December 2010

December 2010

Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry

Sikorsky Unwraps X2 Offspring: The S-97 Raider ’Four Horsemen’ Speak at AUSA Pressure to be Fast

EDITORS’ Choice 2010

EDITORS’ CHOICE & YEAR IN REVIEW: 2010

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Editor’s Notebook By Joy Finnegan

Year in Review

T

he year is closing. Overall, 2010 was not such a bad year—it could have been worse. The helicopter industry saw some milestones and continued to take orders throughout the year, though not at the pace some would like. The civil helicopter market remains depressed as a result of budget cuts and the recession. The military market remains solid but the future is unclear. What impact will the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan have on future helicopter orders? Helicopter financing was a continued challenge this year. As we reported in our February issue (“Helicopter Financing Tight but Not Terminal”), there is a credit crunch with banks ratcheting up lending standards, higher interest rates and increased scrutiny of borrowers. There is nothing wrong with that but when honest, decent, proven businesses cannot get the loans they need to purchase helicopters, then it is a problem. This problem persists. But once the funds open up again, there should be a pent-up demand that needs to be filled. This probably won’t be a rush like the glory days, which were a bit unrealistic with speculators buying delivery positions. But, there are businesses that need additional assets and are ready to buy, who are simply waiting until the banks come to understand, once again, how financing a helicopter can and will make them money. Part of the problem lies with the mergers of numerous banks and the loss of helicopter-savvy loan officers. With education, due diligence and clean paperwork, hopefully, progress on financing will be made in the coming year. A continued focus on safety pervaded the industry with numerous programs to reiterate the need for caution, judgment and training to help prevent accidents. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman spoke to Rotor & Wing early in the year (March 2010

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issue) to discuss the NTSB’s advocacy of “raising the bar.” Hersman stressed that just meeting the minimums was not enough and that OEMs and operators should stretch to improve safety, including adding equipment, even if it is not regulated. She also stressed assuming personal responsibility, saying, “We’ve seen a lot of voluntary measures taking place absent FAA requirements.” The FAA did finally propose stricter rules for helicopter operations in an October notice of proposed rulemaking, and is seeking comments to those proposed rules. The NPRM proposes changes for air ambulance operators, all commercial helicopter operators and all Part 135 aircraft (both helicopter and fixed-wing). Among the proposed rules for HEMS are the use of HTAWS, employing lightweight aircraft recording systems, mandating flights be conducted under Part 135 and amending the VFR weather minimums and IFR ops at airports/heliports without weather reporting. The complete list of proposed rules can be found at: www. faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published. The comment period is open through Jan. 10, 2011. During Heli-Expo, OEMs touted their successes. AgustaWestland CEO Guiseppe Orsi unveiled the GrandNew, an updated version of the Grand with a new avionics package, etc. Bell CEO John Garrison acknowledged the company had a “challenging” year and also called the 429 an “amazing helicopter” and the first designed through the Maintenance Steering Group 3 process. Eurocopter President and CEO Lutz Bertling highlighted the Bluecopter program, which aims to lower noise and reduce CO2 and NOx emissions. Sikorsky President Jeffrey Pino said Sikorsky Innovations was working with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop active rotor technology. MD Heli-

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copters CEO Lynn Tilton introduced the company’s new president, Robert Molsbergen. Frank Robinson of Robinson Helicopters announced the pricing for the new R66 was set at $770,000 with a $75,000 deposit, but cautioned the price could go up soon. Late in the summer, Robinson Helicopter announced that legend Frank Robinson would retire and son Kurt Robinson would assume leadership of the company. The younger Robinson assured devotees of the company that “the rest of the company’s management has been in place for two decades” and that there wouldn’t be much in the way of changes. “We’ve all been taught in the ways of Frank, and we understand this company and how it runs,” he said. Also in the summer, Sikorsky’s X2 reached 225 KTAS on its way to 250 KTAS. Just a few weeks later, on September 15, the X2 unofficially set a new world speed record for a helicopter, achieving 250 KTAS during level flight at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. An impressive milestone. Now we will see what product Sikorsky can delivery based on this technology (See Rotorcraft Report, page 12). Kudos to Sikorsky for taking the reins and pushing forward instead of doing things the way they have always been done. Which brings us to the government procurement process. This is an issue that has been a challenge. Do we need newer, more efficient ways to get the military what they need as quickly as possible? Commercial-offthe-shelf (COTS) products such as the UH-72A Lakota are meeting the needs of the Army and saving the taxpayers money. Don’t get me wrong. There is a need for procurement security and fairness. But when it comes at the expense of the warfighters, the success of their missions and innovation, then we need to review “how we’ve always done things.” Here’s to 2011!

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THIS MONTH FROM Personal|Corporate

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DEPARTMENTS 12 Rotorcraft Report 18

People

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Coming Up

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Ad Index

COLUMNS Above: Russian Helicopters Mi-171 simulator at CSTS Dinamika. Bottom: Frank (center) and Kurt (right) Robinson with FAA officials during the presentation of the R66 type and production certificates. Right: ASU offers various NVG training programs.

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■ Year

Rotor & Wing has complied a list of more than 600 news items, features and product announcements from 2010 with the goal of gaining reader feedback about the following question: What industry coverage would you like to see in the various online, print and e-mail offerings from Rotor & Wing?

Editors’ Choice Product Guide

Rotor & Wing asked its editors and contributors to send in their opinions about the most innovative and unique products in the helicopter market. These are the editors’ choices in six distinct categories. By Rotor & Wing staff

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in Review: Looking Ahead

■ Training ■ Safety ■ Panel Upgrades ■ Maintenance Upgrades ■ Facilities ■ Pilot Equipment

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4 Editor’s Notebook 9 Feedback 10 Meet the Contributors 48 Public Safety Notebook 50 Right Seat 54 Military Insider On the Cover: Graphic rendering of Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider. See story page12. Image courtesy of Sikorsky.

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Vol. 44 | No. 12 December 2010

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ONLINE

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WEBINAR • Part of Rotor & Wing’s Learning Series, a new webinar that focuses on weather options for helicopter pilots is available through parent website Aviation Today. “Shopping for Weather” features a discussion with Hughes Aerospace President Chris Baur and Air Methods Corporate Safety Manager Eric C. Lugger, with moderator Joy Finnegan, Editor-in-Chief of Rotor & Wing. An archive of the webinar is available at www.aviationtoday.com/webinars

PODCASTS & WHITE PAPERS • A new podcast from NSF is now available online. Aerospace registrations and standards expert Jeff Carr, business development manager for U.S. Midwest, helps listeners understand the dangers of counterfeit parts, how they can infiltrate a supply chain and what can be done to prevent that from happening. Rotor & Wing Editor-in-Chief Joy Finnegan moderates the discussion. Listen to this free podcast at www.aviationtoday.com/podcasts • Also available is, “AS9100C—Revised Standard Improves Aerospace Quality,” a white paper by Chris Lupo, NSF-ISR business unit manager for Aerospace and Automotive, and Jeff Carr, NSF-ISR business development manager for U.S. Midwest. It features a corresponding podcast: Aerospace Registrations and Standards: A Ticket to the Game.” Moderated by Joy Finnegan.

ASK-THE-EXPERT • Jessie Kearby, certification engineer for Aero Dynamix, fields questions about night vision goggles (NVGs) for both military and commercial helicopter operators.

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The editors welcome new product information and other industry news. All editorial inquiries should be directed to Rotor & Wing magazine, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA; 1-301-354-1839; fax 1-301-762-8965. E-mail: rotorandwing@ accessintel.com. Rotor & Wing (ISSN-1066-8098) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA. Periodical postage paid at Rockville, Md. and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: Free to qualified individuals directly involved in the helicopter industry. All other subscriptions, U.S.: one year $99; two years $188. Canada: one year $129; two years $208; Foreign: one year $149; two years $278. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rotor & Wing, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA. Change of address two to eight weeks notice requested. Send both new and old address, including mailing label to Attn: Rotor & Wing magazine, Customer Services, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA or call 1-847-559-7314. E-mail: [email protected]. Canada Post PM40063731. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5.

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EDITORIAL Joy Finnegan Editor-in-Chief, [email protected] Andrew D. Parker Managing Editor, [email protected] Ernie Stephens Editor-at-Large, [email protected] Andrew Drwiega Military Editor, [email protected] Giovanni de Briganti Paris Bureau Chief Claudio Agostini Latin America Bureau Chief Barney O’Shea Pacific Rim Correspondent Joe West United Kingdom Correspondent Contributing Writers: Lee Benson; Ron Bower; Shannon Bower; Igor Bozinovski; Tony Capozzi; James Careless; Keith Cianfrani; Steve Colby; Frank Colucci; Pat Gray; Frank Lombardi; Douglas Nelms; Ray Prouty; Ann Roosevelt; Dale Smith; Terry Terrell; Todd Vorenkamp; Richard Whittle.

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October 2008

Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry

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Sorting Out NVG Rules, Ops Corporate Helicopters: Clear of Turbulence?

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Feedback

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Counterpoint: Open Season for Helicopter Competition Shannon Bower’s commentary on Air Force helicopter programs (see “USAF Combat SAR,” November 2010, page 46) rightly concludes that there is no “Easy Button” when it comes to solving the challenges plaguing defense acquisition professionals in the Pentagon. However, the premise of his opinion piece completely undermines his own point, as he outlines a justification for doing just that: taking the easy way out. The author starts with a rather scathing indictment of the acting Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Mr. David Van Buren. It is important to point out that Mr. Van Buren inherited the CSAR-X program, as well as the Common Vertical Lift Support Platform (CVLSP) requirement. It is unfair to so strongly and broadly blame a single individual for the woes of a system that has long fought to balance the needs of the warfighter with the obligation to bring best value to the American taxpayer. It is not easy work and Mr. Bower’s assertion that a public servant is serving in such a thankless job for personal gain does not hold water. Each of us has a solemn obligation to the men and women serving in our armed forces, an obligation to equip them with the right technology for their missions, as quickly and affordably as possible. The author’s premise that the best way to do that is to avoid competition and sole source billions of dollars of helicopters for critical national security programs runs contrary to our country’s economic model and our Secretary of Defense’s initiatives for this industry. The need to replace the Air Force’s legacy Hueys for CVLSP, as well as its depleted and antiquated fleet of combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopters, are well chronicled. Air

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Force officials went to great lengths in 2002 and thereafter, justifying the need for a new CSAR aircraft, with great emphasis placed on the desire for a modern helicopter more robust and reliable than the legacy assets, with significantly greater cabin volume. Eight years later, Mr. Bower does not recognize the Air Force’s strong case for the original CSAR-X program, suggesting rather that they settle for what they can get as conveniently as possible. In terms of CVLSP, the author asserts that the H-60M “could easily fulfill” the requirements for the Air Force Huey replacement program. Mr. Bower is correct in the same way I would be correct if I said an 18-wheeler “could easily fulfill” my requirement to move a desk, chair and several lamps into my home office. Sure, the 18-wheeler can do the job, but is it what I really need? Secretary Gates has rightly challenged Pentagon acquisition and industry officials to search for and produce the best solution, considering affordability, fair competition and risk. The author suggests a solution for the CVLSP program that does not represent the benefit of competition and may be excessive for the taxpayer to bear, which is what you have when you replace the aging Huey fleet with the much bigger and more expensive to acquire and operate H-60. Participants of the U.S. industrial base work to develop and compete the best, most technologically advanced solutions to equip our military. Case in point, our Philadelphia-manufactured AW139 was designed from inception as a modern Huey replacement— offering the same footprint with 30 percent more volume and 50 percent more payload. Furthermore, the acquisition and operational costs of the AW139 are significantly less than a Black Hawk. I make these points as a way to ask: what is wrong with

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going through the process of having a competition? I trust that Pentagon acquisition professionals will do the right thing when presented data. Years of failed defense acquisition programs do not justify a case to discard competition altogether in pursuit of the path-ofleast-resistance. Rather, I would argue that we have an obligation to redouble our efforts to correct the causes that led to the ills of our current system. While Mr. Bower’s commentary is probably well meaning, the fact that programs such as CSAR-X have failed to get off the ground does not mean that the Air Force should turn to a “one size fits all” approach to procurement. After all, competition is the engine of ingenuity and the “checks and balances” of excessive costs. If, after a fair, transparent, meritbased competition, the Air Force or any other service forgoes competition, when more economical and efficient options are available in the marketplace, so be it. The impact of skipping the critical steps of competition will have serious long-term consequences for both the warfighter, in terms of having the best technology for the mission, and the taxpayer, when it comes to holding the line on costs. I cannot accept the notion that we would just throw up our hands and give up; rather, I prefer the American way: let’s compete and let the best solution win. R. Scott Rettig Chief Executive Officer AgustaWestland North America

Do you have comments on the rotorcraft industry or recent articles and viewpoints we’ve published? Send them to: Editor, Rotor & Wing, 4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor, Rockville, MD 20850, fax us at 301-354-1809 or email us at rotorandwing@accessintel. com. Please include a city and state or province with your name and ratings. We reserve the right to edit all submitted material.

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Meet the Contributors CHRIS BAUR is a dual-rated ATP with more than 11,000 flight hours, a certified aircraft dispatcher and flight instructor. He is a retired military pilot who served in the U.S. Army, Coast Guard and Air Force (ANG). Chris is currently president of Hughes Aerospace. LEE BENSON is the retired senior pilot for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Before he was named senior pilot, Lee ran the aviation section’s safety and training programs, including organizing the section’s yearly safety meeting with other public agencies and the press. SHANNON BOWER is a 7,000-hour, dual ATP with type ratings in Bell 206s, Gulfstreams and Cessna Citations. He has operated on five continents and is a longtime photographer and contributing writer for Rotor & Wing. Shannon is the vice president of Bower Helicopter Inc., a firm that helps people buy, sell and refurbish helicopters. KEITH CIANFRANI is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, master aviator and Army instructor pilot, he is rated in both fixed- and rotary-wing. He holds a master’s in aerospace safety from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Keith is a certificated flight instructor and has flown commercial aircraft for more than 20 years in and around the New York City area. STEVE “ELROY” COLBY, Lt. Col., U.S. Air Force (Ret.) began his helicopter career in 1979 as a USAF helicopter mechanic. As a USAF pilot he flew UH-1N, HH-1H, MH60G, HH-60G, AH-6, MI-8, and MI-24s for the Air Force. He is dual rated fixed and rotary-wing, a CFI and A&P. ANDREW DRWIEGA, Military Editor, is a senior defense journalist with a particular focus on military rotorcraft. He was the editor of Defence Helicopter for seven years. Andrew has reported on attachment from Iraq three times (the latest with a USMC MV-22 squadron), and twice with British forces in Afghanistan (Kandahar and Camp Bastion), as well as from NATO and British exercises. THIERRY DUBOIS is a long-time contributor to Access Intelligence publications. He has been an aerospace journalist for 12 years, specializing in helicopters since 2006. He writes on technical subjects, both for professional media and a popular science magazine in France,.

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FRANK LOMBARDI began his flying career in 1991 when he graduated with a bachelor’s of science in aerospace engineering. Frank became a police officer for a major East Coast police department in 1995, and has flown helicopters in the department’s aviation section since 2000. He is a commercial pilot with both fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings. DOUGLAS NELMS has more than 30 years of experience as an aviation journalist and currently works as a freelance writer. He has served as managing editor of Rotor & Wing. A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Nelms specializes in writing about helicopters. MIKE REDMON is an ATP rated pilot with CFI, CFII, and MEI privileges. He began flying helicopters for the U.S. Army and then moved to civilian fixed-wing flying. After six enjoyable years in helicopter EMS, he is back to flying airplanes. Helicopters he has flown are the UH-1, OH-58, AH-64, BK-117, A-109E, BH-430, and BO-105. ERNIE STEPHENS, Editor-at-Large, began flying in the 1980s, earning his commercial pilot’s license and starting an aerial photography company as a sideline. In his regular job as a county police officer, he was transferred to the department’s new aviation unit, where he served as the sergeant in charge and chief pilot until his retirement in 2006. In addition to Rotor & Wing, Ernie (aka “Werewolf”) has written for Aviation Maintenance. TERRY TERRELL gained his early aviation experience as a U.S. Navy fixed-wing instructor and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft commander, where his service included SAR in Sikorsky S-61s. Terry served as a cross-qualified captain and safety special projects officer with Houston’s Transco Energy, and later with Atlanta’s Kennestone AVSTAT Helicopter Ambulance Program and Georgia Baptist LifeFlight. TODD VORENKAMP currently flies Eurocopter HH-65C helicopters for the U. S. Coast Guard at Air Station Humboldt Bay, Calif. He served 11 years in the U.S. Navy flying the Boeing CH-46, Sikorsky SH-3 and MH-60S helicopters. He is the former editorin-chief of Rotor Review, the Naval Helicopter Association’s quarterly publication, and is a trustee of the association.

