Powering Ahead

This is an interesting comparison with Canada, which has a population of 37 million and 2,848 helicopters (2018 data).

Australian helicopter industry

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) data current to 14 Feb ’20 indicates Australia had 13,372 aeroplanes and 2,313 helicopters for a total of 15,685 aircraft. Helicopters made up 15 per cent of the registrations. Fleet growth rates over the past year for both aeroplanes and helicopters are effectively zero! This was a great disappointment to Australians as the helicopter industry growth rate is usually twice the traditional GDP at 4.6 per cent pa. In fact, during the decade prior to the global financial crisis; the growth rate was 7-8 per cent pa. 

Economists suggest the slowed global economy, the prolonged drought in Australia, several severe flood disasters and the recent record-breaking bushfires have contributed to this situation. But there was good news coming from the recent Heli-Expo 2020 in the US. Several leading manufacturers stated sales were about to move forward again. This would have been good news to the Robinson Helicopter Company, whose products dominate the Australian register. The past year has seen a dramatic drop in their sales; but industry experts suggest the global helicopter industry is just at the bottom of one of the seven-year cycles. Kurt Robinson, son of founder Frank Robinson, was optimistic about the immediate future as the company was receiving a lot more enquiries. From the early ’80s Australia has purchased 10 per cent of the Robinson output. 

‘Australia has the largest fleet of light helicopters in the world, after the US’

Australia’s global position

Australia is ranked second in the Western world for helicopter registrations (It would be third after Russia, which has mainly heavy machines and a small number of small privately-owned machines). 

Australia has the second largest fleet of light helicopters in the world, after the US. Now listed are 1,413 piston-engined helicopters (61 per cent of registrations) and 897 turbine-powered helicopters (39 per cent). Of the 897 turbine-powered helicopters, 630 are single-engine helicopters (70 per cent) and 267 are multi-engine (30 per cent). The Robinson Helicopter Company dominates the Australian register with 1,201 machines, or 52 per cent of all helicopter registrations. The Robinson lead helicopter is the R22 helicopter (617), closely followed by the R44 (553). Robinson piston engine helicopters make up 85 per cent of the Australian piston fleet. 

International registrations

Probably due to the disastrous bushfires, which have only recently been doused by flooding rains; many international helicopters were placed on the CASA Aircraft Register. Of the 2,313 helicopters on the register, 75 were registered as international aircraft. Companies represented: Argentina – 1; Barbados – 1; Canada – 2; Cayman Islands – 7; France – 4; Ireland – 20; Japan – 2; New Zealand – 6; PNG – 3; Samoa – 1; United Kingdom – 3; and US – 26, for a total of 75. 

Location of Australian helicopters

This often hotly disputed topic is left over from a situation that existed half a century ago. At that time, a great percentage of all aviation activities, including helicopter operations, occurred in Victoria. In fact, CASA’s predecessor was headquartered in Melbourne. But today, almost 50 per cent of registered helicopters are north of the ‘Brisbane line’ due to the expansion of rural, tourist and private operations in remote areas in the northern parts of the Australian continent. The leading state is Queensland – 758, followed by NSW – 526; Victoria – 331; Western Australia – 290; Northern Territory – 191; South Australia – 77; Tasmania – 48; and ACT – 9.

New Zealand breaks records

With a population of only 4.7 million, the New Zealand aircraft register lists 5,401 aircraft – of which 924 are helicopters, making up 17 per cent of the total. Robinson helicopters make up one-quarter of the registrations with 245; consisting of R22 – 90, R44 – 149 and R66 – 6. Other piston types are well represented and probably make up about another 15 per cent. The turbine fleet is dominated by single engine Bell 206 and Airbus 350 series used for agricultural and tourist operations. The AS350 has a good lead over the Bell 206 numbers. 

Due to the need for high-performance helicopters to operate in mountainous and windy terrain, the New Zealand twin-engine fleet consists mainly of light twins capable of SAR and aeromedical work, whereas in Australia, long-range operations require larger helicopters to access remote areas. 

