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March 2010 Serving the Worldwide Helicopter Industry rotorandwing.com
The Safety Issue
Exclusive Interview:NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman HEMS Safety AwarenessFlying into the AbyssOffshore OperationsEASA Rotorcraft Symposium ReportPlus: Original MASH Pilot Richard Kirkland
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Welcome to the digital edition of Rotor & Wing —A paper-free way to enjoy the same rotorcraft magazine you’ve come to rely on in our print edition.
Rotor & Wing online is simple, if you need help with a feature, just click on the question mark at the top right of any page.
Some quick tips:
■ Browse the magazine page by page using the right and left arrows in the navigation bar above and to the side of every page
■ Select “Contents” to skim and click on just the articles you want to read
■ Use the “Search” feature to access topics or keywords of interest
The digital edition also gives you convenient ways to:
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■ Access the magazine when you’re traveling
Enjoy the issue!
Randy Jones, PublisherRotor & Wing
Welcome
Personal|Corporate
DACS Digital Audio Control System - choose to hear the difference.
DACS is a communications management system able to distribute and control all aircraft audio to and from all transceivers, receivers and audio warning sources.
With an integrated, multi-channel intercom system and programmable user definition, DACS is configurable to suit specific communication schemes.
System components:
• Audio Control Panels (ACP53 and/or ACP51)
• Audio Management Unit (AMU50)
• Remote Memory (RM01)
Features:
• Designed for tactical operations
• Digital audio processing and control
• Integrated Audio Warning Generator
• Enhanced performance
• Reduced system weight
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• Flexible and configurable using DACS software
• TSO-C139, ETSO-C50c
Cobham Avionics 6400 Wilkinson Drive
Prescott, AZ USA
Tel: (928) 708-1550
Email: [email protected]
www.cobham.com/avionics
The most important thing we build is trust
TSO & ETSO CERTIFIED
Rotor & Wing MarC2 DACS TSO.indd1 1 2/3/2010 4:35:32 PM
02_RW_030110_TOC_p2-3.indd 2 2/18/10 11:27:06 AM
3MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE©2010 by Access Intelligence, LLC. Contents may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.Publication Mail Sales Agreement No. 40558009
ServicesProductsTrainingPublic ServiceMilitaryCommercial Personal|Corporate
Departments10 Rotorcraft Report18 People
18 Coming Events
24 Hot Products
55 Classified Ads
59 Ad Index
61 Coming Up
Columns 4 Editor’s Notebook
7 Feedback
8 Meet the Contributors
56 Safety Watch
58 Military Insider
60 Law Enforcement Notebook
62 Public Safety
26
On the Cover: The AW139, photo courtesy of AgustaWestland, is favored by many offshore operators. (Above) A LifeFlight of Maine
helicopter responds to the scene of a motorcycle accident. Photo by Michele Barker. (Bottom) NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.
Vol. 44 | No. 3 March 2010
The editors welcome new product information and other industry news. All editorial inquiries should be directed to Rotor & Wing magazine, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA; 1-301-354-1839; fax 1-301-762-8965. E-mail: [email protected]. Rotor & Wing (ISSN-1066-8098) is published monthly by Access Intelligence, 4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor, Rockville, Md. 20850, USA. Periodical postage paid at Rockville, Md. and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: Free to qualified individuals directly involved in the helicopter industry. All other subscriptions, U.S.: one year $99; two years $188. Canada: one year $129; two years $208; Foreign: one year $149; two years $278.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rotor & Wing, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA. Change of address two to eight weeks notice requested. Send both new and old address, including mailing label to Attn: Rotor & Wing magazine, Customer Services, P.O. Box 3089, Northbrook, Ill. 60065-3089, USA or call 1-847-559-7314. E-mail: [email protected]. Canada Post PM40063731. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5.
32
DACS Digital Audio Control System - choose to hear the difference.
DACS is a communications management system able to distribute and control all aircraft audio to and from all transceivers, receivers and audio warning sources.
With an integrated, multi-channel intercom system and programmable user definition, DACS is configurable to suit specific communication schemes.
System components:
• Audio Control Panels (ACP53 and/or ACP51)
• Audio Management Unit (AMU50)
• Remote Memory (RM01)
Features:
• Designed for tactical operations
• Digital audio processing and control
• Integrated Audio Warning Generator
• Enhanced performance
• Reduced system weight
• Reduced installation cost & complexity
• Flexible and configurable using DACS software
• TSO-C139, ETSO-C50c
Cobham Avionics 6400 Wilkinson Drive
Prescott, AZ USA
Tel: (928) 708-1550
Email: [email protected]
www.cobham.com/avionics
The most important thing we build is trust
TSO & ETSO CERTIFIED
Rotor & Wing MarC2 DACS TSO.indd1 1 2/3/2010 4:35:32 PM
Features EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
26 ■ NTSB’s Deborah Hersman Q&A with chairman of the U.S. safety agency. By Brian F. Finnegan
32 ■ HEMS Update Safety awareness up, but wave of regs expected. By Charlotte Adams
36 ■ Flying Into the Abyss Night ops over water is a special environment. By Dan Deutermann
40 ■ The Extra Mile Challenges in the offshore oil and gas industry. By Andrew Healey
44 ■ Angel Came Down to Get Me Profile of HEMS pilot Richard C. Kirkland. By Andrew D. Parker
48 ■ European Helicopter Safety Report from EASA’s Rotorcraft Symposium. By Thierry Dubois
52 ■ From Mozart to Huey Pilot prepares for Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame. By Anne Grahn
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4 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
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By Joy Finnegan
Focused on Safety
Our focus in this issue is safety. Five of our features this month are related to this theme. Before telling you about the safety fea-
tures in this issue, I want to let you know that we will be conducting our Rotor & Wing Safety & Training Summit again this year in Denver, Colo. on June 8 and 9. Please make note of the dates. We’d love to have you attend.
I can announce for the first time here in the magazine that our keynote speaker will be none other than FAA Administra-tor Randy Babbitt. This is a great honor and hopefully a show of solidarity from the FAA with the rotorcraft world. More news and session topics for the Rotor & Wing Safety & Training Summit to come.
In this issue, first and foremost, we had a rare, exclusive opportunity to get one-on-one with National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah Hersman. She was sworn in as the 12th NTSB Chairman on July 28, 2009, follow-ing her nomination to the post by Presi-dent Barack Obama and confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Her two-year term as chairman runs until July 2011. She is also serving a sec-ond five-year term as a Board Member, which expires on Dec. 31, 2013. Hersman has been an NTSB board member since June 21, 2004.
She has been the board member on the scene of 17 major transportation acci-dents, including the crash of a Maryland State Police EMS helicopter in Forestville, Md. in September 2008 and the mid-air collision involving a sightseeing helicop-ter and a single-engine plane over the Hudson River that killed all nine people aboard the two aircraft in August 2009.
Hersman has also chaired the public events hosted by the NTSB, including the September 2009 meeting announcing four safety recommendation letters con-taining 19 recommendations concerning helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS).
