forum July AMTC Expects Record Attendance October UTair Training Center Profile, Bristow Target Zero Earns Safety Award, CAE 3000 Series S-76 Sim Heads to China, Bell Teams with SAIT on Canadian Rotorcraft Training Guide August Maintenance Training November Era Training Center Receives AW139 Highlights from the Print Magazine Headline Page # Headline Page #

JANUARY Sikorsky President Jeff Pino to Retire as Annual Reports & Executive Outlook 23 Industry Undergoes ‘Change in Tone’ 13 Boeing Offers AAS Competitor to Operator Profile: PHI’s Focus on Safety 28 Military Forces in the Middle East 12 Innovation, Collaboration Essential to Future Success 32 AgustaWestland Takes 609 Controls 12 Thinking Ahead: Mission Planning for Europe 36 Bell Aims Armed 407 Variant at JULY Foreign Militaries 14 X3 Travels Around U.S. to Conduct Operator Demos 12 FEBRUARY A2D Deliveries Start as Army Deals with AgustaWestland AW189 Takes Maiden Flight 12 OH-58 Shortage 13 At the Controls: Sikorsky S-92 & S-76D 32 Soaring Eagles: U.S. Park Police Aviation Division 24 Heli-Expo Preview: What to Expect 38 Farnborough 2012: Flying Through Europe’s Woes 50 Night Vision Mod Market Flourishes 44 Q&A with Army Aviation PEO Tim Crosby 54 Prepping for the Ditch 48 Future Vertical Lift: Have Plan, Need Money M8 Spanish Scenarios Test Personnel Science & Technology Roadmap: Q&A Recovery Techniques 56 with Bill Lewis M12 MARCH AUGUST Bell 525 Relentless, Eurocopter Australia Plans Aerial Firefighting Future 12 EC130T2 Debut at Heli-Expo 12 Operator Profile: Era Training Center 22 AgustaWestland AW609 Gets Back Pilot Report: Exciting, Experimental, Exceptional X3 27 on Track (Again) 13 2012 Rotorcraft Training Guide 30 A Modern Love Affair: Seeing Beneath the Surface: NDT for Helicopters 38 Lynn Tilton and the U.S. Army 16 Hot Blade 2012: Europeans Train in Portugal 44 Recovery: Real or Imagined? 28 SEPTEMBER South America Rises: Sim Report: CAE 3000 Series S-76C++ Oil & Gas Moves Economy 34 Full-Motion Trainer 12 Transforming Old Into New: NOTAR: More Than What It Appears to Be 26 Avionics Upgrades 38 Green Shoot Success: Army Qualifies First UK SAR: Reworking the Model 42 Afghan Pilots In-Country 30 APRIL Surviving DVE: Q&A with Tony Potts 34 Russian Helicopters CEO: Robinson Pilot Safety Training: Essential for Steady Global Growth 42 Reducing Risks 38 Weather Radar: Navigating the Storm 46 Manned or Unmanned: How About Both? 42 Army’s ITEP Gets New Impetus M6 OCTOBER Army 12th: Flying the Brass M12 Ding, Ding: Seconds Out for Round Two of Is Lynx Wildcat Wild Enough? M18 ‘Marine One’ and CRH (CSAR-X) 10 MAY Russian Helicopters Secures Watch and Wait: U.S. Army Aviation Orders for 52 Mi-171s, 18 Ka-226s 11 Leadership Targets Aim Point 2030 12 Operator Profile: Metro Aviation 24 MD Uncovers ‘Lethal’ MD540F 13 EC175: Survival of the Fittest? 42 EADS Enhances 72X Lakota for AAS Bid 13 New Australian Body Set to Grapple Investing in the Future 26 with Growing Pains 46 Russian Offshore Industry: Flight Simulation, Training Find Oasis at UTair 50 Operators Compete for Utility 32 NACRA’s T-Rex Lives! M8 XP Services: Expanding the Envelope 36 NOVEMBER CHC Safety & Quality Summit 40 FAA Certifies S-76D; Bond S-92 Completions Begin 12 Sharing Air: Unmanned Aircraft in Dubai Serves as Souk for Robust Middle Commercial Airspace 44 East Helicopter Market 28 JUNE London’s Olympic Guardian Angels 34 AAS Comes Second to Future Vertical Lift 12 Why Engine Maintenance Matters 38 AW169 Goes Airborne for the First Time 13 Airborne & On the Grid: In-Flight Connectivity 42

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 35 GUARDEX 2012: RESPONDING TO OFFSHORE WIND FARM EMERGENCIES

Cruise ship THV Patricia was used as part of the training exercise.

