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Year in Review: 2010: Editors' Choice
Year in Review: 2010: Editors' Choice
com
EDITORS’
Choice
2010
EDITORS’ CHOICE
& YEAR IN REVIEW: 2010
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16 DEPARTMENTS
12 Rotorcraft Report
18 People
18 Coming Events
21 Hot Products
49 Classified Ads
52 Coming Up
53 Ad Index
COLUMNS
Above: Russian Helicopters Mi-171 simulator at CSTS Dinamika. 4 Editor’s Notebook
Bottom: Frank (center) and Kurt (right) Robinson with FAA
officials during the presentation of the R66 type and production 9 Feedback
certificates. Right: ASU offers various NVG training programs.
10 Meet the Contributors
30 ■ Training
36 ■ Safety
40 ■ Panel Upgrades
42 ■ Maintenance Upgrades
42 ■ Facilities
46 ■ Pilot Equipment
32 ONLINE
www.rotorandwing.com
WEBINAR
• Part of Rotor & Wing’s Learning Series, a new webinar that focuses on weather
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“Shopping for Weather” features a discussion with Hughes Aerospace President Chris
Baur and Air Methods Corporate Safety Manager Eric C. Lugger, with moderator Joy
Finnegan, Editor-in-Chief of Rotor & Wing. An archive of the webinar is available at
www.aviationtoday.com/webinars
ASK-THE-EXPERT
• Jessie Kearby, certification engineer for Aero Dynamix, fields questions about night
vision goggles (NVGs) for both military and commercial helicopter operators.
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Counterpoint: Open Season Force officials went to great lengths going through the process of having a
for Helicopter Competition in 2002 and thereafter, justifying the competition?
need for a new CSAR aircraft, with I trust that Pentagon acquisition
Shannon Bower’s commentary on Air great emphasis placed on the desire professionals will do the right thing
Force helicopter programs (see “USAF for a modern helicopter more robust when presented data. Years of failed
Combat SAR,” November 2010, page and reliable than the legacy assets, defense acquisition programs do not
46) rightly concludes that there is no with significantly greater cabin vol- justify a case to discard competition
“Easy Button” when it comes to solv- ume. Eight years later, Mr. Bower does altogether in pursuit of the path-of-
ing the challenges plaguing defense not recognize the Air Force’s strong least-resistance. Rather, I would argue
acquisition professionals in the Pen- case for the original CSAR-X program, that we have an obligation to redouble
tagon. However, the premise of his suggesting rather that they settle for our efforts to correct the causes that
opinion piece completely undermines what they can get as conveniently as led to the ills of our current system.
his own point, as he outlines a justifi- possible. While Mr. Bower’s commentary is
cation for doing just that: taking the In terms of CVLSP, the author probably well meaning, the fact that
easy way out. asserts that the H-60M “could eas- programs such as CSAR-X have failed
The author starts with a rather ily fulfill” the requirements for the Air to get off the ground does not mean
scathing indictment of the acting Force Huey replacement program. that the Air Force should turn to a
Undersecretary of the Air Force for Mr. Bower is correct in the same way I “one size fits all” approach to procure-
Acquisition, Mr. David Van Buren. would be correct if I said an 18-wheel- ment. After all, competition is the
It is important to point out that Mr. er “could easily fulfill” my requirement engine of ingenuity and the “checks
Van Buren inherited the CSAR-X pro- to move a desk, chair and several and balances” of excessive costs.
gram, as well as the Common Verti- lamps into my home office. Sure, the If, after a fair, transparent, merit-
cal Lift Support Platform (CVLSP) 18-wheeler can do the job, but is it based competition, the Air Force or
requirement. It is unfair to so strongly what I really need? any other service forgoes competition,
and broadly blame a single individual Secretary Gates has rightly chal- when more economical and efficient
for the woes of a system that has long lenged Pentagon acquisition and options are available in the market-
fought to balance the needs of the industry officials to search for and place, so be it. The impact of skipping
warfighter with the obligation to bring produce the best solution, consider- the critical steps of competition will
best value to the American taxpayer. ing affordability, fair competition and have serious long-term consequences
It is not easy work and Mr. Bower’s risk. The author suggests a solution for both the warfighter, in terms of
assertion that a public servant is serv- for the CVLSP program that does not having the best technology for the
ing in such a thankless job for personal represent the benefit of competition mission, and the taxpayer, when it
gain does not hold water. and may be excessive for the taxpayer comes to holding the line on costs.