In the process of conducting our inter-view with Chairman Hersman, we found
that beyond her voluminous credentials lies a true desire to improve the safety of the aviation industry and specifically the helicopter industry. She didn’t pull any punches and was very direct with her answers. Although she had a typical bureaucrat’s entourage with her during the interview, she rarely relied on their input. As you will see, her answers to our helicopter-related questions were well-versed and thoughtful. They were also refreshingly candid. You will find that article on page 26.
Also find within that story a sample risk matrix, something Chairman Hers-man talked about as a low tech, inexpen-sive way to reduce risky operations. It takes up one page with the hopes that if operators need a sample, they could easily pull it out and use it.
We also have a story that looks at the strides made by HEMS operators that have improved safety in that world. We talked to some of the leaders in the indus-try and asked how they have improved the safety of their operations. It is a fascinating look at this complex work. Find that story, by Charlotte Adams, on page 32.
Next, Dan Deutermann offers his insights about night flight over water, when the horizon disappears and visual cues are almost non-existent. This is a special type of flight environment and should not be taken lightly. Dan’s exten-sive experience in this realm gives special credence to his recommendations. He calls that realm “The Abyss” and that story begins on page 36.
Another of our safety focused features takes a look at the European perspec-tive. European Correspondent Thierry Dubois attended the 3rd Annual EASA Rotorcraft Symposium and reports on numerous initiatives that are in the works and opinions expressed by European rotorcraft luminaries, such as Vittorio Morassi, chairman of the new European Helicopter Association (newEHA); Brian Humphries, who is both the chairman of the British Helicopter Association (BHA) and the CEO of the European Business
Aviation Association (EBAA); Robert Carter, principal inspector of air accidents at the UK’s Air accidents investigation branch (AAIB); Francesco Paolucci, a flight test engineer with the Italian civil aviation authority (ENAC); as well as engineers, operators and of course, the OEMs. The European helicopter com-munity seems laser-focused on improving safety as well. Learn about what initiatives are in works on page 48.
In this issue we are also taking a moment to celebrate the lives of two larger-than-life figures from the history of helicopter piloting.
The first is Richard Kirkland. Author of the book, “MASH Angels,” Kirkland served in World War II and the Korean War. It was during the Korean War that helicopters became “the” mode of trans-porting wounded soldiers from the battle-field and led to greater survivability.
Injured soldiers were taken to mobile hospitals called MASH (mobile Army surgical hospital) units, familiar to all from the long-running television show and novel on which it was based, “M*A*S*H.” Kirkland has many amazing stories, not only about the MASH days, but about keeping a helicopter in his back yard, among others. Kirkland is a national hero and treasure. See story, written by our managing editor, Andrew D. Parker, start-ing on page 44.
In addition, we take a look at the life and times of another hero, Gerry Ventrel-la, a Vietnam War veteran. He trained on the Bell OH-13 and graduated to become a Bell UH-1 combat assault pilot in Viet-nam. He flew 813 combat hours and was awarded 18 air medals for his service in that conflict. He has been nominated for induction into the Illinois Military Avia-tion Hall of Fame this summer. Stories from his amazing career start on page 52.
As soon as we button this March issue up, the Rotor & Wing staff will be on their way to Houston for Heli-Expo and by the time you are reading this, the show will be over. The April issue will be chock full of Heli-Expo news and announcements.
Editor’s Notebook
03_RW_030110_EdNote_p4-6.indd 4 2/18/10 10:59:28 AM
AW139
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AW159
Towards a wider world
agustawestland.com
NO OPERATIONAL LIMITS
The most complete product range for your requirements.
The latest generation technology for any mission.
Full after-sale support and training services for your safety.
AGAE_4sogg_ROTeWING200x273Marzo.indd 1 5-02-2010 17:21:02
03_RW_030110_EdNote_p4-6.indd 5 2/17/10 4:37:55 PM
6 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010
Access Intelligence, LLC4 Choke Cherry Rd., 2nd Floor
Rockville, Md. 20850 - USAPhone: 1-301-354-2000, Fax: 1-301-354-1809
E-mail: [email protected]
EDITORIALJoy Finnegan Editor-in-Chief, [email protected] D. Parker Managing Editor, [email protected] Stephens Editor-at-Large, [email protected] Persinos Online Publisher/Editorial Director, [email protected] Giovanni de Briganti Paris Bureau ChiefClaudio Agostini Latin America Bureau ChiefBarney O’Shea Pacific Rim CorrespondentJoe West United Kingdom CorrespondentContributing Writers: Charlotte Adams; Lee Benson; Ron Bow-er; Shannon Bower; Igor Bozinovski; Tony Capozzi; James Care-less; Keith Cianfrani; Steve Colby; Frank Colucci; Pat Gray; Frank Lombardi; Douglas Nelms; Ray Prouty; Ann Roosevelt; Simon Roper; Terry Terrell; Todd Vorenkamp; Richard Whittle.
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03_RW_030110_EdNote_p4-6.indd 6 2/17/10 4:38:10 PM
Services
Feedback
7march 2010 | rotor & Wing magazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o m
ServicesProductsTrainingPublic ServiceMilitaryCommercial Personal|Corporate
Feedback
Do you have comments on the rotorcraft industry or recent articles and viewpoints we’ve published? Send them to: Editor, Rotor & Wing, 4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor, Rockville, MD 20850, fax us at 301-354-1809 or email us at [email protected]. Please include a city and state or province with your name and ratings. We reserve the right to edit all submitted material.
Capitalism at its WorstI have just read your Rotor & Wing article, “Stay Proficient” in the Editor’s Notebook section (February 2010, page 4). Thank you for writing it. I have been flying helicop-ters, both military and commercial, for the better part of 35 years and I’m astonished at how little IFR proficiency exists in the helicopter industry. The reasons for this, though, are not hard to realize once you understand the environment most com-mercial helicopter pilots work in, especially those that fly at night.
When I started flying in the Army, the regulations clearly directed IFR training and regular IFR filing; yet the reality was the aircraft were seldom properly equipped for serious IFR use. Tactical multi-ship training missions, both in the U.S. and overseas, were regularly conducted VFR in weather as low as 200- to 300-foot ceilings and 1/2 to 1/4 mile visibility—in rain, snow, fog, etc., even at night—this was before NVGs. For many military trained pilots; this “VFR at all costs” approach carried over to the com-mercial world—it is all they had known.
Additionally, to properly equip an IFR-capable aircraft that is to be flown single-pilot, it needs an autopilot. Helicopters are inherently not as stable as airplanes—with few exceptions you can never “trim up” a helicopter to fly straight and level—hands off, even in the smoothest of air. You take your hands off of one or more controls or divert your attention away from the imme-diate task of flying, and away the aircraft will go. For a pilot to fly alone (single-pilot) in a non-autopilot-equipped “IFR capable” helicopter in IMC, especially at night, is quite daunting.
Thirdly, airplanes always fly from air-fields to airfields that almost always have weather reporting of some degree—at least ASOS. This presents a relatively black or white level of information on whether to go or not. The vast majority of helicopter EMS (HEMS) flights are to/from open areas; away from airports, without point weather reporting capabil-ity. You can call all the weather briefers you want; but when your destination is 20-plus miles (or more) from a weather reporting facility, their ability to interpret
conditions at the scene, at the surface are iffy. These are among some of the rea-sons that the only helicopter flying done regularly at night or in marginal weather (outside the military) is by the HEMS or police aviation communities.
