Rotor Torque

The Program Takes Over From the Initial Rmi Contract and Sees Raytheon Australia Providing the Bell 429s for an Annual Tasking of 1,500 Hours. Raytheon Had Provided Agus-tawestland A109es Since 2007 Under the Original Contract.

The Rmi Helicopters Are Used by the Ran to Give Pilots an Advanced Platform as They Transition From the As350 Ba Squirrel Training Helicopters to the Operational Seahawk and Mrh 90 Types.

Raytheon Australia Manag-ing Director Michael Ward Said: “the Introduction of the Bell 429 Within Budget and Ahead of an Ambitious Schedule Has Been Pos-sible Only Because of the Trusted Partnership Between the Ran and Raytheon Australia and is Evidence of the Strong Commit-ment to the Program’s Success by Raytheon and Bell Helicopter. ”

Lm and Bristow Take Hats Out of Air 9000 Ring

Lockheed Martin Will Not Bid for the Australian Defence Force’s Air 9000 Phase 7 Helicopter Aircrew Training System (Hats) Project.

The Company’s Global Train-ing and Logistics Business Had Announced Its Teaming With Western Australia-based Bristow Helicopters Australia at the 2011 Avalon Interna-tional Airshow, Although by the Closing of Tenders Last Month the Companies Still Had Not Announced Its Selection of a Preferred Platform to Support the Requirement.

A Spokesperson Refused to Comment on Why the Team Had Not Bid.

Bristow Builds New Karratha Base

Bristow Helicopters Has Be-gun Building a New Hangar and Heliport at Karratha Airport to Support Its Offshore Helicopter Support for Oil and Gas Opera-tions by Major Clients Apache Energy, Santos and Vermillion.

Bristow’s Australian Business Unit Director Allan Blake Said: “the Heliport in Particular Will Make Our Passengers’ Journeys Easier by Enabling Them to Em-bark Directly From Our Facility to Their Offshore Workplace Rather Than From Karratha’s Main Airport Terminal. ” the Hangar Will Have Room for Five Helicopters and is Expected to Take Five Months to Build.

Army Tigers Cleared to Fly

the Army’s Fleet of Ti-ger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (Arh) Resumed Training Flights in Late May Fol-lowing a Two-week Suspension Over Cockpit Fumes.

Defence Said the Suspension Was Lifted Following a Detailed Assessment and a Recommen-dation From the Technical Airworthiness Authority. The Statement Did Not Say What Caused the Fumes, Which Were Reported by a Pilot on May 16.

The 22 Tigers, Based in Oakey and Darwin, Are Not Expected to Reach Full Opera-tional Capability Status Until the End of the Year. Three of the Aircraft Are Undergoing a Retrofit Program to the Latest Produc-tion Standard.

The Army Plans to Deploy the Tiger Fleet as Part of Its Largest Annual Training Exercise at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Late June and Early July.

Agl Action Rescue Seeks Funds

Major Maintenance and an Increasing Demand for Its Ems and Sar Services Has Left the Sunshine Coast’s Agl Action Rescue Seeking Help to Recover From a $200,000 Shortfall.

The Main Contributor Was an Unexpected Maintenance on Its Bundaberg-based Bk117, Which Needed Three Rotor Blades Replaced at a Total Cost of $165,000. And Overhaul of the Service’s Bell Longranger Came in Almost $200,000 Over Budget After Corrosion Issues Were Identified.

The Service Has Asked for Extra Funding From the Queens-land Government but Treasurer Lawrence Springborg Said It Didn’t Have “an Endless Pot of Money”.

“but We Do Understand That When It Comes to These Aerial Services Which Are Provided to Others, We Need to Work to Deal With the Reality of an Increasing Demand – and That’s Some-thing That We Will Be Doing,” He Added. Watch This Space.

Ec225 Ditches After Gearbox Shaft Crack

a Cracked Gearbox Shaft Forced a Bond Helicopters Eurocopter Ec225 Super Puma With 14 People on Board to Make a Controlled Ditch Into the North Sea, 48km Off the Coast of Aberdeen, Scotland on May 11.

