Rotor Torque

Senior RAAF officers have recently expressed concern over the fact that the air force is not responsible for the SAR of its own pilots. The civil chartering of the work followed the introduction of the RAAF’s Aerospatiale Squirells on the work and the later discovery they had little range when carrying the weights required for an adequate SAR operation. The Squirells replaced early model Bell UH-18 Iroquois initially used for the work.

Bristow is currently arranging for the Australian certification of the Aerospatiale Super Puma, an upgraded version of the helicopter fitted with Makela engines of 1,760shp and with 19 passenger seats instead of the earlier version’s 16-17. One is currently working out of Kununurra, in the north of Western Australia, in support of an offshore semi-submersible rig. Bristow has Australian CAA approval to operate the helicopter on its British Airworthiness Certificates until the local approval process is completed.

Other improvements to the Super Puma include new rotors with paddle tips, a new composite tail rotor, improved gearbox and a new undercarriage. Additional luggage space is also provided.

In addition to the three Pumas at Karratha, Bristow has a contract for the operation of two twin engined Bell 212s at Welshpool in Victoria and a Bell 206 Jetranger at Onslow, both on offshore work. Another Bell 212 is flown out of Karratha on a separate contract

Australian S-62 in War Zone

One of the Sikorsky S-62s operated by Queensland based North West Aviation has been chartered for operations on the strife ridden island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea where action by rebel landowners has closed the big copper mine. The helicopter is used for the carriage of passengers between the

mine site and coastal towns because the risk of ambush makes road transport risky. It is possible the second S-62 owned by North West may also be chartered.

The charter was arranged by Heli Bougainville whose associate company, Heli New Guinea, won the Papua New Guinea government contract for the crewing of the four ex RAAF Bell UH-1H Iroquois recently gifted to the Pacific nation by the Australian government. The Papua New Guinea Defence Force will crew the helicopters itself when its own aircrew are trained for helicopter flying, as part of the Australian aid package.

Lloyd Helicopters originally operated a Sikorsky S-76 on charter to the PNGDF for use on the island. This was later replaced by a former NSCA Bell 212 which was operated until the PNGDF took delivery of the four Iroquois formerly used by No35 Squadron RAAF at Townsville. It is understood all of this unit’s Iroquois are wired for operation in the ‘Bushranger’ gunship role although, under. the terms of the gift package, the Australian Foreign Affairs Department reached an agreement with the Papua New Guinea government they would not be used for this work.

New Coolangatta Operation

A new charter and training helicopter operation, Paradise Helicopters, has been set up at busy Coolangatta Airport and is building up hours meeting the needs of tourist joy-riders wanting a different view of the Gold Coast and its beautiful hinterland and business people with work in mind.

Paradise Helicopters was set up by Royce Lanham, an Ansett Boeing 727 captain and son of the late Cliff Lanham, whose big fixed wing joy-riding operation was once a tourist attraction in its own right on the Gold Coast. The company operates an MD500. Chief Pilot is Scott Cameron a 5,000 hour helicopter man with extensive experience in Papua New Guinea.

The company also has an agreement with local radio station 4GGG FM to provide reports on surf, beach and traffic condition.

First Flight of MD-520 Due

First flight of the McDonnell Douglas MD-520N helicopter is due this November with certification to be completed before the end of the year.

Deliveries of the helicopter, the world’s first production single main rotor helicopter without a tail rotor, are scheduled to commence in January next year. The MD-520N will be based on a standard model 500 fuselage with modifications to the engine air inlet housing and the aft fuselage structure, a redesigned tail boom and a ‘H’ empennage structure.

Navy Seek Old Raaf Bells

The Royal Australian Navy may seek to take delivery of up to seven of the RAAF Bell UH-1 H Iroquois when they are withdrawn from service at the end of this year. Some of the helicopters will be transferred to the Army’s No5 Aviation Regiment at Townsville where they will principally be used in their gunship ‘Bushranger’ role escorting the unit’s Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawks on air mobile operations.

The helicopters, currently based at RAAF Townsville with No35 Squadron, are also under study for use by the Army in a Command and Liaison role in which case they would take over this job from the Australian built Bell 206 Kiowas. With its drastic shortage of helicopters, the RAN will rotate the Iroquois for operation on the transport ship HMAS Tobruk and replace the few remaining airworthy Westland Wessex used on utility work which are scheduled for retirement at year’s end.

Raaf to Drop Helicopters

The RAAF will cease the operation of helicopters at the end of the year when its training squadron at Canberra is transferred to Army control and its looses its remaining Bell UH-1 Iroquois currently flown out of RAAF Townsville.

The Aerospatiale Squirrels operated as trainers by No5 Squadron at RAAF Fairbairn in Canberra will be transferred to a new unit to be designated the Joint Helicopter School which will be under Army control. The unit will train both Army and Navy helicopter pilots. The operational Bell Iroquois currently flown by No35 Squadron out of Townsville are to be transferred to the Army at the end of the year though some may eventually go to the Navy for utility work.

The RAAF lost its Chinook helicopters at the end of June and hopes, within some areas of the Army, that five will be kept for heavy lift work do not appear to have been realised. At a recent briefing in Canberra the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Peter Gration, said that the Chinooks had been purposely withdrawn before the recent big Kangaroo 89 military exercise so as to assist logistics staff find alternatives to their operation. One area which has suffered is the installation of the RAAF’s Mobile Control and Reporting Unit in the field which will now always have to be set up near a road. Previously Chinooks were used to set up the bulky and heavy equipment on the top of hills which, because of their height, assisted in giving better radar coverage.

New Media Helicopter

Melbourne’s Television Channel 7 is to soon start working with an Aerospatiale Twin Squirrel which will replace a Bell Jetranger currentlyflown. The new helicopter will be operated by Helicopter Resources which will take over the old Bell. Before the new chopper went into action, it was extensively fitted out with an expensive array of media electronics.