Rotor Torque

Organisers say they hope to complete registration of the AHIA by July with an official launch anticipated at the Avalon Airshow 2013.

Those behind the effort say it was spurred by the death of longtime ABC helicopter pilot Gary Ticehurst in a crash near Lake Eyre in August 2011. Ticehurst had been active in the HAA.

“It has taken Gary’s death to jolt people into doing something positive for the industry once again,” Rob Rich, who is convening the AHIA, wrote in the group’s first newsletter sent out in April.

The group says the helicopter industry is six times larger than when the HAA was established in 1984 and is growing at a rate of nine per cent per year, with 1950 helicopters currently registered in Australia.

Rich said he was “aware of a lot of pressure points obstructing development” of the industry.

They range from a need to seek training and business opportunities for Australian companies in the Asian countries to a review of the alleged delays with the pilot licensing and examination systems.”

Maiden flight for AW169 prototype

The first prototype of AgustaWestland’s AW169 light multirole helicopter made its maiden flight on May 13 at the company’s Cascina Costa plant in Italy

Launched at the Farnborough International Air Show in July 2010, the 4.5 tonne AW169 shares a common cockpit layout and maintenance concepts with AgustaWestland’s AW139 and AW189. Designed for emergency medical missions, search and rescue, law enforcement, passenger transport and offshore and utility services, the AW169 will compete with the Eurocopter EC145, Bell 429 and AS365 Dauphin in the utility helicopter market.

AgustaWestland has so far logged orders for more than 50 units and has said it hopes to sell more than 1,000 of the rotorcraft over the next 20 years, noting that the AW169 is the first new design aircraft in its class in two decades. The 10 passenger helicopter is powered by two FADEC controlled Pratt & Whitney PW210 turboshaft engines and makes extensive use of composites, AgustaWestland says.

The first prototype is set to be joined by two more test aircraft later this year and a fourth prototype in 2013. AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Finmeccanica, said the AW169 is on target for basic civil certification by 2014 and entry into service the following year.

bell 429 enters ran service under RMI 2

The Royal Australian Navy’s Retention and Motivation Initiative 2 (RMI 2) program has reached a key milestone in late April with Raytheon’s Bell 429 helicopters beginning activities and achievement of the in-service date.

Raytheon Australia managing director Michael Ward said the milestone was achieved within budget and several weeks ahead of schedule. Operating since 2007, the program provides the Navy with supported aircraft to allow junior qualified aircrew to consolidate and enhance their skills before flying operational helicopters.

Under a new $26 million four-year contract signed last September, Raytheon Australia is providing the Navy with three new Bell 429 helicopters for 1,500 tasking hours a year.

Meanwhile, Raytheon has confirmed submission of its tender for the Helicopter Aircrew Training System (HATS) competition under project AIR 9000 Phase 7.

The Raytheon teaming includes Bell Helicopter, Milskil, Nova Systems and Virtual Simulation Systems and is based on the Bell 429 platform.

Perth Helitacs hit milestone

Perth based fire-fighting Squirrel helicopters dropped their 15,000th load of water during the summer bush fire season.

The AS350 B3 Squirrels have been operated by HNZ Australia out of Perth Airport since 2005. Patrolling a 120km radius around the WA capital, the four Helitacs work in conjunction with fixed-wing water bombers, with the more manoeuvrable helicopters focusing on the borders between rural and urban land while the planes focus on more rural areas.

Under the Emergency Services Act, the Helitacs are authorised to draw water from any suitable source and can take in 1000 litres in 45 seconds while hovering. During fires, HNZ says it’s not uncommon for each Squirrel to deliver a load of water every three minutes.

“Having the four machines available in the metropolitan area, gives fantastic coverage on local fires where multiple repetitive drops consistently save property”, HNZ Australia spokesman Brenton Davis said. “The ability to support a dozer by cooling the fire-line, or laying down a wet-line for ground crews to work from, is invaluable in the fire-fight. Plus the ability to view and plan the attack from above is always well appreciated and utilised.”
The 15,000th water drop came while fighting a fire in Mossman Park in February.

Black Hawks cleared for full service

The Army’s Black Hawk helicopters have been cleared for full operations six days after being restricted to essential flights.