Who responds to a major maritime emergency on the edge of a wind farm? Rotor & Wing’s Military Editor observed one of Europe’s biggest offshore emergency exercises this year. By Andrew Drwiega, Military Editor

maritime emergency is Ambition, which houses another 119 and necessitated the establishment of developing early at day- service engineers and personnel. As a temporary casualty/survivor support Abreak in the waters imme- a result of the collision, both ships structure on land including a “survival diately surrounding the have fires below decks and there are landing point” at the port of Ramsgate London Array offshore wind farm. reports of people overboard, as well as and a “survival reception center” at the Sited at the extremes of the Thames casualties on one or both of the vessels. Winder Gardens on the sea front at Estuary around the southeast coast Furthermore, the Patricia now looks set Margate. Civilian and military rescue of the United Kingdom, the London to drift into one of the wind turbines on agencies were all involved in planning, Array contains 175 Siemens wind the edge of the farm. which starts around one year before turbines covering an area of 100 km². Welcome to Guardex 2012, a multi- the exercise. It has recently become the world’s agency, international search and rescue The rescue would be coordinated largest offshore wind farm. (SAR) exercise held on Oct. 2, 2012 from the MCA’s Maritime Rescue The cruise ship THV Patricia car- and coordinated by the UK’s Mari- Coordination Center (MRCC) at rying 61 passengers and crew has lost time Coastguard Agency (MCA). It Dover, a modern building high on the power and collided with the London involved more than 500 emergency cliffs above the port with sweeping Array accommodation ship Wind personnel, helicopters, rescue ships views of the English Channel. The

36 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Guardex 2012

(Above) Marine helicopter preparing to land. (Below) Sikorsky S-61 Sea King flies past a wind farm.

Agencies Taking Part in Guardex 2012 Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) Kent Police Kent Fire and Rescue Royal Air Force (RAF) Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) French Coastguard (including the Calais and Dunkirk lifeboats) Belgian Navy (warship BSN Stern) Ship’s Agents South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB) Kent Emergency Planners Ramsgate Harbour authorities UK National Health Service

by the general mass of of transporting rescue teams into such survivors. Finally, once a hazardous environment and evacua- on land the survivors tion the injured and those who remain and casualties were fully in danger. assessed for the experi- The three helicopters that were on ence they had just under- call and that responded during Guar- brief for Guardex was to test emer- gone, medically treated (if required) dex were a British RAF Sikorsky S-61 gency responders over four phases of and formally identified. Sea King from 22 Squadron based at the exercise. Wattensham airfield, a Belgian Sea The first phase comprised the ini- Role of Helicopters King out of Koksijde airbase on the tiation of the maritime emergency, as For reasons of brevity, this report Belgian coast and a French Navy Euro- well as the alerting and coordination will focus mainly of the role and partici- copter AS365 Dauphin from its base at of emergency responders. Phase 2 saw pation of the helicopters involved. The Le Touquet. the allocation and deployment of the reason that helicopters can play such a This scenario is not new to the RAF’s various responders. This then moved vital role in an emergency scenario of SAR Force as they have been developing into the recovery (Phase 3) where criti- this nature is that, whatever the age of and updating their rescue techniques cally injured survivors were the first to the aircraft—and the RAF Sea Kings are in this area for at least the last five years, be brought ashore by either helicop- now fairly old—they are still one of the with papers presented and regularly at ter or lifeboat and assessed, followed quickest and most ubiquitous methods its annual SAR Conference.

