Fast & low

Pivotal to the program is the air operations contingent.

Aviation is of critical importance because of the crucial live footage for the overall television broadcast going out to millions of devout rally fans around the world.

But many other helicopter roles are fulfilled just as dutifully with equal discipline and direction.

Typically, Chopper 1 (which was usually an AS 350 Squirrel or JetRanger for the WA event) carries the FIA safety delegate. It is their prime role to visually inspect each of the special stages before the passage of the first cars. They are checking

Anyone who has flown the job will tell you that it makes for a sensational few days at work, but requires a damn good rest afterwards.

for broken down vehicles from the tail end of a previous stage, wayward spectators, bush-walkers or any other unsuspecting potential victims of the metal missiles about to pass by. Once the track is cleared, and the cars sent on their way, this chopper will often follow the first car through at low level and is generally the priority aircraft second only to the filming helicopter when it is on stage.

Chopper 2 carries the FIA technical delegate and spends the day doing multiple landings at the starts and finishes to ensure the technical integrity of all the vehicles and observation of the Servicing Regulations. Chopper 3 is the medical bird, and in WA has traditionally been either the RAAF’s contracted Sikorsky S-76 or the WA Police Force’s BK 117. It repositions to a central location on each of the stages and, emergencies aside, its crew tends to spend long dusty days watching cars and helicopters tear past them at impressive speed.

The WRC-TV role is covered by Chopper 4. Last rally this job was completed in an R44 and its role was to film footage at low level on each of the special stages.

The bulk of the action footage is gathered from the ‘eye in the sky’ Chopper 7. Typically an AS 350, Chopper 7 is fitted out with specialist equipment flown in for the task and one operator who travels all over the world just to put his very delicate touch on the controls. His skill in driving the gyrostabilised gimbal mounted camera has even won him a little Hollywood statue for his efforts.

When things go wrong on the rally course, they go wrong very quickly, and between the camera operator and the helicopter pilot a synergy of skills must ensure the action is not lost to the viewing public. With arguably the most enjoyable flying job on rally, the Chopper 7 pilot must position his machine to always have the action within the camera’s field of view. On courses specifically designed to test the best dirt drivers in the world, this makes for some high speed twisting and turning of the helicopter. Anyone who has flown the job will tell you that it makes for a sensational few days at work, but requires a damn good rest afterwards.

A medical back-up helicopter is airborne for most of the top ranked cars. With a course marshal on board as well as a paramedic and doctor, Chopper 8, (usually a Squirrel) will perform a variety of tasks including ‘zeroing’ the stage, and stand-by medical response.

Flying rally VIPs to and from various vantage points is the task assigned to Chopper 9. It typically does the longer runs back and forwards to the city helipad bringing delegates to and from the action in the bush.

In addition to the official helicopters, Choppers 30 and above are allocated numbering for privately hired machines. These can be a variety of aircraft drawn in from local companies as well as privately owned machines and will generally carry newspaper or magazine reporters and even family and friends of the top-ranked competitors. These aircraft have strict instructions to give right of way to rallyaircraft at all times. It is not uncommon to have 15 helicopters involved on any single day at rally, and with almost all operations outside of controlled airspace, ‘see and be seen’ rules the day.

Organisation of an event this size is impressive to say the least. If the aviation component is anything to go by, the WRC leaves no stone unturned (no pun intended) in attending to the smallest of details. Chief pilots of the various operators must attend an aviation brief in the weeks leading up to the rally. From this brief, chief pilots in turn hold their own in-house briefings for their respective pilots. There, information is delivered to pilots specific to their task.

Each pilot receives an Aircraft Operations Manual.

The booklet is some 45 pages long and covers such details as contacts, flight rules, reporting requirements and specific helicopter schedules, detailed down to the minute. Also enclosed are colour aerial photographs of refuelling sites, helicopter landing sites and medivac locations.

In addition to this, a separate booklet lists out the 170 GPS waypoints used on the rally. Each is identified by number, name, abbreviation and of course, lat and long.

Thankfully, a rally technician attends to each participating aircraft prior to the start, storing their old GPS information safely, and then wiping the aircraft database clean before installing only the current rally information.

Upon completion of the event, he returns the GPS to its original format.

The system works very well indeed.

Each pilot is also armed with a copy of the overall Rally Safety Plan for the year, which runs to an imposing 190 pages, covering everything you could possibly hope to need, and then a good deal more. And just when you thought you had filled up every conceivable document space in your cockpit there are also two full-colour double sided fold-out stage maps. None of this negates the need for your own specific CASA and company documents. And finally of course, no one goes anywhere without an official individualised rally pass hanging around the neck. With all of the information absorbed, stored and prioritised, the rally flying can begin.

Days tend to start early and drag on to last light.

Though requirements vary for each aircraft, most pilots will find themselves airborne soon after 7am. Allowing for preflights and end of day duties, three days of flying eats well into flight and duty time calculations. Fortunately the event tends to be planned around times of seasonally good weather and rarely do bad weather conditions cause problems. Nonetheless, fine weather in itself can present challenges with a dry course, as the ambient dust combined with a setting sun can cause real visibility issues. With pilots focused so intently on the job at hand during high speed low level flying, other aircraft remain the biggest threat. Radio calls become paramount and a good situational awareness is critical.

Flying on rally is generally hot, long and demanding.

However, if you’re lucky enough to score one of the jobs in the prime aircraft, it offers some of the most exciting and enjoyable flying you will experience.