Rotor & wing may 2009

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The Pilot’s Partners: Backseaters

How It’s Done: Helmets

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3May 2009 | RotoR & Wing Magazine©2009 by Access Intelligence, LLC. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.Publication Mail Sales Agreement No. 40558009

ServicesProductsTrainingPublic ServiceMilitaryCommercial Personal|Corporate

Departments10 Rotorcraft Report20 People and Coming Events24 Program Insider Gates cuts include CSAR-X

Columns 4 editor’s notebook

7 Meet the Contributors

54 offshore notebook

56 e-Media

58 advertisers’ index

60 Safety Watch

62 Maintenance notes

Cover: The “teeth” of a heavily armed UH-60. Photo by Shannon Bower. Above: A Little Bird inserts a team during training. Photo by Shannon Bower.

Below: A Robinson R44 Clipper returns home. Photo by Oli Tennent.

The editors welcome new product information and other industry news. All editorial inquiries should be directed to Rotor & Wing magazine, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA; 1-301-354-1839; fax 1-301-762-8965. E-mail: [email protected]. Rotor & Wing (ISSN-1066-8098) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA. Periodical postage paid at Rockville, Md. and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: Free to qualified individuals directly involved in the helicopter industry. All other subscriptions, U.S.: one year $89; two years $178. Canada: one year $99; two years $198; Foreign: one year $129; two years $258.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rotor & Wing, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA. Change of address two to eight weeks notice requested. Send both new and old address, including mailing label to Attn: Rotor & Wing magazine, Customer Services, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA or call 1-847-559-7314. E-mail: [email protected]. Canada Post PM40063731. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5.

Features CoveR SToRy

28 ■Trends In Technology The latest designs and technology. By Richard Whittle

40 ■The Pilot’s Partners Military paramedics, crew chiefs and gunners. By Steve “Elroy” Colby

34 ■vH-71 Where it started, how far it has come and the current situation. By Todd Vorenkamp and Richard Whittle

44 ■How It’s Done: Helmets A look at how “brain buckets” are assembled. By Ernie Stephens

50 ■Helicopter Training Sloane’s water handling course for R44 pilots. By Andrew Healey

50

Vol. 43 | No. 5 May 2009

28

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4 RotoR & Wing magazine | may 2009 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m

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By Ernie Stephens

I said I was going to stay away from this subject, but darned if it doesn’t keep coming up. So, since this issue of Rotor & Wing will be

handed out the annual Army Aviation Association of America conference (aka Quad-A), I’m going to address the age-old contention that military-trained pilots are usually, if not always, better then civilian-trained pilots. This way, our camouflage-clad readers can come past our booth and lob a grenade at me if I anger them.

First of all, let me remind everyone that I’m a civilian-trained helicopter pilot. I wanted to be a U.S. Coast Guard or U.S. Army pilot, but by the time I had developed an interest in flying, I was on the high side of the acceptable age range and my uncorrected eyesight was below the minimums. So, I had to pay for my training in the private sector.

I was, however, fortunate enough to have two primary instructors who were military-trained. Tim Berry was a U.S. Marine who flew in Vietnam, and Todd Roy was an Army Reserve pilot who didn’t happen to see combat, but was still very competent. A third buddy, Mike Miles, wasn’t officially one of my instructors, but taught me lot of things he learned at Fort Rucker and while flying in Vietnam. Todd and Mike even got me in some Army simulator time, which still doesn’t make me a military pilot by any stretch of the imagination, but gave me some training the average civil pilot will never get.

Now, as I said in my February 2009 “Editor’s Note,” there is no finer heli-copter school anywhere in the world than the Army’s school at Fort Rucker, Ala. (Did you catch that THIS time, McConnell, or do I need to say it a third time?!) But in my mind, that’s no

guarantee that a person who learned how to fly there automatically ends up being a better driver than the guy who learned at the little general aviation airport on the outskirts of town.

The vast majority of the military-trained helicopter pilots I have flown with have been great aviators, as well as walking textbooks on rotary-wing aerodynamics and procedures. But there was one guy who was very far from either of those things. I’ll call him Pilot X.

Pilot X was transferred into the police helicopter unit I was in because he had been a pilot in the Army. To make a long story short, the instructor pilot he f lew with during transition school questioned whether he graduat-ed from Fort Rucker at all, let alone had 2,800 hours of PIC time he said he had earned while in the service. I wondered, too, when I was ordered to fly with him to see if I, a lowly less-than-1,000-hour pilot at the time, could help him f ly better. I was surprised at the amount of difficulty he had holding heading, airspeed and especially altitude.

When the div ision commander found out, an investigation was launched which reveled Pilot X did graduate from Rucker, but with a very low score. He also had only 400 hours of PIC time, not 2,800. Other records, at least the ones our investigator could get his hands on, suggested that X had his wings taken from him shortly after reaching his duty assignment because the Army thought he was just plain dangerous. His history and false statements aside, my depart-ment felt his f lying was unsafe and booted him out of the unit.

So much for “every” Army-trained pilot being great, as I frequently hear. I know that most are, but the point I’m

trying to make is that no training sys-tem makes perfect pilots 100 percent of the time. Pilot X, and others like him, are proof.

Most of the civilian-trained pilots I have known, however, emerged from basic flight training with far less expe-rience than the military folks. They weren’t exposed to turbine engines, night vision goggles or hundreds of full-touchdown autorotations. Most did, howe ver, se em to have much better aircraft control, regardless of what you threw them in. I believe it’s because most of the men and women I know learned how to fly in the sprite, little Robinson R22, which is incredibly sensitive. That sensitivity gives them a touch that makes flying anything else a piece of cake. Military pilots, however, are usually all over the place the first few times they try to hover in an R22.

So, for my money, military-trained aviators do tend to be the best of the two kinds of pilots right out of primary f light school, but there are plenty of exceptions as well. That doesn’t mean the differences will remain the same throughout their f lying careers. We have to remember that both sets of pilots will have varying amounts of inherent talent; gain and lose profi-ciency; and receive varying amounts of additional training and experience. During time, these changes, I believe, will pull some military pilots down and lift some civilian pilots up. Then, before you know it, you can’t judge one better than the other based solely on who was service trained and who wasn’t.

Maybe I’d feel differently about this if I had gone to Fort Rucker. But since I didn’t, that’s how I see it.

I’m done. You can begin yelling at me now.

BDUs vs. Blue Jeans

Editor’s Notebook

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We’re Edwards & Associates, Inc., the helicopter company that’s dedicated to seeing your Performance Exceeded.

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Meet the Contributors

7May 2009 | RotoR & Wing MagazineW W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o M

JaMes Careless is a long-time contributor to Rotor & Wing. He has written for other aviation mag-azines such as our sister publica-tions, Aviation Maintenance and Avionics, as well as Aircraft Mainte-nance. James writes the lion’s share of Rotorcraft Report.

TOny CapOzzi has been flying since 1977 and is dual rated in rotary wing and fixed wing air-craft. He graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1982 and holds an ATP, CFII, A&P, Inspection Authorization and is an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner. Tony owns and has

flown a wide variety of airplanes and helicopters over the years and is the author of a helicopter training handbook for students working on Private through CFI ratings. In this issue, Tony offers a few helpful tips on how to select a shop that will do a good job with the annual inspections on your helicopter.

KeiTh Cianfrani Lt Col. U.S. Army (ret), instructor pilot and master aviator. He was an advisor to the director of Army Safety, an aviation safety officer and acci-dent investigator while at the U.S. Army Safety/Combat Readiness Center. He holds a master’s degree in Aerospace Safety from Embry

Riddle Aeronautical University. Keith is a certified flight instructor and has flown commercial aircraft in and around the Philadelphia and New York areas for more than 20 years. Keith also teaches aviation safety and ground school in Phil-adelphia. As a safety expert, he owns and operates an avia-tion safety consulting business and is currently working with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and consults with Fox 29 News in Philadelphia.

sTeve “elrOy” COlby Lt Col, U.S. Air Force (ret) began his heli-copter career 28 years ago as a USAF helicopter mechanic . He f lew UH-1N, HH-1H, MH-60G, HH-60G, AH-6, MI-8, and MI-24s for the U.S. Air Force. He is dual rated fixed- and rotary-wing, and a CFI. He also holds an A&P. Steve was

both a panelist and judge for R&W ’s 2008 Search and Rescue Summit . He wrote this issue’s feature, “The Pilot’s Partners: Backseaters.”

paT Gray has been involved in Gulf of Mexico helicopter operations for 20-plus years. Prior to that, he was in Vietnam in 1958. While there, he flew with a French aero club and earned a Vietnamese pilot’s license. He returned in 1964 as an Army gunship pilot with the Utility Tactical Transport Helicop-ter Co., the first armed helicopter unit

deployed in combat. He retired from the U.S. Army Reserve as a chief warrant officer 4, with more than 30 years active and reserve service. His civil helicopter experience covers crop dusting and Alaska bush, corporate, pipeline and offshore flying. He holds unlimited air trans-port pilot fixed- and rotary-wing ratings. He had been active in avia-tion for 50 years and marvels at all the technological advances the industry has made during the past 10-15 years.

andrew healey began writing about the helicopter industry more than 20 years ago. He trained as a Royal Navy navigation officer and pilot with front-line tours flying anti-submarine Sea Kings from air-craft carrier Hermes, and Wasps off Antarctic patrol ship Endurance. Before leaving the navy with an

ATPL(H), he was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valu-able Service in the Air for his part in the rescue of seamen from a burning ship in the English Channel. As a civilian, he flew Jet

Pho

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t



8 w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m

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Rangers, A-Stars and Agusta A109s for a charter company near London. Andrew has since written for many aerospace journals and most of the London-based national newspapers. He also runs a newsletter publishing corporation.

John Persinos served as a staff reporter on daily metropolitan newspapers and has worked on several national magazines, spe-cifically as a staff writer at Inc.; an associate editor of Venture; man-aging editor of Campaigns & Elections; and editor-in-chief of Rotor & Wing. John completed

the Davenport Fellowship in Business and Economics Reporting at the University of Missouri (Columbia) School of Journalism and also attended the Bell Helicopter Training Academy in Forth Worth, Texas. He currently serves as pub-lisher/editorial director of Aviation Today, the aviation Web site maintained by the multimedia company, Access Intelli-gence. Aviation Today, with more than 190,000 visits a month, is the umbrella Web site under which the Rotor & Wing sub-site resides.

Todd VorenkamP currently flies Eurocopter HH-65C helicopters for the U. S. Coast Guard at Air Station Humboldt Bay, Calif. He served 11 years in the U.S. Navy flying the Boeing CH-46, Sikorsky SH-3s and MH-60S helicopters. He is the former editor-in-chief of Rotor Review, the Naval Helicopter Association’s quar-

terly publication, and is a trustee of the association. His writing was also featured in the anthology “Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families,” published by Random House and the National Endowment for the Arts.

richard WhiTTle covered the Association of the United States Army’s January 7-9 aviation sympo-sium for R&W. Rick, who wrote our January cover story about the out-look for military rotorcraft in 2009, is completing a book about the V-22 Osprey for Simon & Schuster.

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ServicesProductsTrainingPublic ServiceMilitaryCommercial Personal|Corporate


The U.S. Marine Corps will bring a dozen MV-22B Ospreys that have been f lown in Iraq for 18 months back to the United States this month, ending a long-awaited combat debut that marked a major milestone for the tiltrotor troop transport.

“Operationally it has probably exceed-ed all expectations we had,” Marine Col. Mathew Mulhern, V-22 program manager for the Naval Air Systems Command, told Rotor & Wing. “Maintenance-wise, we’ve got some challenges we’ve got to work through, which is probably not unusual at this point in the life of an airplane.”

The V-22 reached another milestone March 6, when the U.S. Air Force Spe-cial Operations Command declared its CV-22 had reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC), certifying that version of the Osprey ready for special opera-tions combat missions. The 8th Special Operations Squadron, based at Hurlburt Field, Fla., had six CV-22s as of the IOC declaration. The Air Force plans to buy 50 CV-22s in all.

The Air Force declaration of IOC fol-lowed the CV-22’s first operational use last fall, in which the 8th SOS flew four Ospreys to Africa and back using aerial refueling, a test of the aircraft’s required “self-deployment” capability that went smoothly. During a month-long deploy-ment to Bamako, Mali, the Air Force CV-22s carried Malian and Senagalese special operations troops in Flintlock ‘09, a 15-nation training exercise with U.S. allies in Africa.

The Marine Corps put the Osprey into service after 25 years of development in

October 2007, when Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM-263) took 10 MV-22Bs to Iraq. The Corps sent two more MV-22Bs to Iraq during VMM-263’s seven-month deployment at Al Asad Air Base. Two other Marine squadrons, VMM-162 and VMM-266, deployed to Al Asad in turn over the suc-ceeding months, flying the same dozen MV-22Bs on supply, troop transport and “aeroscout” insurgent-hunting missions.

VMM-263 is to deploy this summer with another 10 MV-22Bs aboard the amphibious landing ship USS Bataan, serving as the Aviation Combat Element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. The 22nd MEU will sail in the Middle East and Indian Ocean regions and be available for use by combatant command-ers in the area. Marine Corps leaders have said they also want to send MV-22Bs to Afghanistan later this year, though no final decision has been made.

The Osprey’s speed, range and ability to cruise above small arms threats proved valuable in Iraq, where there were only sporadic reports of MV-22Bs coming under fire and none suffered combat damage. The tiltrotor’s complexity, how-ever, has made it difficult to anticipate various maintenance and reliability issues, Mulhern acknowledged.

The Naval Air Systems Command grounded all V-22s on March 24 after VMM-266 mechanics in Iraq discovered loose bolts in components of a swash-plate assembly, a flight-critical part, in the starboard nacelle of one of their aircraft. “The plane shut down and the flight line guys heard some banging up

there around the rotor in the top of the nacelle, so they went up and looked and saw this,” Mulhern said.

Inspections of all 84 Ospreys the services own found similar problems in four other MV-22s in Iraq and one that was in maintenance at a depot at Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, N.C., Mulhern said. The grounding was lifted after a new inspection that takes about an hour to complete was added to V-22 daily inspections. Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., which makes the V-22’s rotors and nacelles, is conducting an engineering investigation to determine the root cause of the bolt loosening problem, Mulhern said. Engineers from NAVAIR and Boe-ing Co., which makes the V-22 in a 50-50 partnership with Bell, were assisting in the analysis.

The Marines and the companies got some maintenance surprises during the V-22’s deployment to Iraq, though they had stockpiled parts, such as rotor blades, and taken other steps in advance to anticipate wear and tear from the coun-try’s sandy environment, Mulhern said. Iraq’s sand turned out to be so fine that it didn’t damage the V-22’s rotors nearly as much as officials had expected, but the talcum-like grit seeped into the Osprey’s f ly-by-wire wire bundles and chafed insulation, sometimes causing shorts and false component fault warnings. “We didn’t anticipate wire bundle problems,” Mulhern noted.

The Osprey’s engine air particle sepa-rators (EAPS), hydraulic devices designed to suck sand away from the air intakes and increase the service life of the V-22’s

V-22 Osprey Update

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 10 4/17/09 10:38:45 AM


Services


Rolls-Royce AE1107C Liberty turbine engines, failed to operate reliably in Iraq and continue to be a concern for all V-22s. The V-22s sent to Iraq were mod-ified before the deployment with soft-ware to quickly shut down their EAPS if a sensor detected a hydraulic leak within the device, a step taken because leaks of that sort had caused several engine nacelle fires at New River. The software, however, also tended to shut down the EAPS in response to air surges during vertical takeoffs.

“We’re putting some vanes in there to control the air flow,” Mulhern said.

“ We’re potentially moving a valve. We’re going to eventually move to an electric EAPS, though. We’re really adamant that we’ve got to get rid of the hydraulic lines up in that hot section [of the engine].”