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 37 and began its first fire teams onto ships with fires and meeting just two eventually the evacuation of casualties. hours after the During the early stages of the emer- emergency was gency, two RNLI lifeboats from Mar- received at 0700, gate and Ramsgate in Kent were called enough informa- out, as were two from the French Coast- tion had been guard stations at Calais and Dunkirk. received regard- The brief for the rescue helicopters ing the scale of covered simulated and potential situa- the incident that tions that may be encountered during the cell quickly such a call: escalated it to a • Rescue Helicopter Tasking major maritime • Rescue persons from water incident. • Rescue persons from vessel(s) and/ The role of or life rafts the ARCC was • Rescue persons from wind turbines now to task and • Multiple aircraft SAR procedures assist in the coor- • Air Coordination Officer (ACO) dination of all manages procedures around wind air assets with farms the on-scene • Handover of SAR duties between aerial command aircraft being delegated • Capture of airborne imagery for to the RAF Sea debriefs King (Air 126). It With two fires now reported would command onboard both of the vessels it became Control center at MRCC Dover. and prioritize imperative to deliver specialist fire The air operations would be coor- tasking for both the Belgian Air Force crews to supplement each vessel’s own dinated out of the RAF’s Aeronautical and French Navy helicopters. firefighting team, who were judged not Rescue Coordination Center (ARCC) One of the main advantages that to be able to control the fires. These based at RAF Kinloss in Scotland. One helicopter support brings is its speed teams were collected from both the RAF representative would be present over vessels, even emergency boats UK and French mainland and winched for the duration of the exercise in the such as lifeboats, which take longer to onboard both ships. Silver Cell command group that rapidly arrive unless flying becomes impossible The exercise had also called for the formed at the MRCC in Dover (a gold– generally due to extreme bad weather. search and rescue of people who had silver–bronze command structure is For the purpose of the Guardex fallen overboard as a result of the col- used by the UK’s emergency services Exercise, incidents would include lision. Unfortunately, the MRCC had to establish a hierarchical command potential burns victims from onboard not called the ARCC early in the emer- structure to coordinated command fires, people lost overboard, a badly gency, which would have got them onto and control during major incidents). injured wind farm engineer located a standby footing earlier than occurred. Once the Silver Cell had assembled inside a wind turbine, the need to insert As a result the eight overboard victims

London Array wind turbines.

38 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Check Out Aviation Today’s Job Board!

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(in fact numbered dummies) were all of the wind farm. The ship Patricia, still two main ships. All rescued people found and recovered by lifeboats and without the power to steer, had caused were transferred to the landing point ships in the area before the helicopters the casualty, colliding with the turbine at Ramsgate then taken by road reached the exercise area. after its first collision with the accom- transport to the reception point. There were actually around 40 modation ship Wind Ambition. In summary, from a negative point vessels of all types around the exercise In order for the helicopter crew to of view the helicopters were called area, some of which London Array conduct a safe and successful winch- in later than planned due to a slight boats, and these were very quick in ing from wind farm turbines, the RAF delay in the MRCC contacting the pulling the dummies out of the water— has developed the following operat- ARCC, and none of the bodies float- so fast in fact that the plan to have sev- ing procedure: ed into the wind farm area as they eral dummies drift into the area of the • Nacelle should be turned 90 degrees were rescued too quickly. wind farm to allow the helicopters to to the wind and locked Positives included the success- practice their pick-ups in this restricted • Blades should be feathered and ful collection and insertion of two area never happened. However, the locked—normally in a Y-configura- onshore firefighting crews by differ- first responding helicopters’ declared tion ent helicopters of different nation- priority from the MRCC became the • Nacelle doors should be opened and alities. Arrangements were also made collection and insertion of the firefight- locked in position for one of the foreign rescue helicop- ing teams which in itself was a vital part • Hover should be as low as possible ters to be vectored to refuel at Man- of the exercise. while maintaining a good escape ston airfield in Kent, UK, thereby Subsequently the MRCC learned route and safe separation with the allowing it the shortest possible break that there was also a serious casualty nacelle in the 3 o’clock position. in availability before re-engaging with on one of the wind turbines at the edge However, as each rescue is depen- the exercise. dent on external Very much on the plus side was factors such as wind, the fact that an international multi- visibility and light agency, multi-asset real-time SAR levels, each rescue exercise had been staged close to one will be considered of the busiest shipping lanes in the on its own merits. world—the English Channel. Entering the Agencies of all descriptions worked final couple of stag- together to overcome a situation that es of the exercise rapidly developed and required the saw the helicopters assistance of a wide variety of special- joining principally ist responders. Lessons learned are with the lifeboats never wasted when the real thing London Array map. in evacuating the happens.

40 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM Market: Norway Market: Indonesia Industry: Oil & Gas Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment: 2 x S-92 Equipment: 4 x S-76C++ CATEGORY | INFO

