l heliicfopteer - helicopterlife · heltech 2011 42 georgina hunter-jones helitech was attempt-ing...

HELICOPTER

LIFE

HELICOPTER LIFE is the HIGH LIFE

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ter 2011

Winter 2011 / £3.99

www.helicopterlife.com

now including gyroplanes

Win tickets tothe Goodwood

Festival ofSpeed

LIFEHELICOPTER

WInTER 2011WInTER 2011

HELICOPTER LIFE, Winter 2011 3

Black Catting 32Sven Atkin flew with theRoyal Navy Black Catsin their cabs and discov-ered the secrets of dis-play flying and Cattingwith the tops dogs.

World News 57 & 20A variety of writers, look at the latest heli-copter news and events.What are companies inthe old world doing tobeat the recession andhow the new world isbenefitting from thegrowth in helicopters.

HelTech 2011 42Georgina Hunter-JonesHeliTech was attempt-ing to beat the reces-sion with several newhelicopters and a newmarket for helicopters:off-shore windfarms, amarket growing fasterthan expected.

Olympic Airspace Initatives 46

Cheil ha-ain 50Rainer Herzberg spendstime with the Israeli AirForce, sees how differ-ently they work from theGerman military andexamines their tech-niques in ‘brown out’and other problems.

Book Review 58

CAA Legislation changes 59

Win Tickets to the Festival of Speed 62

Accident Reports 64

House & Helicopter 66

COVER STORYCOVER STORY

First Flight Show & Tell Guide 4Aviation shows and conferences.

The Editor’s Letter 5

Aerial Forum 6 & 10 Rob Hields speaks with blue tongue

Letters to the Editor 7 & 11 & 15

Flying Crackers 8 & 9

New Technology 12DSEi shows:BAE Systemscreates the invisibletank, sees TREECH -the folding hospital thatcan be carried in aChinook and examinesother related inventions.

Update on China 18Helicopter Life looksat the first GeneralAviation convention inChina and sees how thehuge country is slowlyexpanding its use ofhelicopters and GAgenerally.

Swiss Eagle in Milan 24Tommaso Munforti takes pictures of aSwiss Eagle HelicopterSuper Puma workingin Milan to place aspire on a tower, mak-ing it the highest inEurope.

HAI HeliExpo DallasTexas 2012 26Helicopter Lifein the six years sincethe HAI HeliExpo wasin Dallas, Texas muchhas changed in the heli-copter world, we lookat the show to come.

HELICOPTER LIFE, Winter 2011

25 January - 26 January 2012INTERNATIONAL MILITARY HELICOPTER 2012

76 Portland Place, LondonPhone: +44 (0)20 7368 9569Email: [email protected]: http://www.militaryhelicopterevent.com/

12 February - 14 February 2012HAI HELIExPO 2012

Dallas, Texas, USAPhone: 703 683 4646http://www.rotor.com

27 March - 1April 2012FIDAE 2012

Santiago di ChilePhone 562- 8739797www.fidae.cl email: [email protected]

25 May - 27 May 2012AEROExPO UK

Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire, UKhttp://www.expo.aero/uk

22 June - 24 June 2012AEROExPO EUROPE

Bitburg, Germanyhttp://www.expo.aero/europe

29 June - 1 July 2012THE FESTIVAL OF SPEED & AVIATION

ExHIBITION

Goodwood House, near Chichester, Sussexwww.goodwood.co.uk/festival-of-speed

14 September - 16 September 2012GOODWOOD REVIVAL

Goodwood House, near Chichester, Sussexhttp://www.goodwood.co.uk/revival

19 September - 20th September 2012THE HELICOPTER SHOW

Farnborough, UKhttp://www.thehelicoptershow.com

6 November - 8 November 2012THE DUBAI HELISHOW

Contact: Julia CuthbertMediac Communications and Exhibitions - UKE-mail: [email protected]://www.dubaihelicoptershow.com

4

HELICoPTER LIFE is published quarterly by FlyFizzi Ltd. 59 Great ormond StreetLondon, WC1N-3Hz. Copyright © FlyFizzi Ltd. 2011. ISSN 1743-1042. All rights reserved. opinions expressed herein are not neces-sarily those of the publishers, the Editor or any of the editorialstaff. Reproduction in whole or in part, in any form whatever,is strictly prohibited without specific written permission ofthe Editor.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH

The Black Cats Carousel by Sven Atkin

WInTER 2011

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / PILOTGeorgina [email protected]

CREATIVE [email protected]

COPY EDITORSEvangeline Hunter-Jones, JPJohn Wilson

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSSven Atkin, Rainer Herzberg, Tommaso Munforti,Rob Hields, John Martin, Roger Savage

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOGRAPHYSven Atkin, Rainer Herzberg, Tommaso Munforti,Rob Hields, Mark Livsey, David Crayton,

SPECIAL THANKS TODave Smith ATPL(H)IR, Paul Herbert CPL(H)

ADVERTISINGTelephone: +44-(0)20-7430-2384,[email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONSGo to our website or turn to page [email protected]

WEBSITEwww.helicopterlife.com

Bloghttp://helicopterlife.blogspot.com

Apologies to Ian Williamson whose photograph ofthe EC145 with a fenestron tail was not correctlycredited in the last edition.

HON. EDITORIAL BOARDCaptain Eric Brown, CBE, RNThe Lord Glenarthur, DLJennifer MurrayMichael J. H. SmithWing Cdr. Ken Wallis, MBE, RAF

LIFEHELICOPTER

Show & Tell

Guide


aerospace General Aviation is also amajor employer, though less so than itwas with the reduction of all types offlying, including helicopters, in thelast few years.

However, things are slowly start-ing to improve. Helicopter companiesservicing the oil and gas markets areonce again recruiting and training ispicking up slightly. BristowHelicopters, for example, has reporteda boost in registrations for its trainingprograms since Helitech in octoberand has an increase in enquiries abouttraining at both its Gloucester base inthe UK and for its Florida based acad-emy. There are also new helicopterventures starting up, including QuestHelicopters, a Middle East aviationcompany that was launched at theDubai Air Show. China hasannounced a need for 18,000 morepilots by 2015 and is starting a train-ing programme in cooperation withEurocopter.

Even here, though, we are warnedto be wary. China has large reserves,but it is not a rich country. It has alarge population, many of whom arebenefitting little by the increasedwealth of the country, partly becausemuch of that wealth depends on keep-ing wages low.

To get away from aviation blueswhy not win tickets to the Festival ofSpeed 2012 at Goodwood in Sussex,England. See how on page 62.

military took over the ATC role,11,000 strikers lost their jobs and1,200 went back to work within aweek.

Thirty years on it is unlikely thatthe strikers will receive the samereaction, both governments’s andpeople’s attitudes have changedmarkedly since then. The UK, incommon with its European and USneighbours, is a rich country but hasbeen living beyond its means. Forexample, it used to be normal forfamilies to pay for university, withonly poorer families applying forgrants, then from the 1980s all uni-versity education became subsidizedby the state. While free education todegree level was a noble aspiration,the effect of it was to make a univer-sity education a necessity for mostjobs, which then meant that themajority of people had to go to uni-versity to get a good job, thusincreasing the amount of governmentmoney used, and leading to the cur-rent crisis. And, of course, universityeducation is only one sector wherethe governments feels it no longerhas the cash to pay the bill!

As anyone who has had a pay riseknows it is far easier to adapt to animproving standard of living, than toreturn to a poorer one. We look to thefuture and we don’t like what we see.And as fear of the future grips bothfamilies and businesses, we stopspending and stand still, like a rabbitin the headlights. The first place tostop spending money is on luxuries.Aviation is considered a luxury, inspite of the fact that at the beginningof this century it contributed 1.4% tothe UK GDP (£10.2 billion) and thatin the UK it directly employs nearly200,000 people (in the US this isnearer 800,000) adn that the aero-space industry is currently worth £29billion to the UK economy. Althoughmost available statics are based on

5

The ediTor’S leTTerThe last few years have not beenan easy time for aviation. Atleast one major aviation com-

pany has gone into administration andseveral smaller ones hover uncertain-ly. The years from 2008 to 2011 hadfluctuating oil prices, an increase inaviation-unfriendly taxes, and adecrease in jobs for new pilots as theglobal recession took hold.

Moreover, there are still problemsahead, including a forecast winter ofstrikes and disruption in the UK, joblosses and increased costs in manysectors. While many people do sup-port the strikes, an estimated two mil-lion people will take to the streets,many others feel that now, when theeconomy is already depressed, is notthe time to add to our woes with thedisruption and losses of striking.

Although they do not strike, mili-tary personnel are also deeply affect-ed by redundancies and cuts madedue to the recession. Major GeneralJohn Moore-Bick, General Secretaryof the Forces Pension Society writesto remind us that members of theArmed Forces cannot take strikeaction, or join trade union activities,and that those who serve their coun-try loyally in this unique way forgomany rights others take for granted.

He says: “In addition to their manyconcerns about operational demands,redundancy and reconfiguration, withall the family turbulence which thatportends, Service personnel havewidespread uneasiness and worriesabout pensions and future terms ofservice... A Serviceman's fair rate ofpay is reduced or abated, partly inrespect of his pension entitlement, theonly significant financial recompensehe receives for the exceptional riskand hardships of a job in the ArmedForces.”

With these strikes in mind manypeople in the UK have been recallingthe US Air Traffic Controllers strikeunder Ronald Reagan’s Presidency in1981. The result of the action taken inresponse to that strike was that the


AeriAl Forum

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The Apprentice robert ‘noshmore’ Hields on the art of teaching

Any political views expressed in this article are a directresult of my own observations, experiences, and knowl-edge, gained in the university of Life. If any readers find

my views offensive or patronising, I apologise, but to be frank Idon’t give a toss!

A few years ago apprenticeship’s seemed to be an almostextinct part of our great British industrial heritage. Thanks to therelentless efforts of some of our ‘worthies’, being an apprenticehad seemingly become ‘unfashionable’. After all we only haveto open our borders and invite thousands of skilled workers in torepair our boilers, fix our lights, and work the machines in whatfew factories we have left in our dwindling manufacturingindustry, while the rest of the working population can settledown to more comfortable and socially higher occupations infront of computer screens, or just stay in bed till mid-afternoon,until boredom finally tempts them out on to the dark streets,usually to cause drunken mayhem after watching such realisticprograms such as East Enders or Coronation Street!

The thought of everybody leaving school, and their homelife, to go to UNI for a few years scares the hell out of me. Ihave come across more than my fair share of these new intellec-tuals from some alleged centre of excellence, having spent a fewyears studying totally useless subjects, getting pissed, eatingcrap food, dressing like morons, and then of course actuallybelieving that the country, indeed world, owed them a livingwhen they eventually leave with degrees in social nonsense, andof course, psychology, allowing them to take over the place andshare their misguided and often heavily biased views with usmere uneducated riff-raff! Some of the more worthless onesend up even running countries like, Cool Britannia.

When I started work at 16 as a mechanical engineeringapprentice, I was handed over to a short but stocky Scotsman,Mac, whose job it was to mould and guide a skinny youth intoa competent, confident and skilled engineer, capable of under-standing complex engineering drawings, workshop processes,and machining methods, prior to fitting and assembly. I canstill hear his jokes, his sarcasm, and his occasional praise, as Istruggled coming to terms not only with the work, cold, andfilthy conditions, but getting up when most burglars are goingto bed, walking the 5 miles to work at 5.30am for a 7am start!I can still remember the dizziness and shortfall of breath aftertaking that first drag of a Capstan full strength cigarette beforethe machines and lights officially roared into life at 7am, onthe dot! There were only un-filtered cigarettes available on thesqueaking trolley that appeared regularly around the shopfloor, pushed by Agnes, a 70 odd year old stout lady, withfacial moles and a bit of a beard. She actually looked likeBenny Hill’s grandmother come to think of it!

What’s that idiot Noshmore on about this time? I can imag-ine you’re thinking. This is a magazine about helicopters isn’tit? Well yes it is, and apart from being a bit of a foodie,requiring 4000 odd calories a day, (including up to 27 units aweek), I also have a very busy life teaching people to flythem! All sorts of people! From the very rich, business people,the sporty recreational types, the plain mad, and of course thesubject of this article, the future pilots, or apprentices, as I callthem. (Not to be confused with the type that make good television!)

I currently have three such apprentices’ on the books, JonathonBurrow 17, Catherine Reed and oliver Nicholls both 19.

continued on page 10

Catherine Reed flying with

Rob Hields, and Ollie

Nicholls in the back

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59 Great ormond Street, London WC1N-3Hz, England.Telephone: 020-7430-2384, Email: [email protected] include your name, and email or phone.


Heli Skiing

Dear Georgina,I just thought you might like this shot. This is the Lzwhere you'd be dropped-off if you chose to go heliski-ing with Venture Ski in Chile next summer!

All the best, Mark

Mark LiveseyDirector

http://www.ventureski.co.uk

Helipad Complete with House

Dear Georgina,I thought your readers might be interested in this:

‘HELIPAD CoMPLETE WITH 6 BEDRooMED HoUSE’

Set in the Staffordshire countryside is helipad, com-plete with Cotes Hall a six bedroom, four bathroomfamily home. Avid pilots, will be impressed by the sur-rounding scenery and the property that accompaniesthe helipad Cotes Hall is a handsome Grade II listedGeorgian house which dates back to 1776. This flam-boyant yet tasteful house has been comprehensivelyredecorated and well maintained throughout, and theattention to detail is clearly evident, with the currentowners having commissioning an artist to providestunning murals and detailing to plasterwork and wallswhich give a distinctive feel. The rooms throughoutare light and spacious whilst providing comfortablecountry living.Cotes Hall nestles amongst its own woodland in thevillage of Cotes Heath, and is within easy reach of

Stafford and the fast train to London in 1 hour 20 min-utes as well as Stoke on Trent to Manchester in 45minutes. For those who fancy a change from flying, it is alsowell located for regional commuting, with the M6motorway (junction 15: 5 miles & junction 14: 8miles) providing links to Birmingham and Manchesteralong with the respective airports (Birmingham,Manchester, Liverpool and East Midlands airports areall within an hours drive).The property is currently on the market at £995,000freehold, through Savills UK

Besst wishes,David Crayton

New Business Aviation Company

Dear Georgina,We are excited to spread the news that there is a newcompany entering the business aviation world. Theveterans from AELIS Group, Philippe Lienard andJean-Philippe Louis, extended their activities toPoland by launching brand new company AELIS PoL-SKA in Warsaw, specialized in regional and privateaviation. The head of the company is nobody else thanMr. Leszek Sieluk, the former President of the estab-lished Polish airline operator EuroLoT.For inquires do not hesitateto contact me.