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■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES

Joy Finnegan

Sikorsky to Build Two Prototypes Based on X2 Technology Sikorsky Aircraft has uncovered plans to build two prototype light tactical helicopters (LTHs) based on the X2 Technology demonstrator that unofficially claimed the helicopter world speed record in September, reaching 250 knots (288 mph) at the company’s Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. President Jeffrey Pino said that having proven the X2 design as a company, “we have full confidence we can now mature the technology for the U.S. Army’s light armed reconnaissance helicopter size.” Self-funding the design of a new LTH, the Sikorsky S-97, and manufacturing two Raider prototypes, he continued, “will help military aviation evaluate the viability of a fast and maneuverable next-generation rotorcraft for a variety of combat missions.” Sikorsky submitted an X2 aircraft design to the Army’s Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) program in March 2010, responding to a request for information. Similar to the X2 demonstrator that topped the speed record, the S-97 Raider prototypes Sikorsky President Jeff Pino unveils the S-97 Raider in late October. will feature twin coaxial counter-rotating main rotors and a pusher propeller. Pino said that as a company, Sikorsky watched over the years as four major helicopter programs under development in the Department of Defense disappeared: the armed reconnaissance helicopter that Bell had won; the presidential helicopter that Lockheed Martin had won; an emerging requirement for the CH-47 possibly to go to the Air Force; and the CH-53K Marine heavy lift, which Sikorsky won. “And for whatever reason, budgets, lack of execution, three of those programs are gone. ARH was gone. VH was gone. CSAR cancelled. Only one is left and we’ve got it—thank God—CH-53K. It sent a bigger message to us at Sikorsky,” said Pino. “It said that at this point in the life cycle, it appears that our biggest customer is unwilling to invest major dollars in future technology. That’s the real message it sent us.” Therefore, the company decided to move forward on its own. “We understand that the government is moving forward with an industry coalition to develop these kinds of ideas and we will continue to participate in that coalition,” he said. “But clearly, we want to go a little faster than we would assume any coalition would go.” Pino said that Sikorsky will build two S-97 Raiders “mostly on our own company funding. We have not asked nor received one dime from the Federal government in any way, shape or form. And we like that at this stage.” Although Pino did note later that Sikorsky would be looking to its partners to take on 25 to 30 percent of the funding. For the armed reconnaissance mission, the S-97 Raider will have space aft of the two-pilot cockpit for armament and auxiliary fuel. In an assault configuration, the cabin affords space to accommodate up to six fully loaded 320-pound troops. In addition to flying at nearly twice the speed of a conventional helicopter, the Raider prototype will incorporate other key performance parameters critical to combat operations—increased maneuverability, greater endurance, and the ability to operate at high altitudes. According to Sikorsky, the prototypes will feature reduced turning radius and acoustic noise signature, while significantly increasing payload, flight endurance and hot and high hover capability compared to other light military helicopters. The 9,000-pound basic aircraft, which will be able to lift 10,500 pounds, will be 33 feet long and carry two crew members side-by-side. The flight controls will be fly-by-wire. “[It will have] about a 2.7-hour endurance right on top of current capability, but the idea is if you are not going to carry these troops, we will build this aircraft to carry additional fuel and/or a second load of ammunition so that the mission flexibility is increased to the point where if it were all fuel, we think we could put five or six hours on a station,” said Pino. Sikorsky will conduct the S-97 Raider development program according to military standards. The company expects the first major milestone in the program,—a preliminary design review—in 2011. First flight, projected in four years, could depend in part on the pace of development and customer need. “We have a team that’s assembled under Sikorsky Innovations who are fully charged to build, For daily and breaking news involving helicopters, go to: design and fly within 50 months,” said Pino. www.aviationtoday/rw

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Rotorcraft Report ■ PRODUCTS | AIRFRAMES

■ PRODUCTS | DRIVE SYSTEMS

Robinson R66 Gains FAA Certs

Bell to Develop Future Drive Systems

■ PUBLIC SERVICE | POLICE

MD State Police Buy Six AW139s Maryland State Police’s Aviation Command has placed an order for six AgustaWestland AW139s. Valued at around $71 million, the agreement calls for delivery in early 2012—18 months after contract award. The AW139s will join MSP Aviation Command’s Medevac fleet program. Plans call for AgustaWestland to build the AW139s at its Northeast Philadelphia airport (PNE) manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania.

Under a $30-million agreement, U.S. Army Aviation’s Applied Technology Directorate is teaming with Bell Helicopter to develop drive system technology as part of the Future Advanced Rotorcraft Drive System (FARDS) program. The five-year contract calls for Bell’s Xworx division to work with the directorate on more than 18 drive system advancements, including demonstrations of the main rotor gearbox and tail rotor drive shaft. ■ MILITARY | UNMANNED

K-MAX Presented for Navy Cargo Role Lockheed Martin and Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Aerospace have formally proposed the K-MAX in response to a U.S. Naval Air Systems request for an unmanned cargo helicopter. In April 2010 flight trials, the companies displayed the helicopter’s ability to hover at 12,000 feet with a 1,500-lb sling load and drop 3,000 lbs of cargo, among other performance requirements under the Navy program.

U.S. Army Photo/Spc. Sean Harriman

FAA presented the type and production certificates for the R66 to Robinson Helicopter during a ceremony in late October. The approvals allow the Torrance, Calif.based company to begin deliveries of the Rolls-Royce RR300-powered R66. Development of the five-place helicopter traces back to 2001, but really started taking shape in 2005 with the selection of the RR300.

A U.S. Army Boeing CH-47 Chinook lifts off with a German Army bulldozer at Camp Marmal in Afghanistan. The 4th Combat Aviation Brigade’s 4th Infantry Division moved the bulldozer to an outlying base on Nov. 3.

■ COMMERCIAL | AIRFRAMES

Metro Inks 12Eurocopter Deal American Eurocopter has reached an agreement to supply a dozen helicopters to Shreveport, La.-based Metro Aviation. The MoU covers a mix of types—EC130s, EC135s and EC145s. The fleet additions will help expand Metro’s Aircraft Operations division. Metro currently operates 71 aircraft, 61 of which are Eurocopter variants. Separately, Metro will install an EMS interior on an EC145 for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital’s Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance. Completions will take place in Shreveport, with delivery projected in March 2011.

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■ PUBLIC SERVICE | EMS

Russian Ka-32s Going to EMERCOM Russian Helicopters has received an order from EMERCOM for five Ka-32A11BCs. The helicopters, designed by Kamov, will be configured for the medevac role, while also being equipped for firefighting missions. The agreement follows a joint program established in November 2009 between Russian Helicopters and EMERCOM’s Aviation Department.

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Rotorcraft Report ■ MILITARY | NIGHT VISION

Elbit Wins Cobra NTSU Deal Elbit Systems of America has secured a $45.5-million IDIQ contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Crane division for a night targeting system upgrade (NTSU) for the AH-1W Cobra. Work will occur in Merrimack, N.H. under the five-year agreement. ■ COMMERCIAL | UTILITY

Erickson S-64F Enters Service ■ COMMERCIAL | ENG

Japanese Newspaper Receives GrandNew

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has incorporated an Erickson S-64 helitanker into its operations. The helicopter will be used to install more than 50 percent of the transmission lines for Sunrise Powerlink, a 120-mile power project in California. Featuring a 2,500-gallon water tank, the “Sun Bird” will also fight wildfires with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department during fire season. ■ SERVICES | SATCOM

AgustaWestland

SkyNode to Serve CH-146 Fleet

AgustaWestland and Kaigai Aviotech Corp. have handed over a GrandNew to the Asahi Shumbun, a newspaper in Japan. The helicopter will be used for electronic newsgathering and aerial photography. Equipped with a gyro-stabilized camera under the tail boom, it is the first GrandNew ordered from Japan, and will be the first in the ENG industry when in enters service in early 2011.

Latitude Technologies Corp. has agreed to provide up to 95 SkyNode S200 satcom systems for the Canadian Department of National Defence’s fleet of Bell CH-146 Griffons. The contract also includes Latitude’s Sentinel software management system, which will work with the SkyNode equipment to supply secure data communication system for the Canadian forces.

■ PUBLIC SERVICE | EMS

Eurocopter

Eurocopter Delivers EMS Helicopters

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American Eurocopter has equipped various EMS units with new airborne tools in recent weeks. The manufacturer has delivered an AS350B2 (shown here) to the Suffolk County Police Department’s Aviation Section in Long Island, N.Y. It joins a fleet of two AS350B2s and an EC145. EastCare, which provides air medical in eastern North Carolina, recently incorporated two EC145s and one EC135P2+ into its fleet. Air Methods supplies pilots and mechanics for the University Health Systems service helicopters, which replace a fleet of three BK117s. Eurocopter has also received an order for one EC145 from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. PHI Helicopters will operate the EC145 under the hospital’s Department of Helicopter Transport AirCare program, based in Jackson, Miss.

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Rotorcraft Report

TOGET

ER

in a partnership based on constant improvements

Helping you focus on your core business, flying You want to take your business to new heights. You need tailored products, services and policies. Because you have chosen Turbomeca as your trusted partner, we focus on understanding your business and we continuously invest to expand global service and production capabilities, standard-setting design and engineering, and your 24-7 after-sales service. Meeting your needs every day is our priority. In the industry since 1938, Turbomeca is the world’s leading manufacturer of helicopter engines. W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

more at turbomeca.com D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | R OTO R & W I N G M AGA Z I N E 15

Rotorcraft Report ■ PUBLIC SERVICE | POLICE

■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES

Chiefs Award Kern County Police Unit

S-61Ts to Combat Afghan Drugs

Skip Robinson Photo

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has given its Excellence in Police Aviation Unit award to the Kern Cou nty Sher i f f ’s Office Air Support Unit in California. The IACP and Bell Helicopter award recognizes achievements of aerial law enforcement units. Kern Sheriff ’s has totaled more than 50,000 hou rs of accident-free flying since operational launch in 1975.

■ TRAINING | SIMULATORS

Russian Helicopters Inks Training Pact Russia’s Center for Scientific and Technical Services (CSTS) Dinamika is partnering with Russian Helicopters to develop and produce technical training units (TTUs) for helicopter pilots and maintenance personnel. The cooperation agreement also involves marketing the TTUs. According to Russian Helicopters CEO Dmitry Petrov, the teaming represents a “strategic transition” within the company, “from selling just the helicopter as a separate product to selling its entire lifecycle, including servicing and modern means for the preparation and training of flight personnel.” CSTS Dinamika makes simulators for a variety of Mil helicopter types, including the Mi-8, Mi-17, Mi-171 and Mi-35.

■ MILITARY | AFGHANISTAN

Sikorsky Aerospace Services (SAS) has received an order from the U.S. State Department for another pair of modified S-61s. The utility helicopters will be used for drug interdiction efforts in Afghanistan. Sikorsky signed an IDIQ contract with the State Department in early 2010 covering up to 110 S-61s, ordering 17 total through early November.

■ SERVICES | ACCESSORIES

Aeronautical Accessories Gains Bell 429 STC FAA has issued a supplemental type certificate (STC) to Piney Flats, Tenn.based Aeronautical Accessories for modifications on the Bell 429. Included are automatic door openers and protector kits for the crew floor, passenger floor and fuel filler area. The Bell affiliate has also obtained recent European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for a number of packages, including high visibility crew doors, skylight and tail boom antenna for the Bell 407; low-skid crosstubes for the Bell 412/412EP; and passenger restraint system for the 206A/B.

CH-47s Aide in Election Ballot Transport U.S. Army Photo/Spc. Jeanita C. Pisachubbe

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Members of the International Election Committee and Afghanistan National Police loaded ballot boxes onto a U.S. Army Boeing CH-47 Chinook in Kunduz Province in September. Task Force Mustang, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, was responsible for picking up and transferring the ballots from the Afghanistan parliamentary elections, which were held on Sept. 18.

■ MILITARY | ATTACK

EADS AAS-72X Takes to Skies First flight of the EADS North America Armed Aerial Scout 72X technical demonstration aircraft (TDA) is set to take place in December. The company is preparing to fly the first of three demonstrators. The program will evaluate the helicopter’s mission equipment package (MEP).

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Rotorcraft Report ■ TRAINING | MILITARY

Macedonia Fields Combat Helos For the first time in its 18-year independent history, the Republic of Macedonia has deployed combat helicopters out of its borders for participation at the “Logical Decision 2010” multinational military exercise in Hungary. The deployment of Macedonian Air Force helicopters started Oct. 3 when two Mi-24V Hind-E and one Mi-17 Hip-H with 35 personnel left Petrovec AFB on their way to Papa AFB in Hungary where Logical Decision 2010 took place from October 4-15. Apart from Macedonia, NATO members Hungary and Belgium also deployed aircraft at the event, while France, Poland, Austria and the UK were acting as observers. Macedonian Air Force participated with three Elbit Systems-upgraded helicopters: a pair of FLIR-equipped Mi-24Vs of the Combat Helicopter Squadron and a single Mi-17 of the Transport Helicopter Squadron. The Hungarian Air Force sent two NVG-equipped Mi-17Ns and one Mi-8T. Those Mi-17Ns received upgrades with NATO-compatible avionics and equipment in Russia during 2008. Szolnok Helicopter Base also took part in the exercise with few Mi-24D/V-1/P gunships, though only in daylight conditions as Hungarian Hind fleet is short of night-vision capabilities. The Belgian detachment was made up of five Agusta A109Bas (three in antitank and two in transport setup) and accompanying personnel of the Belgian Armed Forces’ Helicopter Wing of the Air Component. The first day of the event unexpectedly ended with real medevac mission for Hungarian detachment that was called to perform night-time evacuation of civilians from a toxic sludge catastrophe that happened at the Ajkai Timfoldgyar aluminum plant, which is located in a town 160 kilometers southwest of Budapest. It’s worth noting that in performing this urgent and demanding medevac mission, the Hungarian crews used night vision goggles and managed to evacuate 17 civilians from Kolontar to Budaors.— By Igor Bozinovski

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

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Rotorcraft Report PEOPLE

coming events

Fort Worth, Texas-based Rotorcraft Services Group (RSG) has promoted Gar y Potochnik , DAR, to vice president of quality and certification. A certified holder of DAR maintenance and manufacturing ratings, Potochnik previously managed one of RSG’s subsidiaries. The company has also hired Arturo Saldana as vice president of sales. Saldana will serve the role for all the group’s divisions, including RSG Aviation, RSG Products and RSG AeroDesign. PremiAir group operations director Christopher Forrest is the recipient of the British Helicopter Association’s Eric Brown award, which recognizes contributions to the UK’s helicopter industry. Forrest manages PremiAir’s rotorcraft and fixed-wing certificates, its type rating training organization and the London Heliport facility. Phoenix-based Honeywell Aerospace has promoted Mike Madsen to president of its Defense & Space busi-

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ness unit. A 20-year employee of Hone y w el l , M a d s e n previously served as vice president of the company’s Airlines Customer Business group within the Air Transport & Regional (AT&R) unit. Dr. Kevin Hutton, founder of San Diego-based Golden Hour Data Systems, has been elected to a fifth one-year term as president of MedEvac Foundation International. Other new board members include Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society’s Linda Powell as vice president, treasurer Johnny Delgado of AtlantiCare EMS and secretary Russell MacDonald from Ornge. Bell Helicopter has selected four teams as winners of its 2010 Lawrence D. Bell Pioneer award. A total of 14 employees took first in four categories—productivity, service, innovation

and growth. For productivity, the winners are Anthony Bergerson, Daniel Burns, John Rogus, Paul Russell and Robert Chris. Eric Nottorf, Denver Whitworth and Vance Cribb took top honors for service, and Royce Moore, Richard Pae, Monte Smith and Stephen Stalnaker for innovation. The award for growth went to William Fulton and Jonathan Silvester. EMS provider Med-Trans Corp. has appointed Rob Hamilton vice president of business development. He will be based at the company’s headquarters in Lewisville, Texas. Hamilton previously worked for Air Methods. Show Low, Ariz.-based Aero Products Components Services has hired Rick Lewis as an outside sales consultant. A Six Sigma certified Green Belt, Lewis comes from Aeronautical Accessories, where he was vice president. He has also worked for AAI sister company Edwards & Associates.

Feb. 23–25: Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Winter Symposium, Washington, D.C. Contact AUSA, phone 1-703-841-4300, toll free 1-800-336-4570 or visit www.ausa.org

May 17–19: European Business Aviation Association and NBAA’s EBACE 2010, Geneva, Switzerland. Contact EBAA, phone +32 2 766 0073 or visit www.ebaa.org

March 5–8: Heli-Expo 2011, Orlando, Fla. Contact HAI, phone 1-703-683-4646 or visit www.heli-expo.com

May 19–21: Intl Helicopter Industry Exhibition (HeliRussia 2011), Moscow, Russia. Contact HeliRussia, +7 495 958 9490 or visit www.helirussia.ru

March 16–18: Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Spring Conference, Washington, DC. Contact AAMS, phone 1-703-836-8732 or visit www.aams.org March 22–25: Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) Annual Convention & Trade Show, Reno, Nev. Contact AEA, phone 1-816-347-8400 or visit www.aea.net April 17–20: Quad-A Annual Convention, Nashville, Tenn. Contact Quad-A, 1-203-268-2450 or visit www.quad-a.org April 19–21: 56th Annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar (CASS), San Diego, Calif. Contact Flight Safety Foundation, phone 1-703-739-6700 or visit www.flightsafety.org May 1–6: Medical Transport Leadership Institute, Wheeling, W.V. Contact AAMS, 1-703-836-8732 or visit www.aams.org

May 24–27: AirMed World Congress 2011, Brighton, UK. Contact AirMed at +44 (0) 162 283 3448 or visit www. airmed2011.com June 20–26: 49th Annual Intl Paris Air Show, Le Bourget, France. Contact Paris Air Show, phone +33(0)15 323 3333 or visit www.paris-air-show.com July 20–23: Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA) Annual Conference, New Orleans, La. Contact ALEA, phone 1-301-631-2406 or visit www.alea.org Aug. 17–19: 8th Australian Pacific Vertiflite Conference on Helicopter Technology, Gladstone, Australia. Contact AHS Intl, phone 1-703-684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org

May 2–5: 2011 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas. Contact OTC, 1-972-952-9494 or visit www.otcnet.org

Sept. 27–29: Helitech Duxford 2011, Duxford, UK. Contact Reed Exhibitions, phone +44 (0) 208 439 8886 or visit www. helitechevents.com

May 3–5: American Helicopter Society Intl 67th Annual Forum and Technology Display, Virginia Beach, Va. Contact AHS Intl, phone 1-703-684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org

Oct. 10–12: Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. AUSA, phone 1-703-841-4300, toll free 1-800-336-4570 or visit www.ausa.org

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

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Rotorcraft Report ■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES

■ SERVICES | MAINTENANCE

Bell OH-58F to Feature CASUP

Kaman Expands with Mexico Facility

U.S. Army Aviation has awarded a new designation to the Bell OH-58— the F model Kiowa Warrior. The OH-58F will feature a cockpit and sensor upgrade program (CASUP) with several enhancements, including three new multifunction displays, upgraded cockpit control hardware and software, nose-mounted sensor, aircraft survivability equipment (ASE) and redesigned aircraft wiring harness.