Each of us has a solemn obligation to bear, which is what you have when I cannot accept the notion that we
to the men and women serving in our you replace the aging Huey fleet with would just throw up our hands and
armed forces, an obligation to equip the much bigger and more expensive give up; rather, I prefer the American
them with the right technology for to acquire and operate H-60. way: let’s compete and let the best
their missions, as quickly and afford- Participants of the U.S. industrial solution win.
ably as possible. The author’s prem- base work to develop and compete the
ise that the best way to do that is to best, most technologically advanced R. Scott Rettig
avoid competition and sole source bil- solutions to equip our military. Case in Chief Executive Officer
lions of dollars of helicopters for criti- point, our Philadelphia-manufactured AgustaWestland North America
cal national security programs runs AW139 was designed from incep-
contrary to our country’s economic tion as a modern Huey replacement—
model and our Secretary of Defense’s offering the same footprint with 30
initiatives for this industry. percent more volume and 50 per-
The need to replace the Air Force’s cent more payload. Furthermore, the
legacy Hueys for CVLSP, as well as acquisition and operational costs of
its depleted and antiquated fleet of the AW139 are significantly less than
combat search and rescue (CSAR) a Black Hawk. I make these points
helicopters, are well chronicled. Air as a way to ask: what is wrong with
Do you have comments on the rotorcraft industry or recent articles and viewpoints we’ve published? Send them to: Editor, Rotor
& Wing, 4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor, Rockville, MD 20850, fax us at 301-354-1809 or email us at rotorandwing@accessintel.
com. Please include a city and state or province with your name and ratings. We reserve the right to edit all submitted material.
www.aspenavionics.com
All content Copyright 2010 Aspen Avionics Inc. ”Aspen Avionics” and the Aspen Avionics aircraft logo are trademarks of Aspen Avionics Inc. All rights reserved.
Personal|Corporate Commercial Military Public Service Training Products Services
■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES
President Jeffrey Pino said that having proven the X2 design as a company, “we have
full confidence we can now mature the technology for the U.S. Army’s light armed
reconnaissance helicopter size.” Self-funding the design of a new LTH, the Sikorsky
S-97, and manufacturing two Raider prototypes, he continued, “will help military
aviation evaluate the viability of a fast and maneuverable next-generation rotorcraft
for a variety of combat missions.”
Sikorsky submitted an X2 aircraft design to the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout
(AAS) program in March 2010, responding to a request for information. Similar
Sikorsky President Jeff Pino unveils to the X2 demonstrator that topped the speed record, the S-97 Raider prototypes
the S-97 Raider in late October. will feature twin coaxial counter-rotating main rotors and a pusher propeller. Pino
said that as a company, Sikorsky watched over the years as four major helicopter
programs under development in the Department of Defense disappeared: the armed reconnaissance helicopter that Bell had
won; the presidential helicopter that Lockheed Martin had won; an emerging requirement for the CH-47 possibly to go to
the Air Force; and the CH-53K Marine heavy lift, which Sikorsky won. “And for whatever reason, budgets, lack of execution,
three of those programs are gone. ARH was gone. VH was gone. CSAR cancelled. Only one is left and we’ve got it—thank
God—CH-53K. It sent a bigger message to us at Sikorsky,” said Pino. “It said that at this point in the life cycle, it appears that
our biggest customer is unwilling to invest major dollars in future technology. That’s the real message it sent us.” Therefore,
the company decided to move forward on its own. “We understand that the government is moving forward with an industry
coalition to develop these kinds of ideas and we will continue to participate in that coalition,” he said. “But clearly, we want to
go a little faster than we would assume any coalition would go.”
Pino said that Sikorsky will build two S-97 Raiders “mostly on our own company funding. We have not asked nor received
one dime from the Federal government in any way, shape or form. And we like that at this stage.” Although Pino did note later
that Sikorsky would be looking to its partners to take on 25 to 30 percent of the funding. For the armed reconnaissance mission,
the S-97 Raider will have space aft of the two-pilot cockpit for armament and auxiliary fuel. In an assault configuration, the
cabin affords space to accommodate up to six fully loaded 320-pound troops.
