December 2013 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing.

com

OPERATOR REPORTS:
Coast Guard
Elizabeth City

Year in Review 2013:

Products & Headlines
S-92 Rig Approach
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EDITORIAL
Andrew Parker Editor-in-Chief, aparker@accessintel.com
Andrew Drwiega International Bureau Chief/Consultant,
adrwiega@accessintel.com
Ernie Stephens Editor-at-Large, estephens@accessintel.com
Claudio Agostini Latin America Bureau Chief

Contributing Writers: Rick Adams; Chris Baur; Lee Benson;

Igor Bozinovski; Keith Brown; Keith Cianfrani; Steve Colby; Dan
Deutermann; Peter Donaldson; Ian Frain; Pat Gray; Emma Kelly;
Frank Lombardi; Elena Malova; Vicki McConnell; Robert Moor-
man; Douglas Nelms; Mark Robins; Dale Smith; Terry Terrell;
Richard Whittle.
Content Licensing for
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Every Marketing Strategy
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1-301-354-1459 dhurwitz@accessintel.com

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D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E 3

 Editor’s Notebook
Year in Review: Back to
the Future (Vertical Lift)
By Andrew Parker
T
hree of the larger stories
involv ing the helicopter
industry in 2013 have ties
to Eurocopter. The first is
something Eurocopter didn’t do in
relation to arguably the biggest story
of the year, as the manufacturer
dropped out of U.S. Army Aviation’s
Joint Multi-Role (JMR) competition,
which leads to Future Vertical Lift
(FVL), first with the medium vari-
ant. Army Aviation Missile Research,
Development and Engineering Cen-
ter (AMRDEC) awarded four con-
tracts related to the first phase of
JMR, which involves a technology
demonstrator program (see “Proceed
with Caution,” November 2013 issue,
page 40).
The competition involves two
coaxial concepts – from Boeing/
Sikorsky, which announced a part-
nership earlier in 2013, with the
other from AVX Aircraft – and a pair
of tiltrotor designs, from Bell Heli-
copter and Karem Aircraft.
AVX is offering its Compound
Coaxial Helicopter (CCH) design
concept and Bell uncovered its V-280
Valor in April 2013 (see “Future Verti-
cal Lift: An Overview,” May issue, page
28). Karem Aircraft came “straight out
of left field” for many observers with
its TR36 technology demonstrator,
while Boeing/Sikorsky is basing its
design on the X2/S-97 Raider.
Absent from Army Aviation’s
Oct. 2 investment agreements for
JMR TD Phase 1 were European
OEMs AgustaWestland and EADS/
Eurocopter, as well as former entrant
Piasecki Helicopter.
What will happen during and
after TD Phase 1? Will the U.S. Army
select a single design or consider
funding more than one concept due
to the massive dollar amounts that
are involved? How will small com-
panies AVX and Karem fare against
4 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | DECEM B ER 2 0 1 3
helicopter industry giants like Bell,
Boeing and Sikorsky, or will they
partner with other big OEMs looking
for a piece of the pie?
2014 will hold the answer to some
of these questions. For more on the
JMR program, read “Future Verti-
cal Lift: A New Hope in Challenging
Times,” April issue, page M12.
Another story with wide-ranging
implications comes from Eurocopter
parent company EADS, which on
July 31 announced the decision to
change its name to Airbus (see “Air-
copter? Helibus? Anatomy of a Name,”
September issue, page 4). Eurocopter
will become Airbus Helicopters.
What that all means for helicopter
designations and the like will come
into focus during 2014, with imple-
mentation of the rebranding effort
set to start January 1 and run through
the second half of the year.
The third story of interest sur-
rounding Eurocopter – besides the
departure of longtime CEO Lutz
Bertling to Bombardier Transpor-
tation – is the EC225’s return to
operational status following the vari-
ant’s grounding since late 2012, after
identifying the root cause related to
a problem with the main gear bevel
shaft (see “EASA Approves EC225
Fix as Operators Prepare for Return to
Service,” August issue, page 10).
One of the more memorable
stories of the year for me person-
ally – mainly because it included the
opportunity to ride in an AW139
– was a trip to AgustaWestland’s
U.S. plant in Philadelphia, which is
now producing the AW169 as a sec-
ond site to the location in Italy (see
“AgustaWestland to Bolster Philadel-
phia Production Line with Addition of
AW169,” June issue, page 12).
It wasn’t an entirely positive year
for the manufacturer, as Italian police
arrested Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe
aparker@accessintel.com
Orsi in Februar y on corruption
charges (see “AgustaWestland Con-
troversy Emerges from the Dust of
Aero India,” March issue, page 12).
Russian Helicopters opene d
the doors of its Rostvertol plant to
a group of journalists in August,
including International Bureau Chief
Andrew Drwiega (see “Russia Means
Business: Marketing War, Not Cold
War,” October issue, page 32).
Another significant event during
2013 was the return of Rotor & Wing’s
Excellence Ratings (see “Striving for
Excellence,” July issue, page 32). In
addition, the Rotor & Wing page on
Facebook hit a milestone in October
(see “Join the Conversation: 10,000
and Counting,” November issue,
page 4).
I’m certain to have missed a num-
ber of topics – AgustaWestland’s
Project Zero, Bell’s Short Light Single
and 429 WLG, Chongqing Helicopter
Investment Company’s acquisition
of Enstrom, Erickson’s purchase of
Evergreen, “Flying the MD540F,” (see
January issue, page 43), Honeywell’s
Synthetic Vision Avionics Backbone,
the introduction of Rockwell Collins
HeliSure, Robinson’s R66 certifica-
tion in Russia, the Rolls-Royce sale of
the RTM322 to Turbomeca and the
unveiling of Sikorsky’s Matrix Tech-
nology, to name a few – but from an
editor’s perspective, these are some
of my picks for the most interesting
stories of 2013.
What are your favorite stories
involving the helicopter industry
from the past year? What does the
future hold for 2014? Send your
thoughts to editor@rotorandwing.
com or post them on Facebook (www.
facebook.com/rotorandwing),
LinkedIn (w w w.linkedin.com/
groups/Rotor-Wing-3788071) or
Twitter: @rotorandwing
w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m
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 THIS MONTH FROM
Personal|Corporate Commercial Military Pub

22 DEPARTMENTS
12 Rotorcraft Report
18 People
19 Coming Events
23 Hot Products
45 Classified Ads
47 Ad Index

(Above) First flight of MQ-8C, courtesy of Northrop Grumman.

COLUMNS
(Bottom) Lamborghini at Huffman Helicopters. (Right) ‘Hanging
Around,’ part of a UK RAF photo competition, by David Turnbull.

4 Editor’s Notebook

FEATURES
COVER STORY
8 Feedback
10 Meet the Contributors
24 ■ Operator Reports: USCG 44 Offshore Notebook
Profile of the U.S. Coast Guard facility in Elizabeth City, N.C., where
Semper Paratus is in action. By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large 46 Leading Edge
48 Safety Watch
26 ■ Riding a Cougar Out to Sea
VIH subsidiary operates Sikorsky S-92s for offshore transport and SAR 50 Military Insider
missions. By Ernie Stephens

29 ■ Huffman Helicopters
Making the best of the rotorcraft tour industry. By Ernie Stephens

29
32 ■ Year in Review: Headlines
With the close of 2013 approaching, what is the outlook for the
helicopter industry in 2014? By Rotor & Wing staff

36 ■ Year in Review: Products

Highlights from the Hot Products section of the magazine during 2013.

40 ■ The Rig Approach

Sikorsky Aircraft and PHI develop and demonstrate an offshore rig
approach using an S-92. By Pat Gray

On the Covers: U.S. Coast Guard Sikorsky MH-60T front view (print edition cover) and side view (digital
edition cover) with rainbow in background. See story on page 24. Photos by Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large

6 R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

 Vol. 47 | No. 12
December 2013

blic Service Training Products Services

12 ONLINE www.rotorandwing.com

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STORIES & PHOTOS ON THE WEB

• Go to rotorandwing.com to see more photos and read some of the stories that
didn’t make it into this month’s print edition, for example:
• Dubai Airshow Opens at New Airport – Dubai World Central
• V-22 Ospreys Assist with Disaster Relief in Philippines
• Bristow UK SAR Helicopters to Feature Trakka A800 Searchlight
• Four Russian Mi-171Es Arrive at Poly Technologies in China
• Boeing Winds Down Production of Delta Version Apache
• Enstrom 480B Earns Certification in Brazil and Argentina
• Twin Chopper Drops Featured in UK RAF Photo Competition

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DECEMBER 1:
• Digital edition of Rotor & Wing December 2013. Electronic version with enhanced
web links makes navigating through the pages of Rotor & Wing easier than ever.
WEEK OF DECEMBER 2:
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The editors welcome new product information and other industry news. All editorial inquiries should be directed to Rotor & Wing magazine, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA; 1-301-354-1839; fax 1-301-762-8965. E-mail: rotorandwing@
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W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E 7

 Feedback
Personal|Corporate Commercial
Zero Accidents
This is in response to the Question of
the Month in the October 2013 issue
(page 8): “What more needs to be done to
improve the safety record of the helicop-
ter emergency medical services (HEMS)
community?”
We all have opinions on how to
reduce the helicopter accident rate, not
just HEMS. We hold NTSB hearings,
form Safety Analysis Teams and work-
groups. Organizations publish surveys,
reports, online safety courses, or have a
DVD available. These are all fine tools,
but how many pilots take advantage
of these tools or read and take to heart
these reports? I can remember when
I was flying industry, not much infor-
mation was passed down to the work-
ing pilots, mechanics or crewmembers.
Safety meetings were held, but the
majority were just a check-the-box item
for inspectors to look at.
We rarely listen to the pilots as to
what tools and training they need or
want. Manufacturers, regulatory agen-
cies, accident investigators, journalists,
program managers, engineers or pro-
fessional associations are not the ones
who are crashing aircraft. Pilots should,
better yet must, decide what equip-
ment and technology they feel will help
them make their job safer? We are to
the point that automation overload is
taking over. We are now a jack-of-all-
trades, but master of none. We need to
master what we feel will help us become
safer pilots. There is more to improving
safety than improved equipment.
FAA should mandate recurrent sim-
ulator training for all helicopter pilots,
not just single-pilot EMS. Or the FAA
cold mandate two pilots in HEMS to
prevent complacency. Why do you think
the airlines fly two pilots?
If the FAA mandated that recurrent
flight training be certificated for inspec-
tion, that would be a beginning. Most
importantly, we have got to include
pilots, crewmembers and mechanics
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, USA, fax us at 1-301-354-1809 or e-mail 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.
8 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3
Military Public Service
▶ R&W’s Question of the Month
Year in Review 2013: What
are your favorite stories
from the helicopter industry
over the past 12 months?
Let us know, and look for responses in a future issue.
You’ll find contact information below.
to attend a safety meeting on lessons
learned, and collect input as to whether
these safety meetings or conferences
are beneficial. Today and tomorrow’s
helicopter pilots, whether they are off-
shore, corporate, private, HEMS, etc.,
demand much more than the basics or
having another regulatory regulation or
piece of equipment jammed down their
throats. We must stress how risk-taking
behavior can lead to a tragic chain of
events, which can result in destroyed
equipment, crew injuries and death.
Risks should not be considered
unmanageable. We must stress for a
zero accident rate. Can we afford to
stand in front of a group as a presenter
and say “this year it is acceptable if you
have an accident, or it is okay if you die
and your crews dies.”
ZERO accidents.
Ray Johnson
U.S. Army (Retired)
La Plata, Md.
Run It Like an Aviation
Operation
The HEMS industry’s “Aviation” lead-
ership, operators and professionals
themselves need to take back their
industry and run it like an aviation
operation rather than allowing the
current medical culture to run it like
an ambulance service that just so
happens to have aircraft. The HEMS
Training Products Services
industry has turned into a collection
of ambulance chasing cutthroats who
hold profitability above safety. FAA
needs to break down its longstanding
internal silos between departments
and institute a rotary wing cooperative
task force that is all inclusive of each of
their departments when examining
and deciding upon any and all needs
of the rotary wing community. IHST
needs to stop playing politics with
HAI and allow the views from every
industry stakeholder to be heard and
decided upon in an open forum and
not behind closed doors and only by
those few on HAI’s self-serving board
of directors.
To better understand the needs of
the low-level Part 135 infrastructure,
Congress needs to involve active avia-
tion professionals rather than lobbing
groups and associations with hidden
political agendas who have never oper-
ated an aircraft in the HEMS environ-
ment. If the Part 135 infrastructure
were ever to be funded with even one-
tenth of the money spent on the Part
121 industry, the overall impact on
safety would literally be life-changing.
Only by allowing the expertise and
experience of those who truly make
up the industry to be heard rather than
just the associations that sit on the
sidelines and claim to represent the
industry, will safety ever be advanced
in the HEMS world.
Name Withheld
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
Innovation. Reliability. Performance.

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©2013 Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. All rights reserved.
 Meet the
Contributors
Lee Benson is a retired senior pilot for the
Los Angeles County Fire Department. Before
he was named senior pilot, Lee ran the avia-
tion section’s safety and training programs,
including organizing the section’s yearly
safety meeting with other public agencies and the press.
cer for a major East Coast police department in 1995, and
has been flying helicopters in the department’s aviation
section since 2000. He remains active in test and evalu-
ation, and holds a master’s degree in aviation systems-
flight testing from the University of Tennessee Space
Institute.