The police aviation community is most-ly centered on lighted, urban areas and seldom fly if the weather is truly IFR. This leaves the HEMS community, which is often required to fly outside of urban envi-ronments, at night, to locations with no real-time weather information. To be flying an inherently unstable aircraft, single-pilot, at night, without autopilots, at relatively low altitudes, in areas with little to no external visual reference—where it is all but impos-sible to see anything past the windshield; and yet state they are legally “VFR” because an area weather report says so, is absolute insanity. The HEMS accident record of the past several years supports this.
It was very interesting to read your comments—the vast difference in mindset between the commercial airplane world and the commercial helicopter world is accurate. Yet to simply state that ‘staying instrument proficient’ is key to accident reduction, and ultimately survival, is far removed from the reality. Because of the inadequate nature of much of the equip-ment and flight environment, EMS flying at night requires a level of instrument pro-ficiency that equals or surpasses what the airlines train to. Yet, with very few excep-tions, most commercial helicopter opera-
tors do not require or support anywhere near the instrument training levels that equal proficiency; or, do not have the train-ing properly directed from above to ensure proficiency compliance.
The Europeans are way ahead of the U.S. in this area. It is now or will soon be directed that night HEMS will be conduct-ed in twin engine, autopilot equipped, seri-ously IFR-capable aircraft, flown by IFR-proficient pilots—period. Canada already has required a similar approach for EMS operators, and their safety record reflects the difference. There will be those in our helicopter community who will argue with what I say; but I have been flying a very long time and am fundamentally correct.
The EMS industry in the U.S. needs a complete re-thinking of what they are about. Yet, until the FAA mandates many of the more expensive and time-consuming requirements, nothing will change. The HEMS industry in the U.S. is, in many ways, capitalism at its worst.
William Page Pilot
Correction In the Executive Outlook section on page 26 of the January 2010 issue, Becker Avionics was erroneously referred to as Becker Aero-space. To Becker Avionics and anyone else who might have been confused by the refer-ence, please accept our sincere apologies.
CA
E
Rotor & Wing mistakenly identified the photo on the left as an exterior view of a CAE Eurocopter AS350B2 flight training device on page 4 of our Show Day edition from Heli-Expo. The correct photo is on the right. We regret the error.
04_RW_030110_Feedback_p07.indd 7 2/18/10 11:09:14 AM
8 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Meet the Contributors
bellhelicopter.com1.800.FLY.BELL
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MACHINES WE OFFERDOESN’T COME WITH AN ENGINE, A ROTOR OR A THROTTLE.
Of course, we’re referring to the thousands of Bell specialists who make up one of the world’s best helicopter customer-support operations. They’re the ones busy getting you approved parts, expert advice 24/7, even
FAA-certifi ed training. So whether your environment is law enforcement, EMS, offshore, corporate or military, you can rely on all of us, working together to help you stay in the air longer. That’s the power of Bell customer support.
© 2010 Bell® Helicopter Textron Inc., all rights reserved.
D185590BLHBC101808BELL00011PrintPark Prepress
Bell Helicopter “Customer Service” Standard Page
A. KopczykN/AN/A
M. YostThe Park
7 x 9.57.875 x 10.59.5 x 11.5CMYK
300100100
BELL00011_D185590_R02.inddTeevens/CrisfasiN/ADuerrN/A
CocozzoliN/AN/AGrosfi eld
NegleyRichardsN/AN/A
N/ALeach-Proffer
1 PB 02/09/10
Charlotte adaMs covers aviation and defense technology. She has written for Aviation Maintenance magazine and was the editor-in-chief of Avionics magazine. She also writes for the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.
lee BeNsoN is a retired senior pilot for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Before he was named senior pilot, Lee ran the aviation section’s safety and training programs, including organizing the section’s yearly safety meeting with other public agencies and the press.
aNdrew drwiega is a senior defense journalist with a particular focus on military rotorcraft. He was the editor of Defence Helicopter for seven years. Andrew has reported on military rotary forces across the world, and in doing so has flown in a wide variety of rotorcraft
on training missions, exercises and on operations, including the Osprey, Apache and Rooivalk. Andrew has also been involved in organizing, chairing and attending defense and helicopter conferences around the world.
daN deuterMaNN, Lt.Cdr, U.S. Coast Guard, began his aviation career in the Navy flying the HH46D and as a flight instructor in the TH-57. In 2001, he transferred to the USCG to serve with Air Station Savannah, flying SAR in the HH65 Dolphin, MH-68’s (A109E) conducting counter-drug missions with HITRON Jacksonville. He is cur-rently back flying SAR missions in the MH65C at Air Station Miami. Deutermann is a graduate of the Navy’s Aviation Safety Officer school and advanced safety and accident investigation courses from the NTSB, USC, SCSI. He also holds a master’s degree from ERAU.
thierry duBois is a long-time contributor to Access Intelligence publications. He has been an aerospace journalist for 12 years, spe-cializing in helicopters since 2006. He writes on technical subjects, both for professional media and a popular science magazine in
France, where he is based.
BriaN FiNNegaN is president of Finnegan Aviation, LLC, an aviation services consulting company. Brian is the former president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Associa-tion (PAMA) and has extensive experience in
aviation safety as an accident investigator, a manager of air safe-ty investigation and an F/A-18 Hornet field service engineer. He is an A&P mechanic and private pilot with a B.S. in Aviation Maintenance Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
aNNe grahN is a private helicopter pilot and freelance writer living in Chicago. This month’s feature article, “From Mozart to Huey,” is her first contribution to Rotor & Wing.
aNdrew healey trained as a Royal Navy navigation officer and pilot with front-line tours flying anti-submarine Sea Kings from aircraft carrier Hermes, and Wasps off Antarctic patrol ship Endurance. Before leaving the navy with an ATPL(H), he was awarded a Queen’s Commen-dation for Valuable Service in the Air for his part in the rescue of seamen from a burning ship in the English Channel. As a civilian, he flew Jet Rangers, A-Stars and Agusta A109s for a charter com-pany near London.
FraNk loMBardi began his flying career in 1991 when he graduated with a bachelor’s of sci-ence in aerospace engineering. Frank became a police officer for a major East Coast police depart-ment in 1995, and has flown helicopters in the department’s aviation section since 2000. He is a
commercial pilot with both fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings.
aNdrew Parker is managing editor of Rotor & Wing magazine. He has served the same role for Rotor & Wing sister publication Avionics magazine, as well as Aviation Maintenance.
terry terrell gained his early aviation experi-ence as a U.S. Navy fixed-wing instructor and U.S. Coast Guard aircraft commander, where his ser-vice included SAR in Sikorsky S-61s. Terry served as a cross-qualified captain and safety special proj-ects officer with Houston’s Transco Energy, and
later with Atlanta’s Kennestone AVSTAT Helicopter Ambulance Program and Georgia Baptist LifeFlight.
riChard whittle, longtime Pentagon cor-respondent for The Dallas Morning News, writes regularly for R&W about military aircraft and related topics. Simon & Schuster will publish his book, “The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey,” on April 27, 2010. It is available for advance order at www.amazon.com.