In addition to flying at nearly twice the speed of a conventional helicopter, the Raider prototype will incorporate other key
performance parameters critical to combat operations—increased maneuverability, greater endurance, and the ability to oper-
ate at high altitudes. According to Sikorsky, the prototypes will feature reduced turning radius and acoustic noise signature,
while significantly increasing payload, flight endurance and hot and high hover capability compared to other light military
helicopters.
The 9,000-pound basic aircraft, which will be able to lift 10,500 pounds, will be 33 feet long and carry two crew members
side-by-side. The flight controls will be fly-by-wire. “[It will have] about a 2.7-hour endurance right on top of current capability,
but the idea is if you are not going to carry these troops, we will build this aircraft to carry additional fuel and/or a second load
of ammunition so that the mission flexibility is increased to the point where if it were all fuel, we think we could put five or six
hours on a station,” said Pino. Sikorsky will conduct the S-97 Raider development program according to military standards.
The company expects the first major milestone in the program,—a preliminary design review—in 2011. First flight, projected
in four years, could depend in part on the pace of development and customer need. “We have a team that’s assembled under
Sikorsky Innovations who are fully charged to build,
design and fly within 50 months,” said Pino. For daily and breaking news involving helicopters, go to:
www.aviationtoday/rw
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■ COMMERCIAL | AIRFRAMES
■ COMMERCIAL | UTILITY
Erickson S-64F
Enters Service
San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E)
■ COMMERCIAL | ENG
has incorporated an Erickson S-64
Japanese Newspaper Receives GrandNew helitanker into its operations. The
helicopter will be used to install more
than 50 percent of the transmission
lines for Sunrise Powerlink, a 120-mile
power project in California. Featuring a
2,500-gallon water tank, the “Sun Bird”
will also fight wildfires with the San
Diego Fire-Rescue Department during
fire season.
■ SERVICES | SATCOM
SkyNode to Serve
CH-146 Fleet
AgustaWestland
of Mississippi Medical Center. PHI Helicopters will operate the EC145 under
the hospital’s Department of Helicopter Transport AirCare program, based
in Jackson, Miss.
■ TRAINING | MILITARY
Macedonia Fields
Combat Helos
For the first time in its 18-year independent
history, the Republic of Macedonia has
deployed combat helicopters out of its
borders for participation at the “Logical
Decision 2010” multinational military
exercise in Hungary. The deployment of
Macedonian Air Force helicopters started
Oct. 3 when two Mi-24V Hind-E and
one Mi-17 Hip-H with 35 personnel left
Petrovec AFB on their way to Papa AFB
in Hungary where Logical Decision 2010
took place from October 4-15.
Apart from Macedonia, NATO mem-
bers Hungary and Belgium also deployed
aircraft at the event, while France, Poland,
Austria and the UK were acting as observ-
ers. Macedonian Air Force participated
with three Elbit Systems-upgraded heli-
copters: a pair of FLIR-equipped Mi-24Vs
of the Combat Helicopter Squadron and
a single Mi-17 of the Transport Helicop-
ter Squadron. The Hungarian Air Force
sent two NVG-equipped Mi-17Ns and
one Mi-8T. Those Mi-17Ns received
upgrades with NATO-compatible avion-
ics and equipment in Russia during 2008.
Szolnok Helicopter Base also took part
in the exercise with few Mi-24D/V-1/P
gunships, though only in daylight condi-
tions as Hungarian Hind fleet is short of Critical Moments.
Ultimate Control.
night-vision capabilities.
