DELIVERING GLOBAL COVERAGE OF THE HELICOPTER INDUSTRY

2009 I ISSUE 63
 contents
2 0 0 9 I ISSUE 6 3

28
cover feature: going dutch in
afghanistan
A Dutch CH47 International news headlines are full of stories about how NATO
hovers at TK as
crewmembers hook
is desperately short of helicopters as part of its International
on another load for Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Alan Norris
transport to one
of the forward reports on one european country though that has been quietly
operating bases. providing rotary-wing assets for operations in the southern
30 Photo by
Alan Norris
provinces of Helmand.

40
38


frost fighters
Vineyard development throughout New Zealand in the past few
years has been steady and impressive. However, the country’s cold
weather means some innovative solutions had to be found to stop
the grapes from being damaged or destroyed by frost. Enter the
helicopter – and a new way for helicopter operators to make money.

52


tomorrow’s troop transport
A new warbird on the horizon is preparing to carry troops,
cargo and firepower to the next front lines. Jeffrey Decker
reports on AgustaWestland’s development of the AW139 into
a military workhorse.

60
on your own
Working for oil and gas usually means working in some of the
remotest regions on earth. So what are the challenges? We
examine operations in Peru’s Amazon basin for some clues.

52 74


sioux – story of an ancient warrior
For many reasons, 1945 was historic. It will forever be remembered
as the year that the United States unleashed the atomic bomb and
regular features 60 the Second World War ended. It was also the year that the United
Nations and the World Bank were formed. The venerable Bell 47
From the Editor 3
also happened.
Industry update 4

subscription Form 9
86
out of control
When wildfires raged toward the edge of Los Angeles, dozens
The opening shot 26
of helicopters flew to help douse the blaze. Now a federal
investigation examines why the flames reached so far.
columns
Inside EMS – Everyone is Crew 19
74 86
flight training – More than
Just Flying 21
law & order – FAA Supremacy
and Pre-emption Take a Hit 23
eye on eastern europe –
Updated news 25
personal profile – Robert Hill 96
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I
hate bureaucracies, especially those that
seem to make things worse rather than
better. I hate process especially when
the process achieves nothing and often
prevents focus on the outcome.
While good bureaucracy and proper
process are necessary, the destructive
elements of both seem to be driving Western
By Mark Ogden Militaries these days and both seem to have
grown exponentially in the last few years.
Why is it that Western Militaries these days
appear so focussed on process rather than
CEO result? Is it the bureaucratization of Defense
Neville (Ned) Dawson – or is it incompetence? (maybe the same
thing.) Bureaucracies by their nature are risk
PUBLISHER averse (dressed up as risk management
Cathy Horton
where there is little management actually
taking place) and often invent process to kill
EDITOR in chief
Mark Ogden
off risk rather manage or understand it. Yet
without risk, there is often no gain.
european editor After 30+ years in the Australian Defense
Alexander Mladenov Force (ADF), I have viewed an organization
now toppling with bureaucracy with
sub editor apparently more emphases on political
Leigh Neil
correctness and butt-covering than actually
getting the job done or winning the battle.
legal EDITOR
Robert Van de Vuurst
ADF equipment procurement in the ADF
is a mess, with the occasional exception –
african editor such as the recent C-17 and Super Hornet
Kevin Barker purchases. Equipment procurement in the
ADF is a drawn-out affair where what is
ems editor purchased often ignores what the person
Mike Biasatti on the ground asked for or needed, while
costs sky-rocket and what ends up being
technical EDITOR
purchased is practically guaranteed to be
Chris Smallhorn
long-in-coming and obsolete. I have seen
I TALIAN CORRESPONDENT
the “dead cat” syndrome where programs
Damiano Gualdoni that have fundamentally failed to deliver
the required capability are literally thrown at
proofreader the operational level to sort out, in order to
Barbara McIntosh get them out of the procurement agency’s
books.
PRINTING
This isn’t a recent manifestation in the
GEON
ADF – rather it’s been coming for some
time, with review after review building
more process rather than forcing individual
responsibility. Endless committee reviews,
an engineering hierarchy that does anything
other than rapidly enable needed changes,
and a bureaucracy that appears to ignore
the operator – all combine to result in
obsolescent systems, equipment that isn’t
quickly modified to meet the ever-changing
EDITORIAL ADDRESS
Oceania Group Intl face of the battlefield and a complete “loss
PO Box 37 978, Parnell of faith” by the operator in the ability of the
Auckland, New Zealand “system” to help them win the battle.
PHONE: + 64 21 757 747 A recent UK report highlighted similar
FAX: + 64 9 528 3172
British problems. A recent leaked report
for Britain’s Ministry of Defense says its
EMAIL
procurement program is hugely inefficient
info@oceaniamediagroup.com
and harming Britain’s ability to fight.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported
receiving a leaked copy of a 296-page draft
www.heliopsmag.com
of the report that highlighted that the MoD
www.heliopsforum.com system of acquisition of new equipment was
from the editor
riddled with endemic failures. The report
said the MoD’s equipment program was 35
billion pounds ($US56 billion) over budget,
five years behind schedule and could not be
afforded in the long-term.
“How can it be that it takes 20 years to
buy a ship, or aircraft, or tank? Why does
it always seem to cost at least twice what
was thought? Even worse, at the end of the
wait, why does it never quite seem to do
what it was supposed to?” the newspaper
reported, quoting from the leaked report.
Flexible enemies like the Taliban are “unlikely
to wait for our sclerotic acquisition systems
to catch up.”
With many British troops being killed by
roadside bombs, much public criticism
has been directed at a perceived lack of
helicopters to avoid troops travelling by land
in inadequately armored road vehicles.
The MoD said the government would be
publishing the report “in due course.”
Meanwhile Colonel Stuart Tootal who led
the Third Battalion, the Parachute Regiment
in Afghanistan’s troubled southern Helmand
Province in 2006, said a lack of the proper
support from London was threatening
to undermine the battle against Taliban
extremists. “There is a real risk that we could
lose the war in Afghanistan. If it is lost, it
will not be in places like Helmand, but in
the corridors of power in cities like London
and Washington,” he wrote in the Sunday
Mirror newspaper.
Debacles such as the US Armed
Reconnaissance Helicopter program
only cements my view of the inability of
the Western Military to do its job due
to the process shackles imposed by
bloated and incompetent bureaucracies.
Fortunately, however, unlike the British and
Australian examples, the US manages to
get equipment upgrades, modifications
and capability improvements to the field
reasonably quickly once the initial purchase
reaches operational capability. Maybe
this is where the uniform takes over from
the bureaucracy?
Companies supplying or bidding these
projects are often blamed for the under-
performing equipment where, in reality,
the process employed by the military
bureaucracies almost guarantees failure and
extraordinary price escalation. As I’ve noted
in the past, companies can be their own
worst enemies but that’s no excuse for the
increasing mess bureaucracy and process
is creating.
It is time for our political masters and
military leaders to stop being so focused
on their processes, political correctness
and butt-covering and get focused on the
needs of the guys in the field. They need to
get brave and take some risks. The military
and the supporting industry will both be the
better for it. n
3
industry update

All Weather Kamovs

EASA has certified the all-weather multi-role Ka-32A11BC for operation
in EU countries. EASA is the civil aviation safety watchdog for the EU. It
has issued type certificate EASA.IM.R.133 for the Ka-32A11BC that will
allow any EU operator to commercially fly the Russian-built machine.
Before type certification by EASA, several Ka-32A11BCs were operated
by EU countries for firefighting and mountain electric lines assembly
pursuant to a Specific Airworthiness Specification. The EASA.IM.R.133
type certificate has opened the skies of EU states for the Ka-32A11BC
lifting limitations for commercial operation by private European
companies. Until now the Ka-32A11BC had been at the disposal of state
institutions only.
New Helos for NC
American Eurocopter has won an industry-wide
competition to provide three new helicopters to Carolinas
New Cockpit for 407
Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. The EC135s are to be
Vector Aerospace-North America has received FAA certification for the delivered this fall and will subsequently be customized to
development of an STC for an Integrated Cockpit Display System (ICDS, meet the specific needs of the MedCenter Air program at
or “glass cockpit installation”) for the Bell 407. This new system includes Carolinas Medical Center. As they enter service, the new
various Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) options, regular- EC135s will replace an existing fleet. The aircraft will serve
size or extended instrument panels, 8 or 10 inch Sagem ICDS displays, North and South Carolina, providing 24/7 coverage from
Garmin Global Navigation System (GNS) 430 or 530 interfaces, Integrated three separate bases. These new aircraft will have the
Caution Advisory System and engine display, in addition to a variety of latest in medical and aviation technology to include: ground
options currently available with Vector’s Bell 206 program. Vector is currently and traffic collision avoidance, NVGs, satellite tracking,
manufacturing 407 glass cockpit installation kits that will be available soon for environmental control and all current and proposed State
sale, pending Transport Canada and EASA approval. and Federal safety recommendations.

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Columbia Helicopters is the only commercial operator of the Model
234 Chinook and Vertol 107-II, the civilian models of the CH-47
Chinook and H-46 Sea Knight. The company’s aircraft operate globally
in extreme weather conditions, and are supported by one of the most
exceptional maintenance facilities anywhere in the industry.
Columbia’s fully functional maintenance facility is a one-stop shop,
able to meet all depot level maintenance requirements for internal and
external customers.

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industry update
Military
Maintenance in the
Netherlands
The Boeing Company and World
Class Aviation Academy of the
Netherlands have signed a teaming
agreement to provide customers in
the region with military maintenance
training on fixed and rotary-wing
aircraft.
Boeing and the WCAA will develop
courses that meet the educational
needs of the aviation industry in the
Netherlands and of the ROC West-
Brabant, a regional training center
under the Dutch Ministry of Education.
These courses will train aircraft
maintainers annually at a new WCAA
maintenance training facility located
at Aviolanda in Hoogerheide in the
Province of Noord-Brabant. Renovation
of the facility is expected to be finished
during the second quarter of 2010.
Indian Sikorskys
Sikorsky Aircraft and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) have signed an agreement
to create a joint venture that will manufacture aerospace components for Sikorsky in
India, including components for S-92 cabins. The joint venture agreement builds upon a
long-term contract signed in June 2009 for TASL to assemble Sikorsky S-92 cabins. Both
the joint venture agreement and the cabin assembly contract stem from a Memorandum
of Understanding signed in February 2007 by the companies to explore the creation of
aerospace operations in India. The cabin assembly contract signed in June 2009 has
led to ongoing construction in Hyderabad, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where TASL
will assemble S-92 cabins starting in 2010. The new joint venture will be positioned to
manufacture components for other
aerospace OEMs as well as detailed
parts for the S-92 cabin.
It is expected that the joint venture
operations will be housed in a
second greenfield facility that will be
constructed in Hyderabad, next to the
cabin assembly building. Construction
for the joint venture company’s facility
is targeted for completion by 2011,
with production beginning in late 2012.
The formation of the joint venture is
subject to the satisfaction of a number
of regulatory and business conditions.
ISO 9001, AS 9100
industry update

Naval Role for H72

EADS North America has delivered the first of five
H-72A training helicopters for the US Navy, marking a
new milestone in the company’s production of multi-role
helicopters for US military services. The H-72A fleet will be
based at the US Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River
Naval Air Station, Md, where it is to be used to train test
pilots from the US military and allied countries. The H-72A
shares the same airframe and is manufactured on the same
production line as the US Army’s UH-72A Lakota LUH –
both of which are produced in Mississippi by EADS North
America’s American Eurocopter subsidiary. The Navy’s
H-72As have several specific equipment additions for
their pilot training mission – including jettisonable cockpit
doors, a cockpit voice and flight data recorder, a main rotor
blade folding kit and an air traffic advisory system. All five
H-72As will be configured in the Naval Test Pilot School’s
high-visibility white and orange paint scheme. Derived
from Eurocopter’s proven EC145, the Navy H-72As and
Army UH-72As are among the most versatile and reliable
helicopters in their class. They are equipped with a modern
glass cockpit, and their high-set main and tail rotors
provide unparalleled safety, access and space utilization.

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DELIVERING GLOBAL COVERAGE OF THE HELICOPTER INDUSTRY

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industry update

New System for the EC145 Apache Programs

Apical Industries has received Transport Two Boeing programs, the Wideband
Canada approval of the EC145 Tri-Bag Networking Waveform (WNW) and the
Emergency Float Systems with & without AH-64 Apache, participated in a successful
Liferafts. FAA approval has been previously integrated capabilities event at the US
received. EASA approval is pending. The Army’s C4ISR On-The-Move (OTM) Event
Apical EC145 Emergency Float Kits consist at Fort Dix, NJ. For the first time during this
of: four emergency floats attached to the large-scale exercise, Boeing flew a WNW-
skid gear, a float inflation reservoir mounted equipped Apache and demonstrated the
on the lower portion of the fuselage, and a cyclic-mounted float inflation handle. Army’s concept for networking the Future
The kit may also contain a set of two 8-man liferafts (with 11-man overload capacity) that Force by transmitting data, voice and video
are packed on the aft floats and have their own mechanical inflation system. The patented communications between air and ground
integrated design of the Apical Liferaft system conserves valuable passenger space forces. During the technology demonstration,
and provides a significant safety benefit over cabin-mounted options. All the associated Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Surrogate
plumbing, hardware and electrical components to complete the installation of the kits are Radios operating WNW Version 3.1a were
provided. installed on an Apache, an airship, several
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled
Vehicles, and at a Tactical Operations Center.
The WNW served as a key component
Maritime Based Apaches
of an interoperable network of airborne,
Two Apache helicopters from 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, based at Wattisham, have mobile and stationary nodes, across which
been conducting maritime aviation training in the North Sea. The aircrew, recently returned it seamlessly transmitted data. Boeing-
from operations in Afghanistan, was onboard HMS Ocean learning to operate their developed network management software
aircraft from the busy flight deck of the Royal Navy’s largest warship. During the two-day monitored the WNW network and was
embarkation, eight pilots conducted multiple day and night landings to achieve their deck interoperable with the Warfighter Information
qualifications. This now opens the way for further embarkations, increasing the operational Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Network Operations
capability of this already versatile aircraft. Manager system.