Andrew Drwiega, International Bureau Douglas Nelms has more than 30 years
Chief, is a senior defense/aviation journal- of experience as an aviation journalist and
ist with a specialization in international currently works as a freelance writer. He has
military rotorcraft. Based in London, he served as managing editor of Rotor & Wing.
has reported from Iraq and Afghanistan on A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Nelms
numerous occasions on attachment with American and specializes in writing about helicopters.
British helicopter forces. Andrew is a member of the Army
Aviation Association of America, the Royal United Ser- Dale Smith has been an aviation journal-
vices Institute, the Air Power Association and is an associate ist for 24 years specializing in business avia-
member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has a BA tion. He is currently a contributing writer
(Hons) degree in War Studies. Andrew covers defense and for Rotor & Wing and other leading aviation
global rotorcraft markets. magazines. He has been a licensed pilot
since 1974 and has flown 35 different types of general avia-
Thierry Dubois is a long-time con- tion, business and WWII vintage aircraft.
tributor to Access Intelligence pub-
lications. He has be en an aerospace ERNIE STEPHENS, Editor-at-Large, spent 27
journalist for 12 years, specializing in years with a major county police department,
helicopters since 2006. He writes on retiring as a decorated sergeant and chief pilot
technical subjects, both for professional media and a of its aviation section in 2006. He began his
popular science magazine in France. Follow him on flying career in the late 1980s when he earned
Twitter: @aerodub his rotorcraft license and incorporated a small aviation com-
pany as a sideline to his law enforcement career. Ernie holds
pat gray is our “Offshore Notebook” a B.S. in Management of Technical Operations and an M.S.
contributor, having flown in Gulf of Mexico in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
helicopter operations for 20-plus years. Prior University, where he is also a professor and former director of
to that, he was in Vietnam in 1958 as a young academics for one of the school’s satellite campuses. He has
paratrooper. He retired from the Army been writing features and columns for Rotor & Wing since
Reserve as a chief warrant officer 4, with more than 30 years 2003, and has performed evaluation flights in some of the lat-
active and reserve service. Gray’s civil helicopter experience est, most technologically advanced rotorcraft in the world.
covers crop dusting and Alaska bush, corporate, pipeline
and offshore flying. tERry Terrell gained his early avia-
tion experience as a U.S. Navy fixed-wing
Frank Lombardi, an ATP with both instructor and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft
fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings, began commander, where his service included
his flying career in 1991 after graduating SAR in Sikorsky S-61s. Terry served as a
with a bachelor’s of science in aerospace cross-qualified captain and safety special projects officer
engineering, working on various airplane with Houston’s Transco Energy, and later with Atlanta’s
and helicopter programs as a flight test engineer for Kennestone AVSTAT Helicopter Ambulance Program
Grumman Aerospace Corp. Frank became a police offi- and Georgia Baptist LifeFlight.

10 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | DECEM B ER 2 0 1 3 w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m

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■ Corporate | Event Coverage

Bell 429 WLG, Personal Eurocopter EC145

Among NBAA Highlights in Las Vegas
The National Business Aviation
Association (NBAA) 66th annual
Conference and Exposition in late
October drew thousands of attendees,
more than 1,000 exhibitors and 97 display
aircraft. Rotorcraft OEMs and systems
providers represented at the show
included Bell Helicopter, Eurocopter,
Honeywell, Kaman Aerospace, Pratt &
“429 WLG” is similar in design and to taxi, giving [operators] the freedom of
appearance to the legacy 429, which landing in a greater variety of conditions,”
was launched in 2009. The primary said Danny Maldonado, executive vice
difference is the
addition of a tri-
cycle-style land-
ing gear similar
to those found
on the Bell 430
Photos by Ernie Stephens

Whitney Canada, Robinson Helicopter, and 222.

Rolls-Royce, Sikorsky and Thales. By adding
Bell Helicopter used the event as retractable land-
the backdrop to introduce a version of ing gear, the air-
its 429 with wheeled landing gear. The craft “is now able

Instrument panel for a

Sikorsky S-76C++.
Ron Pratte’s EC145 at NBAA.

12 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

 Rotorcraft   Report

Exhibit hall at NBAA 2013.

Main landing gear on the Bell 429 WLG.

president of sales and marketing for was on display

Bell. “It also slightly increases the air- at the show.
craft’s cruise speed, thanks to a reduc- It was built in
tion in drag.” 2009 for a dif-
During the opening ceremonies, ferent custom-
several well-known NBAA members er. However,
were on hand to address the crowd, Pylon Aviation
including actor and helicopter pilot of Chandler,
Harrison Ford, U.S. Transportation Ariz. acquired
Security Administration head John it on behalf
Pistole, and former secretary of the U.S. of Pratte, and
Treasury John Snow. coordinatedits
“NBAA has been hosting this event retrofit to his
since 1950,” noted Ed Bolen, president specifications.
and CEO of the association. “This is Metro Avia-
about sharing with the community and tion installed
sharing with the world the really great the avionics,
news about business aviation; who we and Arizona
are, and why we matter.” Aircraft Interi-
Eurocopter’s EC145 has been a ors completed the cabin. Doug Jeggers, Aaron and friend Scott Urschel spoke
popular aircraft in both the military a custom automobile painter, applied to Rotor & Wing about a new product
and public service sectors. But Ron the EC145’s exterior scheme. that was unofficially unveiled at the
Pratte, a businessman and helicopter Other interesting people and prod- event. It’s a portable, handheld lithium-
pilot residing in the Phoenix area, had ucts filled the one million square-foot ion battery that can start a twin-engine
one of the twin-turbine aircraft built exhibit hall in Las Vegas. Red Bull helicopter through the aircraft’s exter-
for his own personal use. His EC145 helicopter stunt pilot Chuck “Malibu” nal power jack.

www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 13

 Rotorcraft   Report

Front view of the Sikorsky

S-76C++ at NBAA.

The three-day NBAA Conven-

Robinson R66 on display
in Las Vegas.
The StartStick measures approxi-
mately 17 x 6 inches, and will start
a turbine helicopter through its
built-in connector. “This battery will
start my twin engine BO-105!” pro-
claimed Aaron.
tion drew a wide variety of profes-
sionals and companies involved in
corporate air travel.
And although the majority of the
exhibitors displaying aircraft and
products in the Las Vegas Conven-
tion Center were primarily focused
on fixed-wing aviation, helicop-
ter manufacturers and suppliers
were present from the rotary wing
industry, including Robinson, which
showcased one of its light, single-
turbine R66s, and Sikorsky, which
displayed an S-76C++ medium twin
turbine. —By Ernie Stephens
S e e more photo s online at
www.rotorandwing.com

■ Products | Enhanced Vision

Simplex SkyCannon to Feature Astronics Max-Viz EVS

Simplex Aerospace is adding the Max-Viz enhanced vision lated with aircraft
system as standard equipment on its SkyCannon helicopter- GPS position.
Simplex Aerospace

mounted firefighting system. The Astronics-produced Max- The Simplex

Viz EVS gives firefighters the ability to see through smoke system is current-
while fighting high-rise fires. ly offered on the
According to Simplex, SkyCannon will be compatible AgustaWestland SkyCannon.
with viewing images on helicopter multifunction or dedi- AW139, Avicop-
cated displays. Additionally, Simplex’s fire attack systems will ter AC313, Bell 412/212, Eurocopter EC225 and Russian
support data acquisition of aircraft components all corre- Helicopters Kamov Ka-32.

14 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

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 Rotorcraft   Report
■ Training | Military
U.S. Army, Navy Train Together in Mideast Exercises
The U.S. Army is expanding its
capabilities to protect the Persian Gulf
region through joint training exercises
with the U.S. Navy and friendly Middle
East countries. Particular emphasis is
being placed on working with the Navy
to develop tactics, techniques and
procedures (TTP) for littoral (close
to shore) operations in the region, to
include over-water survival training and
shipboard landings.
The Texas Army National Guard’s
36th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB)
is currently fulfilling this role. The unit
was deployed to the region in April and
includes the 4-227th Attack-Recon-
naissance Battalion (Boeing AH-64D
Apaches), the 1-189th General Support
Aviation Battalion (Sikorsky UH-60L
Black Hawks), the 449th Aviation Sup-
port Battalion and a detachment of
fixed-wing aircraft. It has headquarters at
Camp Buehring in Kuwait, with respon-
sibility for the Army Aviation operations
across the Central Command Area of
Responsibility.
While TTP development is a major
element in the Army’s planning, the
primary mission of the unit is to provide
security for the region, and particularly
the defense of Kuwait, according to Maj.
Randy Stillinger, public affairs officer for
the 36th CAB. It is also tasked with build-
ing stronger ties with multi-national
partners in the region through joint
training exercises.
The first of these was Operation Des-
ert Talon, conducted with the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), with the pri-
U.S. Army and Navy
personnel training together
for operations in the
Persian Gulf.
16 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3
mary goal being
“to further the Landing on a U.S. Navy ship.
de velopment
of AH-64D
Apache TTPs
and assess the
aircraft’s efficacy
U.S. Navy
against small
watercraft that
potential adver-
s a r i e s co u l d
employ against Boeing AH-64Ds.
coalition forces,”
Stillinger said.
The unit employed both
U.S. Army
moving and stationary tar-
gets to represent watercraft
profiles, and culminated
with a live fire exercise over the Gulf. sand or dust,” he said.
Stillinger also noted that the deploy- In a recent article by Meghann Myers
ment required the Army helicopter pilots in the Navy Times, Maj. Scott Nicholas,
to receive deck-landing qualification the 36th CAB future operations chief,
(DLQ) before conducting operations off said that “We’re trying to develop tactics,
U.S. Navy ships. Ground school classes techniques and procedures for the lit-
taught by a qualified instructor pilot are toral fight, specifically for countering
followed by five deck landing patterns on fast-attack craft and fast-inshore-attack
land or in an approved simulator. craft, or small boats that might approach
Five landings on a ship are then a larger Navy ship along a coastline.” The
required for qualification. These quali- free flow of maritime traffic throughout
fications are maintained and integrated the Gulf and through the Strait of Hor-
regularly into exercises in the Gulf. muz – the narrow strip of water between
“While there are some aspects of Iran and the Arabian Peninsular leading
DLQ that we can control, gaining and from the Indian Ocean into the Gulf – is
maintaining currency is dependent crucial to the export of oil to the rest of
upon the availability of U.S. Navy ships the world, he said.
in the Northern Arabian Gulf [as well as] LTC Jim Nugent, operations officer for
changing conditions in desert weather, the 36th CAB “Mustangs” noted that the
which can affect training for several days unit continues to expand its capabilities
at a time due to high winds and blowing during its current deployment to Kuwait.
U.S. Navy
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
 Rotorcraft   Report

“This mission provides us with a
high volume of opportunities to engage
with joint and multinational partners
across multiple lines of effort. In par-
ticular, we’ve been fortunate to work
frequently with our Navy and Marine
counterparts in the region, building our
capacity to support the CENTCOM
Commander in the littoral and mari-
time realm,” he said.
“The Apache gives the naval com-
mander a direct-fire weapons system
that’s highly maneuverable and extremely
lethal, that can respond in a very power-
ful way to augment his onboard organic
systems as part of a joint effort,” he said.
The 36th CAB pilots are fully com-
mitted “to furthering tactics, techniques
and procedures that support synchro-
nized maritime maneuver” and taking
advantage of the chance to team with
their counterparts in the Navy, Marines
and Air Force. “I think we’re going to see
much more of this in the future,” he said.
Col. Rick Adams, commander of
the 36th CAB, said that as the U.S.
Military moves into the future, the unit
“is on the tip of the spear with regard to
Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental
and Multinational (JIIM) operations.
We’re privileged to be in a time and
location where these elements merge
and offer opportunity to advance our
skills geometrically.”
While the Apache gunships were
obviously providing the firepower for
the training operations, the Black Hawks
were conducing missions involving com-
bat search and rescue (C-SAR), medical
evacuation, logistics support and per-
sonnel transfer.
Although the 36th CAB is part of
the Texas Army National Guard’s 36th
Infantry Division that gained fame in
both World War I and II, the element
now operating in the Gulf is comprised
of National Guard units from Texas,
Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky,
Minnesota and Montana, as well as
active duty units from Fort Hood, Texas
and Germany. The 36th CAB will serve
in the Gulf region until this winter, when
it will return to its home base in Austin,
Texas. —By Douglas Nelms

■ Products | Avionics

Honeywell Tests Synthetic Vision Avionics Backbone

Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace has conducted the initial trials of a system that combines multiple sensors and
database information into a single 3-D view of the outside world – Synthetic Vision Avionics Backbone (SVAB). The
system merges various sensors with
the manufacturer’s Synthetic Vision
System (SVS) to improve visibility in
degraded visual environments (DVE),
such as brownout, whiteout, during
inclement weather and in the dark of
night. Trials of the SVAB took place on
a Sikorsky Black Hawk as part of a U.S.
Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) Multifunction Radio
Frequency (MFRF) program.
According to Howard Wiebold, man-
ager of business development for Hon-
eywell, the system detected obstacles,
terrain and power lines during the testing.
“While this particular test was done on
a Black Hawk,” he noted in a statement,
“the intent is make this sort of technol-
ogy available for any number of current
and future military helicopter platforms,
including Future Vertical Lift platforms.”
Wiebold continued: “…the ultimate
aim is to give military operators –
the broader U.S. Army, Navy, Marine
Corps and Air Force – coupled with
NATO allies and commercial opera-
tors, flexibility in adopting synthetic
vision-based offerings with different
sensor packages appropriate to each
customer’s needs.”