Best regardsPetra Stašková

Email:[email protected]://www.aelisgroup.com/


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leTTerS To The ediTor Letters continue on

page 11 & 15 & 19 & 24


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aerospace technologies, but inorder to compete with emergingnations, we need to set up a strate-gic vision for UK aerospace, estab-lish a new dedicated aerospaceresearch body and restore researchand development funding to pre-recession levels.”The report examines new technolo-gy like formation flying for com-mercial aircraft; which is more fuelefficient and less environmentallydamaging; commercial aircraft withblended wing design; where thewing blends smoothly with theplane’s wide tail-less fuselage;making the plane more efficientand less noisy; aeroplanes poweredby solar or hydrogen fuel cells; andintelligent navigation.In the report the Institution calls forGovernment and industry to set outa long-term strategic vision forinvesting in the UK’s aerospacesector as it is vital to the UK’s eco-nomic recovery; establish a UKAdvanced Technologies AerospaceResearch Centre; ensure UK PLCis an attractive investment location;restore research and developmentfunding to pre-recession levels.

Send a Shark to Spot One

The Government of WesternAustralia has announced helicoptershark patrols will begin along Perthbeaches. The announcement wasmade by the Premier of WA, ColinBarnett whose state government willfund the helicopter patrols.Helicopter patrols will be a tempo-rary arrangement until the beginningof November when Surf LifeSaving's helicopter arrives in Perth.The Premier said, “the governmentis looking at extending aerial patrolsto Rottnest Island and the southwest. Helicopters are more expen-sive than fixed-wing aircraft which

are also used for shark patrols buthelicopters are more effective in spot-ting sharks in the water. They canalso monitor their movements in thewater, hover above the shark and areuseful in the event of an emergency.”

Composite Concerns

In a report completed last month, theU.S. Government Accountabilityoffice examined ‘safety concerns’about the use of composites in com-mercial aircraft. Based on researchand interviews with experts, GAoinvestigators identified four key safe-

ty-related concerns with the repairand maintenance of composites incommercial airplanes, but added thatnone of the experts they talked tobelieved these concerns were insur-mountable or posed ‘extraordinarysafety risks.’ The FAA is takingaction to help address its concerns,the GAo said, but added that "untilthese composite airplanes enter serv-ice, it is unclear if these actions willbe sufficient."The four concerns cited by the studyare: (1) limited information on thebehavior of airplane composite struc-tures, (2) technical issues related tothe unique properties of compositematerials, (3) standardization ofrepair materials and techniques, and(4) training and awareness. Boeing's787 is the first mostly compositelarge commercial transport airplane to

Aeroplanes of the Future

Aeroplanes of the future need to bepilot-free and solar-powered, says areport by the Institute ofMechanical Engineers in the UK.The UK could lead the world inaerospace innovation and tap into a£2 trillion market but it needs totake steps now to lead the way inthe development of new technolo-gies like renewable and intelligentpassenger aeroplanes.The UK is currently the secondbiggest aerospace manufacturer inthe world, but growing competitionfrom emerging nations like Chinameans it could risk losing itsposition. The report sets out

key recommendations to enable theUK to tap into enormous and econ-omy-changing sales. Even in thenext 20 years, there are potentialsales of 25,000 new aircraft, set tobe worth over £2 trillion ($3 tril-lion). Stephen Tetlow, ChiefExecutive of the Institution ofMechanical Engineers said: “Nowis the time for industry andGovernment to focus on sectorsthat can help lift the country’seconomy. The UK aerospace sectoralready employs over 100,000 peo-ple around the country and is worthover £29 billion a year to our econ-omy, but we need to take actionnow to ensure this sector can con-tinue to thrive and grow.There is great potential for new UK


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undergo the FAA certification process. Since existingsafety standards are often based on the performanceof metallic airplanes, the GAo said, the agency wasasked to review the certification processed used bythe FAA and EASA. The 787 is about 50 percentcomposite by weight, not counting the engines,according to the report.

Brazil goes to Chile

Brazil will have a strong participation in theInternational Air & Space Fair - FIDAE 2012.Already more than ten representatives of the Brazilianindustry have confirmed their presence at FIDAE2012, which will take place next March 27 to April 1in Santiago de Chile. Embraer Defensa e Segurança; ABIMDE AssociaçãoBrasileira Das Indústrias De Materiais De Defesa ESegurança; Alcântara Cyclone Space (ACS); SA AteqSul Tecnologia e Instrumentação; Turbomeca andCentro para a Competitividade e Inovação do ConeLeste Paulista – CECoMPI are some of the compa-nies that are part of the biggest representations thatBrazil has had in this Salon. This increase proves theinterest that the Brazilian Security, Defence andAerospace Industry have for over the remaining LatinAmerican countries. Although originally FIDAE centred in the defence

sector, its business scope expanded towards other sec-tors, becoming, after 30 years of life, an internationalforum of reference for other five fields: CivilCommercial Aviation, Aircraft Maintenance, AirportEquipment & Services, Space Technology andHomeland Security. In 2010 437 companies from 39countries participated and there was a total attendanceof 85,215 people.

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Flying Sphericals Batman

Japanese Defense Ministry unveiled at a trade show the lat-est version of a small unmanned spherical aircraft that cantake off with vertical thrust, fly horizontally, and roll con-trolled across the ground. It has also demonstrated that itcan maintain its position in space while fighting against anopen hand. The vehicle cost $1,400 in parts including car-bon panels and foam, lithium batteries, a video camera andtransmitter, plus electric motor. It is gyro-stabilized, can flyup to 37 miles per hour and easily negotiates obstacles likewindows and enclosed stairwells. The latest model is theeight evolution of a series of prototypes. As with many cur-rent electric flying innovations, the vehicle is so far limitedby a flight duration, it can currently fly for less than tenminutes. The Japan Defense Ministry hopes further devel-opment with produce an able search and rescue, intelli-gence and reconnaissance tool.

10 HELICOPTER LIFE, Winter 2011

continued from page 6They are modest, conscientious, hard working, and very

keen to learn everything I can throw at them. They are alsoaware that they are lucky to have the support of their parents,who are financing them to become professional pilots in thelong term. The decision was not to send them off to university,but to pay for training towards a professional career. They allknow it’s a long, hard road, because I have told them. Theyall know that there are no guarantees out there, but I have agood record of placements in this industry, and I always helpmy students to get a first foot on the long ladder, usually byoffering some part-time work when qualified. Unlike tradi-tional apprenticeships though, the main difference now is thatthey have to pay their way in this industry, and not rely on theemployer to recover the cost of training through future full-time employment. I did have an apprentice for ten years, from14 years of age, in whom I invested in with the thought oftaking a back-seat around my 60th birthday, thus allowing meto semi-retire and write my long awaited manual of life.Unfortunately he got distracted by the stress of being aroundsuch an idiot for 60 hours a week, and opted for an easier lifewith a bigger company! I won’t name him of course to sparehis embarrassment, but I will say that if he donned a redshower cap he would resemble something out a box of SwanVestas!

So who are my future candidates for the industry?Jonathon Burrow is still at school. A very good one,

Silcoates School at Wakefield. I taught his dad to fly helicop-ters over 10 years ago, he had his own aeroplane for manyyears before that, flying from his own grass strip. So Jonathonhas been around aviation all his life, and took a keen interestin flying from about 3 years old. He is academic and fit, andin the first 15, as team captain, at school. His dad is veryexcited about his future prospects, unlike his headmaster whobelieves that pilots are glorified taxi drivers! So we have aplan for him! Jonathan intends to land an R44 on the Head’slawn at the next school prom, we have a mission!

oliver Nicholls is from the Huddersfield area. He ispresently working in a local pub carvery evenings and week-ends. ollie is a vegetarian, so he is obviously capable of self-motivation! His parents came to see me a little while ago, andthey both are keen to invest in his future, away from the uni-versity scene. ollie’s dad also has both fixed-wing, and rotarypilot’s licences, and has just re-validated on the R44. ollie iswith me four days a week, and often just jumps in the back onother training sorties in all types of helicopters. He is havingthe time of his life, according to his dad Paul, and why

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shouldn’t he? You only learn the basics once, so make the mostof it.

Catherine Reed is from York. Her dad, Ian, is the ElvingtonAir Museum Director. I have known Ian for many a year sincehe took the job there, and I can highly recommend that readerspay a visit, (you can fly in). Catherine wanted to become a para-medic, and her dad thought that some helicopter flying experi-ence would be useful for the career choice. However, after afew lessons she decided to drop the idea of college, and enrol asa full-time student pilot, looking at a future career. She is verygood, and although she needs two seat cushions in the R44, shecan handle the machine well. Ian says: “Apart from launchingmyself off a cliff strapped to a hang glider in my youth, flying ahelicopter was always my dream. I’m delighted that my daugh-ter is now taking up that challenge”.

I do all basic training on the R44. The R22 is a cheaperalternative, but I believe that long-term the benefits of the extrahours on type pay back when they qualify as commercial pilots.After all it is likely that their careers will start with light com-mercial operations on the 44. I also structure the hour-buildingprogram to be interesting and exciting. We are all planning dif-ferent places to go and see, as this works out much cheaper ifwe go together, flying journey legs alternatively. Because of thenumber of hours we do here on the R44, my students benefitfrom extremely cheap packages.

I actively encourage all the apprentices to meet and discussthings aviation, and we often have joint sorties, as valuableinformation can be gained from watching and listening. It’s mypolicy to fly many of the exercises fully laden, so everyone getsa chance to learn that the engine does not have limitless power,and the handling characteristics change greatly, particularly inpractice auto-rotations and emergency procedures.

Well what do they get for their money? They certainly getmy attention, my humour, knowledge and anything I can passon, and even the jokes, just like I did from Mac, and the men Iserved with in the Fire Brigade in Leeds. Many of them spenttheir younger years fighting in the Second World War, so I hadthe privilege of some of their extra input during my time as anapprentice. Because I am a professional full-time instructor, notan hours builder or occasional commercial pilot, I dedicate a lotof extra time to these guys, and I shall look forward to watchingover them for the next year or so until they return for the com-mercial course.

I do not keep information from them, in fact I pass on every-thing that is relevant. It is essential. Warts and all, I tell them.Let them learn from your mistakes, after all I am still alivearen’t I! Don’t ever think that you are somehow immune fromreal danger in this job, because you aren’t!

I enjoy what I do, and I do it to the best of my ability. I alsolike to think that the extra input is as valuable as the trainingsyllabus itself! After all, I never seem to be short of work eventhough I don’t advertise, so I must be doing something right, ormaybe its just the jokes?

The most important thing to me is being part of someone’sfuture, seeing my former apprentices and private students, flyprofessionally, safely, confidently, and with the knowledge ofwhat to do in an emergency, as second nature. The input I giveis a direct reflection of the input I received as a young aspiringapprentice.

Ian Reed and his

daughter Catherine

Ollie Nicholls and

Jonathon Burrows

continued from page 7

Robinson’s 10,000

Dear Georgina,I wondered if any of your readers had noticed thatRobinson has now produced its 10,000 th helicopter.The prototype came out in 1979 and assuming salesgot going in 1980, that is an average of 322.58 salesper year.

That has got to be a simply phenomenal feat in anytype of helicopter, but most particuarly in one that hasno military application at all. Even if Frank Robinsondid not manage his stated ambition of putting a heli-copter in everyman’s garage he must have come closerthan anyone else ever will.What a fantastic man; what a company. Well done!Best wishes, John Martin

continued on

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The Defence and Security Equipment Internationalshow was held in September at Excel in London,and was the largest in the event’s history with more

than 29,000 people visiting from 55 countries, and 1,391exhibitors

The show resulted in many headlines as well as ademonstration from anti-war protestors angry at the num-ber of arms on display at the show: there were someunusual ones including gold-plated machine guns - pre-sumably good for penetrating silver-plated shields.However, the most interesting and surprising weapon atthe show was BAE System’s ‘invisible tank’.

The ‘invisible tank’ technology, called Adaptiv, is runby on-board cameras that photograph the scenery sur-rounding the tank and then project the image onto smallpanels on the surface of the tank. These panels, about athousand of which are used to cover a whole tank, aremade up of a matrix of small hexagonal ‘pixels’ in the skinof the tank. The pixels in the panel change temperature tomake the tank into an infrared screen and allow it to blendinto the surroundings, which allows the tank to evade thethermal imaging cameras.

Infrared, used by devices such as night-vision goggles,essentially uses hot and cold to see, unlike the human eyewhich uses light. Adaptiv uses the reliance on thermals inthe battlefield against adversaries by manipulating thesehot and cold readings to deceive the watcher. For example,

as BAE’s Mike Sweeney explained, it is possible to proj-ect a cow image in the space filled by the tank, while therest of the tank blends into the background. A conceptwhich led to several journalists joking that BAE Systemscould turn a tank into a cow, the best thing since water wasturned into wine.

The work is partially fund by the Swedish DefenceMaterial Adminstration. Research on the project has beengoing on since the early 1990s and can be adapted for useon helicopters and aircraft.

DSEi also had a folding hospital, which can fit into theback of a Chinook helicopter and be deployed in minutes.Called Trecch, The Tactical Redeployable ExpandingContainer Capability Hospital, has enough space for a fullsurgical team and is currently used by the IAF, the Israeli

TeChnoloGy AT dSei

new

BAE Systems create the ‘Invisible Tank’

BAE Systems took the

show by storm with its

‘invisible tank’.