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11
industry update
South American
Approvals
DART Aerospace has received
Brazilian approval for their Heli-Access
Step for the 206, 206A, 206B, 206L-1,
206L-3, 206L-4 and 407. DART steps
for the Bell 206 and 407 are torsionally
stiffer to prevent the rolling or rotating
often experienced with other available
steps. They install on the crosstubes
with a unique duplex clamping system
that self-locks when weight is applied
to prevent the step from slipping.
The dual clamping system makes
installation easy and simplifies removal
for inspection.
New Fire Radar for Longbow
The new Longbow Fire Control Radar Block III system
hardware and operational software successfully completed
the first half of initial flight tests on an AH-64D. The US Army
conducted the tests at the Yuma Proving Grounds in southern
Arizona. Longbow Limited Liability Company (LLC), a joint
venture of Northrop Grumman Corporation and Lockheed
Martin Corporation, is developing the new system. The flight
test evaluated systems designed by Northrop Grumman,
including the radar mode responsible to identify and classify
moving and non-moving armored vehicle targets. These
stationary and moving target detection and targeting radar
modes have been cleared for the next phase of flight testing
by a US Army field evaluation team. The remaining flight test
modes, scheduled through September 2009, focused on air surveillance and terrain mapping modes,
which are designed by Lockheed Martin.
Thermal Camera
Collaboration
FLIR Systems and Sofradir will be
collaborating on state-of-the-art, third-
generation dual-band detectors and
camera cores to create thermal cameras
with enhanced capabilities for military and
commercial applications. Sofradir brings
its industry-leading detector technology
and mass production capacities, while
FLIR will design cameras and insert them
into both US and international developed
systems. This collaboration comes at a
point when dual-band detectors are just
beginning to become available after a long
period of materials development in several
countries. The applications include not only
military and security imaging systems, but
also thermographic and scientific cameras.
This is because they provide the possibility
of precise non-contact temperature
measurement with automatic compensation
for unknown material emissivity. Sofradir’s IR
detectors are integrated into thousands
of military-grade systems deployed to detect,
observe and identify objects at
great distances, day and night, through fog,
smoke and dust.
The dual-band thermal camera will operate
in the midwave and longwave bandwidths,
allowing users to switch spectral bands
depending on the particular object to
be identified or surveyed. The longwave
bandwidth can optimize detection at cooler
temperatures, and be beneficial on a
battlefield, in the presence of dust, smoke
or fog. The midwave bandwidth will enhance
performance in high temperature and high
humidity. The cameras will also provide
for efficient image fusion between the
two bands, as the images will be naturally
registered.
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February 20–23, 2010
industry update
Falcon Takes Two S76Ds
Sikorsky Aircraft has announced that Falcon Aviation
Services (FAS) has contracted to purchase two S-76Ds,
with options to purchase two more, becoming the
worldwide launch customer for the new aircraft. FAS
is based in Abu Dhabi and provides a wide array of
helicopter and jet services, ranging from aerial tours to
offshore oil and gas transport and corporate jet charter.
The S-76Ds are scheduled for delivery to FAS starting in
2011. The aircraft will be configured for VIP corporate,
helitaxi, and offshore oil and gas support missions. The
S-76Ds will become the first Sikorsky aircraft in the FAS
fleet, which currently numbers 21 helicopters and five
corporate jets.
Little Bird Update
Boeing has announced that the AH-6i light attack/reconnaissance helicopter
successfully completed its first flight on Sept 16, seven months after the company
started work on the prototype aircraft. During the 36-minute flight at the Boeing
Rotorcraft Systems facility in Mesa, Ariz, the helicopter demonstrated its flight
characteristics and several handling maneuvers. The AH-6i program, launched by
Boeing at the 2008 AUSA meeting, is intended for international customers. The
AH-6i features flexible mission configuration, an integrated digital
cockpit, combat-proven design, the highest payload in its
class, an integrated and qualified weapons system, and a
communications package that enables connectivity with
other aircraft and ground stations. Boeing will produce the
AH-6i at its facility in Mesa and is responding to inquiries
from potential customers around the world.
EADS receives US$247
million contract for LUH
The US Army awarded the fifth year
contract for the Lakota Light Utility
Helicopter (LUH) to EADS North America
for $247.2 million. This contract increases
the company’s supply of 45 additional
Lakotas along with hardware to equip
the rotary-wing aircraft for medical
evacuation, personnel transport and
multimission applications. “The Army
has great confidence in the Light Utility
Helicopter program, and to preserve the
momentum of this successful ACAT-1
system, we awarded the Fiscal Year 2010
contract at the earliest point allowed,”
said Keith Roberson, the Deputy Project
Manager for Utility Helicopters at the
US Army’s Program Executive Office
for Aviation. This latest contract funds
Fiscal Year 2010 production of UH-72A
Lakotas to be delivered through June
2011, and brings the total number of
Light Utility Helicopters ordered by the
US Army to 178. “The UH-72A program
is a key element in the US Army’s
aviation modernization effort, and we
are committed to providing the very best
helicopters for America’s warfighters,”
said Sean O’Keefe, EADS North America
Chief Executive Officer.
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 industry update
Elbit’s General Aviation Vision System
(GAViS) Now on S76s
Elbit Systems of America has achieved another milestone for
the Kollsman® GAVis (General Aviation Vision System). It is now
certified on the Sikorsky S-76A, S-76B and S-76C. Pro Star
Aviation has received an FAA STC and can install the GAViS
at the customer’s location during annual inspections or at their
facilities in Londonderry, New Hampshire. GAViS is an affordable,
compact, lightweight infrared sensor that provides a video image
of the aircrafts forward environment at night and in low visibility
conditions. In designing the GAViS™
system, Elbit has leveraged the same
key technology that was developed for
the award winning EVS II used in all
Gulfstream aircraft. Raanan Horowitz,
President and CEO of Elbit Systems
of America states, “It is a pleasure to
be working with a partner like Pro Star
Aviation, who shares our vision of a safer industry.” GAViS™ is
the ideal choice for smaller aircraft, such as the S-76, where there
is limited space available for installation. Its compact size
(3 inches high, 6 inches wide and 11.5 inches long) allows for
flexible installation options. Installation of the Kollsman GAViS™
sensor is simple due to its hermetically sealed, aerodynamic
housing which is designed for exterior mounting.
16
Lockheed to boost
Navy helicopter data pipeline
Lockheed Martin Corp will enhance the data transmission capabilities
of Navy MH-60R helicopters under a US$14.7 million contract. Under the
contract, Lockheed Martin will integrate a digital messaging interface that will
use a new Ku band tactical data link to boost the data flow from the MH-60R
helicopter to the undersea and surface naval vessels it supports on missions.
Lockheed Martin will work on the project with the Naval Air Systems and
Naval Sea Systems commands. The high-definition interface, designated
Ship Air Upgrade 07000, will enable a ship or strike group to request specific
data from the helicopter and simultaneously receive images and other types
of messages, the officials said. The MH-60R and vessel crews will be able to
publish and subscribe for information.
Over the next 30 months, Lockheed Martin will develop the software
needed for the SAU 07000 integration, conduct ground and flight tests and
support Navy tests at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md, the officials said.
The Navy has scheduled MH-60Rs equipped with the Ku-band capability
for deployment as part of the USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75) Carrier Strike
Group in 2012.
The new interface will position the MH-60 to meet future mission
requirements, such as over-the-horizon communications relay and
connectivity to the Defense Department’s Global Information Grid.
The MH-60R collects and processes voice, video, radar and acoustic
sensor data to alert the Navy vessels it supports of undersea or surface
movements and threats.
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By Mike Biasatti
Everyone is
Crew
Should medical personnel
conform to similar
standards of flight fitness
as the pilot?
T
here are big changes coming in the
HEMS industry in the US. One of the
best things you can do right now is
engage your crews; challenge them to rise
up to the level of performance that we must
all operate, recognize their successes,
address deficiencies as soon as possible,
and never let matters of personality detract
from the mission or the message at hand.
Imagine being an EMS pilot coming to
work one night and upon opening the door
to the trailer, directly before him, sitting at
the table was the night nurse with an I.V. in
his arm, a bag hanging above him tacked
to the wall and a second already depleted
bag on the table next to him. The night
paramedic is seated in front of the television
aware that his medical partner for the night
was taking on his second bag of fluids and
apparently had no issue with it.
When asked what was going on, the nurse
explains that he wasn’t feeling well when he
arrived and needed some fluids, but he was
feeling better now and was fine to work.
This actually happened. In this case, a
conversation ensued, a lie was told, a phone
call was made, another conversation was had
and the nurse went home against his will.
Now the point in all of this is why did
this nurse and apparently his paramedic
partner think that it was okay for
him to feel bad enough upon arrival
to work that he didn’t call in sick
earlier, or at the very least go home
when he started to feel ill? (ill enough
to know that he needed IV fluids).
Is it that he felt that his role as a
crewmember that night was not
important enough to be at 100%
fitness? Would he be as comfortable
with the situation had he come in
and seen his pilot on the second
bag of fluids, but claiming he felt
better now and was fine to fly that
night? Why should the wellness
requirement for one crewmember be any
different from the other crewmember?
Programs in the US operate under
one of two structures. The first is where
the medical crew are employees of
the certificate holder and considered
crewmembers and bound by their specific
sections of the operations manual. The
second is where the medical crew are
hospital employees and the aircraft is
operated by one of many companies in the
country serving the air medical community.
In these cases the medical crew are not
official crewmembers of the certificate
holder, but most, if not all operators
Inside EMS
consider them as such, even without the
official designation.
No matter the name, I am here to tell you
that coming to work in a diminished capacity
puts lives at risk and while not violating a
regulation, it is an intolerable practice and
potentially disastrous. On board the aircraft
I’m flying, I am counting on everyone to be
an extra set of eyes. What additional burden
was going to be placed on his partner
that night as he operated in a diminished
capacity? What obstruction on landing
visible to only his field of view was going to
be missed because of his condition? What
medication error might be made because
the crewmember took an OTC medication
before work to mask other symptoms –
and the side effects cause an undesirable
reaction?
How many HEMS aircraft and crew need
to be lost before we all get it? Are the nurse
and the paramedic passengers on the
outbound legs, and then transformed into
crewmembers once the patient arrives?
They are CREW, and as such bear a great
responsibility toward the safe outcome of
every mission and have on more than one
occasion called out obstructions that may
very well have been missed and resulted in
catastrophe.
This job for all its fun and good times,
demands that each crewmember be
engaged 100%, to look out for those wires,
call out traffic and make sure that we all go
home at the end of our shift. Apathy and
complacency along with ego and pride are
killers. It is so easy to take as routine that
departure from your base, that descending
left downwind turn to base and final
approach to your hospital. I implore you
though to be that thorn in everyone’s side
and insist that each person is active and
engaged in their respective roles aboard
the aircraft and when operating around the
aircraft. Don’t ever take for granted that any
lift off, en route time or landing is routine.
No crew plans on becoming a statistic, but
history shows this to be a very dangerous
profession (currently #2). Please take care of
yourself and your fellow crewmembers. Go
home at the end of every shift.
Don’t allow ego to play a part in
interactions. Build one another’s strengths
into a complimentary compilation of well-
coordinated teamwork. Go home safely at
the end of your shift, come back tomorrow
– and repeat.
Happy Holidays from Mike and your
colleagues at www.emsflightcrew.com and
please put “Safety above all else”. n
19
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By Mark Ogden
More Than
Just Flying?
In this world of multi-skilling
and perpetual change,
should pilots learn more
than just flying – or should
they broaden their horizons
and become involved
in other aspects of the
helicopter industry?
F
lying helicopters for most pilots is
something they love, and would
be happy doing for the rest of their
working lives. What takes away from the
enjoyment are unreasonably demanding
customers, sometimes harsh living
conditions and the almost-always away –
from-home demands which usually leads to
AIDS (Aviation Induced Divorce Syndrome)
and usually – pay.
While of course the new entrants to the
industry should focus their time, effort and
money on developing the necessary flying
skills to be useful to the industry, it seems
that once-qualified, many are happy to sit
back and do nothing more than fly – while
still complaining about their pay. Well, that
approach can be very self-limiting and
put a “time expired” label on a pilot. It can
certainly limit potential income.
What many entering the industry need
to understand is that for the very reason of
the love of flying, there is always someone
coming up through the ranks ready to
replace the older pilots. Sure, experience
is looked on favorably, but there is
satisfaction and greater earning potential
by gaining more flying and other industry-
related qualifications, such as in safety and
management.
A good friend who is also a well-
respected chief pilot was recently telling of
his disappointment with some of his pilots
in their reluctance to take on extra tasks
around the company. Some of the guys were
paid good money but they saw their role
purely as pilots, nothing else. Interestingly,
he was saying that this was one area where
he saw the greatest difference between
ex-military and pure civil-trained pilots.
He said that ex-military pilots appeared
to have a different attitude
What many
and were more prepared to
take on other work within entering the industry qualifications may be needed. Many
the company and certainly
need to understand
more prepared to accept
other responsibilities without is that for the very
asking, “How much more will reason of the love of
I get?” I acknowledge that
pilots in the military have a
flying, there is always auditing are becoming not just
lot more opportunity to do someone coming up “good to haves” but are being
courses and be provided
through the ranks
more ongoing training, and
they are required to do things ready to replace the
other than just flying. While older pilots.
the continuous learning
process can be onerous, most of these
pilots tend to find themselves much more
employable when they leave the service, not
just for their flying hours and qualifications,
flight training
but also for their broader attitude to aviation.
Pilots need to understand that from the
day they open a manual to the day they
retire they should be learning and advancing.
They should be aiming for post-graduate
flying qualifications such as instrument and
multi-engine ratings. They should really
understand what makes a helicopter tick,
and why designs are the way they are
(just because you can doesn’t mean you
should). Engineering and maintenance
understanding should be intrinsic to a pilot’s
ability to operate a helicopter. Pilots should
be seeking to learn about the regulations
and the development of those regulations
and associated rules, by studying and
keeping current with such references as the
ICAO Annexes. The Annexes can make for
some interesting reading. They should be
seeking to do courses on such things as
accident investigation, auditing and safety
management – and branch out into contract
development and management. They should
be taking on secondary roles in the company
to learn about how it works, and helping the
companies to expand and develop. After all,
someone has to pay the wages.
So outside of companies, where else
can pilots find areas to expand their
knowledge? Many institutions offer post-
graduate qualifications such as degrees in
aviation management. There are courses
held on accident investigation and safety
management. My only caution here is
that before enrolling in these courses,
find out what they offer, who is teaching
(their background and experience within
the industry sector) and their general
reputation. Ask people who have done
courses as to which learning institutions
or companies they would recommend.
Read about where the industry
is going and look ahead to what
who managed to recognize early
that occupational health was going
to be a requirement are now reaping
the benefits of those early courses.
Safety and risk management and
regulated requirements, so pilots
need to understand exactly what a
safety management system is, for
example.
Pilots, especially those operating
helicopters, need to understand that
continual learning is essential to stay
relevant to an industry that is developing at
an ever-increasing rate. n
21
The enemy is Time.
Troops, water, vehicles, supplies.
Cargo aircrews need to move it all,
quickly and efficiently. DRS helps
defeat this common enemy by speeding
the conversion of cabin rollers to flat
floor configuration and back without
tools. So more time is spent flying
missions than preparing for them.
The invertible floor integrated rollers of the DRS Advanced Cargo Handling System (ACHS)
allow a more rapid cabin reassignment from a pallet transport platform using rollers to
one with a flat floor. In the air, if necessary. The ability to stow the roller system in the
floor following a pallet mission provides a safer cabin environment for subsequent missions
involving troops and other non-palletized payloads. Bring us your toughest challenges.
We’re always looking for new enemies to conquer. www.drs.com

