Rotor Torque

The US Army contract timetables first flight and test flying of the prototype LH to commence in 1994, with development to be completed and full scale production to be commenced for an entry into operational service in late 1998. The LH will primarily replace the aging and increasingly expensive to maintain Vietnam era choppers such as the Kiowa and Osage. The new chopper will fulfill the role of armed scout aircraft, seeking out and destroying enemy forces and designating targets for other systems such as Apache attack helicopters, artillery and attack aircraft. It will be armed with a two barrel 20mm cannon and missiles or rockets carried in internal weapon bays, enabling it to perform light attack missions. It will also be the first US helicopter designed to fight enemy helicopters.

Gulf War Proves U.S. Army Systems

The US Army has reaffirmed its belief in its major weapons systems as a result of the Gulf War.

A prime success of the conflict was the McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache, which reportedly achieved more than 90% mission capability in the Gulf. The Apaches were involved in the very first combat sortie of Desert Storm, attacking Iraqi air defence emplacements before H-hour to clear a corridor for Allied strike aircraft to sweep into southern Iraq and Kuwait. Eight Apaches flew a 15 hour, 950nm (1. 750km) round trip mission and fired 27 Hellfire missiles, 100 70mm rockets and 4,000 rounds of 30 mm ammunition to destroy radar sites and open a corridor used by Allied aircraft to bomb Iraq.

The Apaches were also vital in combating ground forces in the ground war, destroying hundreds of vehicles and tanks (in one air/ground battle 27 tanks were destroyed, while in another, one AH-64 destroyed two tanks with one Hellfire missile) and in one instance was even responsible for capturing some 500 Iraqi soldiers without assistance from Allied ground troops!

Also receiving high praise were the UH-60 Black Hawk which flew some 6,000 hours during the campaign and the CH-47 Chinooks, which flew 338 missions 220km into Iraq on the night preceding the ground offensive. The OH-58D Kiowas recorded an overall combat readiness rate of 85%, and were typically used to designate targets for Apaches, with some teams reported to have killed 15-20 tanks permission.

However, despite the overall success, there were some problems with weapons systems in the Gulf. Pilot night vision aids proved less than perfect in the desert environment, there being no trees or other notable features (as in Europe and North America) to orientate pilots, meaning that radar altimeters had to be installed in the choppers to overcome the problem. Other issues identified include the identification friend or foe system, communications during very low flight and the need for an anti-jamming capability for tactical satellite communications.

Chopper Fleet Vital for PNG Resources Boom

Papua New Guinea’s oil exploration and mineral resources industries are set to take off in a big way, having been described recently as being of world significance. Vital to harnessing the largely untapped resources will be the growing helicopter fleet.

Two large oil provinces have recently been discovered in PNG, one extending some 300km, promising great potential for the future of the oil industry in PNG. According to Oil and Gas Australia, more than 100 oil and gas wells are expected to be drilled in the next five years, mostly in remote jungles and at altitudes higher than 4,000ft. Conditions are difficult, and literally, the only way to get both workers and equipment into the area is by helicopter. Portable drilling rigs typically require some 400 chopper flights to have all the equipment flown in for drilling sites to be established in the inhospitable jungle. Supplying the working site then requires up to 30 tonnes of supplies to be flown in daily.

With conditions such as these local helicopter operators could be on the verge of a boom themselves. As the PNG industry grows, so too will the need for helicopters to support operations. Already attracting much interest in the region are the Soviet helicopters, in particular the massive Mil Mi-26 but also the smaller Kamov Ka-26C, both of which are operated by Heavylift Helicopters (PNG) and are well proving their worth and lifting ability. Other operators are also moving in or expanding fleets. Already about 30 McDonnell Douglas MD500s operate in PNG, and this will be expanded to over 50 when Pacific Helicopters of Goroka takes delivery of additional MD500Es it has on order.

India Grounds Westland W30s

The Indian CivilAviation Ministry has grounded all 19 Westland W30s of the national helicopter company, Pawan Hans.

The W30s have already been grounded for over a year as a result of technical problems, though they have now been permanently grounded because these could not be rectified. The main problem would appear to be with the aircraft’s Rolls-Royce Gem 531 turboshaft engines and associated equipment, not considered by Pawan Hans to be suitable to India’s operating environment. Persistent malfunctions included high main rotor and tail rotor vibration, main gearbox failure, air intake guards and heating mat failures, internal oil leaks, drops in compressor efficiency and failure of critical bearings, which led to a number of inflight engine shutdowns.

However the problems may not all be with the engine and chopper, an investigating committee having been critical of Pawan Hans’ often “unprofessional” maintenance practices and poor storage of fuel, oil, grease and parts.

Most of the W30s were operated in support of oil and natural gas operations in the Arabian Sea, however serviceability problems meant that operations were never suitable. Three choppers had crashed by the time the fleet was first grounded in December 1989. The W30s have been replaced by 11 A0rospatiale Dauphins and five Mil Mi-8s, though Pawan Hans is attempting to have the Indian Army take possession of the remaining problem plagued W30s .

Adf Helicopter School AS350 Maintenance Contract Awarded to Hawker Pacific

Hawker Pacific, Australia’s leading aerospace marketing and product support company, has won a contract from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to provide in-situ maintenance personnel to the ADF Helicopter School located at RAAF Fairbairn in the ACT.

Under the terms of the contract, Hawker Pacific will initially provide ten aircraft engineers to assist the ADF Helicopter School meet the maintenance requirements of its AS350 fleet of training helicopters.

It is envisaged that the manpower required will increase significantly over the period of the contract.

In addition to this latest contract, almost 70 Hawker Pacific personnel work under the direction of the 5th Base Workshop Battalion at the Army Aviation Centre, Oakey in support of GAF Nomads, Pilatus Porters, Bell Kiowas and UH-1H Iroquois operated by the the Army Aviation Corps. The contract commenced with four engineers in 1981.

For No 34 Squadron, operator of the RAAF’s Falcon 900 VIP fleet, Hawker Pacific’s Fleet Support Management Team is responsible for handling all spares and the provision of some intermediate and all depot level maintenance of the aircraft.

“Looking to the future, we see military maintenance and logistic support as an expanding area of business development as the ADF, in common with other defence forces, seeks to maximise value for the defence dollar by drawing upon the product support expertise and experience of companies like Hawker Pacific”, said Mr David Bell, Hawker’s marketing manager.