Two Rescue Helicopters Winched the Majority on Board to Safety but According to Reports Some Passengers Refused to Be Taken Back on Board a Helicopter and Were Rescued by Boat Instead.

The Uk’s Air Accident Inves-tigation Branch Found the Crew Ditched After a Low Oil-pressure Warning Caused by a Crack in the Helicopter’s Gearbox Shaft.

Bond Immediately Grounded Its Fleet of Ec225 and As332 L2 Helicopters. The Latter Were Cleared to Return to Flight Once It Was Ascertained the Ec225 De-sign Had a Different Bevel Shaft.

A Spokesman Said Bond is Doing Borescope Tests on Each of the Bevel Gear Shafts to Confirm No Cracks Are Present, Adding: “in Addition, and in Common With the As332 L2s, the Hums System Will Be Used to Monitor Vibration in the Main Gearbox, Including Bevel Gear Shaft Monitoring, and Two Oil Pumps in Order to Ensure the Safe Operation of This Particular Helicopter Type. ”

Westpac Life Saver to Trial Thales Thermal Scanner

Sydney’s Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service is to Trial a New, Highly Sensi-tive Thermal Imaging Camera. Thales Australia is Supplying the Sophie Camera Free a for Six-month Trial, to Include Training for the Service’s Heli-copter Crews.

Thales Says the Camera Works by Identifying Body Heat and is Effective Day and Night in a Wide Range of Conditions. It Has High Sensitivity to Small Differ-ences in Temperature, Meaning People Can Be Detected Even After Being in Cold Water for Some Time.

Westpac Life Saver Ceo Stephen Leahy Said: “nearly Half of All Our Search and Rescue Mis-sions Are at Night and This Tech-nology Will Allow Us to Search More Quickly and Effectively. ”

Certification Boost for Ec135 Sim

Eurocopter’s Training Academy in Donauworth, Germany Has Received Level B Certification From the Ger-man Aviation Administra-tion for Its Ec135 Full Flight Simulator (Ffs).

This Allows Skill and Pro-ficiency Checks to Be Done in the Full-motion Simulator, Which Became Operational in Late 2009. It is the First Ec135 Simulator in Europe to Achieve Such Certification.

The Ffs Means Operators Can Perform Initial and Recur-rent Type Training as Well as Specific Training on Emergency Procedures, Instrument Flight Rules, Offshore, Night Flights, Night Vision Goggles and Cat a Operations.

Briefs

• a Sikorsky S-58et Operated by Helicusco Crashed in the Peruvian Andes on June 6, Kill-ing All 12 Passengers and Two Crew on Board. The Crash Site Was Discovered Three Days Later.

• Prince William Has Been Qualified as an Raf Aircraft Captain. Flight Lieutenant Wales, as He is Known in the Military, Will Now Command Search-and-rescue Operations in Raf Sea King Helicopters. A Statement Added: “un-til Now, Flight Lieutenant Wales Has Only Co-piloted the Aircraft. ” the Prince is Posted to 22 Squadron at Raf Valley, Anglesey.

• the First Week of June Kept Racq Cq Rescue Busy, With the Mackay-based Service Twice Called Upon to Make Three Retrievals in One Day. The Service Said Fatigue Manage-ment Was a Top Priority for the Four Pilots, Four Air Crewman and One Rescue Crewman. The High Number of Emergency Jobs Had Meant Shuffling of Rosters and Careful Monitor-ing of the Number of Hours of Sleep the Crew Were Getting.

• the Us Army’s 219-strong Uh-72a Lakota (Ec145) Fleet Passed the 100,000 Flight-hour Milestone on May 10.

• the Us Faa Has Awarded Stc Approval for Simplex’s Fire Attack 1,900 Litre Fire-boming System for the Agus-tawestland Aw139. The Los Angeles City Fire Department Plans to Fit the System to Its Three Aw139s, While Simplex Says It Also Has Orders From Japanese and South Korean Customers.