Rotor Torque

The Carson Helicopter Services Fire King Arrived in Australia in Late November Direct From Fighting the Californian Bush Fires. It is Equipped With a 3800 Litre Fixed Belly Tank Which Can Be Refilled in 30 Seconds and is Capable of Carrying Up to 15 Firefighters and Their Equipment.

The Wa State Government Provided $1. 3 Million for the Fire King Trial With the Federal Government Providing an Additional $900,000 Through the National Aerial Fire Fighting Centre.

Based in Oregon, Us, Carson Helicopters Staff Travel to Australia on 21 Day Rotating Nrma Careflight’s Head Injury Retrieval Trial (Hirt) Was Officially Expanded to Include the Nsw Central Coast on December 13. Pictured With a 109e Power Vh-iag is Nsw Minister for Health, Reba Meagher, the Minister for the Central Coast, John Della Bosca, and the Nrma Careflight Hirt Crew at Gosford. Refer Text for Details. (Ian Badham/ Nrma Careflight) Shifts to Provide Maintenance Support for the Fire King.

Western Australia’s Fire and Emergency Services Authority (Fesa) Officially Launched the State’s 110 Day Aerial Firefighting Assault on December 14 With a Demonstration of the Fire King and Its Other Aerial Fire Attack Assets at South Perth’s Sir James Mitchell Park.

The Fire King is Supporting Four Helicopters Australia as 350b3 Squirrel ‘helitacs’ and Eight Air Tractor At802 Fixed Wing Aircraft Based Throughout the State’s Southwest During the Fire Season.

In Early January the Fire King, Along With the Squirrels and Two At802s, Were Engaged in Battling Major Fires That Raged in Perth’s Eastern and Northern Suburbs Which Destroyed Three Homes, a Holiday Unit and a Shed Filled With Antique Cars, and Burned Out 900 Hectares of Bushland.

Fesa Has Estimated That During Wa’s 2006/07 Bush Fire Season $9 Million of Property Was Saved and Another $41 Million Protected by Aerial Attack Assets at Almost 150 Bush Fires Across the State.

Tiger Sims Handed Over

Eurocopter’s Australian Subsidiary, Australian Aerospace, Handed Over the Tiger Arh Full Flight and Mission Simulator (Ffms) and Other Training Aids to the Defence Materiel Organisation (Dmo) During a Ceremony at the Army Aviation Training Centre (Aavntc) at Oakey, Queensland, on December 13.

As Well as the Ffms, a Gun System Trainer, Centre Fuselage Trainer, Underwater Escape Trainer, and Environmental Control System Trainer Were Also Handed Over at the Ceremony.

All of the Arh Training Devices Will Be Located at Theaavntc With the Exception of the Underwater Escape Trainer, Which Will Be Installed at Robertson Barracks in Darwin.

The Stand-alone Twin Domes of the Ffms Replicate Tiger’s Two Separate Cockpits (Pilot and Battle Captain) and Can Be Operated Coupled as One Virtual Aircraft, or Independently to Simulate Two Separate Missions.

The Tiger Arh Ffms is the First Twin Coupled Dome Flight Simulator in the World to Attain Fsd-1 Level 5 Accreditation – Equivalent to Europe’s Level D.

“this Simulator is a Critical Component of the Training System for Army Pilots in Operating the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter in the Demanding Land Battlespace Supporting Our Soldiers,” Said Major General Tony Fraser, Dmo’s Head of Helicopter Systems Division.

“the Level 5 Accreditation for the Initial Phase of the Simulator is an Excellent Achievement of a Difficult Task on the Way to a Full Day/night and Night Vision Device Simulator. ” Training of Tiger Air and Ground Crews Has Begun at the Aavntc. Tiger is Expected to Be Introduced Into Army Operational Service From Mid Year.

Nrma Careflight Heads for Nsw Central Coast

the Nsw Department of Health Announced on December 13 the Expansion of Sydney Based Nrma Careflight’s Head Injury Retrieval Trial (Hirt) to Include the Central Coast.