By Rob Van de Vuurst
FAA Supremacy
and
Pre-emption
Take a Hit
You may recall that about
two years ago, I wrote a
column about the concept
of “pre-emption” and how
it can affect you. While I’m
sure you didn’t find it nearly
as intellectually stimulating
as I do (I’m just weird that
way), it is nonetheless a
legal principle that bears
watching, especially in the
aviation world.
H
ere’s a quick refresher on what I
discussed last time – “Pre-emption”
exists because the founding fathers
knew that some issues were more efficiently
handled on a large scale federal level, instead
of by the states individually. To prevent
patchwork regulations in these areas of
law they added the “Supremacy Clause” to
the Constitution, which basically says that
if Congress creates a national regulatory
system (and they have the power under
the Constitution to do it), then any attempt
by states to regulate the same issue will
be pre-empted. Some examples of this
are bankruptcy, the postal service and, of
course, aviation. Anyone who flies, fixes, or
manages any type of aircraft is familiar with
the concept, even if they don’t know it. An
illustrative example is aircraft certification.
No matter where you are in the US, if you are
trying to get an aircraft certified, you deal with
the FAA - period. In contrast, and as another
example, when you’re driving the speed limit
can change from state to state, even on the
interstate system. The reason why states
cannot regulate the aircraft, as opposed to
cars, is pre-emption. Congress has enacted
the Federal Aviation Act which covers aviation
safety, so states cannot make up their own
version of the FARs. Can you imagine a world
without pre-emption if every time you flew
to a different state you had to learn different
regulations, or even worse, have a separate
pilot’s license?
So why am I addressing this topic for a
second time? Because the playing field has
shifted – and in a most unusual way. Last
time I wrote about how Tennessee tried to
regulate the type of equipment that must
be on an EMS helicopter. Fortunately, the
judge in the case dismissed Tennessee’s
arguments and found that aviation safety
is pre-empted by the Federal Aviation Act
(and hence the FAA regulatory system), so
Tennessee could not create different or
additional requirements. For all involved,
this appeared to be a simple case, and
Tennessee was just testing the waters only to
be gently reminded of the limits of its power
by a federal judge.
That brings us to a recent case on the
issue of pre-emption and the FARs. In a
tragic set of facts, a passenger who had
been served alcohol on a US Airways flight
deplaned in New Mexico, left the airport,
and then proceeded to drive the wrong way
on an interstate, resulting in the death of not
only himself, but five family members in the
other car as well. New Mexico responded
by giving US Airways a citation for violating
a state law prohibiting the sale of alcohol to
intoxicated individuals. Then it went even
further and issued a cease-and-desist order
to prohibit them from serving alcohol within
the state because they did not have a state
license. As would be expected, US Airways
appealed to the federal courts, but to protect
themselves while the appeal worked its way
through the legal system, they applied for and
were granted a temporary license to serve
alcohol in New Mexico. The issue came to
a head when the state cited US Airways for
violating the law against serving alcohol to an
intoxicated individual for a second time. They
used this to deny US Airways a permanent
license to serve alcohol, and told the airline
LAW & ORDER
they could not serve alcoholic beverages
on the ground or in the airspace over New
Mexico. In what seemed like an exercise in
state power gone awry, the legal answer
seemed obvious - that is that New Mexico’s
attempt to regulate an airline’s service of
alcohol was clearly pre-empted by both the
Airline Deregulation Act, which prohibits
states from regulating “service” on airlines,
and Part 121 of the CFR, which expressly
prohibits airlines from serving intoxicated
passengers.
Unfortunately, the federal judge in New
Mexico did not agree. In an eyebrow-raising
decision, she found that the FAR regulating
service of alcohol on airlines did not pre-
empt New Mexico’s laws and that the
serving of alcohol was not “service” under
the Airline Deregulation Act. You’re probably
seeing now why this case has caused some
consternation in the legal end of the aviation
world. Let’s say you’re an attorney for an
airline, or a helicopter charter operator for
that matter, and imagine having to go tell your
boss that, just to be safe, we might want to,
oh, apply to get a liquor license in every state
in the country, even for the ones that we just
fly over and don’t even land in?????!!!!!!
As we go to press, the case is on appeal,
and I sincerely hope that this thing is
reversed - and fast. Think for just a moment
how it could affect every one of us if this
court’s rationale starts getting copied in
other circuits. For the fixed wing guys, this
case may just be an anomaly. For the most
part they have similar missions, from airport
to airport, all of which are covered in-depth
by the FARs. However, for those of us in the
rotor world, this should be a wakeup call.
The varied missions of the helicopter and
the ability to land almost anywhere create a
variety of situations where states can find a
void not filled by an FAR.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
If you do find a state law that you feel is
pre-empted, follow it anyway. Consult your
legal counsel, and get them to fight it through
the proper channels, but until a court says
differently, the state law is not pre-empted.
I’m sure US Airways never expected that
New Mexico would win the case, but they
still followed the regulation by applying for a
liquor license. Had they not done so, the fines
and citations could have been exorbitant.
The moral of the story is to always be on
guard, and don’t consider yourself compliant
just because you follow the FARs. Always
have a good aviation attorney – one familiar
with the potential areas where states could
try to regulate, and rely on them. It may cost
a little extra in the short run, but it could save
you potential citations, fines, and operational
issues later. n
23
 Eye on Eastern Europe
Ka-32A11BC gains European
certificate at last
T
he Spanish and Portuguese Ka-32
operators can breathe with ease after
the 30 September 2009 decision of
the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
to grant a type certificate for the Kamov
By Alexander Mladenov Ka-32A11BC variant. Without a certificate,
the civilian operators in Europe would have
been required to ground their fleets after 28
September, when the temporary permission
for the Ka-32A11BC operations issued by
EASA expired.
Achievement of acquiring the EASA
certificate was the result of five years of
sustained effort pursued jointly by Kamov
and Helisureste of Spain to prove that the
co-axial helicopter meets the stringent
European aviation safety requirements, as
outlined in EASA Part 29. The Ka-32A11BC
is used mainly in the freight role in both
Spain and Portugal. Kamov management
forecasts that there will be mildly profitable
sales of more Ka-32A11BCs in Europe
as this cost-effective helicopter occupies
its own niche without any significant
competitors.
In is noteworthy that such an EASA
certification process is not going to be
repeated by Mil with the latest Mi-8/17
civilian derivatives. The main reason for
this is that Europe is not being regarded as
a prospective market for the Mi-8/17 and
thus it would not be cost-effective to invest
any money for a protracted and potentially
expensive certification campaign. The Mi-
8V-5/Mi-17V-5 and Mi-171/Mi-172 however,
are still sold well to Russian and a number
of Third World military, civilian and public
service customers, with no less than 120
examples expected to be rolled out in 2009
at the two existing production facilities in
Russia, and no less than 70 per cent of
these are destined for export customers.
A good many Mi-17s
bought by USA for use
in the War on Terror…
but not all are happy
I
n October 2009, US Senator Richard
Shelby publicly revealed in a letter from
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates,
that the US has spent a total of $US807.2
million on the purchase of Russian-made
Mi-17 helicopters for delivery to
Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. He criticized
the US DoD program, claiming that it
appears to be an ad hoc procurement
process with inadequate oversight. Shelby
also added that this is an undefined, delayed
program, and simply not a good use of
taxpayer funds.
Unconcerned by the Shelby’s statements,
the NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency
(NAMSA) has been selected to act as
the contracting authority in the expected
refurbishment and upgrade of tenders for
the Mi-17s provided by the East European
countries for operations in Afghanistan.
The drive for an increasing use of the Mi-17
to provide an additional airlift capacity is
reasonable, since the Hip-H is well known
as a reliable, simple and easy-to-maintain
helicopter. It was designed for simplicity
from the very beginning in an effort to meet
the requirements for reliable operations in
all climates and terrain, from the Siberian
wasteland to the South American jungles
and the Sahara dessert.
The initiative, however, is still moving at a
very slow pace and by the end of 2009 there
is no clear understanding regarding the
amount of available funding, the numbers
of the Mi-17s to be provided by the East
European nations, as well as the defined
timelines for the bids to refurbish and
upgrade the Hip-Hs and their re-entry into
service dates.
As per the original expectations of NAMSA
dating from mid-2009, the first batch of four
upgraded Mi-17s (two provided by Hungary
and another two by Bulgaria) with trained
crews is now to be ready for deployment by
mid-2011. But even this date is likely to be
delayed no less than six months, should the
initiative be successful at all. n
25
T he opening sh ot

THIS ISSUE’S WINNING

SHOT PHOTOGR APHED BY:
Justin Gunsaul s

Bell 214B-1,
N217PJ flying
tower tops near
San Fransisco
summer of
2009. Pilot-Mike
Gunsauls,
co-pilot Brad Hall.
Going
Dutch in
Afghanistan

International news headlines are

full of stories about how NATO is
desperately short of helicopters
as part of its International
Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
in Afghanistan. Alan Norris
reports on one european country
though that has been quietly
providing rotary-wing assets
for operations in the southern
provinces of Helmand.

photos by alan norris

c ov er feature

S
ince the start of the operations
in Southern Afghanistan in
2002, the Royal Netherlands
Defense Force has played a
pivotal role in the development of the
NATO-ISAF coalition, providing troops
as part of the Provincial Reconstruction
Teams. The Royal Netherlands Air
Force (RNLAF) Air Task Force (ATF) has
been providing air assets in the form
of Chinook and Cougar helicopters
based on Kandahar Air Field (KAF), and
Apache AH-64D attack helicopters at
Tarin Kowt in Uruzgan province.
The Aircraft
In 1993 the RNLAF ordered 13
CH-47s made up of a mix of six new-
build CH-47D Chinooks and seven
ex-Canadian C-model Chinooks which
were upgraded to D-models at the
Boeing facility in Philadelphia. On
completion the Canadian airframe
flight hours were zeroed. When the
first CH-47D was delivered to 288
Squadron in 1996, it was the most
30
advanced CH-47D in service at the
time, incorporating a number of
features that became standard in the
CH-47 Super D International Chinook.
The CH-47 Super D International
Chinook was equipped with the
Honeywell Avionics Control and
Management System (ACMS) glass
cockpit, which integrates the
communications and navigation suites,
and Electronic Flight Information System
(EFIS) with the Bendix weather radar,
flight control and night-vision-compatible
display. Multifunction displays presenting
the information from all of these systems
to the pilots, the ACMS also includes a
digital map and GPS.
For self-defense, the aircraft are
fitted with the AN/APR-39 Radar
Warning Receiver (RWR) and AN/
ALQ-156A Missile Approach Warning
System (MAWS). The MAWS has
a cockpit control unit and a chaff/
flare programmer coupled to a Tracor
ALE-40(N) chaff and flare dispensers
mounted on the fuselage. Although
Flying low and fast as
the Chinook departs
another FOB the gunners
constantly monitor the
terrain until they climb
out of the threat level.
a number of Chinook operators in
Afghanistan have infrared jammers,
the vulnerability from heat-seeking
surface-to-air missiles is not seen as a
potential threat. The Dutch CH-47Ds do
not have infrared jammers or exhaust
diffusers installed, but the MAWS
dispensers can carry up to 30 RR-170
chaff cartridges or 30 MJU-7/B IR flares.
For the Afghanistan operations the
Chinooks have been fitted with extra
Kevlar armor plating on the cockpit
sides and the floor of the cargo hold,
which provides protection from small-
arms fire. The drawback of this extra
amour, however, is the addition of an
extra 11,023 pounds (5,000 kilograms)
to the all up weight (AUW) of the
aircraft and with a full fuel load,
reducing its lifting capability to a
8,000 pounds (3,630 kilograms) useful
load. The Chinooks are fitted with
three MAG M240D General Purpose
Machine Guns (GPMG) – two mounted
in the port and starboard doors and a
third on the rear ramp.
 Loads can vary from food
or fresh water to troops
and civilians reflecting the
multinational role ISAF are
undertaking in Helmand.

Chinook crews aim to

be on the ground for the
shortest possible time

The Green Zone is

a very fertile region
in Afghanistan, with
the waters from the
mountains feeding the
Helmand River which in
turn irrigate the farms
along the river banks.

The Dutch CH-47D

set the standard for
the CH-47 Super D
International Chinook
model and was the most
advanced Chinook type
in service at the time.

The Chinook is a big

target so fast when low
is the best tactic to avoid
possible ground fire
from enemy forces when
departing a FOB.
Always operating
in pairs the Dutch
Chinooks maintain a
safe distance when
flying low and fast over
the local villages.
Photo RNLAF
Coming under a joint
helicopter command
means the Dutch
Chinooks will carry
a wide selection of
nationalities from the
coalition troops.
To ensure maximum performance
and reliability of the Chinooks,
engineers carry out 200-hour desert
inspections at KAF, checking and
cleaning all engine access panels and
all electrical connectors. Replacement
parts are not a major issue as regular
flights between the Netherlands and
Afghanistan ensure the turnaround
on spares is no more than two to three
days. But on KAF the Dutch engineering
clamshell hanger is located next to the
US Army Chinook maintainers and
the RNLAF have recently entered an
agreement with the Americans to use
parts from the US Army inventory, if
the need arises. That should reduce
lead times even further.
The T55-L-714 engines are currently
only fitted with wire filters on the
intakes, but a modification program
to fit the Engine Air Particle Separator
(EAPS) filter system is ongoing.
Chinooks deployed from 2010 will have
the EAPS system. While operating in
Afghanistan the engines undergo a
compressor power-wash after each
flight, using only water, and a four
weekly wash with detergent.
At the end of the deployment the
aircraft return to the Netherlands
where they are stripped down and
undergo a major desert maintenance
program – removing up to 39.8
pounds (18 kilograms) of the talcum
powder fine dust and replacing any
components as needed, with any
32
Loadmasters and
gunners are constantly
scanning for threats
despite the Dutch
Chinooks having never
knowing been fired
upon during their time
in Afghanistan.
phase inspections normally scheduled
to fit into this maintenance period.
The engineers are impressed at the
durability of the aircraft and the lack of
notable component problems.
Pre-Deployment training
Having 13 aircraft in a fleet was
an unlucky number probably tempting
fate. In 2005, two cabs were lost during
Operation Enduring Freedom. One was
the result of brown-out conditions
during the insertion of troops – the
second a hard landing after losing
power in cruise flight. No injuries were
suffered in either incident, but both
helicopters were deliberately destroyed
by ground troops to stop the Taliban
from using any of the downed aircraft
equipment.
Following these incidents it was
decided there must be more training in
conditions that can simulate operations
in Afghanistan as closely as possible.
Brown-outs are when the rotor
downwash kicks up dust and debris,
reducing the pilot’s visibility during a
landing or takeoff procedure.
Pre-deployment training starts
in the Netherlands with very basic
brown-out condition training, and then
moving to Spain where over a three-
week flying period the crews undergo
more advanced brown-out conditions,
flying lower and using the terrain and
surroundings to try to simulate flying
conditions in Afghanistan. Everyone
agrees that this training helps, but
also agree it’s impossible to train for
the more daunting aspects of a brown-
out, especially when a pilot will be
flying blind, losing all visibility and
references during the last few seconds
of a landing.
By the time pilots arrive in
Afghanistan they are at combat
ready status, which means that every
currency and qualification is up to date
and they have been through the whole
training process including tactical
and mountain flying. The long-term
experience gained in Afghanistan helps
with the supervision of new pilots
coming in to the theater for the first
time, and they are usually paired with
an experienced pilot to help bring them
up to an even higher standard.
Operations
With 65 percent of Dutch helicopter
assets carrying out their flying outside
of their own country, this constitutes
nearly 8,000 hours of flying from a total
of 12,000 hours spent in the air each
year. The Chinooks of 298 Squadron
have been continuously deployed on
missions since 1998, including Africa
to support the United Nations Mission
in Ethiopia, and as part of SFOR in
Macedonia.
The RNLAF operate the Boeing
CH-47D in heavy-lift roles, and the
Eurocopter Cougar in the medium-
lift roles – with both types rotated at
 Kandahar Air Field every six months.
With summer temperatures ranging
from 16°c (61°f) at sunrise to 50°c (122°f)
by midday, helicopters can be operating
in these ambient temperatures at an
altitude of 3,000 feet.
The rotation has two functions.
First, the Cougar would have a reduced
lift capability during these hot summer
temperatures in Afghanistan and so the
Chinooks will be deployed in the hotter
months of April to October. Second, the
aircraft return to the Netherlands for
regular deep clean and maintenance
– minimizing wear and tear on the
airframes in the long term.
To make best use of the helicopter
assets in Helmand Province, American,
British, Canadian, Australian and
Dutch airships now come under a Joint
Helicopter Command, which in turn
receives all tasking from Regional
Command South, with both commands
located at Kandahar Air Field.
A little more than 1,500 Dutch
troops are stationed in the strategically
important southern province of
Uruzgan under ISAF as part of Task
Force Uruzgan (TFU). As you would
expect, the RNLAF Chinooks focus
on the Uruzgan province but have
operated in both the South and East of
Helmand where coalition troops
are operating. The Headquarters of the
TFU is located on Kamp Holland the
Dutch military base near Tarin Kowt
(TK) the provincial capital of Uruzgan
province.
34
Kamp Holland was an American
base until August 2006 when ISAF
assumed control for Afghanistan’s
security and the US handed over
command of the base to the
Netherlands. Other multi-national
troops are based 60 kilometers to the
west in Deh Rawod and dotted around
a number of smaller Forward Operating
Bases (FOB) in the area. The TFU troops
have been supported locally by a Dutch
AH-64D Apache detachment since 2006,
and in April 2009 helicopter assets were
increased when a detachment from the
82nd Combat Aviation Brigade deployed
Apache, Blackhawk and OH-58D
helicopters.
The one-mile (1.6 kilometer)
runway at Tarin Kowt is still a hard
dirt surface, but 2010 will see the
start of major construction work with
the building of a new control tower,
terminal building and the asphalt
surfacing of the runway. Large C-17,
C-130 and Russian civilian aircraft
deliver the bulk of the supplies, with
helicopters and trucks taking the
smaller loads out to the troops in
the field. Two Dutch Chinooks make
resupply runs at least once a week to
and from Tarin Kowt, with groups of
FOBs divided into color codes – Black,
White and Grey rings denoting a
particular set of bases.
During our time with the Dutch
Air Task force, we had the rare and
exclusive opportunity to fly on one of
these re-supply flights.
The Black Ring
Although the resupply is referred to
as the Black Ring, the whole process is
more like a cycle wheel with the center
being Tarin Kowt, still known as FOB
Ripley, and the spokes fanning out to
the FOBs.
Color-coding helps with the pre-
flight planning, which is more of a
route planning, identifying the FOBs
that they will be visiting. Normally
every FOB will always need something
– food, water, ammunition, and people
coming in and going out. The FOBs
always have a request in place and
flexibility is an important part of the
day. A list of cargo and passengers is in
place the night before when the flight
crew prepares a flight plan usually
based on a four-to-five-hour flight,
and this then gives them the flexibility
of taking on at least two extra hours
of tasking.
Usually, one Chinook is configured
for all passengers and the second for a
combination of passengers and cargo
with seats running along the left-hand
side of the aircraft, and a roller system
on the right-hand side for handling
cargo. The standard crew is two pilots,
two loadmasters and two door gunners,
the latter provided by the Dutch Air
Mobile Brigade – plus the loadmasters
are also trained to operate the GPMG.
The re-supply flight is an eight-hour
day of non-stop drop-offs and pick-ups,
with the crew eating and drinking on
the go. The Taliban see the downing
Firefighting
5,000 litre
capacity

