Rotor Torque

The service will operate four long-nose Leonardo AW139 helicopters across northern NSW from Belmont, from a new base built at Lismore Airport, and from a refurbished and extended base at Tamworth Airport. The service’s legacy Broadmeadow base in Newcastle will be retained as the Northern Region’s administrative headquarters and heavy maintenance facility.

The AW139s offer both speed and endurance improvements over the Bell 412s which they have replaced in Newcastle, while their medical interior fitout includes a ‘zero lift’ patient loading arm to assist aircrew and paramedics load and unload Newborn Emergency Transport Service (NETS) specialist cribs and stretchered patients. AW139 VH-ZXB, callsign ‘Westpac 2’, flew the service’s first mission on March 7, an interhospital transfer from Armidale to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is due to commence its new service from Lismore in mid‑April and then from Tamworth the following month.

Bell delivers first production 505 Jet Ranger X

Bell Helicopter delivered its first production Bell 505 Jet Ranger X on March 7, to Arizona-based Pylon Aviation at the HAI Heli-Expo in Dallas, Texas.

A week earlier on March 1, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) issued the new five-seat single turbine its Australian type certification to Bell Helicopter.

CASA’s certification adds to the Transport Canada Civil Aviation type certification which Bell attained on December 21. The US Federal Aviation Administration has yet to certify the type.

The Australian certification effort for the 505 was supported by Hawker Pacific, Bell’s authorised Australian and New Zealand distributor. Hawker Pacific will deliver Australia’s first two 505s to north Queensland’s Nautilus Aviation mid-year. Nautilus will use the helicopters for tourism and light utility operations. A further two machines will also be delivered to a New Zealand customer before year’s end.

Navy’s ‘Bravo’ Seahawk, Squirrel make final Avalon appearances

Two Royal Australian Navy helicopter types, the S-70B-2 Seahawk and AS350 BA Squirrel, have both made their final appearances at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon before their pending retirements later this year.

A single Seahawk ‘Bravo’ from 816 Squadron based at HMAS Albatross, Nowra spent the week of the airshow on static display while its successor, a MH-60R ‘Romeo’ Seahawk, made its airshow flying display debut.

A trio of Squirrels from 723 Squadron also made the trek from Nowra to perform the type’s now famous ‘dancing Squirrels’ pairs handing display on the public days of the airshow.

Navy is due to retire the Squirrel from service in December and is currently considering taking its remaining Squirrels around parts of the country on a farewell tour.

There is still some fight left in the Seahawk Bravo, meanwhile, with one currently deployed on HMAS Arunta serving in the Middle East.

Nautilus Aviation wins Sydney Westpac Life Saver contract

Cairns-based Nautilus Aviation has won the contract to operate the Southern Region Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter, Australia’s first civilian search and rescue helicopter service, taking over the operation of the Surf Life Saving Australiaowned service.

Nautilus has purchased Life Saver’s two BK117B2s, VH‑SLA, callsign ‘Life Saver 21’ and VH‑SLU ‘Life Saver 23’. The company will provide helicopter rescue services from Life Saver’s main base in Sydney at La Perouse, south-east of the CBD, and from Moruya Airport on the far south coast of the state when the contract commences on May 1.

It has been awarded an initial one-year contract, with the option of two two-year extensions.

“The decision to outsource our operations had mixed emotions because we needed to look at better, cheaper and more reliable options whilst at the same time, protecting our staff and guaranteeing our services,” said Westpac Life Saver Helicopter chief executive Stephen Leahy.

“Our partnership with Nautilus ticks all the boxes and the community won’t see any change. We will continue to save lives, which we have done since September 1973, with the same pilots and crew helping you.”

Nautilus, which also provides disaster relief support for Australian Government agencies in the Asia Pacific region, has offered Life Saver’s current staff positions under the new contract.

CHC Helicopter rebrands ahead of emerging from bankruptcy

The CHC Group has its refreshed brand ahead of the company’s anticipated emergence from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy within the coming weeks.

On March 5, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas signed a confirmation order confirming CHC’s Plan of Reorganisation to complete its financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11.

Days earlier on March 1, CHC revealed its new brand which includes a refinement of its hummingbird corporate logo and font. Gone is the traditional red and replaced with a burnt orange, which CHC says reflects on the company’s heritage and early days as Okanagan Helicopters.

CareFlight moves in at Bankstown

Sydney’s CareFlight has moved part of its helicopter retrieval service which supports its Newborn Emergency Transport Service (NETS) contract into a temporary facility at Bankstown Airport in late February.

CareFlight moved out of its purpose-built Westmead NETS facility to make way for construction works as part of a major expansion of the western Sydney hospital precinct.

CareFlight’s dedicated rapidresponse helicopter service, separate from the NETS contract, continues to operate BK117B2 VH‑BIF, callsign ‘CareFlight 4’ from its current base within the hospital’s grounds.

