Rotor Torque

Two of the Tths Will Be Used for Flight Training at the German Army Air Corps Weapons School in Bückeburg, While the Third Will Train Maintenance and Engineering Staff.

Australia’s Mrh-90 is Based on the German Tth, With First Deliveries Planned for Later This Year.

Southcare’s Sydney to Hobart Rescue

the Canberra Based Snowy Hydro Southcare Rescue Helicopter Was Called to Rescue Three Seriously Injured Sailors Participating in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race on the Morning of December 27.

Southcare’s Bell 412 Flew From Its Hume, Act, Base to Attend to Three Injured Crew From the New Zealand Super-maxi Maximus After the Yacht Was Demasted in 30kt Winds in Waters Southeast of Batemans Bay, Off the Nsw South Coast.

Maximus Was Leading the Race When the Mast Broke Away, Injuring the Crew as It Fell.

An Act Ambulance Paramedic Was Winched Down to the Deck of Maximus to Stabilise the Injured Crew, Who Were Suffering From Serious Chest, Pelvic and Back Injuries.

In a Five Metre Swell and in Clear, Early Morning Sunlight, the Injured Trio Were Winched Up to the Hovering Bell 412 and Were Then Flown to Moruya Hospital for Further Treatment.

Southcare Performed a Similar Rescue Six Years Earlier During the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race Which Claimed Six Lives. Southcare Rescued Five Yachtsmen From Midnight Special in 50kt of Gusting Winds in Bass Straight After the Yacht Rolled in Large Seas Whipped Up by a Wild Storm That Ravaged the Fleet.

Us Army Receives First Uh-72a Lakota

Eads North America Delivered to the Us Army Its First Uh-72a Light Utility Helicopter (Luh) on December 11, During a Ceremony at Its Columbus, Mississippi Facility, the Site Where Luhs Will Be Produced.

Delivered Three Months Ahead of Schedule, the First Uh-72a is One of 42 Currently on Order for the Us Army Which Selected the Uh-145 (Renamed as Uh-72a) in July 2006 With a Requirement for Up to 322 Helicopters.

The Delivery Ceremony Also Marked the Official Naming of the Uh-72a as Lakota, After a Native American Indian Tribe of the Great Sioux Nation, Continuing the Us Army Tradition of Naming Its Helicopters After Native American Tribes, Terms, and Chiefs.

The Majority of the Lakotas Will Be Delivered to the Us Army National Guard While the Initial Batch of Helicopters Will Be Based at the National Training Center, at Fort Irwin, California, to Be Used for Medical Evacuation Missions.

Black Hawk Elt Located

the Position of the Emergency Locator Transmitter (Elt) Beacon From the Army’s Black Hawk A25-221,which Crashed Off Fiji While Attempting to Land on Hmas Kanimbla on November 29, Was Located on December 15 by Hmas Melville Using a Towed Pinger Locating Drone.

The Beacon Was Initially Detected by the Drone, Operated on Board Melville by a Us Civilian Contractor, Phoenix International, During a First Pass Over the Crash Site.

The Us Navy Had Used the Same Locator Drone in 2003 to Successfully Locate Nine Missing Aircraft.

Hmas Melville Carried Out a Number of Survey Runs in the Search Area Before Pinpointing the Position of the Elt.

The Navy Confirmed That the Beacon Lies in 2900 Metres of Water and Has Now Employed the Us Navy Supervisor of Salvage, Supsalv, to Conduct Further Surveys and to Establish the Condition of the Aircraft on the Seafloor to See if a Recovery of the Black Hawk is Possible.

Although the Necessary Equipment and Personnel to Conduct a Recovery Will Be in Place, a Decision to Attempt the Recovery Will Be Based on Data Collected From the Survey.

The Survey and Potential Recovery Work is Expected to Be Completed by Late March.

Bk for Auckland Rescue Trust

the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust (Arht), Operator of New Zealand’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter, Has Purchased a Bk 117b2 After Failing to Find a Suitable Second Hand Bell 412ep.

“fortunately We Were Able to Source a Bk 117b2 With Much Lower Flying Hours Than Our Existing Leased Machine and Equipped It With Advanced Technology That Was Not Previously Available to Us,” Said Arht Ceo Rea Wikaira.

“the Upgraded Bk 117b2 Will Give the Arht’s Pilots, Crews and Paramedics Vital Training and Experience With Some of the Latest Technology and Safety Equipment, Greatly Enhancing the Trust’s Rescue Capability. ” the Bk Was Acquired From and Upgraded by Oceania Aviation, Based at Auckland’s Ardmore Airport.

Wikaira Said That Significant Fundraising Efforts Over the Past 18 Months Made It Possible to Purchase the Trust’s Own Helicopter.

Great Southern Safari After the Success of Its Inaugural Heli-safari Across Around Cape York Last Year, Australian Robinson Distributor Helibiz is Planning a Second Helicopter Adventure Following March’s Avalon Airshow.