05_RW_031010_MeetCon_p8-9.indd 8 2/18/10 2:44:07 PM
bellhelicopter.com1.800.FLY.BELL
ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL MACHINES WE OFFERDOESN’T COME WITH AN ENGINE, A ROTOR OR A THROTTLE.
Of course, we’re referring to the thousands of Bell specialists who make up one of the world’s best helicopter customer-support operations. They’re the ones busy getting you approved parts, expert advice 24/7, even
FAA-certifi ed training. So whether your environment is law enforcement, EMS, offshore, corporate or military, you can rely on all of us, working together to help you stay in the air longer. That’s the power of Bell customer support.
© 2010 Bell® Helicopter Textron Inc., all rights reserved.
D185590BLHBC101808BELL00011PrintPark Prepress
Bell Helicopter “Customer Service” Standard Page
A. KopczykN/AN/A
M. YostThe Park
7 x 9.57.875 x 10.59.5 x 11.5CMYK
300100100
BELL00011_D185590_R02.inddTeevens/CrisfasiN/ADuerrN/A
CocozzoliN/AN/AGrosfi eld
NegleyRichardsN/AN/A
N/ALeach-Proffer
1 PB 02/09/10
05_RW_031010_MeetCon_p8-9.indd 9 2/18/10 11:28:16 AM
>>
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10 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
The Soteria Consortium (comprising CHC, Thales, Sikorsky and the Royal Bank of Scotland) has won a bid to replace the UK’s predominantly military-run Search and Rescue helicopter force in 2012. The current SAR force is mainly comprised of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy personnel and aircraft at eight bases, with a smaller contribution provided by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) at four bases.
Quentin Davies, the UK’s Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, made the long-awaited announcement on Octo-ber 9. Dubbed the harmonized Search and Rescue Helicopter (SAR-H) service, the move is very significant in that it moves the responsibility of managing the UK’s search and rescue helicopter force from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Department for Transport (DfT) to a Pri-vate Finance Initiative (PFI)-based civilian organization.
“The Ministry of Defence and the Department for Transport have been working on this for three years and we are now happy to accept the Soteria bid,” said Davies. The confirmed £6-billion (approximately $8.25-billion) contract has been awarded on the provision of a service based around 97 percent aircraft avail-ability (Soteria’s website states that the four aircraft currently in service with the MCA have had an availability record in excess of 98 percent).
“This is a very good day for search and rescue in the UK. We are now planning to retire the Sea King after 30 years service,” he said. Paul Clark, the parliamentary Under Secretary of State for DfT, followed on saying: “This is good news for the Department of Transport, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force and good for those who will need this service on land and sea.
We can now bring this together under one single service.” However, the number of military pilots and crew within the force is expected to drop from the current level of around 240 to 66, making the majority of the personnel civilian.
In terms of value for money against the existing service, Davies said it depended on how fixed costs were allocated within the MoD and that it wasn’t possible to make a comparison over 25 years.
Davies said of the decision to move to a PFI based service: “This wasn’t driven by a cost-saving agenda. It is the provision of a new and better service based on avail-ability.” Davies stated that he was confident that the new arrangement would provide good value.
Now that the pre-selection of a bidder is complete, Davies said that full contract negotiations could begin, with the aim of
finalizing the award later in 2010. The heli-copter chosen by the Soteria Consortium to replace the Sea Kings is the Sikorsky S-92A. “The S-92 has been in operation in Northern Scotland [Shetland and Isle of Lewis] for three years and the crews are impressed with the capability of the heli-copter,” said Clark.
The S-92s are said to be 30 percent faster than the Sea Kings and will be equipped with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and integrated de-icing equipment (rotor ice protection system or RIPS). The MCA operation will begin the transition first in 2012 with a completion date set for 2016.—By Andrew Drwiega, Military Editor
■ MILITARY | SEARCH & RESCUE
Soteria Wins SAR-H Battle to Civilianize UK’s SAR Helicopter Force
Made up of CHC, Thales, Sikorsky and the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Soteria Consortium has chosen the S-92A to replace UK-operated Sea Kings.
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For daily and breaking news involving helicopters, go to: www.aviationtoday/rwBecome a fan of Rotor & Wing on FacebookFollow us on Twitter: @rotorandwing
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Services
Rotorcraft Report
11MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINEW W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
■ TRAINING | EMS
SRT Instructs San Antonio Med UnitSan Antonio Fire Department’s Medical Special Operations Unit (MSOU) recently completed two training courses with SRT Helicopters of Bakersfield, Calif. The courses covered basic rescue swimmer and basic short haul rescue training. Lt. Robert Dugie explains that some of the sessions “were conducted in challenging weather conditions which included freezing temperatures and snow flurries.” He adds that the training “was extremely realistic in every aspect and was invaluable for us as a team working with another city agency.”
■ MILITARY | TILTROTOR
Ducommun Wins V-22 Assembly DealBell Helicopter has issued a contract for Ducommun AeroStructures (DAS) to provide titanium longeron assemblies for the MV-22 tiltrotor. Developed in partnership with Boeing Rotorcraft Systems, the V-22 Osprey can function in both VTOL and STOL modes. A subsidiary of Carson, Calif.-based Ducommun Inc., DAS will assemble the left and right longerons at its facility in Coxsackie, N.Y.
■ TRAINING | NVG
Night Flight Trains Atlanta PD PilotsPort St. Lucie, Fla.-based Night Flight Concepts (NFC) has conducted night vision goggle training for the Atlanta Police Department under its Turn Green, Turn Key program. Atlanta PD used its MD500E for the program, which included ground and flight training for pilots and tactical flight officers (TFOs). NFC supplied its TSO-approved night vision aviation goggles (NVAGs), an NVG inspection service to maintain the equipment’s airworthiness, and an MD500E NVG lighting kit from REB Technologies.
■ PUBLIC SERVICE | LAW ENFORCEMENT
EC135s to Serve Spanish Police ForcesThe Spanish Ministry of the Interior has placed an order for 12 Eurocopter EC135 P2i aircraft. Spain’s National Police Force will receive six of the helicopters for law enforcement, and the other six will go to the Spanish Guardia Civil. Assembly will take place in Albacete, Spain. Eurocopter plans to deliver the first four helicopters in 2010, with four in 2011 and the rest in 2012. The National Police and Guardia Civil currently operate seven EC135s each. Eurocopter is working on two additional contracts that would bring the combined fleets of the two units to 51 EC135s as part of a helicopter modernization program.
■ MILITARY | SEARCH & RESCUE
AgustaWestland Receives Maritime AW109 OrderThe Bangladesh Navy has placed an order for two AW109 Power helicopters from AgustaWestland. The AW109s will conduct search and rescue, surface surveillance, maritime security and economic zone protection ops. AgustaWestland plans to hand over the helicopters—which will be equipped to fly from the frigate BNS Bangabandhu—in 2011. The agreement also contains provisions for training, including VFR/IFR conversion training, instruction for maintenance engineers and initial operational maritime training with an AW109 Level-D flight simulator.