A bigger concern, given the possible use of V-22s in mountainous Afghani-stan’s higher altitudes and colder cli-mate, is the Osprey ’s ice protection system, which has never worked as it should, Mulhern said. “As we move east with these airplanes, we’ve got to have an ice protection system that works,” he said.

The system is designed only to detect and prevent icing so pilots can fly around icing conditions, not through them, but consists of roughly 200 com-ponents, such as heating elements on rotor blades. Failures have occurred for various reasons, such as shorts caused by water seeping into electrical parts or cracks in parts exposed to the cen-trifugal force of the Osprey’s dynamic components, Mulhern said.

“When it’s functional, the system works well, but the reliability of its indi-vidual components is not acceptable,” Mulhern said.—By Richard Whittle

Rotorcraft Report

Photo by Sr. Airman Julianne Showalter, USAF

A V-22 Osprey goes “feet-wet” with a Sikorsky MH-53 joining from below.

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 11 4/17/09 10:39:13 AM



Rotorcraft Report

■ CommerCial | TouRism

rotor Wash Saves JumperHelicopter pilot Ruedi Hafen used his rotor downwash to save a man who had just gone over Niagara Falls—despite the victim doing everything possible to spurn assistance. “He just didn’t want to be rescued,” said Hafen, owner/pilot of Niagara Helicopters Limited, an aerial tour company based on the Ontario side of the falls. “But I wasn’t going to have him drown on my watch!”

Hafen’s amazing story of ingenuity occurred on March 11, in frigidly cold conditions. A 30-year-old Canadian man was observed hopping a fence above Can-ada’s Horseshoe Falls just after 2 p.m.The man then jumped into the upper rapids above the falls. As first responders were alerted and made their way to the scene, the victim plunged 167 feet over the edge of the falls, his clothes ripped off by the force of the near-freezing waters. Now naked, the man ended up in the lower Niagara River beneath the falls, too far offshore for rescuers to reach.

A experienced rescue pilot, Hafen was contacted by the Niagara Parks Police to provide assistance at the scene. “Myself and NPP Sgt. Sean Black got

onboard my Bell 407 and [we] set off immediately,” said Hafen. “We were there within 15 minutes. Despite the cold, the man was still alive in the river, swimming away from the shore.”

Hafen’s 407 is equipped with a rescue sling that can “capture” a floating victim quickly. “But as soon as we got the sling on him, he took it off,” said Hafen. Surprised by this response, Hafen then tried to get the man to grab the 407’s skid. But this didn’t work either. The victim just would not grab on. “No matter what we did, he just wouldn’t help,” Hafen said. “At one point, he even gave us a dirty look that seemed to say, ‘what do you guys want?’”

Refusing to give up, Hafen decided to literally blow the victim to shore using his rotor downwash. “It took a number of tries; the first few times the man tried to swim away from the shore. But by then, he

had been in the water about 46 minutes and was both hypothermic and tired,” Hafen reported. So the pilot tried again. This time, the victim got within 50 feet of the shoreline, which was close enough for Firefighter Todd Brunning, clad in a diving drysuit, to jump in and swim the man to shore.

“I was so happy,” said Hafen. “It was pretty clear to me that the Powers That Be did not want this man to die, and that I had been able to keep this from happening.”

Besides this jumper, records show that only two people have ever survived the plunge over the Horseshoe Falls. The first was seven-year-old Roger Woodward in 1960, after the boat he was in capsized. Woodward was wearing a life vest. The second survivor was Kirk Jones, who went over the edge without any protec-tion in 2003.

All in a day’s work; Ruedi Hafen

in flight over Horseshoe Falls.

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■ ProduCtS

lifePort Granted oda designationThe FAA has granted LifePort of Woodland, Wash., Organization Designation Authority (ODA), allowing the company to issue Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for interior components and systems. LifePort’s ODA also grants it Parts Manufacturing Authority and Technical Standard Orders Authorization. To date, the company, maker of modular medical interiors for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft has issued more than 75 individual STCs, which apply to hundreds of aircraft configurations.

“The ODA designation allows LifePort to streamline the STC process and expedite approval for end users requiring customized solutions,” said LifePort sales manager Noah Zuckerman. “Due to workload and sometimes conflicting requirements, the FAA approval process can seem cumbersome to end users at times. The ODA allows LifePort to issue our own STCs and maintain more direct control of the certification process from start to finish.” LifePort’s MedDeck patient handling platform and MedPak advanced life support module are used in all of its helicopter medical interiors. The MedDeck system comes with an attachment plate, trolley, receiving deck and AeroSled stretcher.

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 12 4/17/09 10:39:38 AM


Rotorcraft Report


■ commercial | simulatoR

Brazil approves aW109 SimulatorBrazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) will train on AgustaWestland’s AW109 Power Level D full flight simulator. The device is based at the Alessandro Marchetti Training Academy in Sesto Calende, Italy. “In the past, Brazilian pilots had to train on actual aircraft to get ANAC-approved certification,” said AgustaWestland Communications Manager Geoff Russell. “Now they can train on simulators, which can be more advantageous for learning emergency procedures, such as autorotation, in a safe environment.”

AgustaWestland is seeing business increase in Brazil with more than 100 units on order at this time. The orders cover the entire range of helicopter products, Russell said. “[We have] a lot of orders in the VIP/corp-orate transport and offshore transport sectors.”

■ military | medvac

UH-72as Hit 10,000 HoursCollectively, the 58 American Eurocopter UH-72A Lakotas currently on duty with the U.S. Army and National Guard have accumulated 10,000 flying hours. These light utility helicopters (LUHs), which are based on the Eurocopter EC-145 twin turbine civilian helicopter, can carry two pilots and six passengers in its standard LUH configuration.

“10,000 hours is a significant milestone,” said EADS spokesperson Tim Paynter. EADS is the parent company of American

Eurocopter. “The UH-72As are helping our military replace aging Hueys, and freeing up larger Black Hawk helicopters from domestic utility duties.”

In addition to transport, the U.S. mili-tary is using UH-72As for medevac flights, with each helicopter capable of carrying two litters. The Army has also certified the UH-72A for the free-fall deployment of paratroopers exiting through the heli-copter’s large, sliding side doors. As well, some Lakotas are being equipped with

electro-optic and infrared sensors, digital moving maps, searchlights, and data links for Army National Guard reconnaissance and interdiction detachment missions.

All 52 Army National Guard UH-72As are being used domestically. American Eurocopter is scheduled to deliver 76 more under its current contract with EADS North America, with 217 more expected to be ordered through to 2016. Five UH-72As have been ordered by the U.S. Navy for the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Md.

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Two National Guard UH-72As glide through Washington, D.C.. Photo Courtesy of EADS N.A.

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 13 4/17/09 10:40:04 AM



Rotorcraft Report

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■ Military | attack

iraqi Helicopter Shopping SpreeMindful that the U.S. withdrawal will seriously deplete its access to helicopters, the government of Iraq is in a serious buying mood.

Iraq has already ordered 24 Bell 407 ARHs (armed recon-naissance helicopters), said Colonel Lawrence Avery Jr., dep-uty director of the U.S. Air Force’s Security Assistance Office, Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq, during a media teleconference from Baghdad on March 16. In addi-tion, the Iraqi government “has a request in... for potentially buying 26 more, for a total of 590,” he said. Once in service, the Bell 407 ARHs will serve alongside Iraq’s Russian Mi-17 medium helicopters, and a small number of Bell Huey-IIs.

The Iraqi government is spending half a billion dollars to buy 24 Eurocopter EC-635 helicopters from France. The EC-635 is the military version of the EC-135 twin-turbine, light helicopter. Eurocopter will also be providing pilot train-ing and maintenance for Iraq’s EC-635s. This is the first such deal between France and Iraq since 1990.

Iraq is also helicopter shopping in Russia. Specifically, the Russian news agency RIA Novosti reported, “Russia is to supply Iraq with 22 Mi-171 Hip transport helicopters, a spokesman for the Helicopters of Russia holding said.” The Mi-171s will reportedly be built in East Siberia’s Ulan Ude helicopter plant.

“The Iraqi government is preparing to take responsibility for much, but not all, of its security needs,” noted Richard L. Aboulafia, VP of analysis with the Teal Group, an aerospace and defense consulting firm based in Fairfax, Va. “Airspace

defense, for example, or much of the heavy ground attack mission, will likely stay U.S. responsibilities for some time after the pullout. But most of the domestic security mission, along with police and training, looks set to transition to the Iraqi government. That means a significant new market for helicopters.” At present, the Iraqi government only has a few dozen helicopters of its own, specifically the popular Mi-17s and Huey-IIs.

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05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 14 4/17/09 10:40:39 AM


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05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 15 4/17/09 10:40:57 AM

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Rotorcraft Report

■ CommerCial

Norsk Helikopter Becomes Bristow

■ PuBliC serviCe | goveRnment agencies

Tree-Topping Drug Choppers Busted

As of April 1, the Norwegian-based Norsk Helikopter’s fleet of S-92s are flying Bristow Helicopter’s red and blue livery. The changes come in the wake of Bristow purchasing 51 percent of Norsk from Norway’s Ugland family last October. Since Bristow already owned 49 percent, the deal made it the sole owner of Norsk

Helikopters. Today, the company formerly known as Norsk has been re-branded as Bristow Norway AS.

“This re-branding brings a synergy into Bristow’s whole North Sea operation and will provide efficiencies to our custom-ers,” said Meera Sikka, Bristow Group’s VP of global business development. “It

also brings a global footprint to a smaller operation and will ensure a standardized approach to customer service.”

Despite its change of owners, Bristow Norway will remain a Norwegian com-pany based at Stavanger Airport in Sola. Leif Overskott is serving as Bristow’s area manager for Norway.

An R22 and a Bell 206 JetRanger collectively airlifting 600 pounds of marijuana across the U.S.-Canada border, have been busted by a joint Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs task force. The helicopters were part of a “dope-for-cocaine” c r o s s - b o r d e r exc h a n g e . First, a Canadian-organized crime group brought in bulk marijuana and ecstasy using helicopters f lying at treetop level to avoid police surveillance. Next, criminals paid for the drugs with cocaine and cash.

“Such smuggling opera-tions are quite common, unfor-tunately,” said RCMP spokes-person Cpl. Dan Moskaluk. “Helicopters are among the preferred platforms. But smug-glers also use fixed-wing planes operating on floats or wheels.”

The bust began when U.S. police found the cocaine in a car they stopped in Utah. That arrest led to information about a planned drop in Colville, Wash. where an LZ had been hacked out of the forest. The pilot, 24-year old Canadian Samuel Brown, was arrested after he landed a stolen Bell 206 loaded with 426 pounds of marijua-na on Feb. 23. He later hanged

himself in jail.O n M a rch 5 , a

rented R22 was pho-tographed as it f lew into Idaho laden with 174 pounds of mari-juana under its hull. The 29 year-old pilot, Jeremy Snow of Kelowna, B.C., was arrested upon landing.

When added to other apprehensions, Operation Blade Runner, the DEA and RCMP arrested eight suspects, seized 748 pounds of mari-juana, 163 pounds of cocaine, 20,000 ecstasy tablets, cash and guns.

“Although our investiga-tion into this organized crime

group had started in late 2008, the intelligence gath-ered and shared between the RCMP and American agen-cies during Operation Blade Runner helped us interrupt these smugglers,” said Cpl. Moskaluk.“We also get tipped off to such flights by citizens who notice helicopters and fixed-wing planes flying low and fast over forests, lakes and rivers. We certainly appreciate the public assistance.”

The soon-to-be-busted, dope-laden R22, as photographed bywaiting drug officers.

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The new colors of Norsk Helikopter.

Photo Courtesy of the Bristow Group

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 16 4/17/09 10:41:50 AM


Rotorcraft Report


■ Military | tRaining

Gates Proposes Helo Crew Funding

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■ CoMMerCial

HaC Convention The Helicopter Association of Canada (HAC) reports that its annual convention, held in Vancouver, B.C. March 27-29, was well attended and upbeat. “We had 760 attendees and 60 exhibitors at HAC 2009,” said HAC President Fred Jones. The event spotlighted the Canadian helicopter industry’s progress in developing Best Practices; HAC’s effort to regulate the industry without government intervention. “We are defining how prudent and safe helicopter operators manage services in specialty areas, such as oil and gas and power line inspection,” said Jones.

■ CoMMerCial | OffshORe

Gearbox eyed in CrashEvidence is pointing to the gearbox as the cause of a fatal April 1 crash involving a Bond Offshore Helicopters Eurocopter AS332 in the North Sea near the shores of Scotland. Investigators believe a gearbox malfunction caused the rotor blades to snap off in flight. All 14 occupants perished. Another Bond AS332 made an emergency landing in the North Sea in Feb. but all survived.

Defense spending proposals announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates include an increase of $500 million to the Army’s budget for helicopter crews and maintenance personnel, an acknowledgement of the key role rotorcraft are playing in the war in Afghanistan.

“Everywhere I go, I hear about the need for more helicopters,” Gates said at a Pentagon news conference. Helicopters are “a capability that is in urgent demand in Afghanistan,” he added, and was a priority in the defense budget.

If Congress approves the proposal, “virtually all of this money, or most of it, is going to go to accelerate the training of helicopter crews and pilots,” Gates

said. “Today the primary limitation on helicopter capacity is not airframes but shortages of maintenance crews and pilots,

so our focus will be on recruiting and training more Army helicopter crews.”―By Richard Whittle

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 17 4/17/09 10:42:14 AM

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■ Products | Military

dAFcs Aiding cH-47F PilotsThe Digital Advanced Flight Control Systems (DAFCS) installed on U.S. CH-47F Chinook helicopters is helping pilots make safer desert landings.

The Common Avionics Architecture Systems (CAAS) glass cockpit, DAFCS “provides the pilot with heightened situational awareness and safety,” said Mark Ballew, Boeing’s senior business development manager for tandem rotor air-craft. “For instance, you can plug the data for an instrument landing at a specific airfield into DACFS, and the system will execute it for you. If you have to break off a landing and do a go-round, DACFS can be set to automatically execute the go-round.”

DACFS is proving itself in Iraq and Afghanistan, where 26 CH-47Fs are equipped with the system. “DACFS can help you deal with brownouts during landing,” Ballew said. “You can program the system to level off in a stable hover at 15 feet, then to lower you a foot at a time to the ground automatically.”

A helicopter pilot who served in Desert Storm, Ballew knows what it is like to get disoriented by blowing sand during touchdown. “DAFCS was designed to deal with such prob-lems,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of feedback from pilots serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who say the DAFCS system has made their landings much safer and more predictable.” Boeing has delivered 60 CH-47Fs to the U.S., with 392 more scheduled to be delivered under a multi-year contract.

Rotorcraft report

■ Public service | Coastguard

s-92’s longest sAr rideA Sikorsky S-92 made the longest non-stop mercy flight to date for the U.K.’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency. Based in Stornoway, Scotland, the S-92 flew 265 miles across the Atlantic Ocean on March 13 on a dispatched call to rescue a 26-year-old fisherman whose hand had been crushed while at sea.

“The fishing boat’s location was almost 290 nautical miles west of Storno-way Airport when the call came in,” said John Bentley, the chief pilot at the MCA’s Stornoway SAR base and the captain of the four-man crew who flew the mission. “Although it was technically within our flying range due to an extra fuel tank we have fitted to the aircraft, we had the option to take some extra fuel onboard on the way to the casualty, without compromising his well-being. So we refueled first at Benbecula Airport on the Outer Hebrides before flying over open water.”