Guardex Wind Farm Exercise 36 SIMULATION & Bell 412 FFS Certified to Level D 44 training nEws Safety Watch: Good Radio 46 ExpErts: training For HigH-risE aErial FirEFigHting BEcoming a major issuE By Douglas Nelms The conference was developed by Tangent Link, which he use of helicopters to fight high-rise fires, defined sought to “bring together users, operators and suppliers … as being over seven stories, can cause more harm everybody within the chain,” according to Rear Admiral and Tthan good if operators are not properly trained, Tangent Link Chairman, Terry Loughran, UK Royal Navy according to Glenn Daley of the New York Police (Ret.), who hosted the meeting. The site of the conference was Department. Daley was one of several speakers at the “High- particularly significant being in Dubai, home of the 163-floor, Rise Aerial Firefighting and Rescue” conference held dur- 2,722-foot Burj Khalifa office building, he pointed out. But ing the fifth biennial Dubai Helishow on November 6. For while Dubai houses the world’s tallest building, it only ranks example, he noted, the spraying with a water impulse cannon 41st in world in total number of high-rise buildings, with 568. into a building bellowing heavy smoke could, in fact, acceler- The record goes to Hong Kong, with over 7,000 high-risers. ate a fire that had just be smoldering, rather than extinguish- “Given that fires above the seventh floor can not be tackled ing it. Fighting fires at that level is not something that should by ground ladders, you can see the scale of the problem,” he be done on an “ad hoc” basis, but rather requires significant said. With many millions of people now living in dense areas advance training. of High Rise buildings, the issues cannot be left to chance. It Speakers at the day-long session covered areas including train- is hoped that authorities would respond to the opportunities ing and procedures, special equipment needed to fight fires, the presented to minimize the very real dangers to their communi- need for better cooperation between jurisdictions and require- ties, he added. Loughran cited two major high-rise fires—the ments for the construction and design of high-rise buildings. 32-floor Windsor Building in Madrid, Spain in 2005 that took

Graphic shows safe distances during firefighting, from “Feasibility Study of Rotorcraft FireFighting for High-Rise Buildings,” by Erminio Zanenga, Domenico Leonello and Carlo L. Bottasso, who presented at the conference. Erminio Zanenga, Domenico Leonello and Carlo L. Bottasso Domenico Leonello and Carlo L. Erminio Zanenga,

42 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM almost 24 hours to extinguish, and Effective high-rise firefighting facilities and two design bureaus as the 2009 fire in the 520-foot tall Hotel “doesn’t happen without careful plan- well as assorted support organizations, Mandarin Oriental in Beijing that was ning and training,” Loughran said. sponsored the conference. Speakers engulfed with 20 minutes and burned “There is also the need for increased included Lebedev Aleksander, chief for three hours. research going into high-rise firefight- engineer for the Ministry of Russian Fortunately, he said, the Windsor ing, particularly in the development of Federation for civil defense, emer- Building fire started at night when better equipment and fire suppression gencies and elimination of natural there were few people inside, while mediums.” disasters, who presented as a case the Hotel Mandarin Oriental was still As far as preventing potential disas- study a Moscow high-rise fire; and in the completion process and not yet ters, it starts with the construction of Dmitry Zuykov, marketing director occupied. Representatives from several buildings, such as building stairwells for medium class helicopters at the Dubai hotels, as well as security repre- around the interior edges of the building marketing department for JSC Russian sentatives from the Burj Khalifa, were in rather than down the center, so people Helicopters, who discussed the prod- attendance at the conference. have a better chance to get out. Also uct range of helicopters for firefighting One of the critical needs for effective roofs need to be kept clear of obstruc- and rescue operations. fighting of high-rise fires is cooperation, tions such as towers or air condition- Other speakers included Frieder and carefully coordination between the ing units to prevent helicopters from Kircher, high-rise firefighting expert helicopter operators and firefighters on landing to rescue people. There should from the Berlin Fire Brigade, discussing the ground, he explained. Without the also be teams trained to access building the problem of older high-rise build- two forces working in conjunction, there rooftops to clear obstacles, he said. ings, and Bruce Gullingsrud, vice presi- is serious danger of the helicopter opera- Moscow-based Russian Helicopters, dent of sales for Rotorcraft Services tors doing the wrong thing and making the conglomerate established in 2007 Group, discussing the Medevac Foun- the situation worse. to combine five helicopter production dation International program.

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 43 CATEGORY | INFO

Bristow Target Zero Program Earns AeroSimulators Top Flight Safety Foundation Award Expands Web-Based