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Rotorcraft Report
Qualif ying a helicopter simulator internationally can be a bit of a headache. National regulators have different standards and it can be difficult to map between them. The task extends the time and cost of fielding new products.ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, is working on a solution to these problems.
It’s taking a practical approach, trying to match simulator features to tasks that pilots are actually required to perform to obtain different levels of certification, such as a private pilot license, air transport pilot license, commercial pilot license, instru-ment rating, type ratings and recurrent training.
While the draft standard isn’t expected to be submitted until year-end, if all goes according to current plans, the new docu-
ment will also mark a step up in require-ments at the lower end of the spectrum.
The Technical Group of the Helicopter-International Working Group (H-IWG) is looking at 114 different tasks, said Stéphane Clément, co-chair of the Technical Group and director of regulatory affairs for CAE. In addition to the tasks there are three levels of fidelity—generic, representative and specific—and 14 different simulation features, such as visuals, motion, vibration and representation of aerodynamics. Cor-relating all of these items is difficult and involves what insiders dub the “matrix from hell.”
Clément provided Rotor & Wing a snapshot of the committee’s work, which is, of course, subject to change. Currently, however, simulators are divided into five types, described generically:
• Type V—the top level, with potential for Zero Flight Time;• Type IV—more type-specific, inter- mediate-level trainers, but includes motion;• Type III—similar to Type IV, but motion is not required;• Type II—partial VFR trainers, associated with private pilot and commercial pilot licenses; and• Type I—basic instrument trainers.
If the current thinking holds, all five types will require a visual system although not of identical quality. Some level of vibra-tion capability is also likely to be required in all types, as it is such an important cue. Basic ATC simulation—mostly hearing other traffic—is likely for all types, as well.
One example shows how complex the challenge is. Take a basic task: transition from hover to forward flight. A trainer capable of simulating this action would require a vibration system to give the pilot the feeling of the rotor effects in transi-tion. Visuals would be important, as well, because although the pilot lowers the nose and is looking downward, he also needs to look up to scan for other traffic.
The standards group also would con-sider what type of pilot approval the task is being performed for. If it’s for a type rat-ing, the transition-from-hover task would require a trainer with a relatively high level of fidelity for visuals, vibration, sound, motion, engines, aircraft systems and flight controls.
Simulation of the navigation system would be less important. If the task is being performed for a private pilot’s license, less fidelity would be required because the stu-dent is learning to fly rather than learning to fly a specific aircraft type.
Participants in the ICAO process include regulators, helicopter manufac-turers and helicopter operators, as well as training organizations. While the views of the members are converging, much remains to be done. So stay tuned for further developments in this important area.—By Charlotte Adams
■ Training | StandaRdS
Simulator Standards Harmonization With Pilot needs in Mind
The CAE 3000 Series helicopter mission trainer features a direct-projection dome with 210 x 75-degree field of view, Tropos-6000 visual system and cockpit vibration platform.
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14 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
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■ Training | MilitaRy SiMulatoRS
Boeing apache Trainers Come OnlineThe U.S. Army has declared five recently delivered Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow Crew Trainers (LCTs) “ready for training.” According to Boeing, the delivery of five Apache trainers in 2009 stands as the largest yearly number to date for the model. The manufacturer has handed over a total of 29 LCTs through early 2010.
Four Army sites and one Egyptian Air Force location are the recipients of the five LCTs delivered in the past year. The Army base at Fort Hood, Texas received two trainers, and one LCT each went to Fort Drum, N.Y. and Illesheim, Germany, in addition to the Egyptian Air Force site. Boeing plans to hand over three more LCTs to the U.S. Army in 2011 and 2012. One will go to the Department of Defense, one to the National Guard as part of a modernization program, and the third may be used as a development platform.
■ COmmerCial | Safety
erickson receives Oregon OSHa awardOregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has designated Erickson Air-Crane a SHARP employer. Under the safety and health achievement recognition program (SHARP), companies who display comprehensive and effective health and safety programs. SHARP companies are given a limited exemption from programmed inspections.
■ miliTary | avionicS
elbit to Support aH-1W Support DealNAVAIR has struck a $15.6-million arrangement for Elbit Systems of America’s tactical video data link (TVDL) in support of U.S. Marine Corps AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters. The contract involves the development, production and installation of TVDL kits on the AH-1Ws. Elbit Systems is subcontracting Tadiran Spectralink and Service Support Associates to help with the effort.
■ ServiCeS | night viSion
aero Dynamix gains european STCThe European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has granted a supplemental type certificate (STC) for Aero Dynamix to install its night vision imaging system (NVIS) on helicopters in Europe. The Euless, Texas-based company worked with MD Helicopters to achieve certification, using a MD902 in operation with Denmark’s Casa Air.
■ miliTary | aiRfRaMeS
assembly of First S-70i Wraps UpPZL Mielec in Poland has nearly finished putting together the initial S70i Black Hawk, Sikorsky reported in January. Aircraft 0001 went into assembly in August 2009, powering up for the first time late last year. A subsidiary of Sikorsky, PZL is the final assembly center for the S-70i, an international variant of the Black Hawk.
■ PUBliC ServiCe | eMS
eastCare medical incorporates eC135
Pitt County Memorial Hospital has taken delivery of a new Eurocopter EC135 for its EastCare air medical service in North Carolina. Based at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport (RWI), the EC135 is part of a fleet upgrade that also involves Eurocopter delivering two EC145s this spring—scheduled for April and May 2010. The EC145s will be stationed at Pitt County Memorial’s heliport (NC91) in Greenville, N.C. The group of Eurocopter variants is set to replace a fleet of three BK-117s operated through a lease with Air Methods.
This Eurocopter EC135 has joined the fleet of the EastCare air medical program, which Pitt County Memorial Hospital runs.
Capt. Jeremy Duff, a battle commander for the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, uses an Apache Longbow Crew Trainer (LCT) to prepare for various missions in Iraq.
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Rotorcraft Report
15March 2010 | rotor & Wing MagazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o M
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■ Public Service | PAtRoL
AW119Ke Added to Finnish OrderThe Finnish Border Guard has purchased another AgustaWestland AW119Ke. The border guard chose the helicopter model in 2008 as part of a fleet modernization and enhancement program, placing orders for three AW119Kes. AgustaWestland plans to deliver the first three helicopters in third quarter 2010. All four helicopters will perform various missions, including border patrol, special operations and firefighting. Each will come equipped with a law enforcement package, including night vision goggles (NVGs).
■ PrOductS | FiReFighting
latitude inks Sei bambi bucket dealVictoria, BC-based Latitude Technologies Corp. has signed a supply agreement with SEI Industries to equip the Bambi Bucket with sensors for real-time data gathering, satellite relay and informational displays. SEI Industries manufactures the firefighting water bucket from its 48,000-square-foot facility in Delta, BC.