At present, New Zealand is recognised as a country with more helicopters per head of population than any other. They have 924 helicopters for only 4.7 million people – an excellent result! (5,086 people per helicopter). By comparison, Australia – 10,808 and the US 13,880. 

What is happening in the rest of APAC?

A report published at the Singapore Airshow stated that although the expansion of the civil turbine helicopter fleet in the Asia-Pacific region continued in 2019 (up 2 per cent), the growth trajectory is slowing, from 5 per cent in 2018 and 3.9 per cent in 2017. The fleet reached 4,373 civil helicopters in 2019, up from the 4,289 at the end of 2018. The report indicated a further drop of the growth rate to 1.5 per cent is expected in 2020. 

Focus on China

After seeing a 10 per cent jump year-over-year in 2018, growth in the Chinese fleet has softened slightly to 6 per cent net growth, or 41 helicopters, in 2019. While the rate is still well above the region’s average, it marked the first time since 2009 it had fallen to a single-digit percentage. More than half of the fleet, 53 per cent, is used for multi-mission, with corporate, law enforcement, and charter uses each accounting for 8 per cent of the remainder, followed by offshore at 7 per cent, emergency medical at 6 per cent, search and rescue at 6 per cent, private at 2 per cent, and training only at 1 per cent. This creates an opportunity for other nations with a reasonable training capability to assist China in the provision of helicopter professionals, in much the same way as Australia has an enormous industry producing pilots for various Chinese airlines. 

OEM status?

Airbus continues to account for the largest share of the Asia-Pacific civil helicopter market at 42 per cent, followed by Bell at 27 per cent and Leonardo at 11 per cent. However, Leonardo saw the most growth in terms of net additions, with 34 more helicopters. Sikorsky, meanwhile, saw 13 deductions in 2019. Preferences remain for single-engine turbine helicopters, accounting for 52 per cent, while medium helicopters claim a 24 per cent market share. 

VALE: HAI past president Matthew Zuccaro

The Australian helicopter industry; in particular, the Australian Helicopter Industry Association, has lost a true friend. On 26 February 2020, the Helicopter Association International (HAI) announced the passing of Matthew Zuccaro, the immediate past president and CEO of the association. “Matt was one of a kind in our industry,” said current HAI president and CEO James Viola. “Helicopters were part of his life, beginning with his US Army service in Vietnam. Throughout his career, he made safe helicopter operations his priority, and we are a better, stronger, and safer industry today because of his efforts on behalf of rotorcraft. Speaking on behalf of our industry, we have lost a good friend who will be missed. We extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Doreen, and his family.”

‘New Zealand is recognised as a country with more helicopters per head of population than any other’

Typical of Matt’s generosity and dedication to other global helicopter associations, Matt brought a team from the US to the inaugural Rotortech 2014, held at Queensland’s Novatel Twin Waters Resort during May 2014. He was the keynote speaker and explained he had brought members of the International Helicopter Safety Team with him to meet with representatives from CASA, AHIA, ATSB and others to try to reduce what was then a very high accident rate. The HAI also sponsored many other global associations at their annual Heli-Expo events by providing exhibition and other logistics support. 

Among his many accomplishments, Matt may be best remembered for a column he wrote for ROTOR magazine in 2013, encouraging pilots to “land the damn helicopter” in situations where proceeding would endanger themselves and passengers. From that column, HAI’s Land and Live program was born, saving countless lives around the world — a fitting legacy for a man who was passionate about safety in the industry he loved so much. 

Skyborne opens defence R&D facility in Murarrie, Qld

A Brisbane-based drone company has gained international attention for designing a small drone that can accurately fire a weapon at a small target. At first glance, most people would assume this was an easy task to achieve; however, upon a closer look at how the new technology operates, the difficulties in firing accurately a weapon from a hovering platform is noted. The UAV not only has to move in three dimensions; but also, is required to tilt when the weapon is being aimed at a target. 

Skyborne Technologies has opened a defence research and development facility in Murarrie, Queensland, which was recently opened by Dr Sarah Pearson, deputy director-general of the innovation division for the Department of Innovation and Tourism Industry Development. The facility is designed to develop new defence technologies to provide aerial fire support on the battlefield with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) such as Skyborne’s Cerberus GL. 