Alexandria, Va.-based Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) has given its 2012 Services in Brazil Presidential Citation to Bristow Group’s Target Zero program. The award To meet the needs of the growing Latin recognizes organizations that have exhibited “outstanding service on American helicopter market, AeroSimula- behalf of safety, whether it be valor, professionalism or service above and tors has unveiled a new website focused beyond normal expectations,” according to FSF. The organization pre- on Brazilian helicopter simulators. The sented the award to Bristow Group’s Jonathan Stripling, director of global site compares infrared footage from police quality, safety and standards, during the International Air Safety Seminar aviation units with the visuals from Aero- in Santiago, Chile. During the event in late October, FSF also granted its Simulators’ Gimbal Imaging Systems Trainer Laura Taber Barbour Air Safety award to Robert Sheffield, a member of the (GIST). AeroSimulators previously launched International Helicopter Safety Team who is a former employee of Shell a website dedicated to Latin American heli- Aviation. copter training. FAA Certifies CAE Bell 412 Full Flight Bell, SAIT Polytechnic Simulator to Level D to Expand Canadian Canadian training and simulation provider CAE’s Bell training center in MRO Training Toluca, Mexico has obtained FAA Level D qualification for its Bell 412 full- flight simulator (FFS). The helicopter simulator already has Level D approval Canada’s SAIT Polytechnic has strength- from Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC) of Mexico. CAE’s ened its partnership with Bell Helicopter to Toluca facility opened in January 2012 and is the country’s first helicopter include maintenance training, repair training training center with an advanced simulator. and certification courses at the Art Smith Aero Center in Calgary. Under the agree- MedFlight of Ohio Earns Safety Award ment, Bell Training Academy (BTA) instruc- American Eurocopter presented its 2012 Vision Zero Safety Award to Med- tors will be able to carry out factory-ap- Flight of Ohio during the 2012 Air Medical Transport Conference in Seattle, proved type certificate maintenance training Wash. MedFlight was selected from a group of 25 nominees, all of which at the SAIT classrooms and labs, including were members of the Association of Air Medical Service (AAMS). The mechanical, electrical and avionics training, award comes with a $10,000 check, which MedFlight plans to use toward its as well as pilot safety courses. According to safety management system (SMS) program. Metro Aviation operates Med- Brian Moukperian, dean of SAIT’s School of Flight’s fleet of eight Eurocopter EC130s. Transportation, the partnership with BTA is a “natural expansion of [our] hands-on Colorado Heli-Ops Expands Training approach to education.” Space at Rocky Mountain Metro Denver-based Colorado Heli-Ops has expanded its office by moving across Brazilian EC725s to the runway at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (KBJC). The more Receive Cassidian/ than 1,000-square-foot addition gives Colorado Heli-Ops room for class- Atech TDMS rooms, flight training devices and offices. The company’s utility division also underwent a 1,300-square-foot upgrade to its space. Colorado Heli-Ops EADS division Cassidian has partnered with specializes in training on the Robinson R44 and the Schweizer 300C. Atech of Sao Paulo, Brazil to supply a tactical data management system (TDMS) for the AAG Receives IS-BAO Certification Eurocopter EC725s that will enter service Sikorsky subsidiary Associated Aircraft Group (AAG) has obtained with the Brazilian Navy. The companies International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) Stage will work with Helibras, Eurocopter’s repre- 1 certification. The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) recog- sentative in Brazil, to integrate the mission nized AAG for its safety management system (SMS). AAG “went to great system into eight of the helicopters as part lengths to develop a framework for our SMS manual, safety risk profiles, risk of an agreement worth more than €40 mil- assessments, operational alerts and a database for use across our operation lion (approximately $51.2-million). Work is and maintenance departments,” according to President Scott Ashton. The scheduled for completion in 2017. The Bra- company operates one of the largest fleets in the northeastern U.S., with nine zilian Navy has ordered 50 EC725s as part of S-76Cs. a fleet upgrade program.

44 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM January 2013: Annual Reports—As we approach the start of the new We Fly the MD540F—Editor-at-Large Ernie Stephens year, Rotor & Wing surveys its advertisers, key vendors and sup- took the controls of the MD540F during a recent visit to Mesa, pliers in the helicopter marketplace, and asks them to tell us Ariz. Although it is technically still under development, MD what important changes they have made in the past year, as offered R&W an exclusive hands-on evaluation to learn about well as provide an update on what new products, initiatives or the aircraft MD assembled and demo’d for the U.S. Army, and innovations we might expect to see from them in the coming put it through the paces ourselves. The result is a comprehensive months. technical briefing from the designers, and an appraisal of its handling characteristics and flight systems. Executive Outlook—Rotor & Wing asks the top execu- tives from each of the Annual Report companies to provide a Q&A with Marc Paganini—The American Eurocopter brief answer to simple questions regarding what they see on President & CEO spoke with Editor-in-Chief Andrew Parker on the horizon for the rotorcraft marketplace in 2013. The compila- a wide range of topics during an exclusive interview in Novem- tion of these answers produces an insightful prediction of what ber, including the outlook for North American markets and his to expect. The Executive Outlook provides valuable insight and organization’s involvement with the Army AAS voluntary flight an indispensable planning tool for the coming year. demonstrations and X3 (X-cubed) U.S. demo tour. advertiser index Page# .....Advertiser ...... Website 20 ...... Aero Dynamix...... www.aerodynamix.com 49 ...... Aero Specialties ...... www.aerospecialties.com 14 ...... Aerometals ...... www.aerometals.aero 11 ...... Aeronautical Accessories ...... www.aero-access.com 5...... AgustaWestland/Italy ...... www.agustawestland.com 17 ...... Airborne Law Enforcement ...... www.alea.org 52 ...... American Eurocopter ...... www.eurocopterusa.com 49 ...... APSCO ...... www.apscomiami.com 47 ...... Aviation Instrument Services ...... www.aviation-instrument.com 47 ...... Becker Avionics ...... www.beckerusa.com 49 ...... BorgWarner ...... www.aerospace.borgwarner.com 49 ...... Chopper Spotter ...... www.chopperspotter.com 47 ...... Component Control ...... www.componentcontrol.com 15 ...... FlightSafety ...... www.flightsafety.com 43 ...... Frasca International ...... www.frasca.com 47 ...... Helicopter Accessory Repairs ...... www.helicopteraccessoryrepairs.com 21 ...... Helimart ...... www.helimart.com 41 ...... Milestone Aviation ...... www.milestoneaviation.com 2...... Russian Helicopters ...... www.russianhelicopters.aero 47 ...... Tanis Aircraft...... www.tanispreheat.com 9...... Thales ...... www.thalesgroup.com 51 ...... United Technologies/Sikorsky ...... www.sikorsky.com

WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 45 TRAINING | COMMUNICATION Safety Watch By Terry Terrell Good Radio ven with today’s advancing sion. Otherwise, you can’t be certain that Useful Radio Lingo: technology, good radio commu- your transmission has been received. ROGER: “I hear you clearly, and I Enications, absolutely vital to safe Conversely, always return a Roger, or a understand you.” operations, sometimes seem read back, after receiving a transmission. WILCO: “I hear you, I understand, and I to have become a lost set of arts. Radio 3). Use effective radio vocabulary. will comply with your request.” traffic in all helicopter communities, to Correct radio use language and phrasing REQUEST YOU: This preface is used include operationally ancillary activities, conventions exist for a set of very specific when you are asking that the recipient of should be made consistently effective reasons, partially growing out of the real- your transmission accomplish something through both precision and concision, ity that radios in the early days were sub- at your request. taking advantage of at least a moderate ject to being plagued by excessive static, AFFIRMATIVE: Even though it degree of standardization among users. signal strength variability and assorted may seem unhandy, it is the least Countless procedural refinements aimed other impediments to clear transmission misunderstood way of answering yes. at maximizing radio effectiveness have quality. Operators, accordingly, quickly NEGATIVE: As above, but for no. been developed since Marconi’s first learned to keep their transmissions short, ONE FIVE FIVE POUNDS, ONE transmitted words, but the following and delivered with exaggerated pronun- TWO MINUTES, or MINUTE short list of radio use “tips,” taken as spe- ciation clarity. Even today, our best radios THREE THREE: Meaning “a hundred cifically pertinent to helicopter users, has and systems cannot always guarantee and fifty five pounds”, “12 minutes”, and developed: perfect transmission fidelity. And with “33 minutes after the hour.” This method 1). Always begin initial radio calls, many radio networks, getting a word in and style of verbalizing numerical values and all subsequent radio transmis- edgewise can sometimes be difficult, so has proven to be the most understandable sions, with the recipient’s identity, fol- completing a transmission without inter- alternative, and it’s obviously axiomatic lowed by the sender’s (YOUR) identity. ference can be a challenge, and brevity that accurate communication of numbers This procedure is fundamental to correct can become a vital asset. All radio com- can often be operationally critical. radio use, despite the reverse order of munications should be as brief and as 4). Break up long radio transmis- radio party identification commonly simple as possible, so that radio transmissions. If they are necessary, as when heard in some helicopter utility radio sion time can be minimized and so that conveying medical information via utility environments, to specifically include misunderstandings, and the necessity for networks, transmissions can be broken medical radio networks familiar in EMS repeat transmissions, can be curtailed. into several shorter segments. This will operations. Correct order, beginning Phonetically clear and distinct lingo allow assurance that transmissions are with the recipient’s identity, serves to should be consistently used whenever being received and understood, and, in alert the recipient at the beginning of the possible, so that transmission content case otherwise, will minimize wasted transmission, so that what follows is most accuracy can be maximized even if radio time caused by having to start over later. reliably heard by the recipient. Having reception and clarity are poor. Within (Also, it will give the recipient an oppor- the recipient’s identity called first, before EMS helicopter communities, as an tunity to speak.) A useful lingo device for the caller’s identity, will maximize the example of radio communication neces- breaking up long reports is the phrase chances that the recipient will be alerted sary as an indirect but crucial component “HOW COPY SO FAR?,” which can when he hears his “name,” and then pay in helicopter operations, medical radio be inserted after a moderate portion of attention to the identity of the sender, and messages cannot always be short and your report, and periodically, if necessary, to the rest of the message. simple, but certain fundamental radio thereafter. 2). Always acknowledge transmis- vocabulary terms can be used on behalf These tips are tried and true. Good sions. Human communication, via radio of minimizing wasted radio time. The radio technique not only enhances effec- or otherwise, always requires a transmis- best radio vocabularies take advantage tiveness (and, ultimately, safety) of all sion and a reception. A transmission of very distinctive phonetic sounds, not operational participants, but can breed alone does not constitute communica- easily confusable, and understandable more of the same, since others often tend tion. So always get a read back, or a with minimal misinterpretation, even if to imitate good technique and improve “Roger,” after you have made a transmis- transmissions are garbled. their own radio skills.

