Rotor Torque

“by Design the Manufacturer (Agustawestland) Installs the Nitesuns on the Left Side,” Emq Chief Pilot Captain Trevor Wilson Told Australian Aviation. “we Accepted the Helicopters From the Manufacturer With the Intention of Upgrading the Sx-16 to a More Lightweight and Cheaper Trakkabeam Searchlight Once the Aircraft Were Operational Back in Australia. ” a Control Stop is Installed to Prevent the Nitesuns From Shining Upwards Above Horizontal and to the Right of Centre, to Stop High Temperatures From the Light Damaging the Helicopter’s Skin, but That Restricts the Light’s Usability During Night Landings and Takeoffs.

“the Protocol in Europe is to Use the Searchlight Purely as a ‘searchlight’ and Not as a Landing Aid, if You Like, to Provide the Pilot With a Reference During Night Operations,” Said Wilson.

Emq Was Aware of the Searchlight’s Limitation When the Helicopter Type Entered Service in 2007, and Had Been Waiting for Engineering Orders and Designs to Be Approved and Certified Before the Installation of a Trakkabeam Light Could Be Made, Allowing the Opportunity for an Installation on the Right Side.

“since the Trakkabeam Light Had Not Been Certified on the Helicopter We Decided to Have It Designed and Certified for the Right Side, Which Would Offer the Pilots Better Angles of Illumination During Night Operations. ” the Installation Sees the Trakkabeam Searchlight Mounted on a Bar Forward of the Pilot’s Door.

Emq’s Aw139s Will Be the First of the Type in Australia to Be Fitted With This New Searchlight, Adding to the Certification Timeframe.

It is Hoped the Installation Will Be Completed by September.

New Rules for Passenger Ops

Casa is Seeking Industry Feedback on New Rules Covering Helicopter Passenger Services, to Be Introduced Under the New Part 133 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.

The Most Significant Rule Change is Introducing a Single Standard for All Fare Paying Passenger Flights, Whether Scheduled or Charter (and Consistent With New Rules for Fixed Wing Passenger Operations). Other Rule Changes Affect Night Vfr Passenger Flights, Safety Based Outcomes for Overwater Flights and, According to Casa, “agreater Degree of Flexibility for Operators in Procedures and Training and Establishing Rotorcraft Performance Standards That Incorporate Consideration of Exposure to the Potential for a Forced Landing”.

The Changes Can Be Viewed on the Casa Website, With the Regulator Seeking Comment by July 6.

Echidna Prototype to Begin Flight Testing in December

the Raaf’s Aerospace Operational Support Group Should Begin Flight Testing an Army S-70a-9 Black Hawk Fitted With an Alr-2002 Radar Warning Receiver and Suite Controller, Part of Bae Systems Australia’s Echidna Electronic Warfare Self Protection (Ewsp) Program, in December.

Ground Trials of the Consolidated Ewsp Suite Installed on a Black Hawk Are Currently Underway, With the Suite Having Commenced Flight Testing Installed in a Pod Beneath a Learjet in March.

Bae Systems Australia Was Awarded a $135 Million Contract in February 2005 to Design, Develop and Integrate the Echidna Ewsp Suite Aboard Army’s Black Hawk Fleet.

Five of 12 Army Black Hawks Have Already Been Partially Modified With an Interim Echidna Ewsp Suite Comprising the Eads an/aar-60 Milds Missile Approach Warning Receiver and Thales Vicon 78 Countermeasures Dispensing System.

Costly Beacon Search From Discarded Elt

Casa is Reminding Aircraft Owners and Engineers to Take Care When Disposing of Old Analog Emergency Locator Transmitters (Elts).

According to Casa’s Monthly E-newsletter, a Beacon Search Was Mounted to Locate a 121. 5 Mhz Analog Elt That Had Been Inadvertently Activated After It Was Dumped at a Rubbish Tip in Cobar, in Western Nsw, in May.

Casa Said a Passing Aircraft Picked Up the Elt’s Signal and Contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa), Which Dispatched an Ambulance Service of Nsw Bell 412 Rescue Helicopter From Orange. The Helicopter Conducted a Search for Six Hours, Assisted by a Fixed Wing Aircraft, Before the Beacon Was Found at the Tip.

Casa Estimates the Search Was Likely to Have Cost Taxpayers $50,000.

The Regulator Says Old Beacons Can Be Disposed of for Free at Battery World Outlets.

For More on Elts, See Page 75 of This Issue.

New Huet Trainer Launched

Sweden’s Scandinavian Safety Training Centre (Sstc) Has Launched a New Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (Huet) Device Which Promises Increased in Realism for Underwater Emergency Training.

The Multiway Huet-6 (Mwh-6), Which Can Also Be Used for Fixed Wing Escapetraining, Can Rotate Through 360 Degrees in All Directions, Compared to Most Other Huet Devices Which Turn Only Through the Longitudinal Axis.

Able to Be Dropped From a Height of Just Under Two Metres, Simulating the Forces of a Free-fall Crash Landing Into Water, the Mwh-6 Body Incorporates Air and Water Tanks, Controlled by Pneumatic Valves, to Turn and Rotate the Simulator in Predetermined or Random Directions. The Dome-like Device Has a ‘panic Button’ Inside That When Depressed in an Emergency Activates a Light and Sound Signal to Lift the Device From the Water in Approximately Two Seconds.

Cockpit Cameras Installed in the Roof Record Footage for Training Evaluation.

Fitted With One Sliding Door and Three Hinged Doors, the Six Seat Device Replicates a Sikorsky S-76 but Can Be Reconfigured to Replicate Many Military and Civil Helicopters and Aircraft Types.

Briefs

• Erickson Air-crane Was Awarded As9100 Business Management System Certification in May, Which Will Allow It to Seek New Work for Other Helicopter Manufacturers.

Erickson Says It Aims to Expand Its Services to Include a Mro Business, Expanded Training Programs, and New Design and Manufacturing Capabilities.

• Agustawestland Has Won This Year’s Igor I Sikorsky International Trophy, Awarded at the American Helicopter Society International’s Recent Annual Forum, for a New Round-the-world Speed Record Set in August 2008 by a Factory Standard A109s Grand.

Pilots Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik Took 11 Days and Seven Hours to Circle the Globe, Breaking the Previous Class Record, Set in 1996, by Almost Six Days.

• the Italian Government Has Signed a Contract for 16 Ich‑47f Chinook Helicopters, Plus Four Options and a Five Year Support Arrangement. Agustawestland is the Prime Contractor for the €900m (a$1. 58bn) Deal, Which Will See Boeing Build the New Helicopters’ Fuselages at Its Facility in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania, Before Agustawestland Then Undertakes Final Assembly and Systems Integration at Its Vergiate Plant in Northern Italy.

First Deliveries to the Italian Army Are Expected in 2013.

Agustawestland’s Industrial Agreement With Boeing Includes a Licensing Arrangement Where It Can Market and Build Ch-47fs for Other European Countries, Including the Uk.