Skyborne will utilise the advanced manufacturing capacity of the new workshop and work on further defence projects in partnership with Cyborg Dynamics Engineering. Their website explains how the Skyborne Cerberus GL grenade launcher fire control system uses a laser range finder to measure the distance to the target within one metre and then adjusts the sight elevation accordingly. This allows the standard M203 40mm high explosive grenade to impact within five metres of the target compared to normal on sights, which can only achieve within 25 metres. This represents one of the largest innovations in the M203 weapon system since it was introduced in the Vietnam War. A soldier will now use on average three times less ammunition to get rounds on target. 

The Cerberus GL is designed to be the first man-packable multiple-round UAV. Most tactical-level aerial fire support is ‘fire and forget’, which is expensive and single-use. To the soldier, damage assessments are crucial in tight situations. Cerberus GL can fire multiple 40mm grenades and perform intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) tasks before, during and after its fire mission, then return to the soldier for re-loading with cost-effective ammunition. All in a package just over six kilograms and with an endurance of 22 minutes. 

“We’re proud to be contributing to the defence capabilities here in Queensland and our aim is to develop and manufacture this technology in Brisbane,” says chief business officer Adrian Dudok. 

CEO Dr Michael Creagh adds, “Our team is made up of highly capable engineers and Skyborne is creating additional job opportunities with the opening of this facility. 

“The support of the Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas program has been invaluable in allowing Skyborne to continue its fast pace of innovation and secure additional funding to further development.” 

Kurt Robinson looks ahead with confidence to 2020

2019 was not a good year, explains Kurt Robinson, president and chairman of the Robinson Helicopter Company. During a briefing at HAI Heli-Expo 2020, he revealed that the manufacturer had a “slower year” in terms of sales in 2019. The 196 sales (which included 19 R22s, 54 R66s, and 123 R44s) represented a drop of about 100 over the previous year, he said (overall a 38 per cent drop). 

The leading market was Australia, followed by Canada and China. However, an uptick in sales over the past three months showed more promise for 2020, Robinson notes. “We’ve gotten off to a really strong start,” he says. “Right now, I’m very optimistic.” Because of that, RHC’s production rates have been set at one R22, two R66s, and three R44s per week for 2020. “At that current rate, we’re actually sold out for the first six months for both the R44 and R66,” says Robinson.

‘We’re proud to be contributing to the defence capabilities here in Queensland’ – Adrian Dudok

The R66 is performing particularly well, he says, noting the company will deliver the 1,000th of the type during the next three months. The global R66 fleet has now notched 1.1 million flight hours. “The aircraft is doing amazingly well all over the world,” says Robinson. 

In terms of product updates, the company has just completed work on an impact resistant windshield, designed to protect pilots and passengers from the dangers of a bird strike. The upgraded windshield is made from polyurethane, which replaces the acrylic that’s in the existing windshield. “The windows were designed in accordance with FAR Part 29, and they were designed to deflect a two-pound bird in the R44 and R66 at 100 knots, and at 90 knots in an R22,” said Robinson. 

He illustrated the capability of the windshield by showing a slow-motion video of a one kilogram bird being fired at it from a cannon (simulating a strike at 115 knots). The windshield cushioned the bird’s impact before flexing out again and pushing the bird out. He said a similar strike would go right through the existing windshield. The enhanced windshield will add about 540 grams of weight to the aircraft, at a cost of about US$6,800 ($10,400) for the R44 and R66. 

The creation of the helideck at RHC’s delivery centre was in response to the growing urban air mobility sector, following questions the OEM has been fielding heliports and where people can land. The prototype design features a six-metre x six-metre helipad raised three metres off the ground, surrounded by a 1.8-metre perimeter safety area covered by chains. The helipad is accessed by a 1.2-metre-wide staircase, and there is room underneath for two cars to park. 