www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 17

 Rotorcraft   Report
PEOPLE
FlightSafety
International (FSI)
has promoted Ron
L ad nier (left)
to vice president
of FlightSafety
Services Corp., replacing Mike
Sangster, who will continue to serve
as a consultant through 2013.
From 2011 Ladnier had been direc-
tor of Military Business Development
with responsibility for working with
government and military agencies
worldwide to identify and provide
training and simulation equipment
solutions.
Previously a Major General in the
U.S. Air Force (USAF), Ladnier com-
manded the first squadron to operate
C-17s, a C-141 operations group, and
a KC-135 air refueling wing. He also
led the Air Force’s center that directed
worldwide flights of its fleet of cargo
and tanker aircraft. His Air Force career
culminated with leading the 17th Air
Force, which oversaw activities in Afri-
ca. He has more than 4,700 hours as a
pilot and instructor flying C-141A/B,
C-17A, KC-135R (Boeing 707) and
C-21 (Learjet 35) aircraft.
In additional FlightSafety news,
John Forsythe has been appointed
the primary simulator technician for
FSI simulators at the Helicopter Flight
Training Center in Shreveport, La. Part
of Metro Aviation and FSI, Forsythe
will provide daily technical support for
the simulators.
Retiring from USAF in October this
year, he closed his career as produc-
tion superintendent and Maintenance
Operations Center superintendent.
With a degree in Professional Aero-
nautics, he is currently completing his
FAA Airframe and Power Plant Certi-
fication.
Jeremy Mammen, an alumnus of
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University,
is now the Flight Department’s director
of Aviation Safety at the campus at
18 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3
Daytona Beach, Fla.
Mammen will develop safety proce-
dures and policies, maintain his depart-
ment’s aviation emergency response
procedures guide and analyze incident
and accident data for safety reports
used to train staff and design new
programs.
He has worked for Aerosim as man-
ager of Flight Safety, as well as a certified
flight/check instructor and a course-
ware developer. He was also a member
of the Runway Safety Action Group
and Noise Abatement Committee for
Sanford International Airport.
Colleen Back is now business
aviation market segment champion
for BLR Aerospace, responsible for
organization’s global network of
authorized dealers. She will focus on
the structure and policies for continued
growth.
Back’s interest in aviation led her to
a series of senior management positions
within business aviation, including vice
president of sales and marketing for
West Star Aviation, as well as vice presi-
dent of National Aircraft Services sales
for Greenwich AeroGroup. Back is an
instrument-rated pilot and active in
professional aviation organizations.
Greenwich
Aero Group has
a p p o i n te d J i m
Meier as its new
vice president
of government
business development. Meier has 33
years of aviation industry experience in a
variety of business sectors. He has acted
as a registered federal lobbyist. Most
recently, he served as a consultant and
prior to that as Sabreliner’s senior vice
president of Aviation Services. Meier
assumed his duties with Greenwich
AeroGroup in mid-October.
American Eurocopter has named
Samuel Adcock to as vice president
– general manager of its production
plant in Columbus, Miss. Adcock
assumed this role
at the beginning
of October. He
will oversee all
operations at the
Mississippi plant
and report directly to president and
CEO Marc Paganini.
“Sam will guide our Columbus
operation as we continue to serve our
U.S. government customers and pre-
pare to expand our production for the
commercial helicopter market,” noted
Paganini in a statement.
Earl Walker, currently senior
director and general manager in
Columbus, becomes senior director,
government relations and will report
to Adcock.
At the end of
October, Vadim
L i g ay , general
director of Kazan
Helicopters was
awarded the
Order of Honor by Vladimir Putin,
president of the Russian Federation
at a ceremony held in the Catherine
Hall of the Kremlin. Ligay started
at Kazan Helicopters in 1976 as a
design engineer. In June 1998, he was
appointed deputy general director
for commercial issues and from June
2002 had property management and
commercial director added. In 2007
he was promoted to general director of
Kazan Helicopters.
The Order of Honor is awarded for
great achievements in services to the
state, industry and scientific research,
as well as in the fields of socio-cultural,
public and charitable work.
Among other members of Kazan
Helicopters that were honored were
Rinat Valiullin, aircraft mechanic and
assembler, who was given the Order
of Merit to the Fatherland, 2nd class;
and Arkady Moiseev, test pilot, who
gained the honorary title of Merited
Test Pilot of the Russian Federation.
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
 Rotorcraft   Report

coming events
2014:
Feb. 24–27: Helicopter Association International (HAI) Heli-
Expo 2014, Anaheim, Calif. Contact HAI, phone 1-703-683-4646
or visit www.rotor.org
March 12–15: Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA)
International Convention and Trade Show, Nashville, Tenn.
Contact AEA, phone 1-816-347-8400 or visit www.aea.net
March 31–April 2: 2014 CHC Safety & Quality Summit,
Vancouver, BC, Canada. For more details visit www.
chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
April 8–10: Aircraft Interiors Expo, Hamburg Messe, Germany.
Visit www.aircraftinteriorsexpo.com
April 15–17: Asian Business Aviation Convention &
Exhibition (ABACE), Shanghai, China. Contact NBAA, phone
1-202-783-9000 or visit www.abace.aero
May 4–6: Quad-A Annual Convention, Gaylord Opryland
Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. Contact Quad-A, phone 1-203-268-2450
or visit www.quad-a.org
May 12–15: Association for Unmanned Systems International
(AUVSI) Unmanned Systems 2014, Orlando, Fla. Visit www.
auvsi.org
May 20–22: European Business Aviation Convention &
Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland. Contact NBAA, phone 1-202-
783-9000 or visit www.ebace.aero
July 19–20: Farnborough International Airshow, Farnborough,
UK. Visit www.farnborough.com
July 28–Aug.3: Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)
AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wis. Contact EAA, phone 1-920-426-4800
or visit www.airventure.org
Sept. 17–19: ATC Global, Beijing, China. Contact ATC Global,
phone +44 (0) 207 921 8149 or visit www.atcglobalhub.com
Oct. 14–16: Helitech International, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Contact Reed Exhibitions or visit www.helitechevents.com
Nov. 17–19: National Business Aviation Association
Convention & Exhibition, Orlando, Fla. Contact NBAA, phone
1-202-783-9000 or visit www.nbaa.org

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www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 19

 Rotorcraft   Report

■ Products | Rotor Blades ■ Military | Unmanned

4th Generation CH-53K Blades Prep for Eurocopter

Prototype Attachment Reaches Deal with
Sikorsky Aircraft has gone through the initial testing phase of the 35-foot main and AeroVironment
10-foot tail rotor blades for the CH-53K, the heavy lift helicopter being developed for Eurocopter and AeroVironment signed
the U.S. Marine Corps. The blades are designed to meet USMC requirements for the a cooperative agreement during the
CH-53K’s maximum gross weight of 88,000 lbs. Mike Torok, CH-53K vice president AUSA annual meeting in late October
at Sikorsky, notes that the blades are important in helping carry “almost three times to begin exploring new collaborative
the payload compared to the CH-53E Super Stallion,” which the K will replace. opportunities.
The fourth-generation main rotor blades measure 35 feet long and three feet wide The teaming agreement will focus
with the capacity to generate 71 percent more power in conjunction with the aircraft’s on combining AeroVironment’s
three 7,500-shaft-hp GE38-1Bs. When attached to the nine-foot diameter main rotor unmanned aircraft expertise with
hub, the seven main blades will span a diameter of nearly 40 feet. Four 10-foot-long Eurocopter’s experience manufactur-
tail rotor blades feature 15 percent more surface area over the CH-53E blades. ing helicopters, with the possibility of
The next phase for the giant blades involves qualification testing at Sikorsky’s expanding into new markets and devel-
headquarters in Stratford, Conn. From there, engineers will attach the blades to the oping new technologies.
CH-53K ground test vehicle The partnership follows the recent
CH-53K blade. (GTV) at the manufacturer’s launch of Eurocopter’s optionally pilot-
Developmental Flight Center ed vehicle (OPV) program, which
in West Palm Beach, Fla., where employed an unmanned EC145 to per-
a “Shakedown Light-Off ” will form a surveillance mission and deploy
take place involving trials of an external sling load. Both companies
the engines, transmissions and say they’re looking to develop prod-
blades working together for the ucts for the military and commercial
Sikorsky

first time. unmanned markets.

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20 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

■ Military | Engines
U.S. Army’s ITEP Undergoes Engine Test Runs
The U.S. Army’s Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) has
moved a major step forward with the first run of the competing
engines now complete. ITEP was created to find replacement
engines for the General Electric T-700s that power the Boeing
AH-64 Apache and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. The new
engines will provide power in the 3,000 SHP range compared
to the 2,000 SHP range of the T-700 they will replace, but at the
same weight of around 450 lbs. They will also be designed as
“drop in” engines.
The effort is part of the larger Advanced Affordable Turbine
Engine (AATE) program under the Army’s Aviation Applied
Technology Directorate created as a demonstrator initiative to
establish a validated technology base for the engineering devel-
opment of future Army rotary wing engines. The two companies
competing for the ITEP engine contract are the Advanced Tur-
bine Engine Company (ATEC), a 50-50 joint venture between
Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney, and General Electric.
Jerry Wheeler, vice president of ATEC, said that the test run-
ning of the company’s first HPW3000 engine started in March
and ended in July, with the second engine testing starting in Sep-
tember. The second engine will be used for testing in areas such
as sand ingestion, and will run into 2014, he said.
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
Rotorcraft   Report
General Electric has now run its first ITEP engine, the
GE3000, and will have its second engine up and running by the
end of this year, according to Bill Bohman, marketing manager
for the GE3000 program.
The program is now in the tail end of the S&T phase, and will
be going into validation, leading into the full development pro-
gram. Wheeler said that they expect an RFP by next June, with
a final contract award being made in mid-2015. He also noted
that the U.S. Navy is interested in the new engine and is involved
in the analysis. The general requirements being asked of the new
3,000 SHP engine is that it produce 65 percent more shaft horse-
power to weight ratio, but with a 25 percent decrease in specific
fuel consumption. It should also have a 20 percent improvement
in engine life, with a 35 percent reduction in acquisition/main-
tenance cost and a 15 percent improvement in developmental
costs. Bohman said that improvements would come from new
technology such as Ceramic Matrix Components (CMC),
which provides the same strength as their metal counterparts,
but with less weight.
Other power-to-weight improvements will come from areas
such as new materials, innovative cooling configurations and
advanced aerodynamic designs. —By Douglas Nelms
D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 21
 Rotorcraft   Report

■ Products | Airframes ■ Military | Unmanned

EADS Targets U.S. Air Force As Next Northrop Grumman

UH-72 Lakota Customer Unmanned MQ-8C
European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS) is heavily promoting Takes to Skies
its UH-72A Lakota to the U.S. Air Force as a safeguard against cuts to the U.S. Northrop Grumman has carried out the
Army budget that would seriously impact UH-72 production. maiden flight of the unmanned MQ-8C.
Proposed budget cuts for the 2014 fiscal year could reduce acquisition of the A ground-based

Northrop Grumman
MQ-8C initial flight.
U.S. Army’s planned UH-72A fleet by 31 aircraft—which could effectively end group consisting
Lakota production by early 2015, according to Dave Haines, vice president of of representatives
rotorcraft programs. EADS has delivered 278 UH-72As to date to active, active from the U.S.
reserve and National Guard Army units since the first delivery in December 2006. Navy and North-
The Army has put 313 aircraft under contract, and had planned to purchase a total rop Grumman
354. However, proposed budget cuts will drop that number down to 323. A total of flew the aircraft on Oct. 31 from Naval
41 currently remain to be purchased, although that will be cut to 10 if the budget Base Ventura County in Point Mugu,
cuts occur. —By Douglas Nelms Calif. The initial flight took seven minutes
Read the full story at www.rotorandwing.com to validate the aircraft’s autonomous
control systems, and a second flight
■ Public Service | EMS lasted nine minutes reaching an altitude
of 500 feet. The MQ-8C uses a modified
Kazakhstan Mi-26Ts Re-Enter Service Bell 407 airframe and a Rolls-Royce 250-
After 20-Year Gap C47E engine, while its “B” predecessor
was derived from the Schweizer 333. The
Russian Helicopters has returned the first of two Mi-26T heavy lift helicopters to initial MQ-8A utilized the Schweizer 330
the Kazakhstan Emergencies Ministry after undergoing overhaul and modification as a base airframe.
from their previous M-26 military status. According to Northrop Grumman,
The helicopters were prepared for overhaul in March 2012, when specialists the range of the MQ-8C is twice as far
from Novosibirsk met engineers from Kazaviaspas and two months later they as the B version, with payload capacity
were airlifted by a UTair Mi-26T the 2,000 km to the Novosibirsk facility. three times the amount of the MQ-8B.
Work is being carried out at the Novosibirsk Aircraft Repair Plant. Both of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
helicopters had been in storage for 20 years. The new aircraft are now equipped initial operating capability (IOC) of the
with a range of rescue equipment. MQ-8C is scheduled for 2016. Northrop
Russian Helicopters has also secured an order for a Ka-32A11BC from the Grumman MQ-8C partners include Bell,
Belarus Emergencies Ministry. The Minsk department of the government agency Cubic Corp., GE Aviation, Honeywell,
will operate the helicopter in the firefighting role, specifically for high-rise buildings Rolls-Royce, Sierra Nevada and Summit
as part of a city development program. Minsk is working on a number of skyscrap- Aviation.
er projects, including in the Parus apartment block and Royal Plaza administrative
complex rise, while the Gazprom tower and Minsk tower reach over 150 meters ■ services | Maintenance
(around 500 feet). The Ka-32 will come equipped with a water cannon. Handover
to Belarus is expected in 2014. Vector Supports Era
Russian Helicopters Mi-26T.
S-76, AS350 Fleets
Offshore, EMS, firefighting and SAR
operator Era Helicopters has reached
a five-year agreement with Canada-
based Vector Aerospace to provide
maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) services.
The arrangement covers Era’s Euro-
Russian Helicopters

copter AS350s and Sikorsky S-76s.

Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services-
North America will supply inspections,
modifications, testing, repairs and
other services for the helicopters.

22 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

 for Helicopter Operators

Techtest 500-32 Speech Enabled PLB

Re-introducing the 500-32 Series Personal Locator Beacons; now
available with full speech capability on the standard frequency
of 121.5 MHz. The 500-32 retains its simple, compact 132mm
x 72mm x 34mm lightweight form weighing in at less than 370
grams, making it one of the smallest and most effective beacons
on the market. The PLBs are compatible with the majority of
search and rescue equipment including the COSPAS/SARSAT
satellite-based survivor location equipment. Versions are available
featuring embedded 12-channel GPS with data burst transmission
on 406 MHz, further improving location accuracy and detection
time.
The fully certified PLB is a one-piece unit with the transmitter
housed in a molded thermoplastic non-slip compact case, incor-
porating user replaceable batteries mounted within the overall
package. Standard features include an audible tone indicating live
beacon transmissions with GPS Lat/Long position and a full self-test capability. An operator may reprogram the PLB using an
optional reprogramming adaptor. For further information contact sales@hr-smith.com

Transaero Inc. – Your Source for

Generation III Night Vision Goggles
Transaero Inc. is pleased to announce its expanded international
distribution partnership with Exelis Inc. Through this agreement,
Transaero will now to inventory, market and sell Exelis’ F4949
Aviator Night Vision Imaging System throughout the United
States and to select international markets. With exceptional
reliability, the Exelis F4949 Night Vision Goggles/Image
Intensifier System helps ensure a safer, more secure world.
The F4949 system, known as the AN/AVS-9(V) by the U.S.
Government, features Generation III tube performance offering
high resolution, high gain and photo response to near infrared.
A low-profile battery pack improves aviator head mobility and
increases battery life. Exelis’ F4949 series is available in over 40 different configurations and helmet mounts can be included for
fixed or rotary-wing. For more information, please contact Transaero at koshansky@transaeroinc.com or visit us at www.
transaeroinc.com. Transaero has the F4949 in stock and available for immediate delivery. Transaero has been recognized
as a leading technical sales, marketing and distribution company of engineered products to airline, life support and military
markets worldwide.