The move to Bankstown coincided with CareFlight retiring its leased Bell 412EP VH-LWI, callsign ‘CareFlight 5’, which was used as its primary NETS machine since taking over the contract from the defunct Telstra ChildFlight in December 2012.

CareFlight is now using its spare backup machine, BK117-850D2 VH-IME, ‘CareFlight 3’, until Toll Helicopters takes over the NETS contract on May 1 under its new 10‑year partnership with NSW Health.

To mark the retirement, and its final days of operations at Westmead, CareFlight flew its three Sydney-based helicopters over Sydney Harbour and the northern beaches, broadcasting vision from the flight live on their Facebook page.

Composite JetRanger main rotor blades make first Australia flight

Perth’s Heliwest Services has had a pair of composite main rotor blades installed on an Australian-registered Bell 206B JetRanger for the first time, in collaboration with US-based Van Horn Aviation (VHA) and Bell Helicopter subsidiary Aeronautical Accessories.

Certified by the FAA in February 2016, the VHA 206B composite main rotor blades feature a carbon fibre skin and spars, a more efficient NASA-designed laminar-flow airfoil, a tapered tip and a combination of stainless steel and nickel abrasion strips that cover the entire length of the blade for erosion and lightning strike protection.

“The key benefit for operators fitting these new blades is the subtle enhancement of performance, but the main benefit is their extended life and the lower direct operating cost per flight hour,” aid Heliwest’s sales and customer service manager Jason Ellis. “An OEM JetRanger blade has a 5,000 hour life, where as the Van Horn JetRanger life currently is at 18,000 hours but that’s expected to increase to 20,000 hours.”

The main rotor blade installation was completed at Australasian Jet at Essendon. Fitted with the composite blades Australasian Jet 206B JetRanger VH-VBX took off from Essendon on its first flight on February 23.

“Being more rigid than the original metal blades, initial feedback from pilots who flew with the composite blades said the helicopter was more responsive and required reduced control inputs,” said Ellis.

VHA is expecting to receive FAA certification for its 206L LongRanger main rotor blades by the end of 2017 which will have a 20,000 hour service life.

MD 6XX unveiled at Heli-Expo

MD Helicopters unveiled its new MD 6XX concept at Heli-Expo 2017 on March 6, which it will pitch to armed forces as a scout attack platform as well as to aeromedical and law enforcement operators.

First announced at last year’s Heli-Expo, the MD 6XX is a 2.5-tonne, eight-seat single-engine machine featuring a four-bladed tail rotor on the end of an extended composite tail boom, which MD expects will deliver around 40 per cent more anti-torque compared to the MD 620N.

“The design and technology innovations in the MD 6XX concept helicopter will be the foundation of the next generation of MD-brand aircraft,” said MD Helicopters’ chief executive Lynn Tilton.

Powered by a Rolls-Royce M250-C47E3 engine, the 6XX will also feature new main rotor blades, fly-by-wire controls, a digital three-axis autopilot and will have a 2,500kg maximum gross takeoff weight, a 500nm range and a 4.5 hour endurance.

MD said it is aiming to have the 6XX available by the end of 2018.

Night aerial firefighting trial takes off in Victoria

Coulson Aviation has brought Sikorsky S-76B C-FIRM to Australia as part of a night aerial firefighting trial being conducted in conjunction with Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) based out of Ballarat Airport.

On static display at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, the S-76B, which is usually seen leading the four-engine Martin Mars waterbombing aircraft around North America, will be used alongside a Coulson sistership S-61 to test the feasibility and benefits of night fire operations under night vision goggles (NVG).

Known as ‘Firewatch 76’, the S-76 is equipped with a Axsys Technologies V9 high definition colour and infrared stabilised gimble camera which has been modified with a second higher temperature mode specifically for firefighting operations to eliminate the high temperatures ‘blooming’ out the IR chip, giving an improved video clarity to the crew for when they are evaluating the head of the fire or an active flank.

The six-week trial was due to be completed by the end of April.

Briefs

»» Toll Helicopters began operating helicopter rescue and retrieval services from its brand new Wollongong base at the Albion Park Regional Airport on March 1, taking over from incumbent operator CHC Helicopter. Toll will start similar services in Canberra on April 2.

»» Babcock has set up a new national air operations cell at its Regional Support Centre in Adelaide to assist with its forward planning and daily operations. The new cell supports Babcock’s 12 bases and can track its fleet of 26 helicopters in real time which provide emergency services, search and rescue, law enforcement, surveillance and marine pilot transfer operations across Australia, including into the oil and gas regions of the country’s north-west.

»» Leonardo has opened a new service centre and logistics facility at Essendon Airport to serve the company’s growing fleet of AgustaWestland helicopters in Australasia. The new facility is able to hangar up to eight AW139s and has been designed to improve the company’s capability to support its expanding customer base in the region and increase the availability of spare parts.