Air Force, when rescueing casualties from behind the lines.There was also QuikClot is a 5cm square sterile dressing

impregnated with inert mineral kaolin to encourage blood clot-ting, this has been used successfully in Afghanistan.

And to encourage hygiene in the field, particularly in aridenvironments where drinking water takes priority, there was theGeopure shower, which cleans and recycles water, allowing upto ten people to take a daily wash using just 20 litres of water.

The show also looked at the Impact of Economic Crisis ondefence spending. European States play an important role in theinternational market of defence equipment and, according toStockholm International Peace Research Institution (SIPRI), forthe period 2006-2010, European States share of internationaltransfers of major conventional weapons was 21%, andEuropean Union's member-states had 17% of global armsimports. Surprisingly, Greece was the largest importer of majorconventional weapons in Europe. Greece is followed by UKand Poland both of which are among the 20 largest importer ofthe world for the period 2006-2010. Several other Europeancountries, such as Germany, France, UK and Italy are amongthose with the biggest military expenditure, however, thesecountries are significant arm manufacturers and they import rel-atively small volumes of weapons.

It was an interesting show with a wide diversity of weaponsand options, and there was the increasing emphasis on differenttypes of unmanned helicopters and also landing pads, both forsmaller and larger helicopters.

Unmanned helicopters

now play a bigger and

bigger role in miliary

aviation

The Helicopter Show is the only comprehensiveexhibition of military and commercial suppliers.Our audience will comprise helicopter professionals and senior

decision makers from commercial, defence & security sectors

together with HNWIs; it is not open to the general public.

Set in the luxury, purpose-built Silverstone Wingwith outstanding facilities for exhibitors and visitors alike.

The iconic venue integrates exhibit hall space, cafeteria

and lounges, conference theatre, meeting rooms and

private hospitality suites, all of which overlook the static

helicopter display park and busy Silverstone track.

Silverstone is centrally located between London

and Birmingham with easy road, air and rail access. There

are 100 hotels locally and in the Silverstone triangle of

Oxford, Milton Keynes and Northampton.

95% of the UK’s privately-owned helicoptersare within two hours flying time of Silverstone,and it holds the record for the world’s busiest heliport.

Reserve your stand todayT +44 (0)20 8330 4424

E [email protected]

E [email protected]

E [email protected]

SILVERSTONE

www.thehelicoptershow.com

a major new internationalHelicopter Showin the world-class, iconic Silverstone Wing

HELICOPTER LIFE Winter 2011

To The ediTormore leTTerS


Dear GeorginaJust when we moan and winge about the state of theeconomy, the weather et al we get a great day like thisto lift spirits.Today has got to have been one of the very best daysfor flying around the mountains in a gyrocopter (or inanything!) for a long time. To celebrate we flew a bithigher than the normal 800ft AGL - at one stage thealtimeter was showing 4.500ft!! This picture (below) was taken this afternoon of thesummit of Helvellyn and Red Tarn and Striding-Edge,looking east(ish) from the back seat of theMagni.Just thought I'd like to share it with you - now I'm offto the pub.....to make the day complete.Best wishes

Roger Savagewww.rogersavage.co.uk

Dear Editor,Cheers and rejoicing erupted among HelicopterSeychelles staff on Friday as the company receivedapproval to resume full commercial passenger flights.The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority has awardedan Air operator Certificate (AoC) to the paradise

island operator following a lengthy and complex appli-cation process.Passenger flights began on Sunday. The companyoffers day and night-time tourist transfers to remoteisland resorts, scenic flights and excursions, as well asmedical evacuation services using twin-engine Agusta109C and single-engine Bell JetRanger B206s. Head of operations Captain Shaun Tinkler-Roseannounced the news to jubilant employees at the com-pany’s Mahé island HQ, calling it “a hard-fought bat-tle and well-deserved victory”. He said: “From the day we decided to re-launch,we’vehad the total support of Seychelles people. We’re theirhelicopter company, a source of national pride. “We have a terrific team of talented and motivatedpeople working for us and exciting growth plans forthe future,” he added. “We’re promising a fantasticservice, great prices, underpinned by an absolute com-mitment to safety. This is a great day for Seychelles.” Helicopter Seychelles has undergone a year-long inter-nal restructuring, comprising new management andengineering teams, and upgrades to its maintenancefacilities and aircraft, after withdrawing from the com-mercial aviation market in 2010.Best wishes,

Captain Patrick Muirheadwww.helicopterseychelles.com


4,500 feet on the summit of Helvellyn, Red

Tarn and Striding edge looking east. Taken

from the back of the Magni


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Helicopter Aviation in China update

China has just benefitted from its first GeneralAviation Convention. The convention was held inXi’an in Shaanxi Province. At the convention Jin

Qiansheng, Party Chief of the Yanliang National AviationHigh-tech Industrial Base told delegates that the core todeveloping aviation in China was new airports. This, hesaid, is a precondition to aircraft manufacturing, delivery,operation and maintenance. Construction of general avia-tion airports in Qian County, Hengshan and Shenmu areexpected to start later this year.

At the exhibition 157 aircraft were sold, adding to thepresent total of 1050 GA aircraft in the country, managedby 11,000 employees.

Jin Qiansheng also told delegates that Xi'an local gov-ernment has pledged to set up more than ten helicopterlanding sites in the ancient city to improve its emergencyresponse abilities, Monday's Xi'an Evening News report-ed. These landing sites are expected to be built near sce-nic spots, hospitals, disaster relief agencies and largeenterprises.

At the convention, zhu Shicai, an official with thestate air traffic control commission, said that China willfurther relax a ban on the use of low-altitude airspace in2012 on a trial basis for GA aircraft.

Starting from January, airspace below 1,000 meters innortheast, central and south China, as well as six pilotcities, will be open to general aviation flights. The pilotcities are: Tangshan, Xi'an, Qingdao, Hangzhou, Ningboand Kunming. By 2015, China will carry out nationwide

reform on low-airspace control and management, anddraw up a set of management and supervision policies, aswell as creating new industry standards..

General aviation will also receive financial supportfrom the central government. Special projects on generalaviation airports will be carried out in the near future,providing financial support to infrastructure and con-struction as well as professional training.

It is estimated that by 2012, China will need 10,000 to12,000 aircraft in the general aviation field, according tothe Civil Aviation Authority. The related industries wouldform a huge complementary market valued at about 1trillion yuan.

“Due to control over low-altitude airspace, the generalaviation industry has developed slowly in the country,”the conference was told.

At present, China has only 113 registered licensedgeneral aviation firms, compared to 3,000 in the EU.

The number of China's general aviation aircraft onlyaccounts for three per thousand of the global total,according to Xu zhanbin, deputy general manager of theAviation Industry Corporation of China.

“The world is casting their focus on China's signals toboost the general aviation industry. There has been a bigacceleration of general aviation in China,” said Jean-Noel Robert, chairman with the Asian Business AviationAssociation. “Compared to the amazing wealth in China,there are huge gaps between enjoying the social flyingand practical business needs. China is such a massive


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expanding market that everyone can find a potential mar-ket,” he said.

Eurocopter is one company that has done particularlywell in China. During the convention they signed anagreement with Xilin Fengteng for the sale of two heli-copters -- one EC120 B and one EC135 -- for use in mul-tiple general aviation missions. The Sichuan XilinFengteng General Aviation Co., Ltd is based in the SouthWest of the country, and Eurocopter agreed to deliver thehelicopters by mid 2012.

As a newly registered operator, these will be XilinFengteng's first two helicopters, for use in multiple mis-sions including aerial photography, passenger transport,forest fire-fighting, business charter, emergency medicalservice, pilot training, etc.

Based in Deyang, Sichuan Province, Xilin Fengtengbecame Eurocopter China's first customer in South WestChina. This success is a result of Eurocopter Chineseexpansion efforts that included the opening of theChengdu liaison office for the South Western region inearly 2011 - one of its seven offices around the country.

Eurocopter has an existing cooperation with the CivilAviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) inGuanghan to develop a series of helicopter training pro-grams. This acquisition contract will further reinforceEurocopter's presence in Sichuan Province and the SouthWest of China.

Created in December 2006, Eurocopter China is awholly-owned subsidiary of Eurocopter Group, responsi-ble for sales and customer support activities for the com-pany's entire range of products. In China, EurocopterChina covers a market share of 40%. With over 40 yearsof presence and 30 years of experience in industrialcooperation in China, more than 165 Eurocopter helicop-ters have been sold in the country. In order to providequality service in proximity to Chinese operators,Eurocopter China has established a multi-based organiza-tion in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Harbin, Chengdu,Wuhan and Hong Kong staffed with around fifty-fiveemployees.

Unlike many places in Europe, China has a hugeshortage of pilots. Currently, China has 2,521 private jetpilots in total - 2,458 males and 63 females, while thefigure for commercial jet pilots is 12,845, including12,751 males and 94 females. It is estimated they willneed another 18,000 pilots by 2015, to support the boom-ing increase in air travel.

In the helicopter sector it is thought that the increasein landing sites will fuel the growing demand for heli-copters and pilots. Although the majority of helicoptersin the country are currently associated with disasterrelief, there is a small but vociferous private helicoptermarket, and this, it is thought, will increase exponentiallywith the increase in personal wealth.

Left: China as it was in 1915

below: where China hopes to be by 2015


Lunch with the Mason at Arms

Gazelle on the

Mason Arms

helipad


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Dear Editor

I was interested in the on-line reviews aboutGerry Stonhill and the Mason (no S hereremember, VERY IMPoRTANT) Arms. I ateat the Mason Arms a few years ago havingflown in and I don’t remember any problemsat all. We had a delicious lunch, there was lotsof chat to Gerry, who was a bit like an eccen-tric old uncle with various bugbears aboutthings that you didn’t need to take very seri-ously. I have a strange memory that he didn’tlike dogs, which I do, but so what!

I actually don’t remember whether it wasexpensive or not, but possibly I was not pay-ing the bill! I do remember that one of ourparty had just had a baby and that Gerryinstructed his wine waiter to give us a bottle ofvery nice champagne, although I didn’t drinkit as I was the pilot.

Probably not very informative but I just want-ed to point out it ain’t too dusty and I wouldgive it a try rather than let the reviews put youoff.

Pip pip,Captain Curruthers



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In a strong signal of its capacity and capability to pro-vide for South Korea’s defense needs, Eurocopterindicates its interest in participating in the two

Request for Proposals (RFPs) likely to be issued in 2012,proposing the Panther platform for the Light AttackHelicopter (LAH) program and the Tiger for the HeavyAttack Helicopter (AH-X) program.“These programs represent a key part of our long-termstrategy in South Korea,” said Eurocopter President &CEo Lutz Bertling. “For the LAH program, we will onceagain support Korea Aerospace Industries in the competi-tion, ensuring the continued development of the country’saerospace industry and defense capability.“As for the AH-X program, the Tiger's modern state-of-the-art technology is undisputed, and it has certainlyproven its operational capability and reliability inAfghanistan and Lybia, making it the best helicopter tomeet the RoK’s requirements,” added Bertling..

Columbian Operator Helistar EC145s

Around the WorldKorea buys Tigers

Colombian operator Helistar has signed a contractwith Eurocopter de Mexico, subsidiary ofEurocopter Group, to purchase three EC145s.

With these three new helicopters, the fleet of Colombia’slargest helicopter company will expand to include sevenEC145s. The first two additional aircraft will be deliv-ered in 2012, followed by the third in 2013. Helistar cur-rently has a fleet of 18 aircraft, providing services for the

country’s leading energy companies.Among the broad spectrum of missions offered by thecompany, Helistar specializes in passenger transport forthe oil and gas sector – which currently is experiencingstrong growth within Colombia. This new purchase fol-lows the finalization of a five-year services contractbetween Helistar and the Colombian oil companyEcopetrol.


measures when undertaking precisetasks such as gearbox changes andground-level maintenance.The staging has added stability withaluminium decking which was chosenfor this solution instead of standardtimber to prevent any future deflectionof the platform. The added stabilityallows for a larger cantilevered plat-form with fewobstructions from below,whilst making the robust platformsresistant to substances and everyday

wear and tear.Among the other safety benefits toBristow's team of aircraft engineers arethe platform's integral air points whichare time-saving when using pneumatictools, and electric points which preventthe risk of trailing cables and extensionleads.Integral lighting eliminates theneed to set up time-consuming lightingrigs for night-time working and henceincreases productivity during extensivemandatory safety checks.

Bristownew S92

Workstand

oH 58 Kiowa Warrior hassuccessfully demonstratedseveral ground breaking

capabilities thatwill enable interoperability amongmultiple aviation platforms, suchas manned and unmanned vehi-cles. The exercise was conductedat the Manned Unmanned SystemIntegration Capability (MUSIC)demonstration, sponsored by theU.S. Army at Dugway ProvingGround in Utah. The MUSIC exercise tested themoving of UAS and helicoptersensor video and proved compo-nent interoperability betweenmanned and unmanned systems.The oH-58 Kiowa Warriordemonstrated its capability toreceive sensor video from a vari-ety of the Army's large UnmannedAircraft Systems (UAS), such asSHADoW, HUNTER, and GRAY

Bell Helicopter Kiowa Manned Unmanned

EAGLE, legacy Raven and Puma. During the MUSIC exercise, the oH-58Kiowa Warrior demonstrated its range of capabilities by:* Receiving UAS sensor payload video and telemetry;* Receiving and re-transmitting UAS sensor payload video andtelemetry to a UAS ground control station;* Transmitting Kiowa Warrior sensor payload video and telemetryto a UAS ground control station for target verification; and* Engaging a target with a live weapons firing."This exercise marked the first time both manned and unmanned aircraftsystems operated under a single commander," said Mike Miller, Director of Armybusiness development for Bell Helicopter.