The weather was generally good with a 30 knot wind blowing. However, mindful that storms can come up fast at sea, Bentley wanted an extra safety margin of fuel. After leaving Benbecula Airport, “We flew directly to the casualty, and spent 10 minutes there before returning to land,” he said. “We had an RAF Nimrod [surveillance plane] overhead keeping us informed on changing winds so that we could fly back at the optimal altitude.” Generally, the winds during the flight remained at 30 knots at 8,000 feet, including a 10-knot tailwind that was more than Bentley had expected. As a result, fuel consumption was less than planned, giving the S-92 a little leeway.

“We could have gone farther with the fuel we had on board, probably up to 275-280 nautical miles,” Bentley said. “The S-92 handled the flight very well, and indeed performed exactly as we had hoped.”

The aircraft is operated by CHC Helicopters of Richmond, B.C. in Canada under contract to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Inside the CH-47F cockpit with CAAS and DAFCS.

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05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 18 4/17/09 10:42:50 AM


Rotorcraft Report


Northrop Grumman’s MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Unmanned Air System (VUAS) has passed its first sea trials. The VUAS, which is based upon the Sikorsky (formerly Schweizer) S-333, flew three missions from the U.S. Navy’s Webster Field at NAS Patuxent River, Md., to the stern of the USS McInerney.

In each approach, which followed different routes, the MQ-8B Fire Scout approached the ship’s stern, and then was waved off. Beyond proving the MQ-8B Fire Scout’s ability to make such approaches by autonomously, the sea trials validated the VUAS control equip-ment installed on the USS McInerney.

“The MQ-8B Fire Scout allows you to keep a helicopter on station during the nighttime, when do you don’t want to risk crews and manned SH-60 heli-copters,” said John VanBrabant, business development manager for Northrup Grumman Aerospace System’s Navy MQ-8B Fire Scout program. “This keeps human operators for those missions where their expertise and finesse is required, reducing crew strain and risk, while improving overall surveillance capabilities.”

Continued at sea tests onboard the USS McInerney are planned for the MQ-8B Fire Scout, with a subse-quent deployment in the fall. “Eventu-ally, all of the new Littoral Combat Ships will deploy with MQ-8B Fire Scouts,” VanBrabant said.

The MQ-8B Fire Scout can fly for up to eight hours at a time, with a 20,000-foot ceiling. The VUAS can carry up

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■ Military | technology

Fire Scout Passes Sea trials

The MQ-8B Fire Scout in flight, with examples of its visual and

infrared video images.

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05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 19 4/17/09 10:43:33 AM




Rotorcraft Report

PEOPLE

May 12-14—European Business Exhibition (EBACE) 2009, Geneva, Switzerland. Contact: E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.celwayone.com/events.

May 12-14—ITEC 2009, Brussels, Belgium. Contact: Phone: +44 (0) 1985 846181; Web: www.itec.co.uk.

May 13-14—Helicopter Safety Advisotry Conference (HSAC), Lafayette, La. Contact: Phone: 1- 800-445-8667.

May 21-23—HeliRussia 2009, Moscow, Russia. Contact: Managing Director Zhanna Kiktenko. Phone: +7-495-643-11-93; Fax: +7-495-643-11-94; E-mail: [email protected]; Web: www.helirussia.ru.

May 27-29—American Helicopter Society International’s 65th Annual Forum and Technology Display, Grapevine, Texas. Contact: Web: www.vtol.org.

May 27-29—48th Annual Canadian Business Aviation (CBAA) Convention, Montreal, Canada. Contact: Janet Maslin, Phone: 1-613-236-5611 x225; Web: www.cbaa.ca.

May 30—Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame 36th Annual Induction Ceremony & Dinner, Wetaskiwin, Alberta. Contact: Web: www.cahf.ca.

June 3-4—The Royal Aeronautical Society Flight Simulation Conference , London, U.K. Contact: Web: www.raes.org.uk.

June 15-21—International Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, France. Contact: Web: www.paris-air-show.com.

June 20—Hiller Aviation’s Vertical Challenge, San Carlos, Calif. Contact: www.hiller.org.

July 2-5—Expo Aero Brazil 2009, Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil. Contact: Web: www.expoaerobrasil.com.br.

July 8-10—ALA 2009, The Latin American Aeronautical Association, Miami, Fla. Contact: Phone: 1-817-284-0431; Web: www.ala@aero.

July 18-19—Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, U.K. Contact: Web: www.airtattoo.com.

July 22-25—Airborne Law Enforcement Association Annual Conference and Exposition, Savannah, Ga. Contact: Phone: 1-301-631-2406; Web: www.alea.org.

July 27-August 2—EAA AirVenture 2009, Oshkosh, Wis. Contact: Web: www.airventure.org.

August 13-15—LABACE 2009, Sao Paolo, Brazil (exact location TBD). Contact: Web: www.abag.org.br.

September 11-13—131st National Guard Assn of the U.S. General Conference & Exhibition, Nashville, Tenn. Contact: Web: www.ngaus.org.

September 22-24—Helitech 2009, Cambridge, U.K. Contact: Phone: +44 (0)20 8271 2155 ; Web: www.helitech.co.uk.

October 20-22—National Business Aviation Assn 62nd Annual Meeting & Convention, Orlando, Fla. Contact: Phone: 1-202-783-9000 ; Web: www.nbaa.org.

October 25—Wings, Wheels & Rotors Expo, Los Alamitos, Calif. Contact: Phone: 1-562-598-6659; Web: www.wwrexpo.net.

October 26-28—Association of Air Medical Services (AMTC), San Jose, Calif. Contact: Web: www.aams.org

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C m d r . D a v e Huntzinger (left) who has led a variety of safety and security programs at airlines and aerospace companies throughout his 30-plus years in

aviation, has joined Baldwin Aviation.Lockheed Martin U.K. has announced

the appointment of Ron Abbott (right) as chief operating officer.

C I R C O R Ae r o -s p a c e I n c . , h i r e d Bobby Lo as manager for the design engi-neering group. Lo’s responsibilites include the day-to-day management of the group’s activities/programs and participation on an engineering steering committee.

P i e r r e - J e a n Flores (left) has been appointed vice presi-dent, corporate sec-retary at Turbomeca a n d i s t o r e p l a c e Jean-Luc Varga, who

is retiring. President Barack

Obama will nominate former pilots’ union chief Randy Babbitt (right) to head the FAA. Babbitt will be responsible for, among other things, management of the U.S. air traffic control network.

Group Captain Jock Brown has taken command of the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury.

J i m C h e a t h a m , ( l e f t ) h e a d o f t h e c i v i l i a n h el i co p te r demonstration team Showcopters and a pioneer in helicopter-mounted aerial pho-

tography, passed away on March 11. He was 67.

The chairman of the Life Flight Trust, Bill Day, has hired David Irving as the Trust’s new CEO.

A i r M a r s h a l Pradeep Vasant Naik, (right) VSM, ADC, was named as the new chief of staff of the Indian Air Force. Air Marshal Naik is cur-rently vice chief of air staff.

Sept. 2-3—R&W’s Search & Rescue Summit, Reston, Va.

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 20 4/17/09 10:44:16 AM


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Rotorcraft Report


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■ Military | commeRcial

Will Mi-38 Fly?Thanks to $85 million in new government funding, Russia’s Mi-38 helicopter is scheduled to finish test flights this year, states a news release from the Kazan Helicopter Plant. “Serial production of the Mi-38 should begin...in 2010.”

So, will there be a market for this medium-lift helicopter, which is targeted for both civilian and military missions? Yes, said Forecast International Senior Aerospace Ana-lyst Ray Jaworowski, but not without some stiff competition.

“Probably the biggest limiting factor on Mi-38 sales will be the continuing popular-ity of the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters,” Jaworowski said. “The Mi-8/17 series will likely remain in production for some time.” He added that in terms of market positioning, the Mi-38 appears to be slated as a supplement to that popular helicopter family, rather than an improved replacement.

From a sales standpoint, “The Mi-38 is primarily focused on the civil market, and achievement of Western certification (i.e., EASA, FAA, and/or Transport Canada) is critical if the helicopter is to garner a significant slice of the Western market,” Jaworowski said. To achieve this, the Russians will need deep pockets, since the certification process can be “long and costly.” On the military side, “the Mi-38 would compete with the Black Hawk, the NH90, and similar helicopters,” he concluded. “Its main competition for sales, though, may turn out to be the Mi-8/17.”

■ services

recession survival coursesThe International Bureau of Aviation (IBA) Group, a U.K.-based aviation consulting firm, is offering a series of recession survival courses for aerospace companies. “We have a wealth of knowledge and firsthand experience gained working across many different sections of the aviation industry,” said Alan Miles, IBA’s director of regulatory services and training. IBA can offer a range of services of particular relevance during these times. Owen Geach, IBA’s commercial director, said his group, which has been in aviation for 20 years, provides on-site airline and aircraft monitoring, revised aircraft valuations and market updates, repossession advice, and contingency planning.

05_RW_050109_RCR_p10-25.indd 21 4/17/09 10:44:36 AM


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Rotorcraft Report

R&W interviewed Dr. Lutz Bertling, CEO, Eurocopter during Heli-Expo 2009. Following is an excerpt from that interview.

R&W: What’s going on at Eurocopter?Bertling: The company is in good

shape. [We] increased deliveries from 488

to 588 [aircraft]. Our fixed costs have not increased too much, which means, mainly, we achieved it through efficiency improve-ments. On average, we have reduced the lead times in our final assembly by 35 per-cent in 2008. This prepares us quite well for the times which we now have to face.

[The year] 2009 is going to be more a year of, I would say, of sterilization. It will not be a real crisis here for us. Most likely it will be a year where we will not grow, or just grow a bit. But over the past years we have always had 5-10 percent growth per year.

I strongly believe that the company will sail through these dire straits in quite good shape. We continue to invest in our future. We increased our research and develop-ment budget for innovations for the future. I believe that short-to-midterm, difficult economic environments should not change your long-term objectives. And therefore, we still are careful of what we need to do for 2015 and 2020. So, of course, we need to improve efficiency more. Of course, we have to keep a careful look at our cash posi-tion. In particular, we want to continue to invest, even in these more difficult times. But I’m quite confident.

R&W: The EC120 seems to be less popular than the other aircraft….

Bertling: Do you believe so?R&W: It seems that in the U.S. we don’t

see quite as many EC120s as we do the AS350s, EC145s and EC135s.

Bertling: For police and community-based EMS, the AStar [AS350] clearly is the preferred aircraft. The 120; we have it a bit as an entry product for the guys coming from piston engine helicopters. So, what is the target market for the EC120? It’s first of all, training, then its typical jobs, like border protection and use as a reconnaissance air-craft. And it’s the helicopter for the private pilot who jumps from a piston helicopter to a turbine engine helicopter.

And here, in this last part, the U.S. market is more in the Schweizer/Robinson and so on. So, it’s less popular for these pilots in the U.S. to fly turbine engine helicopters. They

■ CommerCial

Dr. lutz Bertling, eurocopter

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Rotorcraft Report


are flying more piston engine helicopters, as I said, Schweizers and Robinsons and so on. It’s a bit different in other parts of the world. Australia, for example, you see a lot of 120s which are owned by individual people who have their own helicopters. I would not see it as less successful. The single thing that canni-balizes [the EC120] a bit is the success of the AStar. In the U.S., people tend to go directly to the AStar. Take Customs and Border Pro-tection. They took a lot of 120s and they flew the AStar as well. And after a certain while, they transformed their contract from a 120 contract to an AStar contract. I don’t see this as a weakness of the 120. I see it more as the strength of the AStar in the U.S. market. People who are originally interested in the 120 very often end up with an AStar.

R&W: How are EC120s doing else-where in the world?

Bertling: In 120s were doing at the moment, per year, 90 to 100.

R&W: And what about the AS350 AStar?

Bertling: AStars, were doing roughly 275. It might be 10 more or 10 less.

R&W: When you were high school age, what did you want to do with your life?

Bertling: I ended my school with quite remarkable marks. Nevertheless, I was really disappointed with the whole school system. So, the first thing I did after high school was I lived 48 weeks in a boat and sailed across the North Atlantic three times, across the South Atlantic, and went down to Australia. It was a great experi-ence, and I needed the time to think about

what to do. I was 19. I never thought about aerospace. I was more focused on automo-tive, and I never ended in automotive. A lot of industries in Germany were companies like BMW and Diemler, Mercedes Benz, and so on. A lot of people wanted to go

there. Most people in the aerospace world, and particularly in the helicopter world, they are not only in their job to make money. There’s emotion, there’s passion, It’s a job I like very much.

Dr. Lutz Bertling, CEO, Eurocopter during a presentation at Heli-Expo 2009.

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PRogRam inSideRWill the obama administration Kill the cSaR-X contract?By Richard Whittle

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.,was awarded a $16.5-mill ion contract for the procurement of MH-60S armed helicopter mission kits for U.S. forces.CSC was awarded an up to $80-million task order by the U.S. Air Force to provide maintenance and repair services for the Army’s 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. Bell-Boeing Joint Project Office, was awarded an $11.6-million delivery order

to conduct non-recurring engineering for the modification and improvement of the countermeasure transmitters and cabling associated with the Suite of Integrated Radio Frequency Countermeasures system for the CV-22 aircraft. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, was awarded a $7.8-million contract for the procurement of 18 MH-60S Mission Computers for the MH-60S. Evergreen Helicopters, Inc., was

awarded a $158.4-million contract for rotary-wing aircraft, personnel, equipment, tools, material, maintenance and supervision necessary to perform passenger and cargo air transportation services. McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Co., was awarded a $9.5-million contract for post production system support services for the Government of Kuwait, Kuwait Air Force.

CONTRACTS

The three-year saga of the U.S. Air Force’s attempt to acquire a new combat search and rescue helicopter apparently came to an end April 6 when Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced plans to kill the service’s CSAR-X (Combat Search and Rescue-X) program. Gates suggested he might have the Defense Department begin a new program to build a search and rescue aircraft all the services could use, but he offered no definite plan.

“This (CSAR-X) program has a troubled acquisition history and raises the fundamental question of whether this important mission can only be accomplished by yet another single-service solution with a single-purpose aircraft,” Gates told a Pentagon news conference. “We will look at whether there is a requirement for a specialized search and rescue aircraft along the lines that the Air Force had in mind and whether it should be a joint capability.”

Gates’ decision puts an end to a program the Air Force had said was its top rotorcraft priority but which suffered two false starts since 2006, becoming mired in disputes over how the service awarded an original contract. CSAR-X was to replace the Air Force’s Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopters, a Black Hawk derivative the service bought between 1991-99. The Air Force estimates that by 2020, all but a handful of the 100 or so Pave Hawks it has left will have exceeded their pro-jected 7,000-hour service life.

The Air Force originally selected Boeing ’s HH-47 Chinook for the CSAR-X, a decision that surprised many because the search and rescue mission is usually deemed

a medium-lift task and the Chinook is generally described as a heavy-lift helicopter. The deal with Boeing for 141 aircraft at an estimated $10 billion was scrapped after the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the auditing arm of Congress, ruled that the Air Force had strayed from its advertised evaluation criteria in making the award. The GAO issued its ruling after protests by Sikor-sky, which offered a militarized version of its S-92, and the team of Lockheed Martin Systems Integration division of Owego, N.Y., and AgustaWestland, which had offered a variant of the Anglo-Italian company’s EH101.

The GAO sustained a second round of protests by Sikorsky and the Lockheed team after the Air Force reopened the bidding in 2007 but placed limits on how much the companies could revise their original proposals. The Pentagon Inspector General’s office, meanwhile, has been conducting its own audit of the Air Force’s handling of the CSAR-X bidding.

Congress may balk at other cuts Gates wants to make in Pentagon programs, but that seems unlikely in the case of CSAR-X, said defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a Washington think tank with close ties to industry. Boeing and its allies on Capitol Hill might want to challenge Gates’ decision because the company was confident the HH-47 would win the competition in the end, but allies of Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin, such as the Connecticut and New York congressional delega-tions, “don’t have that big a stake in seeing the program go forward,” Thompson noted.