Barfield Incorporates Wifi Remote Control into RVSM Test Sets

Sabena technics company Barfield has introduced a wifi-enabled remote control feature to its reduced vertical separation
minimum (RVSM) test sets. The company unveiled the new feature for tablets or iPads during the NBAA Convention in late
October. In 2012,
Barfield uncovered its RVSM air data test set, model DPS1000, as a replacement for the manually-operated flight light tes-
ter, model DPS350. Other upgrades include a user-friendly touchscreen interface and programmable test routines. For more
information visit www.barfieldinc.com

www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m D E C EM B E R 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 23

 PUBLIC SERVICE | COMMERCIAL
U.S. Coast Guard - Semper Paratus
By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large
C
Photos by Ernie Stephens
oast Guard Medevacs Woman
From Cruise Ship. Coast
Guard Searches for Missing
32-Year-Old Man in Chesa-
peake Bay. Coast Guard, Navy Rescue
Three From Disabled Sailboat.
Those headlines are just a sam-
pling of actual missions flown by
the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) out of
Air Station, Elizabeth City in North
Carolina – and they were flown over
a 15-day period. But each of those
incidents, while recognized as being
life-and-death situations, represent-
ed just another day in the life of a
24 R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3
OPERATOR
AND HU
USCG helicopter crew.
The mission of the USCG is simple
in definition: We protect the maritime
economy and the environment, we
defend our maritime borders, and we
save those in peril. But that mission is
quite difficult and dangerous in execu-
tion. Still, their motto of “Semper
Paratus,” which means “always ready,”
is something they live up to daily.
Elizabeth City is located on Alber-
marle Sound, 125 nautical miles east-
northeast of Raleigh, N.C., and is
home to the largest USCG air station
in the service. Its four Sikorsky MH-60
The MH-60T is
equipped with
weather radar,
chin-mounted
forward-looking
infrared camera
system, and
external auxiliary
fuel tanks.
Jayhawks – and the 330
personnel who manage,
maintain, and fly aboard
them – are responsible
for an area that extends
approximately 200 nm
north to Atlantic City, N.J.,
southwest to the North
Carolina-S outh Caro-
lina boarder, and into the
Atlantic Ocean for a 300-nm radius.
Five Lockheed C-130J Hercules turbo-
prop airplanes also operate from the
base. They take missions as far north
as Greenland, and as far south as the
W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
 Operator Reports

REPORTS: USCG, COUGAR

UFFMAN HELICOPTERS

The Coast Guard’s MH-60Ts are an upgraded version of the venerable UH-60 Black Hawk. Its
glass cockpit is compatible with the crew’s helmet-mounted night vision goggles.

Caribbean. ation Operations Regiment, the Coast
USCG Sikor- Guard variant sports a few changes
sky MH-60T that make it more suitable as a search
helicopters, and rescue (SAR) platform, such as
which came low, tightly slung external fuel tanks; an
online in 1990 SH-60 Seahawk-style landing gear con-
as replace- figuration; and just one aft cabin door.
ments for the Lt. Jon Lee, a helicopter pilot, was
station’s aging assigned to show me around, and then
HH-3 fleet, are introduce me to the on-duty flight
crewed by a team of two pilots, one crewmembers assembled in a small
flight mechanic, and a rescue swim- conference room.
mer. And although they are very Lt. Kristen Jaekel has 12 years in the
similar in design to the Black Hawks USCG. Her first four years were spent
flown by the Army’s 160th Special Avi- as a flight mechanic, but she has been
a helicopter pilot the rest of the time.
Sitting next to Jaekel was Lt. Jared
Carbajal, a four-year pilot whose wife
is assigned to Elizabeth City as a
C-130J pilot.
Jaekel and Carbajal earned their
wings as all Coast Guard pilots do.
They were accepted to the Navy’s
basic flight school in Pensacola, Fla., as
commissioned USCG officers, earned
their wings in small airplane trainers,
and then went to the Navy’s helicopter
school to learn how to fly the Seahawk.
USCG, Continued on Page 31

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E 25

 CommerCial | offshoRe

RIDING A COUGAR
OUT TO SEA
Photos by Ernie Stephens

26 R oto R & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e R 2 0 1 3 W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m


Cougar Helicopters operates a fleet of nine
Sikorsky S-92s for offshore transport and
SAR missions. Nine are based in St. John’s,
Newfoundland. Three operate from Halifax,
Nova Scotia.
W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m
Operator Reports
ViH aviation subsidiary operates
Sikorsky S-92s for offshore transport
and Sar missions.
R
ain and poor visibility are the one-two punch that keeps
most helicopter operations on the ground. But not so at
Cougar Helicopters located in St. John’s, Newfoundland.
On the day of my visit, the ceilings were only in the triple
digits, and you couldn’t see from one end of St. John’s International
Airport (YYT), where the company is headquartered, to the other.
Yet, ground crews were loading passengers aboard a blue and white
Sikorsky S-92 with “Cougar” emblazed on the side as if the skies
were clear and blue.
Cougar, a subsidiary of British Columbia-based VIH Aviation
Group, engages in just two mission types: passenger and cargo trans-
ports to offshore work sites, and search and rescue (SAR) in support
of those same oil and natural gas activities. Its 300 employees do so at
distances up to 255 nm off the eastern shores of Canada, often in the
unfriendly weather patterns associated with the Atlantic Ocean, but
never to the extent of jeopardizing safety. “We’ve been doing this work
here in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia for the last 17 years under IFR,
offshore conditions,” said Hank Williams, Cougar’s general manager
since 2009. “There are not a lot of ‘normal’ days.”
There may not be a lot of normal weather days, but the company
ensures a tremendous amount of normalcy in every other part of its
operation. And that is what all of its clients pay Cougar for. Oil and natu-
ral gas operators need a constant, reliable flow of supplies and personnel
in order to keep production aboard their offshore drilling rigs going 24
hours a day, 365 days a year. And since surface ships are often too slow,
helicopters are the preferred mode of transportation for material and
workers heading to and from their 21-day deployment at sea.
With Cougar, it all begins at its terminals in Nova Scotia and New-
foundland, the latter of which occupies ramp space on the southern-
most end of YYT. There, employees of Cougar’s client companies arrive
with their suitcases and duffle bags, and begin a departure process that
closely resembles that of a major airline.
Passengers report to Cougar’s agent, who enters the traveler’s name
in a database that will verify that the person is scheduled to fly out that
day, and to which offshore site. As a value-added service, Cougar also
keeps track of the travelers’ employer-mandated water survival training to
ensure it is up to date, since they cannot board the aircraft if it isn’t. (Pas-
sengers and employers are reminded well in advance when their currency
is going to expire, thus minimizing surprises on departure day.)
Once cleared by the database, Cougar takes possession of their lug-
gage, records the weight of the passenger and that luggage, and then
screens both airport-style using baggage X-ray machines, metal detec-
tors, and sometimes physical searches for items that present a hazard
to the flight, or for anything specifically prohibited at the destination.
Cell phones, cameras, weapons, and illicit drugs are prohibited on work
sites, this kind of screening is done landside.
D e c e m b e R 2 0 1 3 | R oto R & W i n g m aga z i n e 27
 Commercial | Offshore

Cougar’s flights are monitored in the Operational Control Center at the St. John’s base. The screen on the left shows the locations of all aircraft
and the offshore points to which they fly.

After the screening process, pas-
sengers enter the secure portion of the
terminal. At this point, the departure
experience begins to feel less like that
of an airport, and more like that of a
“ready room” for space flight.
Having passed the authorization
and security phases, passengers report
to the survival suit room. There, they
are issued a bright orange, Nautilus-
brand, HTS-1 survival suit that was
cleaned, tested, and readied for that
individual based upon the scheduling
software’s notification of who would
be flying out that day. The system also
verifies that the wearer’s training in the
proper donning and use of that suit is
up to date.
Once each person has suited up,
a Cougar employee will conduct a
detailed briefing of the flight and all
applicable emergency procedures,
even if the entire passenger compli-
This S-92, configured for offshore personnel
transport, has a pair of rectangular auxiliary
fuel tanks installed beneath the windows.
ment already knows the information
from previous flights.
As the passengers are preparing
to leave, a pilot and co-pilot are on
the second floor reviewing weather
reports, aircraft maintenance records,
manifests and flight plans. Outside,
maintenance personnel and ground
workers are fueling and preparing one
of Cougar’s aircraft for departure.
When all is ready, and the two-per-
son flight crew is strapped in, ground
personnel escort the passengers –
single file – aboard one of Cougar’s St.
John’s-based Sikorsky S-92s.
The twin-engine S-92, which makes
up Cougar’s fleet of nine helicopters,
offers a stand-up cabin that can seat as
many as 19 passengers. But the aircraft
often has to trade seating capacity for
one or two cabin-installed auxiliary fuel
tanks that increase the aircraft’s range
from 539 nm (under ideal conditions),
to approximately 750 nm.
“Winds out there can get pretty
strong,” said pilot Grant Mills, who
joined Cougar in 2008.
“You go out there with a flight plan
that’s based on all the known informa-
tion,” added Evan Surge, another of
Cougar’s line pilots. “But there can be
a span of a 200-nm leg with no report-
ing station.” And unforeseen, sustained
headwinds of 60 knots or more, which
is common in the Atlantic, can rob the
aircraft of endurance.
With daily flights into such inhospi-
table environments, Cougar uses a sat-
ellite-based tracking and communica-
tions system made by Blue Sky Network
to monitor the status of its aircraft.
Blue Sky’s system receives pings
from Cougar’s aircraft every three
minutes when flying below 2,000 feet,
and every five minutes above that. It
then plots those positions on monitors
throughout Cougar’s facilities and on
handheld devices, thus giving a fairly
accurate view of the location, track,
speed and altitude of each asset. If, how-
ever, the aircrew becomes concerned
about the safety of the flight, they can
activate a “Quick Position Alert” system
that will refresh their information every
15 seconds, plus instantly transmit
alerts back to the base.
Once back at the base, any passen-
gers who were picked up from sea duty
are escorted to the arrivals area, where
they turn in their survival gear and pick
up their personal items before heading
home. Meanwhile, pilots adjourn to their
office area to log the flight back in, report
problems to maintenance, and check the
schedule for their next mission.
In the end, it’s all about safety. “When
it comes to safety, if there’s ever a time
you say, ‘We’re there, we don’t need to
do anymore,’ you’re wrong,” warned
Williams. “So, we’re constantly getting
up the next day and figuring out ways we
can do things safer and better.”

28 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

 Operator Reports

HUFFMAN HELICOPTERS:
MAKING THE BEST OF
THE TOUR INDUSTRY

All work done on Huffman’s helicopters is

accomplished in this hangar by company
personnel.

Tour operator flies robinson r44s from a base in myrtle Beach, S.C.

W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m D e c e m b e R 2 0 1 3 | R oto R & W i n g m aga z i n e 29

Photos by Ernie Stephens Corporate | Tourism
P
ick a tourist destination
anywhere in the world, and
you might find a helicop-
ter operation selling aerial
tours. From the serene beauty of the
Grand Canyon, to the glistening sky-
scrapers in Dubai, there’s nothing like
sightseeing from the air.
Huffman Helicopters – along
with its parent company, Executive
Helicopters – is headquartered in
Myrtle Beach, S.C. Their customers,
who come to town for the sun, beach
and recreation, are often lured to
Huffman’s cabana-style base on the
southeast corner of Myrtle Beach
International Airport (MYR) looking
30 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3
for a special experience.
“When you’re in resorts, you’re in
a gated community,” said Cleveland
Smith, Jr., a security administrator,
who travels often. “So we take heli-
copter tours to see what areas really
look like.”
The problem for air tour opera-
tors, however, is keeping the price
low enough for people like Smith,
who have set a limit on what they
think a flight is worth, given the area
and the length of the trip.
Huffman charges as little as $20
per person for a two-mile flight along
the shoreline closest to its base, and
around $180 for a route that will take
Tony Malendrez, one of Huffman’s pilots,
lifts off with a group of customers. This
particular helicopter matches the company
president’s Lamborghini parked in the
background.
passengers along a 40- to 42-mile
circuit. Seven other tour packages fall
between those two.
Huffman owns eight four-seat,
Robinson R44 helicopters, and
requires at least two passengers
before launching, unless one person
is willing to pay the price of two
riders. Otherwise, it would not be
practical to launch, considering the
company’s operating costs.
Jeremy Bass, the president of both
Huffman and Executive Helicopters,
admits that the tour business would not
be able to sustain itself, especially in an
area where customer traffic is seasonal,
without another money generator.
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