■ trAining | SimuLAtoRS
ec135 Sims Join Air MethodsAeroSimulators has won a contract to provide three helicopter flight training devices (FTDs) for Air Methods of Englewood, Colo. The first FTD—a Eurocopter EC135 trainer with a modified cockpit—will be based at Air Methods headquarters. The company will employ the two other trainers, which are mobile units for the AS350, in field operations.
Finland’s Border Guard has purchased a fourth AW119Ke for police and special ops missions. The helicopters will come with a law enforcement package similar to this NYPD AW119Ke in the homeland security configuration.
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16 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
Rotorcraft Report
■ MILITARY | TECHNOLOGY
Sikorsky’s Innovations Targets Unmanned Black HawkMore than 100 people attended a Feb. 1 ceremony at Connecticut Science Center in Hartford where Sikorsky uncovered plans for its latest division—Innovations. The “virtual” organization will seek to establish and strengthen collaborations between government, universities, businesses and other United Technologies Corp. (UTC) research facilities.
During the next decade, Sikorsky plans to invest $1 billion in Innovations for a number of projects, including an unmanned version of the UH-60 Black Hawk. Efforts under the new division have already started at more than 20 global locations. The heli-copter manufacturer says that one such investment was recently completed at Eagle Aviation Technolo-gies in Hampton. Va.
Mark Miller, vice president of research and engi-neering, said that Sikorsky is “currently working on challenges in the areas of high speed flight, optionally piloted aircraft, systems that enable safe operation in blinding, brownout conditions, and many others that only a few years ago might have been consid-ered technologically and economically unfeasible.”
A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk from Task Force 34, 1st Battalion-244th Assault Helicopter Battalion, flies above a mosque during an early 2009 mission in Iraq. Sikorsky is investing $1 billion in its new Innovations segment, which will research a number of next-generation technologies, including an unmanned version of the Black Hawk.
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■ MILITARY | OBSERVATION
Luminator Searchlight Going on UH-72AEADS North America has chosen Plano, Texas-based Luminator’s LS16 searchlight for the UH-72A. In the security and support configuration, the UH-72A comes equipped with an electro-optical infrared sensor, communications suite, moving map, cockpit and cabin displays, a digital video recorder and the LS16. The searchlight employs solid-state electronics, an optical system, bi-directional focusing and a drive system with a variable-speed azimuth and elevation motion at speeds of 30 degrees per second.
■ PRODUCTS | TRACKING
Consortium Gets SkyTrac SatcomDubai-based Aerospace Consortium FZE has contracted SkyTrac Systems to supply satcom and flight following services for its mixed fleet, which comprises Bell 412, Kamov 32 and Mi-8T/8MTV helicopters, as well as Antonov-26/72/74, Boeing 747 and Ilyushin-76 fixed-wing aircraft.
■ TRAINING | FINANCING
LEA Offers Loan Program for TrainingLeading Edge Aviation (LEA) has secured approval to offer Sallie Mae’s Smart Option student loans for helicopter flight training. The Bend, Ore.-based flight school says the loan program will open up helicopter training to a wider range of students. LEA is also affiliated with Central Oregon Community College (COCC). Spring registration starts March 19.
WORLD-CLASS SERVICE IN YOUR CORNER OF THE WORLD.
© 2010 Bell® Helicopter Textron Inc., all rights reserved.
Air Asia Company Limited
Alpine Aerotech Ltd.
Arrow Aviation Co. LLC
Avialta Helicopter Maintenance Ltd.
Eagle Copters Maintenance Ltd.
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.
Northwest Helicopters LLC
Patria Helicopters AB
Rotorcraft Support, Inc.
Sikorsky Helitech
Uniflight, LLC
Motorflug Baden-Baden GmbH
At Bell Helicopter, we know you have a world of possibilities when it comes to servicing your helicopter. That’s why we’ve certified over 120 Customer Service Facilities in 32 countries around the world, providing the award winning Bell customer service and support you expect. While they all meet our premier standards, twelve have been recognized as Platinum, receiving our highest certification. Proving that world-class service is available nearby, no matter what corner of the world your helicopter operates.
■ MILITARY | MISSION EQUIPMENT
BAE Countermeasures System Flies on CH-47DRockville, Md.-based BAE Systems successfully installed its Advanced Threat Infrared Countermeasures (ATIRCM) system on U.S. Army CH-47D Chinook aircraft in December 2009. Now, the U.S. Army has reported its first success in defending a CH-47D against multiple infrared man-portable anti-aircraft missiles (IR manpads) during January 2010. ATIRCM is a laser-based, directable countermeasures system that protects helicopters against attack by infrared and radio frequency missiles.
The AN/ALQ-212(V) ATIRCM, coupled with the AAR-57 Common Missile Warn-ing System (CMWS), greatly enhances overall aircraft survivability against current and evolving threats. Its installation follows a series of rigorous qualification, field, and flight tests. The first systems were installed ahead of the Dec. 15 deadline for the Army’s ATIRCM quick-reaction capability program. The system provides missile warning for rotary-wing, transport, and tactical aircraft in all military services. The AN/ALQ-212(V) advanced threat infrared countermeasures/common missile warning system (ATIRCM/CMWS) suite provides protection against an array of threats, including all infrared threat bands. —By Brian Finnegan
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WORLD-CLASS SERVICE IN YOUR CORNER OF THE WORLD.
© 2010 Bell® Helicopter Textron Inc., all rights reserved.
Air Asia Company Limited
Alpine Aerotech Ltd.
Arrow Aviation Co. LLC
Avialta Helicopter Maintenance Ltd.
Eagle Copters Maintenance Ltd.
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.
Northwest Helicopters LLC
Patria Helicopters AB
Rotorcraft Support, Inc.
Sikorsky Helitech
Uniflight, LLC
Motorflug Baden-Baden GmbH
At Bell Helicopter, we know you have a world of possibilities when it comes to servicing your helicopter. That’s why we’ve certified over 120 Customer Service Facilities in 32 countries around the world, providing the award winning Bell customer service and support you expect. While they all meet our premier standards, twelve have been recognized as Platinum, receiving our highest certification. Proving that world-class service is available nearby, no matter what corner of the world your helicopter operates.
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18 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Rotorcraft Report
PEOPLE
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Columbia Helicopters’ board of directors has elected Nancy Lematta as its next chairman. She replaces Wes Lematta , her
husband and founder of the company, who passed away in December 2009. Nancy Lematta says that there will be no change in operations at Columbia, stressing that she “feels comfortable in knowing how he would have wanted his company managed in the future.”
Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Corp’s Helicopters division has appointed general managers to newly created prod-uct groups. Tim Bates is the new GM of the blade and subcontract product group. Terry Fogarty will lead the unmanned
aircraft systems (UAS) group, and Bob Manaskie will serve as GM of the heli-copter aftermarket group. Kaman has also named John Shelanskas acting director of the operations support group. In another recent move, Kaman Corp. has created a new division within its Aerospace Group—Kaman Composites—appointing James Larwood as president. He was formerly president of the com-pany’s Precision Products division.