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L-3 WESCAM’s MX-15 True HD Infrared CameraL-3 WESCAM is installing the first MX-15 True HD infrared camera on a Eurocopter EC225 to be used for search and rescue (SAR) missions in the North Sea. This sensor offers 1080p resolution—the image displayed is made up of 1,080 vertical lines that change progressively (hence the “p”)—that allows for hi-res imaging not normally available on IR equipment. The MX turret also uses MX-GEO—L-3’s geo-location pointing, focusing and tracking suite. This will enable WESCAM’s MX-15 to track and provide GPS locations of targets. In this EC225’s particular role, the camera will allow operators to locate and direct rescue vessels as needed. MX EO/IR turrets used for North Sea SAR

applications can be found on the Icelandic and Swedish Coast Guards’ Dash-8 Q300’s, Norway’s P-3’s, the United Kingdom’s interim SAR platforms—the Sikorsky S-92, AgustaWestland AW139, and the United Kingdom’s Nimrod.

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Sandel’s HTAWSSandel Avionics has announced cooperation with FreeFlight Systems to integrate Sandel’s ST3400H Heli-copter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (HTAWS) and FreeFlight’s RA-4000 series radar altimeters. Sandel’s new HTAWS features 3-ATI high brightness/hi-res displays and compatibility with night vision imaging systems. The ST3400H, in combination with one of FreeFlight Systems’ radar altimeters (RA-4000 or RA-4500) allows HTAWS alerting capability while providing the pilot a continuous display of high resolution terrain, obstacles, traffic, and height above ground. Owners of pre-existing radar altimeter indicators are now able to enhance aircraft safety by replacing their display with this new ST3400H HTAWS—Radar Altimeter System. “On the practical side, with space at a premium, our collective design focused on size and weight and ease of operations,” said Tim Taylor, president and CEO, FreeFlight Systems. “In this manner, the installation is quick, and training requirements are minimal so the pilot can take advantage of these critical safety features immediately.” Delivery of the new system is planned for the third quarter of 2009.

L-3 Avionics’ TrilogyL-3 Avionics Systems recently introduced its Trilogy ESI-1000 Electronic Standby Instrument, the first solid-state integrated standby system created specifically for Part 23 aircraft. Designed as a backup for glass cockpit avionics, Trilogy is expected to receive certification in early 2009. “Trilogy puts all the necessary back-up information—airspeed, altitude and attitude—in one place and in a layout pilots can read easily,” said Adrienne Stevens, president of L-3 Avionics Sys-tems. It’s a tremendous step in safety for modern cockpits, and it completes the glass layout desired by so many.” Trilogy replaces standby analogue back-up instruments common in today’s glass cockpits by combining attitude, altitude, airspeed and optional heading data on a 4x3 inch LCD display. The instrument fits easily into a standard 3–ATI mounting cutout. With an integrated air data computer, solid-state attitude sensor and optional external magnetometer, Trilogy presents flight informa-tion independently of other systems. Trilogy units will be calibrated to 400 knots and 55,000 feet, with the ability to store aircraft configura-tion and options at time of installation. Exact pricing will be announced closer to certification.

Trans-Cal’s Altitude RecorderTrans-Cal has announced a new altitude recorder—the SSD120-(XX)N—and weighing in at only 5.9 ounces, it’s the smallest on the market. The base unit is capable of operating up to 30,000 feet, and Trans-Cal offers versions capable of operating up to 100,000 feet. It is designed to be able to replace other encoders, as it has two independent serial ports capable of docking with other avionics interfaces. Trans-Cal also offers adapters if it doesn’t fit a certain interface. The baseline model is $410 and is covered by a 42-month warranty. Should there be a warranty-covered failure, Trans-Cal will replace the unit and renew the warranty.

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military | technology

after decades of neglect,

helicopter research and

development are again

gaining ground.

By Richard Whittle

Helicopters—especially mili-tar y helicopters—need to improve in a lot of ways. Most ever yone in the business

agrees on that, and after eight years of rotorcraft-intensive wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the military and industry are focusing on new technologies for rotary-wing aviation with more urgency.

“There’s no question they’re paying increased attention to the need,” said Rhett Flater, executive director of Ameri-can Helicopter Society International. Government spending on rotorcraft technology, though, is “still very limited,” Flater noted. Indeed, at about $100 mil-lion a year, it’s less than the price of a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

Most experts agree that improvements in rotorcraft are long overdue, especially in those the military flies. Military helicop-ters aren’t a lot better today, fundamentally, than they were a half century ago. They’re

faster but not by much, they’re safer but not safe enough, they’re far more vulner-able to enemy fire than today’s fixed-wing aircraft, they’re way too noisy, they burn too much fuel, and they have trouble land-ing in dust, sand or snow.

“Helicopters are pretty well limited to forward speeds of about 160 knots, they have limited radius of action, limited pay-loads,” Flater said. Vertical lift aircraft need to “perform at speeds of 200 knots-plus, reduce specific fuel consumption by, say, as much as 30 percent” and “improve our record of safety and survivability,” he added.

V-22 OspreyThe military, immune to shareholder finan-cial pressures commercial companies face and willing to take risks to gain advantages on the battlefield, has long been the primary source of cutting-edge technology in avia-tion. Those who share Flater’s views, though, enviously note that the military has spent

billions on fixed-wing aircraft in recent decades while allowing rotorcraft technol-ogy to advance in baby steps by comparison.

Since the Vietnam War, the U.S. mili-tary has fielded several generations of fixed-wing jet fighters and improved versions of them. F-16s, AV-8Bs, F/A-18s, F-22s...the list is long and growing. The multiservice, multinational F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, now in flight test, is the lat-est fifth generation fighter underway.

With the exception of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, which the U.S. Marine Corps began flying in Iraq in 2007 and Air Force Special Operations Command declared ready for service in March 2009, the U.S. military hasn’t fielded a truly new rotary-wing aircraft since the 1970s. The U.S. Army cancelled its last one, the RAH-66 Comanche, in 2004.

The third of three Marine Corps squad-rons that have flown the V-22 in Iraq since October 2007 is scheduled to return to New River Marine Corps Air Station, N.C.,

RotoRcRaft EvolvE... Slowly

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29May 2009 | RotoR & Wing Magazine

Current Developments

W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o M

this month. The Marines have used the Osprey in Iraq to haul troops, supplies, and civilian passengers from point to point. They’ve also used them, less often, to search for insurgents. This coming summer, the squadron that originally took the Osprey to Iraq, VMM-263, is to deploy aboard an amphibious assault ship as part of a Marine Expeditionary Unit.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are bringing home what the lack of investment in military rotorcraft is costing, not just in dollars but also lives. A 2008 study by defense consultants Whitney, Bradley and Brown Inc. reported that as of 2005 (the latest year figures were publicly available) the military had lost 212 helicopters in the Global War on Terrorism, compared to 13 fixed-wing aircraft. Those helicopter losses resulted in 371 fatalities, compared to combat losses of seven personnel in fixed-wing aircraft.

Congress isn’t likely to pour big money into new rotorcraft technology with the economy in crisis and the federal deficit and debt soaring. That may be especially true in the wake of embarrassing cost and schedule overruns of the sort that forced the Army last year to cancel and restart its Armed Recon-naissance Helicopter program and have some urging President Barack Obama to scrap the new VH-71 presidential helicopter. At the same time, political interest in rotor-craft seems to be growing.

Thanks to language put in last year’s annual defense bill by the four-year-old Con-gressional Rotorcraft Caucus, the Pentagon has a Future Vertical Lift Capabilities Based Assessment underway to determine what Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft the armed services will need beyond those in use or on the drawing boards.

The armed services, meanwhile, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are working on a wide variety of programs to make rotorcraft stur-dier, less vulnerable to enemy fire, more fuel efficient, quieter, and faster.

The Army, which operates the lion’s share of U.S. military helicopters and has been flying the rotors off them in Afghani-stan and Iraq, has an aviation priority list that focuses on better operational availabil-ity, mission reliability, and logistical support;

safer operation in bad weather and terrain; new technologies to help air crews react to threats more quickly; new communications gear and new sensors to identify targets.

Better performance—more speed, more range, greater lift, longer endurance—are far-ther down the Army’s list. Completely new rotorcraft designs aren’t on it at all, with the exception of a program the Army and Air Force are working on to come up with a new heavy-lift transport for all the services.

That Joint Future Theater Lift project is in its earliest stages, and the services are still debating whether such an aircraft will have to be able to take off and land vertically. Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. of Fort Worth, Texas, and Boeing’s Rotorcraft Division in Ridley Park, Pa., that make the V-22 in a 50-50 partnership, are working on concepts for a big new tiltrotor, the configuration the Army has said it prefers, to do the job. So are Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. of Stamford, Conn., and Karem Aircraft of Lake Forest, Calif.

X2None of the armed services, meanwhile, is funding actual development of an “X” rotor-craft, an experimental new design.

Private industry, however, is focusing on overcoming the aerodynamic barriers that hold conventional helicopters to cruise speeds well below 200 knots: retreating blade stall and compressibility, in which rotor tip speed runs up against the sound barrier.

Sikorsky has begun flying its X2 Technol-ogy demonstrator, a compound helicopter that relies on two coaxial rotors turning in opposite directions and a pusher propeller to break the 200-knot barrier. As this issue of Rotor & Wing went to press, Sikorsky had hovered the X2, flown it up to 40 knots on

the rotors and tested the pusher propeller on the ground.

Sikorsky plans to flight test the X2 more aggressively during the next year in West Palm Beach, Fla., where the company prom-ises to expand its flight envelope to a cruise speed of 250 knots. The rigid coaxial rotors the X2 uses to defeat retreating blade stall also promise to reduce noise and vibration substantially while a fly-by-wire cockpit reduces pilot workload, said James Kagdis, manager of advanced programs at Sikorsky.

If the tests go as expected, Kagdis said, the company will start talking to potential military and commercial customers about what X2 Technology might do for them.

The X2’s advertised ability to hover and maneuver as conventional helicopters can at low speed could make it ideal for inserting special operations troops into hostile urban areas, Kagdis said. An X2 gunship, he added, would be able to escort the V-22 Osprey. The tiltrotor transport V-22, which can cruise at 250 knots or better, flies too fast for slower-moving helicopter gunships or faster-moving fighter jets to directly escort it.

Commercial jobs the X2 might do well include emergency medical services, execu-tive transport and taking supplies and work-ers to offshore oil rigs, Kagdis suggested.

Another X-rotorcraft flying is Piasecki Aircraft Corp.’s X-49A Speedhawk, which adds a vectored thrust ducted propeller to the tail and a stubby, mid-fuselage wing to a Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk to get past retreating blade stall. The Navy provided the aircraft and the Army has funded the program, though at levels largely mandated by Congress. The program’s congressional backers added $5 million to the $2.8 million the Army planned to spend on the program

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The Piasecki Speedhawk , still under development, is a radical modification of Sikorsky’s UH-60.




military | technology

in fiscal 2009, which began October 1, 2008.The Speedhawk, which uses a standard

Seahawk rotor and engines, flew 86 hours in 79 test flights between June 2007 and Octo-ber 2008 at Boeing Co.’s flight test center at New Castle Airport, Del. Using its pusher propeller, it hit a top speed of 180 knots—47 percent faster than an unmodified Seahawk, said John Piasecki, the company’s president. Navy rules have barred the company from flying the Speedhawk faster so far, Piasecki said, but the company hopes to get permis-sion to do so in the coming year or so.

Heliplane and DiscRotorDARPA, whose mission is to push the cut-ting edge, is funding studies of other ideas for faster vertical lift aircraft. One DARPA pro-gram proposes to design, develop and flight test a futuristic “Heliplane” for combat search and rescue. The Heliplane would use a rotor to take off and land vertically but stop the rotor in mid-air while a jet engine propelled the aircraft to a cruise speed of 400 mph.

Boeing Co. is doing design studies on a similar concept called DiscRotor under a $7.3 million DARPA contract awarded January 30. DARPA describes the DiscRo-tor as a fixed-wing jet with rotor blades that would retract after vertical takeoff into a circular aerodynamic housing mounted over the fuselage. Retracting the blades into this disc would reduce drag, theoretically allowing the aircraft to fly at 400 knots or more at up to 30,000 feet yet, by extending its rotor blades, hover and maneuver at low speed like a helicopter.

Other new rotorcraft technologies in the works are less exotic, and include several aimed at immediate payoffs. The Army, the service primarily responsible for military rotorcraft research, “is trying very hard—doing a pretty darn good job—of balancing their investment for the near-term and the long-term fight,” said Col. Steve Kihara, com-mander of the service’s Aviation Applied Technology Directorate at Fort Eustis, Va.

One priority is to come up with tech-nologies to allow safe landings in brownout and whiteout, when rotor downwash kicks up clouds of sand or dust or snow that make it hard or impossible for pilots to see the landing zone. Brownout landings have

caused many of the military’s helicopter losses in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Two systems that combine multiple tech-nologies show promise as ways to overcome brownout, military and industry officials say.

AvionicsSikorsky recently finished an 18-month demonstration for DARPA of a system called Sandblaster that combines automated flight controls, a 94GHz radar that can scan a land-ing zone through brownout, a digital-map database, and an electronic cockpit display. Combined, those devices give the pilot a 3D representation of the landing zone overlaid with symbology that shows not only where the aircraft is but where it’s going. Sikorsky is partnered with Honeywell International and Sierra Nevada Corp. on the project.

Three Army guest pilots flew demonstra-tions of Sandblaster in January for the Army Aeroflightdynamics Directorate at Moffett Field, Calif., with the system mounted in Sikorsky’s RASCAL JUH-60 Black Hawk research helicopter. The tests went well, said Brad Kronauer, Sikorsky’s program manager for Sandblaster, and DARPA and the compa-nies are discussing with the Army what to do with the technology next.

“I think the jury’s still out on where it exactly goes next,” Barry Lakinsmith, act-ing director of the Aeroflightdynamics Directorate, said of Sandblaster. “There are lots of people working on this (brownout) problem with lots of other approaches.”

One alternative is LandSafe, a system devised by Optical Air Data Systems of Manassas, Va., and licensed to Rockwell Col-lins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for production. Tested once so far by the Marine Corps on a Sikorsky CH-53E at Creech Air Force Base, Nev., LandSafe uses LIDAR, a laser range-

finding sensor, to measure altitude above the ground, ground speed, airspeed down to zero, direction and relative and natural wind. A computerized display lets the pilot see the helicopter’s motion relative to the ground in real time as it approaches the landing zone and set the helicopter down safely.

Lakinsmith said the Army is waiting for such technologies to mature before choos-ing one. As always in aviation, a major issue is how much weight such a system would add to an aircraft. For that reason, the Army wants any such sensor package “to address not just brownout but all degraded visual operations,” Lakinsmith said. “It’s a tough sell to put a single-purpose sensor” on an Army rotorcraft, he noted.

HoverabilityAnother major rotorcraft issue for the Army is hovering power. The sprawling country’s lack of roads and the risk of improvised explosive devices on those that exist make rotorcaft pivotal in mov-ing, supplying and covering troops there. Flying and fighting in mountain valleys puts a premium on being able to hover out of ground effect at higher altitudes.

The Army wants its UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to be able to HOGE at 6,000 feet on a 95-degree day, a big jump from the old standard of 4,000 feet. The service is working on the problem in a couple of ways.