www.heliharvest.co.nz
Ph: + 64 9 534 4803

The dust cloud of a
brownout will limit
visibility even for the
door gunners during
the last few moments
of a landing.
of a helicopter as a big propaganda
headline and so the threat from
shoulder launched rocket-propelled
grenades (RPG) is a very real issue.
So for security the Chinooks always
aim to be on the ground for the
shortest possible time, which makes
unloading of the cargo a less-than-
graceful operation.
Operating in daylight only, our
flight was a 07:00 start giving the
crewmembers the maximum amount
of time to complete their tasks. As we
approached the flight line the three
Dutch Chinooks could be picked out
by their distinctive nose, housing the
weather radar and their light green
paint scheme – this compared to
the sand color of the US Army and
darker green of the RAF, Canadian and
Australian Chinooks.
Any pilots in Afghanistan will
talk about the threat level which is
considered to be highest between
150 feet (50 meters) and 2,000 feet
(600 meters), above which the aircraft
are out of range of enemy ground
fire. To reduce the risk even further,
pilots always depart at the maximum
possible airspeed for the conditions to
36
The unloading
of cargo is not a
In a full graceful operation
brownout as the Chinook
pilots aim to be
you will on the ground
for the shortest
land without possible time.
visibility for
about two to
three seconds.
minimize their exposure time in the
lower altitudes. Leaving Kandahar low
and fast we climbed out of the threat
level and into the cooler air, reaching
Tarin Kowt in 45 minutes – and once
the first cargo and passengers were
unloaded the aircraft moved to the
re-fuelling area.
Returning to the staging area, the
ground crew from the Dutch Air Mobile
operations team has prepared the first
cargos and PAX for loading. The team
has ensured the loads are within aircraft
limits and will also fit inside the cargo
hold. All this is carried out as quickly as
possible, with the first Chinook lifting
off just minutes after landing – heading
to the first FOB of the day.
Most of the FOBs now have prepared
helicopter landing sites with gravel
and stones covering the fine dust of
the Afghan soil – minimizing the dust
clouds that are always generated by
the downwash of a Chinook. With a
full brownout you will land without
visibility for about two to three
seconds, which is daunting for pilots
used to flying with their eyes and
with ground references. Having lost an
aircraft in 2005 as a direct result of a
Brown-out conditions
are common in
Afghanistan and the
Dutch Chinook pilots
are well trained in the
landing procedures
with the whole crew
having a role to play.
brown-out, the RNLAF is well-aware of
the dangers and now has a very strict
procedure in place with the whole crew
taking an active role in the landing.
Both pilots set up the approach to
the landing area, with the right- seat
pilot having control. Should he lose
ground reference, the left- seat operator
can take control if he has ground
reference. The two loadmasters are
also monitoring the landing, reporting
the movement of the cloud so that
the pilots can anticipate the speed
and height of the dust cloud. If the
setup is correct, when the dust cloud
is at the cockpit the aft wheels will
be about three feet off the ground.
Anything more and the aircraft will
not be lined correctly and the height
will be too great for a safe landing. The
pilots have an approach altitude and
airspeed which is called the “gate,”
and from there it requires just a little
nose attitude change to decrease the
air speed, which should bring the
helicopter to an almost zero-zero
landing.
Under-slung loads are often carried,
and a tactical load drop-off is usually
adopted when delivering the external
 The Belgian
manufactured
MAG M240D
general purpose
machine guns,
mounted on
the port and
starboard doors For mutual support
and rear ramp, the Dutch Chinooks
provide always fly in pairs, one
close quarter aircraft configured for
self defense. passengers and the
second for a mix of
cargo and passengers.

cargo. To drop off a load in dusty
conditions hovering in a big cloud with
no ground reference, required another
type of procedure to be in place. This
is similar to the ground procedure,
but the helicopter is now hovering
at 20 feet (6 meters) without ground
reference. The loadmaster releases the
load as soon as it hits the ground and
immediately signals the pilots that
the load is clear. Tactically speaking
you are longer on the ground with an
internal load, but with an under-slung
load you can drop it and fly away
quickly. So the choice of load delivery
can depend upon the surroundings, the
threat and the kind of load.
Arriving at most of the FOBs, we
flew into minimal dust and once the
aircraft was down the passengers
disembarked first and the loadmaster
released the cargo straps while the rear
gunner took off the GPMG from the rear
ramp. As soon as the ramp was clear,
the pallets were pushed on the rollers
off the end of the ramp, sometimes
helped with a slight raising of the
Chinooks nose. As soon as the cargo
was clear the GPMG was refitted while
the new passengers and assorted kit
were loaded. As soon as the thumbs-up
was given by the rear loadmaster the
Chinook lifted off again.
During the 7.5-hour flight we
visited six FOBs. The whole loading and
unloading process took no more than
four minutes each time, a testament
to the training, coordination and
experience of the crews.
The Future
In February 2007 Boeing signed a
direct commercial sales agreement
with the Dutch Ministry of Defense
(MoD) for six new-build CH-47F (NL)
Chinooks, citing a much-needed
expansion of the Chinook fleet, both in
numbers and capability. The contract
marks the first international sale
of the CH-47F and is valued at $576
million (EUR 390 million). One major
difference in the CH-47F (NL) Chinook
compared to the US Army model will
be the cockpit. Currently the Dutch
CH-47D Chinooks are fitted with
Honeywell’s ACMS Block-5 cockpits
– but to ensure easier integration the
RNLAF has chosen the ACMS Block-6
avionics suite, rather than the newly
developed Rockwell Collins standard
for the US Army. The CH-47F will have
the Northrop Grumman AAR-54(V)
Missile Approach Warning System and
a payload of 21,000 lbs (9,525kg) – the
first CH-47F was handed over to the
RNLAF in mid-2009.
Summary
Multi-national cooperation
across the ISAF nations was very
evident during our time with the
Royal Netherlands Air Force, moving
passengers of mixed Dutch, Australian,
American, French, British and Afghan
National Army troops. The CH-47s of
the Royal Netherlands Air Force have
proved a valuable asset over the years
in support of many NATO missions
around the globe. With NATO troop
numbers and logistical requirements
expanding in Helmand province, their
role is likely to increase in 2010. That’s
a challenge the RNLAF crews will
equally rise to – and meet. n
HeliOps would like to thank the
Netherlands Defense Helicopter Command
for arranging the visit to Afghanistan and
in particular Captain Karen and Captain
Marcel for their assistance.

37
 Frost
Fighters
Vineyard development throughout
New Zealand in the past few years has
been steady and impressive. However,
the country’s cold weather means some
innovative solutions had to be found to stop
the grapes from being damaged or destroyed
by frost. Enter the helicopter – and a new
way for helicopter operators to make money.

story by Gavin Conroy photos by Ned Dawson

 Over The Tops
EC130 works the
inversion layer
metres above one of
the many wineries
near Blenheim.
 top left: Marlborough Country
The reason for the
helicopter use, Marlborough has led the way. Located on the
next season’s northeast coast of the South Island, Marlborough
premier harvest. is one of New Zealand’s sunniest and driest areas.
Until 2004, 8,539 hectares of grapes had been
top right:
planted. In 2009 that figure has soared to 16,682
Tim Hutchinson &
Alpine Helicopters hectares, which represents 70 percent of the total
MD500E hard at planted in New Zealand. Wine in New Zealand
work as dawn
passed $1 billion in sales during 2009, a year ahead
creeps in.
of forecast.
With explosive growth like this all areas of the
opposite page
viticulture sector must cater to the expanding area
bottom right:
One must always of plantings from the Awatere and Wairau Valleys,
keen an eye out for through to Tuamarina and Ward. The helicopter
wires when working industry plays a major part in making sure the
frost protection.
grapes – and ultimately the wines they yield – make
it to market in top condition.
From late September through until the end of
November the crops are very vulnerable to frost.
During winter grape vines are dormant. But when
the air temperature during the lead-up to spring
rises and the buds burst into life, frost can have
a severe effect on the following year’s crop – and
sometimes the crop after that. It can be a noisy time
if they have to call in the helicopters but it is only for
40
a short time and it is essential if the plants are to get
off to a good start.
Helicopters Prove Essential
During 2007, helicopters were in heavy demand
with more than 120 brought into the Marlborough
district on one night during November – plus there
were several other callouts during that month. It
was a tough year for vineyard and winery owners.
How do helicopters help abate frost? Very simple
– they push down warm air to ground level.
The following year’s conditions were kinder to
growers with a lower number of machines needed
in the area and a bumper harvest of 194,639 tonnes
from 15,915 hectares. But in 2009, frost-fighting
activity has already started earlier. During three
nights in early October, more than 60 helicopters
were needed per night.
As far as the grapes are concerned, Chardonnay
and Pinot burst into life followed by Sauvignon
Blanc a few weeks later, so fewer machines were
needed to cater for Chardonnay and Pinot varieties.
Yet when the Sauvignon plants start to bloom the
number of helicopters required grows dramatically.
Marlborough Sauvignon makes up 50 percent of the
total area planted in New Zealand.
41
 gavin conroy
gavin conroy

top left: Frost Fighters “latent warmth” of water to prevent freezing. Hot air
Windhawk burners heat up the air from ground level.
Helicopters kept Starting around 4 p.m. on any given evening
Which method is used depends on the size of the
their awesome when a frost is forecast, the helicopters start
looking E model arriving at Omaka for fuel, and pilots meet with area and the severity of the frost, and the methods
hard at work day vineyard owners and managers. Once refuelled, the are often used in combination. Vineyard employees
after day on frost. are on stand-by on these nights with hot air burners
helicopters head to the vineyards for a look around
the area of operation before landing at the vineyard placed around boundaries and wind machines.
top middle:
for a top-off of fuel if it’s provided on site. Then it’s When the temperature drops to around 2 degrees
One of the largest
types on frost time to wait and see what develops. or lower, burners and/ or wind machines are started.
was this BK117 Helicopters are normally the last option for Wind machines can be manually operated but
of HeliPro. fighting frost because of their sometimes-high most have temperature sensors. That means they
operating costs. The return on using helicopters to come to life when the temperature drops to the
bottom:
fight frost, however, is that thousands of tonnes of required level for start-up. The machines rotate
Numerous R-22s
were called into grapes have been saved. And even if the frost doesn’t through 360 degrees, and if a good inversion layer is
action although occur, helicopters are sometimes the best insurance present they can protect the crops. These machines
they don’t spread policy a winery can have when the frost approaches. either have two or four blades and are effective for
the wind around as There are four main methods of fighting frost 6-8ha, which is roughly the same as a helicopter.
much as the bigger
– wind machines, sprinklers, helicopters and hot However, the principle is different.
machines.
air burners. Wind machines, like helicopters, push Wind machines blades are mounted vertically,
warm air down to ground level. Sprinklers use the which pushes the air across the vineyard, but

42
If an inversion
layer is detected
the pilots fly slowly
over the vineyards
gently forcing
warmer air down
towards the plants.

helicopters can move air downward. That stops cold – and protect areas of grapes effectively,” he says. top right:
air pooling, not to mention the extensive ground a “The other important duty for the helicopter is to Omaka Airfield was
an MD sales rep’s
helicopter can cover. As the temperature drops the keep the cold air moving so it doesn’t hang about
dream come true
call goes out to the helicopter pilots to start their in the vineyard – it’s very important to keep the air most afternoons.
machines and take to the air. circulating.”
It is not uncommon to see helicopters flying center right:
from around 11:30 pm through to 9 am. Most It’s About The Inversion Layer There were
about 20 R-22s
machines have good lighting, and external air The inversion layer can be difficult for the
spread around
temperature gauges help the pilots find the pilots to find, but once they do they lightly push the Marlborough
inversion layer. Because the wind machines are at the warm air down to the grapes. Yet the pilots vineyards
a fixed height, their usefulness can be limited. need to be careful as pushing down too much air throughout the
Neville Gane from Mud House Wines explains can remove the heat and make the already fragile night.

further. “The helicopters are vital to our operation.
When the wind machines are struggling, the
helicopters get in the air and can cover distance
quickly.”
“We are on the ground monitoring temperature
at all times and if a guy calls me from the far end of
the vineyard and says the temperature is dropping
we can get the helicopter there quickly with no fuss
situation worse. These days, a lot of growers keep
bottom: Every
the vegetation level to a minimum down the rows helicopter on frost
of grapes to allow more warm air to rise at night, as looked like a flying
that helps to create a good inversion layer. If it gets Xmas tree to
too cold and the inversion layer doesn’t exist, then ensure other pilots
could see it.
the helicopters have to land.
If an inversion layer is detected the pilots fly
slowly over the vineyards gently forcing warmer

43
 Garden City air down towards the plants. Mixing the air raises
Helicopters had five the temperature above the critical level where bud
machines working damage can occur. The rise needed is minimal and
the frost including
this EC120 and
once the day warms up the helicopters return for
AS350B. fuel before heading home. Timing is everything and
a rapid response can be needed. Accommodation for
pilots is normally provided on site and it is usually
only a short stroll to the aircraft to provide quicker
reaction and protection times.
Night Flying
Flying in the dark of night does have its risks,
especially when operating closely to the ground, and
obstacles such as power lines and other structures

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including the wind machines can be a problem.
The vineyard operators are responsible for
setting up lighting systems to mark boundaries,
as well as lighting to mark the position of wind
machines. Neville says this as crucial.
“We do take safety very seriously on our
vineyard as we don’t want to have an accident,”
he says. “We have strobe lights on fence lines and
our corner posts and any other objects we see as
hazards, and we can be in radio contact with them
as well. The helicopter pilots have been great and
when they have been here they have given us a bit
of advice as well.”
“I make sure the vineyard workers that travel

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 top left: This around the vineyards in vehicles are careful with temperature is high enough for the pilots to leave,”
time exposure headlights, as we don’t want to point high beam at he says.
shows the tell the helicopter,” he continues. “On the productive The owners of the vineyards are also very
tale light trail of a
side of things, marking boundaries is important, careful with new pilots. Not only would accidents be
helicopter.
as we don’t want to see the pilots accidentally expensive to the helicopter operator, but the vineyard
top right: As protecting neighbouring crops!” could be extensively damaged at an important time
dawn approaches, “We try to have the aircraft in position on the in the season. The owners often fly with the new
three machines work ground before nightfall and provide some fuel on pilots to show them around the area.
alongside each other
site as it gets costly if we have to pay for transit “We prepare and brief them as well as we can,”
on one of the bigger
wineries. flights for fuel – and it would be very dangerous explains Neville. “And because our vineyard is
if all of the helicopters are doing transit in the sloping in areas, a good look around first is crucial
above: Over 100 dark,” he adds. and it’s always nice to go for a quick spin in a
helicopters can Neville states that they also try to keep the helicopter!! We need them to be in the right areas at
be working on
noise footprint down as so many people in the area all times and it is often demanding, but we manage
the Marlborough
vineyards at any one wouldn’t want to hear low flying helicopters tranting the best we can.”
time during frost the area for fuel. “Once the machines are here we How effective can a helicopter can be in this
protection. need them to stay here protecting vines until the role? According to Neville, in early October this

46
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 Situational year, he had six helicopters flying and the results
Awareness is were impressive. “They started flying at 5.00 am
imperative during and finished well after sunrise – and we got no frost
frost operations
damage,” he said thankfully.
as within a small
area there might
be a bunch of
Pilot Prep
helicopters. From the pilot’s perspective, there is a lot to think
about and prepare for. As noted before, there is no
question that low-level night flying is dangerous,
especially in the middle of the night when light levels
in the country are very low. Pilots need to be well
rested before entering this environment, and well
prepared including pre-checking for land marks and
reporting points on the charts.
It can take more than 15 minutes for pilot’s
48
eyes to adjust to the night conditions, and depth
perception is reduced dramatically. There’s often no
real horizon so the pilot’s ability to judge height can
be difficult. However, pilots have found that if there’s
good external lighting installed on the helicopter the
risks are significantly reduced. New Zealand aviation
rules require that the minimum altitude for transit
flying is 500 feet, but when operating at the actual
vineyard the height is not restricted and pilots may
use the altitude needed to help fight the frost.
Congestion can also be a major factor. It
is common to see six or more machines flying at
one block. That makes situation awareness and
aircraft positioning paramount.
Maps and flight plans are important as part of the
DELIVERING GLOBAL COVERAGE OF THE HELICOPTER INDUSTRY I N T E R N A T I O N A L

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Breathtaking Photography
Featuring Helicopters in
Action Around the World!

ge
m a il p o s ta
in c a ir

www.heliopsmag.com 49
 An EC130 stands
out with the
winery bathed in
lights behind.
gavin conroy

gavin conroy

above left: area is in an instrument approach sector. Air Traffic producing vineyard land in New Zealand, so the
Heaters such as Control does the best they can and when there majority of aircraft are required there. But conditions
these are also used
are 100-plus machines operating in a small area, often get very cold in the Gisborne, Canterbury and
to create heat in
communication with ATC is a must. Cromwell areas as well. On some nights, there could
the vines, which is
in turn dispersed by The more notice operators can get from wine well be 500 helicopters flying all over New Zealand
large fans. companies, the better. They need to get the aircraft to protect this $1 billion industry. Considering the
on site, and without enough notice there is a good congestion with so many aircraft sharing the same
above right: chance that the wait for fuel could be long at Omaka. airspace the safety record has been great.
The new buds on the
In 2007 more than 30 helicopters were waiting for So next time you are sitting back enjoying a glass
vines captured early
in the morning.
fuel at one time. Consequently, some vineyards now (or bottle) of your favorite Kiwi white or red just
have bulk fuel on site. remember that the helicopter industry is vital to this
Marlborough holds 70 percent of the total country’s wine industry – so cheers to all involved! n

50
 If it works, it’s

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Tomorrow’s
troop
Transport
A new warbird on the horizon is preparing to carry
troops, cargo and firepower to the next front lines.
Jeffrey Decker reports on AgustaWestland’s
development of the AW139 into a military workhorse.