Kaman Aerostructures inaugurated its new manufacturing facility in Chihuahua, Mexico during a ceremony on November 10. The complex—which will initially build extrusions, sheet metal details and components—is expected to eventually employ as many as 500 people. A division of Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Aerospace, Kaman Aerostructures plans to invest up to $10 million in the Chihuahua site.

■ PUBLIC SERVICE | POLICE

Wichita PD Air Section Turns 40 Mesa, Ariz.-based MD Helicopters is helping promote the 40th anniversary of the Wichita PD’s Air Section, which flies an MD500E. The unit has tallied more than 50,000 hours of service since 1970, currently averaging up to 1,000 flight hours per year. Fulltime staff includes Lt. Paul Shields, supervisor and pilot, pilot Peter Dolieslager, TFO Bradley Carver and David Frye, director of maintenance. Wichita PD originally flew a Hughes/ Schweizer Model 300C before moving to the MD500E in 2003. ■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES

CH-53K Begins Systems Checks Aircraft systems testing on the CH-53K has started at Sikorsky’s new systems integration lab (SIL), a 10,000-square-foot facility at the manufacturer’s headquarters in Stratford, Conn. The heavy-lift aircraft is a replacement for the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E. The complex includes five labs dedicated to various systems—avionics, electrical power, engine control systems, electronic flight controls and hydraulic flight controls.

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

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Rotorcraft Report ■ SERVICES | MANAGEMENT

■ PRODUCTS | ENGINES

SAF-Heliportugal Rebrands as UHS

Turbomeca: Progress Hinges on Simulation

Thierry Dubois Photo

United Helicopter Services (UHS) group made its first appearance under its new name at Helitech 2010, where founding companies Heliportugal and SAF announced further expansion. A major growth target is Brazil and its offshore Left to right, United Helicopter Services’ executives market—a local operator, Helibarra, is now Moacyr Cavichiolo Filho, Helibarra’s head of part of UHS. A recent addition has also maintenance, José Carlos Coelho, Heliportugal’s been Santay Air in Turkey. “We wanted CEO, Christophe Rosset, SAF Hélicoptères’ chairman, to have a global image and yet retain local Raimundo Nonato M. Filho, Helibarra’s Director president and Pedro Silveira, UHS’ president. names,” said SAF chairman Christophe Rosset. Therefore, companies will be designated, for instance: “SAF, member of UHS.” The group operates a total 63 aircraft, including 59 helicopters and four business jets and turboprops. Employing 300 people, UHS flies an annual 30,000 hours in missions ranging from firefighting to EMS, executive charter, aerial filming, construction, geophysical exploration and offshore transport. “We took a minority stake [due to Brazil’s rules on company ownership] in Helibarra in June,” UHS president Pedro Silveira said. Helibarra has so far specialized in private helicopter management—it currently has contracts for 16. However, as director Raimundo Nonato explained, the company already has experience in offshore transport, since some owners charter their aircraft out for such operations. Since 2008, Helibarra has flown about 1,000 offshore hours with EC135 and EC155 types. In the near future, UHS may purchase more helicopters. According to Rosset, medium twins, like Eurocopter’s Dauphin family and AgustaWestland’s AW139, may be the first category to be addressed. “There is a potential to use Kamov Ka-32s in Brazil for electric power lines construction”, Rosset added. —By Thierry Dubois For all of Thierry Dubois’ coverage from Helitech, visit www.rotorandwing.com ■ PERSONAL | AIRFRAMES

Serolor to Offer Kit-Built Light Helo France-based Serolor has started building a prototype of a two-seater for the kit-built market. The small company, the main business of which is in automotive precision parts, wants to diversify and was promoting its concept at Helitech 2010. The HAD 1-T helicopter features a three-blade main rotor, a turboshaft and an mtow close to 1,500 pounds. Serolor officials insist on this last peculiarity—the aircraft is not an ultralight. The prototype is at the assembly stage in Fameck. First flight is expected by year-end. “We have the right skills to design and manufacture complex components such as the main gearbox,” said Patrick Kuban, one of the project executives. In the mid term, Serolor will probably create a dedicated subsidiary, Heli Air Design, for the HAD 1-T. Designers estimate that the HAD 1-T’s operating costs should be below EUR300 ($420). This compares favorably to a minimum EUR350 ($490) with a conventional two-seater, according to Kuban. A turboshaft is easier to maintain than a piston engine, he emphasized. The turbine may well be the main challenge in the project. The Solar T62 T-32 is no longer in production. It is an APU, still in service on some military helicopters. Serolor is thus looking for second-hand APUs to use as engines. —By Thierry Dubois

Serolor, which so far has specialized in precision parts for the automotive sector, claims to have the right skills to design a helicopter.

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For future helicopter turbine engines, Turbomeca is working on compressors with increased overall pressure ratio based on centrifugal c o m p re s s o r s w i t h v a r i a b l e geometries. Increasing the overall pressure ratio helps cut specific fuel consumption (SFC). In turn, centrifugal compressors allow high pressure ratio without impacting weight or compactness. Variable geometries should help maintain a flat SFC curve. In a presentation made at the European Rotorcraft Forum 2010 in Paris, Turbomeca research chief engineer Eric Seinturier insisted recent progress in simulation is enabling such advancements. This is all the more important as, when the pressure ratio increases, compressor efficiency becomes more sensitive to “local effects” such as leakages, surface quality defects, blade tip gaps, etc. Moreover, operability becomes an issue, with a greater risk of surge. Unsteady behavior can cause high-cycle fatigue. Hence the need for solid compressor aerodynamic simulation. A typical compressor steady simulation takes 10 hours to process. For unsteady simulation, this order of magnitude is ten times higher. Seinturier hinted that alternative numerical approaches are under development. What’s at stake in turbines is predicting temperature. Increasing turbine inlet temperature allows to reduce the air flow needed for a given power. Therefore, the size of the compressor is minimized. Seinturier pointed out that temperature simulation should be very precise, since a 20-degree Celsius error on a component’s temperature can cut its life in half. —By Thierry Dubois

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

For the month of December

EuroAvionics Integrates JeppView Moving map and situational awareness system specialist EuroAvionics has released a new software module for the popular EuroNav V system. The “JeppView” module can be installed as an upgrade and allows users to consult and overlay Jeppesen charts. The VFR and IFR charts are geo-referenced so the respective procedures are represented correctly in relation to the other maps, terrain and (sensor) data visualized by the EuroNav V system. The JeppView data and updates can be downloaded directly from the Jeppesen website and installed on the EuroAvionics computer using a standard USB key or PCMCIA card. With the JeppView module shown at right, EuroAvionics raises situational awareness again to another level. Besides the map data, the terrain and obstacle information, the TCAS and/or ADS-B overlays, the Flight Plan inputs … now also procedural information is available at the push of a button. Right when and where the pilot needs it. Contact EuroAvionics, phone +49 (0)72 31 58 6780 or visit www.euroavionics.com

Universal Synaptics Ofers IFD Conventional test equipment is effective in troubleshooting hard failures but is severely limited when applied to testing for intermittent problems. The intermittent failing event rarely synchronizes with the measurement window during test time. This testing blind spot is a leading contributor to the extensive No Fault Found (NFF) problem in avionics. Universal Synaptics’ Intermittent Fault Detectors (IFD) circuit analyzers were specifically designed to overcome these limitations. The neural-analog IFD tests all lines in a simultaneous and continuous manner. The result is that the IFD cannot miss intermittent events. Universal Synaptics’ sensitive analog technology detects low amplitude, high-speed (nanosecond) impedance changes. The neural architecture of the IFD monitors all of the potential failure points at the same time and in parallel, the number of circuits or channels that can be tested simultaneously is virtually unlimited and are installed in 256-channel, test module increments. The IFD’s digital processing provides fast, precise data handling and failure location graphics to facilitate the rapid isolation of the failure source, which will translate to a significant savings of time, manpower and resources. It is currently in use with the U.S. Air Force. Contact Universal Synaptics at 1-801-731-8508 or visit www.usynaptics.com

Mid-Continent Launches True Blue Wichita, Kan.-based Mid-Continent Instruments is offering a new line of power supply products for general aviation operators, including helicopters. The True Blue Power series includes aircraft inverters and emergency batteries, all housed in a uniform blue casing. Among the specific products announced during the recent NBAA Convention are the MD50 500VA static inverter (shown here), MD26 DC-AC converter and MD835 emergency power supply. Contact Mid-Continent Instruments, phone 1-316-630-0101 or visit www.mcico.com

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

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YEAR IN REVIEW

Looking AheAd What would you like to see from Rotor & Wing?

I

n an effort to provide a snapshot of the hundreds of stories in the helicopter industry that we cover each year, Rotor & Wing has assembled a list of more than 600 items published from January to early November 2010. These news stories, features and product announcements ran in the pages of the print magazine, as well as our daily Top Stories at rotorandwing.com, and in some of our more prominent monthly e-letters and special publications like Heli-Expo Show Day. But the list does not cover the entire spectrum of Rotor & Wing’s various print, web and e-mail offerings—it is just a sampling of our coverage, as there are many additional stories available online and through our other distribution channels. While we are fully aware of the potential pitfalls of running a list like this, in that it clearly points out specific companies who we might not have covered as well as others, that is part of the reason we wanted to undertake this exercise—to gather feedback about what readers want and open the door of communication with those companies that might warrant additional coverage. We’re constantly trying to find ways to improve. What would you like to see in the pages of Rotor & Wing? What areas should we focus on during 2011? Which topics, events, markets and companies do we need to cover more? Please e-mail your suggestions to Andrew Parker, Managing Editor, at: [email protected] Company/ Organization AAR Corp.

Absolute Fire Solutions

Topic/ Announcement

AeroSimulators Aerospace Filtration Systems

AgustaWestland

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Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

guard orders Another AW119ke

Jan

italian Coast guard Receives AW139

May

Bulgaria orders Two More AW109s

Feb

FAA Certiies AW139 ice System

June

Chinese operator Buys AW139

Feb

nh90 Joins Royal netherlands navy

June

Apr

AW139 delivered to Vih Cougar

Feb

new LiATeC Facility opens in Libya

June

May

AW, Tata Create indian JV

Feb

heliClub Purchases AW139

June

Vinair Buys Two grands

Feb AW, Russian helicopters Break ground

July

Feb

S-92 Cabins from AAR

Feb

S-61T order Boon for Sikorsky

May

People: Jefrey Schloesser

Sept

People: Steve Peckham

oct

FASTTrack/PCTrac FAST Bucket gains Patents new FAST Bucket Patents

Aero Dynamix

Month

July

Schweizer STC/europe Approval

Jan

Four AW119kes delivered to FAASA

AW, Thales Partner on ASaC

July

Feb

Maritime AW109 order Placed

Mar

Schweizer night Vision

Mar

AW119ke Added to Finnish order

Mar

AgustaWestland Reveals AW169

July

L-3 M949 nVgs AW119 STC

Mar

AW119ke gains Russian Certiications

July

May

india’s Pradesh Begins Using grand

Mar

Bell 429 night Vision

June

Sharp Places AW order

Mar

First FiPS AW139 enters Service

Aug

ALeRT garmin hTAWS eASA night Vision Approvals

July

British Army extends Lynx Upgrades

Mar

Weststar Purchases nine AW139s

Aug

Shadin Avionics/nVgs

nov

heli-expo: What They Said

Apr

Panama orders Six AW139s

Sept

eC135 Sims Join Air Methods

Mar

AW109 Power delivered to Bulgaria

Apr

Sloane Mallorca Adds AW109e

Sept

AFS gains Bell 430 STC

Jan

indian Air Force Buys 12 AW101s

Apr

grandnew goes to France, Monaco

Sept

Bell 430 iBF

Feb

Uk Training Center opens

Apr

Apr

Phi Places Ten-AW139 order

Sept

Brazilian AS350 STC

Apr

AW139 STC from Brazil

Aug

AW139 hUMS Web Services Launched

First grandnew goes to Vinair

oct

Filters enter Service in namibia

Sept

Two AW139s Join Malaysia’s Bomba

Apr

LifeStar of kansas Receives AW119ke

oct

Brazil Approves AW119 STC

nov

Japanese operators Receive helicopters

Apr

Second AW159 goes Airborne

oct

Qatar Receives First AW139

Jan

Apache ioS Program operational

May

Maryland Police Purchase Six AW139s

oct

Two AW139s Resold to Phi

Jan

grandnew nets 50 Since introduction

May

Russia grants AW139 Approval

oct

TAS delivers Brazilian AW109 grand

Jan

SMS Becomes AW Service Center

May

Three AW139s going to goias

nov

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

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Bell Ofers Free 407 Power-Up

June

Quad-A: Manned/Unmanned Options

June

Red Cross AMS Orders AW119Ke

Nov

ASU Trains Irish Air Corps

July

Feb

ASU to Modify San Diego MD500s

Aug

Air Comm Recognized for Safety

Aug

Heli-Expo News Briefs

Apr

F4949s Delivered to Virginia Police

People: Robert Hastings

June

Air Conditioning System Warranty

Aug

Atwood Uncovers NVG Myths

Oct

Rocky Mountain Rush

June

Sept

Free Podcasts at Aviation Today

Nov

Bell 429 FTD Up and Running

June

1,000th Black Hawk Heating System

Sept

New Website Auctions Helos, Aircraft

Sept

Main Rotor Eyed in CareFlite Crash

June

OH-58D Heating Agreement

Feb

A New Twist on Helicopter Sales

Sept

Police Trim Hours, Tap Grants to Fly

July

Air Methods Orders 12 Eurocopters

Mar

Remote Guardians Join Osprey Fleet

Jan

Textron CEO: Uptick in Bell R&D

July

EC135 Joins EastCare Medical

Mar

Army UH-60 FBW On Schedule

Jan

Bell Secures 7-Helicopter Agreement

July

Air Methods Purchases Three Sims

Mar

Countermeasures Flies on CH-47D

Mar

Bell, NRC Sign Research Pact

July

EMS Safety Up But Regs Expected

Apr

Quad-A Technology Showcase

Apr

Hawker Paciic Orders Another 412

July

Major Mfrs at Heli-Expo MedEvac Foundation Pledge

Apr Sept

Garrison 'Thrilled' to Lead Bell

Aug

CH-47F Chinook Proves Its Value

Mercy One Bell 429 EMS Interior

June Sept

Bell Hands Over 1,000th 407

Aug

Progress on Civil Flyby-Wire

Sikorsky Unveils S-76 EMS Interior

June Feb

Downey Named LeVier Award Winner

Aug

WTG900 Goes Airborne

Rocky Mountain Rush

June

MR-510 Personal Locator Beacon

Apr

VIP Bell 407 Goes to Zip Aviation

Aug

Summit: Efective Safety Oicer

July PocketFMS Foundation, Becker Team

Apr

ARINC Hands Over CBP Hueys

Aug

Quotes from Safety & Training

Aug Redimec Becomes Becker Dealer

May

Arkansas HEMS Crash Kills Three

Aug

Mercy One Bell 429 WAAS Certiied

Oct Maxcraft Receives Becker STC

June

Vertical Lift Consortium

Sept

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Sept

July

Big Order for Bell at AMTC

Oct

DVCS6100 to Serve Broward County

AD Covers Bell 222 Piston Rods

July

FAS Gets 412EPs

Jan

Bell's Drier is Penn State Lecturer

Sept

Law Enforcement Aviators Gather in Tucson

Bell 407 Maintenance Costs Drop

Sept

July

Kiowa Warrior Band-Aid Upgrades

Jan

Police Trim Hours, Tap Grants to Fly

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Sept

Scott’s to Support Model 47

Feb

40th Annual Convention in Tucson

Oct

Feb

Alpine Air Support

Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin

Sept

Van Horn Obtains Bell 206L STC

Mercy One Bell 429 WAAS Certiied

Mar

Bell AH-1Z Completes Op Eval

Oct

People: Barry Kohler Appareo Systems

Appareo, Bell Team on CIR

Feb Bell Acquires Aviation Services

Mar

Big Orders for Bell at AMTC

Oct

People: Jerry Stromberg

Apr

FSI Bell 407 Sim Achieves Level 7

Oct

May

Aspen Receives Bell 206/407 STC

Mar

Pushing Boundaries with New Technologies

People: Larry Roberts

Mar

June

Bell, Northrop Ignite Fire-X

Nov

Fleet Management Device

Bell Wins OH-58D Mod Contract

Apr People: Larry Thimmesch

Nov

ALERTS Vision 1000

July Apr

Chinese Operator Buys Bell 429

Nov

Army Approves Bell A2D Upgrade

Nov

Air Comm

Air Methods

ALEA

Aspen Avionics

Aviation Specialties Unlimited

Aviation Auctions

BAE Systems

Becker Avionics

Bell Helicopter

Appareo Named to Inc. 500 List

Aug

What They Said at Heli-Expo

Feb

Quad-A Technology Showcase

Apr

First for Aspen Displays at Heli-Expo

Mar

Frasca Bell 407 Sim Gains Level 7

Apr

Bell 206/407 STC Joy of Glass Cockpit Upgrades

Apr

Air Methods Bell 429 EMS Interior

May

Heli-Expo News Briefs

Apr

Span Air Purchases Bell 429

June

STC: Evergreen Bell 214ST

Feb

Northrop, Bell Team on Fire-X

June

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Navy’s T-REX at Large

Nov

beyerdynamic

HS 600 DANR Headset

Mar

BLR Aerospace

FAA: FastFin Boosts Load

July

Bell to Install FastFin on New 412s

Aug

Exhibitors Go to Portugal for Helitech

Sept

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

23

YEAR IN REVIEW Company/ Organization Boeing

Topic/ Announcement Fifth Army Battalion Using Chinooks

24

Month

Training News

June

Scenario-Based Training

June

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Alabama Guard Receives UH-72As