“There are guys who hang up a big,
blue tarp, strap it over a clothesline,
and decide they’re going to make a
million dollars flying tours in a leased
helicopter,” said Bass. “And three
months later, they haven’t made their
lease payments... and they’re out of
business. I didn’t want to be another
one of those.”
Bass, a former small-town police
officer who was bitten by the flying
bug decades ago as a teenager, left
law enforcement for a career in real
estate, partly to make a living, and
partly to finance his love of flying.
“Back in the late 90s and 2000,
helicopter tours were primarily heavy
iron, burning kerosene, flying over
the [Grand] Canyon, Vegas, Hawaii,”
USCG, Continued from Page 25
Each pilot now logs approximately 30
hours of flight time per month han-
dling missions that range from SAR to
drug interdiction.
Across the big conference table
was Petty Officer First Class Ryan
Parker, who has just shy of 14 years on.
His rate is AMT-1, which means he is
a highly skilled flight mechanic.
In the Coast Guard, maintenance
personnel, like Parker, can find
themselves working on any of the
station’s aircraft one day, and flying
crew the next.
Once airborne, Parker’s job is to
manage and operate the gear located
in the aft cabin, to include the rescue
hoist, forward-looking infrared sys-
tem, and powerful searchlight. He
will also be the crewmember that
deploys the rescue basket, or lowers
portable water pumps and supplies to
boats in trouble.
Seated next to him was Petty Offi-
cer Third Class Justin Gieringer, a for-
mer high school swim team champ-
W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
explained Bass. “There did not exist a
small operation [because] there was
no helicopter that was cost-effective.
All of those things play against the
small-time operator.”
So, Bass decided to skip “small,” and
invest large sums of money from his
other endeavors to go directly to “big.”
He is now an FAA-licensed fixed-
wing and rotorcraft pilot, as well as
a certified airframe and powerplant
mechanic and CFI. In addition to his
helicopter businesses, he operates a
flying academy, a charter service, an
aircraft repair facility, and an avionics
shop. His companies own a total of 15
aircraft, half of which are single and
twin-engine airplanes, and his shop is
an authorized repair and parts depot
turned helicopter rescue swimmer.
His rate is AST-3, and he has almost
three years in the service.
Often considered the star of the
show, the rescue swimmer’s job is to
deliver aid away from the aircraft.
This can mean being lowered by cable
to the deck of a disabled ship, or free-
falling 12 feet from the aircraft into an
angry sea wearing snorkel and fins to
reach a person needing help – all in
the gale-force winds created by the
helicopter’s rotor wash!
As a team, each person needs the
other three, equally. Carbajal invited
me to follow him to the flight line to
look at one of their helicopters.
Parker had estimated that the aver-
age time on their helicopters is around
12,000 hours, but it was easy to tell that
all aircraft were perfectly maintained.
The Coast Guard operates like a
fire department, in that its personnel
generally come to work, make sure
they and their equipment are ready
to launch at a moment’s notice, then
wait for the phone to ring. Of course,
they will take regularly scheduled
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E
Operator Reports
for Robinson Helicopters.
Bass employs an average of 68
people across all sectors of his avia-
tion-related businesses. He retains
four helicopter pilots year-round, and
adds four or five more for the sum-
mer tourism rush.
At Huffman, it’s all about giving
passengers a memorable trip hosted
by friendly staff. Potential customers,
many of whom come as a spur-of-
the-moment thing when they see the
brightly colored Huffman billboards
along the highway, seem to feel the
excitement as soon as they arrive.
“Anybody that shows the slightest
interest in something that I am so
passionate about, I embrace them,”
explained Bass.
training flights to keep their skills
sharp, but they often don’t have to wait
long for a call.
One such call came into Air Station
Elizabeth City that week. Details were
sketchy and the reports were confus-
ing, but several boats were reportedly
in distress in various locations between
100-275 nm off the coast of Virginia
and North Carolina in high seas and
foul weather. C-130Js and MH60-
Ts were launched in what became a
marathon SAR operation. By Friday
morning, some very tired crewmem-
bers reported they had hoisted an
injured 67-year-old boater to safety,
and ensured that the other ships, which
had suffered damage, were no longer in
imminent danger.
Capt. Joseph Kelly, the commanding
officer of the air station, called the opera-
tion a success.
As a seasoned helicopter pilot, he had
nothing but praise for his people, as well
as the other USCG and Navy personnel
who were involved.
“This is what my people do,” said
Kelly. “And they do it well.”
31
 INSIDER
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lective, Military Insider,
Insider Helicopter Safety
Helicopter Safety groups/Rotor-Wing-3788071). page 4 for Year-in-Review analysis.

W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m D e c e m b e R 2 0 1 3 | R oto R & W i n g m aga z i n e 33

 Products | News Coverage
The Collective
Story of the Week Headline Date Story of the Week Headline Date
Paganini: Industry Back on Track by 2014 Jan. 2
Helicopter Industry Struggles with Safety Goals Jan. 9
Sikorsky/Boeing Back Together on Joint Multi-Role Jan. 25
Bell Seeks FAA Approval for 429 Weight Increase Jan. 30
Helicopter Industry Active at Aero India Feb. 6
Italian Police Arrest Finmeccanica
CEO Over Corruption Allegations Feb. 13
Heli-Expo Pre-Show e-letters Feb. 26, 27 Lockheed Martin Makes Early Bid for Future
and March 1
Lutz Bertling Exits Eurocopter March 13
New Chinese Ownership Brings ‘Great Change’
to Enstrom March 22
Bristow Helicopters Wins £1.6 Billion
UK SAR Contract March 27
Pilot Report: Flying the Eurocopter EC175 April 3
German Start-Up Building Electric Two-Seater April 10
Indonesia Joins Bell 429 Weight Club April 17
Avincis Group Breeds Safety-First Culture April 24
AgustaWestland Philadelphia to Produce AW169 May 1
Navy Restarts VXX Presidential
Helicopter Replacement May 8
Army Advisor Pours ‘Cold Water’ on
AAS Tech Demos May 15
AHS Forum Converges on Technology
in Demanding Environments May 24
ATSB Issues Safety Actions in Waterfall
Rescue Investigation May 29
NAVAIR Orders Four CH-53K Demo Aircraft June 6
Helicopter Safety & Training
Top Headlines Month Top Headlines Month
Elbit Maintains IAF Bell 206, Cobra Training Fleet January
Chinese Investment Firm Acquires Enstrom January
EASA Approves Bond NVG Ops February
Starlite Purchases Elite Simulator February
Safety Takes Center Stage at Heli-Expo March
TSI Gives Moral Courage Award to Bond, USCG March
Eurocopter Identifies Root Cause of EC225 Issue April
Flight Safety Foundation Seeks More Involvement
in Helicopter Industry April
NTSB Issues PED Safety Guidelines to FAA
and Air Methods May
Avincis Group Strives for ‘Fundamental Change’
in Safety Approach May
EDA Graduates First Tactics Instructors June
Photo by Ernie Stephens
34 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3
Panel Calls for Quicker Science &
Technology Development June 12
AW189 Closes In On Certification June 26
Russians Develop Six Civil Variants at a Time July 3
Era and LCI Order 10 Each from AgustaWestland July 10
Bell Raises 525 Performance Numbers July 17
EC225 Returns to Service with SonAir July 31
Helicopter Mission Systems Aug. 7
Sikorsky Uncovers Matrix Autonomous
Helicopter Technology Aug. 14
Russian Helicopters Gears Up for MAKS Aug. 21
Turbomeca Teams with Russian Helicopters
on Maintenance Aug. 28
UK Approves AS332 Return to Service Sept. 4
Marines Extend K-Max in Afghanistan, Again Sept. 11
Helitech Pre-Show e-letters Sept. 17, 19 , 23
CAA to Examine North Sea Operations as
Avincis, Bristow and CHC Partner Sept. 25
Tiltrotor, X2 and X3: Different Strokes at High Speed Oct. 2
Guimbal Details Cabri Maintenance Savings Oct. 9
Helitech Organizers: 5,600 Attendees
Represents 12% Uptick Oct. 16
Bell Reveals Retractable-Wheeled 429 Oct. 23
Next Step for ITEP: Engine Runs Oct. 30
Army, Navy Conduct Joint Mideast
Training Exercises Nov. 6
Boeing Wraps Up Production of Delta Apache Nov. 13
CAE Breaks Ground at Brunei Training Center June
Meet the ISSP: Working to Increase Safety
in Transportation July
EASA Validates Eurocopter EC225 Fix July
AS332 Accident Renews Safety Concerns
Over Super Puma Family August
NASA to Crash Test Helicopter Fuselage with FAA August
Eurocopter Employs Helicopter LPV
Approaches in Germany September
Turbomeca CEO Details RTM322 Plans September
Vision Zero Award Goes to Boston MedFlight October
Chinook Simulator Upgrade Serves
Dutch CH-47D/F Training October
U.S. Coast Guard Elizabeth
City is profiled in this
month’s issue. What
Operator Reports would
you like to see included
during 2014?
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

Highlights from the Print Magazine
Headline Page # Headline Page #
January
2013 Rotorcraft Outlook Panel 14
Annual Reports 23
NAVAIR Sets Ball Rolling (Again) for
Presidential VXX Replacement 8
Sikorsky Completes CH-53K Ground Test Vehicle 9
Flying the MD540F 46
February
AW189 Prototype Visits U.S. Stops as Part of
Global Flight Test Campaign 12
Sikorsky, Boeing Partner Again on JMR/Future
Vertical Lift 14
Bell 525 Progress Continues: Focus on Relentless
Systems & Simulators 24
Q&A with American Eurocopter CEO Marc Paganini 28
Heli-Expo Heads to Las Vegas 32
Elbit’s Vision Past the Fiscal Cliff 36
Industry Struggles with 2016 Safety Goal 40
March
AgustaWestland Controversy Emerges from
Dust of Aero India 2013 12
Bell Continues to Seek FAA Approval
for 429 Weight Increase 22
Let the Good Times Roll 36
Helicopters Allow O&G Producers to Go
Further Offshore 44
Return of the Excellence Ratings 50
A Career Policing London’s Skies 52
April
Lutz Bertling to Exit Eurocopter,
Move to Bombardier Transportation 10
Turbomeca Reveals Pyrenees-Themed Name
for TM800: Arrano 10
Tilton: 540F Helps Fuel Record 2012
for MD Helicopters 11
Kaman Reorganizes Helicopter Division
Around Strengths 12
Bell 525 Controls: ‘Just Grab It and Fly It’ 14
AgustaWestland India Dispute:
More Smoke Than Fire? 16
Enstrom Introduces Garmin G1000H Option 16
TSI Gives Moral Courage Award
to Bond, USCG Alaska 19
Cobham Demos HeliSAS During Heli-Expo 20
Robinson Reports Productive 2012, Promising 2013 22
Sizable Fleet Orders, New Engines
Dominate Heli-Expo 26
DARPA: Speed, Efficiency Key
to Future VTOL Designs M5
Bell Submits Third-Gen JMR Tech Demonstrator M5
AgustaWestland Reveals ‘Project Zero’ Tiltrotor TD M5
Flying Through the Ceiling M8
Future Vertical Lift: A New Hope in
Challenging Times M12
May
UK Government Cuts Military from SAR Role
with Bristow Selection 12
Safety Board: Testing, Multitasking Factors in
2011 EMS Crash 16
Erickson to Expand Fleet, Services with
Purchase of Evergreen 16
Osprey Takes on Greyhound in Fight
Over U.S. Navy COD 18
Honeywell Outlook: Demand Strong Through 2015 18
Russian Aviation Authority Grants R66 Certification 20
New Engines, Upgraded Systems
Power Boeing AH64E 22
Future Vertical Lift: An Overview 29
New Generation of Offshore Helicopters 34
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
Year in Review
Quad-A: Gotta Case of the Sequestration Blues
One-on-Ones with Top Brass at Sikorsky,
Avincis Group and Breeze-Eastern 42
June
AgustaWestland to Bolster Philadelphia
Line with AW169 Addition 12
Eurocopter Demonstrates ‘Me Too’ Optionally
Piloted Helicopter 14
Synthetic Vision: Seeing What You Should be Missing 28
A Decade of Change for Australia’s
Military Helicopters 34
Paris Prepares for Aviation Takeover 38
Fighting the Flames 42
July
Helicopter Operations to Offshore
Wind Farms, London Conference Update 12
Bell Partners with Turbomeca on Light
Single to Compete with EC120, R66 14
Virginia State Police: Protecting the Commonwealth 26
Striving for Excellence: 2013 Ratings 32
Essential Ground Equipment: A Quick Guide 40
R&D Report: Technology at AHS Forum 43
Panel: Google, Apple Engineers Got Nothing on
Challenges of Helicopter Industry 48
August
EASA Approves Eurocopter EC225 Fix as
Operators Prepare for Return to Service 10
Bell Boosts 525 Performance,
Touts Fly-by-Wire Controls 12
Russian Helicopters Moves Six Civil Variants
Forward at the Same Time 14
Rockwell Collins Launches HeliSure Line of Avionics 16
Sikorsky S-76D: Power and Innovation 20
Rotorcraft Training Guide, Part Two: International 26
Shaping the UK’s Helicopter Force Post-Afghanistan M6
September
Sitting Down with Sikorsky President Mick Maurer:
The Paris Interview 12
Better Equipped for the Hunt 16
Sikorsky’s Matrix Seeks to ‘Execute Mission Within
a Virtual View of the World’ 20
Lockheed Martin Makes Early Bid for JMR/FVL
Mission System 22
Not Just Folding Wings & Tails 30
Helitech International Means Business: Show Preview 36
Integrating Aerial SAR Responders 40
No Mess, No Fuss 46
October
UK Civil Aviation Authority Probes
Scottish AS332 Crash 12
Rolls-Royce Completes Sale of RTM322 Share
to Turbomeca 20
Tennessee’s Own: LIFESTAR Air Medical Services 26
Russia Means Business: Marketing War, Not Cold War 32
Why Buy When You Can Lease? 38
Whirlwinds in a Forgotten War 44
IHST Strives to Lower Accident Rate 48
November
CAA and EASA Start Offshore Review as
Avincis, Bristow and CHC Team on Safety 12
Bell Sort Light Single to Feature Garmin G1000H 12
Helitech’s Move to London Results in
Attendance Boost 22
Heli-Union’s Training Center Builds on
New Technologies 28
New Software Meeting New Technology Needs 34
ADAC Academy Networks EC145 HEMS Operators 38
Proceed with Caution: JMR Phase 1 40
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 35
 Products | accessoRies

Year in Review:
PRODUCTS
PERATOR S CHOICE We’re2013
couple
taking a different
turned out toapproach to our Editors’
be an interesting year inChoice section
terms of of the past
new products
andofnew
years to shift
uses the focus
of existing onto operators—what
products. do theya use,
this year we highlight what
number
do they prefer
of the Hotand whatlistings
Products overall lessons can be gleaned
that appeared fromofthose
in the pages Rotorwho fly
helicopters from January
& Wingdaily? Operator’tosNovember.
Choice willthe
be aHot Products
regular pages
feature have 2012
during
becomewith
in tandem an effective way for vendors
our long-standing to showcase
Operator Profiles. some
Keep ofanthe
eyeless
out as
sexy products and services that are nevertheless key components,
we develop the Operator’s Choice concept throughout the year.
and integral to running a successful helicopter operation.