The Belgian detachment was made
up of five Agusta A109Bas (three in anti-
tank and two in transport setup) and
accompanying personnel of the Belgian Discover the Benefits of Enhanced GPS
Armed Forces’ Helicopter Wing of the for Offshore and SAR Operations
Air Component. The first day of the event
unexpectedly ended with real mede- • All-weather Precision Landing (LPV)
vac mission for Hungarian detachment • High Performance Hover-Hold
that was called to perform night-time • Worldwide Primary Means Navigation
evacuation of civilians from a toxic sludge
catastrophe that happened at the Ajkai
Timfoldgyar aluminum plant, which is
Proud Supplier of Avionics Solutions
located in a town 160 kilometers south- For More Than 25 Helo Types
west of Budapest. It’s worth noting that in
performing this urgent and demanding
medevac mission, the Hungarian crews
used night vision goggles and managed
to evacuate 17 civilians from Kolontar to
MONTREAL • OTTAWA • CHICAGO www.cmcelectronics.ca
Budaors.— By Igor Bozinovski
PEOPLE
Fort Worth, Texas-based Rotorcraft ness unit. A 20-year and growth. For productivity, the win-
Services Group (RSG) has promoted employee of Hon- ners are Anthony Bergerson, Daniel
Gar y Potochnik , DAR, to vice e y w el l , M a d s e n Burns, John Rogus, Paul Russell
president of quality and certification. previously served and Robert Chris. Eric Nottorf,
A certified holder of DAR maintenance as vice president of Denver Whitworth and Vance
and manufacturing ratings, Potochnik the company’s Air- Cribb took top honors for service, and
previously managed one of RSG’s lines Customer Business group within Royce Moore, Richard Pae, Monte
subsidiaries. The company has the Air Transport & Regional (AT&R) Smith and Stephen Stalnaker for
also hired Arturo Saldana as vice unit. innovation. The award for growth went
president of sales. Saldana will serve Dr. Kevin Hutton, founder of to William Fulton and Jonathan
the role for all the group’s divisions, San Diego-based Golden Hour Data Silvester.
including RSG Aviation, RSG Products Systems, has been elected to a fifth EMS provider Med-Trans Corp.
and RSG AeroDesign. one-year term as president of MedEvac has appointed Rob Hamilton vice
PremiAir group operations director Foundation International. Other new president of business development. He
Christopher Forrest is the recipient board members include Shock Trauma will be based at the company’s head-
of the British Helicopter Association’s Air Rescue Society’s Linda Powell quarters in Lewisville, Texas. Hamilton
Eric Brown award, which recognizes as vice president, treasurer Johnny previously worked for Air Methods.
contributions to the UK’s helicopter Delgado of AtlantiCare EMS and Show Low, Ariz.-based Aero Prod-
industry. Forrest manages PremiAir’s secretary Russell MacDonald from ucts Components Services has hired
rotorcraft and fixed-wing certificates, Ornge. Rick Lewis as an outside sales consul-
its type rating training organization and Bell Helicopter has selected four tant. A Six Sigma certified Green Belt,
the London Heliport facility. teams as winners of its 2010 Lawrence Lewis comes from Aeronautical Acces-
Phoenix-based Honeywell Aero- D. Bell Pioneer award. A total of 14 sories, where he was vice president. He
space has promoted Mike Madsen to employees took first in four catego- has also worked for AAI sister company
president of its Defense & Space busi- ries—productivity, service, innovation Edwards & Associates.
Feb. 23–25: Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Winter May 17–19: European Business Aviation Association and
Symposium, Washington, D.C. Contact AUSA, phone NBAA’s EBACE 2010, Geneva, Switzerland. Contact EBAA,
1-703-841-4300, toll free 1-800-336-4570 or visit www.ausa.org phone +32 2 766 0073 or visit www.ebaa.org
March 5–8: Heli-Expo 2011, Orlando, Fla. Contact HAI, phone May 19–21: Intl Helicopter Industry Exhibition (HeliRussia
1-703-683-4646 or visit www.heli-expo.com 2011), Moscow, Russia. Contact HeliRussia, +7 495 958 9490 or
visit www.helirussia.ru
March 16–18: Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS)
Spring Conference, Washington, DC. Contact AAMS, phone May 24–27: AirMed World Congress 2011, Brighton,
1-703-836-8732 or visit www.aams.org UK. Contact AirMed at +44 (0) 162 283 3448 or visit www.
coming events
airmed2011.com
March 22–25: Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) Annual
Convention & Trade Show, Reno, Nev. Contact AEA, phone June 20–26: 49th Annual Intl Paris Air Show, Le Bourget,
1-816-347-8400 or visit www.aea.net France. Contact Paris Air Show, phone +33(0)15 323 3333 or visit
www.paris-air-show.com
April 17–20: Quad-A Annual Convention, Nashville, Tenn.