Feb

Feb

Mar

Helicopter Enhanced & Synthetic Vision

Sept

Luminator Searchlight Chosen

Feb

Mar

Mar

FAA Qualiies CAE 3000 to Level 7

Sept

HSI to Supply Logistics for LUH

Apache Trainers Come Online

Apr

Apr

CAE Gains E-Learning Approval

Nov

EADS Delivers 1,000th UH-72A

Quad-A Technology Showcase

Apr

July

Joy of Glass Cockpit Upgrades

Apr

Three AAS-72X Prototypes Planned

Quad-A: Manned/Unmanned Options

EADS CEO Survives Crash

Sept

OEM Involvement in Future Rotorcraft

July

S-61T Order Boon for Sikorsky

May

AAS-72X Readies for Demo Flight

Oct

Aug

Carson Develops New S-61 Tail Rotor

Nov

Army UH-72As Log 40,000 Hours

Oct

FAA Issues Cobham HeliSAS TSO

Feb

Elbit Wins AH-1W Support Deal

Jan

People: John Devaney

Mar

Aug

Carson Helicopters

Cobham Avionics

Elbit Systems

Vertical Lift Consortium

Sept

Feb

Oct

Joy of Glass Cockpit Upgrades

Apr

Dust-Of for Low-Viz Environments

Army Orders 8 Block III Apaches

Mar

Oct

Digital Audio Control System (DACS)

May

SWORD Obstacle Warning System

Around the World

Oct

Helo Enhanced & Synthetic Vision

Sept

Pushing Boundaries with New Technologies

May

Apache PBL Program Wins Award

Nov

LASD Picks Cobham EFIS

Nov

Updating ANVIS for U.S. Army

Aug

CH-47 Chinook Trainer Unveiled

Jan

Lematta Laid to Rest

Feb

Around the World: Military E-letter

Oct

Quad Tiltrotor on Ice

Peterson Among HAI Winners

Feb

MedCenter Air Picks Sky Connect

Feb

People: Nancy Lematta

Mar

HEMS on the Prairie

Aug

Nancy Lematta Takes Chairman's Helm

Apr

CEO Forum During Heli-Expo

Feb

Columbia Sends Chinooks to PNG

June

Enstrom: Market Diversity

Feb

V-22 Trainers Begin Service

CAE

Jan

Topic/ Announcement

UK Places 22-CH-47 Order

CH-47F in 10th Mountain Division

Bristow

Company/ Organization

Chinook at War

Boeing Secures Rights to AW101

Boeing/Bell

Month

Columbia Helicopters

Feb

Ducommun V-22 Assembly Deal

Mar

DoD Budget: 35 V-22s

Mar

Dream Machine: Notorious V-22

Apr

Special Ops CV-22 Crashes

May

Marines Receive Final V-22 Trainer

Oct

Bristow Reorganizes

Feb

The Extra Mile

EMS Sky Connect

Enstrom

Continuum

CORRIDOR Software

Feb

DARPA Seeks HeloCapable Car

Feb

Thai Army Buys 16 Enstrom 480Bs

Mar

DARPA

DART, Flight Mgmt Systems Partner

Jan

Enstrom Wins JGSDF Training Deal

Apr

DART Helicopter Services

Mar

Apical Industries Floats Approved

Feb

Heli-Expo: What They Said

Apr

DART Gains Transport Canada STC

Accidents & Incidents: It’s All Human Factors

July

Quotes from Safety & Training

Helicopter Training

Apr

Rocky Mountain Rush

June

Feb

Police Trim Hours, Tap Grants to Fly

July

Geneva P174 Power Converter

Mar

LE Aviators Gather in Tucson

July

Aug

Acquisition of Elite Specialty Coatings

Apr

JGSDF Enstrom 480B Goes Airborne

Sept

People: John Cloggie

Aug

Geneva AS350 Dome Light

Apr

EMS Safety Up But Regs Expected

Mar

NOTAM 0/3481 Deepwater Horizon

Aug

AKV Cycle Counters

Aug

Era, Priority 1 to Run Gulf Base

July

Bristow Gets NVG Course Approval

Sept

DART, Hawker Paciic Team on Parts

Aug

NOTAM 0/3481 Deepwater Horizon

Aug

Frasca EC225 Sim Dual Certiied

Sept

Montana Fleet Uses DART Equipment

Aug

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Bristow Inks $1.3 Billion in Deals

Oct

DART Catalog Expands in Europe

Oct

Oregon OSHA Awards Erickson

Mar

People: Jonathan Balif

Nov

People: Michael Trevino

July

Erickson Scores High in AS9100 Audit

Apr

Sim Standards with Pilot in Mind

Mar

DRE-1001 Headset

Oct

People: David Ford

Sept

CAE Introduces 3000 Series

Apr

Ducommun Wins V-22 Assembly Deal

Mar

SDG&E S-64F Enters Service

Nov

Simulation & Training

June

Army Orders 54 More UH-72As

Jan

EC135 Joins EastCare Medical

Jan

Donaldson (also see AFS) DRE Communications

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

Ducommun EADS N.A.

Era Helicopters

Erickson

Eurocopter

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Paradigm AS350B3 Delivered

Jan

Eurocopter Group Appoints VP

Apr

EC120 Tops 10,000 Flight Hours

Aug

Eurocopter EC175 Takes to the Air

Feb

Eurocopter Vostok Gets New President

Apr

HEMS on the Prairie

Aug Aug

Canada Hands Over AS350B3

Feb

Cleveland EMS Unit Receives EC145

Apr

Czech Fleet Hits 10,000 Hours

Feb

U.S. Eurocopter Makes GI Jobs List

Apr

Partnership with Tonji University

Aug

Helibras to Upgrade Brazil Panthers

Feb

Three EC130B4s to Join Ontario Fleet

May

LA Sherif’s Buys 12 AS350B2s

Sept

EC145 Joins Lift Flight Fleet

Feb

Eurocopter Appoints Communications VP

May

Dauphin Sim Planned in Singapore

Sept

Eurocopter Variants Top 4M Hours

Feb

UM Survival Flight Picks EC155s

May

Eurocopter Tiger HAD Tests Begin

Sept

VIH Places EC225 Order Air Methods Signs for 12 Eurocopters

Feb May

Mexican MoD Orders Six EC725s

Sept

V. Kelner Receives AS350B3

Six AS350B3s to Join CBP Fleet

Feb June

X3 From Eurocopter Goes Airborne

Sept

Sky Roller: Mercedes EC145 Unveiled

EC135s to Serve Spanish Police

Mar June

STAR Flight EC135s Flood Recovery

Oct

Vision Zero 2010 Committee Named

German Army CH-53A Goes Airborne

Mar

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Rocky Mountain Rush

June People: Anthony DiNota

Oct

Eurocopter: X3 Classiies as Helicopter

Oct

STAR Flight Wins Vision Zero 2010

Oct

Single-Engine Simulator Launched

Oct

Sufolk PD to Receive AS350B2

Oct

X3 Demonstrator Targets 220 Knots

Nov

X3 Interview at rotorandwing.com

Nov

Iraq to Use AS350s for Crop Spraying

Nov

Texas DPS Buys AS350B3s

HealthNet EC145 Enters Service

June

Third EC145 Joins STAR Flight

June

EC145s Join EastCare Fleet

June

Fishtail Conducts Record Long-Line Rescue

July July

Apr

Pall Becomes EAPS Dealer

July

Apr

West Midlands Police Get EC135Pi

July

Apr

Kawasaki EC145 Deal Extended

Mar

Pawan Hans Orders Seven AS365s

Mar

MedCenter Air EC135s Take to Skies

Mar

Construction Starts on Helibras Site

Mar

GATE Tested Using EC145

Mar

Heli-Expo: What They Said Eurocopter Hands Over Police EC145 Parapublic Ops Choose Eurocopter

35 years backing the MD 500 product line. Trust Helimart and the Total Support Group for comprehensive, worldwide MD 500 attention. Authorized service center, huge parts inventory, STCs and international certifications, completions, avionics and paramilitary/police equipment. Simply put, from the smallest part to complete, customized helicopters, there is little we don’t know about MD 500s.

www.helimart.com Helimart 714-755-2999 MD Service Center, Parts distributor

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Phoenix Heliparts 480-985-7994 Maintenance; overhauls; mods; completions

California Aero Components 714-755-2999 Component overhaul

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

25

YEAR IN REVIEW Company/ Organization Evergreen Helicopters FAA

Topic/ Announcement Wahlberg Among HAI Winners ADS-B Launched in Gulf of Mexico

Topic /Announcement

Month

Feb

Exhibitors go to Helitech

Sept Sept

Jan

Frasca EC225 Sin Dual Qualiied Gen-Scope

Arti-lex Borescope

Feb

Goodrich

Goodrich, Sikorsky Partner on HUMS

Feb

Helicopter HUMS Update 2K10

Feb

Milestone Goodrich HUMS Delivered

Mar

Helinet Launches HT4Sight

Feb

Helicopter Training

Apr

HotSeat Pilot Pro 6.0

June

Training News

June

HotSeat Heli-Sim Awarded at Summit

Month

AD Covers Fixing Bolts on A109

Jan

FAA Issues Icing Recommendations

Feb

Stay Proicient EMS Safety Up But Regs Expected

Company/ Organization

Mar

FEC Heliports

Helicopter Enhanced and Synthetic Vision

Sept

Atlanta PD Completes NVG Training

Feb

Tilton: Pulse of Industry

Feb

Aero Dynamix Gains European STC

Mar

MD Delivers Police 500Es

Apr

FDC/aeroilter Gains MD500 Cert

June

LE Aviators Gather in Tucson

July

Police Trim Hours, Tap Grants to Fly

July

Aug

San Diego MD500 Receives Upgrades

July

Jan

People: Gary Dolski

Aug Sept

Focused on Safety

Mar

Clear as Mud?

Apr

Babbitt Kicks Of S&T Summit

May

ADS-B: Thing of Beauty

June

Babbitt Addresses Helicopter Crowd

June

Babbitt: Good Not Good Enough

July

Kaman Reorganizes Aerospace Group

Mar

ADS-B Business Case Vetted

July

Allied Bearings Supply Sold to Kaman

MD Hands Over Police Helos ALEA Holds Convention in Tucson

Sept

July

K-MAX Conducts Military Airdrops

June

FAA Denies Liability in EMS Case

MD Explorer Tops 10,000 Hours

Oct

Aug

Quad-A: Manned/Unmanned Options

June

Tom Salat Passes Away

Aug

Army Grants Unmanned K-MAX Deal

June

Corporate Helicopters Receives MD530F

Nov

FAA Updates Night Vision MMEL

People: Gregory Gauer

Nov

NOTAM 0/3481 Deepwater Horizon

Aug

K-MAX Fights Bull Fire

Oct EMS: Safety Up But Regs Expected

Mar

AD Covers Bell 222 Piston Rods

Sept

MedCenter Air EC135 Join Fleet

Mar

FAA Reveals New HEMS Rules

Oct

Metro Converts Texas DPS Helos

May

Stricter Helicopter Safety Rules Proposed

Cleveland EMS Unit Receives EC135

June

HealthNet EC145 Enters Service

June

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Sandel Delivers First HeliTAWS

Nov

Mid-Continent Wins Maintenance Award

May

People: Cindy Highbarger

July

HotSeat Chassis

Metro Aviation Military Insider Chat

Oct

SRVIVR Cockpit Recorder

Apr

Latitude Inks Bambi Bucket Deal

Mar

Nov

Latitude Secures SkyNode Approval

Apr

FAA Requires S-76 Inspections

Nov

Ornge AW139s Get Latitude SkyNode

Oct

FAS Gets 412EPs, Buys S-76Ds

Jan

Leading Edge Aviation

LEA Ofers Training Loan Program

Mar

Sikorsky Starts S-76D Assembly

Feb

Lockheed Martin

UH-60 FBW Program on Schedule

Jan

Aerometals Acquires FDC/aeroilter

Mar

50th MH-60R Goes to U.S. Navy

Mar

FDC/aeroilter Gains EC135 Cert

June

Kiowa Warrior Used in Rocket Test

Apr

Portable Helipad (Portapad)

L-3 Electrodynamics Latitude Technologies

May

Apache Sensor Deal Secured

May

Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky Join on VXX

June

Heliportsequipment.com

Nov

FDHDR200 HD-DVR

Mar

Helicopter Training

Apr

K-MAX Conducts Military Airdrops

June

FlightSafety Intl

Simulation & Training

June

Quad-A: Manned/Unmanned Options

June

Study: Near-Term Growth in Helicopters

May Army Extends Arrowhead Deal

Aug

Forward Vision Gains R44 STC

Jan Vertical Lift Consortium

Aug

Helicopter Training

Apr

Lockheed Tapped for MH-60 Software

Sept

Frasca Bell 407 Sim Gains Level 7

May Insider Chat

Oct

Forward Vision Frasca

Mid-Continent Instruments

NASA

Night Flight Concepts

26

Month Jan

Flight Display Systems

Forecast International

Topic/ Announcement Max-Viz Gains STC Approval

Feb

Kaman

FDC/aeroilter

Max-Viz

MD Helicopters

Helinet

Falcon Aviation Services

Company/ Organization

Simulation & Training

June

Bell 429 FTD Up and Running

June

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

Maxcraft

ACU for Garmin HTAWS

July

People: Shelia Krehbiel

Aug

People: Marissa Reddick

Sept

TrueBlue Power

Oct

NASA Tests Helicopter Crash Cushion

Feb

Training & Safety: All Human Factors

June

Double-Fuselage Helo on Radar?

June

Contest Produces Future Designs

Aug

Just Culture

Sept Jan Mar

Around the World

Oct

Nivisys Extends Night Flight Deal

Maxcraft Obtains Becker STC

June

Atlanta PD Completes NVG Training

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Company/ Organization

NLR Northrop Grumman

NTSB

Omni Sciences Omnilight

Onboard Systems P&W Canada

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Month

Bahrain Buys Collins Black Hawk Sim

Mar

Feb

Joy of Glass Cockpit Upgrades

Apr

P&WC: Overall Helicopter Market Strong

May

Pushing Boundaries with New Technologies

May

Feb

People: Maria Della Posta

May

HEMS on the Prairie

Aug

July

People: Phil Jasper

Sept

Quad-A Tech Technology Showcase

Apr

AgustaWestland Reveals AW169

Sept

Panama Buys Six AW139s

Aug

Helicopter Enhanced & Synthetic Vision

Northrop, Bell Team on Fire-X

May Machida Scopes Gain P&W Approval

Oct

Ascend Flight Information Solutions

Oct

People: Patrick Antkowiak

May Police MD Explorer Tops 40,000

Oct

What’s New With CAAS?

Oct

Northrop Finishes AH-1Z Evaluation

Oct

Nov

Two AW139s Resold to PHI

Jan

CH-47 Chinook Trainer Unveiled

Bell, Northrop Ignite Fire-X

Nov Feb

McTurbine Approved for RR250 MRO

Feb

PHI Gets ARINC Radio Network

Mar

StandardAero Integrates SMS

Apr

The Extra Mile

Night Flight Trains Police Unit

July

Sikorsky Starts S-76D Assembly

Feb

Calstar Finishes NFC Maintenance Training

Sept

CSC Europe Signs Eurocopter Deal

NVG Webinar Focuses on NVGs

Oct

NLR to Study Brownout Reduction

PHI

Rockwell Collins

Topic/ Announcement

Rolls-Royce

U.S. Navy’s T-REX at Large

Nov

See and Avoid Again

Jan Cadorath Wins RR250 Award

June

Feb

NOTAM 0/3481 Deepwater Horizon

Aug

Stay Proicient Chairman Advocates ‘Raising the Bar’

Mar

PHI Bolsters Fleet: Ten AW139s

Aug

Bell Ofers Free 407 Power-Up

June

Brownsville Pilot Tried to Beat Storm

Apr

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Corporate Helos Receives MD530F

Nov

PHI Settles Crash Lawsuit

Oct Sept

Eurocopter X3 Targets 220 Knots

Nov

Phoenix Heliparts Certiicate Revoked

Sept

Russians Are Coming, Again

Feb

Appeal of FAA Revocation FAA Revocation ‘A Complete Surprise’