Bristow has introduced acustom maintenance plat-form which will allow

Bristow's aircraft engineers safeaccess to all areas of the S92 air-craft fleet during servicing.The new maintenance platformor 'staging' has been designedand manufactured by accessequipment specialists PlanetPlatforms, and comes as a directresponse to specific work-at-height requirements within theSikorsky 92.The platform's simplistic designand clutter-free surface providesBristow's engineers with a wideof variety of increased safety


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Eurocopter inMexico

Eurocopter has began con-struction of a new indus-trial facility in the

Mexican state of Queretaro forproduction of aerostructuresand components. Eurocopter’snew manufacturing plant inQueretaro, Mexico will manu-facture aeronautical compo-nents and subassemblies.This industrial facility – situat-ed within the Aerotech Parkadjacent to QueretaroInternational Airport – will bededicated to the production andassembly of helicopter and air-craft components, such as tailbooms, vertical stabilizers anddoors. The facility will includea workshop area for cutting,milling, pressing, surface treat-ment and the assembly of sin-gle parts and sub-assemblies, aswell as a new benchmark heli-copter maintenance center forEurocopter.“Eurocopter is constantly seek-ing opportunities for improving

its global supply chain, and we have found an attractive industrial environmentand a ready supply of skilled labor in Queretaro,” said Eurocopter de Mexico CEoSerge Durand, during today’s ceremony. “We strongly believe in the future successof this new facility. Such high tech value work packages will feed Eurocopter’ssupply chain in Europe.”The new plant is to be ready for product deliveries beginning in late 2012.

Second Enstrom 480B for Japan

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation has shipped the second of aplanned 30 TH-480B helicopters for the Japanese GroundSelf Defense Force. The turbine powered training helicopter

was shipped to Aero Facility Co. Ltd., Enstrom’s representative inJapan. The aircraft will be used by the JGSDF to train flight instruc-tors for the future TH-480B fleet. Aero Facility will deliver the heli-

copter to the JGSDF in early 2012 and thencontinue delivering the remainder of the fleetthrough 2014.The first TH-480B has been in service for lessthan a year but has already undergone a rigor-ous 200-hour evaluation by the JGSDF. “The pilots really like the 480B,“ said BayardduPont, Enstrom’s director of product support.“They said that, as a trainer, it can’t be beat,and that it is rugged beyond belief. They arereally pleased that it ran 200 hours pretty muchtrouble free,” The TH-480B will eventually replace the oH-6as the JGSDF’s primary training helicopter.The TH-480B is the JGSDF designation for theEnstrom 480B light turbine helicopter. Enstromwas chosen in a competitive bidding processover two formidable manufacturers in Februaryof 2010 to replace the JGSDF fleet of traininghelicopters. The first TH-480B was deliveredto the JGSDF in February of 2011.

In September 2011 the second batch of 3 Mi-171Sh militarytransports was delivered to the Defence Ministry of Peruunder a contract signed by Rosoboronexport, JSC in 2010

for the delivery of 6 Mi-171Sh helicopters. Helicopter manu-facturer - Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant (UUAP), part of RussianHelicopters.The first batch of 3 Mi-171Sh helicopters was delivered toPeru in May 2011.Technical equipment for operations support of the helicopterswas shipped to the customer together with the rotorcraft.The helicopters and equipment were delivered to Peru by cargo

giant Antonov An-124 "Ruslan". After delivery all three heli-copters successfully passed acceptance tests, and the Ministryof Defence of Peru accepted the rotorcraft for operation.As of today, the Russian side has performed all its obligationsrelated to the delivery of helicopters and their equipment. Thecontract will be deemed fulfilled after the warranty period forall helicopters runs out. UUAP specialists are working in Peruto look after warranty liabilities.As with the first three, the second batch of Mi-171Sh helicop-ters will be used to combat drug trafficking, and other actionsin the interests of the Peru Armed Forces.

EC155

Mil Mi-171Sh forPeru Government



Dear Georgina,These photos were taken by me on Saturday 15october 2011 in Milan, Italy.They were taken while an Super Puma by Swiss com-pany Eagle Helicopter, was working on the placementof the top part of the spire of the building that, at theend of the job, will be the highest scyscraper/ build-ings all over Italy (230m)Best RegardsTommaso Munforti

The Swiss Eagle of Milan

Tommaso Munforti catches an Eagle Helicopter’sSuper Puma placing a spire in Milan

Eagle Helicopters

Super Puma


,

Quest Helicopters is a new name in aerospace, hel-icopter design and technology. The company waslaunched at the Dubai Air Show in November

amidst great interest and speculation. Quest is a privatelyowned company, headquartered in Dubai, UAE and hasannounced plans to fund, develop, define and refine newtechnology for a family of innovative new light twinengine and twin rotor system helicopters.

originally Dubbed ‘Project Q’ the QUEST AVQ serieswill be the first civil helicopters to be assembled andmanufactured in Umm Al Quwain in the UAE. Quest isaiming to commence initial production in 2014.

The prototype helicopters have been designed by theUkranian company Volodymyr Udovenko and will fea-ture a new series of engines with the FADEC built in theUkraine. The long life airframes have been engineeredfor robust operations, and feature a raft of brand newtechnologies. These include an all-new primary fly-by-wire control system, a distinctive eject-able crew and

passenger safety capsule cabin and a telemetry downlinkmaintenance monitoring system.

The UAE principals and investors in QuestHelicopters, a subsidiary of Quest Investments, havepledged an initial investment of up to US$50 million inthe initial programme. Quest’s investment lends supportto further develop the expertise of design bureau chief,Vlodomyr Udovenko, overseen by the Ukraine’sAcademy of science and technology. Quest’s project isexpected to generate new jobs in the UAE from the endof 2012. Collaboration on the project has been furtherbolstered by a proposed bilateral agreement betweenEASA and the Ukraine’s Civil Aviation Authorityenabling the new helicopters to be built with joint coop-eration and a parallel certification program. The helicop-ters will be powered by new technology engines fromaviation manufacturers Progress DB/ Motor sichUkraine, 2 x AI-450 M turbines with FADEC, deliveringup to 465 shaft horse power (shp) per engine.

Dubai Air ShowQuest Helicopters and other announcements

Quest Helicopters management at the

launch: From left: CEO Yousef Al Ansari;

Volodymyr Udovenko, Director-Design;

Mahmood Al Ansari, Chairman; Ievgen

Kovalov, Designer; Mike Creed, Commercial

and Deputy Project Director.

27HELICOPTER LIFE, Winter 2011

Additionally, Quest Investments, a subsidiary of the QuestGroup has recently signed an MoU between Ukraine’s Academyof Science and Abu Dhabi’s Higher College of Technology andCentre of Excellence for Applied Research and Training, to investand develop specialist research into health, climate & other tech-nological advancements.

The first design will be a four-seat model, priced at US$2.95million. It will have a range of 435 nm (700 kms), a maximumspeed of 185 mph (295 kph), and a maximum endurance of 3.6hours. The Helicopters’ maximum take-off weight will be4,960lbs (2,250 kgs) and empty weight will be 1,300 kgs.

New technology features include: Fly by wire primary controlsystem; eject-able crew and passenger capsule cabin; tandem

counter-rotating dual rotor system; touchscreencockpit avionics; unique pro-active maintenancemonitoring system utilizing telemetry downlinks.Plus, a specially developed tail rotor system.

Quest Helicopters has identified a niche salesmarket for the new helicopters providing a keydifferentiator over other oEMs. Primary marketsinclude the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, Africaand India. Quest is envisaging multi role mis-sion capability – including VIP, Police, EMS,Surveillance and Utility applications. Themachine and its brothers is eagerly awaited.

The Bell Boeing V-22 was also featured at theDubai Air Show, with John Radar, ExecutiveDirector of the Bell Boeing V-22 programmecommending Dubai as the place to be.

“The Dubai Air Show is one of the world'sfastest growing aerospace events and it presentsan excellent opportunity for Bell Boeing toshowcase the tiltrotor osprey's one-of-a-kindcapability, unique value proposition and out-standing record of operational performance witha new audience. The V-22 is the right solutionfor Middle East customers seeking range, speed,payload, and mission flexibility for military andhumanitarian operations.”

The civilian tiltrotor project is now operatedby Agusta Westland, who had two announce-ments at the show: firstly, Mubadala Aerospace,through its subsidiary Horizon Flight Academy,

The V22 was featured at

the International Dubai

Air Show in November

AgustaWestland had

two announcements at

the Dubai Air Show


will form a joint venture with Abu Dhabi Aviation) todevelop a dedicated commercial and defence advancedflight training facility, and secondly, AgustaWestlandannounced its intention to establish the JV as anAgustaWestland Authorized Training Centre.ADA/Mubadala will then provide training services usinga EASA certified AW139 Level D Full Flight Simulatordesigned, developed and supplied by CAE andAgustaWestland.

Bruno Spagnolini, CEo AgustaWestland said “Thislatest announcement continues AgustaWestland’s strategyto expand its worldwide network of Authorised TrainingCentres to deliver high quality training services to ourgrowing number of customers. The Middle East region isan important market for AgustaWestland and particularlythe AW139 helicopter, so we are very pleased to be part-nering with ADA/Mubadala who will be able to provideAW139 type conversion, recurrent and operational roletraining to operators across the region.”

Abu Dhabi Aviation is the largest commercial helicop-ter operator in the Middle East with a fleet that includes16 AW139 helicopters. The bulk of the company's busi-ness activity is in support of Abu Dhabi offshore oil andengineering and construction companies. other businessactivities include medical evacuation, survey, photogra-phy and charter.

There was also an announcement from Gama GroupMENA FzE, part of the Gama Group, the global busi-ness aviation services company, which is to expand itsservices into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With ImitiazCompany for Aviation Services LLC as a strategic part-ner in Saudi Arabia, the new joint venture company, tobe known as Gama Aviation, plans to be operational in2012 from Jeddah, Saudi's second largest city and a vitalcentre for commerce and tourism.

The Dubai show was a great place for announcements

with Turbomeca also letting us know that EASA has cer-tified the Arrius 2G1 turboshaft engine installed on theRussian light Ka-226T helicopter. Engine certificationwas achieved at the end of october 2011 and now allowsmass operation of the engine. This is an important mile-stone in the development of the multi-role Ka-226T heli-copter programme.

Certification testing of the Arrius 2G1 engine was suc-cessfully completed in accordance with the Ka-226Tlaunch programme. The Ka-226T is the newest coaxial-rotor helicopter, equipped with two Arrius 2G1 tur-boshaft engines built by the French company Turbomeca,as well as the Russian VR-226N reductor. This is the firsttime an Arrius 2G1 engine has been installed on a coaxi-al helicopter and the company says it offers unprecedent-ed flight safety: even with one engine it has the neces-sary manoeuvre output of 750 hp. Modern powertrainsalongside the special crash-proof fuel system and shock-absorbing chairs make this helicopter one of the mostecological and safe choices in its class.

The Ka-226T has a ceiling of 7300 metres. The out-standing characteristics of the Ka-226T have also been awinning quality in mountainous regions and high-tem-perature climates, over sea and in highly congestedcities, notwithstanding strong winds. The rotorcraft iscapable of working day and night in adverse weather,under varying winds and in temperatures from -50° to+50°С and 0…100% humidity. Landing gear design isample to allow unprepared runway landing and opera-tions from hard top helipads, including oil and gas rigs,as well as ground with 4 kgs/km² density. The Ka-226Twas developed by Kamov JSC, and is now manufacturedby Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise (a part ofRussian Helicopters). The helicopter has a MToW of 3.6tons with a useful load of 1.5 tons. The maximum speedis 250 km/h, and up to 8 people, including the pilot, can

Alexei Fedorov, President of IRKUT

Corporation, in a MC-21 aircraft

development cockpit.

Photo copyright: Photo Aero3A-2011.

Mil Mi-34 now has a

distributor in the

Middle East


be accommodated on board. Varying cabin modules of theKa-226T make one helicopter useful for various missions,including cargo loading, passenger transportation, patrol,construction, loading-unloading, medevac, and firefight-ing, as well as search and rescue and evacuation opera-tions, without cutting down on the helicopter’s flightcharacteristics.

Another Russian helicopter as Dubai was the Mil Mi-34, whose distribution agreement for the ME was signedat the Dubai Air Show. The Agreement between RussianHelicopters, JSC, a subsidiary of UIC oboronprom andEmirates Corporation Trading Agencies LLC appointedthe latter as a regional distributor of the light single-engine helicopter Mi-34C1 in the Gulf countries, respon-sible for marketing, sales and technical support for theMi-34C1, as well as flight training.

The Mi-34C1 can be used for corporate and privateflights, as well as passenger and goods transportation,monitoring, eco-surveillance, policing, oil and gaspipeline integrity, electricity lines monitoring. It can per-form advanced aerobatics due to its manoeuvrability andrigid airframe.

This was a show that appealed to the winning side oflife. Dubai has had its economic problems but these arenow past and the city is moving on and starting to returnto its position as number one business facilitator. At theshow there were almost 1000 exhibitors, which is up 12%from the 2009 show.

Kamov Ka-226T with

its new Arrius 2Gi

turboshalft engine

Dr. Hassan Yousuf AL Awadhi

GAL CEO and Olivier Lambert,

Senior VP Eurocopter Sales and

Customer Relations cement their

partnership agreement


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HeliExpo PreflightDallas, Texas February 12 - 14th 2012

HeliExpo has been officially named as the World’slargest trade show. In 2012 the HAI show willbe in Dallas, Texas, the first time since 2006 and

there have been great changes in the helicopter world inthe last six years.

Looking back at 2006, it seems it was an interestingyear: Lynn Tilton took over as Chairman of the Board atMD Helicopters, competed in the US Army’s LightUtility Helicopter Competition and promoted out-sourc-ing as the way to get ahead. Bell unveiled the 417 (thetwo engine version of the 407). Sikorsky was battlingwith striking teamsters but also talked about three newhelicopters; the S76D, the S92 and the new concept X2.Sikorsky had also just recently purchased both

Schweizer Helicopters and Keystone. Enstrom wasabout to start a road show with the 480B police helicop-ter, and Robinson was denying reports of a possible tur-bine helicopter. Eurocopter were hoping to win the USArmy’s Light Utility Helicopter competition with theEC145 and they had recently landed an AS350 on thetop of Everest. AgustaWestland was promoting theAW139. The mood of the show was dynamic and upbeatand it was proclaimed to be an exciting time to bearound helicopters.