Textron subsid-iary Bell Helicopter has promoted Barry Kohler to president of its Canadian affiliate. Currently vice presi-
dent of Bell’s Commercial Programs divi-sion, Kohler will replace Eric Cardinali
as president of Bell Helicopter Textron Canada Ltd. Cardinali has taken a posi-tion as senior vice president of integrated supply chain for Cessna, also a Textron subsidiary.
Cobham has named John Devaney non-executive director and chairman designate. Under a succession plan, Dev-aney—currently executive chairman of National Express—will take over as Cobham chairman from David Turner in May 2010.
Canadian satcom provider SkyTrac Systems has appointed Malachi Nor-dine to head its systems integration team. The company says the team will assist operators with various software and hard-ware issues, including data collection, access and transfer.
March 17–19: Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Spring Conference, Washington, DC. Contact AAMS, phone 1-703-836-8732 or visit www.aams.org
March 23–28: FIDAE 2010, Santiago, Chile. Contact FIDAE, phone 56 2 873 9752 or visit www.fidae.cl
April 7–10: Aircraft Electronics Association Convention, Orlando, Fla. Contact AEA, phone 1-816-347-8400 or visit www.aea.net
April 14–17: Army Aviation Association of America (Quad-A) Annual Convention, Fort Worth, Texas. Contact Quad-A, phone 1-203-268-2450 or visit www.quad-a.org
April 21–22: Search and Rescue 2010, Aberdeen, Scotland. Contact Shepherd Group, phone +44 0 1753 727015 or visit www.shepherd.co.uk/events/44/search-and-rescue-2010/
May 3–6: 2010 Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, Texas. Contact Offshore Technology Conference, phone 1-972-952-9494 or visit www.otcnet.org/2010/
May 4–6: European Business Aviation Association and NBAA’s EBACE 2010, Geneva, Switzerland. Contact EBAA, phone +32 2 766 0073 or visit www.ebaa.org
May 11–13: American Helicopter Society International 66th Annual Forum and Technology Display, Phoenix, Ariz. Contact AHS Intl, phone 1-703-684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org
May 11–13: 55th Annual Corporate Aviation Safety Seminar (CASS), Tucson, Ariz. Contact Flight Safety Foundation, phone 1-703-739-6700 or visit www.flightsafety.org
May 20–22: Intl Helicopter Industry Exhibition, Moscow, Russia. Contact HeliRussia, +7 495 958 9490 or visit www.helirussia.ru
May 25–27: Heli-Pacific, Queensland, Australia. Contact Shepherd Group, phone +44 0 1753 727015 or visit www.shepherd.co.uk/events/40/heli-pacific-2010/
July 19–25: Farnborough Intl Airshow 2010, Farnborough, England. Contact FIA, phone +44 0 1252 532800 or visit www.farnborough.com
July 14–17: Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA) Annual Conference, Tucson, Ariz. Contact ALEA, phone 1-301-631-2406 or visit www.alea.org
Aug. 21–23: National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) 132nd General Conference, Austin, Texas. Contact NGAUS, phone 1-202-789-0031 or visit www.ngaus.org
Sept. 7–9: 36th European Rotorcraft Forum 2010, Paris, France. Contact ERF, phone +33 15 664 1235 or visit www.erf2010.org
Oct. 5–10: Helitech Europe 2010, Estoril, Portugal. Contact Reed Exhibitions, phone +44 0 208 271 2155 or visit www.helitecheurope.com
Oct. 5–10: FAI 104th General Conference, Dublin, Ireland. Contact FAI, phone +4121 345 1070 or visit www.fai.org
Oct. 11–13: AAMS Air Medical Transport Conference (AMTC), Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Contact Association of Air Medical Services,, phone 1-703-836-8732 or visit www.aams.org
Oct. 19–21: National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) 63rd Annual Meeting & Convention, Atlanta, Ga. Contact NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit www.nbaa.org
Oct. 25–27: Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. Contact AUSA, phone 1-703-841-4300, toll free 1-800-336-4570 or visit www.ausa.org
November 1–3: AHS International Meeting on Advanced Rotorcraft Technology and Safety Operations (Heli Japan), Ohmiya, Japan. Contact AHS Intl, 1-703-684-6777 or visit www.vtol.org
November 2–4: Dubai Helishow 2010, Dubai, UAE. Contact Media Communications & Exhibitions, phone +44 0 1293 823 779 or visit www.dubaihelishow.com
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Rotorcraft Report
19March 2010 | rotor & Wing MagazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o M
■ services | EVS
Max-viz Gets sTc’dMax-Viz Inc. has obtained an FAA supplemental type certificate to install its EVS-1000 enhanced vision system on the Eurocopter AS350 and EC130. One Sky Aviation of Anchorage, Alaska will equip the helicopters under the STC. The companies used a VIP-configured EC130 to complete the STC work.
■ MiliTary | AiRfRAmES
German army cH-53Ga Goes airborneA crowd of more than 150 people w i t n e s s e d t h e i n i t i a l f l i g ht o f t h e E u r o c o p t e r C H - 5 3 G A — t h e m e d i u m l i f t transport for the G e r m a n A r m e d Forces—on Feb. 10 in Donauwörth. Test pilot Rene Nater and flight engineer Antoine Van Gent conducted the first
flight under the CH-53GA retrofit program. The helicopter features a number of upgrades, including digital avionics, advanced navigation system, an automatic flight control system and a modular equipment package with FLIR, satcom and electronic warfare system (EWS). Training flights using the CH-53GA are scheduled to commence in early 2011, with deliveries planned later that year.
■ ProducTs | inStRumEntS
Goodrich Hands over Milestone aN/avr-2BThe U.S. Army has taken delivery of the 500th Goodrich Corp. AN/AVR-2B laser detecting system. The company’s ISR Systems division in Danbury, Conn. supplies the AN/AVR-2B, which it uses on Army Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Germany’s Armed Forces will use the CH-53GA for international missions, such as in Afghanistan, starting in late 2011.
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20 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
Rotorcraft Report
Lockheed Martin has handed over the 50th MH-60R helicopter with an equipment package designed to help protect the U. S. Navy fleet from hostile submarines and surface ships. Sikorsky built the newest member of the Seahawk family, with advanced mission systems integration from Lockheed Martin.
“I am extremely proud of the MH-60R team, which has enabled this impor-tant milestone in the Romeo’s continued introduction to the fleet,” said Rear Adm. Steve Eastburg, program executive offi-cer air ASW, assault and special mission programs. “The enormous multimission capability of this platform continues to be leveraged by the warfighter in new and innovative ways.”
During the delivery ceremony at Lock-heed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors facility in Owego, N.Y., Rear Adm. Paul Grosklags, vice commander, Naval Air Sys-tems Command, thanked Lockheed Mar-tin and Sikorsky employees and other key suppliers. “The MH-60R has evolved over 30 years, through lessons learned during
developmental testing, fleet deployments and maintenance on these rugged air-frames and mission systems, in the harshest maritime environments,” said Grosklags. “It stands now as the premier multimission helicopter in operation today.”
An aircrew from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Seven Zero (HSM-70) flew the 50th aircraft from the Owego facility to its new home at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Fla. The aircraft is the 10th MH-60R delivered to HSM-70, which was established in February 2009.