Oct

Russian Helicopters Exhibits at Heli-Expo

Apr

PAG Expanding Atlanta Headquarters

Nov

Two KA-32As Go to Azerbaijan

June

Rotor Azimuth Processors

Oct

Russian Helos Boosts Repair Network

June

Eye-Lite Camera

Mar Feb

Congress Questions Helicopter Purchases

June

PMA7000H Audio Panel Ground Power Units

Sept

Ulan-Ude Hands Over Mi-171s

Aug

Revue Thommen

TSL-1600 Searchlight

Apr

Forward Vision Gains R44 STC

Jan

AW, Russian Helicopters Break Ground

Aug

Robinson

Mar

Helos Sent as Russian Fires Rage

Aug

DeVore Wins Robinson R44 STC

Apr

New Leadership at Russian Helicopters

Sept

Joy of Glass Cockpit Upgrades

Apr

Kamov Ka-32s Fight Spain Fires

Oct

Robinson Sets Price for R66

May

Russian Helos Signs Training Deal

Oct

Philippine Governor Dies in Crash

June

40th MI-171 Goes to UTair

Nov

Rocky Mountain Rush

Three Survive Helicopter Crashes

May

NTSB Develops Accident Course

May

NTSB Probes Near-Midair at Hobby

June

Hudson Midair Docket Goes Public

June

Precision Heliparts

Main Rotor Eyed in CareFlite Crash

June

Precision Systems

Witnesses: Tail Boom Separated

June

NTSB, FAA Seek Cause of EMS Crash

July

EMS Operators Oppose Equipment

Aug

Probe Starts in Arkansas HEMS Crash

Aug

‘Series of Missteps’ Led to Midair

Oct

NTSB Seeks Hudson Revisions

Nov

UM, Omni Develop Missile Defense

Sept

Vision Zero 2010 Committee Named

June

People: CEO Thomas Leverton

July

Police Trim Hours, Tap Grants to Fly

July

Saft Batteries

Ultra Low Maintenance Batteries

June

HEMS on the Prairie

Aug

Sandel Avionics

Sandel Obtains TSO for Heli-TAWS

Aug

Aug

LE Aviators Gather in Tucson

July

Omnilight Paramedic Wins Award

MSP Aero Installs First Heli-TAWS

Sept

Oct

NFC Ofers Robinson Upgrades

Aug

Top 10 HEMS Providers

Oct

Frank Robinson Retires

Sept

Sandel Delivers HeliTAWS to Metro

Nov

People: Don Wilson

ALEA Holds Convention in Tucson

Sept

People: Don Foster

Nov

No One Hurt in Training Crash

Nov

Sagem CEO Sees Upswing Coming

Apr

Phoenix Heliparts

Premier Electronics PS Engineering

Talon Cargo Hook

Sept

FAS Gets 412EPs, Buys S-76Ds

Jan

W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

Russian Helicopters

Red Box International

Sagem

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

27

YEAR IN REVIEW Company/ Organization Scott’s Helo Services

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization

Topic/ Announcement

Month

Company/ Organization Spartanics

Sikorsky

Mar

Sikorsky, ZFL Partner in Germany

June

Latitude Inks Bambi Bucket Deal

Mar

Sikorsky Teams with JPA

June

SRT Instructs San Antonio Med Unit Helicopter Training: Army

Apr

June

First Two S-61Ts Arrive at State

July

AW139 SILENS

Ab-Initio Training Vetted at Summit

Aug

AfterGlo AD110 Paint

Sept

Sikorsky Acquires LifePort

July July

Tdata

Mtrax Version 2.0

Feb

Feb

ADAT, Sikorsky Creating Military MRO

Techtest (HR Smith subsidiary)

500-32 Series ELT

May

FAS Gets 412EPs, Buys S-76Ds

Jan

Sikorsky Develops X2 LTH Simulator

July

AVIC Finishes S-76C++ Airframe

Jan

X2 Breaks Rotorcraft Speed Record

July

AAR Boosts Sikorsky Collaboration

Jan

All-Electric Helicopter Unveiled

July

Sikorsky Global Gets New VP

Jan

S-70i Takes Initial Flight

Aug

IFR for the VFR Pilot S-70i Assembly Nearly Done

Jan

CH-53K Component Center Opens

Jan

Sikorsky Starts S-76D Assembly

503 Series CPI Beacon

Oct

Telvent DTN

RotorWatch Weather Service

Aug

Thales

Sikorsky Starts S-76D Assembly

Feb

Soteria Wins SAR-H Battle

Mar

Aug

CH-53K CDR Achieved

Sept

IESI Picked for Eurocopters

Apr

Pino Presents Award to PremiAir

Sept AW, Thales Partner on ASaC

July

Feb

Vertical Lift Consortium

Sept Sept

Feb

Sikorsky X2 Reaches 250 Knots

Sept

Dauphin FFS Planned in Singapore

Sikorsky, Goodrich Partner on HUMS

Oct

Feb

X2: 250-Knot Target Realized

Sept

Northrop Finishes AH-1Z Eval

CDR for CH-53K in 2010

Feb

Rotor & Wing Interviews Sikorsky on X2

Sept

Timken to Ofer Bearing Repairs

Aug

Q&A with Sikorsky’s Shane Eddy

Feb

Job Performance Aides

Oct

Helitech Preview: Exhibitors

Sept

Sikorsky Unveils Innovations Unit

Oct

S-92 Audio Interface

July

Feb

Game Changer?

TrueNorth Avionics

Sikorsky Awards UND Aerospace

Oct

Turbomeca

Helibras to Upgrade Brazil AS365Ks

Feb

Flight Tests Start for Second S-76D

Feb

Sikorsky X2 Breaks 250 KTAS Record

Texas DPS Buys Two AS350B3s

Mar

Mar

S-92 Fleet Tops 250,000 Hours

Oct

Innovations: Unmanned Black Hawk

Sikorsky to Cut 200 Jobs

Oct

Turbomeca to Support Bond Ofshore

Mar

Soteria Wins SAR-H Battle

Mar

Sikorsky Picks Universal CVFDR

Oct

Turbomeca Enlists Rotortech

Apr

Assembly of First S-70i Wraps Up

Mar

Lider Adds Another S-92

Oct Oct

Sagem CEO Sees Upswing Coming

Apr

S-97 Raider Unveiled S-70i Airframe Tests Complete

Oct

Eurocopter X3 Targets 220 Knots

Nov

State Dept Orders 11 More S-61Ts

Nov

Cannon EC130 Features URS Mods

Mar

FAA Requires S-76 Inspections

Nov

People: Luis Vargas

May Aug

CPI Aero Gains Sikorsky Gold

Nov

Modiied Bell 420s Go to Ecuador URS Triples Facility Space

Oct

Free SkyBOOKS Trial Available

Mar

Vector Receives RollsRoyce Award

Feb

SkyBOOKS to Serve Paradise

Apr

Joy of Glass Cockpit Upgrades

Apr

SkyBOOKS Version 4.3 Released

June

Vector Appoints New Dealer

Apr

Consortium Gets SkyTrac Satcom

Mar

JSSI, Vector Ink Service Agreement

Apr

Vector Gains West Coast Business

Apr

Sea King Symposium

Sept

ReversaSmart Ultra-Light liferaft

July

Timken

28

Oct

Feb

Helitech Preview: Exhibitors Sherwin-Williams

Month

Finecut-Plus-Rotary

Scott’s to Support Model 47

SRT Helicopters SEI/Mecaer

Topic/ Announcement

HIS to Supply LUH Logistics

Mar

S-70 Training Planned in Columbia

Mar

Heli-Expo: What They Said

Apr

Quad-A Technology Showcase

Apr

Another Diamond for HIS

Apr

Sikorsky, Lockheed Join on VXX

Apr

SkyBOOKS

X2 for Army’s AAS?

Apr

State Dept Order is Boon for Sikorsky

May

SAS Wins Saudi Upgrade Program

May

CPI Secures S-70B Weapons Deal

May

People: Malachi Nordine

Mar

X2 Passes 180 Knots

May

AW139 STC Issued for SkyTrac

Apr

S-76 EMS Cabin Developed

June

Helitech Preview: Exhibitors

Sept

S-70i Nears First Flight

June

Soteria Wins SAR-H Battle

Mar

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SkyTrac Systems

Soteria Consortium

United Rotorcraft Solutions

Vector Aerospace

Winslow Liferaft Company

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BUYER’S GUIDE EDITORS’ Choice 2010

PRODUCT GUIDE

Product Guide Training. There is no

2010

EDITORS’ Choice Training

substitute for a wellprepared, well-trained pilot and crew. Our editors looked at, and recommend, some of the best available options currently on the market.

EUROCOPTER INTRODUCES FULL MISSION TRAINER American Eurocopter has introduced a new dimension in flight simulators at its Grand Prairie, Texas training center. Referred to as the AS350 Full Mission Trainer, the one-of-a-kind system takes simulated flying two steps past the usual fare of pilot training, by adding fully interactive positions that permit a tactical flight officer or copilot (left seat), and a counter-sniper (leftrear seat), to train simultaneously as a three-person airborne law enforcement team. Indra Systems, the Spanish technology company that designed and built the full-motion simulator for Eurocopter, gives crews an authentic AS350 flight deck and aft cabin interior, while creating a true-to-life flight model of the B2 and B3 variants of the A-Star, along with a virtual “outside world” that offers strikingly detailed scenery from the trainees’ home jurisdiction. The cities of Los Angeles and Houston were used during development and for its October 8th public unveiling. For the pilot, every airport, navigation aid, weather and terrain feature is faithfully represented—including names atop skyscrapers—throughout a wrap-around field of view. For the left-seater, forward-looking infrared and a moving map system are installed and functional. In the back seat, a third team member, equipped with a weapon simulator, can look out of the opened side door and engage hostile targets. Night vision equipment can also be used by the participants. “One of the most important things we see in the simulator is the added safety factor,” said Martin Jackson, president of the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, one of the organizations that helped develop scenarios, such as vehicle and foot pursuits. “It will give the pilot and the crew better chances to work together.” Once a scenario has been run, a graphic record allows the crew to review everything from how the aircraft was flown, to the accuracy of the counter-sniper’s shots. Scenarios can be rerun or modified for continued training. —By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large AmericAn eurocopter, 1-972-641-0000, www.eurocopterusA.com

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FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL CONTINUES TO OFFER INADVERTENT IMC TRAINING FligthSafety International is offering “Surviving Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions,” a course designed to improve the outcomes of inadvertent IMC encounters. More than half of the flights in a recent FAA review of helicopter accidents began as VFR flights and then encountering IMC. This course helps pilots lay a foundation for developing a plan to reduce IIMC encounters and for developing a plan for recovery in case you do go IMC. FSI can custom-tailor instruction to accommodate all sectors of the helicopter industry. Ground school covers a range of topics like human factors, situational awareness, communications and recovery from IIMC. This course is available for the Bell 212, Bell 412 and Bell 430 at several locations, including the Fort Worth Learning Center in Hurst, Texas. The course can be adapted to any helicopter. FSI stresses that it’s critical to have a sound and well-practiced strategy to maintain safety should a pilot encounter weather unexpectedly. Decisions made in the first pivotal moments can decide the outcome. FlightSafety’s course gives pilots the tools needed to react appropriately. The format encourages sharing of procedures and experiences with other pilots and instructors in an interactive environment that thrives on participation. Master best practices for the safest responses to inadvertent IMC. The course teaches successful strategies to ensure that flights conform to plan and doesn’t exceed training or equipment. Instruction stresses human factors such as decision-making and breaking the error chain. Simulator training reinforces ground school and applies the procedures and policies from ground school. There are two levels, basic and advanced. Basic is five hours (four in ground school and one in the sim) and advanced is fiveand-a-half hours (four in ground school and one-and-a-half in the sim). FlightSaFety intl, 1-817-785-0800, www. FlightSaFety.com

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Product Guide

ASU’S NVG TRAINING IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR Looking back at the slow gestation of night vision goggle (NVG) capabilities in military helicopter aviation, those of us who fly regularly using NVGs are often baffled by the fact that aided night flying took so long to become the norm. Of course, the goggles that military aviators are flying with today are far superior to those that existed just over a decade ago. Looking at civilian helicopter aviation from the military world, many seasoned NVG military pilots wonder why use of NVGs in the civil sector has appeared to take the same slow path of acceptance that the technology did in the military despite the benefits of the latest night vision technology. One of the sticking points in the incorporation of NVG flying in the civilian world has been the need for standardized training that was, of course, FAA authorized. Other factors have played a role as well. NVG-compatible cockpits, the cost of equipment, and operational paradigms have all played a part in the incorporation of NVG flying in the civil sector. Several companies in the private sector have become onestop-shops for civilian night vision needs. One of those companies is Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) in Boise, Idaho. ASU is the sole supplier of ITT Night Vision equipment to non-military customers. ITT Night Vision and Imaging has long been a supplier of night vision equipment to the U.S. military. Allying with ITT, ASU not only handles sales of ITT equipment to domestic and international customers—both civilian and military—the company also provides FAA-approved night vision goggle training, FAA-approved night vision cockpit modifications, and serves as ITT’s maintenance facility for goggles. ASU conducts night vision training at its facilities in Boise or at a customer’s base of operations. Training programs for NVG aircrew include initial NVG pilot, NVG crewmember, instructor CFI NVG and recurrent pilot NVG training. Military aviators with NVG experience will instantly recognize similarities in their military NVG syllabi and the training program ASU offers. This is not surprising when considering that ASU’s instructors are former military aviators who have been flying using night vision equipment from the earliest days of the technology in both the military and civilian environments. Additionally, the experience of ASU’s pilots allowed it to become the first non-EMS FAA Part 135 NVG commercial operator in the U.S. ASU is also the FAA’s sole instructional facility for NVG certification of FAA safety inspectors. Like military training programs, the eight-hour ground school portion of the ASU program focuses on the physiology of the eye and night vision, the atmospherics of night flying, goggle limitations and visual illusions, goggle malfunctions and emergency procedures, as well as care and feeding of night vision equipment. There is an emphasis on the latter topic that is sometimes missed by military flight training programs (or forgotten after years of using NVGs). As the sole sales outlet for ITT NVGs, the ASU staff is well aware of the cost of night vision equipment and they spend a lot of time teaching students how to maximize the life of the goggles by taking simple and reasonable steps to reduce wear and tear on the goggles and peripheral components. In the early days of military flight with NVGs, a huge emphasis was placed on knowing the dynamic night environment. Not only were pilots exposed to lengthy lectures on the lunar cycle, but night flights were designated as “High Light Level” (HLL) or “Low Light Level” (LLL) based on the phase and position of the moon. Some training was required to be conducted in HLL conditions or vice versa. After several years of launching training missions in to HLL nights with overcast skies, the practice of designating the light level and restricting training melted away. Nowadays it is incumbent on the aircrew to be more aware of the night environment and the limitations present due to the lighting and/or weather conditions present while operating in the dark. Aside from limitations imposed by the environment, the night vision equipment itself has built-in restrictions beginning with the fact that aviators will begin seeing the night environment in shades of monochrome green with a limited field of view. The reduction in field of view from the eye’s 220 degrees to the NVG’s 40 degrees (still a significant increase over early goggles) is the one limitation that requires the most adaptation for the aviator. ASU’s training in the classroom and later, in the aircraft, exposes a new NVG pilot to these all-important physical and environmental factors. Recognition of the limits of the night vision goggle equipment and the

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restrictions posed by the operational environment are the keys to not only maximizing the performance of the NVGs, but they are the cornerstone of flight safety while using NVGs. There is no argument that night vision equipment is a huge safety improvement over unaided night flying, but those advantages can be negated if the flight crew does not recognize and respect the limitations of the gear and the world outside. It had been over 10 years since I had last flown a Jet Ranger so I was not sure that ASU instructor pilot Kim Harris really wanted me to lift the bird into a hover between ASU’s hangar and that building right in front of the helicopter. “Are you sure you want me to do the takeoff?” I asked. “Yeah,” was the reply and I pulled the collective and tried to remember that the right side would be lifting first and the left pedal would need to be depressed a bit while pulling power opposite of the French helicopter I fly in my day job. The Jet Ranger jumped off the ground and proceeded to do a bit of a dance over the spot as I immediately became frustrated in how far my Bell 206 flying skills had diminished after a decade of flying multi-engine helicopters with stability augmentation systems. Getting the dancing helicopter under control, we taxied out towards a clear area and took off into the darkness towards a darkened runway while Kim handled the radios for me. Five minutes into the flight, I was still getting used to the control touch of the Bell and trying to re-learn the cockpit and instrument scan when Kim mentioned something about doing an autorotation under NVGs. “You want me to do what?” I wondered. I had never flown an autorotation on NVGs before and it had been almost four years since I had performed an autorotation outside of a simulator. The aircraft I fly in my day job has a digital engine control system that will not permit training autorotations. “You better demonstrate one first,” I suggested to Kim as there was no way I was going to re-learn the Jet Ranger auto in one frantic descent to the runway. Kim shot an auto with the ease of parking a car and passed the controls back to me. “Here goes nothing,” I thought as I bottomed the collective and tried to do some sort of decent scan of the instruments in the unfamiliar cockpit as we descended toward the unlit runway. I don’t know how much of the auto was mine and how much was from Kim (most likely shadowing the flight controls), but I survived to write this article and the helicopter was able to continue our training flight following the maneuver. The training flight was fun as we left the airport and headed up to the hills around Boise. It reminded me of my days at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island when we did some landings on unprepared surfaces in the mountains. The helicopter I fly now has no particle separators for the engines and landing off of a paved surface is one of the fastest ways to owe the maintenance crews a case of beer. Kim used the helicopter’s spotlight almost continuously during the flight; something I was definitely not used to. The flying I do for work is not tactical by any means, but I have found that the search light is not always beneficial in the salt air of the maritime environment when using NVGs. One advantage he showed me in the inland environment was the use of the searchlight as an aid to determine wind direction based on the relative speed and direction of the blowing dust and pollen while approaching an LZ and monitoring airspeed and speed over ground. After over a decade of flying dual-piloted helicopters, I certainly have become comfortable when it comes to sharing cockpit and flying duties. When Kim gave me a simulated goggle failure, my instincts were to transition to an instrument scan and pass the controls to the other pilot. ASU instructors primarily train aviators who operate in the single-pilot environment and Kim patiently explained to me how to best handle the failure as if a seasoned former-Army aviator was not occupying the other seat. Kim then simulated a tube failure of the NVGs—something I had never tried or trained for in the military. This was surprisingly disorienting and certainly uncomfortable. I feel it would be worthwhile to incorporate this procedure into NVG ops at my unit. Another thing I look forward to trying “at home” is Kim’s use of a laser pointer to illuminate landing zones or points of interest while we flew around the hills in near pitch-black darkness. The laser easily reached out to fairly distant ridgelines and was a great training aid and time saver. Instead of trying to describe the location of an LZ—“the second saddle to the left of the right peak”—all Kim had to do was shine the laser on the spot and I headed towards it. After a decade of flying with NVGs, I was surprised that I was seeing some new things and learning new tricks from Kim as I got some nostalgic flight time wiggling the sticks of a nicely maintained Jet Ranger. I felt that the varied terrain around Boise was perfect for both urban and wilderness NVG operations. While much of the ground school was review for a military NVG operator, I felt like I took a lot of information home from both the classroom instruction and flight with ASU’s team of experienced instructors. —Story and photos by Todd Vorenkamp For the full story, visit www.rotorandwing.com AviAtion SpeciAltieS Unlimited, +1-208-426-8117, www.ASU-nvg.com