“T
he AW149 will be the
only new generation
aircraft in its class able
to meet and even exceed
the very latest and future market
requirements,” predicts Roberto
Garavaglia, vice president of marketing
for AgustaWestland. With 70 percent
of its 2008 sales in the military sector,
AgustaWestland followed that market
closely to design what could become a
top-seller.
“There are more than 8,000
helicopters in the current worldwide
military fleet which could be identified
as requiring eventual replacement
over the next 35 years,” Garavaglia
continues. “The AW149 will be the only
new generation helicopter in this class
specifically designed for the military
and governmental market.”
First Customer?
First conceived in 2005 and
officially launched in 2006, the AW149
was designed to ease support services
and reduce the cost of ownership,
both optimizing aircraft effectiveness
and minimizing the maintenance
requirements within the helicopter’s
lifecycle. Turkey is the first potential
customer to consider those appealing
features. The AW149 is meeting head-
on against a T-70 derivative of the S-70
Black Hawk as Turkey’s military makes
its order decision later this year. It’s a
high-stakes order that would be a big
boost for the Italian manufacturer as it
aims to fill a niche around the world.
Niche
At 8.1 tons, the 18-seat AW149 will
fit between the 5.7-ton AW159 (Lynx
Wildcat) and the 10.6-ton NH90. Those
two airframes have naval versions,

but no naval model of the AW149
is planned.
At first glance this new airframe
resembles the 6.4-ton AW139, which
was developed jointly with Bell
Helicopter and has made its mark
since 2001 across the military and
commercial sectors. Though it does
draw on AW139 technology, the new
model is larger, more advanced and
more powerful. Its 12.4-cubi-meter
cabin is 37 percent larger than the
139’s 8 cubic meters. The AW149’s twin
General Electric CT7-2E1 turbo-shaft
engines are 20 percent more powerful,
photos by Ned Dawson & Agusta Westland
offering 2,000 shp each. Significant
differences are also apparent in the
avionics, the transmission and the
rotors. Its performance is already
expected to meet and exceed the
original targets with the first flight
of the prototype later this year and
a second prototype preparing to fly
in 2010.
Performance Promise
Excellent hot and high performance
are key design features, says
engineering director Fabio Nannoni.
“For competitive reasons we are not
releasing detailed performance data,
but the aircraft will have a cruise speed
of 150 knots, and will be able to hover
OGE at over 6,000 ft on a 35°C/95°F day
at mission weights,” says Nannoni.
The aim is for the AW149 to offer
the best operational effectiveness and
flexibility, performance, payload and
state-of-the-art open architecture
technology at a competitive price.
Specific prices aren’t being shared.
“We have a clear target in terms
of the best possible cost effectiveness
to achieve,” says Garavaglia. “That
is why we are confronting various

Advanced solutions
for communications
and data sharing
through multiple
sensors will be
available, and the
AW149 will come ready
to fly at night and in
adverse weather.
challenges related to the very latest
technologies and capabilities that we
are developing.” With a maximum
take-off weight of 8,100 kilograms and
a maximum useful load of more than
3,000 kilograms, the AW149 promises
impressive capability in its class to
perform a variety of missions such
as troop transport, SAR and CSAR,
command control and communication,
support and logistic operations and VIP
military transport. The basic aircraft
54
will be equipped for troop transport,
but a wide range of equipment options
allow other military roles including
reconnaissance, surveillance, logistic
support, ground fire suppression,
casevac/medevac, C3 paramilitary
operations, external load lifting
and firefighting. External auxiliary
tanks give extra range. In medivac
configuration, up to six stretchers
and four medics fit into the cabin
that is 3m long, 2.26m wide and
1.45m tall, with room left for medical
equipment. As an aerial command
post it fits “unprecedented workspace”
for C3-dedicated equipment and two
workstations.
The external cargo hook can carry
as much as 2,720 km (6,000 lbs) of
heavy equipment and the rear cargo
hold offers three cubic meters of
additional space. Two large sliding
doors allow even more cargo to fit in
the main cabin. Originally designed
for 15 troop transport seats (and only
7.5 tons), customer feedback pushed
the capacity to 16 crashworthy seats,
plus the two pilot seats. If the soldiers
are fully equipped there is room for
12. If the aircraft is equipped with two
window-mounted 7.62 mm machine
guns the troop seats drop to 14,
including the two gunner seats.
“An important feature of the AW149
is that with the weapon carriers fitted,
the cabin doors can still be used for
rescue operations with the winch or
rapid roping,” says Nannoni. Direct
engagement will always be an option
and a wide range of weaponry fits
on the airframe and external pylons,
including 7, 12 or 19 tubes for 70 or
81 mm rockets, air-to-surface rockets
and 12.7mm or 20mm machine guns
pods. Pintle-mounted machine-guns
can be fitted on fixed-frame windows
or in relation to the doors.
Single Pilot
A single pilot can fly the AW149,
although a co-pilot will be on virtually
every military’s mission roster. A
comprehensive open architecture
avionics package reduces crew
workload, increasing situational
awareness and safety. AgustaWestland
is designing, integrating and testing
the avionics system in-house and is
using an avionics rig for testing the
system prior to flight. All of the major
components of the avionics system
have been specified and are undergoing
The AW149 was
designed to ease support
services and reduce
the cost of ownership,
both optimizing
aircraft effectiveness
and minimizing
the maintenance
requirements within the
helicopter’s life-cycle.

55
 testing – utilizing equipment from
various avionic suppliers, but for
competitive reasons they aren’t yet
disclosing supplier details. Keeping
modern communications and
surveillance in mind, AgustaWestland’s
engineers conceived the AW149 for the
modern “network-centric” battlefield –
and based the avionics on the MIL-STD-
1553B data bus with four 6” x 8” color
active matrix liquid crystal displays.
“It will feature fully-digitized
avionics with open architecture and
fully-integrated mission equipment,
a modern NVG-compatible glass
cockpit and a 4-axis auto-pilot to
reduce pilot workload and help the
crew concentrate on the mission,”
says Nannoni.
Advanced solutions for
communications and data sharing
through multiple sensors will be
available, and the AW149 will come
ready to fly at night and in adverse
weather. More than sensors and
computers are needed to get through
a battlefield safely, which is why the
AW149 is designed for low-acoustic,
visual and infrared signatures. The
latest infrared suppressors help even
more. Its five-blade main rotor and
four-blade tail rotor are made with
state-of-the-art ballistic-tolerant
composites for a smooth ride at high
speeds, plus low vibration and noise
signature. When all else fails, the
56
helicopter’s rugged construction
incorporates crashworthy features such
as armored pilot seats, crashworthy
troop seats, and self-sealing fuel
tanks to maximize survivability.
The list of features includes a FLIR
system, NVG-compatible lighting,
health and usage monitoring system,
weather radar, emergency locator,
defensive aid sub-systems, personal
locator, air conditioning, anti-icing,
de-icing, engine air particle separator,
emergency flotation system, external
electrical hoist kit (272 kg/600 lbs)
with utility hoist light, wire strike
protection and a closed circuit
re-fuelling system. Its composite
airframe lands on heavy duty wheeled
tricycle gear that is designed for
operations from unprepared surfaces
and easy maneuverability on the
ground. “First deliveries commence
in 2013,” says Garavaglia. “We see a
market for thousands of helicopters
when considering that several potential
customers worldwide are increasingly
in need of replacing their existing
aging fleets, which include four to
10 ton class airframes – with larger,
more capable aircraft. Low support
and maintenance requirements will
minimize the operating costs and the
through-life ownership costs.”
Plans are also underway for a
full Level D flight simulator. When
the project was announced at the
Farnborough Air Show in 2006,
AgustaWestland officials remarked that
the AW149 was proof they had finally
become one integrated company. Just
two years earlier UK-based GKN sold
their 50 percent share to their Italian
joint venture partner Finmeccanica
for £1.06 billion. Their Agusta and
Westland helicopter companies had
merged in 2000. AgustaWestland’s
facility in Yeovil took on lead
development after the military division
moved to those offices in England. The
prototypes are being built in Italy.
Turks
If the AW149 is selected to
meet a cross-service Turkish utility
helicopter program requirement, its
first batch will be built by Turkish
Aerospace Industries and other Turkish
companies. “Turkish industry would
also be responsible for the assembly,
customization, testing and delivery,”
says AgustaWestland spokesperson,
Geoff Russell.
“AgustaWestland is committed to
expanding its successful cooperation
with Turkish industry with the T129
to other platforms in the future,” he
adds. That attack helicopter is a version
of the Agusta A129 Mangusta and is
being managed by Turkish Aerospace
Industries, based in Ankara. The
shareholders of that company are the
Turkish Armed Forces Strengthening
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 A recently announced order contest
from India could pit the AW149 against
the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow,
the Mil Mi-28 and the Eurocopter Tiger.
A persistent budget shortage at the
UK Ministry of Defense put its long-
term agreement with Finmeccanica
in jeopardy last year and that Lynx
order was in danger of cancellation.
Now named the Lynx Wildcat by the
UK, the AW159 is back in the clear and
could first fly in November and enter
service in 2014. Russell asserts the
Foundation (TSKGV), Undersecretariat “We have seen significant interest global recession has not slowed that
for Defense Industries (SSM) and the from potential customers in Europe, the development, or development of the
Turkish Aeronautical Association Middle East and Asia,” says Russell. BA609, T129, AWXX9 or the AW149. n
(THK). ”If the AW149 becomes their
next project,” says Russell, “the basic
aircraft is the same, but the TUHP149
will have significant Turkish content in
terms of avionics and role equipment.
Turkish industry would be responsible
for the customization of the TUHP149
to meet the requirements of various
Turkish agencies including the
Gendarmerie, Land Forces Command,
Police, Forestry and Coast Guard.” The
first AW149 mock-up was displayed
under the banner “TUHP149” at the
Paris Air Show in June next to a mock-
up of the T129. The TUHP149’s first
public debut was two months earlier at
the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul. Turkey’s
potential order that has
been a major shaper of the
aircraft’s design is for as many as 115
aircraft. The initial order is for 109.
Twenty are for the police, 11 are in line
for the coast guard and six are headed
for the navy. When first announced in
late 2007 it was a 54 aircraft order for
the Turkish air force, army and navy.
The order increased to 78 aircraft and
was to be finalized before this summer,
but the decision was pushed back to
July and again to the end of this year.

Competition
The competitor AgustaWestland
hopes to beat out, for that order is
Sikorsky, which is offering a T-70
derivative of its UH-60 Black Hawk.
The UH-60A first entered service for
the US Army in 1979 as a replacement
for the UH-1 Iroquois transport
helicopter. If and when the US or other
nations place orders for the AW149,
the construction facility for their order
hasn’t yet been selected.

58
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Working for oil and gas
usually means working in
some of the remotest regions
on earth. So what are the
challenges? We examine
operations in Peru’s Amazon
basin for some clues.

story & photos by Dan Sweet

 A Columbia Dawn
Model 234 and
Helinka Mi-8
An hour or so before dawn over Peru’s Amazon-
help to meet the basin jungle, the humidity is high enough to create
variety of aircraft foggy clouds around the sodium vapor lights
requirements
illuminating the helibase at Perenco’s LBC drill camp.
during a remote
Light spills from the glass door of an air-conditioned
rig move.
shipping container, the home of Columbia
Helicopters’ maintenance crew.
“I don’t always get a lot of sleep on my tours,”
explains Scott Parcell, crew chief on N241CH, a
Columbia Model 234. “I’ll wake up in the middle of
the night thinking about what needs to be done. This
also happens to be when the camp’s satellite internet
access is at the lowest point – so I can actually get a
lot of work done.”
Working a little more than 4,000 miles from the
company’s headquarters near Portland, Oregon,
means that Parcell and his counterparts must
continually plan their maintenance well in advance.
However, working through the adversities of
operating a heavy-lift helicopter far from home is one
of the job requirements that appeal to the company’s
field crews around the world.
“I like the challenges of working in places where
I’ve never been before – seeing new territory, moving
around the jungle and operating in remote areas,”
says Parcel “There are obviously challenges in
keeping up with the maintenance when parts and
supplies are so far away, and then there’s the matter
62
of working on the helicopter in the rain, the sun, the
heat and the bugs.”
Remote area operations are by no means unusual,
but long-term contracts for larger projects such as
petroleum exploration or mining operations increase
the scale in which operators meet their obligations.
This scale can increase exponentially when the
remote area is in a different country and on a
different continent. Working thousands of miles from
a company’s headquarters means extensive planning
is required for every phase of support – even down
to the timing of a phone call. However, meeting the
demands for spare parts in timely manner often tops
the list of operators’ issues.
Logistics
Columbia Helicopters, known for pioneering the
heavy-lift helicopter industry, has worked in remote
areas since it sent one of its Columbia 107-II Vertol
helicopters to Papua New Guinea in the early 1970s.
While the majority of the company’s projects could
be considered remote-area operations, its current
overseas operations include two Columbia Model 234
helicopters in Peru, and a Columbia Model 234 and
Columbia 107-II in Papua New Guinea.
While Columbia’s Model 234 helicopters are the
heaviest-lifting commercial helicopters available
in Peru, no single aircraft is currently available to
meet all the requirements of moving a petroleum
Water vapor vortices
form around rotor
blades in the high
humidity of the jungle.
top left: Columbia Load
Coordinators Tim Fitzpatrick and
Lee Bradford look over the day’s
load schedule.
top right: Routine aircraft
maintenance is performed at night
so that the aircraft is ready to fly
during the day.
left: Crewmembers begin
scheduled maintenance on a
Helinka/VIH Kamov in the last light
of the day.
bottom left: At the end
of the day, Columbia Pilots
Remigio Davalos and Rick
Puckett input the day’s load
data into the computer.
bottom right: Supplies, such
as spare parts, are brought into
the remote roadless camp by
either float plane or helicopter.
Larger items , like camp buildings
and the petroleum rig, are brought
up the river by barge.
63
 above: Columbia exploration rig from one site to another. Federal laws
Pilot Rick Puckett in Peru restrict the size of rig sites in the delicate
(left) and Copilot jungle eco-systems, and road building is generally
Jorge Parades
not allowed. Consequently, helicopters are almost
fly the Columbia
Model 234 over the
always the best – if not the only – method available
Peruvian rain forest. for moving crews and supplies.
Some petroleum companies will also occasionally
opposite page:
Typically, it’s the combine medium and light-heavy helicopters with
clouds of flying, the Model 234 so that loads can be operated more
biting insects that efficiently and most cost-effectively. During a recent
torment a person in Perenco rig move in northern Peru, the petroleum
the Peruvian jungle,
company used a Columbia 234 (precision capacity
but bigger, scarier
bugs are always – 26,000 lbs), two Vancouver Island Helicopters
near by. (VIH)/Helinka Ka-32 Kamovs (useful load capacity
10,500 lbs) and an Andes Bell 212, which primarily
delivered personnel and camp supplies. A Helinka
Mi-8 also supported the operations, flying crew
change personnel and supplies from the base camp
to Iquitos.
Columbia maintains and operates two -234s
in Peru, where the company has legally established
a company and has become a fully-licensed
operator. The helicopters primarily support
petroleum exploration operations for PlusPetrol
and Talisman, and occasionally for other operators
like Perenco if the schedule for one of the two main
customers permits.
While some consumables are available within
Peru, Parcel makes certain that his orders to the
office are submitted via internet with plenty of time
64
to spare. “As a general rule we order parts at 250
hours out,” he says.
Crew chiefs also keep track of their anticipated
flight schedule, since increased flight time can
reduce the number of days available for shipping.
Since Columbia Helicopters Peru was established
in 2003, the office staff in Lima has become well-
versed in working with two field crews to ensure
parts and components are ordered well before
they are needed. While the time-limited parts are
typically the easiest to track and order, the company
generally plans for at least two weeks for shipments
to reach the field crews. This period accommodates
preparing and shipping the order, as well as allowing
time for the order to clear Peruvian Customs.
AOG
In the event of an emergency or unplanned
repair, the two Peruvian crews first try to work with
each other. Chances are that if one crew doesn’t
have a needed part in stock, the other crew might
have a spare on hand. Then it’s simply a matter of
getting the part shipped across the country using
commercial carriers. Of course, that doesn’t always
mean rapid delivery. Recently, one crew shipped a
generator to the other crew whose aircraft was AOG.
An extra day of delay resulted when a well-meaning
but poorly informed employee of a floatplane
company pulled the generator off the plane to make
room for other baggage. Rush shipping charges