Max-Viz EVS System

t. 27 handover offrom
Available the 10,000th Arriel engine
Astronics and spatial orientation are improved
dramatically. Stress and fatigue are
JetGo GPUs have been specifi-
cally designed to meet the increasing
reduced. And the ability to more effec- demand in the aviation industry for

y, Turbomeca invited Rotor & Wing for a wide- tively discriminate between MVFR and
IFR conditions can minimize or even
eliminate the chances of IIMC.
a quieter, environmental friendly, yet
powerful ground power unit. Its bril-
liant design, from both a functional

from company executives, including Chairman & Max-Viz is certified on 16 different

helicopters and over 200 fixed-wing air-
and aesthetic standpoint, has set a new
standard for 28V DC ground power
craft. Let us show you how we can help units. Its amazingly compact size, peak

ries, Turbomeca USA President & CEO Russ Spray, with collaborative STC development
and special needs for aircraft installa-
tions not currently available. Interested
power, aircraft protection features,
operator safety and ease of use have
truly made this a unique and vener-

uteaux, director of clients. in preserving your assets? See Max-Viz

in action. For more information, visit
www.max-viz.com/solutions/ems
Photos by Andrew Parker
able unit. Already a popular unit with
military installations, FBOs, MROs and
regional airlines; these ground power

ior Editor An Astronics Max-Viz EVS system can

increase safety and mission success in
both rotary and fixed-wing EMS fleets
for approximately half the cost of night
vision goggles (NVGs) with no need
for costly flight deck lighting modifi-
10,000 of Turbomeca presented the cere-
cations and hours of expensive initial
and recurrent flight crew training and
ct makes monial 10,000th Arriel to the U.S.
currency.
oice. For Army Oct. 27 during an event in front
Max-Viz EVS can give your pilots
and aircraft capability no night vision
arted as of hundreds of employees in Grand
goggles can. Unlike NVGs, Max-Viz
allows your flight crew to see through
s turned Prairie, Texas. On hand to accept the
smoke, haze and light fog. Day or Night.
g a fleet engine—which will go into one of the
They can accurately see terrain, tree
lines, landmarks, landing zones and
hat have Army’s EADS North America UH-72A
obstructions. Situational awareness
million Lakotas—were PEO Aviation Chief of
different Staff Randy Harkins and Lt. Col. David
36 RotoR & Wing magaz ine | DecembeR 2 0 1 3
s that the Bristol, UH-72A program manager.
Eurocop- Also present was American Eurocopter
Sikorsky President & CEO Marc Paganini.
09_RW_1213_YIRHeadlines_p32-39.indd 36
AERO Specialties Offers
units have also become a hit with rotor-
craft operators and flight departments
JetGo GPUs who appreciate the self-sufficient oper-
AERO Specialties JetGo line of 28.5V ation and simple controls! For more
DC diesel hybrid aircraft ground power information, visit Aero Specialties on
units (GPU) provide impressive con- the web at www.aerospecialties.com
tinuous and peak power in addition to
offering advanced aircraft protection Aspen Avionics
systems. The compact size and light Turbomeca
Evolution 1500H USA
and President & CEO
weight make our JetGo ground power Russ Spray (left)
NVG Modifications fromand Turbomeca
unit a nimble unit that is easily maneu-
Aero Dynamix
Chairman & CEO Olivier Andries
vered, whether it’s across the ramp or
around the globe. These GPUs provide prepare
Aero Dynamix, Inc. to present
is the a plaque
industry to the
leader andU.S.
a sophisticated ground power solution Army.
principle innovator of inte-
for aircraft engine starts and avionics grated Night Vision Imaging Systems
maintenance, as well as electrical, air (NVIS) solutions for commercial and
the coating, altering the turbine blades
and environmental systems support. military aircraft. ADI is a full line dis-
and adding new materials, for instance.
When asked how many more times
W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m
the lemon can be squeezed (the com-
pany recently developed the Arriel 2+,
with the Eurocopter EC145T2 as its
11/19/13 4:13:18 PM

tributor and certified repair station
for Aspen Avionics and offers internal
NVG instrument modifications for
Aspen products that do not compro-
mise on the Aspen factory warranty.
Featured here is the Evolution 1500H
Package, which combines the powerful,
award-winning Pro PFD 1000H with
the versatile MFD 500H to deliver a
full-featured, exceptionally easy-to-use
glass panel. The Pro PFD 1000H pro-
vides professional-grade EFIS primary
flight instruments, with a full-featured
electronic HSI with moving map. The
MFD 500H adds photo-quality mov-
ing maps, terrain awareness, geo-ref-
erenced charts and airport diagrams,
and (with optional or existing sensors)
traffic displays, WX500 Stormscope
display, and the full suite of XM WX
aviation weather products.
The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency
(DLA) has also approved Aero Dyna-
mix, Inc. for addition to the qualified
products list (QPL) for MIL-DTL-
7788 integrally illuminated panels.
Aero Dynamix’s proprietary, in-house
panel design and production capabili-
ties include: state-of-the-art illumina-
tion design and testing technologies
essential for effective light balancing
of each illuminated panel produced;
laser-etching capabilities for each illu-
minated panel to guarantee superior
text clarity and legibility in all lighting
conditions; and a robotic paint facility
to ensure consistency of paint applica-
tion. Aero Dynamix’s business phi-
losophy stresses timely, professional
response to customer requests using a
system of defined processes that ensure
a finished panel meets or exceeds cus-
tomer requirements. Aero Dynamix
is the industry leader and principle
innovator of integrated Night Vision
Imaging Systems (NVIS) solutions for
commercial and military aircraft. Aero
Dynamix has a wide array of optional
equipment with the best solutions
and exceptional customer support for
all your Night Vision requirements.
Let Aero Dynamix be your one-stop-
shop for night vision and integrally
illuminated panel solutions. Contact
W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m
Aero Dynamix today at www.sales@
aerodynamix.com for more infor-
mation or to request a quote, or visit
www.aerodynamix.com
HeliSAS Autopilot for
Bell 206 and Bell 407
Available Through
Aeronautical Accessories
Aeronautical Accessories’ new 2013
Product Catalog features the Cobham
HeliSAS autopilot for Bell 206 and
Bell 407 models. The two-axis attitude
hold/attitude command flight control
system significantly reduces pilot work-
load and allows pilots to perform many
cockpit functions hands-free. HeliSAS’
Stability Augmentation System (SAS)
enhances flight stability by providing
precise control during all modes of
flight, regardless of wind conditions or
aircraft center of gravity.
The system has been approved for
use in China by the Civilian Aviation
Administration of China (CAAC),
Brazil by the Agência Nacional de Avia-
ção Civil (ANAC), and in Europe by
the European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA). Validations are in work for
Canada and Russia with approvals
expected 3rd quarter 2013.
With more than 100 systems
installed in the United States, Australia,
and South America, the HeliSAS Auto-
pilot has been well received. Aeronauti-
cal Accessories highlights the HeliSAS
Autopilot as a key product offering to
enhance safety and mission capabili-
ties. The system is available in stock and
ready for shipment.
D e c e m b e R 2 0 1 3 | R oto R & W i n g m aga z i n e
Product Review
For more information on the Heli-
SAS Autopilot Kit, please visit Aero-
nautical Accessories online at www.
aero-access.com or call 1-800-251-
7094 to speak with an Aeronautical
Accessories representative.
DMA Aero MPS43 Air
Data Test Set (ADTS)
DAC International is proud to show-
case the DMA Aero MPS43 Air Data
Test Set (ADTS). The MPS43 is a
low-cost, lightweight (8.8 lbs.), por-
table, high accuracy fully automatic
test set. This makes the unit perfect for
helicopter operators utilizing today’s
newer avionics. The unit comes stan-
dard with a 30-minute backup battery
and ADWIN PC control software so
the operator is able to use and capture
data on a laptop if desired. The MPS43
has ultra low speed (5 to 200 KNTS)
for improved accuracy and stabil-
ity. Options include a Gray Code Alti-
tude Device read out and an external
six-hour battery pack for off airport
operation.
• Lightweight and portable
• High accuracy for today ’s new
avionics
• Automatic operation
• Encoder option available
• 30-minute back up battery
• Operational battery pack available
• Low price
For more information on this prod-
uct, please contact DAC International
at info@dacint.com or call 1-512-331-
5323. Visit DAC International on the
Web at www.dacint.com
TruLink ICS Now for
Frontline to Flightline
Telephonics’ TruLink Wireless Voice
Communication System with its range
of 2,500 feet is the most versatile wire-
less intercom in the world today. TruL-
ink is ideal for pilots and crew mem-
bers for most helicopter applications.
Medevac, Aeromedical, Search and
Rescue, Police, Fire and First Respond-
ers all use TruLink today. Telephonics’
TruLink Portable Transceiver (TPT)
allows crew members to easily com-
37
 Products | Accessories
municate with each other while com-
pletely hands-free in the most critical of
situations, increasing operational safety
for crew members and patients.
The TruLink Submersible Portable
Transceiver (SPT) allows for work to
be completed in and around water
while freeing hands and removing
dependence on traditional hand sig-
nals, whistles, or wands. The Adaptive
Noise Cancellation feature facilitates
clear and effortless communication
even under rotor-wash conditions.
The TPT and SPT offer full-duplex,
hands-free and Voice Activated
(VOX) communication, 31 users per
channel, with 6 simultaneous speak-
ers, and 50 channels of operation.
No other communication system
combines these features to support
and enhance crew mission capability.
For more information or to request a
quote, please contact Transaero Inc. at
walsh@transaeroinc.com or visit us at
www.transaeroinc.com
Sandel Avionics
HeliTAWS Certified Wire
and Terrain Avoidance
For Military Operations
Sandel Avionics, the world leader in
helicopter terrain awareness and warn-
ing systems, is proud to announce the
latest in helicopter TAWS upgrades—
Sandel HeliTAWS ST3453H. Designed
for broad military platform applicabil-
ity, HeliTAWS ST3453H is the only
multi-hazard avoidance system avail-
able for military helicopters. The self-
contained Sandel HeliTAWS ST3453H
is built with MIL-STD 3009 NVIS,
MIL-STD 1553B bus interface and
MIL-STD 810G compatibility. Its Tru-
Alert technology eliminates nuisance
alerts and ensures accuracy at all opera-
tional altitudes. Chosen by Sikorsky
for the next-generation S70i Black
Hawk, Sandel HeliTAWS has 180-
degree vertical and lateral viewing
with an integrated 3D terrain dis-
play, which provides a straightfor-
ward replacement for existing RadAlt
indicators, saving on installation time
38 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3
and cost. See what’s next—Sandel
HeliTAWS. For more information visit
www.sandel.com/helitaws
Next Gen 406MHz
Automatic Activation
PLB from Techtest
Continuing in the success of the Tech-
test Ltd. PLBs following Beacon selec-
tion for another current high profile
aircraft program, the 500-30 Series
are rapidly becoming the “go to” solu-
tion for 406MHz automatic ejection
capable Personal Locator Beacons.
From the moment of activation
upon ejection the Dual frequency 500-
30 transmits 406Mhz with embedded
GPS providing positional accuracy to
better than 100 meters combined with
the ability to home to location.
With a proven universal interface
for automatic activation provided
through an ACES II ejection seat
remote activation cable assembly
and new technology lanyard suitable
for BA22 Parachute Pack or similar,
Ejection seat installation, Personal
Survival pack or Life Vest integration
the unit provides unrivalled flexibility
together with a plug and play upgrade
replacement for the URT33 or similar
beacons.
The 500-30 Series provides aircrew
with the peace of mind that comes
from the established reliability of
Techtest Ltd Personal Locator Bea-
cons. Visit HR Smith/Techtest on the
web at www.hr-smith.com
Transaero Inc. – Your
Source for Generation III
Night Vision Goggles
Transaero Inc. is pleased to announce
its expanded international distribution
partnership with Exelis Inc. Through
this agreement, Transaero will now
to inventory, market and sell Exelis’
F4949 Aviator Night Vision Imaging
System throughout the United States
and to select international markets.
With exceptional reliability, the Exelis
F4949 Night Vision Goggles/Image
Intensifier System helps ensure a safer,
more secure world. The F4949 sys-
tem, known as the AN/AVS-9(V) by
the U.S. Government, features Gen-
eration III tube performance offering
high resolution, high gain and photo
response to near infrared. A low-pro-
file battery pack improves aviator head
mobility and increases battery life.
Exelis’ F4949 series is available in over
40 different configurations and helmet
mounts can be included for fixed or
rotary-wing. For more information,
please contact Transaero at koshan-
sky@transaeroinc.com or visit us at
www.transaeroinc.com. Transaero
has the F4949 in stock and available
for immediate delivery. Transaero has
been recognized as a leading techni-
cal sales, marketing and distribution
company of engineered products to
airline, life support and military mar-
kets worldwide.
Hoffman Paradigm
Series LED Landing
Lights: Drop-In
Replacement for Quartz
Halogen Lamps
Compatible with commercial, civil,
law enforcement, aero-medical and
military aircraft, Paradigm Series LED
Landing Lights from Hoffman Perfor-
mance Lighting are ruggedized, drop-
in replacements for existing quartz
halogen lamps. Hoffman’s PAR64 and
PAR46 are fully qualified to RTCA
DO160, MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461,
and other requirements for fixed-wing
aircraft and rotorcraft.
Paradigm lights are rated for more
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

than 50,000 hours and maintain
the initial candela output over their
entire service life. Innovative control
electronics and LED technology
eliminate the abbreviated service life
and premature failure of incandes-
cent lights from exposure to extreme
temperatures, shock, vibration and
weather.
Paradigm lights feature three inde-
pendent LED light sources, providing
triple redundant reliability. Higher color
temperature light output and superior
brightness improve visual acuity and
aircraft visibility. Unlike filament-based
lighting LEDs will not cause structural
damage from thermal radiation. Para-
digm lights consume less power than
other LED lighting solutions by using
parabolic reflection to form the beam
pattern. Hoffman’s parabolic technolo-
gy provides peak efficiency while mini-
mizing losses due to heat and optical
transmission losses compared to other
LED solutions that use discrete optics
and/or optical clusters. Read more at
www.hoffmanengineering.com
From The Cockpit To
Your iPad
Many developers are writing apps
that can use aircraft position, weather
info, and/or discretes from the air-
craft. Applications for weight and bal-
ance information, OOOI reports, data
recording and reporting, and many
other Apps that can be developed and
tailored for the user.
DAC International’s GDC64 Tablet
Aircraft Interface Unit (TAIU) GDC64
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
is specifically designed as an aircraft
interface device to feed aircraft data to
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D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e
Product Review
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39
 THE
ServiceS | offshoRe

RRIG
IG APP
PHI-operated Sikorsky S-92 in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sikorsky Aircraft

