H Winter 2014 / £3.99 E WInTER 2014 L I C www.helicopterlife.com HELICOPTER O HELICOPTER P T including gyroplanes E R L I F E W i n t LIFE COVER STORY e COVER STORY r 2 0 Flight Show & Tell Guide 4 UKs 1st B429 HEMS 1 30 4 LIFE Aviation shows and conferences. Georgina Hunter-Jones watches the unveiling The Editor’s Letter 5 of the new Bell 429 in Wiltshire and looks at Aerial Forum 6 & 7 the flying characteris - Arjan Dijksterhuis tics and suitability of the machine Letters to the Editor 10, 12, 13 Flying Crackers 8 & 9 Payerne Airshow Tommaso Munforti photographs the Payerne airshow New Technology The Bell 505 has its 11 first flight 38 Competition in Kazan HeliTechAmsterdam Brenda McNicoll Helicopter Life looks flew to Kazan to at the new interna - observe the helicopter tional venue for championships. This is HeliTech her story about a new event 14 46 Seven at a Blow EC135T3 John White David Oliver never have so many flies the upgraded Rotorways graced Airbus Helicopter and one garden at one gives his opinion time. John White looks at how it was arranged 18 54 Marathon Training Broncho Aviation 26 Book Reviews 58 reports on the Hellenic Navy at CAA Legislation changes 59 Marathon, their train - ing and their future Accident Reports 64 helicopters House & Helicopter 66 HELICOPTER LIFE is the HIGH LIFE HELICOPTER LIFE , Winter 2014 3 S how & T ell T he e diTor ’ S l eTTer G uide HELICOPTER his month, the Bath Bus Bell is having a very dynamic year, Company has started a bus serv - not only does it have three new heli - LIFE Tice with a machine powered by copters reaching completion, it also has biomethane gas generated entirely from just unveiled the first Bell 429 to be 3 March - 5 March 2015 WInTER 2014 human and food waste. The vehicle can used by a UK Air Ambulance charity. HAI HELIExPO travel up to 300km (186 miles) on one The Wiltshire Air Ambulance has a Orange County Convention Centre tank of gas, which takes the annual contract for ten years with Heli Charter, Orlando Florida HON. EDITORIAL BOARD waste of about five people to produce. the Bell UK distributor, and will start http://heliexpo.rotor.org Captain Eric Brown, CBE, RN The gas is produced at Bristol The Lord Glenarthur, DL using the Bell 429 on 1st January 2015. 19 May- 22 May 2015 Jennifer Murray sewage treatment works, which This year has generally been a much EBACE Michael J. H. Smith processes around 75 million cubic better one for helicopters and helicopter Geneva Airport, metres of sewage waste and 35,000 flying. There have been jobs available, Switzerland tonnes of food waste each year. A total schools have been busier and helicop - On a more optimistic note, Patrick http://ebace.aero/2015 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / PILOT of 17 million cubic metres of bio - Ky, EASA’s Executive Director, Georgina Hunter-Jones ters are being bought and sold again. [email protected] methane, enough to power 8,300 But, even so, most companies are apparently sees the problem of over- 21 May- 23 May 2015 regulation with great clarity and wants CREATIVE DIRECTORS homes, is generated annually at the warning that life will never go back to HELIRUSSIA [email protected] plant through a process known as the madness pre 2008. And, of course, to make changes. However, as we IEC Crocus Expo, anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic diges - in the latter part of the year the UK lost know “between the idea and the reali - Moscow, Russia COPY EDITORS Gerald Cheyne tion is the process whereby oxygen ty...falls the shadow”. Let’s hope this http://www.helirussia.ru/en/ a lot of Russians to sanctions, which CONTRIBUTING EDITORS starved bacteria breaks down may continue to adversely affect the idea makes it into black and white. Broncho Aviation (Kuit and Kievit), Gerald 29 May- 31 May 2015 Cheyne, Arjan Dijksterhuis, Brenda McNicoll, biodegradable material to produce market. One regulation that has become HELIExPO UK Tommaso Munforti, David Oliver, John White methane-rich biogas. Before this can be Interestingly, as it becomes a slight more sensible for gyrocopters is that Sywell, Northamptonshire, CONTRIBUTED PHOTOGRAPHY used in a vehicle the biogas has to possibility that the UK might leave the factory built gyroplanes are now England UK Broncho Aviation (Kuit and Kievit), Gerald undergo a purifying process whereby EU, so EASA regulations are starting to allowed to fly over congested areas, http://www.heliukexpo.com Cheyne, Arjan Dijksterhuis, Brenda Mc Nicoll, Tommaso Munforti, David Oliver, Stephen carbon dioxide is removed and propane come more into force. However, the although still adhering to the normal Peek, John Phillips added. The