are not unusual, and a number of the company’s
employees hold passports so that they can hand-
deliver parts if necessary.
VIH, which has also recently supported helicopter
operations in Taiwan, Brazil and Angola, uses their
same extensive planned maintenance program
regardless of whether an aircraft is close to home or
working in Africa.
“It doesn’t matter whether we’re working in
Canada on forest fires, or whether we’re in a different
county, our maintenance program is the same,” says
VIH’s marketing manager Barry Holmes. “Working
overseas does require greater coordination. In those
cases, lead time is a very large factor.”
Communications
Ask any group of businessman with distant
job locations, and he’ll tell you that reliable
communication is vital to the success of any remote-
area operations. In aviation at its simplest, field
crews need to provide their office with regular
status reports and part orders. However, today’s
communication technology generally means
that home offices and remote jobsites are able to
exchange a nearly constant flow of information.
From reports and repair manuals to photos and
videos, crews in the field are as close to the office as
the nearest computer screen.
Historically, most petroleum camps had perhaps
a few outside telephone lines or long-distance radio
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 top left: Columbia operations that allowed the company to maintain
Load Coordinator contact with a regional office. In either case, access
Lee Bradford (in red) was limited, and service was often interrupted.
works with rig hands
Crew members were lucky to be able to call home
to unhook a skid-load
of rig components. once during their tour, and typically had to pay
the extremely high rates out of their own pocket.
right: The lifting
All of that has changed with advances in satellite
capacity of the
Columbia Model 234 communication technology, where phones and
allows it to carry Internet access are now common in most camps. In
loaded shipping fact, communication equipment is often among the
containers full of first loads delivered to a new rig site.
drilling equipment to
“If I have a problem with my helicopter, I can
the rig sites.
get online with the office or other 234 crews and
bottom left: In
we can begin troubleshooting right away,” explains
the seemingly endless
Parcel. “Someone within our company always has
miles of flat jungle
terrain, a 5-hectare the answer, and we can even send photos back
rig site is difficult to and forth to help everyone figure out the best answer
see until the aircraft is to any problem.”
almost on top of it.
Satellite internet access is also equally important
for morale.
“When I was in Papua New Guinea in the ‘90s,
my wife was in a fairly serious automobile accident
the day after I left for my 28-day tour,” explains
Rick Puckett, a Columbia project pilot in Peru. “And
I didn’t know about it for two weeks. If we didn’t
at least have email access here in Peru, I might not
want to come down here. I need to stay in touch with
what’s going on with my family.”
VIH takes today’s modern technology a step
further, equipping its aircraft with equipment from
66
Blue Sky Networks. This allows staffers to sit in their
offices and immediately see where each of their
aircraft is – and what it is doing.
“Our helicopters overseas have built-in Blue Sky
tracking with a satellite phone system built in,” says
Holmes. “We have immediate emergency awareness,
and we can track where they are and how fast they
are going. If there’s a problem, we can just pick up
the phone and talk to them.”
Reliable communication between helicopter
companies and their customers is essential.
“We’ve become known for our value-added
services,” says Todd Petersen, Vice President of
marketing for Columbia Helicopters. “Dwight McCoy
is our operations logistics manager, and he begins
talking and planning with the petroleum company
while we’re still in the bidding stage. Dwight has
been involved in more rig moves than any employee
at Columbia, and he knows more about each rig than
most rig hands.”
With the number of aircraft involved in the
operation, many petroleum and mining companies
either hire or contract aviation coordinators to help
maximize the efficiency of their transportation
requirements. Meetings are typically held in the
evenings, where the requirements of the rig sites are
carefully balanced to efficiently achieve the required
assignments. Today, most heavy-lift helicopter
operators also provide Load Coordinators or Load
Managers to provide a variety of load services.
Columbia flys most
rig loads using a
200-foot longline,
which requires
precise skills in
placing the load at
the rig site.
 top left: Using a These men work both at the sending and receiving
crane with a load-cell, sites, and do more than simply hook the load to
workers weigh each the helicopter. supportive family at home.
load before flight to
“My job is to make sure that every load takes
ensure it is within the
lifting capacity of the the fullest advantage of the helicopter’s lifting
aircraft. capacity,” said Lee Bradford, a load coordinator for
Columbia in Peru. “If a load goes out too light, it’s
right: A Helinka/
VIH Kamov hovers costing our customer more. If the load is too heavy,
over a seemingly the helicopter may not be able to lift it and they’ll be
cluttered rig site in burning fuel and costing our customer more.”
preparation for lifting As some of the first people responsible for
a load.
maximizing efficiency, load coordinators work
bottom left: directly with the rig hands to ensure loads are sent in
Columbia Crew
the proper order. Each load is weighed and marked to
Chief Scott Parcell
ensure proper aircraft utilization. Smaller loads are
begins to perform
the day’s post-flight often combined with others into two-part loads, or a
maintenance with number of smaller items are loaded onto skids that
an inspection of the can accommodate a variety of rig components. Load
aft-rotorhead on the
coordinators are also responsible for ensuring all
Columbia Model 234.
loads are secured for flight, using chains and straps
to make sure that nothing falls from the load during
the flight.
Flying the Loads
Crews working overseas are generally on a four-
week rotation – 28 days in camp followed by 28
days at home. Both Columbia and VIH also make an
effort to hire qualified local pilots, mechanics and/or
load coordinators. The 28-day schedule requires an
68
employee to find an unusual balance between their
personal and professional life, as well as having a
“It’s hard to leave my family behind,” admits
Puckett, who has also worked for Columbia
Helicopters in Chile and Papua New Guinea. “At
least Peru requires less travel time, and I am able to
exchange emails with my family once I’m here.”
Being near the equator, the sun always rises and
sets about the same time, making it easy to learn
how the day will go.
“I usually get to the aircraft around 5:30 and do
my pre-flight, then spend a few minutes working on
company emails and checking the weather forecasts,”
said Puckett. “During rig moves, we try to get up and
moving as soon as possible – weather permitting.”
Unlike flying in the mountains of Papua New
Guinea, poor weather can be seen coming from a
distance in Peru. That gives pilots in Peru plenty of
time to make appropriate accommodations.
If the load coordinators are not actually spending
the nights at the sending-and-receiving site, they
are typically on the first flight out each day. Once on
site, they alert the heavy-lift pilots of their readiness
by radio and then prepare to hook the first load of
the day. Once the helicopter is overhead, the load
coordinator talks to the pilot by radio, explaining
where the load is on the site, what it weighs and
what the helicopter will be carrying.
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George.Schafer@kaman.com 69
 An Andes Bell 212 While some rig moves are longer, this Perenco rig multi-use sports fields. This may seem like a large
is used primarily as
move covered 23 nautical miles each way, allowing area, especially where the terrain is relatively flat,
a speedy delivery
service during rig
the Model 234 to deliver loads approximately every but the rig sites don’t usually become visible until the
moves, ferrying rig 40 minutes. helicopter is about two miles away.
hands and supplies “Probably the most challenging part of the flying Maintenance is performed at night, after the
between several is the precision necessary to pick the load up from day’s work is complete. For Columbia’s 234, this
remote rig camps.
a confined area, then setting the load down in an usually means a minimum of two hours of work
equally confined area,” said Puckett. by the crew. In most remote operations, hangars
By Peruvian law, rig sites are generally limited to are not always available. Outside in the elements,
five hectares (12.35 acres), or roughly the size of five large work lights illuminate the aircraft if they’re

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 A Helinka/VIH Precision placement
Kamov carries a of loads is only
load of drill pipe slightly less
into the rig site. challenging when
delivering a load to a
nearly empty rig floor.

Copilot Jorge Parades available. Otherwise the crew makes use of various at least it’s not a really cold rain. That’s makes it
signals to Mechanic flashlights and headlamps. Working outside also really miserable.”
Shane Parkinson that means being exposed to the weather and other While the world craves energy and the “easy”
they have enough fuel
“annoyances” – that include swarms of insects in the hydrocarbon sources falter, there will be even greater
during a hot refueling
operation. Peruvian jungle. needs to work in remote areas. Here the helicopter
“Working in the rain is never good,” says one is essential and whether lifting oil rigs or people, the
mechanic who doesn’t want his name used. “But helicopter remains a tool of trade. n

72
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For many reasons, 1945 was a historic. It will
forever be remembered as the year that the United
States unleashed the atomic bomb and the Second
World War ended. It was also the year that the
United Nations and the World Bank were formed.
The venerable Bell 47 also happened.

story & photos by Andy Heap

 F
rom an aviation perspective, 1945 was
An RNZAF
Sioux flies over particularly intriguing. In 1945, just six years
the Manawatu after the first practical single-rotor helicopter
countryside during (the Sikorsky VS-300) flew, the helicopter
a training flight.
came of age with the first flight of the Bell Model 47.
Unstable
The helicopter had been a long time coming.
The ancient Chinese had grasped the idea, as had
Leonardo Da Vinci with his famous “aerial screw.”
Steam-powered models were built and actually flew
in the 1870s. But it was the invention of the internal
combustion engine that made the helicopter a
realistic proposition. French designer Paul Cornu in
1907 was probably the first true helicopter pilot – but
only just, as his machine rose only a few feet into the
air and was impractical and unstable.
Today, we laugh at the comical movie clips of
“helicopters” from that time – obviously incapable
of controlled flight and often shaking themselves
to pieces. However, by the Second World War, the
helicopter had developed greatly and was on the
verge of becoming a vital machine rather than a
novelty attraction.
During the 1930s, Arthur Young, an American
mathematician and inventor, became fixated
on designing a practical helicopter. While his
contemporaries typically built machines and then
tried to make them fly – risking life and limb in
the process – Young took a much more measured
approach to designing. His methodology was more
similar to that taken by the Wright brothers for fixed-
wing flight. Young realized that stability and control
were the keys, and that perfecting rotor-borne flight
76
was going to involve lots of bent metal. He realized
that building models would be a faster, cheaper and
decidedly safer way of progressing.
A Young Approach
Young’s eventual solutions were rather simple (at
least in theory) – as great ideas usually are. First,
he developed the semi-rigid or teetering rotor,
below which, at right angles to the rotor, he placed
a bar with weights on each end. Centrifugal force
keeps this bar in its own plane of rotation, which
is independent to that of the rotors and is dictated
simply by the force of gyroscopic motion. While
the rotors might be upset by a gust of wind, the
stabilizing bar (as it is known) continues its own path
regardless of the disturbance. Linkages from the bar
then guide the out-of-position rotor blades back into
the correct plane of movement. It was just what the
helicopter had been waiting for.
Young’s ability to control and hover a model fitted
with this system accurately so impressed Larry Bell,
(owner of the Bell Aircraft Corporation), that Young
was offered a job in 1941. While the Bell Company
was fully committed to war work at the time (mainly
producing the P-39 Airacobra for shipment to Russia
and developing America’s first jet, the P-59), Young
and a small team were contracted to build and fly
two prototype full-size helicopters.
Although both were partly successful, Young
was not satisfied with either aircraft and a third
machine was secretly started without the knowledge
of management. Under pressure from the Bell
management, the first two helicopters had been
designed to resemble an aircraft and then a car.
The Bell 47 was such a
winning design that within a
few months of its first flight, it
became the first helicopter to
receive civilian certification.

top: Two Siouxs come in to land

during an exercise at
Omaka Airfield.

above right: The rotorhead

of the Sioux is very
maintenance intensive and
requires looking after.

left: The criss cross tailboom

of the Sioux is very distinctive.

77
 Young saw this as a distraction and the third ship Popular
was designed purely to be an effective helicopter,
The 47 took the world by storm claiming a host
rather than a pretty-looking product. Of course he
of world records and helicopter firsts. It was such
was right and the third prototype was a total success
a successful design that it remained in continuous
and formed the basis of one of the most important
production for more than 30 years, with more
aircraft in history – the Bell 47.
than 6,000 examples built. However, its architect,
Arthur Young, considered his work done and left the
Winning Design
company to study philosophy in October 1947.
The Bell 47 was such a winning design that within
While the Bell 47 started life as an extremely
a few months of its first flight, it became the first
successful civilian machine, it was the military that
helicopter to receive civilian certification. Larry Bell
made the aircraft a legend. The H-13 Sioux (as the 47
foresaw that the helicopter would be the mode of
was called by the US military) became the workhorse
transport in the latter half of the twentieth century
of the Korean conflict. In the casevac role, in which
and was delighted he had stolen the lead from his
they had a litter attached to each skid, these little
rival Sikorsky. He was so pleased in fact, that despite
helicopters lifted nearly 21,000 casualties from the
building the Bell X-1 in which Chuck Yeager would
front lines. The use of the Sioux to deliver patients
break the sound barrier, from then on Bell was
to hospitals (as made famous by the TV show MASH)
essentially a helicopter manufacturer. Although the
was largely responsible for halving the death rate of
early giddy predictions made about helicopters were
injured soldiers, compared to the rate in the Second
not to be realized, Bell would still to do rather well in
World War just a few years before. It was not for
this line of business!
nothing that the H-13 was christened “The Angel of
Mercy” by the ground troops.
It wasn’t just in the humanitarian role that the H-13
was employed. Reconnaissance, radio relaying and
liaison all became important jobs for the Sioux. In a
trial with bazookas strapped to the skids, the type
was even found to be effective in the anti–tank role,
although politics prevented the idea’s widespread
introduction. A decade or so later, the H-13 went to
war again – this time as an observation machine at
the start of the Vietnam conflict. It was to be the
last hurrah of the type in US military service, as the
Sioux was soon replaced by the OH-6 (Hughes 500).

Kiwi Wings
In 1965, when the US was on the verge of retiring
the H-13 – at least from the frontline – other
countries were about to introduce the machine into
service. The British army had taken delivery of the
first of 200 airframes the year before and the Royal
New Zealand Air Force received its first (B47G-3B-1)
aircraft in December. The Sioux was to be New
Zealand’s first military helicopter with six examples
having been ordered to train pilots for five UH-1Ds
and two Westland Wasps that were also ordered at
the same time.
Along with Bristol Freighters as tactical transports
and Austers for reconnaissance, the helicopters
came under the umbrella of the then recently
reformed No 3 (Battlefield Support) Squadron. The
battlefield support tag was soon dropped and more
helicopters replaced the fixed-wing aircraft as 3
Squadron got to grips with helicopter operations
during the late 1960s.
Seven more Sioux (B47G-3B-2) joined the fleet
in 1970, heralding the start of a classic time for
Sioux in RNZAF service. The additional aircraft
allowed the type to serve as more than just
trainers. Reconnaissance, forward air control,

78
communications and casevac became new tasks in
support of the army. The army even supplied some
of the pilots, who along with the Navy Wasp pilots,
made 3 Squadron a tri-service “purple” unit long
before such concepts became commonplace.
Many stories and rumours abound from the
operational Sioux period and they were undoubtedly
exciting times. Sometimes, much too exciting
though, as the Sioux suffered numerous accidents.
These were typically the result of extreme low-level
operational flying or the old helicopter enemy –
wire strikes. The Sioux actually suffered the worst
accident rate of any post-WWII RNZAF aircraft.
Eventually, with half the fleet written off, the Sioux
were withdrawn from the operational role and
the five remaining aircraft returned exclusively to
training duties.