Contact Quad-A, 1-203-268-2450 or visit www.quad-a.org July 20–23: Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA)
Annual Conference, New Orleans, La. Contact ALEA, phone
April 19–21: 56th Annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar 1-301-631-2406 or visit www.alea.org
(CASS), San Diego, Calif. Contact Flight Safety Foundation,
phone 1-703-739-6700 or visit www.flightsafety.org Aug. 17–19: 8th Australian Pacific Vertiflite Conference on
Helicopter Technology, Gladstone, Australia. Contact AHS Intl,
May 1–6: Medical Transport Leadership Institute, Wheeling, phone 1-703-684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org
W.V. Contact AAMS, 1-703-836-8732 or visit www.aams.org
Sept. 27–29: Helitech Duxford 2011, Duxford, UK. Contact
May 2–5: 2011 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Reed Exhibitions, phone +44 (0) 208 439 8886 or visit www.
Texas. Contact OTC, 1-972-952-9494 or visit www.otcnet.org helitechevents.com
May 3–5: American Helicopter Society Intl 67th Annual Oct. 10–12: Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual
Forum and Technology Display, Virginia Beach, Va. Contact Meeting, Washington, D.C. AUSA, phone 1-703-841-4300, toll
AHS Intl, phone 1-703-684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org
free 1-800-336-4570 or visit www.ausa.org
Wichita PD Air
Section Turns 40
Mesa, Ariz.-based MD Helicopters is
helping promote the 40th anniversary
of the Wichita PD’s Air Section, which
flies an MD500E. The unit has tallied
more than 50,000 hours of service
since 1970, currently averaging up
to 1,000 flight hours per year. Full-
time staff includes Lt. Paul Shields,
supervisor and pilot, pilot Peter
Dolieslager, TFO Bradley Carver and
David Frye, director of maintenance.
Wichita PD originally flew a Hughes/
Schweizer Model 300C before
moving to the MD500E in 2003.
■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES
CH-53K Begins
Systems Checks
Aircraft systems testing on the
CH-53K has started at Sikorsky’s
new systems integration lab (SIL),
a 10,000-square-foot facility at the
manufacturer’s headquarters in
Stratford, Conn. The heavy-lift
aircraft is a replacement for the U.S.
Marine Corps CH-53E. The complex
includes five labs dedicated to various
systems—avionics, electrical power,
engine control systems, electronic
flight controls and hydraulic flight
controls.
Looking AheAd
What would you like to see from Rotor & Wing?
I
n an effort to provide a snapshot of the hundreds of stories in the helicopter industry that we cover each year, Rotor & Wing
has assembled a list of more than 600 items published from January to early November 2010. These news stories, features and
product announcements ran in the pages of the print magazine, as well as our daily Top Stories at rotorandwing.com, and in
some of our more prominent monthly e-letters and special publications like Heli-Expo Show Day. But the list does not cover
the entire spectrum of Rotor & Wing’s various print, web and e-mail offerings—it is just a sampling of our coverage, as there are many
additional stories available online and through our other distribution channels. While we are fully aware of the potential pitfalls of run-
ning a list like this, in that it clearly points out specific companies who we might not have covered as well as others, that is part of the
reason we wanted to undertake this exercise—to gather feedback about what readers want and open the door of communication with
those companies that might warrant additional coverage. We’re constantly trying to find ways to improve. What would you like to see
in the pages of Rotor & Wing? What areas should we focus on during 2011? Which topics, events, markets and companies do we need
to cover more? Please e-mail your suggestions to Andrew Parker, Managing Editor, at: aparker@accessintel.com
eASA night Vision July British Army extends Mar Weststar Purchases nine Aug
Approvals Lynx Upgrades AW139s
Shadin Avionics/nVgs nov heli-expo: What They Apr Panama orders Six Sept
Said AW139s
AeroSimulators eC135 Sims Join Air Mar
Methods AW109 Power delivered Apr Sloane Mallorca Adds Sept
to Bulgaria AW109e
Aerospace Filtration AFS gains Bell 430 STC Jan
Systems indian Air Force Buys 12 Apr grandnew goes to Sept
AW101s France, Monaco
Bell 430 iBF Feb
Uk Training Center opens Apr Phi Places Ten-AW139 Sept
Brazilian AS350 STC Apr order
AW139 hUMS Web Apr
AW139 STC from Brazil Aug Services Launched First grandnew goes oct
to Vinair
Filters enter Service in Sept Two AW139s Join Apr
namibia Malaysia’s Bomba LifeStar of kansas oct
Receives AW119ke
Brazil Approves AW119 nov Japanese operators Apr
STC Receive helicopters Second AW159 goes oct
Airborne
AgustaWestland Qatar Receives First Jan Apache ioS Program May
AW139 operational Maryland Police Purchase oct
Six AW139s
Two AW139s Resold Jan grandnew nets 50 Since May
to Phi introduction Russia grants AW139 oct
Approval