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WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 47 COMMERCIAL | AERODYNAMICS Leading Edge By Frank Lombardi Ground Effect Revisited

here will always be aviation is variable, depending on atmospheric an exercise, on a day with little or no incidents or accidents due to conditions, surface conditions, disk wind, you can make what flight testers circumstances beyond the loading, and rotor-to-ground distance. call a “hover ladder” and see this effect Tcontrol of the pilot. Unfore- Smooth flat surfaces provide the most for yourself (please realize that you seen component failure has termi- benefit, while tall grass or bodies of will be in the shaded area of height- nated many a flight prematurely. But water rob you of it. velocity diagram). Get the helicopter some of the hardest accident reports For any helicopter to hover it must steadied after just breaking ground for me to read are the ones that involve produce enough vertical lift to equal and note the power setting. Now true pilot error—the type of error that its weight no matter what the condi- increase power by a couple percent. can come from years of incident-free tion. How hard the engine must work The helicopter will begin climbing but flying bringing insidious complacency to turn the rotor and create that lift will stop at a slightly higher altitude. or oversight. force is measured as power required. Note this increased power setting Student pilots go to great lengths Consider this: most of the power and altitude. Continue adding power to learn lessons involving physics and required to hover comes from over- incrementally, wait for the helicopter aerodynamics for their checkride, coming induced drag (drag due to to come to a stop, and each time note and then something happens. They lift). At subsonic speeds, air molecules the increase in power required ver- pass the ride, and some of them never behave nicely with one another, tele- sus the increase in altitude. At some revisit those lessons again. graphing their intent to their sur- point, the power required to hold a To a great extent, staying airborne rounding peers. As a result, when the new altitude will become a constant. comes down to this: power required rotor approaches to within 1.5 rotor Any additional power will cause the versus power available. It is a concept disks of the surface, the air hitting the helicopter to continue upward at that should not be overlooked in ground has an effect on the air above it constant rate. The altitude at which recurrent training. Unfortunately by slowing the induced flow. Slowing you first reached this constant power too often, not being mindful of this the induced flow lessens the rearward setting marks the transition from IGE ends up as a causal factor in many tilt of the resulting lift vector, which to OGE. helicopter accidents, when the former lessens induced drag. This means that It is entirely possible to obtain a exceeds the latter. for a given condition, less power is combination of hot, high, or heavy To a similar extent, the environ- required to produce the same amount conditions where you have IGE power ment that hovering helicopters oper- of lift IGE, as would be required OGE. available, but your OGE capability is ate in comes down to this: out of Realize that this does NOT mean nonexistent. In that case, it’s not hard ground effect (OGE), versus in ground there is more power available for the to imagine the rapid evolution of effect (IGE). “Ground effect” is an pilot to use! events. A “routine” flight with many aerodynamic condition that reduces This may seem obvious to most, successful takeoffs in the past might the power requirements of the main but I wonder how apparent it was to preempt a weight and balance check, rotor when it is operating in close the pilots that have successfully picked or reference to any hover ceiling chart. proximity to the ground. It is a physics up into a hover on a pier or elevated But on the day the scales literally tip in lesson in action as it can readily, and helipad, nearly at or slightly over gross the wrong direction, a power require- sometimes acutely demonstrate the weight, only to find out that the very ment that critically exceeds the power power required versus power avail- same helicopter required more power available will ultimately be answered able concept. to hover, beyond what was available, with a drooping rotor, loss of lift, and The benefits of ground effect begin once they moved off the platform?! possible catastrophe. To every extent at the surface, are greatest when the Sadly, some are no longer here to possible, remember to revisit the helicopter is closest to it, and are com- explain their thoughts. basics and make it your business to pletely gone by about 1.5 rotor diam- It can take over 10 percent more know the limits of your aircraft. Every- eters above it. Its strength and height power to hover OGE than IGE. As one is depending on it.