The partial suspension followed the emergency landing of a Black Hawk on April 24 during preparations for Anzac Day commemorations in Papua New Guinea. According to the ADF, an investigation found that the helicopter suffered an engine fault but concluded that the problem was an isolated one. No one was hurt in the incident.

Australia’s Black Hawks were also grounded briefly in January following the discovery of a number of fractured bolts during routine maintenance checks.

The Army operates a fleet of 34 S-70A-9 Black Hawks, with three currently deployed to Timor Leste and the remainder based in Holsworthy and Townsville.

CareFlight gets custom simulators

Queensland-based RACQ CareFlight Rescue has taken delivery of a pair of custom built Bell 412 helicopter simulators.

The simulators, built by Flight Simulators Asia Pacific in consultation with CareFlight, are specifically configured for air-medical evacuation missions and feature a full dual cockpit and instrumentation as well as additional observer seats.

CareFlight said the simulators, based at Gold Coast and Toowoomba, would be used for 150 hours of annual training. That “means a huge cost saving for CareFlight in fuel and maintenance as well as not having to take the helicopter offline for training,” Jeremy Ovens, CareFlight’s head of aviation, said.

Ovens said the simulators would also help CareFlight raise revenues by attracting trainees from around the world.

The non-profit rescue operation raised more than $150,000 over the past year to pay for the simulators.

Mh-60r Radar Contract To Telephonics

Telephonics Corporation has won a US$330 million full-scale production contract for 160 AN/APS-153 Multi-Mode Radar systems on the USN’s MH-60R Romeo helicopters, including an Australian Foreign Military Sales component.

The contract, awarded by Lockheed Martin, will cover delivery, spares and engineering support. The successor to the AN/APS-147, it includes automatic radar periscope detection and discrimination (ARPDD) capability as well as small target detection, inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) imaging.

Featured also is a fully internally integrated, identification friend or foe (IFF) interrogator capability readily upgradeable to include Modes 5 and S.

500th EC145 delivered

Eurocopter has delivered the 500th EC145 twin-engine helicopter, ten years after the first production EC145 was delivered in April 2002.
The milestone 500th machine was handed over to Mexican company Transportes Aereos Pegaso at Eurocopter’s Donauworth, Germany facility on April 27.

Eurocopter says its has delivered EC145s, a development of the popular BK117, to 100 customers in 38 countries. Significant operators include the US Army, which has taken delivery of more than 200 as UH-72A Lakotas, and the French government with 50.

Eurocopter hybrid wins design award ahead of US tour

The American Helicopter Society has given its top design award to Eurocopter’s X3 hybrid demonstrator.

The presentation of the group’s Howard Hughes award comes as Eurocopter prepares a US tour for the unusual rotorcraft, which it hopes to market for a range of civilian and military uses including long-distance search and rescue, border patrol, special operations, offshore oil and gas drilling and inter-city passenger shuttles.

The X3 features a pair of turboshaft engines powering a main rotor and two propellers installed on the tips of short-span wings. Eurocopter says the rotorcraft offers the speed of a turboprop and the versatile flight capabilities of a helicopter. The company says the 11-seat hybrid has reached a top speed of 232kt using 80 per cent of available power during flight testing since 2010.

“It is important for Eurocopter to provide a first-hand experience for future potential US users with our hybrid helicopter concept, which opens exciting new horizons in operations by delivering cruise speeds 50 per cent faster than standard helicopters at very affordable costs,” Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling said.

International Chinook Training Facility

Boeing and Dutch partner Rotary Wing Training Center (RWTC) have opened a CH-47 Chinook helicopter training facility near Royal Netherlands Air Force base Gilze-Rijen. The Dutch company is a subsidiary of the Netherlands’ World Class Aviation Academy (WCAA).

Training began in March with the Royal Netherlands Air Force and added the Australian Army in April. It includes current technical information and courseware tailored for CH-47 maintainers, technicians, pilots and crew members. The full training program covers theory, troubleshooting and fault isolation as well as maintenance and servicing.

Students also receive practical training on a retired Chinook airframe for a more realistic learning experience.