Hirt is a Randomised and Controlled Clinical Trial. It Aims to Demonstrate That the Provision of Trauma Physician Management to Accident Scenes Involving Serious Head Injuries Within 15 Minutes of a 000 Call Will Improve Patient Outcomes.

Nrma Careflight Commenced the Trial in the Sydney Metropolitan Area in 2005. The Expansion, Now Covering the Growing Population to Sydney’s North, Will Provide Communities Within the Region With a Rapid Medical Response to Serious Head Accidents While Increasing the Number of Candidates Available to the Trial.

The Expansion of Hirt to the Central Coast, Part of a Reorganisation of Operations for Nrma Careflight Following the Loss of a Nsw Ambulance Contract in March Last Year, Was Aided by a $7 Million Seven Year Sponsorship Deal With the Nsw Government’s Motor Accidents Authority (Maa), Which Was Signed on December 12.

The Day After the Announcement of the Hirt Expansion Nrma Careflight Attended the Scene of a Car Crash at Empire Bay, East of Gosford on the Central Coast, Involving a Car Which Crashed Side-on Into a Powerpole, Trapping Two Occupants. The Impact Left a Male Passenger Semiconscious With a Severe Head Injury and Trapped by His Legs. He Was Released and Flown by the Hirt Team to a Sydney Hospital for Further Treatment.

Medical Retrievals Across the Central Coast Are Also Covered by the Newcastle Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service and the Ambulance Service Emergency Medical Helicopters Based at Bankstown Airport.

In Late December the Board of Nrma Careflight Appointed Two New Directors, Former Nsw Deputy Premier Dr Andrew Refshauge, and David Bowen, General Manager of the Nsw Maa, to Help Direct Nrma Careflight in Its Next Phase of Development.

Cae Wins Adf Mrh 90 Ffms Contract

Cae in Partnership With Thales Was Awarded a $180 Million Defence Contract in December to Provide Two Mrh 90 Full Flight and Mission Simulators (Ffms) for Army and Navy Mrh 90 Helicopter Pilot Training.

The Ffms Contract Was Announced One Day After the Mrh 90 Official Handover – Refer Feature From Page 30 of This Issue.

The Mrh 90 Ffmss Will Be Delivered in 2012 to New Training Facilities Being Built at the Army Aviation Training Centre at Oakey, as Well as at the 5th Aviation Regiment at Raaf Townsville. Cae Will Provide Two Years of Support Services for the Ffmss Under Cae’s Existing Management and Support of Australian Defence Forces Aerospace Simulators (Msaas) Contract.

Subcontracting Ffms Design and Manufacturing Work to Helicopter Training Media International (a Cae and Thales Joint Venture) Cae Will Also Subcontract Work to Thales Australia to Manage the Build and Delivery of the Simulators as Well as Providing Service and Support Under the Msaas Contract.

Cae Currently Provides Support for the Adf’s C-130j, C-130h, 707, S-70a Black Hawk and S-70b Seahawk Simulators.

Final Adf Iroquois Flight Completed

the Adf Retired Its Final Two Ardu Operated Uh‑1h Iroquois on December 12 Following a Two Day Ferry Flight From Raaf Edinburgh, South Australia, to Archerfield Airport, Queensland, for Storage and Disposal.

Iroquois A2-484, Crewed by Captain Pat Bridge, Sqnldr Cameron Morris and Corporal John Neenan, and Iroquois A2-279, Crewed by Major Nigel Speedy, Lieutenant Leigh Sage and Woff Trevor Thompson, Departed Together From Raaf Edinburgh on December 10, Flying to Raaf East Sale for an Overnight Stop via Mt Gambier Airport and the Raaf Museum at Point Cook.

The Pair of Iroquois, Callsigned Delta One and Delta Two, Departed East Sale on the Morning of December 11 for Coffs Harbour Airport, Stopping at the Naval Aviation Museum at Nowra and Raaf Williamtown en Route.