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Product Guide

Colorado Heli-ops raises tHe Bar witH Fits designed sCenario-Based training The Colorado Heli-Ops training protocol includes the latest in FAA-driven industry changes. FITS, or Federal Aviation Administration Industry Training Standards, is charged with transitioning civil ab initio flight training from the traditionally taught, maneuver-based training to scenario-based training (SBT). With the advent of newer technologies that require general aviation pilots to process more information and to make better decisions, FITS training changes the primary focus of training new pilots from aircraft maneuvers, to include more emphasis on aeronautical decision making (ADM), risk management (RM), single pilot resource management (SRM) and learner centered grading Colorado HeliOps classroom (LCG). Michael Franz, an experienced pilot evaluator, mentor and member of the FAA’s Safety Team (FAAST), donated his time and knowledge to the staff at Colorado Heli-Ops. During his visit, Franz flew with and evaluated instructors one-on-one, giving them the ability to show the practical relevance of SBT in flight. Since FITS/SBT training is easily applied to the content of existing helicopter flight training, the staff at Heli-Ops has already begun its transition and facilitation of SBT and LCG. This will give its pilots in training (PTs) a comprehensive and efficient platform for their training, and is proven to produce safer and more aware pilots as technologies continue to advance. Colorado Heliops, 1-303-466-4351, ColoradoHeliops.Com

Cae’s 3000 sim line adds artiFiCial intelligenCe allowing more sCenarioBased options CAE introduced the Eurocopter AS350B3 Level 7 flight training device (FTD) this year. This inaugural member of the company’s CAE 3000 line introduces artificial intelligence (AI) to mainstream civil helicopter simulation. AI is a standard capability for EMS and law enforcement, said Claude Lauzon, the company’s vice president of civil aviation services. Although a fixed-base simulator, you’d never know it once inside due to the excellent graphics and AI. The AI component increases the realism and unpredictability of the scene by allowing computer-controlled “people” on the ground to react as the helicopter lands. CAE will offer pilots training experiences where “people” react to them. Police pilots, for example, could “shoot and be shot at” in the simulation, he said. Figures may wait in the appropriate place or run toward or away from the helicopter. CAE uses an “AI.implant” software solution—integrated with a Tropos-6000 image generator—to populate the scenario with characters who can make “sophisticated, context-specific decisions and move in a realistic fashion within their environment,” he said. The AI.implant software was developed by Presagis, an independently operated CAE company. Cae, 1-514-341-6780, www.Cae.Com

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FLIGHTSAFETY’S BELL 407 FTD GAINS LEVEL 7 APPROVAL BY FAA FlightSafety International announced that its Bell 407 advanced flight training device has been qualified to Level 7 by the Federal Aviation Administration. “An increasing number of helicopter operators are recognizing the value, efficiency and effectiveness of training using FlightSafety’s new Level 7 qualified flight training devices as opposed to training in the actual aircraft,” said George Ferito, director of business development, rotorcraft training. “Operators of smaller, turbine powered helicopters can now benefit from the same level of professional training we provide our fixed wing and larger helicopter customers as a result of these new devices.” The new Bell 407 flight training device is located at FlightSafety’s Learning Center in Lafayette, La. It will be used during initial type training, recurrent training, inadvertent IMC training, and a wide variety of mission-specific and scenario-based programs. The device is designed to replicate the unique operational requirements of EMS, offshore, law enforcement, electronic news gathering, paramilitary operations and others. The flight training device allows for emphasis on maneuvers and scenarios not safely or realistically suited for the aircraft. Among these are engine fires, loss of tail rotor effectiveness and starting problems such as hot or hung starts. The new Bell 407 flight training device is equipped with FlightSafety’s advanced Vital X visual system that provides the most realistic and comprehensive training scenarios available for the aircraft. Night vision goggle capability will be added in the near future. FAR Part 135 operators, with their POI’s (principle operations inspector) approval, can meet the requirements of initial and recurrent training and checks with only minimal actual aircraft time. FlightSaFety international, 1-337-408-2900, www.FlightSaFety.com

TRAININGPORT.NET OFFERS ONLINE SAFETY TRAINING TrainingPort.net is an online training provider offering aviation safety and operational training. TrainingPort.net has recently expanded to include helicopter-specific topics along with many wide-ranging topics such as fatigue management, cockpit resource management and weather. Current lessons from such highly respected subject matter experts as Terry Kelly (safety management systems), Mark Rosekind (fatigue management) and Karsten Shein (meteorology), among others. TrainingPort.net has limited each lesson to 15 minutes based on studies showing that is the optimal learning period. The company has also gone to great lengths to incorporate different teaching methods aimed at targeting multiple learning styles. They use audio, visuals, kinesthetic and other styles to present the material. “My role is to coordinate with the subject matter experts and build these techniques into the lessons with our writers and graphics people,” says Nik Chapman, TrainingPort’s content manager. The company says it reached out to focus groups early on to determine what was missing from online training and what was considered excellent content. “Users want a simple, easy to use interface with excellent content, not box checking,” Scott Macpherson, president. “Users also wanted a reliable way to keep records,” Macpherson says. “We are excited to add rotary wing content and maintenance content will be coming in February 2011.” Training can be customized to each company and their manuals. The system is easy to use and regularly e-mails those whose training is coming due. The system will alert the training manager on who is behind as well. trainingport.net, 1-866-948-7678, www.trainingport.net

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Product Guide Continued focus on safety

2010

editorS’ Choice Safety Enhancements

in helicopter operations will always be important. Our editors have searched for, and found, several products and services that can help improve your safety focus.

Smart Global SolutionS offerS riSk manaGement tool UK-based Smart Global Solutions introduced its software suite for risk management at Helitech 2010. The risk management system (RMS), marketed as Smart Insight, is hoped to help helicopter operators comply with the 2012 requirement for safety management systems (SMS). Smart Insight is a broader software tool that can encompass all risk areas of a business—safety, financial, legal, employeerelated etc. Managing Director Darren Edwards insisted that the system is template-based and thus flexible. According to Edwards, it can be tailored to exactly match the owner’s processes. Hazards are looked at from the prevention and reaction sides. The system is made of 11 modules for auditing, tracking, reporting etc. The risk module (which includes an ICAO-compliant SMS manual) is available pre-loaded with hazards, threats, threat controls, events, mitigation, etc. recognized by the aviation industry. In terms of safety management, “I have a document” is no longer a sufficient answer, Edwards told Rotor & Wing. Rather, “you have to prove you adhere to these procedures; this is what we try to assist,” he emphasized. To report occurrences (i.e., safety incidents), forms can be designed by the owner. Submissions can be anonymous. Occurrences go to junior or senior managers, depending on how serious they are. Edwards explained that Smart Insight is providing management with live data depicting how the company is actually performing. This is made possible by the hazard occurrence reporting and flight data monitoring modules. Auditing is the key module. The results of auditing include actions, which then go to the “tracker” module. “It tells you which task is being performed by whom,” Edwards explained. In helicopters, “it will help the operator have an SMS in place and prove it adheres to it,” he said. Should a small operator choose to use Smart Insight, “we would host the implementation,” Edwards said. The operator would thus have its SMS up and running in three to six months. Prices, probably with a leasing scheme as an option, are not defined yet. Edwards added that Smart’s RMS could be used for the in-the-works international standard for business aviation-helicopter (ISBAO-H) code of best practices.—By Thierry Dubois Smart Global SolutionS, +44 0208 619 0600, www.SmartGlobalSolutionS.com

l-3’S SrViVr CVr meetS mandate L-3 Electrodynamics is introducing the SRVIVR family of cockpit voice flight data recorders (CVFDRs), a state-of-the-art crash survivable recorder designed to meet FAA’s mandate for flight recorders. Offering the smallest and lightest CVFDR on the market today, SRVIVR is available with a variety of air vehicle interfaces, providing flexibility on a broad range of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. It is available as a CVR, FDR, or Combi unit and complies with EUROCAE ED-112. It provides up to two hours of audio, 25 hours of flight data at 64 to 2048 wps, TSO-C177 data link recording, and a rotor speed interface. SRVIVR was also designed to interface directly with digital cockpit display systems via ARINC-429, RS-422, or Ethernet, potentially eliminating the need for a separate flight data acquisition unit. SRVIVR is scheduled to be approved to TSO-C123b, TSO-C124b, and TSO-C177 by mid-2010. l-3, 1-847-660-1790, www.l-3com.com/edi/Srvivr.htm

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AppAreo SyStemS LAunched GAu 3000 Appareo Systems announced the newest product in its award-winning ALERTS flight data monitoring (FDM) system earlier this year, the GAU 3000. The GAU 3000 extends the capabilities of Appareo’s other FDM equipment by adding a modular infrastructure that enables operators to choose the right hardware package for their needs. The GAU 3000 continues Appareo’s history of building small, lightweight flight data monitoring equipment and adds to that legacy by incorporating EUROCAE ED-155 compliant crash-survivable flash memory and ARINC 429 support for avionics such as radar altimeters, glass cockpit displays and GPS navigators. With ARINC 429 support, the GAU 3000 will serve as a centralized hub to record any and all data generated by an all-digital aircraft. For legacy aircraft, the GAU 3000 will still record important flight data independently of the ship’s electronics using Appareo’s inertial sensing suite comprised of accelerometers, gyros, compasses and a 16-channel WAAS GPS. The GAU 3000 weighs less than 3.5 lbs and consumes just over one-half a cubic foot of space. Available accessories will include an imaging unit for capturing high-resolution cockpit imagery, a wireless high-speed data module for simplified transmission of flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) data. AppAreo SyStemS, 1-701-356-2200, www.AppAreo.com

utiLichArt 5100 And rt-600 dF mAke powerFuL combo The Aeocomputers UltiChart 5100 moving map system, in conjunction with the Rhotheta RT-600 direction finder, are a great combination of tools to aid in search and rescue of persons/aircraft/ vehicles/vessels. The Aerocomputers moving map has always been a solid performer with easy, intuitive controls, greatly reducing TFO workload, while enhancing situational awareness. The RT-600 is a direction finder that overlays a highly sensitive directional signal onto the moving map. The signal comes from a personal locator transmitter, aircraft ELT (both old and new frequencies), or other emergency location devices. The stubby belly-mounted antenna houses the electronics, freeing up panel space. Oxnard, Calif.-based AeroComputers designed UC-5100 to meet the needs of law enforcement, public safety, and military clients. Through integration with the aircraft’s onboard camera/IR sensor and other systems, the crew can keep attention focused on accomplishing the mission, not on the operation of the hardware. Proven in the field by more than 150 agencies worldwide, the UC-5100 mapping system sets a high standard for managing tactical operations in public-use aircraft. The RT-600 (SAR-DF 517) by Rhotheta was designed specifically for use on board all aircraft, including helicopters. It is a direction finder system for airborne SAR that operates on all frequency bands used for rescue missions, including emergency frequencies 121.500 MHz, 243.000 MHz and 406.028 MHz (Cospas-Sarsat) as well as channel 16 of the marine band. Emergency beacons that operate on the Cospas-Sarsat frequency 406.028 MHz can be identified and localized. No additional equipment is required in the aircraft since the electronic direction finding components are integrated into the antenna. The display and control unit consists of an 80-mm round instrument, and the graphic LCD display permits convenient viewing of localization and Cospas-Sarsat information. AerocomputerS, 1-805-985-3390, www.AerocomputerS.com And rHotHetA uSA, 1-435 578 1270, www.rHotHetA.com

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Product Guide

EMS FLEET TRACKER WATCHES OVER YOUR TEAM Effective fleet management is a critical factor in maximizing the safety and efficiency of helicopter operations. FLEET Tracker from EMS Aviation (formerly Sky Connect) offers a complete tracking and communications solution that is especially popular among offshore oil and emergency medical providers. FLEET Tracker is the only system of its kind able to provide a GPS flight plan with a map that displays the pilot’s flight plan, giving dispatchers and others fleet situational awareness. Its comprehensive customization of landmarks and map overlays is also unique. The system’s MMU-II is the smallest cockpit dialer available and includes highly customizable options for pre-stored messages, forms and phone numbers. EMS AviAtion, 1-877-821-8429, www.EMSSAtcoM.coM

LOCKHEED MARTIN’S DEVECTOR As people keep finding more creative ways to put themselves in dire positions, search and rescue providers are challenged to fly missions into increasingly dangerous situations. Two of the biggest problem areas are reduced visibility, caused by brownouts, fog, rain or whatever; and in-flight obstacles—towers, wires, structures, etc. While some technologies and vision aids including forward-looking infrared (FLIR), shortwave infrared image (SWIR) sensors, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), millimeter wave radar (MMWR) and others have given flight crews some much-needed support, they all have their drawbacks. Namely, the lack of sharp detail and accurate obstacle range and elevation information. These shortcomings often point to what pilots are calling “blobology” images—formless color blobs displayed on the helicopter’s MFD. Flight crews know something is out there, but they’re just not sure what or where it is. Lockheed Martin’s new-generation Degraded Visual Environment Correlation Tracking & Obstacle Recognition (DEVECTOR) could just be the light at the end of the tunnel. Currently undergoing active flight testing, DEVECTOR uses advanced 3-D synthetic vision technology spawned from a high-resolution digital terrain elevation data (DTED) database and hazard detection sensors to create synthetic images that help flight crews operate more safely in significantly degraded visual environments. Used alone, or in combination with LIDAR and RADAR, this fused vision/sensor system will provide a huge leap forward for those operating aircraft in marginal environmental and weather conditions. LockhEEd MArtin, www.LockhEEdMArtin.coM

HUGHES AEROSPACE OFFERS NAV EXPERTISE Houston-based Hughes Aerospace Corp. offers performance based navigation (PBN) services designed for both helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft. Hughes is uniquely positioned to offer not only RNAV/RNP, but uniquely qualified to deliver the more precise three dimensional paths of WAAS LPV and GBAS GLS navigation procedures. The superior accuracy of WAAS/GBAS provides lower minimums and a higher margin of safety than un-augmented GPS. The Hughes team has global experience with successful PBN design and implementation, consistently delivering significant value to their customers in all environments—arctic, offshore, desert, jungle and congested metropolitan areas. Hughes Aerospace provides a completely integrated system, tailored to meet the specific needs of its clients. These turn-key solutions involve PBN crew training, aircraft equipage and FAA/ ICAO regulatory compliance. Hughes also offers a host of other services such as FAA/ICAO-compliant obstacle surveys and air traffic PBN integration training. They also offer aircraft and facility weather, navigation, voice and data equipment, including VHF, satcom and 802.11. Hughes was selected to participate in the PBN Roadmap for several counties, and is currently working with the FAA in the design and implementation of the first public WAAS LPV heliport procedures in the world. HugHes AerospAce, 1-281-591-4729, www.HugHesAerospAce.com

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COBHAM’S HELISAS: FINALLY, AN AUTOPILOT FOR SMALL HELICOPTERS Most pilots will agree that an autopilot is a great, safety-enhancing device to have aboard an aircraft. But in the helicopter world, autopilots have been a luxury reserved for big-ticket ships, such as the Bell 412, Eurocopter EC155 and Sikorsky S76. But it appears that will change within the next few weeks as Cobham, the Mineral Wells, Texas-based avionics firm, closes in on FAA certification for HeliSAS, its two-axis autopilot system. HeliSAS—an acronym for helicopter stabilization and augmentation system—is a two-axis system that controls the helicopter’s pitch and roll attitude. Yaw and power inputs remain entirely with the pilot. HeliSAS consists of four main components. Two of them are servos, which physically connect to the control tubes that link the cyclic to the pitch and roll sides of the swash plate. The third is the flight control computer, which serves as the electronic interface between the servos, the aircraft’s avionics, and the fourth component—a slim control head mounted in the instrument panel. As an autopilot, HeliSAS offers heading (HDG), navigation (NAV), back course (BC), altitude (ALT) and vertical speed (VRT) hold. When coupled to the Garmin GNS-530, SAS and NAV modes, along with one or the other vertical hold commands, directs the aircraft along published instrument approaches. Once again, power and yaw inputs are pilot-controlled. In SAS mode, the system takes an “electronic picture,” so to speak, of the cyclic’s position, as sensed by the pitch and roll servo arms at the time of activation. HeliSAS then keeps the cyclic in that position until the SAS function is disengaged by on/off buttons on the control panel, or either one of the cyclic grips. It is so precise, it will even hold a fairly stable hover. Should the pilot change the position of the cyclic slightly, HeliSAS assumes it is inadvertent, and returns the cyclic to its original orientation. But if the cyclic is moved to a greater degree, the SAS will assume that the pilot is executing an evasive maneuver and disengage, thus immediately restoring full control to the pilot. A second benefit of the SAS is its ability to recover the aircraft from an unusual attitude. If the pilot should become disoriented, HeliSAS will gently return the aircraft to straight and level flight, power permitting. HeliSAS requires physical attachment between the two servos and the tubes that connect the cyclic to the pitch and roll actuators. Engineers solved this requirement by mounting the 3.4-lb pitch and roll servos under the front seats, and attaching them to the cyclic control tubes with connecting rods. The HeliSAS computer then marries the system to the aircraft’s avionics. At 15 lbs total, HeliSAS does not create a significant weight and balance issue. In fact, it was designed with light helicopters, such as the Bell Jet Ranger and Robinson R44, in mind. And while a price for the unit has yet to be etched in stone, Cobham plans to keep acquisition costs well below $75,000, and installation time around 24 man-hours. FAA certification is expected near the end of 2010. Cobham currently has HeliSAS installed aboard a Bell 206B Jet Ranger belonging to Edwards &Associates (E&A), the Piney Flats, Tenn.-based subsidiary of Bell Helicopter that specializes in custom helicopter completions. E&A, and its sister company Aeronautical Associates, are working with Cobham to ensure simplicity in installation and integration across a variety of airframes. Jim Shirey, product line manager at Cobham, invited me to try HeliSAS at E&A’s facility. He paired me up with E&A test pilot Mike Milhorn for a morning flight around eastern Tennessee. As advertised, our right hands rested in our laps as HeliSAS maintained the selected parameters, even when buffeted by light mountain winds and turbulence. Our only job was to set and guard our power and pedal positions. Hovering at 20 feet AGL without touching the cyclic was just plain magical. For our ILS approach to runway 23 at Tri-Cities Regional Airport (TRI), Milhorn activated the SAS, NAV and ALT modes, which rolled the aircraft into a gentle left turn to capture the localizer. Upon intercepting the glide slope, the system switched from ALT to VRT mode, where Milhorn reduced our power, and let HeliSAS descend us on a book-perfect final approach all the way to decision height. From all appearances, HeliSAS looks like a nice aftermarket product for the light helicopter market. It isn’t the four-axis autopilot found on the big, expensive ships, but Cobham has proven the technology, and feels confident that it will work on just about any helicopter on the market today. See a video of us flying the Cobham HeliSAS at www.rotorandwing.com —By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large Cobham, 1-817 897 8830, www.Cobham.Com

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Product Guide Panel displays and upgrades

2010

EDITORS’ Choice Panel Upgrades

to existing avionics components can be expensive and challenging modifications. Here’s a selection that includes something for everyone.