TAS delivers Brazilian Jan SMS Becomes AW Service May
AW109 grand Center Three AW139s going nov
to goias
www.helimart.com
Helimart Phoenix Heliparts California Aero Components
714-755-2999 480-985-7994 714-755-2999
MD Service Center, Parts distributor Maintenance; overhauls; mods; completions Component overhaul
PRODUCT GUIDE
Product Guide
Training. There is no
17692
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Public Safety
Notebook
By Lee Benson
O
n July 24th, 2010 the heli- his management style and capabilities, the director of aviation for Shell Oil,
co p te r i n d u st r y l o st a got the safety culture that he wanted. presented a paper on the risk reduc-
remarkable man and I lost I had a wonderful first-name relation- tion and training effort that had been
a personal friend. Al Brous- ship with P. Michael Freeman, the implemented by the Offshore Oil and
sard was a mentor and resource both Chief of LA County Fire since 1988. He Gas Association. The commitment on
as a pilot and an A&P mechanic to the called me Lee and I called him SIR. P. the part of the oil companies to create
southern California helicopter com- Michael is a demanding boss, who will the culture that led to this reduced
munity. Not many people understood listen to your concerns, but expects accident rate was impressive.
the Bell 47 airframe from both a pilot you to have a good, practical solution This disrupted my “the boss sets
and mechanic perspective as Al did. to mitigate your concerns when you the safety culture” theory because
I didn’t get to see Al often these days, state them. I was in the room on an in the oil and gas industry it was the
maybe three or four times a year. I had occasion or two when someone tried customer that made the commitment
known Al since 1974, when I started to dump their concerns on his lap towards safety in terms of money
writing this column Al was among without a solution, not a good Plan A. and operational flexibility. But then
the first to mention it to me. It was I think a lot of people never learn that I realized that in the case of the fire
obvious from his comments and sug- lesson. But I never forgot one thing he department and most public safety
gestions that he had read the articles said to me: “I don’t want to attend any operations, the fire chief, police chief,
and given them some thought. Al’s more funerals.” Now, I doubt there’s a boss is the customer and the boss at
input towards expanding the subjects leader in the country at any level who the same time.
that I had written about in past articles has stated the opposite. But with some, My final thought on this for now
has been incorporated in several of safety is just a box to be checked off, is, who is the customer in the helicop-
the columns that have appeared here not a goal to be supported. That’s the ter EMS business? It’s not the FAA
since. A lot of people will miss him, difference, the support that comes with or the NTSB, they have their roles
including me. the statement. I knew two things when but they are not the customer. The
In my last article I expressed my P. Michael made this statement—he strange thing is, I think we would all
opinion that the differences in safety would hold me accountable if I failed be hesitant to name the patient as the
cultures found within various organi- to deliver and he would support our customer. So who is it? Maybe that’s
zations have a profound effect on the section’s needs when it was his turn why the EMS segment of the helicop-
performance of their pilots in regards to step up. On a wider scale even ter industry has struggled to correct
to safe flight operations. I further segments of the industry can be rec- its safety issue. Some of you may think
stated that whoever pays the bills sets ognized as having a very mature and that I am pointing at the hospitals as
the safety culture. In the end it’s not the robust safety culture. This has affected the customer in an effort to get them
chief pilot or director of operations, the accident rate within those seg- more deeply involved in the culture
it’s the guy that writes the check that ments of the industry. As an example, of safety that I have spoken about. I
sets the safety culture. When I first had the offshore oil and gas industry has think the blunt truth is that the heli-
this thought, I only went as far as my a fatality rate during a five-year run- copter EMS industry has allowed the
surroundings at the time took me. My ning period that approaches half of medical side of the house to become
20-plus years with Los Angeles County the helicopter EMS community. Sev- too engaged in flight operations and
Fire as a line pilot, safety and training eral years ago I attended an American not committed to supporting good
director and chief pilot had caused me Helicopter Society meeting in Carmel, aeronautical decision-making by the
to realize that the Fire Chief, through Calif. At this conference, Bob Sheffield, operators and pilots.