On December 12 the Iroquois Left Coffs Harbour for Archerfield Airport for a Flight That Would Take Them Up the Brisbane River Past Brisbane’s Cbd Before Performing a Pre-planned Synchronised Landing at Archerfield Around 11. 30am.

The Army Aviation Systems Project Office Hosted Around 100 Guests to a Morning Tea Ceremony Marking the Helicopter’s Final Adf Flight and to Thank the Civilian Contractors Who Had Supported the ‘huey’ Through Its Service Life.

The Final Adf Iroquois Flight Brings to a Close the Uh‑1h’s 45 Year Flying Career With the Adf.

Army Conducted Its Final Operational Iroquois Flight on September 23, as Detailed in December ‘07 Aa.

Tiger Had Version Makes First Flight

the Had Version of the Eurocopter Tiger Made Its First Flight on December 14, From Eurocopter’s Facility in Marignane, France – the Exact Date Forecast in the Tiger Had Development Contract Signed Two Years Earlier.

The Tiger Had Features More Powerful Engines Than the Hap Version, and Includes Spike and Hellfire Air-toground Missile Capabilities, an Iff Interrogator Function, Improved Ballistic Protection, and a New Ews System.

The First Serial Had is Destined for Spain and Will Be Transferred to Eurocopterspain’s Facilities in 2009, Where It Will Become the Main Support Platform for Had Development Activities.

The Tiger Had is Expected to Be Qualified in the Last Quarter of 2010 Before Deliveries to France (40) and Spain (18 Plus Six Retrofits).

the Pentagon Has Decided to Reduce the Number of Bell Arh-70s It Plans to Buy for the Us Army by Almost 30 Per Cent Because of Rising Costs and Schedule Delays.

The Us Army Will Now Procure Just 250 Arh-70s (a Militarised Version of the Bell 407) Instead of a Planned 348.

The Arh-70 Was to Have Cost Us$10. 3m (a$11. 7m) Per Unit, Inclusive of Research and Development Costs, but This is Now Estimated to Increase by 20 Per Cent to Us$12. 3m (a$13. 9m.

The Reduction Comes Just a Month After the Pentagon Increased Arh-70 Program Funding by Us$1bn (a$1. 1bn) Because of Higher Labour and Material Costs and Upgrades to the Main Rotor System.

Flight Testing of the Helicopters Will Be Extended a Further Two Years From 2008 to 2010 to Complete Unanticipated Component Testing in What Has Now Blown Out to a Us$6. 3bn (a$7. 2bn) Program.

The Arh-70 Project Was Designed as a Low Cost Adaptation of Commercial Technology to Quickly Field a Replacement for the Bell Oh-58d Kiowa Warrior, Which Entered Service in 1985 and is Currently Flying Operationally in Iraq. The Us Army Had Hoped to Have Some of the Arh-70s Ready for Use in 2008 to Replace Aircraft Lost in Iraq.

Briefs

• Up to 13 Helicopters Worked the Skies Above Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day as a Fleet of 82 Yachts Started the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Media, Private and Police Helicopters Swarmed the Harbour and Heads Area for About an Hour, Before Following the Yachts Down the Coast as Far as Abeam Bondi Beach.

• Kaman Helicopters Completed Formal Qualification Testing of the Digital Automatic Flight Control System (Dafcs) Software for the Egyptian Air Force’s Sh-2g(E) Super Seasprites in Early January, Marking a Significant Milestone in the Helicopter’s Upgrade Program.

Egypt Operates Nine Super Seasprites Based at Borg El Arab.

• the Troubled Lockheed Martin Vh-71 Presidential Helicopter Program Has Reportedly Narrowly Averted Being Cancelled. Reports From Washington Indicate the Pentagon Had Recommended That the Us$11bn (a$12. 7bn) Program (for Just 24 Aircraft!) Be Cancelled and Re-bid, but the White House Has Decided to Persist With the Aircraft. The Vh-71 is Based on the Agustawestland Eh 101 but Has Been Substantially Redesigned for the Presidential Vip Role.