Dubbed ‘the Great Southern Safari’, the Tour Will Head West Following Victoria’s Coastline Including the 12 Apostles, With Lunch at Mt Gambier and Overnighting in Robe. Day Two Takes in Kangaroo Island, Adelaide and the Barossa Valley, Day Three Follows the Murray River With Lunch on a Paddle Steamer and Over Flying Mt Kosciusko. Day Four Sees the Tour Flying Above Gippsland’s 90 Mile Beach to Wilson’s Promontory, Before Finishing at Helibiz’s New Moorabbin Office.

Up to 15 Helicopters Can Be Accommodated on the Tour, With Eight Confirmed at the Time of Writing.

Debate Over Hh-47 Order Rages the Us Air Force’s November 9 Selection of the Boeing Hh-47 Chinook to Fulfil Its Combat Search and Rescue (Csar) Role Has Come Under Fire From Some Us Defence Industry Experts Who Have Criticised the Hh-47 as Being “too Big”.

Critics Say That the Hh‑47’s Size and Larger Radar Signature Make It Vulnerable to Attack While Landing and Taking Off Behind Enemy Lines. They Also Assert That the Two Losing Helicopters – Sikorsky’s S-92 and Lockheed Martin’s Us101 – Have Better Technology and Are More Suited for Shipbased Operations and Flying in Urban Environments.

The Hh-47, Approximately 33 Per Cent Longer Than the Sikorsky Hh-60g Pave Hawk It is Replacing, is 30m Long From the Tip of the Front Rotor to the End of the Rear Rotor. The Us101 is 23m Long and the S-92 21m Long.

Opponents Say the Hh-47 Also Takes Too Long to Be Prepared for Airlift by C-5 and C-17 Transports. Removing Its Rotor Blades and Rear Transmission Takes a Crew of 10 More Than 11 Hours. The S-92 and Us101 Meanwhile Are Short Enough That Once Their Blades Are Folded, They Could Be Rolled Straight Into the Back of an Airlifter.

Besides Size-related Issues, Some Pilots Thought the Us101 Offered Better Blade Technology. Lockheed Martin Had Promised That the Us101 Blades Would Be Quieter and Prevent Brown-out Landings by Blowing Sand Away From the Helicopters.

The Us Air Force Has Said the Hh-47 Was Chosen Because It Was the Furthest Along in Development and Posed the Least Risk of Being Delayed Because of Technical Problems.

A Protest by Losing Bidders Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky to the Government Accountability Office (Gao) Questioning the Reasoning That Led to the Hh-47’s Selection, Was Expected to Be Ruled on by the End of February. If the Gao Finds Significant Problems With the Us Air Force’s Decision Making, the Agency Could Recommend the Us Air Force Rebid the Contract.

Happy 40th Birthday Bell Jetranger

Bell’s 206 Jetranger Model Celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Its Entry Into Service on January 13.

Bell Has Manufactured More Than 4800 206a/b Jetrangers and 1700 206l Longrangers Since the Introduction of the 206a Jetranger on January 13th, 1967, When the First Two Production Helicopters Were Delivered to Customers at That Year’s Hai (Helicopter Association International) Convention.

Bell Has Since Delivered Several Models of Civil 206s With Its 206a/b Jetrangers and 206l/l1/l3/l4 Longrangers Variants.

The 206 Has Also Been Adapted for Military Use, Particularly for Training and Reconnaissance Roles. In the 1970s 56 206a Kiowas Were Built Under Licence in Australia by Cac for the Army and Navy.

Still in Production at Bell’s Mirabel, Canada, Plant, the 206 Fleet Has Recorded Over 55 Million Flight Hours in More Than 60 Different Countries.

Briefs

• Heliflite, Australian Distributor of Agustawestland Civil Helicopters, Has Delivered Australia’s Third A109s Grand During an Acceptance Ceremony at Agusta’s Virgate Factory on January 15. The New Grand Was Expected to Arrive in Australia Around Mid February for Re-assembly and Local Certification.

Heliflite Plans to Display the New Grand at the Avalon Airshow in March Along With Another Grand, an a 109e Power and Two a 119 Koalas.

• Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill Reached the South Pole on January 7 in Their Bell 407 While Attempting to Set a New World Record for Flying Around the World via the South and North Poles in a Helicopter.

• Spain Has Ordered an Initial Order of 45 Nh90 Tths.

First Deliveries Are Expected During 2010.

• the Irish Air Corps Has Converted Options for a Further Two Agustawestland Aw139s. The Conversion Brings to Six the Number of Aw139s the Air Corps Will Have on Strength by the End of 2008.

• Eurocopter’s Ec 120, as 350b3 and Ec 130b4 Received Russian Type Certification by the Interstate Aviation Committee in Late December. At the Same Time, Eurocopter Announced Its First Sales of Vip Configured Ec 135 and Ec 145s to Private Russian Customers.

• Sikorsky Has Reached an Agreement in Principle to Acquire the Polish Stateowned Manufacturer Pzl Mielec.