Joint project involving Sikorsky and PHi ‘wrote the book’

with the S-92 automated rig approach for offshore operators.
By Pat Gray

40 R oto R & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e R 2 0 1 3 W W W. R o t o R a n D W i n g . c o m

 S-92 Rig Approach

PROACH

N
o radar, no ILS, no marker it is a patented system for doing an has been going on for more than 20
beacon, yet it is a preci- automated instrument approach by a years using a system of navigation com-
sion approach by any stan- helicopter to an off shore oil rig under bining a Gulf of Mexico grid system,
dard, even though the FAA challenging weather conditions. airborne radar, and more recently GPS,
would not classify it as such. The Having an instrument approach in automatic dependent surveillance-
official name is “Rig Approach” and the Gulf of Mexico is not news. That broadcast (ADS-B) and of course radio

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E 41

 Services | Offshore
contact that can be direct, altitude
permitting, through company dis-
patchers and even satellite phone. The
instrument approaches used by the
operators have some things in com-
mon with land-based approaches used
at most airports, but there are consid-
erable differences as well.
The most glaring difference is that
there is no runway in the middle of the
Gulf. This means the approach must
terminate in a block of “space.” There
is limited en-route radar, no approach
radar and no marker beacons. There
are no lead in lights and no runway
environment. There is always the pos-
sibility of movement on the water by
boats within the approach area. When
the helicopter breaks out, visual cues
are restricted to seeing water, necessi-
tating a lateral eye search for a destina-
tion platform.
FAA Advisory Circular, AC NO:
90-80B is the approving authority
for three basic approach profiles; the
Offshore Standard Approach Pro-
cedure (OSAP), Airborne Radar
Approach (ARA) and Helicopter En
route Descent Area (HEDA). Offshore
operators are authorized to design the
approaches they want to use, give it a
name and then submit the write up to
Sample of an OSAP approach.
Sikorsky
42 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3
the FAA for approval. The approved
approach will then be entered into
that company’s Operations Manual.
AC 90-80B (which is currently
being updated) contains a wealth of
information concerning the approach-
es and the criteria for designing and
using them. In 2008, Petroleum Heli-
copters, Inc. (PHI) went to Sikorsky
Aircraft with the idea of enlisting
them in an effort to make offshore
approaches more automated via
onboard technology. The challenge
was accepted and the two companies
began a development effort using the
Sikorsky S-92 as the test model.
Ron Doeppner, Sikorsky chief
R&D test pilot, was designated as the
lead for the project. The goal was to
provide a coupled approach, using the
OSAP type procedures that would
bring the helicopter down to 200 feet
above the water, with minimal or no
control input by the pilot.
Analysis indicated that using the
current system required as many as
17 separate decisions and actions,
many taking place during the actual
letdown. Seven take place after the
IAF and three after the FAF. The other
10 can be done either before takeoff
or prior to the IAF when properly
planned.
Sikorsky went to work and provid-
ed the software and the hardware. The
software was programmed into the
S-92 Flight Control Computer (FCC)
that will command the autopilot. The
FCC does the math and the FMS gives
the aircraft location and the destina-
tion. Platform final testing resulted in
the 17 actions being reduced to seven.
One of those is done prior to liftoff
and the remaining six can be done
during en-route flight.
The software has to know four
things. 1) Where am I going? This
means precise coordinates must be
put into the Sikorsky FMS database
using the center of the helideck as the
target. This location is then given a
waypoint designation. 2) Where is the
Sikorsky
Treasure Swan TSRIG approach.
wind? The destination rig or an AWOS
station supplies that. 3) What will be
the decision height (DH)? The pilot
can program that. 4) Where will the
offset to the platform be, left or right?
Again, pilot programmed. These four
parameters can be inputted any dis-
tance from the destination, however
wind direction and speed should be
done no more than 50 miles out to
get good information. This means the
pilot could now do a fully automated,
hands-off approach including a MAP.
He observes and monitors systems to
ensure programmed performance.
This is a big contribution to making an
instrument approach safer.
During a regular safety meeting
of Gulf Coast helicopter operators on
October 17 this year, Ron Doeppner
and Paul Perkins, PHI Chief Pilot, gave
an update on the progress of the Rig
Approach. He began the briefing with
the announcement that the approach
has been approved by the FAA, both
in Washington and by the local FSDO
in Baton Rouge, La. The first revenue
use of the Rig Approach took place off
the coast of Louisiana on November
13 this year and is now in operational
use with PHI.
As mentioned earlier, the work-
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m

load of the old OSAP requires many
pilot inputs during the critical phases
of the approach that can lead to dis-
tractions and it was felt that automat-
ing as many as possible would be a
big safety advancement for offshore
operations. Two OSAP approach
plates show the differences in routes,
check points, vertical and ground
tracks and speeds. Onboard avion-
ics consist of autopilot, FMS, FCC,
ADS-B out, weather radar, radar
altimeter, GPS and glass panel con-
figurations such as RMI and other
cue instrumentation.
In the approved Rig Approach,
some of the depictions appear similar
to the old OSAP and this is deliberate in
that PHI requested that Sikorsky try to
keep them close to the same to ease the
approval process.
In a simplified explanation, the heli-
copter takes off from its shore base and
proceeds to its GPS destination way-
Diagrams showing the Sikorsky and PHI-
developed Rig Approach system.
Sikorsky
www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
point. As the pilot nears the waypoint,
he presses an “Approach” button, the
autopilot takes over and the helicopter
begins a turn to the “turn point.” This
FCC establishes this point based on
wind direction previously entered by
the pilot.
Think of it as an aligning point
allowing the quickest transition from
en route flight to the final approach
fix. This is not a procedure turn, but
rather a smooth turn for alignment.
The helicopter continues at cruise
speed and altitude until beginning a
computed descent at 750 feet per min-
ute timed to arrive at the turn point
at 1,500 feet and 80 knots. Just before
arriving at the IAF, it slows to 80 knots,
stabilizes and levels off at 1,500 feet.
It then adjusts the ground speed
to 80 knots as it proceeds to the IAF
located two miles from the FAF, where
it begins its final descent. The final
approach course is off set to the left
or right of the platform to present an
obstacle free go around path. The two
miles between the IAF and FAF gives
the crew time to observe the approach
area using the weather radar in ground
mapping mode.
It continues down on a four-degree
glide slope to a quarter mile from
the MAP. The helicopter levels off at
200 feet above the water and reduces
speed to 30 knots ground speed.
There will now be 0.5 miles left or
right of the destination rig. While still
coupled, the pilots can use the control
beeper to move vertically or laterally
toward the rig. If anything goes wrong
at anytime during the approach, the
crew can press a “go around” but-
ton and the helicopter will begin
an immediate climb at 750 feet per
minute and increase the airspeed to 80
knots, following the missed approach
procedure as programmed. Other
than pushing a few buttons, this entire
approach is done hands off.
Sikorsky conducted the bulk of its
certification flight testing in 2011 and
followed that with a year of working
D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e
S-92 Rig Approach
with the FAA to provide a path for
certification.
“Automated rig approach had never
been done before so the FAA had no
basis on which to compare it,” said
Doeppner, Sikorsky’s project pilot.
“We couldn’t go to the FAA regulators
and say we’re certifying this according
to existing data. We wrote the book
on it, working with the operator (PHI)
and the FAA.”
It is interesting that Sikorsky has
put a new twist into helicopter use
by designing an operational proce-
dure that had been the bailiwick of
the operators. I think that it was an
inevitable direction to go in when
you consider the sophistication of the
computer systems that are being used
in today’s larger and more expensive
helicopters. The manufacturer will
eventually produce a kit that can be
retrofitted to the fleet, worldwide, and
that will be an option on new purchas-
es of S-92s. Plans are also in the works
for equipping the S-76 fleet with the
Rig Approach. The other OEMs will
soon be developing their own versions
of automated approaches for larger
helicopters, it’s just a matter of time.
As Sikorsky says, this milestone
culminates a five-year joint develop-
ment effort between PHI and Sikorsky
for Rig Approach. This new capability
improves helicopter safety and opera-
tions for the offshore oil industry by
reducing crew workload, increasing
situational awareness and enhancing
on-time performance,” said Carey
Bond, President, Sikorsky Global Heli-
copters. “Safety is and always will be
our priority. Innovations such as Rig
Approach are invaluable, especially
in the hostile weather environments
where many of these rigs operate
every day.”
Al Gonsoulin, CEO and Chairman
of the Board of PHI states that: “We
share an absolute commitment to
continue to explore new technologies
to enhance the safety of the men and
women who work in the Gulf.”
43
 commercial | Offshore
By Pat Gray
HSAC Conference:
Lessons in Safety
M
y mind seems to wander
more at this time of year
than when I plunder about
the routine happenings
here along the U.S. Gulf Coast during
the spring and summer months. Having
just attended our year-ending premier
safety event, I think a summary of the
discussions and actions brought forth
by the Helicopter Safety Advisory Con-
ference (HSAC) would be useful. After
all, a meeting of the most prominent
players in the offshore heli-borne market
deserves some attention. These men and
women donate many hours of valuable
time to share safety and regulatory issues
relating to operating in the offshore
environment. The time is spent working
with competitors, government agencies,
allied safety organizations, OEMs, most
of the major oil companies and anyone
else who can make a contribution that
can save lives or property.
The conference is broken down into
committees and work groups that con-
centrate on specific areas of helicopter
operations from the beach to the most
distant offshore oil rigs. The current
workgroups are Heliport and Airways,
Industry Liaison, Technical Advisory
Liaison and Pipeline Aerial Observation.
These meetings are open to anyone who
wants to sit in and any HSAC member is
invited to participate. The members of
these workgroups are busy throughout
the year, communicating with each other
– sometimes meeting – whatever it takes
to keep their projects moving forward.
The wonderful thing is that they are all
competitors who have banded together
for the benefit of safe operations.
All participants are volunteers with
no paid positions. Funding is through
voluntary contributions by regular and
44 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | DECEM B ER 2 0 1 3
associate members. The budget is small
by today’s standards, the major cost being
hotel meeting rooms. The meetings
are held three times a year and rotate
between New Orleans, Lafayette, La.
and Houston, Texas. The rotations result
in greater participation and decreased
travel costs for members. The OEMs
contribute greatly to the financial end by
providing meals and a social hour.
During this year’s meeting on Octo-
ber 16 and 17 in Houston, Mark Fon-
tenot, with BP’s Western Hemisphere
Aviation Authority and also chairman of
HSAC, started the conference with his
introduction and opening comments.
The treasurer and secretary reports fol-
lowed, then it was down to business.
This meeting started with a presenta-
tion and update from Sikorsky’s Chief
R&D Pilot, Ron Doeppner, referencing
the long-awaited Rig Approach. This is a
proprietary system developed by Sikor-
sky and Petroleum Helicopters (PHI) to
automate an IFR offshore instrument
approach to be used on the S-92.
Tony Randall with Bell Helicopter’s
safety division gave an update on prog-
ress concerning the development of a
polycarbonate windscreen. Many chick-
en shots have proved its worth against
bird strikes and they are fabricating a
kit for retrofit on Bell 206 models with
approval to integrate the windscreen into
models coming off the assembly line.
Helideck markings were a topic pre-
sented by the Heliport and Airways
committee chaired by Ken Kersker. Park-
ing space on offshore rigs was addressed,
both as a need and how to mark those
spaces available to prevent damage to the
aircraft. A recommended practice (RP)
is being sent out to all members with the
information.
Allan Overbey, FAA’s ADS-B Program
Manager for the Gulf of Mexico, provided
an operations update. Houston Center still
controls most of the Gulf, but New Orleans
now has enough equipment so that they
can do handoffs to each other. He empha-
sized the need for ADS-B Out (installed
unit in aircraft). As of Jan. 1, 2020 all U.S.
aircraft should be equipped with these
units. The penalty for non-compliance will
be denial of airspace use. Approximately
160 radars will begin shutting down on
this date. He also strongly recommended
ADS-B in receivers be installed due to the
multitude of information that will be avail-
able. The Technical committee empha-
sized the need to think about updating
every ones refueling points, especially the
older ones. There have been many new
innovations in equipment the past few
years and they expressed the need for a
robust fuel management system.
The Aerial Patrol committee gave a
rundown on 2012 statistics relative to the
accident rate per 100,000 flying hours. It is
noteworthy that the accident rate for those
operators who participate in HSAC aerial
patrol recommended practices had a rate
of 1.0 accidents per 100,000 hours vs. 6.7
for non-members.
Other topics presented by various
committees covered AWOS stations (over
32 in the gulf ), radio frequency assign-
ments and usage behavior and changes
to the radio frequency cards published by
HSAC.
This column is a brief summary of
what goes on at the meeting but the real
work goes on between these meetings.
There is tremendous coordination and
cooperation between all the members of
the conference. That’s why flying in the
Gulf is so much safer today than 35 years
ago (when HSAC got its start).
w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m
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 commercial | Technology
Leading Edge
By Frank Lombardi
Tipping the Scales
A
fter many hours in the cock-
pit, it’s not uncommon for
a good helicopter pilot to
become very in-tune with
their machine and its abilities. Getting
to know your aircraft to this level and
being able to operate it safely at or near
its limits is commendable evidence of
countless hours of flying. But don’t ever
use it as a substitute for computing the
required performance, weight, and bal-
ance checks prior to your flight. A quick
check of the NTSB accident reports will
show that failure to do so continues to
be a factor in many fatal accidents, and
therefore worthy of yet another review.
A helicopter’s maximum allowable
gross weight is determined by many
design considerations; but this weight
is not necessarily always the maximum
allowable operational weight. The maxi-
mum operational weight will depend
on the ambient conditions (i.e., den-
sity altitude) at the time of the flight. The
conditions at your takeoff location may
not match the conditions at your landing
location either, so be wary. The perfor-
mance charts in the flight manual com-
bine airframe (rotor) performance with
engine performance and usually present
this to you in a hover ceiling chart.
Be aware that this assumes your
engine is healthy and is producing its
rated power, and only shows you what
maximum weight the helicopter can be
hovered at. It does not show you if you
have any performance margin remaining
to deal with winds, maneuvering in the
hover, transitioning to forward flight,
or to stop a rate of descent in a vertical
landing.
Assuming that there is enough of a
fudge factor built into the performance
46 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | DECEM B ER 2 0 1 3
charts for you to ballpark your maxi-
mum operational weight is like lining up
the holes in the “Swiss cheese” that can
take you straight to an accident scene.
At high-density altitudes, operating very
close to your power limitations can tip
the scales toward bad things fast – too
fast to be recoverable. A drooping rotor
coupled with an approaching tree line
will have a predictable outcome. Alter-
natively, you cannot assume that you
are within your max gross weight limit
just by your ability to achieve takeoff
power. In fact, you may be over gross and
still not know it. You risk over-stressing
components and possible structural fail-
ure in flight due to excessive load factor
in maneuvering, strong wind gusts, or
turbulence.
Ensuring you are within your opera-
tional weight limitation is one half of the
equation, so to speak. The other half is
ensuring the entire flight is conducted
within the aircraft’s allowable center of
gravity (CG) range. The CG can change
throughout the flight as payload changes
or as fuel is burned, so always compute
zero-fuel CG! All forces affecting roll,
pitch, and yaw create moments which
act about the CG. The amount of control
power available in each direction will
depend on CG location. Control power
is the amount of aircraft response achiev-
able with the available control margin.
Running out of stick or pedal is like
a child on the high end of a see-saw run-
ning out of seat behind them to scoot
back on, when trying to bring the see-saw
back down. An excessive forward CG
will require more aft cyclic just to remain
in trim, reducing the control margin, or
the amount of aft cyclic remaining. This
can make it difficult to slow down, or
flare properly in an autorotation.
Similarly, too far aft of a CG will
reduce your forward cyclic margin.
Gusty conditions that cause the rotor to
flap back may then be impossible to cor-
rect, causing loss of control. Also, as the
CG moves aft, the tail rotor must work
harder to maintain directional control,
decreasing pedal margins especially in a
hover or autorotation.
Inattention to lateral CG limits can
decrease control available in hoisting,
crosswinds or slope landings. Vertical
CG changes, though not usually cal-
culated, can affect handling qualities,
showing up as “dutch roll,” or coupled
yawing/rolling tendencies.
Flying thousands of hours during
all sorts of missions does not equate to
having superior flight discipline. Trying
to manage risk with experience alone
is a poor approach to conducting a safe
flight. The trouble with this approach
is that things might be “all good” – until
they’re not.
With smartphones and tablets
becoming prevalent in the cockpit,
it’s easier than ever to conduct proper
preflight performance calculations.
Parts 27 and 29 of the Federal Aviation
Regulations (FARs) do not give an exact
amount of control margin required
for certification of helicopters at criti-
cal weights or CGs, but the generally
accepted amount is 10 percent. Without
my orange flight suit and a fully-instru-
mented experimental aircraft strapped
to me, I don’t want to be the guy finding
out exactly where my engines top out,
or guessing if I’ve got 10 percent control
margin left on any given flight. Knowl-
edge is power, but the discipline to say
“No” is king.
w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m
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advertiser index
Page#...... Advertiser.........................................................................................................................................................Website
17.....................Aerometals.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.aerometals.aero