biomethane bus produces work generated, and the complications rules of the air they no longer have 11 June - 13 June 2015 SPECIAL THANKS TO 30% less Co2 than normal diesel buses. created by these regulations, mean that the overflight restriction. This has not EUROPEAN HELICOPTER SHOW Dave Smith ATPL(H)IR, Does this mean that one day soon the timeline cannot be adhered to as yet been withdrawn for kit helicop - Prague-Kebley Airport there be a helicopter powered by strictly as the CAA might like. One ters, but could be a step in the right Czech Republic ADVERTISING Telephone: +44-(0)20-7430-2384, human waste? Perhaps not immediately, such variable here is the conversion of direction. http://www.eurohelishow.com [email protected] but it does mean that the steps are there all flying schools to ATOs. As the CAA The next ‘big thing’, which will start SUBSCRIPTIONS and the possibility has been created. I 25 June - 28 June 2015 Go to our website or turn to page 54 explain, in the CAA section on page early next year, is the run-up to the GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED [email protected] look forward to hearing details about an 59 , the EASA requirement for all General Election, and with it the Goodwood WEBSITE aeroplane powered in the same way, as Registered Training Facilities (RTF) increase in politician-induced helicopter near Chichester, West Sussex www.helicopterlife.com inevitably that will come first. providing private pilot training, to traffic. Politicians have a lot to say, to https://grrc.goodwood.com/section/festival-of-speed Blog Another exciting (and fast moving) become Approved Training as many people as possible and, http://www.helicopterlife.blogspot.com See Helicopter Life on Facebook & Twitter development is the first flight of the Organisations (ATO), has been post - although they can say much of this by 16 September - 19 September 2015 Bell 505 JetRanger Lite. The new light poned until April 2018, following a text and email, screen and post, they all CHINESE HELIExPO Bell flew in November, and apparently decision made on 9 October 2014 by know that nothing really beats an on- Industry Base of The AVIC Helicopter COVER PHOTOGRAPH went from the hover to 60 knots, the European regulator. site presence. If anything the more they The first Bell 429 Air Ambulance in the UK, Free Trade zone of Tianjin Port cruised without problems and landed There appear to be other delays as can get away without an in-flesh (Airport economic zone) run by HeliCharter on behalf of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance Trust safely. More tests will be run soon. well: s appearance, the less it is wise to do so P http://www.helicopter-china-expo.com/ Picture Gerald Cheyne i l Jeremy James writing in the l Possibly because of the Bell 505, or i or this is what they believe. And heli - h HELICOPTER LIFE is published quarterly by FlyFizzi Ltd. P perhaps simply because of their age, it Helicopter Club of Great Britain copters are the best vehicle around for 6 October - 8 October 2015 n h 59 Great Ormond Street o has become very hard to find Bell 206 magazine says: HELITECH INTERNATIONAL J poli-transport. Expect a lot of Squirrels London, WC 1N-3 Hz . f o JetRangers to hire. Many companies “The Standardised European Rules and Agustas in your local fields. Excel Copyright © FlyFizzi Ltd. 2014. y s e of the Air (SERA) come into force on Happy Christmas from everybody Docklands, UK ISSN 1743-1042. t have sold them and owners been given r u http://www.helitechevents.com All rights reserved. Opinions expressed herein are not neces - o a good price for those that do come on December 4 this year, but despite this at Helicopter Life magazine. sarily those of the pub lishers, the Editor or any of the editorial C h fact we are no further forward in hav - P the market. The JetRanger is around 50 staff. Reproduction in whole or in part, in any form whatever, a r g years old so it just shows that light heli - ing a definite text of the rules now is strictly prohibited without specific written permission of o t the Editor. o than we were in the summer.” h copters do have endurance. P 4 HELICOPTER LIFE , Winter 2014 HELICOPTER LIFE , Winter 2014 5 A eriAl F orum Royal netherlands Air Force celebrates 50 years of the Alouette 111 Words and pictures by Arjan Dijksterhuis Alouette 111 celebrates 50 years of flight get people out of the water! The Alouette II was found to be small and it had it’s limitations in range which resulted in the demand for a larger and more powerful helicopter for the Search and Rescue operations. A committee was formed to make a recommendation for a new type of light-utility helicopter.