NEW HELICOPTER EFIS FOR LIGHT TO MEDIUM HELICOPTER MARKET Operators of small, light to medium helicopters operating under FAR Part 27 (under 6,000 lbs) will soon be able to better afford a lightweight VFR EFIS following initial supplemental type certification of Aspen Avionics’ EFD1000H. Aspen Avionics has received its first STC for the new Evolution Flight Display EFD1000H, a low-cost, lightweight EFIS designed for the light to medium-weight single and twin-engine helicopter market. The STC was for the Bell 206, using an aircraft borrowed from Summit Helicopters, a Bell Helicopter-certified repair station in Roanoke, Va., and obtained working in partnership with Coatesville, Pa.-based Keystone Helicopter Corp. The new EFD1000H was developed for helicopters from the already established fixed-wing EFD1000, but designed to be more rugged than its fixedwing counterpart and thus able to take the beating helicopters tend to give avionics systems. The new EFIS has already been installed on several public use helicopters that do not require FAA STCs, according to Anson Gray, helicopter program manager for Aspen Avionics. These include organizations such as the Dale County Police Department based in Ozark, Ala. Dale County currently operates two OH-58s and an MD-500E, “and do a lot of very heavy flying,” Gray said. Installation was done by Coastal Helicopters in Panama City, Fla. Aspen is in the process of obtaining additional STCs for the EFD1000H, and expected to have the Robinson R22 and R44 STC’d by mid-summer, working with Chippewa Aerospace in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Aspen is working with United Rotorcraft Solutions in Dallas for STCs on the Bell 407 and the Eurocopter AS350. Work is also being done to obtain certification for the MD500 series of helicopters. Aspen is also looking into certification of the 1000H for larger, Part 29, helicopters such as the BK-117. The EFD1000H consists of two digital displays—a primary flight display and a multifunction display. Aspen initially anticipated that operators would start with the PFD, adding the MFD at a later date. However, the company is finding that operators are now choosing to have both systems installed simultaneously, providing reversionary capability, he said. The hardware for both the PFD and MFD is identical. Key to success of the EFD1000H is its low cost ($14,995 for the PFD and $11,995 for the MFD) and light weight (2.2 lbs per unit). It is also different from other EFIS systems in that it is modular, capable of being expanded based on the operator’s needs, Gray said. Putting in both the PFD and MFD allows the operator to remove the old analog “steam gauge” attitude indicator, airspeed indicator, altimeter, VSI, and the turn and bank indicator. This allows weight reductions ranging from nine pounds in an R44 up to 42 pounds in a Bell 205 or civilianized UH-1. It eliminates the need for inverters that drive the original UH-1 flight display system, Gray said. —By Douglas Nelms Aspen Avionics, 1-505-856-5034, www.AspenAvionics.com

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THE BECKER AVIONICS DIGITAL VOICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM Becker Avionics offers the DVCS 6100 digital audio selector and intercom system. The system is designed with a modular philosophy to allow flexibility during system integration and to ensure optimum performance and reliability during flight operations. Each of the six (maximum) audio control units transmits the status of the selected switches and rotary controls via dual-redundant CAN-bus to the remote electronics unit (REU). Configuration of the system during integration or usage at the operator’s site is eased by means of special configuration software from Becker. The DVCS reduces pilot fatigue by providing high quality sound high reliability. Operators also praise the ease of maintenance for this system and ability to manage and control all audio sources in the helicopter. The digital multichannel audio and intercom system with its software-configurable profiles provides the possibility to specifically customize the system to meet the demanding multi-role operational requirements. The DVCS 6100 manages all transceivers, receivers and audio warning sources in one central system and provides simulcast capabilities on eight channels. The company says the system is superior to any analog system, as it offers crystal-clear voice communication quality, a man-machine-interface (MMI) and outstanding reliability. The system is scalable and flexible due to its fully configurable software. The system satisfies the standards for night operation under NVG and military conditions. The audio control units (ACU6100) are available with NVIS green (Mil-Std Green B) and white backlight and offer emergency and slaved mode operation. Becker Avionics, 1-954-450-3137, www.Becker-Avionics.com

ROCKWELL COLLINS’ CAAS IS VERSATILE Rockwell Collins’ Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) has a modular open systems architecture (MOSA), which permits expansion through software upgrades. It works much like a desktop or laptop computer; install a CD—or with CAAS, a PCMCIA card—then boot up the system and, voila!, you have a new application. Of course, factors such as safety, security and ruggedness make the airborne system a bit more complex. But the principle is the same. CAAS has accommodated growth since its requirements were first constructed. Advancements have included more and newer communication, navigation, surveillance, flight controls and survivability equipment, along with a brownout hover page. But to accommodate presumptive future growth, Rockwell Collins recently announced the first major hardware upgrade to CAAS since the system was fielded in 2003. The hardware upgrade is accompanied by a software upgrade. There are new capabilities on the horizon for CAAS, such as synthetic vision, wire and obstacle detection, and enhanced situational awareness in brownout conditions. For the hardware upgrade, CAAS users are preparing to swap out the system’s IBM Power PC 750 processors, now obsolete, with the PPC 7448 processors from Freescale. Designed for embedded network control and signal processing applications, the new PPC 7448s provide twice the operating speed and twice the memory of the old 750s, thus allowing for significant systems growth. The software upgrade accompanying the PPC 7448 processors includes application code for backward compatibility with the older Power PC 750s. It also provides reserves for new capabilities, such as JTRS radio control and data management, terrain avoidance warning, health and usage monitoring, and cognitive decision aiding, among others. (JTRS, or Joint Tactical Radio System, is a software-defined voice and data communications technology that is set for U.S. military use this year.) The software also incorporates capabilities unique to the different needs of CAAS users. rockwell collins, 1-319-295-5100, www.rockwellcollins.com

SAGEM’S INTEGRATED COCKPIT DISPLAY SYSTEM The Integrated Cockpit Display System or ICDS by Sagem is just what it says—it is “integrated.” The ICDS is a high quality, sunlight readable, flat panel color display with NVG capability. Depending on the configuration, the ICDS can function as a multifunction display (MFD), primary flight display (PFD), engine monitoring system (EMS), navigation display (ND), or a combination of those displays. The engine gages are easily readable on the middle display and will move over to the pilot’s display if the user wants to employ the large middle display for moving map-type functions. If the pilot does use the middle MFD, the engine instruments are always visible on one of the displays. The Sagem product line can be ordered in an NVG-compatible configuration that looks good. sAgem Avionics, 1-972-314-3600, www.sAgemAvionics.com

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Product Guide The care and feeding

2010

ediToRs’ Choice

ance Upgrades Mainten

of helicopters can be challenging. Our editors have found some tools of the trade that can help you meet that challenge safely and efficiently.

VT MilTope’s New Rugged CoMpuTeRs go ANywheRe VT Miltope, a VT Systems company, recently announced a new family of ruggedized products that represent the next generation of mission critical rugged computers, HARD WEAR, for demanding military environments. The company’s launch of its newest rugged family includes clamshell laptops, convertible laptops, handhelds, and mounted computers, VT Miltope now has a full spectrum of ruggedized mobile computing solutions and form factors that meet the growing mission and application needs of today’s military. “Our military is on the forefront of technological development and one of our biggest challenges is in the management of critical information. VT Miltope developed a new family of HARD WEAR computers to provide robust and rugged computing platforms to meet those challenges,” says Brigadier Gen. (U.S. Army, Ret.) Tom Dickinson, president and CEO of VT Miltope. “They are designed and built tough, inside and out, to support our soldiers in the most challenging environmental conditions imaginable.” VT MilTope, 1-703 739 2610, www.VT-sysTeMs.coM

sheRwiN-williAMs AeRospACe Fill BoNd puTTy good FoR spoT RepAiR, dRies quiCkly Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings’ Fill Bond is designed to fill rivets, seams and small spot-repair areas on the exterior of the aircraft fuselage. This highbuild body filler is available in a convenient epoxy version. Some putties are extremely rigid but Fill Bond putty is flexible, offers direct-to-metal adhesion (with properly pretreated aluminum), provides excellent spreadability and offers a long, workable pot life to give users the right amount of time to apply material on a variety of aircraft surfaces, including aluminum and composites. Fill Bond dramatically improves productivity by drying quickly for a fast sand— usually in just two to six hours. It’s also available in a convenient delivery system, enabling users to apply putty exactly where it is needed without requiring additional tools and limiting waste following application. Users apply only as much product as they need and then can put the cap back on the convenient cartridge containers for later use, saving on material and disposal costs. sherwin williaMs aerospace coaTings, 1-888-888-5593, www.swaerospace.coM

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Complete leak DeteCtion kit for aviation fluiD SyStemS from SpeCtroniCS Spectronics Corp. has introduced the new ALK-365 Aviation Leak Detection Kit for finding leaks in aviation fuel, lubrication and hydraulic systems. This kit works with all petroleum- and syntheticbased lubricants and fluids. At the heart of the ALK-365 kit is the powerful, cordless and rechargeable OPTIMAX 365 UV LED leak detection flashlight. Engineered with ultra-hi-flux LED technology, the flashlight is four times brighter than other high-intensity UV lamps, according to the company. The kit also includes an 8 oz (237 ml) bottle of Aero-Brite universal fluorescent dye, which pinpoints the location of any aviation fluid leaks with a bright yellow/green glow. Rounding out the kit is an 8 oz (237 ml) bottle of GLO-AWAY dye cleaner, smart AC and DC chargers, a belt holster and UV-absorbing glasses, all conveniently packed in a soft carrying case. SpectronicS corporation, 1-516-333-4840, www.Spectroline.com

avioniCa’S QuiCk aCCeSS reCorDer iS eaSy to inStall anD lightweight Avionica introduced the original miniQAR quick access recorder in 1999. This miniature quick access recorder offers solid-state reliability, 400-hour recording capacity, and ease of installation. Today, the next-generation miniQAR Mk II quick access recorder has more than 5,000 installations worldwide, recording the data of many of the world’s airlines, militaries, and multinational corporations. Solid-state architecture has achieved a field proven MTBF maintenance time and money. A variety of interface options are now available allowing for flexibility. Record up to two ARINC 717 (Harvard Biphase or Bipolar RZ) channels and up to three ARINC-429 channels (high and/or low speed). Three RS 422/232 programmable channels are available to support ACMS event recording. Future releases will include an ARINC-429 transmitter to support real-time ACMS reporting over ACARS. Download options including Ethernet (via the RSU-II or COTS laptop/desktop), onboard Ethernet, and wireless via secureLINK wi-fi or 3G wireless GSE module (shown here), enable operators to customize download methods to best fit FOQA/FDM programs and schedule requirements. Easy to install. Installs on most aircraft with minimal alterations. The basic two GB models record up to 6,000 flight hours of ARINC 717 data. Customer upgrade-ability to 32 Gigabytes is possible to handle dense ARINC 429 data recording requirements. The unit weighs only 6.5 oz. avionica, 1-786-544-1100, www.avionica.com

Sherwin-williamS afterglo now available for CommerCial airCraft A specialized paint from Sherwin-Williams Aerospace Coatings and Defense Holdings Inc. allows commercial helicopter rotors and aircraft propellers to glow in the dark. AfterGlo photo-luminescent paint kit AD110 is applied to the tips of main and tail rotors on helicopters, and along the edge of propeller blades on fixed-wing aircraft, making them visible to ground crews and other airport-based staff in nighttime conditions. Defense Holdings won a contract to develop the coating in 2004, and formed a partnership with Sherwin-Williams in 2005. Originally developed for helicopters and jets operating on aircraft carriers, AfterGlo received certification in May 2008. Rich Martin, president of Defense Holdings, notes that the paint “doesn’t affect the use of night vision goggles.” Sherwin-williamS aeroSpace coatingS, 1-888-888-5593, www.SwaeroSpace.com

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Product Guide

Helping keep track of tools,

2010

Editors’ Choice Facilities

keeping your technical staff cool, and other ways to ensure peace of mind is what our editors found when we asked what improvements could be made to facilities.

snap-on industrial introducEs lEvEl 5 atc tool control Precise, efficient tool control can mean the difference between success or failure. Snap-on Industrial has introduced the Level 5 ATC Tool Control System. The system uses digital imaging technology and is designed with a keyless entry, PC-based database. Each user as an assigned ID or key card embedded with a user-specific code allowing the unit to know who has accessed the system at all times. Digital imaging is used to scan each item removed or returned. An audio system announces tool issue and return. User log data and time-date information is available for every transaction. “The Lever 5 ATC system ensures that people throughout the network know the status of tools and equipment. This means workers can be assured the tool they need is on hand and available immediately and managers have an extra measure of confidence that critical assets are being well-supervised,” says Pat McDevitt, manager, business development for Snap-on Industrial. “Companies will see the value of this system the first day it is deployed.” The Level 5 ATC System can be synchronized to individual or multiple boxes and can pull data and images from each selected tool box. The system can create reports, do tool searches, alert for broken tools and tools out of calibration and check tool custody. Snap-on InduStrIal, 1-877-762-3267, www.Snapon.com

BE cool with Big ass Fans Building 1244 at NASA’s Langley Research Center is a large facility housing a docking simulator once used to teach astronauts of the Gemini Project how to dock the lunar module. Cutting-edge technology still happens in this building located in Hampton, Va., known for hot, humid summer days. Because air-conditioning was impractical for the 90,000-square-foot facility with 100-foot ceilings, the facility coordinator went looking for a solution to help deal with the hot summer temperatures. The Big Ass Fan’s design creates large volumes of air to move off the fan blade and allows the fans to operate efficiently at lower speeds. These slow-moving fans generate a large column of air equal to the diameter of the fan. The air columns are pushed downward, then hit the floor, and the air radiates outward until it hits a wall and is pushed back up to the ceiling. Over time that airflow gains momentum and creates a continuous breeze. The fans use just five cents of electricity per hour with their one-horsepower motor. The variable speed controls preserve the life of the motor by reducing torque on start-up. Butch Lilly, senior facilities system engineer at Langley, said the fans were easy to install and added, “We had dead air but now there’s an actual light breeze in the building in all the corners.” BIg aSS FanS, 877-244-3267, www.BIgaSSFanS.com

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Machida Offers sMall diaMeter BOrescOpe Earlier this year, Machida Borescopes introduced the smallest diameter videoscope in the world, the VSC-3-140-N, according to Jitu Patel, vice president. “Because engines don’t have large access areas, the smaller the diameter, the better. This 3mm outer diameter allows access to all areas of an engine, even the smallest cavity,” says Patel. He adds that the small bending radius allows the user the ability to look all around in the cavity as well. In addition to the size, the scope has full screen presentation with image enhancement and portable image archiving. “The unit comes with a 15 inch flat screen, long life LED lights, SD card and is easy to use,” he says. Machida Borescopes, 1-845-365-0600, www.Machidascope.coM

hydraulics Keep it siMple fOr clear-Max dOOr The challenge with any large door is the power system and the integrity of the structure. The job of the operator for opening a door 20 feet or wider is raising the door panel smoothly and reliably in minimal time. That heavy lifting takes a toll on the motors and mechanics. Wilson Doors has a solution for large doorways with the introduction of their new durable Clear-Max. The door features superior cold-formed steel tube construction with convenient push-button hydraulic operation. The single panel on the Clear-Max opens in a single arching motion. When the door is fully open and perpendicular with the doorway the Clear-Max requires only six inches of headroom. The drive system on the Clear-Max is simple—just two hydraulic cylinders, a pump, motor and control box. All components are low-maintenance and efficient. A single push-button actuates the system to easily raise and lower the door panel. When closed, the hydraulic cylinders keep the door panel snug against the building for a very tight seal. wilson doors, 1-800-558-5974, www.wilsondoors.coM

lOw altitude traffic suppOrt systeM Harris Corp. developed the Low-Altitude Traffic Support (LATS) system to enable low altitude air traffic support for rotary wing aircraft. The LATS system allows pilots to fly in a controlled low altitude environment by using NextGen automatic dependent surveillancebroadcast (ADS-B) surveillance technology combined with IP-based radios for voice communication. In addition, each LATS system is equipped with FAA-certified weather reporting capability enabling the pilot to determine actual weather at the landing site prior to approach as required by 14 CFR Part 135. The weather is either transmitted over VHF as AWOS or communicated to the pilot by the local operations center. The entire system is self-contained in an environmentally enclosed 58 x 26 x 30-inch enclosure. The enclosure is light weight and equipped with lifting rings for easy handling. Using LATS, pilots can communicate with the FAA on their standard VHF radio while on the surface to receive IFR and takeoff clearances. While in-flight they are in constant voice communication with controllers while their position is constantly monitored by controllers using ADS-B technology. Once on the ground following approach, the pilot is able to communicate easily with ATC to close his flight plan. harris corp., 1-800-442-7747 x 2428, www.harris.coM

uNited rOtOrcraft sOlutiONs MOVes tO larGer facility United Rotorcraft Solutions (URS) moved to a larger facility this year. “This move will provide us three times the space we [previously had],” reports President and Owner David Brigham. “We’ll maintain our current 15,000-square-foot facility as well. Our new facility will be able to accommodate the growth of URS and help us continue top service to our customers.” Brigham started the company in 2005 to meet the growing demand for systems integration for helicopters, as well as maintenance specifically for the rotorcraft industry. The new facility increases the square footage by 40,000 square feet. Not only did the hangar space increase but the new facility provides additional office space, a dedicated customer lounge and office and additional parts storage. This move has allowed URS to bring in new programs this year. United rotorcraft solUtions, 1-940-627-0626, www.Unitedrotorcraft.coM

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Product Guide Pilot equipment is a new

2010

EDITORS’ Choice Pilot Equipment

category for Editors’ Choice this year. Here are a few items recommended by folks who know what pilots want and need while beating the air into submission.

