Rotor Torque

The brief statement from Defence did not give a reason for the grounding of the fleet of 22 attack helicopters, and the spokesperson did not mention the crash nor any advice from Airbus Helicopters.

The Australian reported on August 13 that Airbus had issued a bulletin stating it had declared an “unsafe condition” for all Tiger helicopters.

A spokesperson for Airbus Helicopters stated that it is obliged to keep Tiger operators informed, and emphasised that the cause of the crash is not known.

“The Tiger safety warning is a contractual process which is applied to inform the users about continued airworthiness-related topics,” the spokesperson told Australian Aviation.

“As manufacturer, [Airbus Helicopters] has the obligation to keep the users updated on any development related to an accident or incident. AH cannot currently exclude any root cause due to the early stage of the investigation and the information level made available to AH.

“The warning was issued shortly after the accident and has been updated last Thursday in relation to the accident investigator preliminary report; it is not based, however, on additional information or possible root causes of the accident.”

Reuters reported on August 9 that the German helicopter began to break up while in flight and lost its main rotor blades.

Ex-US Army Black Hawks to be refurbished in Australia for firefighting operations

Sikorsky Helitech, Kaan Air Australia and StarFlight Australia have signed an agreement to bring an initial 10 ex-US Army UH‑60 Black Hawk helicopters into Australia to be refurbished for use locally in aerial firefighting, emergency services and disaster relief operations.

Sikorsky Helitech will carry out the ‘as new’ condition refurbishments at its Pinkenba facility on the banks of the Brisbane River, south of Brisbane Airport, with the helicopters to be imported into Australia from early next year. The Black Hawks will be operated by StarFlight Australia, which launched in April 2016, while Sikorsky Helitech will provide ongoing maintenance and repairs.

Each Black Hawk will undergo a three-month long extensive refurbishment which will include fitting new, higher-performing General Electric T700-GE-701D turboshaft engines, upgraded gearboxes and new avionics including a helicopter terrain awareness and warning system. The agreement, announced in Brisbane on Thursday, is valued at up to $175 million when including an option to upgrade an additional 10 Black Hawks.

“The purchase of 10 plus 10 optioned Black Hawks represents a significant milestone for the firebombing and disaster relief helicopter industry in Australia, particularly in terms of efficient rotary wing attack to reduce loss of life and property during bushfire events,” said Kaan Air Australia and StarFlight Australia chief executive John Skeen in a statement.

“The helicopters are being purchased by an Australian company, will be registered in Australia and most importantly will be fully maintained and supported in Australia by the helicopter OEM Sikorsky and its supply chain commitment, helping to boost local jobs in the area and guaranteeing ongoing supply chain support of our Black Hawk fleet.”

Skeen said more than 50 new pilot and technical jobs will be created as a result of the agreement in the long term, including new apprenticeship opportunities.

The Black Hawks’ firefighting capability will be in the form of an underslung bucket or an internal tank system. The internal tank will be developed and manufactured locally with StarFlight currently talking with local companies to get planning underway for the design and certification.

“A tank is a tank, and we could probably get an existing tank retrofitted to make it fit,” Skeen told Australian Aviation.

“But what we’re intending to do is purpose-build a supplemental type certified internal tank designed to drop water in accordance with local requirements and conditions.” Up to four of StarFlight’s Black Hawks will remain in Australia year-round on standby with the remaining machines able to be redeployed throughout the region. “When they’re not fighting fires here, they will be configured for counter-disaster style operations,” said Skeen.

“For all intents and purposes, they will be multi-mission helicopters, but their primary mission will be firebombing.” Skeen explained the constant availability of the Black Hawks in Australia will ensure a fast and capable fleet of Type 1 firefighting helicopters will be on-call in the event of an out-of-season bushfire emergency.

“All of these overseas helicopters that keep coming every season, they come in and then they disappear,” he said.

“And the next thing Victoria is burning or the ACT burning and there’s no heavy-lift helicopters readily available. At the moment, the National Aerial Firefighting Centre doesn’t have access to this class of helicopter out of fire season.”

The first 10 Black Hawks have been hand-picked by Sikorsky from surplus US Army stocks for their suitability in aerial firebombing and external heavy load lifting ability. “They’re not the US$1 million Black Hawks that you can buy on eBay,” quipped Skeen.

Babcock secures contract extensions for two Queensland helicopter rescue services

Babcock Mission Critical Services Australasia has won contract extensions for two helicopter rescue services in Queensland.

The company said it would continue to provide helicopter emergency services for RACQ CQ Rescue Helicopter Service in Mackay and RACQ Capricorn Helicopter Service until “at least” 2024 with Bell 412 aircraft. It has been working with the two organisations since 2013.

“This cements our position as a leading provider of helicopter support services,” Babcock Mission Critical Services Australasia managing director John Boag said in a statement.