In 2012, training is down and quite a few helicoptercompanies have left the scene, however research anddevelopment has continued and the X2 is now flying atunexpected speeds. Eurocopter has increased the compe-tition for the future with the Eurocopter X3.AgustaWestland has taken control of the renovated 609Tiltrotor, and all companies talk of new shapes of heli-copter design. It is certain that the show will focus onalternative fuels, with electric and battery powered heli-copters and cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels.

Given the recent emphasis on R & D one wouldexpect to see several new developments from bothSikorsky and Eurocopter, movement on the Tiltrotorfrom Agusta, and the new helicopters flirting with themarket at the last HAI, for exampe the Marenco SwissHelicopter, moving a stage further with their develop-ment. Another new helicopter company to watch isQuest Helicopters, who launched at the Dubai Air Show

AgustaWestland 609

tiltrotor

It is certain that the movment towards electric

and battery powered helicopters will continue

in November. They were promoting an escape pod in Dubai,will they bring that concept to Dallas?

Safety will also be in the forefront with, for example,AeroSekur’s crash protection system, which combines flota-tion systems with gas bottles. A key feature of the company’sdisplay will be the airbag concept, this is designed toincrease survival rates of helicopters, and their crews, andreduce G-force during impact and controls roll/pitch.

Shows this year have been somewhat tepid compared tothose of six years ago, however the Dubai Air Show was fullof news and hope, HeliExpo is the first show of the newyear, what kind of optimism will be found there?

Aero Sekur combines

flotation bags with

gas cylinders to form

helicopter protection

32 Pictures by Sven Atkin

Catting with theTop Dogs

33

Winter2011

by Sven Atkin

The Royal Navy Black Cats is currently the onlyhelicopter display team on the airshow circuit inthe UK. I was privileged to join the team at RAF

Woodvale for this year’s Southport Airshow, taking alook at what happens behind the scenes of a display andwhat goes into making a successful show.

The team derives it’s name from the naval slang term‘Black Catting’ which is friendly one-upman-ship or hav-ing done or owned something better than anyone else.

The Team

The pilots of the 2011 team are Lt Chris Chambers -Lead Display Pilot and Lt Dave Fleming – Display Pilot.They are both flying instructor’s with 702 Naval AirSquadron (NAS) based at Royal Naval Air Station(RNAS) Yeovilton in Somerset. They are among thoseresponsible for maintaining the high standards of flyingrequired by naval aviators. The Team operations officeris Lt Mike Curd - observer. His role includes the plan-


ning and airshow liaison required to allow the team’s air-craft and engineers to travel all over the UK. Lt Curd isalso airborne in the aircraft for many of the season’s fly-ing display’s. The maintenance team is managed byChief Petty officer Pete Collins. However, Chief Pettyofficer Kevin ‘Kev’ Twells was leading the maintenanceteam at the Southport Airshow.

702 NAS is part of the Lynx Helicopter Force and isresponsible for the training of ground and aircrew, culmi-nating in assignment to 815 NAS, for deployments withthe front line Maritime Lynx squadron.

Preparation

Having being introduced to the Team by Lt Chambers atthe display team trailer, I joined the ground crew, CPoKevin ‘Kev’ Twells, Po Paul ‘Julie’ Andrews and AETDavid ‘Jonesy’ Jones and travelled to RAF Woodvale inthe Black Cats team minibus. on arrival, permission wasgiven by Air Traffic Control for us to park in between thetwo Westland Lynx HMA.8’s (Helicopter MaritimeAttack).

Helicopters in the UK military are known as ‘cabs’ tothose who maintain and fly them. Po Andrews and AETJones each took a cab and began a series of methodicalchecks to pre-flight them in readiness for the arrival ofthe aircrews. Whilst this was ongoing, CPo Twells start-ed to complete the inevitable ‘paperwork’ that is synony-mous with every military aircraft and impending flight.As each of the pre-flight checks were completed by themaintainers, they ticked off and personally signed therelevant check in the aircraft’s maintenance log book

with CPo Twells, as they went along. Part of this processinvolves the removal of the red covers in the engineintakes, exhausts and pitot tubes. The red protective cov-ers on the orange Crop Electronic Support System(ESM) and Sea owl Passive Identification Device (PID)are also removed from the noses of the helicopters. Thetie-downs and rotor tip covers are removed from themain rotor blades and a red metal ‘gust-lock’ is removedfrom the hub of the tail rotors. The frame is used to pre-vent any excessive movement of the tail rotor blades inhigh winds when the aircraft is not in use.

With the maintainers pre-flight check’s completed, theaircrew appeared, perfectly timed from the Southportseafront where they had been meeting the public, offer-ing the excellent Black Cats merchandise, signing postersand collecting for charity. There was a short brief aboutthe display before Lt’s Chambers and Fleming signed therelevant ‘paperwork’ accepting the cabs as their responsi-bility and they began the pre-flight walkaround of theiraircraft. once they were happy with the integrity of theircabs, they joined their observer colleague’s in the cock-pit to prepare to lift for the public display. For this dis-play 702 NAS’s ‘Boss’, Commander Peter Hoare wasflying with Lt Fleming and Lt Mike Curd was to fly withLt Chambers.

Before the engines started to run up and the rotorsbegan turning, I was issued with a cranial. This is a semi-rigid cloth helmet with Peltor ear defenders and Uvexskiing goggles to protect your eyes and ears from thewind blast and noise. CPo Twells shouted to me to keepmy mouth closed to stop any loose grass, grit and bugs

Helicopters are

known as ‘cabs’ in

the UK military


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from flying into my mouth when the helicopters liftedinto the hover. This proved to be sound advice. As theRolls Royce Gem engines spooled up, their distinctivesound dominated the air. I don’t mind telling you, I wasgrinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland!

With preflight check’s completed, both cab’s lifted intothe hover. The downwash of the rotor blades caused afew small stones to kick up into my face and head but Icontinued taking photo’s as they hover taxied togetherover to the main runway. The cranial and goggles haddone their job perfectly. The Black Cats were givenclearance to depart and they transitioned away, in closeformation, heading towards the sea front at Southport tostart their display.

The Display

The display routine is designed to demonstrate the agilityand handling characteristics of the Maritime Lynx. Itgives the public the opportunity to see what the cabs arecapable of in very experienced hands and also, allows thepilot’s to demonstrate their finely honed flying skills.

The Carousel: The display

routine is designed to

demonstrate the agility and

handling characteristics of

the Maritime Lynx

The manoeuvres included in the display can be quiteextreme and demand maximum concentration from theaircrew. The observer’s provide a constant stream ofinformation to the Pilot’s during the display such asengine temperatures and pressures, heights, speed andtheir position within the display area. All this helps tomaintain safety and allows the Black Cats to achieve thehighest standards possible whilst providing a pleasingspectacle to the crowds.

The full pairs routine has 16 elements to it and runs asfollows: Run in B-axis into break, opposition wingover,head to head into break, crossing wingover, cyclicclimb, 90 degree turn opposing nose-over, oppositionwingover, fast stop, land and spot turn, collective rear-ward climb into 360 degree descending turn to facecrown at crowd centre, carousel, swingboat, streamedwingover, Canadian Break, crossing wingover and thefinal break towards crowd centre. This is a very simpleoverview of the manoeuvres involved but gives a taste atwhat you will see during a Black Cats display.

The Black Cats also have a solo display routine in


case only one aircraft is available for a show. This toohas 16 elements to it and is very similar to the pairs rou-tine and demonstrates the agility of the Lynx MK.8 tomaximum effect. A separate article would need to bewritten to describe the display in more depth.

The display routine really has to be seen first hand atan airshow so you can appreciate the precision and howdynamic it is. Somehow, words jut don’t cut it! I was atthe Southport Airshow on the day before I joined theteam and the display was superb and very well receivedby the large crowd. The slap of the rotor blades, the noseovers and close proximity flying brought audible gaspsand applause from the crowd. Suffice to say, they were ajoy to watch.

The Return

once the display was complete, the aircraft appeared astwo dots on the horizon and the hum of the Gem enginesbecame clearer. The Lynx pair slowed over the highconifer trees that surround the Western threshold of RAFWoodvale and dropped down in perfect line astern for-mation to hover- taxy back towards the landing spots.once again, we donned our cranials and Po Andrewsand AET Jones marshalled the helicopters into the hover.This gave me an opportunity to take some more close upphoto’s. Lt’s Chambers and Fleming positioned their air-craft and gently lowered them onto the taxiway. After afew minutes of ground running whilst the post-flightchecks were carried out, the maintainer’s then gave the

Known as The Canadian Break

AET Jones inspects the

landing gear

As the aircraft appear on

the horizon the hum of the

Gem engines became clearer

Lt Chambers and

CPO Twells

38 HELICOPTER LIFE, Autumn 2011

PO ‘Julie’ Andrews

refuelling

signal to cut the engines and the rotors spooled down to a stop.The aircrew’s then climbed down from their aircraft,

removed their flying helmet’s and got together to de-brief onhow the display had gone. The de-brief involves both the han-dling pilot’s and observer’s, as flying the display routine isvery much a team effort. They critique each other and discusswhat went well and what could be improved, if necessary, tohelp achieve perfection. once the de-brief was complete, theaircrew joined the maintainers in “putting the aircraft to bed”.The rotor’s were tied down, and all the red protective coverswere put back on to the relevant parts of the aircraft to protectthem from the elements, as the helicopters were not hangaredovernight. Another very successful display had beenachieved.

On the Ground

one of the most important aspects of the Royal Navy BlackCats Helicopter Display Team is their interaction with thepublic. The ground and aircrews (except when flying) arealways on-hand at the Team’s display trailer selling a range ofexcellent Black Cats merchandise including mugs, t-shirts,signed posters, prints, brochures and baseball caps. All pro-ceeds from the sale of the merchandise goes to the RoyalNaval Benevolent Fund, looking after Naval Personnel andtheir families, and the Fly Navy Heritage Trust who continueto celebrate the Fleet Air Arm’s illustrious past. They are verykeen to meet the public and answer questions about the air-craft, their lives and their jobs in the Royal Navy and FleetAir Arm.

All members of the Team are volunteers and give up theirfree time at weekends and after normal work hours to supportthe aircraft and aircrews to get them prepared for whereverthey need to be. Without the maintainers, the high standardsachieved would be impossible. Having spent time with theteam, it is very apparent how close-knit they are and howdependent they are on each other to do their jobs correctly,efficiently and professionally. They are a good humouredbunch of people who clearly enjoy what they do and we canbe rightly proud of the fact that they represent the UnitedKingdom and the Royal Navy at airshows home and abroad.

Lt Fleming brings

the ‘cat’ down

from the tree

Royal Navy Black Cats Media

For up to date information and contact with the

Black Cats they have a Facebook page: Royal Navy

Black Cats.

Further information can be found about the Black

Cats on the Royal Navy’s website link :

http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operations-and-sup-

port/fleet-air-arm/helicopter-display-team-black-cats

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Lt Chris Chambers for intro-

ducing me to the Black Cats Team and particular

thanks go to Lt Dave Fleming for making my visit

possible.

Special thanks go to CPO Kevin ‘Kev’ Twells, PO

Paul ‘Julie’ Andrews and AET David ‘Jonesy’ Jones

for answering my questions and letting me tag

along. Thanks again guys and I hope you’re not

‘crated’ for being mentioned here!

CHRISTM

AS

GIFT VO

UCHERS

FROM

£55

AgustaWestland, has announce that it has finalised thetransaction with Bell Helicopter Textron for the acquisi-tion of the 609 tiltrotor programme. All legal and regula-

tory approvals have now been successfully completed.The development of the AW609 tiltrotor programme is moving

forward with civil certification expected in late 2015, early 2016and deliveries following immediately afterwards. AgustaWestlandhas plans to introduce a new generation satellite based navigationsystem and mission avionics to enable all weather operations andincrease the aircraft’s operational capabilities.

The first two prototypes have flown more than 600 hours so farand have shown the AW609’s potential, including the ability tofly up to 25,000 feet and cruise up to 275 knots, all at the air-craft’s maximum weight. The test programme continues to checkall the points of the flight envelope, 85% of which has been com-pleted, as required by both the FAA and EASA. Two further air-craft will join the test programme to complete the certificationprogramme.

The third prototype, manufactured in Italy, will be devoted toicing certification testing while the fourth prototype will be usedfor the development and integration of new avionics and missionavionics. Additionally, SToL procedures will be investigated inorder to permit operations at increased maximum gross weights tofurther enhance the AW609’s operational capability for specificapplications.

AgustaWestland announced the acquisition of ownership of theprogramme in June. Bell Agusta Aerospace Company (BAAC)will be renamed and will remain a US company being the newtype certificate applicant to the FAA. The new company will betotally owned by AgustaWestland. The AW609 programme is tobe managed by a single Integrated Development Team, based inCascina Costa, Italy. A new operational base in Arlington, Texas,will manage US based tiltrotor operations.

Preliminary orders for approximately 70AW609s have been placed by around 40 cus-tomers in over 20 countries to perform a rangeof commercial and government roles. TheAW609 provides customers with a new way tofly and AgustaWestland expects significantworldwide market opportunities for the aircraftwith no aircraft in the market place that cancome close to offering a similar capability.

Agusta Westland finalises AW609 acquisition


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Bristow Academy Inc., a division of Bristow GroupInc. has announced a joint venture agreementwith Rotorworld Institute LLC to offer Helicopter

Underwater Egress Training (HUET). Demand for HUET training has increased in recent

years as oil and gas companies move into deeper off-shore waters and rely more on helicopter transportationto rigs and platforms. The joint venture agreement withRotorworld Institute LLC brings together Rotorworld’sexpertise in the highly specialized HUET training andBristow Academy’s track record of successful experi-ence-based programs developed by leading aviation edu-cators and safety experts for the offshore oil and gasindustry.

The HUET course trains pilots, crew and passengerswho may be transported offshore in rotor and fixed air-craft, for emergency exit. But it also provides a basicintroduction into water survival following underwateraircraft escape for anybody who flies in aircraft over ornear water or even flooded rivers. The practical session

of this course is conducted in a controlled pool environ-ment and attendees will experience swim and tread waterinstruction, training and practical use of emergencyunderwater breathing equipment and a number of fullysupervised immersed “runs” in the single seat underwateregress simulator unit. Although initial courses will beprovided in Florida, the unit is fully mobile and thistraining can be provided at any customer location.