48 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2012 WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM International Marketplace

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WWW.ROTORANDWING.COM DECEMBER 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE 49 MILITARY | R&D Military Insider By Andrew Drwiega Affection is One Thing; Its Capability That Matters pproaching the beginning to EADS North America, I got more of effectiveness. Aircraft have needed major of my fifth decade, I look an appreciation of the real day-to-day components to be replaced because they Aback to those old western problems faced by those operating the came under fire and had to bank hard and movies with high regard, Kiowa in combat. Moentmann retired so doing overtorqued the engine.” remembering as a boy being thrilled by at the rank of Colonel and commanded “The max gross weight of 5,200 lbs the arrival (just in the nick of time natu- at the company, battalion and combat was also an issue,” states Moentmann. “I rally) of the cavalry with their white hats, aviation brigade levels, flying among did analysis on the OH-58D aircraft with yellow neckerchiefs, white gloves and others the OH-58D and Bell Cobra all the equipment. The empty weight of blue uniforms with the distinctive yel- AH-1. His career also includes Chief of the aircraft as is being deployed, sitting low stripe down the trousers. The image Staff for Combined Forces Command- with no fuel but ammunition and the was one that endured, from Randolph Afghanistan, as well as Chief of strategic crew came to 4,878 lbs. That gives you Scott in 7th Cavalry to John Wayne in plans, concepts and doctrine for the 300 lbs and change in gas. They burn Fort Apache. This romanticized view of Army Staff and Commander of the 2nd around 280 lbs of fuel an hour when they the cavalry was a stretch away from the Infantry Division Aviation Brigade. are flying, so they have around an hour’s true life and times of the Army during He has watched in frustration with worth of fuel.” The battlefield solution is the wars with the native North Ameri- many others at the failure to replace to place forward aerial refueling points cans. Things can often seem better than the aircraft. He explains that crew and (FARPs) when the aircraft are going to they are in reality in the present too. maintainers (including private contrac- be needed. That is manageable for a During discussions over the potential tors) have done great things in keeping planned operation, but not good in an of an Armed Aerial Scout acquisition the aircraft doing a job. “There’s a lot of emergency. “Talking to friends return- program at AUSA, there are still many affection for the old aircraft in the same ing from Afghanistan they have to put serving crewmen and ex-crewmen who way you would have for your old horse,” FARPs out for almost every mission. hold the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior he said, which also included the “manly” Locating FARPs at outposts increases in high regard. This includes ground- connotations of being an aerial scout “no vulnerability of the mission as well as pounders who have been thankful for its doors, no air conditioning, not much direct and indirect costs. The post has close air support over the decades, with power and alone and unafraid with a few to be manned and fuel transported (per- many a pilot flying into harm’s way to .50-cal rounds.” When in Afghanistan, he haps by road)—increasing the oppor- relieve a bad situation on the battlefield. continued, “we hardly deployed OH-58s tunity for physical or IED attack, then As with virtually all helicopters, oper- around Regional Command East because maintained at that location. ations first in Iraq and then Afghanistan it just couldn’t operate in high/hot. As an “I had an engagement with the laid their operational shortfalls bare. Heli- aviation brigade commander, you have a 82nd recently when they came out copters primarily designed for European choice to overwork your Apaches to fill of Afghanistan. There were missions land warfare during the Cold War with in the gaps. But that is not what they are that they had to refuse because they the Soviet Union were exposed by the there for, and cost benefit wise it doesn’t didn’t have the legs to get there and heat in Iraq, then the combination of heat make sense either. But you need the back. They didn’t have time to put and altitude in Afghanistan. The UK’s smaller cabin on the Kiowa Warriors for a FARP out. So they had to apply AgustaWestland Lynx helicopter was other duties including insertion/extrac- Apaches to make up the shortfall of virtually out of the operational mix dur- tion, taking local leaders to meetings, etc.” the Scout mission. Now that means ing the hot summer months in both war In such an environment, he says, power is they take risk in the attack mission. zones until it was up-engined and given a such a big deal. “If the crew have to make But they did everything they could rotor blade (main and tail) upgrade. Talk- a sudden evasive maneuver and put the to maximize their capability with the ing at AUSA with James Moentmann, aircraft into a bank, they run the risk of aircraft they had.” a 28-year Army veteran now working over-torquing the aircraft—that trans- Putting the old war-house out to for WBB and an independent advisor lates badly for survivability and mission pasture is now no longer an option.

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