Under its Advanced Affordable Tur-bine Engine program, the Army has award-ed contracts to GE Aviation, a unit of General Electric Co., and ATEC, a joint venture that teams Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney, to demonstrate engines that can generate 3,000 shaft horsepower. Among other things, the new engine is provide a 65 percent increase in the power-to-weight ratio of the Black Hawk’s current T700-GE-701D engine and a 25 percent cut in its specific fuel consumption—how many pounds of fuel an engine burns per hour to produce a given amount of horsepower.

Kihara said the additional horsepower, up from the 2,000 SHP produced by the T700-GE-701D, is to get the Black Hawk “to the high/hot areas that it usually can’t get to right now.”

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LandSafe brownout landing system’s cockpit display.




Current Developments


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The Army also plans to boost the AH-64D Apache Longbow’s hoverability by installing a new split-torque face gear trans-mission Boeing has developed for its Block III upgrade to the gunship, scheduled for a Pentagon decision on production this summer. The new transmission is to let the Apache use more of its engine power with-out adding weight to the aircraft.

Much of the research being done on how to improve helicopters is focused on rotors—especially on ways to change their shape as they fly to improve aerodynamics. Success could mean big payoffs in speed, payload, maneuverability, noise and vibration.

One of the first major tests done in the 40x80x120-foot wind tunnel at Ames Research Center last year after the Air Force re-opened the facility, which NASA had shut down in 2003 to save money, was on a rotor with trailing edge flaps on its blades that are controlled by piezoelectric actuators. Piezoelectric materials flex in response to electrical charges.

SMART TechnologyThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), NASA, the Army, the Air Force and Boeing are studying the technol-ogy as a way to improve performance and dramatically reduce noise and vibration. Known as SMART (Smart Materials Actu-ated Rotor Technology), the program is to receive AHS’s 2009 Howard Hughes Award for the year’s outstanding improvement in fundamental helicopter technology at the society’s 65 Annual Forum May 27-29 in Grapevine, Texas.

DARPA is also in the earliest stages of a new program called Mission Adaptive Rotor, which is soliciting industry ideas on how to produce rotors that can morph on-the-fly. Rotor blades that could become longer or shorter, wider or narrower, or change their twist or other characteristics depending on flight conditions might offer dramatic increases in payload and range and even larger decreases in noise and vibration, DARPA calculates.

Industry is at work on less comprehen-sive ways to improve rotors. Karem Aircraft, for example, has developed an Optimum Speed Rotor whose revolutions per minute

can be adjusted for maximum efficiency at different altitudes and cruise speeds. Con-ventional rotors turn in a narrow range of RPMs, which isn’t the most efficient method in all stages of flight but avoids a variety of complex technological challenges.

Karem’s OSR is being used on the A160 Hummingbird, a 35-foot experi-mental unmanned rotorcraft Boeing is testing under a DARPA/Army contract. Using a two-speed transmission to com-pensate for the increase in engine torque


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when a rotor is slowed, the Humming-bird’s operator can vary its single rotor’s tip speed from 100 percent down to 65 percent RPM. The 2,500-poundUAV stayed aloft nearly 19 hours in a May 2008 test, setting a world endurance record for an unmanned vehicle in its weight class.

Rotor ResearchThe Army is interested in such programs but its near-term rotor research is focused on finding ways to make blades more durable. Erosion caused by the sands of Iraq and Afghanistan and the difficulty of powering de-icing systems through slip rings—notoriously unreliable devices used to transmit electricity and electrical signals from the fuselage to rotor blades as they spin—are priority problems.

Sikorsky and Boeing are working on solutions under shared-investment contracts the Army awarded them last year under its Rotor Durability program,

whose goals are to come up with a reli-able way to predict rotor blade erosion and then find a permanent solution to the problem. Under the same program, the companies are studying “active rotor blade” technologies to reduce vibration and noise.

Pat Donnelly, director of Boeing Advanced Rotorcraft Systems, said his company also is using the contract to work on its Unloaded Lift Offset Rotor, a project to mount a slightly swept fixed-wing above each of the tandem rotors on its CH-47 Chinook. In theory, the wing could reduce noise and vibration and increase forward speed by making it pos-sible to feather the rotors in the retreating portion of their rotation.

Sikorsky is using its Army Rotor Dura-bility contract to investigate active lead-ing edge slats that could delay retreating blade stall. The slats would extend on a blade’s retreating side and retract on its advancing side each revolution. On its own money, the company also is study-ing active flaps for rotor blades and, with a German partner, a technology called Individual Blade Control.

Industry, said AHS Director Flater, “is doing its part” but the “high risk stuff, at least for the American companies, has got to come from a shared investment by gov-ernment and industry. Without a signifi-cant increase in science and technology investment, the technology barriers that limit performance will remain.”

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Military | ViP

Four long years after the Pentagon selected the lockheed Martin US101 as the president’s new helicopter, Rotor & Wing looks back at the selection and turbulent development of the next Marine One.

On January 28, 2005 the Pentagon announced the selection of the Lockheed Martin EH101 as the winner of the VXX competition to replace the Sikorsky VH-3D Sea King as the president’s next helicopter. For the first time in the history of presidential rotary-wing transportation, the president of the United States’ primary helicopter will be an aircraft designed in Europe. Losing the competition was Sikorsky’s VH-92

Superhawk. The contract required that the winner deliver a lead-off batch of five helicopters for initial operational capability (IOC) in 2009, to be followed by a second increment of 18 helicopters.

For most industry experts and aviation enthusiasts, the EH101 was a surprising choice. The Washington Post pulled no punches in stating, “Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.—maker of the presidents’ helicopters since the Eisenhower administration—lost its parking spot on the White House lawn yesterday.” A few weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, a Business Week Internet article was titled, “Marine One, Sikorsky Zero.”

In the months leading up to the decision to select the EH101, the foreign versus domestic content of the two com-peting aircraft was the most explosive political issue in the debate over the choice of transports.

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The EH101 DesignThe EH101 is based on the AW101 plat-form, manufactured by AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of the Italian firm Finmec-canica. Operational variants of the EH101 include Britain’s Merlin helicopter, in service with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, and the Canadian Armed Force’s CH-149 Cormorant. Several other coun-tries currently operate versions of the EH101 in a multitude of roles. The fuse-lage, rotor blades, and dynamic compo-nents of the first AW101 aircraft would be manufactured overseas with systems inte-gration and final production taking place at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Patuxent River, Md. and Owego, N.Y. Production of the aircraft would eventually shift to a Bell Helicopter factory in Texas.

The VH-92 DesignSikorsky was keenly aware of the nega-tive publicity surrounding the EH101 from those opposing the idea of the president of the United States f lying on an aircraft of European design or manufacture. However, the Sikorsky S-92 began with five global partners: China, Brazil, Taiwan, Spain and Japan. All were involved in the civilian S-92 manufacturing. In an attempt to improve the domestic bloodline of their contender, Sikorsky replaced, and reportedly upset, their international partners by using American subcontractors; choosing to submit a VH-92 helicopter built com-pletely in the U.S. Sikorsky then shifted its marketing tactics to promote this all-American pedigree.

The ContractAccording to a DoD News Transcript, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition John Young announced the decision to award the contract to the US101, stating, “The cost to go in the program is in research and development, which includes the pro-curement of three test aircraft, five pilot production aircraft, which form the Incre-ment One initial capability to be delivered in 2009; and also three of the Increment Two aircraft as a low-rate procurement purchase. That’s $3.5 billion of effort, to be followed by procurement of the remaining Increment Two aircraft — 15 helicopters — for $2.5 billion. So the cost to go to the government was $6.1 billion.”

Incremental DevelopmentThe events of September 11, 2001 identified some shortcomings of the current presiden-tial fleet. A plan was developed to field the new fleet of aircraft in two phases in order to speed acquisition of the new airframes and the retirement of the ageing VH-3D helicopters. The first group, Increment One, which was comprised of limited-capability helicopters would consist of five ships with an anticipated IOC of October 2009. The remaining helicopters would be fully-outfit-ted Increment Two aircraft programmed to replace the Increment One aircraft as they are phased out near 2019.

The Increment One aircraft, given the designation VH-71A, feature the basic EH101 airframe with three General Electric CT7-8E engines providing 2,530 horsepower each.

Designed to meet White House requirements, the Increment Two heli-copters, scheduled to carry the VH-71B designation, will feature the more power-ful GE CT7 engines producing 3,000hp each, blades from the British Experimen-tal Rotor Program (BERP) IV, a length-ened tail section, plus greater range (350 nm) and payload capabilities.

Costs, Changes, ProblemsIn May 2007, R&W reported that the U.S. General Accountability Office’s (GAO) review of the VH-71 program showed the aircraft to be 1,200 pounds more than the initial specified weight, resulting in a reduced operating range. In January 2009, R&W’s Richard Whittle reported that the Increment One VH-71As will have a 150 nm range — barely one half of the specified 280 nm specification.

More alarming than the weight issue was the ever-increasing cost of the helicop-ters. Lockheed Martin reported that the compressed timetable for production of the VH-71 was causing cost overruns and aggravating the weight issue. The March GAO report predicted that costs may exceed initial estimates by 18 percent.

Lockheed and the U.S. Navy, who manage the program through NAVAIR, have attributed the delays and cost issues affecting the program to an acceler-ated schedule and complex requirements. Navy officials have admitted that changes in the requirements have contributed to some of the delays.

On December 21, 2007, the Navy told Lockheed Martin to stop work on the development of the Increment Two aircraft for 90 days. January 12, 2008 brought Lock-heed Martin officials to a meeting at the Pentagon with John Young to discuss the stop-work order and possible restructuring. The Navy reported, after the meeting, that Lockheed Martin “closed the gap, are in agreement on the contract requirements and have made significant progress towards initial operational capability.” At the same time, The Hartford Courant reported that the Pentagon had asked Sikorsky to study the feasibility of maintaining the VH-3Ds and VH-60N Whitehawks until 2020, eight

By LTJG ToddVorenkamp USCG

The New Marine One



Military | VIP

36 RotoR & WIng magazIne | may 2009 W W W. R o t o R a n d W I n g . c o m

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years longer than their expected retire-ment, to cover VH-71 delays.

When Lockheed Martin was selected for the VXX program, there was little doubt that the EH101 needed a certain amount of redesign to accommodate the requirements of the presidential support mission and to meet NAVAIR airworthiness require-ments. Both Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky had brought production airframes to the competition, and it was the intent of the Pentagon to save development costs by modifying an existing platform to meet the needs of the president. Soon after the pro-gram was started, it became quickly evident that the Navy was not modifying a com-mercial-off-the-shelf aircraft, but putting the EH101 through a complete overhaul to meet the expanding requirements.

The original VH-71 program planned to rely on an existing commercial heli-copter and make modest modifications. The Navy and industry team did not fully

realize the implications of the White House’s communications and security requirements. These issues were further complicated by the enforcement of Navy certification requirements on a helicopter designed to commercial aviation stan-dards. To achieve the requirements and the government technical certification demands, the Navy and industry teams are having to complete a substantial rede-sign of the EH-101 helicopter to meet the Increment Two requirements.

This redesign has come at a price. The Pentagon estimated that the total

program cost could double from $6.8 bil-lion to $11.2 billion. Critics argued that the Pentagon had brought this pain onto itself with the selection of the EH101. Young responded by saying, “[The EH101] starts very close to the capabilities base we need. I don’t think there’s any basis to relook that.” Young stated that had the Pentagon selected a different platform, the development would be at least as long and as costly as the EH101 redesign.

R&W’s Rebecca Christie reported in May 2008 that the head of NAVAIR, Vice Admiral Dave Venlet, commented on the

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The New Marine One


redesign of the aircraft, stating that the platform, not the requirements, would be changing. Venlet said, “There’s nothing on the shelf that can do that [mission], so we’re just knuckling down.”

Following the stop-work order, the Navy and Lockheed Martin began undertaking comprehensive studies to restructure the program. With the studies came personnel changes. NAVAIR’s program was taken over by Capt. Donald Gaddis, and Lockheed Martin’s Jeff Bantle was brought into the VH-71 side of the house. Capt. Gaddis came from the F/A-18 program and Bantle, a for-mer NASA space shuttle flight director, had been handling the Lockheed Martin systems integration side of the Navy’s MH-60S and MH-60R programs.

In January 2009, R&W learned that the NAVAIR program office had developed 35 different options to restructure the Incre-ment Two program for presentation to the incoming Obama administration. Congress

asked the Navy to file two reports on the state of the VH-71 program. The first report was to provide analysis of the performance requirements, program delays, and cost overruns, as well as to provide an explanation for why the timeline and cost was initially underestimated. The second report asked the Pentagon to weigh the pros and cons of re-starting the VXX competition to re-select the EH101, renamed the US101, or a different airframe.

The significant cost increase of the program has brought it into the realm of the 1982 Defense Authorization Act. The Nunn-McCurdy Amendment calls for Congressional cancellation of any military contract that exceeds its original cost esti-mates by 25 percent or more, unless the Pentagon can prove that the program is a critical system at any cost, or can justify the increase in cost the contract.

Despite the stop-work order on the Increment Two helicopters, the test aircraft

and production flyers continued to progress through a multitude of tests. Homeland Security agencies and Marines from HMX-1, the unit that would eventually operate the helicopters, tested the avionics and com-munications systems of the new aircraft in Lockheed Martin’s Master Systems Bench (MSB) — a full-sized replica of the VH-71 cockpit and cabin located at Owego. A second MSB is located at Patuxent River. The aircraft are to have both secure and non-secure voice communications, satellite network connectivity, and advanced voice-over-Internet protocol capabilities.

The VH-71 test vehicles continue to fly to support the test program while under-going incremental modifications to bring them to full mission capable configurations. As of press time, three Increment One production helicopters were delivered to the United States for final production activi-ties, integration and test. Ground vibration testing for the aircraft has been completed

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Military | VIP

38 RotoR & WIng magazIne | may 2009 W W W. R o t o R a n d W I n g . c o m

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at the Presidential Helicopter Support Facil-ity at Patuxent River Naval Air Station using one of these production vehicles.

Continuing delays in the VH-71 pro-gram caused the Marine Corps to investigate modernizing their fleet of Sikorsky VH-3D Sea King helicopters to help bridge the gap to the introduction of the VH-7A1.

The Near and Far FutureIn January, the first Increment One

helicopter began its final production. After completion, the VIP-outfitted “White Top” VH-71A will be sent to HMX-1, the Marine Corps Presidential Support helicopter squad-ron, for continued testing and eventual operational use. The squadron is expecting IOC sometime in mid-2012, but that could be sped up into 2011 if an increase in funds is realized. None of the VH-71 test vehicles will fly with HMX-1 in an operational capacity since they are for test and devel-opment work only.

HMX-1 currently operates the Sikor-sky VH-3D, VH-60N, CH-53E Super Stallion, and the Boeing CH-46E Sea Knight as it prepares to add the yet-to-be nicknamed VH-71A to its stable. The Center for Naval Analyses is currently conducting a year-long independent evaluation of HMX-1 to develop pro-posals for the future composition of the squadron as a reduction in the num-ber of types of aircraft employed by the

squadron would undoubtedly bring cost and maintenance savings to the Marine Corps.

It has been four years since the official announcement of the winner of the VXX competition and the Lockheed Martin VH-71. The good news for the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin is that the VH-71A is coming on line and meeting or exceeding the requirements for the Increment One sys-tem. Seven of the nine Increment One air-craft are in flight test and integration at press time—a four year acquisition cycle that is considerably faster than the Pentagon’s usual seven year time frame. The bad news is that the Increment Two VH-71B is still facing some of its largest budget and development hurdles and is in the unwanted spotlight of the press and politicians due to its ballooning cost and expected delays. Meanwhile, the stop work order is still active and Lockheed Martin is hoping to resume Increment Two development in September of this year with an eye on IOC of the VH-71B in 2019.

VXX Competition timeline:December 18, 2003 - Naval Air Systems Command requests proposals for a new VIP helicopter.