“We’re interested in safety, what we want to try and do with the design is, ‘How do you get that helicopter up off the ground, so people aren’t endangering themselves?’” says Robinson. “It’s not something that is completed or approved, we’ve been getting a lot of comments on it, and we’re landing and taking off on it. We’re just trying to get a proof of concept.” The helideck is designed with off-the-shelf components to potentially offer customers the ability to create their own from RHC’s design, rather than being a product for the company to sell. 

Other product updates include the installation of a system to protect against engine overspeed during start-up, a slimline aux fuel tank for the R66 that provides an extra hour of fuel, and electronic ignition. The latter is likely to be available within the next six months, Robinson notes. 

The company is also working on approving a Shadin fuel flow meter that provides real flow-time data to a Garmin GTN GPS receiver. This allows it to calculate remaining fuel, and present fuel range rings on a moving map display. 

Robinson says RHC is “very much still working” on a diesel-powered R44. The company president says RHC is open to other forms of power, including electric. 

“We’ve been working and talking a lot to the different battery manufacturers; certainly, we’re agnostic as to how our aircraft is powered. If and when electric becomes viable … we would jump over to it fairly quickly,” he says. 

Night-capable drones saving ravaged wildlife from feral cats

Drones equipped with military-grade thermal sensors are helping on-ground shooters to kill feral cats prowling through bushfire-ravaged private property on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, after the recent devastating bushfires. 

Environment department staff are reassessing the feral cat population post-fire to determine future management actions. Principal ecologist Dr Dan Rogers says efforts are already under way to trap and destroy cats in unburnt areas of Flinders Chase National Park, which serve as refuges for endangered species such as the Kangaroo Island dunnarts and echidna. “Those endangered animals are being concentrated in those remaining patches, along with all the threats that might impact them,” he says. “They’re the sites where feral cats will be concentrating their efforts to get food, so that’s really where we have to focus a lot of our attention, to protect those remaining animals and remaining patches. We have species on the brink of extinction, and we need an emergency response to protect those threatened species.” 

Barossa-based company DronePro conducted a one-week pilot project to survey both wildlife and feral cats. As a result, CEO James Reeves developed a “completely new method” to target wild cats with aerial thermal imaging combined with on-ground shooters. He believes now is the time to make a big difference to the feral cat population because it has already “taken a big hit” and much of the dense vegetation has been cleared by fire. 

This operation is very similar to animal rescue services tracking koalas and other injured animals at night; their position is recorded and passed to ground crews. Special vehicles with cherry pickers are being used to reach up into the trees to rescue the koalas, which are then delivered to an animal hospital. 

Universities versus technical colleges – where are our engineers?

Ken Cannane, executive director of AMROBA (Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Business Association), has for many years been warning industry and the regulator that the supply of aviation technicians has almost dried up. 

Traditional technical colleges training aviation tradespeople via an apprentice scheme are fast disappearing. The CourierMail recently reported this was because tradespeople are seen as second-class workers; and as a result, concerned parents are directing youngsters to a diploma education provided by a university. Unfortunately, small aviation businesses are finding diploma graduates who have spent most of their time in a classroom take a long time to adjust to life in a busy workshop where hands-on skills are necessary. 

Surprisingly, the same business people claim apprenticeship courses being run in the dwindling number of technical training facilities are turning out apprentices who are poorly trained due to training providers and their regulators not keeping up-to-date with the rules and standards. 

Further, The Courier-Mail also reported the number of apprentices in training has dropped by as much as 50 per cent on average over the past seven years. The Australian Education Union federal president, Correna Haythorpe, was quoted as saying the issue was compounded by the number of TAFEs being slashed from 57 in 2014 to 35 in 2018. And where have all the instructors gone? 

Ken Cannane was a guest speaker at Rotortech 2018 and mentioned this developing and serious problem. A representative from the regulator stated the average age of an aviation technician was now 56 (helicopter pilots are not too far behind!), This fact, coupled with a steady expansion of the airline industry and growth in the heavy helicopter fleet, was a formula for disaster. A member of the audience stated during question time you only have to open any trade journal or job search internet facility to see a vast list of vacancies needing experienced technicians. Not good news when the helicopter industry resumes its normal growth pattern.