3 Squadron
No 3 Sqn, which is now based at Ohakea, is still the
home unit for the remaining Sioux (all B47G-3B-2s) as The use of the Sioux to deliver patients to
well as their bigger Bell siblings – the UH-1H Iroquois.
hospitals (as made famous by the TV show
It also happens to be the largest RNZAF Squadron,
especially in terms of pilot numbers, with three or MASH) was largely responsible for halving
four students arriving every six months to undertake
the death rate of injured soldiers compared to
helicopter training.
Before helicopter trainees get near a helicopter the rate in the Second World War
they first have to get to grips with fixed wing aircraft
– in fact, about 200 hours worth during the intensive

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 “Wings” course. As Sqn Ldr Rob Stockley, the boss
of 3 Squadron’s training flight explains, “Pilots
in the RNZAF are pilots first and role specialists
second, and helicopter flying is purely a role.” It is an
interesting concept and one that Stockley says is not
only cost-effective, but also serves the RNZAF well.
“Students not only finish the Wings course with
first-rate aeronautical knowledge, but the higher
speed of the fixed-wing aircraft (compared to
helicopters) forces them to think quickly and on
their feet,” says Stockley. “It actually helps us a lot.”
(However, nothing is ever permanent and the process
is currently under review.)
After “mastering” the Airtrainer and King Air,
prospective helicopter pilots arrive at 3 Squadron
justifiably believing they can fly. “They get in the Sioux
and find they can’t really fly anymore and certainly
can’t hover – it really is a great leveller,” laughs Rob.
One trainee likened the process to learning to
ride a bicycle (fixed wing) and having just done so,
converting to a unicycle (helicopter).
Despite Young’s stability bar, and hydraulic
assistance for the controls, which was not present
on the original Bell 47, the Sioux is still far from
easy to fly. Stockley praises the helicopter as honest
and forgiving but says that it needs a high level of
skill and continuous attention in order to fly it well.

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 “There are no trims, no auto pilot, no auto-hover,
no anything,” says Stockley. “The throttle has a
correlation cam that, in theory, will increase RPM as
the collective is raised. In practice, adjustments are
always necessary.”
This was an aspect of flying the Sioux that I had
the opportunity to observe after a short photo shoot.
As we were returning to the airfield, I watched
Rob’s hands and feet in continuous but ever-so-
slight motion on the controls, in order to keep
the helicopter flying along smoothly as if it were
attached to rails – almost.
Despite the challenges of learning to fly the Sioux,
lessons are typically absorbed quickly and the
coordination “reprogramming” that is required to
fly helicopters is soon instilled – so much so that
students are often flying solo with as little time as
10 or 11 hours instruction. One reason that students
progress quickly on the Sioux is that the helicopter
is powered by a Lycoming piston engine. Unlike
turbines, piston engines don’t suffer a pick-up lag and
are therefore much more responsive. According to
Stockley, this provides more learning opportunities
as the instructor can allow students to get things
very wrong (and very obvious to the students) before
taking corrective action.
Another characteristic of the Sioux that is very
popular is the visibility afforded to the pilot – there
is just so much of it from the spacious bubble. Before
our flight, Stockley had explained that it was “like
flying a park bench,” but understanding did not sink
in until I experienced it for myself!
In total, students spend about 75 hours “enjoying”
the view from the bubble of the Sioux – mostly
around the Ohakea area. In fact, the helicopters don’t
82
usually leave the circuit. As one senior officer aptly
put it, “Sioux training is all about learning to land
in paddocks – starting with large ones and finishing
with small ones – simple as that!”
Performance?
When the aircraft do leave Ohakea, cross-country
flying can be a bit of a mission. At a typical cruise
speed of around 65 knots, getting anywhere in a
Sioux takes a while and pushing into a headwind
can easily see the helicopter being overtaken by
cars! Despite this, Stockley and fellow display pilot
Flt Lt “Aussie” Smith, and a handful of student pilots
and maintainers demonstrated the machine at a
number of air shows around the country last summer.
The two-ship display, called Sioux Blue, is a neat
demonstration that highlights the surprising agility of
the Sioux – as well as the skills of the pilots who drive
them. With any luck, Sioux will continue to be seen
out-and-about during air show seasons in future.
It is now more than six decades since the type first
flew and more than four decades since the Sioux
was introduced into New Zealand. Recently, one of
the Kiwi airframes passed the grand total of 10,000
flight hours, so it is not surprising that it is now
getting more difficult to maintain the fleet. Genuine
Bell components have become harder to source, but
as one officer – only partly – joked, “There is no part
that can’t be replaced or rebuilt. With a bit of welding
and linseed oil, the thing will go on forever.”
End of an Era
Unfortunately, the end of an era is approaching.
New helicopters such as the highly capable NH-90
and A109 will replace the Iroquois and Sioux in
 RNZAF service within the next few years. In fact,
it was the decision to replace the Iroquois with the
NH-90 that was the death knell for the Sioux’s RNZAF
service. The NH-90 is a highly capable machine
that represents a massive jump in technology over
the UH-1H “Huey” and will require fundamentally
different skills to operate. Prospective NH-90
pilots will have to get to grips with a glass cockpit,
modern avionics and systems, and the helicopter’s
contemporary handling characteristics.
The training requirements of future NH-90 pilots
are a world away from what the Sioux can deliver.
While the Sioux has been the perfect trainer for the
Huey, it is nevertheless a very “limited” training
tool. It can only be used to teach helicopter flying to
a basic level, after which it has nothing to offer. Not
to put too fine a point on the situation, the Sioux is
now obsolete. At one stage, it had been intended that
the remaining machines would be retired this year
in order to free up personnel to train for the new
acquisitions. However, the type has had a reprieve.
The current (tentative) date for retirement is now
expected to be around 2012, although this is far from
“concrete” and depends on how quickly the new
machines can be brought into service fully.
The Sioux’s
replacements will be five AugustaWestland
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A109LUH helicopters, the first of which is scheduled
to arrive in New Zealand in 2010. Naturally enough,
the A109, which will train and prepare pilots to fly
the NH90 (as well as the Navy’s SH-2G Seasprite),
ticks all the boxes in terms of modern equipment,
avionics and navigation gear. The A109’s rear cabin,
along with a cargo hook and rescue winch, means
that it will also be able to be used to train crewman
as well as pilots – a task that would be prohibitively
expensive if carried out on the much larger NH-90.
The A109 also scores over the Sioux in having a
real operational capability. Typically, this will be as
a light transport carrying up to six personnel or a
small amount of freight. Other potential roles include
use as a platform for counter-terrorism work, or in
support of a number of non-military government
agencies. It looks as if the A109 will be an excellent
acquisition and while the RNZAF is undoubtedly
looking forward to receiving the new machine, many
pilots and ground crew – past and present – will be
bound to have mixed emotions.
The Sioux is an extremely popular machine in
the service and will be sadly missed when it finally
retires. As one officer summed up, “It is the end of
the road for no radar, no GPS, follow State highways,
seat-of-the-pants flying. Of course, this is why the
Sioux has to be replaced – but it is also what has
made flying the machine such a pleasure!”. n
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2010 Connecting Business

2010

When wildfires raged toward the edge
of Los Angeles, dozens of helicopters
flew to help douse the blaze. Now a
federal investigation examines why the
flames reached so far.
story by Jeff Decker
W
ith only a few fires in the
western United States this
summer, some helicopter
operators were feeling
the recession worse than ever. That
changed suddenly with an act of arson
in August – and everything turned hot
in a big way.
The Station Fire in Southern
California defied its massive
containment effort and more than
160,500 acres of the Angeles National
Forest burned just north of Los
Angeles. For the first time in memory,
residents of the world’s 13th largest
city were fearful that the haze over the
Hollywood sign was more than just
smog. In fact, it was more – it became
Los Angeles County’s largest fire ever.
Playing catch-up
Heavy hitting was needed early
because the fire spread so far and
and so fast that traditional fire lines
This CH-54B was operated
by Helicopter Transport
Services in regular rotation
with similar helicopters into
low and steep, while higher
ground was regularly left to
fixed wing tankers.
Thom as Hart
couldn’t be cut around it, according to
Gerald Cosey, who served as US Forest
Service (USFS) Air Operations deputy
branch director for most of the fight.
“We basically did just that, playing
catch-up, trying to make sure nothing
got burned up as far as property values
go,” Cosey said. “With the fire being as
large as it was, our roles initially were
for structure protection for the citizens
of Los Angeles county and other
neighboring jurisdictions.”
Thom as Hart
In the first two weeks, the ground
and aircrews had a fast-moving fight.
They hit the expanding fire from
the front and from where it had already
burned, in a hectic bid to stop it.
Property always has first priority in
firefighting, followed by wilderness
conservation. When the huge
neighborhoods along the forest were
finally safe, the firefighters returned
to their primary tactic of cutting or
burning lines in the mountainous
forest and letting the fire burn up to
those lines.
The blaze started on August 26 and
peaked September 8, when 222 fire
engines were joined by 55 bulldozers
and 23 helicopters, plus ten air tankers
and the world’s only 747 supertanker.
That giant from Evergreen International
Aviation of Oregon was an impressive
sight on its first active mission,
dropping 20,000 gallons of water and
retardant with each sortie.
In the first two weeks the
ground and aircrews had
a fast-moving fight, hitting
the expanding fire from
the front and from where
it had already burned in a
hectic bid to stop it dead.
88
Total cost of battling the Station
Fire reached $US93 million. Local,
state and federal agencies didn’t blink
though at that expenditure with more
than 5,000 structures under threat.
When it was all over by September
26, 89 homes were destroyed and 13
damaged. Twenty-six commercial
properties were in ruins and 22
more needed repair. More than 100
outbuildings were gone even after more
than 5,000 firefighters saved what they
could. Near the north end of the forest
64 big cats huddled in transport trucks,
ready to evacuate Shambala Preserve
before the danger passed.
There were 22 injuries and two
LA County Firefighters died when
their truck plunged off Mount Wilson,
shifting the investigation from arson
to homicide. That mountaintop hosts
two-dozen communication towers
for television and telephones. They
were threatened with obliteration,
but survived thanks to a continuous
frenetic firefighting campaign. Mount
Wilson Observatory was also spared,
just barely!
Firefighters assembled
Leading those fixed-wing aircraft
and helicopters was Jon Keesee
from the Orange County Fire Authority
in his role as Team 5 air operations
branch director. The local US Forest
Service team was in charge at
first, but by the third day this
blaze burned out of control and
USFS activated the Type 1 team,
pulling experts from across the state
to take charge.
“Type 1 is the biggest team there
is,” Keesee notes.
That team devised Incident Action
Plans, listing objectives of the overall
incident strategy and specific tactical
actions for each operational period.
An air attack group supervisor called
out specific targets to meet those
objectives from an airplane over the
fire and alerted every aircraft to clear
out when a DC-10 or 747 was moving in
for its huge drop. They often designate
the lowest, roughest terrain for a heli
coordinator to spot targets for other
helicopters. Layers of elevation separate
those two as well as the fixed-wing and
rotor tankers they coordinate.
According to Keesee, the helibase
managers reported to an air support
group supervisor (who reports to air
operations, while the group supervisor
managed all fuel and supply needs for
aircraft on the ground. “The leaders
of Team 5 have experience working
together and they moved into their
roles seamlessly,” Keesee said. The
system simplifies the challenge of
blending pilots who have just met.
“Probably the biggest lesson learned
is just to continue working on the inter-
agency relations so there’s a smoother
transition from the beginning of the
fire,” he said. “You have LA city, LA
county and the Forest Service – then
we had LA county sheriff... you had all
those different agencies, so you’ve got
to keep everybody on the same page.”
 Opposite page left: With
so much smoke lingering over
the fire visibility was very low and
frequent radio communication
between each helicopter, like this
CH-54B and its peers, was vital.
left: The newest Sikorsky
S-70 Firehawk of Los Angeles
County Fire Department Air
Operations made a strong
up-close impression on the fire
and local residents alike. Its
water tank uses a constant flow
system to deliver 1,000 gallons
with each drop.
Thom as Hart
below center: Usually a
ridgeline is a good place to draw
a line to stop the fire’s spread,
Ron Dubin Photogr aphy
Ron Dubin Photogr aphy
Scott Bird / Wildl andfire.com
but on early on the fight on the
ground and in the air was rushing
just to save property. This
Erickson Air-Crane was spotted
over the city of Pasadena on
Aug 30.
below right: This S-64
operated by Erickson Air-Crane
may appear to be at high
altitudes, but both it and the
smoke were hanging low over
Pasadena, California.
bottom: More S-64s were
on site than most of their pilots
had ever seen. These three were
dipping from Hansen Lake, one
of the few natural water sources
in the area.
89