February 2, 2004 - Proposals due.

January 28, 2005 - Contract winner announced (postponed from Dec. 18).

MilestonesTest Vehicle 1 (TV-1) was a leased EH101 used for early testing and returned in May 2008.

July 3, 2007 - First Flight TV-2 Yeovil, England by AgustaWestland Chief Test Pilot Don Maclaine and Senior Test Pilot Dick Trueman.

October 16, 2007 - TV-2 arrives from England aboard a USAF C-17 and begin testing at NAS Patuxent River, Md. (PAX)

November 14, 2007 - Systems Integration Lab brought online at PAX.

December 11, 2007 - TV-5 first flight.

December 19, 2007 - TV-5 arrives at PAX.

February 27, 2008 - TV-3 first flight.

March 17, 2008 - TV-3 arrives at Owego, N.Y.

March 19, 2008 - TV-4 first flight.

April 24, 2008 - TV-4 arrives at Owego, N.Y.

September 22, 2008 - First production VH-71A (PP-1) first flight.

November 24, 2008 - PP-1 arrives at PAX for vibration tests.

November 29, 2008 - PP-3 first flight.

December 16, 2008 - PP-3 arrives in US for systems integration.

January 9, 2009 - PP-3 arrives at Owego.

January 13, 2009 - PP-4 first flight.

January 16, 2009 - PP-4 arrives at PAX.

Fate of VH-71 tBD The Lockheed Martin team’s VH-71 presidential helicopter contract would be cancelled and rebid under a plan to reform Pentagon spending announced by Defense Secretary Robert Gates shortly before this edition of R&W went to press. In an April 6 news conference, Gates said the Pentagon would “promptly develop options” for a new Marine One program to begin in fiscal year 2011.

“There needs to be a new presidential helicopter,” he said. “There’s still good service life left in the ones that are in the fleet right now. So we have time to do this. And so we will begin a review of the requirements with the White House as soon as the FY ‘10 budget is submitted.”

Gates’ plan is sure to provoke fights in Congress. His proposal includes halting production of the F-22 Raptor fighter plane, moving ahead with the F-35 fighter, making major cuts in the Army’s top-priority Future Combat Systems and cancel-ling Air Force projects, including the CSAR-X search and rescue helicopter.

Thirteen House members sent Gates a letter March 16 that said cancelling the VH-71 “would be irresponsible and self-defeating.” Blaming the program’s cost and schedule overruns on “excessive requirements” imposed by the government, the House members urged Gates to use the Increment One aircraft as the final version of the VH-71 if the planned Increment Two version “cannot be procured in a cost-effective manner.”

Gates rejected that advice. “Today, the program is estimated to cost over $13 billion, has fallen six years behind schedule and runs the risk of not delivering the requested capability.”

“Some have suggested that we should adjust the program by buying only the lower-capability Increment One option,” Gates continued. “I believe this is neither advisable nor affordable. Increment One helicopters do not meet the require-ments and are estimated to have only a five- to 10-year useful life.”



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military


From the military perspective backseaters, GIB’s, spoons, what-ever you may call them, these people bring a myriad of talent

to helicopter missions. In CSAR, mede-vac, and maritime missions they bring aircraft technical skills, medical skills and gunnery expertise. All the services includ-ing the U.S. Coast Guard employ and name these positions differently, but as mentioned in my September 2007 R&W article (The Military Spin: Joint Service Medevac Capabilities), the selection, training, qualification, continuation train-ing and operational employment of these individuals, are very similar.

I recently polled the military commu-nity I’m most familiar with to gain some insight to the following questions: 1. What is my job? 2. Why did I choose this job? 3. What are the fun things about this job? 4. What are the irritating things about the job? 5. What was your greatest experi-ence in the job? 6. What were the greatest

obstacles to the job? 7. Do you have any exciting anecdotal experiences to share?

With the backender perspective firmly in your mind from the sidebar song (page 43), I’d like to share with you the responses from some of the backseaters kind enough to respond to the query.

Master Sgt. William “Radio” Godwin replied that he’s an aerial gunner stationed at RAF Lakenheath in the U.K. He chose the AG job because he always wanted to fly. He contemplated the job for four years until his wife finally convinced him. “She would rather I would do it and hate or love it, than not do it, and always wonder what might or could have been. And I’ve loved it ever since.”

The fun things about the job are: “Fly-ing. Getting a rescue. Shooting the GAU-2 and the .50 caliber machine gun. Knowing that after that rescue, that you have affect-ed more than that one person’s life that you saved. Their mom, dad, wife, children will get to see them again.” His thoughts

on the irritating things about the job… “Pre-flighting and mission planning”. His greatest experience: “August 2002, I was called to search for three Americans that were playing on a banana canoe off the east side of the Island of Okinawa. There was a Typhoon 600 miles off the coast, and the three Americans had been miss-ing for over an hour. When we got the call and heard that they were missing for over an hour, I was thinking it was going to be a recovery and not a rescue. After establish-ing a search pattern along the coast line, we found them three miles south of where they were originally playing in the water and about a mile off coast clinging to the banana canoe for dear life in 10-15 foot swells. I was the first to spot the survivors and we “low and slowed” (10 feet/10 knots) two pararescuemen in the water and hoisted all three out [with the Para-jumpers]. One of the teenagers was about to give up on life and let go of the canoe, but we made it there in time to pluck each

By Steve “Elroy” Colby

these men and women are

doing everything in that

helicopter except flying it.

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The Unsung Heroes

one of them out of danger. That rescue meant more than all the awards I had ever received. Knowing that I helped saved the lives of two teenagers and a chaplain assis-tant, and knowing that they will get to go home and see mom again, that made it all worth the training.”

Another rearcrew acquaintance from the Army responded with his per-spectives: “I am currently the battalion medical operations NCO for 3rd BN (GSAB) 82nd Combat AVN Brigade, 82nd Airborne DIV. Until recently I was a flight medic, and had been one since 2003. I have deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom twice and Operation Enduring Freedom once. As a flight medic, I was the sole medical provider on a U.S. Army UH-60 medevac aircraft. My responsibilities included being a qualified aircraft crewmember who has undergone the adequate train-ing in being a non-rated crewmember (backseater). The training to be a NRCM

includes becoming competent in aircraft systems, limitations, loading and unload-ing, and emergency procedures. As a flight medic, I was also responsible for patient care in the back of the aircraft, and that training includes advanced medical procedures. In my current job, I am responsible at the battalion level for ensuring the medevac mission flows appropriately.” Why he chose his job? “I chose to become a flight medic because

the medical training is not only more advancement, but it is usually more used. This type of job for a medic shows instant gratification.” “Obviously this job is fun because of the flying. The camaraderie I have found in this job cannot be found anywhere else, and that makes it fun.” The irritating parts? “The flying. After long flights, just sitting in the back performing crew member duties, it can get boring.” His greatest experience? “I would have

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to say that my greatest experience in this job was my deployment to Afghanistan in 2007. Although it was also very hard, very nerve racking, and almost cost me and some dear friends our lives, it was well worth it. The lives we saved made it all worth it.” What was his greatest obstacle? “Because I have a medical background, it was hard for me to learn the aircraft sys-tems.” Any anecdotes? “It’s hard work, but it is always, always worth it!”

Lastly, Senior Airman LU.K.e Nesladek wrote from England: “My job is a para-rescueman in the United States Air Force. I chose pararescue because I wanted a

job that was both physically and mentally demanding. Also, a pararescueman is essentially a “jack of all trades,” meaning that there are so many different skills that a PJ must be proficient at to be able to conduct any type of rescue in any type of situation. I wanted to be trained and operate at the highest caliber the military has to offer and be able to put these skills to the test. There are so many fun aspects to this job that it’s hard to only list a few. The best way to describe the fun parts is we get paid for doing things that others pay to do. Some examples of this are sky diving, scuba diving, rock climbing, cross

country skiing, practicing medicine, and flying/fast roping/rappelling from the HH-60G Pave Hawk. I think the most irritating thing about being a pararescue-man is if we’re doing our job it means it’s the worst day of the persons’ life we’re rescuing. It really is a double-sided sword because as a pararescueman we want to do our job more than anything, but if we’re not, it means that everyone is safe. My greatest experience as a pararescue-man was my deployment to Iraq. I felt that the five month deployment was a time for me to put everything I learned for five years to the test. Thus, being able do my part in the War on Terror.

“My greatest obstacle in this job was getting into this job. It took approximately three years of the most rigorous training the Department of Defense has to offer to be able to call myself a PJ.

“An experience that I’ve had during this job that might persuade an applicant into this career is a two-week training exercise I participated in that was con-ducted in the Alps. We were conducting high altitude training which entailed ava-lanche rescue, glacier rescue, cross coun-try skiing, high altitude medical training, ice climbing and general mountaineering. Throughout this two weeks we cross- country skied from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland. The sights and experiences we had during that trip were once in a lifetime.”

While there are mission based “military families” and close-knit, small-unit organi-zations, few rival the tight-knit bonds in a rescue or medevac unit. While military customs and courtesies are maintained, and performance professionalism are the hallmark and standard, friendships and bonds of trust are forged during these mis-sions that stay with these crews forever.

So despite the backender’s perennial lament about the “mandraulics” on the sticks, and the vacuum between those pilot’s helmet earcups, what stands out from all the backseaters is a tremendous love of the mission, personal satisfaction, a strong sense of teamwork, friendship and brotherhood in the pursuit of “…these things we do that others may live.”

Pho

to b

y S

hann

on B

ower




The Unsung Heroes

By Steven “Elroy” ColbyI woke up this mornin’, and found this big bruise

From fighting with litters…those cabin black and blues.Went down to the chow hall, with both of our teams

Dissin’ arrogant pilots, with “out of reach” dreams.That there’s other viewpoints, never crosses their mindWe can make ‘em or break ‘em, and leave ‘em behind.Working hard for the mission, combat rescue pursues The missing and stranded, gimme those cabin blues.

On final I said your descent and closure’s too fast.He didn’t believe me, as the touchdown he passed

Pranged the tailwheel in boulders, dragged the mains thru some rocksBroke the FLIR on a furrow, now our bird’s up on blocks

But now who’s to blame for the travails of the night?The lowly backender, whose flightsuit’s a fright.

Working hard for the mission, combat rescue pursues The injured and helpless, got those bad cabin bluesBut sometimes just sometimes, the mission’s a blast

My minigun’s blazin’ and the target’s harassedHis timing and point-outs are spot-on for tally

This bad guy’s bunker just became his death valleyLead went into the zone, with two in the spooky

No joy on the target this clown is just kookyWorking hard for the mission, combat rescue pursues

STS teams in a firefight, got those bad cabin blues.Now headed to the tanker, with time to review

The sequence of events in his briefing that blewNever talked to his wingman, ‘bout the two-ship commit

Spinning clueless to the zone, which he’ll never admit.Missed the hose next three tries, finally let the co’ plug

“contact-refueling checklist,” I could give him a hug.Working hard for the mission, combat rescue pursues

Gas anywhere we can get it, got those bad cabin blues.Back home in the hooch, jotting thoughts of the dayIn my little memory jogger, so they won’t get away

I write that if one day, I’m king for a nightI’ll blackball that moron, ‘cause he’s just not that bright

But I remember the mantra, my mentor did impart “Wisely season the rookies, make them better and smart.”

Working hard for the mission, combat rescue pursues Better flight leads and pilots, got those bad cabin blues.

I’m not just a whinin’ or blowing mad smokeIt’s a frustratin’ business with frustratin’ blokesBut no nobler a mission is there in this messThan rescuing comrades in ardent distress.So tell me your stories of woe and despair

And I’ll remind you that rescue is here and beware.We’re workin’ hard for the mission, combat rescue pursues

The righteous and courageous, got those bad cabin blues.

Cabin Blues



http://nivisys.com


Products | SeRviceS

10_RW_050109_Helmets_p44-49.indd 44 4/17/09 3:10:54 PM



Tools of the Trade


If the pilots are the most important component aboard a helicopter, and the pilot’s brain is the most important component aboard him

or her, then their helmet—affectionately known by some as a “brain bucket”—is a vital safety feature. Helmets are required safety apparel when operating most mili-tary helicopters, and often an insurance requirement for EMS, fire and police helicopter pilots.

Aviation has come a long way since the days of wearing a thick piece of leather for head protection. So, to see how the new ones are made, Rotor & Wing headed south to Charleston, S.C. and paid a visit to Ron Abbott, the owner of www.Helicopterhelmet.com. Ron is an accomplished helicopter pilot with ATP and CFI ratings. In fact, it was his own flying career that threw him into the helmet business.

“I was working in Alabama and wanted a new helmet, but couldn’t afford one,” explained Abbott. “So, I bought an old Army helmet and refur-bished it. Other guys wanted one like mine, so I started making them.”

By 2001, Abbott had opened his shop and gone into business refurbish-ing and repairing MSA Gallet and Gen-tex SPH-4, 4B and 5 helmets. Abbott also manufactures a generic version the SPH-4B, which is a popular seller.

Abbott explained that the process of building and rebuilding a helmet is very similar, and took me to his shop area

to see just how it’s done. There, I was introduced to Abbott’s son, Alex, who invited me to watch him build a helmet for a California-based EMS operation.

Stitching some

leather together

is out for cranial

protection. Let’s

see what goes

into making

today’s helmets!

Glides and spacers are attached to the visor.

Visor and knurled knob are attached to shell.

By Ernie Stephens

Photos by Ernie Stephens



Products | ServiceS

46 rotor & Wing magazine | may 2009 W W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o m

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14688

14688 AVPronet ad_full.indd 1 10/03/2008 2:52:43 PM

A Molded Shell & VisorsThe helmet shell—the bucket-looking portion of the helmet—is usually made from composite materials, such as Kev-lar and Graphlon, for their strength and lightweight. Different companies may use various mixtures of these materials or different combinations altogether, but keep their exact recipes a secret. Abbott receives them with the needed holes already drilled.

Shells and visors covers come in sev-eral general sizes to create the proper fit for each customer’s head, so once they arrive at the shop, they have to be matched with the appropriate cus-tomer. Abbott then sends the shell and visor cover to a local subcontractor to be painted to the customer’s specifica-tions. When the paint shop is done, the two sections are returned to Abbott.

Installation of Visor KitAlex Abbott, a licensed helicopter pilot like his father, took a freshly painted shell and visor cover combination from the rack. “We start with the visor,” he said as he cradled the white shell on his lap and grabbed a handful of fasteners on his bench. He then took one clear visor and one tinted visor, and sand-wiched them between the shell and the visor cover using a set of black spacers, nuts and bolts. A small knurled knob, which will allow the wearer to raise and lower them, was screwed into place.

Installation of Round Mount &Volume ControlThe round mount is the black cylinder on the left ear cup of the shell that the microphone boom is attached to. It allows the microphone boom to swivel up and down, or telescope in and out as desired by the wearer. The boom itself won’t go on it just yet, though. But if a customer’s order calls for a helmet-mounted volume control, it would go in at this stage too.

WiringAlthough the speakers and microphone will be added a little later, Alex inserted

the wiring harness that connects every-thing into a single cable that plugs into an aircraft’s intercom system. “ We have a variety of cords,” said the elder Abbott. “Some people want straight cords and some want coiled, some want long and some want short.” The cable Alex needed was a short, coiled one, which screwed into the shell.

Add Cross Straps A set of crisscrossed fabric straps went in next. They were bolted across the ear cups of the shell and will keep just the right tension on the muff speakers when worn.

Watching Alex work was like watch-ing a surgeon in the operating room. “It doesn’t take me very long to put a helmet together,” he said. “I can do one in about an hour.”

Harness speakers are wired into the helmet.

Cross straps are installed over each ear cup.

Spreaker and microphone wires are ready for components.

Installation of wiring.