9.......................Aeronautical Accessories........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.aero-access.com

45.....................Aero Specialties................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ www.aerospecialties.com

2.......................AgustaWestland/Italy.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... www.agustawestland.com

45.....................Alpine Air Support.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.alpine.aero

52.....................American Eurocopter........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.eurocopterusa.com

20.....................ATI Engineering...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.atiesd.com

47.....................Chopper Spotter...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.chopperspotter.com

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21.....................Elite Simulation............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. www.flyelite.com

5.......................FlightSafety............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... www.flightsafety.co

51.....................Helicopter Association International................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.rotor.com

11.....................Pratt & Whitney Canada.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.pwc.ca

19.....................Stark Aerospace............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... www. starkaerospace.com

15.....................UTC Aerospace Systems..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.utcaerospacesystems.com

www . r o t o r a n dw i n g . c o m
.........................
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 47
 Training | Operations
Safety Watch
By Terry Terrell
Helicopters as Playground
Equipment
I
t can be assured that the life of
today’s helicopter pilot will take
many interesting turns over the
course of operational time, and
that some of the inevitable convolu-
tions will depart from familiar aviation
disciplines in wildly diverging ways.
Take, for example, the case of the heli-
copter situated outside normal aviation
environments. It has long been enjoyed,
sometimes positively and sometimes
very negatively, that helicopters often
end up on deck and shut down in
settings other than those suggesting
normal aviation surroundings, and that
in those sundry places they have an
amazing capacity to attract wide variet-
ies of random interest, usually innocent
but sometimes either unintentionally
or deliberately threatening.
I can recall more than a handful of
occasions over the years that put our
EMS airframes at risk as a function of
peculiar location and circumstance. In
addition to hospital helicopter landing
facilities in crowded urban locales, which
were sometimes vulnerable to intrusion
by public walking traffic occasionally
demonstrating a fondness for throwing
rocks – or even discharging firearms –
we very often found ourselves complete-
ly offsite, introducing security factors not
covered in any regular aviation reference.
We once had an air ambulance AStar
experience a maintenance interruption
to normal operations while standing by
to transport an accident victim from a
farmer’s field. We were able to quickly call
in a backup helicopter, completing the
mission effectively, but we were forced to
leave the disabled aircraft shut down on
private farm property for several hours,
including an overnight period. It’s a good
thing the crew was alert enough to leave
48 R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e | DECEM B ER 2 0 1 3
the airframe supervised by responsible
guardianship, because as soon as noise
and activity levels diminished, and our
helicopter was left to relative peace and
quiet, a surprisingly aggressive gaggle of
very curious Black Angus cattle moved
in to conduct their own investigation.
Livestock, as some will surely appreciate,
have been known to gnaw and munch
on airframe materials over the years,
seen most often during the era of fabric-
covered airframes, but old cattle habits
die hard. Additionally, large bovines have
a habit of “leaning” on stationary objects
that cannot escape them, and tail rotors
are certainly not exempt from such
abuse. Our crew, needless to say, was
kept busy all night preventing all possible
gnawing and leaning.
More often, offsite helicopter landings
end up inviting leaning, and other poten-
tially damaging behaviors, by people. I
remember one particular occasion which
featured our prized first TwinStar having
been assigned to grace the grand opening
of a new medical facility. Some of us had
planned to join the proceedings a little
later in the morning, well after the duty
crew would have positioned the aircraft
on site. The pilot on duty that day boasted
a terrific history of outstanding perfor-
mance in settings other than those typi-
cally encountered in emergency medical
air transport, but at that point a few envi-
ronmental nuances common to EMS had
eluded his collection of experiences. One
area of unfamiliarity was the inevitable
presence of actively curious children
which materializes any time a helicopter
makes a static display appearance in
public, along with the propensity of those
children to improvise recreational activi-
ties which focus methodically and relent-
lessly on using the unsuspecting aircraft
as an upscale jungle gym. As we drove up,
we were treated to a scene that featured
our program’s most valuable possession
swarmed by children climbing on every
conceivable part of the airframe, literally
swinging on radio antennas and tail rotor
blades. We discovered our well intended
but inadequately solicitous pilot quite
some distance away, enjoying lunch and
a lively conversation with bystanders.
He, of course, was oblivious to the plight
of his aircraft, but we were not able to let
him leave this public relations date until
our maintenance team had arrived to
complete an inconvenient but necessar-
ily thorough inspection many hours later,
after the crowds had departed.
The fact that helicopter airframes
are enormously strong in some ways
and astonishingly fragile in others is
well known to those involved in rotary
wing operations, but always seems to
be a surprise to those without inside
familiarity. I love to tell interested but
uninvolved people all about how heli-
copter designs are really the end product
of long chains of masterful engineering
achievements and compromises, and
that they are positively no heavier than
they absolutely must be, right down to
the last pound of airframe weight. Rotor
blades, as an example of exquisite design
elegance, show little resistance to poten-
tially destructive bending/flapping while
at rest, but the centrifugally generated
strength of the same blades, when turn-
ing at design operational speeds, exhibits
immense physical rigidity and integrity.
Playground equipment, by contrast, can
be as overbuilt and heavy as necessary
in order to achieve desired function
and durability. So, conflation between
playground equipment and helicopters
should be strenuously avoided.
w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m
January 2014: Annual Reports
Annual Reports—As we approach the start of each new
year, Rotor & Wing surveys its advertisers, key vendors and
suppliers in the helicopter marketplace, and we ask them to
provide our readers with an updated profile of their com-
pany and operations. We ask them to tell us how they are
doing, what important changes they’ve made in the past
year, and to provide an update on what new products, ini-
tiatives or innovations we might expect to see from them in
the coming months. After all, in the turbulent marketplace
and world economy we live in today, the one true constant
is change!
February 2014: Heli-Expo Show Issue
Heli-Expo 2014 Preview—Sneak peaks of what we expect
to see and hear in Anaheim, including a Commercial Market Status
Report.
The Fierce Battle Offshore—Special focus on imminent
purchasing decisions by key operators in the offshore oil and gas
industry.
Show Day and Post-Show Wrap—Keep an eye out for
Bonus Distribution: Heli-Expo 2013, Feb. 24-27 in Anaheim, Calif.
w w w. r o t o r a n d w i n g . c o m
2014 Rotorcraft Outlook Panel—We take a different
approach this year by having our contributing writers interview
each one of the executives that take part in the Annual Reports
profiles and compile a story about what CEOs and other company
leaders see in the crystal ball. The feature story will lead off a sec-
tion that includes answers from executives about industry trends
and what to expect in the future.
Columns—Public Service by Lee Benson; Law Enforcement
Notebook by Ernie Stephens; and Military Insider by Andrew
Drwiega
our annual magazine produced especially for show attendees,
which includes a Pre-Show e-letter and digital edition Wrap deliv-
ered to our full worldwide circulation after the show closes.
Essential Equipment Options—For February we’ll focus
on Spotlights, Hoists and Hooks.
Columns—Leading Edge by Frank Lombardi; Safety Watch by
Terry Terrell; and Military Insider by Andrew Drwiega
DECEM B ER 2 0 1 3 | R oto r & W i n g m aga z i n e 49
 MILITARY | HUMANITARIAN
Military Insider
By Andrew Drwiega
Disaster Recovery Still
a Massive Challenge
S
uper Typhoon Haiyan (locally
named Yolanda) slammed into
the Philippines on Friday, Nov.
8 and brought havoc to the lives
of millions of people as its 200-mph-plus
winds and associated tidal surge blasted
away buildings, villages, towns and
people. It was already expected to be the
worst typhoon to hit the Philippines –
and it lived up to expectations as one of
the worst storms to hit land ever record-
ed. But once again the international
preparations to respond quickly have
largely been shown to be inadequate.
Typhoons are a common occurrence
in the Philippines, but this was always
going to be different. Now, according to
the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), around
11 million people have been affected
with more than 600,000 displaced. The
city of Tacloban is devastated as are
large areas of provinces included Cebu
and Leyte. It quickly became obvious
that a humanitarian disaster had been
inflicted on the country with as many
as 10,000 potential fatalities being pre-
dicted at time of writing (mid Novem-
ber) – and yet the response has been
excruciatingly slow.
“The aid has only come in trickles,”
said one resident being interviewed by
the BBC’s World News five days after
the storm had hit. “The government is
paralyzed; the army only came to restore
order.” Like any previous disaster the
basics of water, food, medical aid and
shelter are needed within the first 24
hours. But electricity is cut, as are com-
munications (especially cell phones as
their towers are down), utilities (water
and sewage) are not functioning, roads
are blocked, and even harbor areas
50 R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3
potentially conceal underwater debris.
It is the sheer scale of the humanitarian
relief effort required that is the problem.
United Nations humanitarian chief
Valerie Amos said on Thursday, Nov. 14:
“I do feel that we have let people down
because we have not been able to get in
more quickly.” Surely the question is why
couldn’t the means to deliver immediate
help be pre-positioned sooner? Why is
there, yet again, a lack of vertical lift in
the form of helicopters being rushed to
the country to begin the task of deliver-
ing aid to those tens of thousands who
need it? Aircraft laden with suppliers
were sent by well-meaning nations
and were being received at unaffected
or recently cleared airfields, but again
in many cases those supplies remain
within the airfield.
The U.S. Marine Corps was one of
the first organizations to respond with
eight of the new Bell-Boeing MV-22
Ospreys of HMM262 squadron (Pacific
Command) on their way within 24
hours. But that represents only the tip
of a rotary iceberg. Helicopters need to
be in the first wave of aid and while the
people cannot eat and drink helicopters,
if they cannot get the essentials for life
and recovery fast then there is no point
in those basics arriving first.
It is also the small things. Cargo nets
are tremendously useful. Not only can
they be reused time and again, they allow
for weighty underslung loads which can
be prepared at the dispersal area cutting
down on waiting time while helicopters
are reloaded by hand. That means many
more trips per day. It also gives hard-
pressed crews greater safety (there was
at least one incident of desperate people
rushing a landing helicopter ).
Of course it is easy to sit remotely
and write about slow response again
– but how many times does it take for
governments and world organizations
to realize that disaster recovery means
having helicopters, as well any aircraft
capable of vertical lift, quickly available
to begin recovery operations?
Why aren’t ships relocated in
advance? It costs a huge amount of
money to reposition ships and most eyes
turn toward the U.S. Navy to see what it
will do, especially as their naval vessels
are equipped to produce drinking water
from sea water in large quantities. The
U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George
Washington (21 helicopters) and escorts
were sent in the days following and
arrived on November 14, just as the
UK’s Ministry of Defense announced
that it was diverting its helicopter carrier
HMS Illustrious from a patrol around
the Horn of Africa to the Philippines. It
operates Westland Sea King Mk4, Mer-
lin AW101 Mk1 and Lynx Mk7 helicop-
ters, but it is 4,500 miles away and will
take 10 days to arrive, that is over two
weeks after the storm impacted.
Disaster recovery on this scale is an
impossible task – but we already know
this. What is needed immediately are
fully equipped, self-sustaining operation
centers with the capability to quickly
receive then deploy rotary forces. It is
command and control and first respond-
ers also need to be sustained. It is not so
much the point that the task being faced
is beyond the wit of man to organize,
but rather it needs international agree-
ment, collaboration and of course the
financial muscle to allow forces to be
pre-allocated and reserved for disasters
such as this.
W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
 International Marketplace
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President, Phoenix Heli-Flight

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