International Marketplace
Right Seat
By Mike Redmon
Pressure to be Fast
I
t is common in EMS for lift times and I eventually wised up due to the cess. Weather-related crashes are the
to be documented by dispatch. errors I found myself making. I eas- number one killer in EMS so it is cru-
It is also a common requirement ily could have been a statistic with the cial to check the weather for as long
for pilots to document any lift items I missed during my rushed pre- as it takes. You have to do an effective,
times over five minutes and send this launch preparations. deliberate, and hands-on walk-around.
information to the lead pilot and/or Hurrying to get off the ground can The FAR’s state you must use the
base manager. In business, there is a cause mistakes and increase the likeli- checklist to start. Your passengers rely
saying “you are what you measure.” hood for errors. You always hear about on you to not cut corners. All aircraft
It may seem natural for managers the pilot who forgot to unplug the passengers are more concerned with
to want to know why a lift-off took shoreline cord, remove an inlet cover, safety than on-time performance.
longer than a pre-determined amount or hot started an engine. Once you are ready to lift you still
of time. Personally, I feel that using lift For example, I know a guy who should take your time. There have
times as a metric isn’t worth the paper took off with less than 20 minutes of been many episodes of pilots taking
they are written on because of the fuel and didn’t realize it until he got off with one engine at idle, with SAS
many variables involved in launching the low-fuel lights shortly after lift-off. systems turned off, and engines quit-
a flight. Was the aircraft inside the The checklist specifically said to check ting at 40 feet because the fuel transfer
hangar or outside? Was the aircraft fuel amount, but as an EMS check air- pumps weren’t switched on.
already on standby? Did the pilot man once told me, “who has time to A final check of critical items prior
need the time to actually evaluate the read the checklist?” So again we come to pulling pitch is essential when flying
weather? Was the medcrew “slow” back to the reality of saving a minute, EMS. It is amazing what can be missed
in getting out to the aircraft? The but crashing or damaging the aircraft. when you go from a deep sleep to lift-
arbitrary time of five minutes is not The irony of the whole thing occurs ing a helicopter off an elevated helipad
a number borne of science. My main when you rush to the hospital only to five minutes later.
issue is with the paperwork required discover it will be another 30 minutes Lastly, you should always do an
to be turned in by the pilot. Some until the patient can be transported. engine instruments check at an IGE
pilots, especially new EMS pilots, will Professionalism demands that the hover prior to departing. This will give
inadvertently sacrifice safety to avoid pilot be prepared for any flight by hav- you a chance to reconfirm that the
explaining why they didn’t meet their ing your jacket and other gear already engines are working properly prior to
employer’s expectations. in the aircraft, keeping your bladder pulling into an OGE takeoff. Let that
How long does it take a helicopter empty, seat and pedal positions cor- No. 2 engine quit during a three-foot
to lift for a flight? It takes whatever it rect, and radios set up. hover over the helipad instead of at
takes. Once again, it takes whatever it Additionally, don’t be lazy and 50 feet over the hospital parking lot
takes. It is a task-oriented procedure, leave the aircraft in the hangar when with no place to go. I always shake my
not a time-oriented procedure. In the it should be outside. The less you do head when I see a helicopter snatched
past, I have found myself wanting to at work, the less you want to do, so I off the ground and straight into the air
skip using the checklist, doing a poor understand how hard it can be to haul without a hover pause.
walk-around, and generally trying to the aircraft out of the hangar at five in Always remember that if some-
speed things up because I felt “behind” the morning. thing goes wrong it will be the pilot
in the launch time. Good judgment Other than that, there is nothing who answers to the FAA, not anyone
generally evolves from poor judgment else you can do to speed up the pro- else.
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February 2011:
Robinson R66—Editor-at-Large Ernie Stephens Hiring Best Practices—Regular Rotor & Wing col-
was invited by Robinson Helicopter Company President umnist Chris Baur takes a break from his usual technol-
Kurt Robinson to fly the company’s latest creation—the ogy oriented topics and shares insights about where the
R66—in late September. Ernie was quite taken with the best pilots and crew members come from.
aircraft and its capabilities, saying it is “one of the best
aircraft I have ever flown,” and to “expect to see the skies Cabri G2—First-time contributor Thomas Skamljic
dotted with them.” Stay tuned for video coverage of the had an opportuity to fly the Cabri G2 and reports on his
flight by Ernie at www.rotorandwing.com findings from Europe.
52 W WRW . R ORT O
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