KEEN’S PITTSBURGH BOOT IS TOUGH, COMFORTABLE This boot, with waterproof leather uppers and a waterproof breathable membrane, is built for the elements. Left and right asymmetrical steel toes, a removable footbed and dual density compression molded EVA & PU mid-sole provide comfort and help fend off fatigue so you’ve got something left in the tank even after your shift is through. KEEN adds interlocking torsion plate, an oil and slip resistant non-marking rubber outsole and 5 MM multi-directional lugs. Available in sizes 7-15; D & EE (1/2 through 12) and colors available: bison/red, black/yellow, slate/blackberry. Manufacturers suggested retail price is $170. KEEN INC., 1-800-509-5336 (KEEN), WWW.KEENFOOTWEAR.COM

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Brightline Pilot Flight Bag–a Whole neW aPProach to helicoPter Pilot Flight Bags This bag offers storage, organization and clever functionality. Two main compartments and 25 specialized pockets to hold everything a pilot needs to carry every day. You get better storage than any big bag in a small bag. Plus it’s modular. It can be zipped apart into two separate bags: the headset bag for VFR flight, and the document bag for cross country or IFR flight. Carry only what you need. Made of heavy, 1000D nylon for a long, rugged life. Exactly the right height for navigation charts, no more bending or folding your sectional, terminal or enroute charts. Color-coded zipper pulls help identify the right pocket every time. Brightline Bags, +1-415-721-7825, www.BrightlineBags.com

liteFlite oFFers reFlective sar roPe Denmark-based LiteFlite is displaying its new “reflective guide line”, a rope with woven-in reflective stripes. When lighted at night or in dark conditions, it glows and makes the guide line much more visible below the helicopter. John Holstein, LiteFlite’s technical manager, said the 10-mmdiameter polyester line is available in bright red and yellow colors. Another product is the quickrelease box, which makes the rescuer more safely connected to the hoist. Sometimes the helicopter has to leave the rescuer on the ground. It happens that the rescuer has to cut the rope because he cannot release the karabiner if the rope is in tension. In that instance, if the helicopter only has one hoist, it cannot be of any more help to the rescuer on the ground. The quick-release box solves the problem, Holstein explained. The rescuer can release with just one hand, up to 330 pounds in tension. Moreover, he can feel, even with gloves, whether the connection is in the safe (or released) position. —By Thierry Dubois lite Flite aps, +45-7558-3737, www.lite-Flite.aero

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PUBLIC SERVICE | TRAINING

Public Safety Notebook By Lee Benson

Setting the Safety Culture

O

n July 24th, 2010 the helico p te r i n d u st r y l o st a remarkable man and I lost a personal friend. Al Broussard was a mentor and resource both as a pilot and an A&P mechanic to the southern California helicopter community. Not many people understood the Bell 47 airframe from both a pilot and mechanic perspective as Al did. I didn’t get to see Al often these days, maybe three or four times a year. I had known Al since 1974, when I started writing this column Al was among the first to mention it to me. It was obvious from his comments and suggestions that he had read the articles and given them some thought. Al’s input towards expanding the subjects that I had written about in past articles has been incorporated in several of the columns that have appeared here since. A lot of people will miss him, including me. In my last article I expressed my opinion that the differences in safety cultures found within various organizations have a profound effect on the performance of their pilots in regards to safe flight operations. I further stated that whoever pays the bills sets the safety culture. In the end it’s not the chief pilot or director of operations, it’s the guy that writes the check that sets the safety culture. When I first had this thought, I only went as far as my surroundings at the time took me. My 20-plus years with Los Angeles County Fire as a line pilot, safety and training director and chief pilot had caused me to realize that the Fire Chief, through

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his management style and capabilities, got the safety culture that he wanted. I had a wonderful first-name relationship with P. Michael Freeman, the Chief of LA County Fire since 1988. He called me Lee and I called him SIR. P. Michael is a demanding boss, who will listen to your concerns, but expects you to have a good, practical solution to mitigate your concerns when you state them. I was in the room on an occasion or two when someone tried to dump their concerns on his lap without a solution, not a good Plan A. I think a lot of people never learn that lesson. But I never forgot one thing he said to me: “I don’t want to attend any more funerals.” Now, I doubt there’s a leader in the country at any level who has stated the opposite. But with some, safety is just a box to be checked off, not a goal to be supported. That’s the difference, the support that comes with the statement. I knew two things when P. Michael made this statement—he would hold me accountable if I failed to deliver and he would support our section’s needs when it was his turn to step up. On a wider scale even segments of the industry can be recognized as having a very mature and robust safety culture. This has affected the accident rate within those segments of the industry. As an example, the offshore oil and gas industry has a fatality rate during a five-year running period that approaches half of the helicopter EMS community. Several years ago I attended an American Helicopter Society meeting in Carmel, Calif. At this conference, Bob Sheffield,

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the director of aviation for Shell Oil, presented a paper on the risk reduction and training effort that had been implemented by the Offshore Oil and Gas Association. The commitment on the part of the oil companies to create the culture that led to this reduced accident rate was impressive. This disrupted my “the boss sets the safety culture” theory because in the oil and gas industry it was the customer that made the commitment towards safety in terms of money and operational flexibility. But then I realized that in the case of the fire department and most public safety operations, the fire chief, police chief, boss is the customer and the boss at the same time. My final thought on this for now is, who is the customer in the helicopter EMS business? It’s not the FAA or the NTSB, they have their roles but they are not the customer. The strange thing is, I think we would all be hesitant to name the patient as the customer. So who is it? Maybe that’s why the EMS segment of the helicopter industry has struggled to correct its safety issue. Some of you may think that I am pointing at the hospitals as the customer in an effort to get them more deeply involved in the culture of safety that I have spoken about. I think the blunt truth is that the helicopter EMS industry has allowed the medical side of the house to become too engaged in flight operations and not committed to supporting good aeronautical decision-making by the operators and pilots.

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International Marketplace

Ground Handling

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TRAINING | EMS

Right Seat By Mike Redmon

Pressure to be Fast

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t is common in EMS for lift times to be documented by dispatch. It is also a common requirement for pilots to document any lift times over five minutes and send this information to the lead pilot and/or base manager. In business, there is a saying “you are what you measure.” It may seem natural for managers to want to know why a lift-off took longer than a pre-determined amount of time. Personally, I feel that using lift times as a metric isn’t worth the paper they are written on because of the many variables involved in launching a flight. Was the aircraft inside the hangar or outside? Was the aircraft already on standby? Did the pilot need the time to actually evaluate the weather? Was the medcrew “slow” in getting out to the aircraft? The arbitrary time of five minutes is not a number borne of science. My main issue is with the paperwork required to be turned in by the pilot. Some pilots, especially new EMS pilots, will inadvertently sacrifice safety to avoid explaining why they didn’t meet their employer’s expectations. How long does it take a helicopter to lift for a flight? It takes whatever it takes. Once again, it takes whatever it takes. It is a task-oriented procedure, not a time-oriented procedure. In the past, I have found myself wanting to skip using the checklist, doing a poor walk-around, and generally trying to speed things up because I felt “behind” in the launch time. Good judgment generally evolves from poor judgment

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and I eventually wised up due to the errors I found myself making. I easily could have been a statistic with the items I missed during my rushed prelaunch preparations. Hurrying to get off the ground can cause mistakes and increase the likelihood for errors. You always hear about the pilot who forgot to unplug the shoreline cord, remove an inlet cover, or hot started an engine. For example, I know a guy who took off with less than 20 minutes of fuel and didn’t realize it until he got the low-fuel lights shortly after lift-off. The checklist specifically said to check fuel amount, but as an EMS check airman once told me, “who has time to read the checklist?” So again we come back to the reality of saving a minute, but crashing or damaging the aircraft. The irony of the whole thing occurs when you rush to the hospital only to discover it will be another 30 minutes until the patient can be transported. Professionalism demands that the pilot be prepared for any flight by having your jacket and other gear already in the aircraft, keeping your bladder empty, seat and pedal positions correct, and radios set up. Additionally, don’t be lazy and leave the aircraft in the hangar when it should be outside. The less you do at work, the less you want to do, so I understand how hard it can be to haul the aircraft out of the hangar at five in the morning. Other than that, there is nothing else you can do to speed up the pro-

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cess. Weather-related crashes are the number one killer in EMS so it is crucial to check the weather for as long as it takes. You have to do an effective, deliberate, and hands-on walk-around. The FAR’s state you must use the checklist to start. Your passengers rely on you to not cut corners. All aircraft passengers are more concerned with safety than on-time performance. Once you are ready to lift you still should take your time. There have been many episodes of pilots taking off with one engine at idle, with SAS systems turned off, and engines quitting at 40 feet because the fuel transfer pumps weren’t switched on. A final check of critical items prior to pulling pitch is essential when flying EMS. It is amazing what can be missed when you go from a deep sleep to lifting a helicopter off an elevated helipad five minutes later. Lastly, you should always do an engine instruments check at an IGE hover prior to departing. This will give you a chance to reconfirm that the engines are working properly prior to pulling into an OGE takeoff. Let that No. 2 engine quit during a three-foot hover over the helipad instead of at 50 feet over the hospital parking lot with no place to go. I always shake my head when I see a helicopter snatched off the ground and straight into the air without a hover pause. Always remember that if something goes wrong it will be the pilot who answers to the FAA, not anyone else.

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January 2011: Annual Reports— As we approach the start of each new year, Rotor & Wing surveys its advertisers, key vendors and suppliers in the helicopter marketplace, and asks them to tell us what important changes they have made in the past year, as well as what new products, initiatives or innovations we might expect to see from them in the coming months.

Executive Outlook—Rotor & Wing also asks the top executives in each of these companies to give a brief answer to a simple questions regarding what they see on the horizon for the rotorcraft marketplace in 2011. The compilation of these answers produces an insightful prediction of what to expect. This year’s Executive Outlook provides an indispensable planning tool for 2011.

February 2011: Robinson R66—Editor-at-Large Ernie Stephens was invited by Robinson Helicopter Company President Kurt Robinson to fly the company’s latest creation—the R66—in late September. Ernie was quite taken with the aircraft and its capabilities, saying it is “one of the best aircraft I have ever flown,” and to “expect to see the skies dotted with them.” Stay tuned for video coverage of the flight by Ernie at www.rotorandwing.com

Hiring Best Practices—Regular Rotor & Wing columnist Chris Baur takes a break from his usual technology oriented topics and shares insights about where the best pilots and crew members come from.

Cabri G2—First-time contributor Thomas Skamljic had an opportuity to fly the Cabri G2 and reports on his findings from Europe.

Electronic Maintenance Tracking—Technology as a tool for helicopter maintenance technicians. Dale Smith takes a look at some maintenance tracking software and what they can offer.

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WWW R OW TO W I NZGI N . CEO M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 0 | R OTO R .& I NR GA NMDAGA

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Survival Equipment

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advertiser index Page# ..... Advertiser.......................................................Website

Page# ..... Advertiser.......................................................Website

19 ...............Aero Dynamix................................................www.aerodynamix.com

17 ...............Esterline/CMC Electronics...............................www.cmcelectronics.ca

5 .................Agusta Westland/Italy ..............................www.agustawestland.com

25 ...............Heli-mart.............................................................. www.helimart.com

53 ...............Air Technology Engines ................................www.airtechnology.com

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

51 ...............Alpine Air Support.................................................... www.alpine.aero

49 ...............Keystone Helicopter .............................www.keystonehelicopter.com

56 ...............American Eurocopter .................................. www.eurocopterusa.com

51 ...............Machida Inc. ................................................ www.machidascope.com

11 ...............Aspen Avionics .............................................www.aspenavionics.com

31 ...............Robinson Helicopter.......................................www.robinsonheli.com

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

51 ...............Skybooks ..............................................................www.skybooks.com

49 ...............Becker Avionics ..................................................www.beckerusa.com

51 ...............Sun-foil.....................................................................www.sunfoil.com

47 ...............Bower Helicopter .....................................www.bowerhelicopter.com

53 ...............Switlik ......................................................................www.switlik.com

49 ...............Chopper Spotter .........................................www.chopperspotter.com

15 ...............Turbomeca ........................................................www.turbomeca.com

2 .................Cobham Avionics.....................................www.cobham.com/avionics W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M

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MILITARY | AUSA

Military Insider By Andrew Drwiega

Army Aviation’s ‘Four Horsemen’ On the Record at AUSA

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t is customary at every AUSA, the U.S. Army’s annual convention staged in Washington, DC during October, for the leaders of Army Aviation (dubbed ‘The Four Horsemen’) to openly discuss ‘on the record’ a wide range of subjects of current interest. Those present this year were: BG Anthony G. Crutchfield, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general; MG James Rogers, U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command commanding general; BG William T. Crosby, program executive officer, U.S. Army Aviation; and Col. William Morris, director of Army Aviation, Pentagon. One of the first subjects raised was the perceived requirement in the Army for a cargo UAS helicopter. BG Crutchfield stated that the primary task was to lay out the gaps in capability within Army aviation and to identify what was needed. Crosby added that there is “much potential that we see in UAS” but that “there are zealots who think it is time to pull out of manned aviation—we are not there! What we are doing is going ahead with a comprehensive look and we have focused on RSTA [reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition] to date. We are doing manned and unmanned teaming and breaking a lot of ground.” He added that his technology team is monitoring what the U.S. Marine Corps was doing. Regarding the future for the Joint Multi Role (JMR) helicopter, Crosby hinted that all variants were being looked at and that his team was “looking at our S&T tax dollars to facilitate the development of critical enablers.” He said that the Improved Turbine

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Engine Program (ITEP) was applicable both to today’s Apaches and Black Hawks and to the future JMR. “We see that as a critical enabler ... but which variant do we go after first—those are the things we have to wrestle with at the moment.” The fact that Army Aviation was stretched also came up for debate. Crutchfield confirmed that the Combat Aviation Brigades were currently in a one year BOG (boots on the ground): dwell time cycle, but there was little slack down the line. “Right now we are maintaining a balance between fiveand-a-half Combat Aviation Brigades deployed at any time. We still have the second CAB in Korea, we still have a presence in SOUTHCOM [U.S. Southern Command] as well as in Europe, and so if something happened we could muster a force together. But if we needed six or seven CABs at a steady state then we would have to look to OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] as we did last year and they directed that a 13th active component CAB was to be resourced into the force. That will help us get into reasonable dwell rates for our soldiers so that we can respond to any contingencies.” There is currently much debate about optionally manned helicopters. Crosby said that the Army’s current vehicles were either manned or unmanned. But “a critical enabler would be to digitize the flight controls. We have done some digital automatic flight control systems for the Black Hawk and Chinook, which gives you an enhanced capability,” but that there was nothing as fully digitised as had been planned for the Comanche. As he understood it, “the idea is that the specifics of a mission

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and the risks might be so high that you want to fly as an optionally manned/ unmanned configuration. That is something that we know is technologically feasible and there are systems out there that are doing it today. For us to go back and retrofit into the existing platforms that we have—Apache, Black Hawk and Chinook—[would mean] we would need to digitize those flight controls to get that kind of responsiveness. We have no resources to do that as of today.” Crosby did say that he saw the “potential value” of such a system but asked whether it would be “more important than the current manned/ unmanned that we are doing,” adding: “We have to keep in mind that whatever capability we are thinking of, the Army has to be able to afford.” Because of the small BOG to dwell ratio, there have been concerns about the amount of time available to CABs to train before beginning their next operational deployment. Crutchfield was keen to ensure that everyone understood that the country had “the best trained aviation personnel that we have ever had. We have the most combat seasoned aviators ever.” He confirmed that there were issues in trying to push all of the training through fast enough but that “we are meeting those challenges like never before, through mobile training teams from Fort Rucker and other places. They go to the posts, camps and stations to help train and it is working out. It is not easy and it is expensive but it’s working.” For a more complete version of the ‘Four Horsemen’ discussion at AUSA, look for the next issue of the Rotor & Wing Military Insider newsletter or subscribe for your free copy today.

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