Bristow Academy Goes Underwater


United Rotorcraft Air Ambulance Interior

AgustaWestland is providing UnitedRotorcraft with a full scale cabinMock-up of the AW169 aircraft for

design and full integration of the EMS interior.This solution will include design features

including a next-generation machined alumini-um floor, modular litter kits. The interior willhave medical equipment racks that will be wallmounted in an effort to keep the ceiling unob-structed, and contribute to a modular approachfor this next generation EMS interior, addingvalue to the interior and aircraft for multi-mis-sion capabilities or dedicated operations.

The AW169, unveiled at the FarnboroughJuly 2010, is progressing as planned with thefirst flight scheduled in 2012

Critical Care trains 100 Saudi EMS workers

US based company; Critical Care Concepts,was awarded the contract by SaudiArabia’s Crown Prince, Prince Sultan bin

Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, to train and augment staffingof the countries newest helicopter EMS system.Critical Care Concepts an international leadingauthority of critical care and air medical servicestaffing and education, has completed training andprecepting over one hundred EmergencyPhysicians and Paramedics from Saudi Arabia tostaff the countries first national Helicopter EMSsystem. With nearly 30 helicopters expected to beoperational at a given time, the newly operationalhelicopter system will treat and transport some ofthe country’s most devastating trauma patients everseen, many of these resulting from automobileaccidents.

The NH90 program has reached a major milestonewith the declaration of compliance for the NH90Tactical Transport Helicopter variant’s Final

operational Configuration, This marks the NH-90 TTH’sdevelopment completion, and enables deliveries to beginbefore year-end in the helicopter’s full operational mode.With this go-ahead, the initial NH90 TTH variant in thefinal operational configuration is to be received by theFrench Army. It will be followed by the startup of deliv-eries in 2012 to Italy, Belgium and Germany.

nH90 for French Army

42

Words and pictures by

Georgina Hunter-Jones

HeliTech2011

43

AgustaWestland took over PzL Swidnik in 2010and, as Geoff Russell says, “since then therehave been a lot of changes and now both the

SW4 and the Sokol are selling.”. And not only the Polishmachines were selling. At HeliTech AgustaWestland hadtwo AWACS and a Grannie orderd by Abu Dhabi based

Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) and Norwegian operatorBluey AS, ordering another AW139 for off-shore work,plus a Grannie to Societe FRACP in Paris.

HeliTech had other optimistic signs for the future ofhelicopter life as we know it: many private helicoptersflew into the show; there were new designs being parad-


ed and there were a record number of attendees andexhibitors. Although the GA market is down compared to2007, nonetheless these small shoots of growth lead to afeeling that there will still be a helicopter market in yearsto come.

The biggest event of the show was the presentation ofthe Cabri G2 by its designer Bruno Guimbal to AndyMoorhouse and oliver Heynes of Cotswold Helicopters,who are aiming to run it as part of their training school.

Guimbal said he had spent much of his early life flyingin Great Britain and considered it to be one of the besthelicopter flying areas in Europe. He said, “the Cabri wasdesigned with Britain as its first potential market.”However, he added that he thought he had been unluckyin his timing with all the problems of EASA changes incertification coinciding with the collapse of LemanBrothers, just as he was about to bring the helicopter onto the market.

He said that he was very glad to be doing businesswith Moorhouse and Heynes as he knew it was a bigchallenge. “Cotswold Helicopters will be testing themachine,” he said, “and will not forgive any flaws.”

He said the British had a reputation of stringentdemands from their suppliers and that “the best customersare the ones who complain.”

The Cabri has also been sold in Germany, whereGuimbal told us, he was happy to be able to announce thecompany had re-ordered a second G2.

He also announced that Mr Toban Jensen of Denmarkhad become a new distributor of the Cabri G2, makingthat eight distributors in European countries.

This year there was a conference alongside theHeliTech Exhibition and, topically, many of the subjectsfeatured were about environmental issues. There was aparticularly interesting section on the new windfarmsbeing built off the East Coast of Britain.

Windfarms are currently one of Europe’s best growthindustries with a current 20% growth of the in-shore

industry and an expected 60% growth in off-shore wind-farms by 2030.

The current trend in windfarms is for movement intodeeper water with bigger turbines and more machinescovering a larger area further out to sea.

This is significant for aviation for a variety of reasons.Firstly, some of the turbines reach up as high as a 1,000feet, with undersea power cables and transformer unitstaking power to the shore.

The height of the machines means that they need to behighlighted and marked as a potential threat to anythingflying both on the aviation charts and locally with promi-nent beacons.

The complexity of the machines also means they needregular servicing and maintenance. This can be done intwo ways, by seaborne transport or by helicopters. Whileseaborne transport is initially cheaper it is considerablymore affected by adverse weather conditions than heli-copters. For boats to approach the wind turbines theremust be less than one and a half metres of swell in thewater. About 50% of the year the sea state will be abovethis limit. Current figures show that small boats have only53% access to the turbines, while big boats are more suc-cessful with 83% access. Helicopters, however, which arenot affected by sea states but will be prevented fromgoing out by fog and poor visibility, have 92 -94% accessto the turbines. The result of this is that both forms oftransport to the turbines are needed and will be run ascomplementary not as competition.

on an average sized windfarm of 85 turbines there willbe the need for 800 support personnel. This includes 50technicians, 150 suppliers, 80 support vehicles and staff.It is currently estimated that 34,000 people visit the wind-farms in a year.

The turbines need to be serviced annually, but they alsohave five to ten visits a year for routine maintenance. It isto keep the turbine moving, allowing it to stop for a daymeans a loss of 3.6 MW of energy, which equates to 3.9

The HAD1-T continues to

make progress


Moving platform

Lama demonstrating the

Hancock Helimover

The keys of

the first

British Cabri

G2 are pre-

sented to

Cotswold

Helicopter

Centre in

Kemble

flying hours (more than it takes to do the maintenance). The tur-bine stopping for two days means a loss of 6MW of energy, com-parable to 6.5 flying hours.

Helicopters also have another role relating to the windfarmsbeyond that of their maintenance and supply; MEDEVAC. Windturbines are quite difficult places to work, with interconnectednacelles and turbines, creating turbulence and potential accidents.Which helicopter is used for air ambulance work depends on thedistance out to sea and the number of casualties. However, to datethere have been no incidents leading to casualties on the turbinesand the rescue work has only been practiced by the RAF using SeaKings.

The show was also enjoyable for its regular exhibitors, amongstthese MD Helicopters, and although Lynn Tilton was sadly absenther place was well taken by Debbie Jones and the boys fromEastern Atlantic. There was also a good presence from Eurocopter,who have had such a good year they have hardly noticed therecession, Agusta and Robinson, who continue to sell the R66,although sadly it has not yet achieved EASA certification, whichseems to be lagging behind its fellow regulators. There was alsothe stalwart presence of Tony Hancock from TLC, without whoseHancock Helimover no helicopter show is truly moved.

It was a good show, but helicopter flying is down, trainingreduced and pilots and people alike are not spending any morethan they need to. However, there is nothing so bouncy as thehuman spirit and other markets for helicopters are growing up,such as the windfarms. Moreover, CHC has returned to recruitingpilots on the oil rigs, and Bristow’s reported record interest in itsschool.

The UK has also returned to the competition for the Search andRescue service; SAR-H mark 2. The first competition will be forGap SAR between 2013 and 2018 and then for the full replace-ment service starting in 2018. The current competitors for GapSAR are: Bond, Bristow, CHC and a consortium including BritishInternational Helicopters. The winner will take over the operationof the helicopter rescue services out of bases in Portland in Dorset,Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, Sumburgh in the ShetlandIslands, and Stornoway in the outer Hebrides. The government issaid to be making its decision by the end of the year. There will befurther announcements for SAR-H UK 2018.

Many private helicopters

were flown in to the

show; an optimistic sign

The Cabri G2

was built by

Bruno Gimbal

46

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Mike Hampton, MD of Capital Helicopters, says:“When we won the games, we expected it to bea fantastic opportunity for helicopter companies.

We thought they'd set up a helicopter landing-site close tothe stadium, perhaps at London City Airport (15min byroad from the venue) allowing us to scoop up people andfly them into the events. However, that was quite wrongand it is not going to be the bumper feast at the olympicsthat we originally hoped it would be.”

Instead there will be two zones, the Prohibited zonearound the olympic Park and Central London and theRestricted zone (see scans). Additionally, the heliroutesacross London will be closed.

Prohibited Zone

From 14th July 2012 until 15th August 2012, aircraftwill not be allowed within the Prohibited zone unless theyhave undergone crew, passenger and baggage screening inaccordance with the relevant aviation security programme,and are inbound to or outbound from Heathrow, LondonCity, RAF Northolt or Biggin Hill and are under the con-trol of those airports of NATS TC or Thames Radar. Theymust also meet all the requirements to enter the Restrictedzone.

For the Paralympics, from 16th August 2012 to 12thSeptember 2012, the Prohibited and Restricted zones willbe replaced by an area of Prohibited airspace centredabove the olympic Park, and two separate areas of

Right hand page Olympic Restricted and Prohibted Zones

(deep red area Prohibited Zone)

Below: Paralympic Restricted Zones

What is the Role of the Helicopter in

the 2012 (Green) Oympics

Left to right at Cambridge discussion day: Trevor Jones, Director Client Relations,

Gama Aviation David Macdonald, Director, Private Jets, Air Partner Plc Archie

Garden, Airport Director, Cambridge Airport Charles Alcock, International Editor,

Aviation International News Jonathan Nicolson, Assistant Director Corporate

Communications, UK Civil Aviation Authority Cedric Migeon - Managing Director

Europe, ExecuJet Aviation Group David Hill, Head of Co-ordination UK, ACL Ltd

47

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restricted airspace covering the rowing venue at EtonDorney and the athletes’ village at Egham. These areas ofrestricted airspace will have the same requirements onaccess that apply to the Prohibited zone in place from14th July 2012 to 15th August 2012. A special exemptionwill be granted to the London Heliport to allow opera-tions as per the olympic restrictions.

Restricted Zone

outside the Prohibited zone but within the Restrictedzone every aircraft (airplane or helicopter) must file aflight plan, this will be necessary even if the aircraft isonly intending to take off or land in the restricted area, orif any part of the flight is in the restricted area, even ifthe take off or landing area is not. They must enter andleave the zone via an agreed route and access to the air-space will be limited by ATC capacity. Airfields withinthree nautical miles of the outer edge of the Restrictedzone may apply for an exemption to operate and beexempt from requirements of the Restricted zone.

There will be slot times for both helicopters and pri-

vate jets taking off from airfields inside the restrictedarea, but not if a helicopter, for example, is taking offVFR from a private airfield and flying away from thearea, although such an aircraft would still have to file aflight plan.

Jonathan Nicolson, Assistant Director CorporateCommunications, UK Civil Aviation Authority said,“NATS has applied for a new set of temporary airspace,and there will be a whole new set of regulations regard-ing airspace structure in the SE of the country.”

This he explains is so that the ATC can identify everyblip on the radar, and thus avoid unnecessary securityalerts.

Trevor Jones, Director Client Relations, Gamaexplained that GAMA were doing everything they couldto make the service work fluidly. For example, they willask for a credit card number before they will hold a slottime open, this is to avoid anyone forgetting their slottime. At the time of writing exact prices of landing andhandling was not yet known, however, he thought it wasquite likely the advance payments would have to be


made some time ahead of the flights.only airports will have slot times and these will be

controlled by FBos on the airport, who will then be liais-ing with other FBos to regulate the system.

The Air Ambulance will be exempt from the restric-tions as will police, essential survey aircraft and aircraftoperating for the olympic Broadcast Service. Specialprocedures apply to these aircraft. As only these aircraftwill be allowed over or even near the site VIPs will haveto use ground-based transport to get from their aircraftinto the site itself.

File a Flight Plan Day

All light aircraft flying in the restricted area will haveto file a flight plan, which must include accurate timingsand waypoints, including waypoints for leaving andentering the zone. For olympic Airspace Restrictions,both Mode S and Mode 3 A-C are acceptable forms ofcompliance to SSR carriage outside Mode S notifiedControlled Airspace below FL100.

Because there was some confusion and worry aboutthe unusual use of flight plans, the CAA decided to havea practice ‘File of Flight Plan day’. They did this onNovember 12th 2011 and this was the CAA view of theresult:

“Nearly 800 flight plans were filed by pilots as part ofthe File a Flight Plan Day practice on Saturday 12November 2011, providing excellent data and feedbackfor both pilots and organisers.

At a special facility set up at NATS’ Corporate andTraining Centre at Swanwick, nine RAF personnelprocessed 788 flight plans during the four hour practice.Next summer Atlas Control, the RAF's air traffic servicefor the Restricted zone, will be staffed by 50 controllersand 50 air traffic assistants.

Dawn Lindsey, from the CAA’s Directorate ofAirspace Policy, said: “The response from pilots wasexcellent and I’d like to thank everyone for their effortsand feedback. Some people were so eager to participatethat we had 12 flight plans submitted before the test evenstarted!

We learned some really valuable lessons around theRAF flight plan processing system, the automated flightplanning systems currently available such as SkyDemonLight and some common flight plan errors that we canwork on.

All 788 flight plans received will now be analysed andfull feedback will be provided later this year. AtlasControl and NATS will work with SkyDemon to furtherimprove the interface between the systems and more edu-cational material on successful flight planning will bepublished through ASI.”

Jonathan Smith, NATS' Infringement Lead, also took

part in the day, both as a pilot filing a plan and observingthe team at Swanwick. He said: “It was very reassuring tosee a small, dedicated and enthusiastic team of our col-leagues from the RAF operationally evaluate the conceptand systems we need to safely deliver the aviation securi-ty aspects of the olympics.