The foam liner is now in place and the headband is properly seated.

A hard foam liner, which protects the pilots head, is carefully pressed into place.



Powered by

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commercial, corporate, private and military sectors.

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Where insiders go to get the know.

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14688

14688 AVPronet ad_full.indd 1 10/03/2008 2:52:43 PM10_RW_050109_Helmets_p44-49.indd 47 4/17/09 3:12:33 PM

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Products | ServiceS

48 rotor & Wing magazine | may 2009 W W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o m

Installation of the Harness and Speakers The next thing to go in is what they call the harness. It’s a combination helmet liner and holder for the next item: the cushioned ear cups or “muffs.” The wires from the har-ness are pulled through the back of the ear

cups, soldered to the two small speakers, and tucked away behind the foam covering that will be next to the wearer’s ears.

Foam Liner “This part is tricky,” warned 20-year old Alex as he cradled the helmet on his lap

with a half-basketball-size section of molded polystyrene foam handy. The rigid foam is what protects the wearer’s head.

“You kind of half to slide it in between the shell and the harness,” he said as he gently pushed with one hand and tugged with another to get it into place. A few minutes later, it was perfectly seated and a soft cover was inserted to add comfort. “They can break when you’re putting them in, sometimes.”

Edge BeadingBeading is the black, plastic, mostly deco-rative trim that is pressed around the bare edges of the shell for both looks and com-fort. “This hurts your fingers,” said Alex as he pushed the slotted, licorice-looking trim into place using only his fingers. “But once it goes on, it stays on.” Now, the over-sized ping-pong ball starting to looked more like a helmet! All it needed was a microphone.

Microphone Boom & Chin Strap Alex removed a boom microphone from a bin and slid the open end of the elongated component into the round mount he instal le d a fe w minutes

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“We offer several kinds of helmet cords,” said Ron Abbott.


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Tools of the Trade


earlier. He then connected a nice, new chin strap to the helmet.

Wax, Box and Ship With everything tightly installed and checked one final time against the custom-er’s order sheet, Alex hung the helmet on the wall where it will await a final waxing and placement inside of a padded helmet bag for shipping. In fact, as the Abbotts

spoke about their very short turn-around time for helmet builds and refurbishment—often less than a week—it hit me.

Refurbishing“Hey!” I said. “I think you refurbished my helmet about six years ago!” Sure enough. Helicopterhelmet.com did! Abbott said that a big portion of their business is refurbishing old helmets to

look like new. His company will repaint, rewire and repair every part of the helmet. Customers frequently say the helmet is as good as when they bought it. For my helmet refurbishing included a new liner, new ear cups, a new visor, new lenses and a fresh paint job. It only took a week or so for me to get my helmet back and just as Abbott said, it was as good as the day I bought it.

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“We do about 50 helmets a month. When we refurbish them, they look just like new.”- Ron Abbott, CEO, helicopterhelmet.com

Alex Abbott shows finished product.


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Water BaBiesA glimpse at water

landings taught to

pilots able to take a

long weekend on a

Mediterranean island.

By Andrew Healey

Wanna extend your f lying skills in the Mediterranean sun? Where do I sign?

As our Editor-in-Chief Ernie Stephens pointed out in the March issue of R&W’s “Editor’s Notebook,” one huge difference between the experience of learning to fly in the military and tak-ing the Private Pilot License (PPL) route is that the military will routinely offer opportunities for its pilots to extend themselves. But in privately-financed aviation, you only get what you pay for.

As a result, a pilot must balance an opportunity to extend skills with the euro cost involved. And these days, just maintaining currency can be a chal-lenge. But sometimes just the curiosity value can swing it the other way. And if you spend any time flying over lakes or

coastline and you’ve only really practiced engine-offs to an airfield, you may often have wondered, “what if?”

During a weekend visit to a flying school within two hours of most of the continent on the sun-drenched Mediter-ranean island of Mallorca, you will find flying that few military or commercial pilots experience.

Since 1995 Sloane Helicopters, best known as a U.K. Robinson dealer, has operated a flying school from the airfield of San Bonet, four kilometers (2.5 miles) from Palma.

In the early days it could offer British students all-in-one PPL(H) packages at a significant cost and time saving over U.K. courses, and under all-but guaranteed perfect conditions. Nowadays, although the weather is still great, the growing

Photo by Oli Tennent

11_RW_050109_HTfeature_p50-53.indd 50 4/17/09 10:13:17 AM


Water, Water everyWhere


dominance of the Euro and the weak British pound is leading it in a new train-ing directions.

The bulk of budding pilots now come from within the Euro zone-three Germans, a Dutchman and a Dane (non-Euro) were under instruction. To continue to attract the Brits, it has broadened its syl-labus to offer more specialized flying train-ing. And the move seems to have worked.

During a weekend in the sun, you can practice confined areas, real-world limited power or autorotations. There’s a five-hour mountain flying course where pilots explore pinnacle and ridge-line approaches, and often the outer limits of the flight envelope, with a proper 4,500-foot mountain range as a playground. And now, for the first time in Europe, you can learn how to make the wet stuff your friend with Sloane’s Water Landings course.

Island HoppingJonny Greenall leads two other flying instructors and an ops manager at the San Bonet flying school. “Six of our eight R44s have floats, three with fixed and three pop-outs. We spend a lot of time flying above water, whether around Mallorca, over to [neighboring islands] Ibiza or Menorca, or even to mainland Spain for scheduled maintenance. I have a trip to Portugal and back with an owner planned for next month,” explained Greenall. “So it seemed sensible to offer this as a specialist training opportunity. And since a good proportion of the R44s sold in the U.K. are Clippers, we figure their owners must at least have thought about how to land on water if something went wrong.”

The first students have yet to sign up. Sloane has felt unable to market the course until all the permissions are in place. The courses are scheduled during weekends to attract owners who like to jet to the island on a Friday, concentrate on their flying without day-to-day work interruptions and return home on Monday. The newest addition to the program features ground-school, four hours of flying and two or three actual water landings.

In a nutshell, the ground instruction tells them how to prepare for a planned

water landing, approach, power-down, power-up, takeoff and f ly-away. (See course syllabus on page 53.) Then they transfer the instruction to dual flight-time and, finally, learn how to apply those skills if an unplanned situation arises.

“Out of the fixed-float ships, only the Clipper II is certified for water landings but we can use the two Clipper Is to practice approaches to a hover. There’s a weight limit of 2,400 pounds, but that’s only 100 pounds off MAUW. To minimize

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corrosion, we utilize one of several fresh-water lakes on the island; but we still pre-pare the helicopter before and wash it down thoroughly afterwards.”

Taking the PlungeFirst you learn to handle a Clipper with the fixed floats. Surprisingly, these only knock 10 knots off the helicopter ’s cruise speed, so it will cruise quite hap-pily at 110 knots. Be careful not to jolt the yaw pedals, as that can generate an unpleasant phenomenon known as adverse roll. It can also be slightly more challenging to hover, left-skid low, par-ticularly in a crosswind.

But as any R44 pilot will tell you, it’s a joy to autorotate. Said Greenall, “lower the collective, set 70 knots in the green and, then you can concentrate on land-ing safely in the prevailing conditions. Deploy the floats below 80 knots and remember they take three seconds to inflate, which can seem like a long time if you leave it a bit late.”

Under most circumstances you will aim to land on the water facing into wind. If in an emergency you have to land on the sea with a swell running, you may elect to head into that swell and thus mini-mize the threat of it rolling you over (but instead run the risk of a tail-strike). For training purposes to a sheltered lake, it’s the wind every time.

The most important points to remem-ber, said Greenall, is to pick a fixed reference point within your field-of-view and aim, after flaring, to touch down with as little forward speed as possible. That’s to mini-mize the threat of digging in a skid-tip and flipping over. This technique is broad-ly the same as that for a conventional engine-off to the ground, but with some important variations.

“Visual cues are unreliable, particularly over calm water, so you need to keep an eye on that reference point-a tree or a rock on the shoreline for instance—for longer than you might over land. To avoid generating disorientating ripples or spray at the last minute, minimize time spent in the hover. In an emergency, with only Nr to keep you airborne, you obviously need to flare to wash off most of the ground-speed. You don’t get any ground effect over water, so you will need more lever to cushion the impact. A successful engine-off is always a balancing act, but it’s even more of one over the water.”

If you do it right, touching down on water can be a strange sensation in that you don’t actually feel the moment of contact. Once you have stopped descending, if you slowly lower the col-lective and maintain 100 percent rpm, you can maintain heading using the cyclic and pedals. Obviously, if you lose power for real, you can only do this until they become ineffective. So, there are some interesting nuances.

“We teach the actual touchdown and lowering the collective to zero pitch, and then to close the throttle to idle while maintaining heading,” said Greenall. “And there you are, bobbing along.”

The floats inflate above the skids and semi-submerge, so the water will lap uncomfortably close to the door. How-ever, that characteristic, plus the fact that the Robinson’s engine is situated low on the airframe, gives it a fairly low center of gravity and additional stability.

Float, Float OnNow safely on the surface, you must keep an eye on your position relative to the shore. Currents may be a factor and should be avoided, as they often lead to places you don’t want to be. The manual says you should consider deploying a sea anchor, me hearties!

Preparing for takeoff is the reverse procedure. You will need to counteract yaw from the moment you introduce col-lective pitch. Once off the surface, avoid water spray by making a “towering” climb, rather than skimming the surface.

Back at the airport, the aircrew make like ground crew and drain any water that might have accumulated inside the floats. Even though they have been operating to fresh water, they then wash and dry the whole aircraft.

As with any of the Sloane offer-ings, completing the Water Landings course will not qualify a pilot to do any-thing. But as Jonny Greenall said, any-thing that extends a pilot’s experience, removes uncertainties and encourages him or her to think ahead of the heli-copter, is a worthwhile investment in his book.

Pilots left to right: Paul Cakebread, Helen Mayne, Hallvar Frey and Jonny Greenall

Photo Courtesy of Sloane Helicopters S.L.

Photo by Oli Tennent



Water, Water everyWhere


“As with most training, you may never have to use what we teach but it’s nice to know that if the situation arises, you have an idea what to expect,” explained Greenall. “These familiarization courses also provide a real confidence boost.”

It remains to be seen whether this new business module becomes a commercial success. But, when it comes to flying helicopters, continuous training is the one aspect that ought to be recession-proof; in theory, anyway.

Sloane water operations course syllabus

Exercise 1 Flying characteristics with fixed or inflated floats

Exercise 2Autorotations and emergency procedures with floats

Exercise 3

Briefing, pre-flight

Site recce, water approaches, landings and take-offs

Shutdown and checks after returning to land

Emergency water landings – heavy seas

Cost Euro 2,700 (USD3,600) including taxes

robinson KingsSloane Helicopters has been operating in England for nearly 40 years. It repre-sents Robinson and Agusta in the U.K. and Eire, and has sold more Robinson rotorcraft than any other distributor outside of the U.S. As well as main-tenance and component overhaul services, its engineering department provides specialized cockpit and cabin designs, and integration service to U.K. police and air ambulance operators.

In the 14 years since the corpora-tion opened its satellite operation in Mallorca, it has become a CAA approved Flight Training Organiza-tion, offering full training for the JAA PPL (H), as well as type conversion courses for the Robinson R44 and R22. It also holds a CAA Air Operators Certificate to undertake helicopter charter, sightseeing tours and aerial photography.

As well as water landings and mountain flying, Sloane offers refresher training in autorotations, emergency procedures, confined areas, navigation and limited power. The current fleet:■ 1 R22 Beta II■ 2 R44 Raven I■ 2 R44 Clipper I w/ fixed floats■ 1 R44 Clipper II w/ fixed floats■ 3 R44 Clipper II w/ pop-out floats



http://www.robinsonheli.com

54 w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o mrotor & wing magazine | may 2009

commercial | offshore

Helicopter instrument flight in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has always been eyedrop-per slow, due mainly to a

lack of radar coverage. This is changing. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast or ADS-B will cure these short comings through its unique ability to provide positive control without radar.

There will be a series of dedicated ground stations located in a network throughout the GOM. The FAA is install-ing three types of equipment: 35 Auto-matic Weather Observation Stations (AWOs); nine to 12 ADS-B surveillance stations that decode aircraft downloads and uploads; and nine additional VHF air-to-ground communications sites to augment the existing 14.

The arrival of ADS-B in the Gulf is about to become a reality. It would not be practical to list all of its contributors in this column, so I will stick with the FAA’s role as of April 2009.

James Linney is the manager of the central ADS-B program that includes most of the central U. S. from the GOM to the Canadian border. The prime contractor for the project is ITT, which provides the infra-structure and works closely with Linney.

In the early stages of the program, there was a terrific amount of adminis-trative work, especially in finding and acquiring sites to install equipment. A lot of it centered on getting multi-party agreements to allow equipment on oil and gas platforms in the GOM. Fortunately, most have been completed with some

47 different locations that, hopefully, will be available. Also, there are multiple disciplines within the FAA that have to be brought on board for coordination and approvals. Much of the above is ongoing and much has been completed.

The 47 locations are scattered through-out the Gulf and the space available on them is near and dear. The platforms cost the producers millions to build and install, and volunteering space for any reason is a major concession on their part.

Now that the major paper work has mostly settled, initial hardware is being deployed. The FAA and ITT have already placed equipment on four platforms. Two sites (Tick and Virgo) have new FAA VHF radio shelters. One named “Innova-tor” has a new AWOS and will have an ADS-B installed in April. The FAA feels this site was a model for the rest of the GOM implementations and showed how quickly it could be done. About 200 miles offshore, the Atlantis platform has four VHF radios installed and they want to get ADS-B and AWOS this summer. These early sites are needed by the FAA to sup-port testing and schedule-meeting.

On the FAA controller side, the GOM low-altitude airspace was divided into three zones: eastern, central and western. The size of each zone was determined by the amount of traffic it contained, but the sizes can be modified if needed. The platforms mentioned above support all three sectors and will be used for the upcoming system tests, along with some other locations.

The current plan is to have a Service Acceptance Test completed by June 2009, have Communications Initial Operating Capability (IOC) by September 2009, and the IOC for surveillance services for Air Traffic Control by December 2009.

Mother Nature had her input via the hurricanes of 2007 and 2008, causing delays for hardware installations. This led GOM producers to concentrate on repairing damaged facilities while battling with roller coaster oil prices.

There have been very few glitches so far, thanks to people like Jim Linney who said, “We know everyone is committed to the objective, and the companies who work out there definitely want the safer and more efficient service for their employees that this program will bring. The industry knows how to get work done fast and that’s exactly what we need—a real focus on working on the platforms in the next few months. We are clearly dependent on our energy partners to hit the schedule we agreed upon”.

There is some concern from helicopter operators about getting a final rule passed for the airborne avionics; a difficult task to accomplish. The equipment must be capable of maintaining air traffic services with Houston Center and then determine what Houston’s performance require-ments will be. The FAA needs early-equipped helicopters to test the system as a whole. The FAA’s ADS-B program and the Rotorcraft Directorate are working intensely on those efforts. The FAA made this program a priority for avionics certifi-cation, which helps.

iFr in the Gulf of mexico

By Pat Gray

12_RW_050109_Offshore_p54-55.indd 54 4/16/09 1:52:11 PM



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commercial

By John Persinos

attack of the Flying robots!

The headline to this column is remi-niscent of a bad 1950s science fic-tion movie, but in actual fact, it describes the new reality of warfare.

Unpiloted drones are the darlings of defense strategists in the Pentagon who promote netcentric, integrated warfight-ing capabilities. These futuristic flying machines do the work that humans find too dull, dirty or dangerous.