Full skies
The skies were saturated
with helicopters from adjoining
municipalities and the private
operators AeroWest Helicopters,
Kachina Aviation, Siller Helicopters,
TFR Helicopters, Rainier Helicopters,
Brainerd Helicopters, Helicopter
Transport Services and Helicopter
Express.
“For the most part all the ships we
had were under contract, which is kind
of strange,” said Keesee. “On a fire this
big normally they wouldn’t be, but it
was the only game in town in Southern
California. We had around 2,000 hours
of flight time within the first three
weeks of the fire (counting both fixed-
wing and rotorcraft).”
Overall the rotorcraft flew 1,158
hours and dropped 4,500,000 gallons of
water and 416,000 gallons of retardant.
According to Keesee, the helicopters
moved 178,000 pounds of cargo and
hauled 1,082 passengers.
Considering the different
capabilities of the helicopters, like their
airspeeds and dipping needs, led to
grouping the different types together at
helibases and in the air. “We were up
to ten Sky Cranes, so with that kind of
number we were able to work them all
together,” Keesee recalls.
Erickson Air Cranes and Sikorsky
S-61 and S-64s operated out of Brackett
Field Airport, including the S-64E flown
by Mark Pearson of Siller Helicopters.
“Mixing apples with apples is good
policy”, says Pearson. “The pilots
agreed to repeating patterns, like only
making left-hand turns after a drop.
In addition, it helped that each pilot
90
Thom as Hart
Los Angeles County Fire
Department Air Operations
has four Bell 412s with
two-door 360 gallon tanks.
This aircraft is also fitted
for firefighter transport and
EMS evacuations.
communicated by radio after each drop
and after leaving each dip site.”
“We have a certain sense of what
we need to do, while some of the
smaller helicopters may not understand
our methods,” continued Pearson.
“When we’re on the fire concentrating
on the drops we don’t want to be
distracted by some little JetRanger
coming through and doing his thing.”
Long hours, quick days
Pearson’s 150-day USFS contract
calls for 12 days on and 12 days
off. “Your 14-hour day goes by very
quickly,” said Pearson, who added that
pilots are only allowed to fly eight
hours each day. Aircraft inspections
and planning take up the rest of a
pilot’s busy day, leaving just enough
time for meals and sleep.
“Still,” said Pearson philosophically,
“it was easier than flying for logging
operations. Fighting fires is like a
vacation for us – we get to stay in
nice hotels and we get to eat real
food, not camp food up in a logging
job someplace or eating out of a gas
station.”
In the air, working with so many
pilots and aircraft can become a burden
despite solid coordination. It tests a
pilot’s ability to focus.
“You’re listening to three or four
radios,” says Pearson. “There are times
I’ll actually turn a radio off because I’m
being overloaded.”
Congestion in the air led to some
close calls, according to Ramone Ucha,
manager of the San Gabriel Dam
helibase, one of five established around
the Station Fire. The pilots sent their
concerns up the chain of command and
extra separation was added.
“Everything’s important but we
do it at a slow pace to make sure it’s
safe,” he explains, “We don’t believe in
urgency. Not in the air world.”
Urgency is a key word though for
Los Angeles City Fire Department Air
Operations, which tries to overwhelm
every fire before it goes anywhere.
Their fleet was invited by USFS for only
one day when Little Tujunga Canyon
was in danger. Though they lent their
contracted Erickson Air-Crane to the
USFS for weeks, the blaze only once
threatened the city itself.
“We’ve got brush areas that
completely surround the city on two
sides, so we use the Air-Crane in those
areas primarily and it’s a very effective
tool to knock a fire down in a hurry,”
explains lead pilot, Jeff Moir.
Since almost all properties in the
Los Angeles area have high values,
the Los Angeles City Fire Department
Air Operations team strategy is to hit
hard and fast with their Longranger,
JetRanger, three Bell 412s and two
AW139s. Their own aircraft supervised
LAFD’s operations in that canyon,
keeping in touch with the Air Attack
Supervisors of USFS who allocated that
corner of the fight to the city.
Southerly winds nudged the blaze
away from the city, but Moir says
the fire’s radiant heat made its own
winds from the flat canyon floor.
Piloting an AW139, Moir watched the
Air-Crane work higher elevations and
their medium helicopters tackle the
blaze below.
They followed the lead of USFS,
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ned dawson
above left: The remains
of a USFS station after fire
swept through destroying
everything standing.
above right: Helicopter
Express’s Bell 205 comes in
for another load at the
Christian Camp on the Angeles
Crest Highway.
right: Siller Brothers S61 was
just one of the Type 1s working
from the Christian Camp dam.
bottom left: Bart Brainerd
pulls pitch on Firehawk Helicopters
UH60 as it lifts off with another
load of water for the fire.
ned dawson
92
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bottom right: Weary fire
fighters head off for a short break
before walking back to the fireline
for a long nights work.
opposite page
top left: VIH Helicopters had
this S61 equipped with a FAST
bucket working on a very active
section of the fire on the Angeles
Crest Highway.
top right: Standing on the fire
line and watching the DC10 drop its
load of retardant was an impressive
sight, even for a helicopter person.
ned dawson
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but Moir suggested the city’s strategy
would work better.
“We say we’re going to hold it here,”
he explains. “We hit it with everything
we’ve got and more often than not it
works. I’m just astounded why that’s
not how they approach some of these
big fires, because that’s how we do it in
the city and it works great.”
The coordination by USFS is
overkill, he suggests. “They seem to
be more concerned with putting the
structure and logistics in place than in
putting the fire out,” said Moir. “Boy,
a statement like that could get me in
trouble, but that’s the way it is.”
According to Moir, “The biggest
challenge during that one day on the
Station Fire was probably the lack of
support from the ground companies.
We can knock down the big portions
of it but if we don’t get somebody
following behind to put the rest out, it’s
going to smolder and get started again.”
Internal Investigation
The USFS itself has launched an
internal investigation into how its
team handled the fire. Some local
residents think more could have been
done sooner, especially after what was
a 15-acre fire was thought contained
after its first day, before it quickly raged
out of control. Forest Service chief,
Thomas Tidwell announced on Sept.
ned dawson
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30 in a written statement, “With the
significant loss of life, and impacts to
the local community, we must determine
the effectiveness of our efforts, including
how decisions were made and how fire
behavior prediction models helped guide
our suppression strategies.”
Tidwell noted that nationally,
the USFS extinguishes 98 percent of
wildfires within the first 24 hours and
that the Station Fire involved one of
the largest initial attack efforts ever
undertaken. But officials apparently
misjudged the fire after the first day,
downsizing the response too early.
Other agencies will participate in
the review, including the Los Angeles
County Fire Department, which is being
criticized after the deputy chief sent
only one heli-tanker into the Station
Fire on its second day and denied a
USFS request for another.
Moir said that even as the blaze
grew to become the largest in the
county’s recorded history, other roads
that would have made good firebreaks
were overlooked, and at times ground
crews were starting controlled fires
without the advantage of an aerial
point of view.
“You get it all put out and now
you’ve got some idiot setting flares
to get it going again,” said Moir. “I
personally take great joy washing those
guys down a hill with an air drop when
The fire burnt so hot
there was absolutely
nothing left on the
ground after it roared
its way through.
they do that. They don’t see the big
picture when he does that, or they’re
too lazy to go down the hill and build a
cold trail!”
“We try to refrain from that when
we’re working with the County Fire
Dept. or Forestry,” he adds. “We’re
invited to their stuff and when in Rome
you do what the Romans do.”
Moir’s criticism puts an urban
firefighter’s point of view against
tactics used around the world and a
structure used across the nation.
“The Incident Command System
worked,” stated Cosey, who normally is
field battalion chief for LA County Fire
Department Air Operations. He stepped
in as deputy air branch operations
director before serving as director to
oversee aerial operations in the fire’s
last days.
Chris Akin of Helicopter Express
finished a 150-day USFS contract on
Oct. 2 at Angeles National Park as pilot
of a Bell 205A1++. He has worked with
the city fire department under their
strategy, where the first helicopter to
the scene takes charge.
“They definitely have their own
way of doing things,” he agrees, “I don’t
know if it’s more effective – it’s just a
different style. I wouldn’t say anything
bad about how they do things and I
hope they wouldn’t say anything bad
about us.”
93
Thick smoke nearly obscured
the sun as a Los Angeles
County Fire Department pilot
flies this Firehawk over La
Cañada, California after a water
drop Sept 1. The county and
city departments are among
the few in the world who keep
flying after the sun goes down
by using strong spotlights and
night vision goggles all night.
Nick Carlson/
truelifeim ages.com
Akin has his own criticism about
powerline awareness, with numerous
powerlines intersecting the forest.
“Anywhere a powerline crosses a
canyon, it would be really nice to see
more of those little plastic balls they
put on them,” he said. “I think that’s
a small price to pay – to possibly save
somebody’s life.”
Akin notes that the utilities
sometimes send a helicopter into
the fire zone to check on powerlines,
but doesn’t send representatives into
morning pilot briefings to warn about
those lines. Pilots do warn each other,
and as the local pilot, Akin was often
fielding those questions.
“Air over the forest is dangerous
to fly in the best conditions,” he
adds, “with very steep hills, lots of
canyons at elevations of 8,000 feet.
Those hills beckoned oxygen into the
fire and it didn’t need strong wings
to run wild.”
Windless and hazy
Very dry and dense potential fuel
of ceanothus, chamise, scrub oak and
manzanita covered the entire fire
area and big cone douglas fir filled the
drainage bottoms. With no major fires
there in 40 years the fuel was ready to
burn, with or without heavy winds.
Often strong winds endanger
helicopters but on this fire the opposite
was true. As winds died the smoke
lingered and obscured everything, at
one point so severely all helicopters
were grounded.
“As the fire moves up the hill it
pushes up a big headwind,” said Akin.
“After it crows the ridge it loses that
momentum and that heat and the
smoke collapses down into the valley,
in the direction of the wind.”
Akin’s contract has him flying for 12
days and off for 12, but he rarely goes
home to Oregon. “That’s easier,” he
says, “because my wife drives the fuel
truck for the contract.”
94
Before he was brought on the
Station Fire, Akin was fighting the
Morris Fire, which began just one day
earlier in the eastern Angeles forest
and scorched 2,168 acres.
The nearby San Gabriel reservoir
to the north and Morris reservoir to
the south of that fire gave ample water
to scoop and drop. Water from those
reservoirs was also needed to supply
the fight against the distant Station
Fire. Limited water access slowed
the Station Fire effort as helitankers
needed up to 15 minutes to refill at the
Little Rock and Cogswell Reservoirs
before portable tanks with both
water and retardant were erected just
minutes from the fire line.
On the move
The aerial firefighters dipped into
the waters behind Hansen Dam as well,
where the first helibase was set up and
became the base for light recon patrols.
The Incident Command Post was set
up at the Santa Fe Dam Recreational
Area, and a total of four helibases were
established as the fire spread to the
East. The central base was at the St.
Gabriel Dam where Ramone Ucha was
helibase manager, overseeing medium-
sized helicopters.
“Brackett Field Airport had
most of the heavies,” he said. “Aqua
Dulce Airport had a mix of heavies
and mediums.”
Ucha, who regularly is
superintendent of the forest’s Helitack
crew based at the Chilao Ranger
Station, says no flames threatened
those helibases, though they had come
dangerously close on the Morris Fire
that he’d also fought. The sun made
things hot enough.
“At one point you couldn’t walk
more than 20 feet and you would find
an ice chest,” he adds.
Keeping the base safe, supplied and
in motion was Ucha’s duty, with Air
Attack controlling the airspace over
the fire itself. The immediate airspace
around the base was his to control, but
as soon as each helicopter takes off it
reports to Air Attack.
“When it slows down, they will
call us and give us specific targets or
missions,” Ucha explains.
The fire’s last hot spots were Ucha’s
responsibility. His team planned out
the aircraft rotation into dip sites they
also chose. In the fire’s last days they
had only the Bell 205 of Helicopter
Express, which Akin flew. Another
205 in service to the Bureau of Land
Management was on call if things
heated up.
“Somebody’s got to baby-sit it,”
Ucha said, as ground crews dug up
stump holds and checked smoking
heaps. “The other day they flew over
with infrared and found a lot more hot
stuff than they thought was there.”
The fire’s final breath was around
Mount Wilson and the forest’s San
Gabriel Wilderness Area.
The clean-up is mostly the work
of ground crews, including Ziggy
Hernandez, lead firefighter on Angeles
Helitack module. His team of 13
firefighters is trained to ride that Bell
205 into the most remote corners of
the forest and take the fire head-on or
carve lines where no one else can.
“Our module calls for long
line remote hook training, which
specifically deals with sling-load
missions and cargo,” said Hernandez.
“How to receive, how to package and
how to send off.”
During their three-week training
period, they even learn to rappel from
helicopters. “After that there is the
hands-on with the actual helicopter
– where everything is on the ship and
how to use it,” Hernandez explained.
With full gear, which includes
tightly-packed fire shelters that cover
a single firefighter with reflective foil,
the aircraft can carry nine firefighters.
Depending on the mission, between
two and ten will be dropped off
together.
“We’re always dealing with
weight issues,” Hernandez continued.
“The allowable depends on the
elevation we’re going to as well as the
temperature. If we’re really low and it’s
really cold we can fit ten people in the
helicopter.”
They’re trained to be independent
in deep wilderness for weeks if
necessary, but on the Station Fire they
were only at one site no longer than
isn’t yet in sight. In fact, the Station
Fire could just be the beginning. The
notorious Santa Anna winds have
begun to blow in off the ocean and
promise to breathe power into any
blaze that starts up. That’s why the
final Station Fire containment date was
pushed from Sept. 15 to Sept. 19, and
part of why it wasn’t declared beaten
until Sept. 26.
What caused it to start a full month
earlier is under intense investigation,
with a $50,000 reward from the County
of Los Angeles for that answer. Even
two months after the fire was out
Angeles National Forest was closed
to visitors. But at least the 9.9 million
people living in Los Angeles County can
know the thick haze over their city is
only the usual smog. n

Drop Off
a day. “This fire was very unique,”
he said, “with new orders and new
missions as often as every hour.”

Your Aircraft.
“There have been many times on
this fire where we’ve gone to one spot
in the morning and come back to the

We’ll Do The Rest.

helibase,” he recalls. “There have been
many times when we go from spot to
spot, moving missions, moving cargo.
That’s the beauty of our training where
we can go without pause and just go
do it.”
Such a quick-burning fire meant the
helicopter was needed to drop more
than water, but tools and food as well.
The activity on the ground and in the
air was remarkable
“Just the rapid growth of the
incident and the ability of the response
to grow with the fire,” said Hernandez.
From component
“The support by air, the water, cargo overhauls and repairs
and moving people around where they to reconstruction and
need to be. Being on the ground, seeing completions, now
the aircraft moving around and being Heli‑Mart has a total,
able to support you... to us, it’s the
single‑source solution
greatest thing.”
to fully meet the support
Water dumped from the air, cooled
the fire enough to let the crews build needs of MD Helicopter
their lines, and at times the flames operators worldwide.
were close enough so the firefighters
would also feel that shower.
“You’re right at the line, the fire’s 800-826-6899
www.helimart.com
getting hot, the water comes in and
you get a splash of it – it’s a refreshing
feeling,” Hernandez explains. “The
retardant, on the other hand, gets a
little sticky, but you deal with it.”
Winter Respite
When winter comes the fire season
ends and the helicopter goes off
contract, leaving the helitack crew to
join the forest field crews in thinning
out the fuel and building fuel breaks.
Should a fire start they’ll be activated
and placed with a call-when-needed
helicopter.
But the end of the fire season

HM P2 HO.indd 2 3/24/08 8:52:49 AM

 robert hill
chief pilot
Hong kong
Heliservices in Hong Kong
specializes in long-line work
(SA315B Lama), general charter
ops (AS355N) and powerline
maintenance (MD500). Rob
has over 8000 hours flying time
with about half those on the
AS350/AS355N. The rest were
flown on Wessex 31B, AS365,
Bell 205, Bell 206, A109, Lama,
MD500 and Notar. He admits to
5 hours piston time on the R44.
He holds 4 different ATPLs,
Australian MECIR and Grade
One instructor rating, and is a
TRE in Hong Kong on 4 types.
So Rob, can you tell us a little
about your aviation career and how
you came to be where you are now?
I joined the Australian Navy straight out of school
with no intention of flying helicopters,but after
four years I saw the light and applied for a pilot’s
course. I completed the RAAF/RAN (Royal
Australian Air Force/Royal Australian Navy) pilot’s
course on Macchi jets in 1982, did my basic
helicopter training on Hueys (Bell 205) and was
then was posted to fly Wessex 31Bs in the oil rig
protection/anti-terrorist role. After several years
I transferred to the Army, completed the RAAF
flying instructor course on Pilatus PC9 – and
spent the next five years training military pilots and
aircrewmen at the ADF helicopter School.
After the Army, I flew EMS/SAR with Lifesaver in
Lismore in New South Wales - single pilot IFR in
an AS365. I became Deputy Chief Pilot and was
also responsible for check and training. After three
years I moved to Hong Kong to be Chief Pilot of
Heliservices, and after seven years there, I returned
to Australia where I flew the A109E and S and then
spent some time flying 365s in Nigeria. I returned
to my old job Heliservices at the end of 2008.
96
What encouraged you to become a
helicopter pilot?
I became a Navy pilot to avoid spending my
career at sea and to gain a skill that I could use
outside the military – and chose helicopters over
fixed-wing because I liked the variety of tasks
they could be used for.
With your military and civilian
experience, what would you say are
the main differences you find in the
pilots from each background?
Both backgrounds have their strong and weak
points, but in my experience the ex-military guys
are more willing and capable of doing duties
other than flying, are more observant of the rules
and better prepared for check rides. The civilian
guys are able to operate with less structure
and are more creative in finding ways to get the
job done. These are generalizations though,
as I’ve seen good and
bad pilots from both
backgrounds.
What has been
the most
challenging job?
As a Navy pilot flying
Hueys in the Sinai Desert
as part of a multi-national
peacekeeping force
was a great experience.
EMS/SAR was the most
rewarding. Operating off the back of a warship at
sea was challenging and rewarding. Single- pilot
night/IFR EMS in an ill-equipped AS365 was
challenging. Passing Pilot’s Course was a huge
achievement for me as I have no natural ability
whatsoever, and my final course report read that
I was “grimly determined” to pass!
I’ve had a few close calls though. Leading an
Army formation under a wire that I saw literally
at the last second springs to mind. I still can’t
believe we didn’t hit it. Sliding backwards off the
deck of a frigate when the ship suddenly pitched
and rolled as I was preparing to take off was,
um, ‘interesting’!
How would you describe the
differences in flying among
all the different countries you
have worked in?
Australia is so vast and sparsely populated
away from the coast that you can relax and
enjoy the flying. In Hong Kong you have to
assume that every thing you do is under
scrutiny by the public or the Civil Aviation
Department. China is fascinating, attracting a
crowd wherever you go – and you do things
personal profile
you wouldn’t dream of doing elsewhere.
Nigeria, well, all the stories are true! “Different”
safety considerations there.
What do you think the greatest
differences are between being a
“line” pilot and being a “chief” pilot?
What are the greatest challenges
faced by a Chief Pilot these days?
Line pilots can relax and enjoy the flying. The
Chief Pilot job means more responsibility, more
stress, less fun. Greatest challenge today but
probably the same as always. It’s always the
balancing act of meeting the needs of the pilots,
management and aviation authority. You can’t
keep them all happy all of the time.
If you were to pluck one moment in
your aviation life that changed your
future or set you on a certain path,
what would it be?
Reading an article in an aviation magazine
(I won’t say which one!) about my present
company in Hong Kong prompted me to
send off a CV which resulted in my job with
Heliservices.
What is your opinion of the present
state of the helicopter industry both
locally and internationally?
There seems to be a trend towards more twin
machines. A bit of a lull in the industry at present,
but the Asia Pacific offshore/onshore resource
sector will take off in a big way in the next
couple of years. Offshore WA will provide a lot
of opportunities for Aussie/NZ pilots. China and
India will be huge.
What are, in your opinion, the issues
that helicopter manufacturers
should be addressing? Where are they
consistently failing now?
European manufacturers have some great
products, but their spares and technical support
and in particular communication let them down.
It’s bad enough having to wait a week or two for
an AOG part – but not knowing if/when it’s going
to turn up until it actually arrives makes life very
difficult for commercial operators.
What advice would you give aspirant
helicopter pilots these days?
If you haven’t started yet gather as much
information as you can from a range of
pilots including students, inexperienced and
experienced. Ring and visit companies and talk
to these people. Get onto the online helicopter
forums. Knowledge is power! n