“In addition to using AFPEX to file a plan many GApilots took advantage of some clever functionality addedto the SkyDemon Light product to automate the processof completing a flightplan. Atlas Control and NATS willbe working with SkyDemon to refine the tool and theCAA will be instrumental in providing the feedback fromthe day. Together we will provide the systems and educa-tional material that is required for GA to file a successfulflight plan as simply as possible to enable them to keepflying during the summer of 2012.”

Plans are already being developed to repeat the exer-cise again in 2012 to enable even more pilots to preparefor the Government’s airspace restrictions and help keepdisruption to a minimum.

In Conclusion

While the above is true at the time of writing, theremay still be significant changes and so anyone planningto fly during the period from 14th July 2012 to 12thSeptember 2012 would be well advised to keep an eye onthe Airspace & Safety Initative website:

http://olympics.airspacesafety.com

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Rainer Herzberg visits the Israeli Air Force

pictures by the author

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Cheil ha-ain: theShield of David

Acountry that is in constant conflict with its neigh-bors, has committed terrorist groups on its bor-ders, who repeatedly make attacks, and is often

publicly threatened with total destruction, needs a strong

defence force. Not much is known about the Israeli AirForce escept that it flies with well-planned, highly effi-cient operations and operations which achieve their goalswith an almost surgical precision. The helicopters that


support these missons play a really important role andare involved the brunt of all the commando operations inand outside the country. How efficient the HelicoptersDevision of Cheil ha-Ain really is I was able to learnduring a visit to Israel earlier this year.

When Israel was founded in 1948, they had one civil-ian airline, Sherut Air, operated by the Haganah, azionist paramilitary underground organization whichworked during the British Mandate from 1920 to 1948,and was a subsidiary of the Israeli Air Force. They hadthe use of World War II aircraft, the Avia S-199, a Czechlicenced Me 109 (25) and Spitfire Mk IXX (62) . Duringthe war both Jewish and non-Jewish pilots from wereready to defend the freedom of Israel. one of these pilotswas Ezer Weizman, later seventh President of Israel.

As soon as the IAF (Israeli Air Force) came into beingit was involved in numerous dogfights with Egyptian air-craft and was soon forced to upgrade its fleet.

In 1958, the Israel Air Force recognized the impor-tance of the helicopter and set up the first squadron withHiller UH-12 helicopters and Sikorsky S 55 transporthelicopters. This was followed, in 1968, by the Bell 206,Bell 212 and in 1994, by the UH-60A Blackhawk(Yanshuf), previously used machines from U.S. stocks.

In 1998, the UH-60 L Yanshuf II and III were added tothe fleet and these aircraft are still flown by theSquadron. They also added the ‘Revolving Sword’ aBlack Hawk based on Tel-Nof air base south of Tel Aviv.This 10-ton Blackhawk is crewed by a pilot, a missioncommander and two crew chiefs (technician). It can

carry up to 33 fully equipped soldiers, although only 26seats are available. The range without drop tanks is 2.5hours or about 260 miles (560 kilometers). However, theBlackhawks refuel in the air and their range can beincreased significantly.

With the introduction of the Sikorsky CH-53 ‘Stallion’in 1969 Israel had a transport helicopter of the 20 tonneclass. The 118th Squadron ‘Night Birds’ used CH-53-2000 which can accommodate up to 52 troops or 2 jeepsand is staffed by two pilots and two crew chiefs. Theflight time is also approximately 2.5 hours of flight with-out - and 4.5 hours with additional fuel tanks. The CH-53can, like the Blackhawk, by refulled in the air by aLockheed C-130 Hercules, an intricate maneuver thatmust be practiced once every two months by every pilotwho does the job to keep up-to-date.

The Boeing AH-64 Apache, and the Bell AH-1S Cobraare used against terrorist units, do reconnaissance and aredeployed for rapid intervention in armed conflicts on theborders as well as for targeted and precise commandooperations to eliminate specific targets. Throughout thecountry, these machines are fully armed and on standby,in case of alarm they can by in teh air in 15 minutes.

In an interview with the Commanding General of theHelicopter Devision, Brigadier General David Barki(who is 45 year old), he commented on my questionregarding these missions by saying: "We have to be verysharp, we have to be ready!"

I asked for a description or example of how the attacksand targeted killings of leaders of the terrorist organiza-

The UH-60A Blackhawk (Yanshuf)

was the original aircraft they now have

UH-60 L (Yanshuf II and III)


tion would work. The detailed explanation I got was, forsecurity reasons, very short and sweet. He said, "We arein the position to be able at any time to carry out anyorder with high precision if it is required by our govern-ment. We pay special attention to the fact that the envi-ronment is protected so that civilians or non-participantsin the arena are not threatened or killed.

"Unfortunately, in the past, there were occasions whenthings were not so cleverly executed, which has led tosome pilots sometimes even refusing to fly a mission.”

General Barki, a father of six children, has been a pilotsince 1984. He has type ratings for all the helicopters inthe division and others. He holds type ratings for the Bell206, Bell 212, AS 565 Panther, Apache, Cobra, Bell, theCH-53 and Blackhawk.

This is an amazing performance, and it is rather unusaleven in the IAF to be qualified on such a variety oftypes. Brigadier General Barki belongs to the youngergeneration of the higher command staff.

He is gentle and friendly in conversation, but lookingat the hard facts you have to realise that this charmingand open-minded man regularly fly missions that arepretty close to a war scenario.

He addressed the role of the AS565 Panther, describ-ing the structure of the first General Barki HelicopterDivision. The Israel Air Force operates its helicoptersintegrally and are not separated from other scetions as

they are in the army. Both Army and Air Force and Navymissions are controlled centrally and are under one com-mand. This makes for a very efficient service with sharedinformation and good connections. Any trained pilot isthus able to perform missions on sea and in the desertand mountains when needed. on the day of my visit tothe Ramat David Air Force Base, Brigadier GeneralBerki had already been out with a AS565 to escort acargo ship out to sea before our interview.

There are five AS565 Panther all held exclusively forthe Seeflugbetrieb, they are incidentally the only helicop-ter with blue-gray finish, in contrast to the beige or darkgreen of the transport and combat helicopters.

THE TRAINING

During the course of our conversation we discuss theissues of availability and pilot training. To this end saysBarki General: "We have enough pilots, because we relyfifty percent on reservists. All reserve pilots are exemptfrom normal work once a week and brought to the basefor training.

All the reservists are always and without exceptionCombat Ready on the same training level as our regularpilots. Doctors, lawyers, businessmen, officials andemployees belong to this group, and they are all dedicat-ed to making their country safe and to protect its citizens.But even pilots who have risen to a higher command

The IAF has 50% reserve pilots

all of whom are trained to

Combat Ready level

level within the service must, every Monday, go to a fly-ing air base, in order to maintain a connection to thebase. This allows them to voice any concerns they mayhave and this enables the force to know the concerns of asingle pilot or engineer, which may then initiate changesor flag up needs that would otherwise not get through thenormal channels. "

According to General Barki the reserve pilots are oftenamongst the best in the units because they have broadexperience and can be good teachers for the new recruits.Although in the helicopter Devision there are no specifictraining programs, the pilots and operators are always intraining, even during important missions. once the mis-

sions have finished the analysis and the de-briefing meansthey go through the flight operations thoroughly, evaluateand learn from mistakes.

In 1997, the force had a serious accident, two CH-53helicopters collided during a formation flight and eightythree solderiers were killed, which was a national tragedy.This accident completely changed both the training andthe guidelines for Crew-Coordination. It was discoveredthat in one of the CH-53 cockpits there were two com-manders, neither of whom had specifically been designat-ed as pilot in command. This led to confusion and poorcoordination which in turn caused to the accident.

Similar situations are now regularly re-investiaged in

AS355 used for ship

board work

Israeli pilots have a lot of experience

in brown-out situations which they

share with other nationals

General David

Barki

simulator training at Tel-Nof. This simulator can be set upas a Blackhawk or a CH-53 and changing between oneand another is a simple matter, although the original sim-ulator was expensive to purchase.

Israeli pilots tend to have a lot of experience in brown-out situations. Landings in the desert are done almostdaily, and procedures are practiced and improved many

times. Thanks to the pilots special skills with safe entry andexit from high sand and dust manoeuvres many pilots fromother countries are interested in learning from their tacticalexperiences. This includes the German CH-53 pilots whohave an exchange officer in the Israel Air Force service.This knowledge has been especially useful in Afghanistanwhere brown out landings are a familiar problem.

Bell AH-1S Cobras are used with the Boeing AH-64

Apaches against terrorist units and deployed for

rapid intervention in armed conflicts

In 1969 the 20 tonne CH-53

Stallion was introduced

56

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THE MISSION

The helicopter units have many different and variedmissions. All transport helicopters serve both as trooptransports and as VIP helicopters. The helicopters arealso used for both civilian and military search and res-cue, for combat SAR, fire fighting, special operations,and command forces; this is working with a fast and hardhitting special unit to prevent and combat terrorist groupsand paramilitary organizations. They are also used formedevac. When the CH-53 ‘Stallion’ is deployed it iseven possible to do surgical operations during the flight.The necessary surgical equipement is always carried onboard for use when necessary. This specializedequipement is vital when it comes to rescuing injuredsoldiers or pilots downed behind enemy lines (CSAR).93% of all wounded are saved by helicopter crews.

In the worst case there can be up to 30 soldiers lost ona flight, in which case several helicopters will be

deployed simultaneously to do the rescue. once the cor-rect area is located the helicopters will go out on a low-level, contour-hugging flight to the point of rescue. Thecrew is made up of two pilots, a doctor, a paramedic andtwo additional soldiers covering the ground control. It isworth noting that even the doctors and paramedicsinvolved will be trained up to full combat readiness andhave full combat equipment on the rescue.

In a normal rescue everything will be completed andready for action in 15 minutes. A drone or a reconnais-sance aircraft belonging to the Israeli Secret Service isusually flown over the area first, this will send backinformation on the terrain and about enemy movementson the ground. As these reconaissance operations aremostly daytime operations they are classified by thepilots as extremely dangerous. The helicopters areequipped for self-protection with this anti-tank missiles,PoDS-Portable Air Defence Systems, light weapons and

When the CH-53

Stallion is used it is

possible to do surgical

operations during the

flight

93% of all wounded solders are rescued by

helicopter from behind enemy lines

flares. For completeness, it should be mentioned thatover 60% of flights are done with the CH-53 Blackhawkand at night will be done with NVG (night vision goggles).

The jet and transport units in the Israel Air Force areprepared in the same way and also defend the country.However, without the helicopter the helicopter division it

would be impossible to operate as effectively and partic-ularly difficult to get their own guys back from behindthe lines. “We have to be very sharp, we have to beready,” this phrase of Brigadier General David Barki’s isin this sense also truefor the entire IDF (Israel DefenceForce).

Rainer Herzberg, author,

being briefed before his flight

58 HELICOPTER LIFE ,Winter 2011

Book review

Helen Krasner is an inspiration. Havinglearnt to fly at the age when most peopleare giving up hobbies and settling down

to watching their grandchildren, she then wenton to become a commercial pilot and an instruc-tor. She wrote articles for many different publica-tions for many years and has now turned herhand to writing books, no mean feat as anyonewho has tried to get a book published will agree.

The Companion to the PPL(H) emphasisesthings that most schools and instructors take forgranted and subsequently simply forget to telltheir students. (This is something that she hasdiscovered from her experience as an instructor).For example, make sure, before you get pulled into the lure of helicopter flying, that you actuallylike flying yourself and don’t just want to be apassenger (if you do it is definitely cheaper justto pay for flights rather than learn yourself!) Shesuggested that before you start you structure yourcourse so you know how often you will be ableto afford to fly, where to go (not necessarily theclosest place) and to bear in mind that when theschool tells you you will need 45 hours to get alicence this is the minimum. She points out thatas some students take much longer to learn thanothers the number of hours is only relevant toyour purse.

She next moves on to what to expect whenyou have your first flight, and as you continuethrough the course; which types of helicopter tofly and what sort of lessons you will need tocompete. She also points out you will need a log-book, and although this sounds obvious I doactually know a student who went through thefull course without recording a single hour. Theschool did record the hours, but had he had a dis-pute there would have been no independentrecord.

She details what to expect in your pre-solo

flying hours; what you must have (legally) before going solo,how to cope with the excitement of actually going solo and whatto expect in the subsequent hours of advanced flying.

I thought it was a very helpful book and one that will makesure you have an instructor who is putting your best interestsfirst. And if he does not - well the solution is there too: getanother instructor!

Flying HelicoptersA Companion to the PPL(H)

Helen Krasnerhttp://www.crowood.com

£12.99 Crowood Press

59HELICOPTER LIFE,Winter 2011

EC gives more time to start introducing new

European pilot licences <http://www.caa.co.uk/appli-

cation.aspx?catid=14&pagetype=65&appid=7&mode

=detail&nid=2040>

National aviation authorities across the EU are to begiven more time to prepare to issue new Europe-widepilot licences (subject to the agreement of the EuropeanParliament). As a result, the UK CAA intends to beginissuing the new licences and medical certificates from 1July 2012. The European Commission has agreed withEASA and the Member States to propose a short defer-ment to the European Parliament.

CAA approves new Transponder Mandatory Zones

for offshore windfarms <http://www.caa.co.uk/appli-

cation.aspx?catid=14&pagetype=65&appid=7&mode

=detail&nid=2045>

The UK CAA has approved the establishment ofTransponder Mandatory zones (TMz) to cover two newmajor offshore wind turbine developments. Infratil KentAirport Limited, the owner of Manston airport, request-ed the TMzs to cover the London Array and Thanetoffshore windfarms off the Kent coast. The decision toapprove the TMzs has been taken to maintain a safeoperational environment. The wind turbines will have amaximum blade tip height in excess of 500 feet.

Free Olympics 1:500,000 VFR charts for 2012

<http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&p

agetype=65&appid=7&mode =detail&nid=2041>

A detailed 1:500,000 VFR chart of the London 2012olympics airspace restrictions and changes will begiven away free to pilots who purchase the new1:500,000 VFR chart for South East England, pub on 8March 2012. The UK CAA has reached an agreementwith NATS Aeronautical Information Servicento pro-vide complimentary copies of the olympics chart forbuyers of the regular VFR chart for SE England.