“We’re looking forward to continuing our strong working relationships with both customers.”

Babcock Mission Critical Services Australasia provides EMS, search and rescue, surveillance operations, law enforcement, aerial work and marine pilot transfer services with a fleet of helicopters based in Queensland, South Australia and Victoria and was previously known as Australian Helicopters before it rebranded in June 2016.

Further, the company is part of engineering support services company Babcock International Group.

Also part of Babcock International Group is Babcock Offshore Services Australasia (previously Bond Helicopters), which supports oil and gas clients.

Boeing to develop CH-47F Chinook Block II

Boeing is developing an upgraded CH-47F Chinook featuring modifications to increase the heavylift helicopter’s lifting power.

Funded under a recent US$276 million US Army contract, Boeing will build and test three CH-47F Block II Chinooks to validate technology advancements including a more efficient drivetrain and new swept-tip rotor blades – designed to lift an additional 680kg on their own.

The Chinook’s current configuration of six fuel tanks (three on each side) will be reduced to two, allowing for the Block II to carry more fuel while losing weight.

And the fuselage’s structure will be strengthened in critical areas to allow the helicopter to carry an increased payload.

Boeing says it will begin building the test helicopters next year and expects to deliver the first Block II Chinook in 2023.

The US Army intends to upgrade more than 500 Chinooks to the Block II configuration, which would likely bring another two decades of work to Boeing’s Philadelphia site.

“The Army’s only heavy-lift helicopter exists to deliver decisive combat power for our ground commanders,” Colonel Greg Fortier, US Army project manager for Cargo Helicopters said in a statement.

“The Cargo family is anxious to … establish this critical program and deliver an adaptive air vehicle. Increasing payload capacity today enhances battlefield agility and prepares the Chinook for even greater performance gains in the future.”

LifeFlight receives funding for new Toowoomba base

Queensland’s LifeFlight helicopter rescue service has received funding to build a new base at Toowoomba Airport.

The $4.4 million purpose-built base will be called The Clive Berghofer LifeFlight Centre, named after long-time supporter of the service and philanthropist Clive Berghofer who is contributing $2 million to the project, a figure which is being matched by the federal government.

The new centre will feature direct ambulance access through the hangar to the apron for patient and medical equipment transfer, on-site accommodation for crews for 24/7 operations, a workshop for engineering activities, administration and other staff facilities. “The new centre addresses a number of functional and compliance issues and ensures the base is future-proofed for the expected further growth of operations in the region,” LifeFlight Australia chairman Rob Borbidge said.

“The Toowoomba base was established 10 years ago and the base facilities have been incrementally developed and were never designed to provide a permanent solution,” The new base, which is expected to be completed and operational by 2019, will be home to both LifeFlight’s Toowoomba-based Bell 412 as well as a second Bell 412 LifeFlight operates for the Surat Gas Aero-Medical Service.

Toll Helicopters to reduce risk with flight data monitoring system

The Toll Rescue Helicopter Service has partnered with Truth Data Insights of Forth Worth, Texas to provide flight data monitoring (FDM) of its fleet of eight Leonardo AW139s based in Sydney, Wollongong, Orange and Canberra to help identify operational risks and manage human errors.

At the completion of each mission, flight data is wirelessly transmitted to cloud-based data storage for processing and analysis by Truth Data for any exceedances of 40 pre-determined parameters such as high descent rate below 300ft on approach, high bank angle below 300ft on approach and fuel contents low.

The analysis also looks for situations and emerging trends that may present an increased risk to the helicopter and its occupants.

Establishing the limiting values on the events – the numbers at which exceedances are triggered – was critical in the initial set-up of the FDM program and was the result of a collaborative approach between Truth Data and Toll Rescue Helicopter pilots.

“To have dynamic data captured and used in near real-time ultimately leads to safer operations with this system, representing world’s best practice for lead data and proactive risk and safety management,” Toll Helicopters general manager Mark Delany said.

During the first four months of operations, Truth Data has been able to address specific mission related questions within hours of an event occurring.

Its analysis has provided dynamic information for Toll that has directly resulted in improvements to training and safety procedures.

As data accumulates in the coming months, broader trend analyses across the Toll fleet is expected to inform additional improvements.

Briefs

»» Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider prototype suffered a hard landing during flight testing on August 2. The incident happened at Sikorsky’s Development Flight Centre in West Palm Beach, Florida while the coaxial-rotor compound helicopter was in the hover.

»» Robinson Helicopter received FAA certification for its electronic news gathering R66 Newscopter in mid-July.

»» Sikorsky’s first VH-92A for the US Marine Corps Presidential replacement helicopter program made its first flight on July 28. The modified S-92, which completed a second flight later the same day at Sikorsky’s Stratford, Connecticut facility, conducted hover control checks, low-speed flight and a pass of the airfield.

»» The Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA) launched its new-look website in July – www.austhia.com.