The worldwide struggle against ter-rorism and guerilla warfare is prompting the United States to devote huge amounts of money to its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs, a trend that’s on track to continue despite the Obama administra-tion’s dramatic overhaul of defense priorities. Moreover, UAVs are increasingly deployed for non-military uses, such as search and res-cue, firefighting and aerial law enforcement.

UAVs are seeing action in America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq; in both countries they’re making highly publicized contribu-tions on the battlefield. But the intense hoopla over these James Bond-type gadgets begs the question as to whether their prom-ise lives up to their hype. One issue that tends to get short shrift in the media is whether the proliferation of UAVs poses a growing threat to the general public, as they’re increasingly adapted to protect airports, fight fires and supplement police surveillance.

These questions were examined during recent Aviation Today-sponsored webinars devoted to rotorcraft and UAVs. These hour-long, Web-based events are recorded and archived on Aviation Today: http://www.aviationtoday.com/webinars.html.

As the webinars attest, the rotorcraft and UAV markets are more than holding their own―despite the worldwide economic recession. Demand for the inherent lifesav-ing and productivityenhancing capabilities of helicopters remains strong, especially in the context of slumping sales for the rest of aviation. That’s especially true for pilot-less drones, which exemplify the transforma-tional qualities promoted by Pentagon inno-vators who prize agility, speed and flexibility.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sep-tember 11, 2001, military and homeland defense budgets have experienced healthy annual increases, to the point where Pen-tagon spending is now back to Cold War levels. Even in the face of today’s massive deficits, world military budgets are slated for modest increases this year and next.

Much of this military and paramilitary funding is funneled to helicopters and UAVs, considered the perfect tools for fighting terrorism and the asymmetrical guerrilla wars of the 21st century. These interrelated trends have kept rotorcraft and UAV sales afloat, as the rest of the global economy retrenches.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, because UAVs are the perfect soldiers. They’re cost effective and they’re always willing to die for their country.

Larry Dickerson, analyst with Forecast International, reports that the market for UAV Reconnaissance Systems, includ-ing airframe vehicles, ground control components and electronic payloads, is expected to be worth $13.6 billion through 2014.

An expert on UAVs, Dickerson also said although UAVs are increasingly per-vasive around the globe, American-based aerospace companies command a value share of more than 50 percent of the UAV market; he predicted that they could grab up to another 10 percent during the next decade. Notably, the value of producing Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV during the next 10 years could reach $3.5 billion.

In April, when Defense Secretary Rob-ert Gates announced his “reformist” 2010 military budget, he targeted super-expen-sive legacy programs such as the F-22 Rap-tor for cutbacks, while boosting funds for UAVs. Also in April, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released yet another report documenting egregious overspending―and underproduction―in Pentagon weapons systems. The GAO found that 95 major weapons systems have exceeded their initial budgets by a total of $295 billion, bringing their total cost to $1.6 trillion. Many of these programs are plagued by chronic delays.

Gates asserted that the Pentagon would boost spending on leading-edge weaponry that targets terrorists, includ-ing $2 billion more on UAV surveillance and reconnaissance equipment. That figure would include funding for 50 new Predator drones, such as those that have fired missiles on militants hiding along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The goal is to field enough Predator aircraft by 2011 to conduct 50 flights daily, a 127 percent increase from last year.

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63 ...............Air Comm Corp. .............................................. www.aircommcorp.com

8 .................Airborne Law Enforcement ...........................................www.alea.com

59 ...............Alpine Air Support..................................................... www.alpine.aero

64 ...............American Eurocopter ................................... www.eurocopterusa.com

57 ...............Aviation Instrument Services ..............www.aviation-instrument.com

17 ...............BLR Aerospace ............................................................www.blrvgs.com

58 ...............Bower Helicopter ..........www.bowerhelicopter.com or 512-345-1292

55 ...............Chopper Spotter .....................................................www.jbk.rotor.com

19 ...............Cobham Avionics ......................................www.cobham.com/avionics

14 ...............DeVore Aviation........................................... www.devoreaviation.com

5 .................Edwards & Associates ...................................www.edwards-assoc.com

49 ...............Elite Simulation Solutions .........................................www.flyelite.com

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39 ...............Goodrich Corp. Sensor ..................................www.sensors.goodrich.co

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55 ...............Helivalue$ ........................................................... www.helivalues.com

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55 ...............HR Smith ............................................................... www.hr-smith.com

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33 ...............Reed Exibitions ......................................................www.reedexpo.com

53 ...............Robinson Helicopter ........................................ www.robinsonheli.com

31 ...............Schweizer ..................................................................www.sacusa.com

22 ...............Simplex ............................................................ www.simplexmfg.com

55 ...............Skybooks ...............................................................www.skybooks.com

57 ...............Sun-foil......................................................................www.sunfoil.com

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training

By Keith Cianfrani

Leadership can be defined as influencing others to accomplish a common goal or mission. Safe-ty is a common goal in all organi-

zations. How do we link leadership and safety? We can look at the U.S. Army’s Be-Know-Do-Leadership model to help us guide our way through safety manage-ment. A good leader must know work related concepts, interpersonal skills, and the technical aspects of the work. A good leader has to learn about safety manage-ment and must then set vision, commu-nicate and motivate. A good leader must have a strong sense of integrity and ethics to make decisions that will promote good risk management.

Leadership in public and private orga-nizations has never been more important, nor has the demand for quality leadership ever been higher than it is today. The CEO of a company is ultimately responsible for the safety program of the company and must communicate the safety philosophy and be consistent with this philosophy.

Leadership assumes many forms and reflects on the individuals who find them-selves in that role, either officially or by circumstance. As leaders you must ensure you use informal leaders to your advantage when promoting a safety culture. Leaders show vision, motivate, initiate and align. They ensure that a safety culture is pro-moted throughout a company.

As a leader you have the ethical obliga-tion to understand your company’s vision and communicate your vision to your team. Vision involves defining a mission,

setting goals, objectives and strategies that support the safety mission.

Leadership involves communication and promoting safety from the top down and bottom up. Leaders must keep their employees informed. They must get feed-back from their subordinates. They must ensure that their subordinates know the tasks, conditions and standards.

Leaders must motivate by leading from the front. They must be visible to their employees. They must be honest, even tempered and have a strong work ethic. They must establish clear goals and objec-tives. They must obtain recommendations from ever leader in the chain of command. They must empower their employees and grant the appropriate authority to accom-plish the company’s safety mission.

Leaders must have credibility with others in an organization. They must be willing to make mistakes and support subordinates. They promote cooperation and collaborations in safety management. They must be proactive. They work to eliminate unsafe behavior such as human error, negligent conduct, reckless conduct and “willful” violations.

Leaders set and enforce standards. They ensure proper company training is con-ducted and they hold aviators accountable for substandard performance or behavior.

Effective training, consistent disci-pline and adherence to standards can keep problems from becoming serious and causing accidents.

Most importantly, leaders at every level must set a personal example of meeting

the standard not just talking about it or its importance. Pilots must be trained to the standard established by the company so they can perform their mission safely. Once pilots are trained, the standard must be enforced and we must hold each other accountable to the standard, regardless of position. Positive peer pressure can be a significant by-product of good unit morale and pride in the company’s standards.

Substandard behavior must be changed and handled at the lowest level. Doing so will build cohesion. Leaders must remem-ber that if their employees become com-placent in the performance of our duties, then mediocrity becomes the standard. Mediocrity in aviation is not an option.

Leadership is an essential part of safe operations. It reduces the potential for error, minimizes its consequences. Leaders can make a huge difference in their com-pany’s safety performance by being actively involved in mission planning, preparation and execution.

The company safety program is your program. The success of the program requires every member to think safety all the time. Integrate safety into all aspect of your everyday mission. Make it rou-tine. Safety and risk management must be practiced at all levels. A proactive approach to safety ensures the effective-ness of the company. Efficient customer service will long go away after a severe mishap occurs. Leaders are the key to any good safety program. Employers have the responsibility to keep their employees safe. Show your employees you care.


Leadership and Safety

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61

Bell vs. Eurocopter—During the past two decades, the airborne law enforcement community has been loyal to two brands of helicopters more than any others: Bell and Eurocopter. We will ask police pilots which aircraft they prefer to fly and why. This contest may be too close to call!

Law Enforcement Mission Equipment Wish List—What kinds of law enforcement equipment do police aviators want to take on patrol? From digital radios to mov-ing map systems, Rotor & Wing will check out the newest,

most effective crime-fighting gear available. See what makes the short list!

Helicopter Training: Recurrent Training—Sometimes, it isn’t enough to attend a factory transition school or take a regularly scheduled checkride. In order to reach a high level of proficiency, many pilots believe annual recurrent training is the best way to stay sharp behind the controls. Come along as we learn what recurrent training is all about and what it can do for you.

May 2009 | RotoR & Wing MagazineW W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o M

Crisis in the Gulf—The Gulf of Aden has seen nearly 200 pirate attacks on large cargo vessels operating in that region. A multi-national fleet of warships has been dispatched to the area, but helicopters seem to be the best deterrent.

Operators’ Report: R44—We all know what a com-pany’s brochures and sales people have to say about its aircraft. But what do the people who actually fly them have to say? In the latest installment of Rotor & Wing’s popular “Operators’ Report,” we’ll see how the Robinson R44 rates with operators and pilots.

How It’s Done: Shipping Helicopters—Nearly every continent is home to a helicopter assembly plant. But

a customer might still be thousands of miles away. See how a new helicopter is dismantled, crated and shipped long-distance to its new owner.

Paris Air Show Preview—Often billed as the greatest aviation show on Earth, the Paris Air Show frequently serves as the backdrop for the introduction of the latest technology and indus-try news. Rotor & Wing will give you a preview of the show and what it has in store for helicopter professionals and enthusiasts.

New Technology Column—Performance based navigation is a game changer, providing safety, reliability and efficiency and opening access to heliports and airports previ-ously considered obstacle, terrain or airspace challenged.

July 2009:

June 2009:

Bonus Distribution: Paris Air Show, LeBourget, France, June 15-21, 2009

Bonus Distribution: 2009 ALEA Annual Conference and Exposition, Savannah, Ga. July 22-25, 2009

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62 w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m

Unmatched support and climate solutions

3300 Airport Road, Boulder CO 80301Tel: (303) 440-4075 Fax: (303) [email protected] www.aircommcorp.com

Helicopter operators who fly in extreme temperatures rely on Air Comm to keep them comfortable with the most advanced heating and air conditioning systems on the market.

Through exclusive design innovations, Air Comm offers advanced features and benefits not found in any other system, including leak-free Torq-Lok refrigerant fittings and Arctic heater technology.

Air Comm also has the most global and comprehensive support in the industry, with power by the hour, on-site training, next day parts delivery, web-based manuals and bulletins, and maintenance and training DVDs.

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ACC 1P RW08.indd 14 3/13/09 2:50 PM

rotor & wing magazine | may 2009

Training | maintenance

By Tony Capozzi

Your annual inspection

Y ou’ve finally been able to buy the helicopter of your dreams and have been flying it for a year. Now it’s time for your

annual inspection. You’ve had a good year flying because you had a pre-purchase inspection/annual done at a shop near where you bought the aircraft. Now, it’s at your home airport, you’re not sure which shop you will have do the work, but have begun the interview process. You should think of yourself as an employer and your shop as your employee. They are working for you and you should take the time to interview different shops.

Throughout the previous year you most likely had some minor maintenance done and were able to get a feel for the manage-ment and personnel at each maintenance shop. But there are some basic items to which you should pay particular attention.

When the maintenance was accom-plished, how was the work completed with respect to estimated time and cost? Was the work done correctly? Were there any issues that arose after the job was done and how were they addressed? Was there atten-tion to detail or was the shop just interest-ed in meeting the minimum and getting you out the door? These are just some clues as to how you may be treated in the future with more complex maintenance procedures.

If you’re like most private owners, some of the top items on your list are location and price. But there should be more to it than that. Maintenance is not necessarily about location. If one shop has a lower hourly rate

it may not be less expensive if they charge more hours to accomplish the same work. A great place to start is with factory-authorized service centers. They should have the special tools, publications and training necessary for maintaining your aircraft.

Sometimes the best indication of how you might be treated by a shop is by talking with others who have had experience with that shop. You should be able to make a sound decision on where to have your service done based on a combination of the above.

Do you understand what is going to hap-pen when you ask for an annual inspection? The Code of Federal Aviation Regulations Title 14, Part 43 appendix D lists the specific scope and detail of items to be included in an annual inspection. It does not include any work required to correct discrepancies found on the inspection. The inspection should include all use of a manufacturer’s checklists, assure compliance with Airworthiness Directives (ADs) and address Service Bul-letins (SBs).

What is an Airworthiness Directive? Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 39, Subpart A, Section 39.3 states that “airwor-thiness directives are legally enforceable rules that apply to the following products: aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances”. Legal jargon aside, it means that the FAA has found an item which does not perform as originally intended and an AD was issued. The aircraft is not airworthy if it doesn’t com-ply with an AD. In layman’s terms, this can be considered similar to a recall notice.

AD’s are very specific which helps determine if they apply to your aircraft

due to variables such as the serial num-ber, model number, date of manufacture, modifications previously performed, etc. An AD may be a one-time fix, or some-thing that needs to be addressed on a recurring basis.

SBs are typically issued by the manufac-turer of a product. They have found an item that does not perform as they had intended or could have improved performance. These items have not risen to the level of needing an AD issued, but are frequently referenced in an AD. There are arguments that SBs are not mandatory. Others say they are. Of course, it depends on the context. If a SB is included in an AD then it would be mandatory. If the SB stands alone and is not incorporated in an AD, it is generally considered to be optional.

So now it’s your decision. Should you comply with the SB or not? Do you want to operate your aircraft with known defi-ciencies? If you comply with the SBs, it will improve the value of your aircraft and show that you have paid attention to the details.

Now you’re armed with the basic knowledge necessary to make a sound decision on how to choose your main-tenance shop, mechanic, and ultimately decide what maintenance should be per-formed. Usually you’ll find that the most satisfying results are when you are engaged in the process and understand the how’s and why’s of your aircraft’s maintenance. If you do your homework and ask your main-tenance shop personnel educated ques-tions, you will understand the value you’re getting for your maintenance dollars.

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Unmatched support and climate solutions

3300 Airport Road, Boulder CO 80301Tel: (303) 440-4075 Fax: (303) [email protected] www.aircommcorp.com

Helicopter operators who fly in extreme temperatures rely on Air Comm to keep them comfortable with the most advanced heating and air conditioning systems on the market.

Through exclusive design innovations, Air Comm offers advanced features and benefits not found in any other system, including leak-free Torq-Lok refrigerant fittings and Arctic heater technology.

Air Comm also has the most global and comprehensive support in the industry, with power by the hour, on-site training, next day parts delivery, web-based manuals and bulletins, and maintenance and training DVDs.

AMERICA’S LEADING PRODUCER OF H IGH-PERFORMANCE HEATERS AND A IR CONDIT IONERS FOR TURBINE HEL ICOPTERS.

ACC 1P RW08.indd 14 3/13/09 2:50 PM



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Utility, delivered by EADS.In times of crisis, America turns to its men and women in uniform for strength, help and protection. And now the Army and National Guard is looking to EADS North America and the UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to help fulfill their vital missions, now and in the future.

Built in Mississippi by American Eurocopter, and with more than 10,000 flight hours and 60 aircraft delivered on time, the Lakota is yet another example of our commitment to America’s service members and the U.S. economy.

Along with U.S. production of the Lakota, EADS contributes $11 billion annually to our nation’s economy and supports more than 200,000 American jobs. Our products have helped protect and serve America for over 30 years, and will continue to do so for decades to come.

www.eadsnorthamerica.com

EADS LUHAdREV SP R&W.indd 1 4/10/09 10:30:26 AM


http://www.eadsnorthamerica.com

Rotor & wing may 2009

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