CAA Scheme of Charges consultation begins

<http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&p

agetype=65&appid=7&mode=detail&nid=2044>

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched aconsultation on its Scheme of Charges for 2012/13. TheCAA said it welcomed all comments on its proposedcharges for the new financial year, which are due to take

CAA Legislation Changesconcerning helicopters and gyroplanes

effect on 1 April 2012. The consultation will close on 21December 2011. The CAA said it was committed to con-trolling costs, while at the same time investing in newprocesses to deliver further savings in the future.

CAA approves temporary airspace change for London

2012 Olympics

<http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&pag

etype=65&appid=7&mode=detail&nid=2059>

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approvedtemporary changes to controlled airspace in areas to theSouth West, South East and North East of the busyLondon Terminal Control Area during the London 2012olympics when there is expected to be a significantamount of additional air traffic movements. The changesannounced today will help ensure the safety of all air-space users during the olympic period from 16 July to15 August 2012.

MoD delivers more airspace for GA



Following a Ministry of Defence decision on the use ofits Air Weapons Ranges, more airspace will be madeavailable for general aviation flying, the UK CAAannounced. From the 1 November 2011, airspace restric-tions designed to protect aircraft from munitions demoli-tion work on Air Weapons Ranges, outside of the DangerArea activity operating hours, will no longer be requiredby the MoD. The decision frees up airspace from surfacelevel to 5,000feetamsl.

CAA Publishes Response To Aviation Policy

Consultation



The Government should provide stability to the aviationindustry to allow it to develop sustainably whilst avoidingany unnecessary limiting of the sector's ability to adapt:UK CAA in its response to the Department for Transport's'Sustainable Framework for UK Aviation' consultation.

Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) seeking a reduction

in the size of the Manchester Control Zone (CTR) and

associated changes to the CTR's lateral boundaries.

http://www.caa.co.uk/IN2011132


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FLYFIZZIPublishing

GEORGINA HUNTER-JONES made history in1988 when she flew her mother, standing ontop of a Tiger Moth, in the World’s First AllFemale Wingwalk. In 1994 she broke a WorldAltitude Record for light helicopters.

Georgina is Editor of Helicopter Lifemagazine, a helicopter lifestyle magazinewhich she co-founded in Summer 2004.

This is Georgina’s second full length book.The first, Atlantic Warriors, about flyingacross the Atlantic in a small plane, sold outin historic time. She has also written severalchildren’s books including The Twerple whohad Too Many Brains and Ronald thePostage Stamp.

Georgina is an experienced aviator, whohas logged over 5,000 hours on fixed wingand 3,000 hours on helicopters. She was partof the British team in the World HelicopterChampionships in Moscow, Russia (1994)and in Salem, Oregon, USA (1996).

Georgina has been a member of the WhirlyGirls (an International Women’s HelicopterAssociation) since 1986, the Colonial Dames,and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Companyof Skinners in the City of London since 1995.She sits on various charitable committees.

Presently Georgina is a commercial pilotand both a helicopter and Tiger Mothinstructor in southern England.

She lives in London with her Americanborn husband Hilaire Dubourcq.

DIAMONDS AREFOREVER, they are agirl’s best friend, andLucy is forever dancingin the sky with them.But what are PeckhamDiamonds? And whatis the connectionbetween Red Square,Tsar Alexander II’smissing diamonds anda girl from Peckham insouth London?

In Peckham Diamonds the out-of-work heli-copter instructor Ali is asked to accompany anineteen year old student, Alice, to Russia forthe World Helicopter Games. She is delighted: apaid holiday to see part of the world she hadnever even considered being available to her.However, even before they leave Britain strangethings start to occur: Alice turns out to have ahidden past which is hinted at but notexplained; a helicopter runs out of fuel eventhough the gauges show full; rumours fly thatAlice had a previous team mate who disap-peared. Pete, who invited her on the trip,assures her nothing is happening, that every-thing is normal but Ali remains uneasy, andstrange things continue to happen.

The small helicopters leave the British coaststopping for fuel and for night-stops inHolland, Germany, Poland, and Byelorussiaheading always towards Moscow, where thegames are to be held. As the ‘caravan’ roles onAli meets more members of her own team andmore of the competing teams; the eccentric Janfrom Holland, the huge Joe from South Africa;the sexy Giles from France; Pete’s son the beau-tiful Daniel, a former detective, and TeamLeader Kevin, who apparently dislikes both Aliand Alice on sight.

Then, over the apparently infinite forest inByelorussia, Ali’s Robinson helicopter has atail-rotor failure and it is not an accident.

Clearly someone wants to prevent them com-peting in the championships, but why?

JACKET DESIGN BY HILAIRE DUBOURCQ

PECKHAMDIAMONDS

Georgina Hunter-Jones

Aselection of books are available from

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ACCidenT reporTS

the light aircraft on the West Apron were chocked at thetime of the incident. Since this incident, aircraft parkingarrangements at Leeds Bradford Airport have beenreviewed and air ambulance helicopters no longer use theWest Apron area. The pilot was 50 years old had 5,973hours of which 298 were on type.

Robinson R44 Raven, G-GDOV

The pilot made a local flight to land in the grounds of ahotel, which did not have a helipad. Helicopters had pre-viously landed in a large, tree-bounded grass field locat-ed to the east of the property. Part of this field was usedas a sports area and at the western side of the field wasan intersecting gravel path. Further to the west of thegravel path was a smaller grassed clearing bounded onthe opposite side by a riverbed.The pilot had not landed at the hotel before and about tendays prior to the accident had spoken with hotel staffabout landing information. The pilot stated that he hadbeen advised to land on the grass either to the east orwest of the gravel path.The flight was uneventful but during touchdown the pilotand passenger felt a bump and heard a noise. The pilotcommented that the touchdown had been gentle and in alevel attitude but he had become concerned and so decid-ed to reposition the helicopter. However, as he lifted intothe hover, the helicopter started to rock from side to side.It then veered to the left where it struck a tree beforerolling onto its left side. The pilot and passenger sus-tained minor injuries and exited the helicopter throughthe front canopy, which had broken. The helicopter wasdamaged beyond economic repair. Subsequent inspectionby the pilot identified that there were a number of smallrocks near to where he had touched down and he laterstated that he thought the grass in that area “was at least10 inches long”. He considered that that he may havestruck one of the rocks with a skid during the reposition-ing manoeuvre.Prior to the accident, the hotel had emailed the pilot adiagram identifying where he may land. The landing areawas identified as being to the east of the gravel path andnot the west. The email was delivered to the pilot’s‘spam’ email folder and so he did not become aware of ituntil after the accident. The email also advised that thehelipad was not clearly marked. The pilot later stated thathe considered the area indicated on the diagram as beingunsuitable for landing due to its slope. The pilot was 72years old and had 667 hours of which 70 were on type.The British Helicopter Association has published com-

Bell 206L-4 LongRanger1V, G-PTOOThe pilot carried out a precautionary landing atLondon City Airport, after the onset of high pitchvibration during the cruise. Examination revealed thata bolt, securing balance weight assemblies to a tailrotor blade, had failed due to the formation of a crackin the bolt shank which propagated in fatigue. Thehelicopter manufacturer confirmed that this was thefirst reported occurrence of this nature relating to thisdesign of tail rotor system. The pilot was 46 years oldand had 2,200 hours of which 480 were on type.

EC120B Colibri, G-FEDAThe helicopter was hover taxiing towards its allocatedlanding pad beside a hangar. The wind at the time wasdescribed as north-easterly at 9 kt, gusting to 21 kt. Thepilot stated that as he approached the landing pad heapplied left yaw pedal to turn left. The helicopterresponded but continued to turn beyond the desiredheading. The pilot applied right pedal in an attempt tostop the turn, but the helicopter continued to rotate at anincreasing rate until control was lost. The right skid con-tacted the ground, causing the helicopter to roll onto itsright side and the main rotors to strike the ground. Whenthe helicopter came to rest, the pilot applied the rotorbrake and fuel shutoff lever before jettisoning the frontleft door and assisting his passengers.The pilot believed the initial left turn had allowed thehelicopter’s tail to be pushed by the wind, rotating it fur-ther and more rapidly than intended. He applied insuffi-cient right yaw pedal to compensate, allowing the rate ofturn to accelerate sufficiently for control to be lost. Thepilot was 32, had 126 hours of which 41 were on type.

MD 900 Explorer, G-SASH

on lifting to the hover, the downwash from the helicop-ter pushed one parked light aircraft into another.The helicopter, an Air Ambulance, was on a routine posi-tioning flight from Leeds Bradford Airport to BagbyAirfield, North yorkshire. It had been positioned, byground handling staff, on a designated helicopter landingspot which was 18 m away from, and upwind of, theWest Apron on which several light aircraft were parked.Shortly after the pilot lifted the helicopter into the hover,the downwash caused a parked light aircraft to beginmoving. After the parked aircraft had turnedthrough180°, its port wing wedged under the wing of anaircraft parked next to it, causing minor damage to bothaircraft. The pilot, and the Duty Airside Safety Unit offi-cer who attended the incident, both reported that none of


Rotorsport UK MTOSport, G-CGGV

The gyroplane was departing from Runway 03. The take-off weight was 489 kg, which was within the maximumpermitted takeoff weight of 500 kg. The weather wasCAVoK, with a light and variable wind from the north-northeast, with occasional stronger gusts. The pilot hadpreviously operated from the airfield and the takeoffseemed to be normal.As the gyroplane began to climb, a left turn throughapproximately 90° was made in order to avoid sometrees on the extended centreline. As the turn was com-menced, it was not possible to maintain the angle ofclimb and the rotor blades contacted the top of a tree.The pilot made a controlled descent into a clearing but,due to the lack of space, this resulted in a heavy landing.The nose landing gear detached, the underside of the podwas damaged and the flailing rotor struck and dislodgedthe rudder. The pilot and his passenger were uninjured.From the evidence of witnesses who observed the depar-ture, the pilot concluded that there had been a strong gustof wind which had veered through some 90°. This placedthe gyroplane downwind and resulted in the reduction inthe rate of climb. The pilot was 62 years old, had 180hours of which 103 were on type.

Rotorsport UK Calidus, G-HTBT

During the landing ground roll, the pilot moved thecyclic control forward and leant forward to apply therotor brake. The gyroplane rolled onto its right side, skid-ded forward while rotating to the right, and came to restafter turning through 180°. After the pilot and passengerhad established that they were both unhurt, the aircraftwas removed from the runway and associated debris wascleared away.The normal landing technique is to hold the control col-umn aft until the gyroplane stops. In this event, movingthe control column forward appears to have induced arolling moment to the right which caused the rollover.Regulations applicable to this accident state that pendingthe arrival of safety investigators or consultation with theAAIB, no person shall move the aircraft except wheresuch action may be required for safety reasons or tobring assistance to injured persons. These regulations canbe viewed via the AAIB website at www.aaib.gov.ukunder ‘Guidance and regulations’. The AAIB will pro-vide guidance to individuals reporting an occurrence.The pilot was 59 years old and had 56 hours, of which16 were on type.

prehensive guidance on the subject of setting up an unli-censed helicopter landing site. This includes informationon the touchdown and lift-off areas recommending,among others, that they are level and free from obstaclesor debris. CAA Safety Sense Leaflet 17, ‘HelicopterAirmanship’ provides further advice to pilots when land-ing at private sites, recommending that under certain cir-cumstances, a site visit from the ground should be con-sidered.

Sikorsky S-92A, G-IACC

The helicopter was being ground taxied onto Spot A2 bythe commander, who was occupying the right seat. Thetaxiing was under the direction of a marshaller, who,when the helicopter reached the parking position, sig-nalled the pilot to stop. In accordance with the Standardoperating Procedures (SoPs), the co-pilot in the left seatstated “Disc/Brakes/Lights”. The commander levelled thedisc, exerted toe pressure on the foot brakes and thenintended to raise the parking brake handle. The parkingbrake handle is located to the left of the right seat collec-tive lever hand grip and, instead of applying the parkingbrake, the commander inadvertently raised the collectivelever. The helicopter lifted approximately six feet intothe air, with a slight roll to the left, and the commanderinstinctively released the collective lever, thinking it wasthe parking brake handle. The helicopter immediatelydescended and landed heavily, resulting in a ‘HARDLANDING’ caution caption on the Engine IndicationCaution Advisory System (EICAS).After the helicopter had been brought to a stop on theparking spot, the collective lever was lowered fully andthe collective trim system trigger was released in theMinimum Pitch on Ground (MPoG) ‘trimneutral’ position. When the commander raised the collec-tive lever, instead of the parking brake handle, lifting thehelicopter into the air, he did so against the electromag-netic brake. As the collective lever was released, theelectromagnetic brake lowered it back to the MPoGposition. This caused the helicopter to descend rapidly,resulting in a hard landing. Subsequently, damage wasdiscovered on the fuselage and left main landing gear.The commander concluded that the accident was the con-sequence of an unintentional and inadvertent applicationof the collective lever, instead of the parking brake. As aresult of this occurrence, the operator promptly issued aFlying Staff Instruction to ensure that the PF or PM hascontrol of the flying controls during critical phases offlight or when on the ground, rotors running. The pilotwas 49 year old, had 6430 hours 1575 on type.

65

ACCidenT reporTS

The first Festival of Speedwas held at GoodwoodHouse in the summer of

1993 and the show attracted25,000 visitors. However, its his-tory dates back to the Lancia CarClub hill climb held atGoodwood House by The Earl ofMarch and 9th Duke ofRichmond in 1936. This race waswon by the Duke and that eventapparently inspired his grandson,the current Earl of March to start the Festivalof Speed. The festival now has 180,000 visi-tors and next year will include an aviationevent with both helicopters and airplanes.


heliCopTerhouSe &

The Festival of Speed and more

Cowdray

Ruins

Pictures by Georgina Hunter-Jones

Nearby Stansted House seat

of the Earls of Bessborough

Lord Foster’s

Gloucester!

l heliicfopteer - helicopterlife · heltech 2011 42 georgina hunter-jones helitech was attempt-ing...

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