The U.S. Navy deployed with 11 MH-60R aircraft for the first time from January to July 2009 with the USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) carrier strike group.
“Your [industry] efforts were validated by the HSM-71 deployment with the John C. Stennis carrier strike. This was a very successful deployment, perhaps the most successful initial deployment for an aircraft in many years,” said Grosklags. “When the Romeo deployed, every system was avail-able to the commander on day one.”
HSM-70 will deploy with 11 MH-60R aircraft aboard the USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group (CVN 77) in 2011. To date, the Navy has established and equipped four MH-60R squadrons, with plans to fill out 16 more through the pur-chase of 300 aircraft.
Capt. Dean Peters, the U.S. Navy’s MH-60 program manager, said that “these highly integrated platforms are building a situational awareness picture of the surface and undersea domains that is prov-
ing invaluable to fleet operators.” Added Grosklags: “The Romeo is now the only organic ASW (antisubmarine warfare) capability in the strike group. It’s a game changer. It’s indispensable.”
As mission systems integrator for the Sikorsky-built MH-60R, Lockheed Martin is responsible for integrating the helicop-ter’s digital cockpit, a multi-mode radar, acoustic sonar suite, long-range infrared camera and other advanced sensors to detect, identify, track and engage surface and subsurface targets. Lockheed Martin also integrates a self-defense system to pro-tect the aircraft from missile threats.
“The highly integrated nature of the Common Cockpit avionics suite and the mission systems allows the aircrew to spend less time interpreting data and more time prosecuting the target,” said George Barton, Lockheed Martin’s director of Naval helicopter programs.
The companies expect to deliver up to 27 missionized MH-60R aircraft in calen-dar year 2010 to the U.S. Navy as part of a five-year contract for 139 MH-60R aircraft through 2013. Extra production capacity exists to deliver an additional 20 aircraft each year for sale by the U.S. Government to international navies. “The MH-60R is not an incremental upgrade. The weapon system is a significant upgrade in ASW/ASuW capability over legacy aircraft. The Romeo can carry more weapons, has an important man/machine interface, vibra-tion control and reduced overall owner-ship costs.”
■ MILITARY | AIRFRAMES
Lockheed Martin Delivers 50th Multimission MH-60R to U.S. Navy
Rear Admiral Paul Grosklags, vice commander, Naval Air Systems Command, gave the keynote address at the Feb. 3 ceremony at the delivery the 50th MH-60R to the U.S. Navy. Grosklags is a former MH-60 program manager.
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22 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Rotorcraft Report
■ Military | AiRfRAmes
DoD Budget Seeks Funding for 117 Helicopters, 35 V-22s Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who often talks about how vital rotorcraft are in the war on terrorists in Afghanistan and elsewhere, puts his money where his mouth is in the new defense budget unveiled Feb. 1. The fiscal 2011 Pentagon spending plan asks Congress for $9.6 billion to add 117 helicopters and 35 V-22 Osprey tiltrotors to the military inventory.
The helicopters are mostly for the Army, which relies on rotary wing aircraft more than the other armed services. The budget boosts spending on all Army air-craft by nearly $900 million—an 18 percent increase over the $5.07 billion Congress approved for the current fiscal year, 2010. That 18 percent compares with a total defense budget increase of 1.8 percent.
Of the increase for Army aviation, 72 percent is for new helicopters or upgrades and modifications to existing ones. Most of the rest is for new unmanned aerial
vehicles, another Gates priority. The Army budget also includes money to create a 13th Combat Aviation Brigade in addition to a 12th CAB the Army is organizing. The Army is using helicopters it already has to create the 12th CAB but will buy new ones—just how many isn’t certain yet—to come up with the 113 aircraft required for the 13th CAB.
“How we will actually end up distribut-ing the aircraft between the 12th CAB and the 13th CAB and other Army competing requirements for aircraft support—yet to be determined,” Lt. Gen. Edgar Stanton, military deputy for budget in the office of the Army comptroller, told reporters.
The move to beef up rotary wing capa-bility includes a 9 percent increase in spending to train aircrews on top of a $426-million increase in service budgets for aircrew training Congress approved for fiscal 2010. One of the Pentagon budget’s
goals is “rebalancing this military to focus on current, or today’s, wars,” Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale told reporters. “We sometimes have helicopters without available crews, so last year, we increased
Soldiers from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit survey the area around Corail, Haiti in late January before boarding a Bell-Boeing MV-22. The U.S. Department of Defense budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes a request for 30 MV-22B Ospreys for the Marines and five CV-22B troop transport versions for the Air Force.
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the funding for aircrew training.” By fiscal 2012, he said, “we expect to be training 1,500 crews a year, about a 20-percent increase compared to before this started.”
The Army budget includes $1.23 bil-lion to buy 42 CH-47F Chinooks made by Boeing Co., $305 million for 50 UH-72A Lakota light utility helicopters built by the American Eurocopter division of EADS North America, and $1.4 billion for 74 Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. UH-60 Black Hawks the Army flies in various versions. The Army is buying H-60s under a joint Army-Navy multiyear contract the ser-vices awarded Sikorsky in 2007.
Another $494 million of the Army’s budget would pay for modifying eight Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to the AH-64D Longbow Block III version, which adds a mast-mounted fire control radar and other new gear to the aircraft.
The Navy plans to buy 24 new MH-60R Seahawks for $1.16 billion and 18 MH-60S versions for $548 million in fiscal 2011 under the multiyear deal for H-60s it shares with the Army. The MH-60R is primarily for antisubmarine warfare mis-sions. The Navy uses the H-60S to carry cargo and personnel and for search and rescue missions.
The Navy budget also includes $897 million for the Marines to buy two new Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. AH-1Z Super Cobras in addition to converting eight AH-1Ws into AH-1Zs and 18 Bell UH-1Y Hueys into UH-1Zs—an increase of five H-1Zs of both types over fiscal 2010. Bell had been building new UH-1Y Hueys but only modifying old AH-1Ws into AH-1Zs until last year. The new-build Super Cobras were added after the Marines found that, because of losses in Afghanistan and Iraq and old AH-1s simply wearing out, they were going to fall 40 short of their need unless they started building new ones.
The Navy and Air Force budgets include $2.6 billion to buy 30 more MV-22B Ospreys for the Marines and five CV-22B versions of the tiltrotor troop transport for the Air Force—the number scheduled under a five-year contract awarded in 2008 to Bell and Boeing, which make Ospreys under a 50-50 partnership.
The Navy’s research and development budget also includes $95 million to shut down the VH-71 presidential helicopter project, which Gates cancelled last year, saying the project had doubled in cost and fallen six years behind schedule.
The Air Force, which uses relatively few helicopters, is requesting $218 million for six HH-60G Pave Hawk special operations versions of the aircraft, three as replace-ments for Pave Hawks lost in combat. —By Richard Whittle
The Defense Department budget includes a request for 50 EADS North America/American Eurocopter UH-72As, at a cost of $305 million.
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During a training exercise, a 25th Combat Aviation Brigade CH-47D Chinook lifts one of 28 targets at Pohakuloa Training Area, on Hawaii’s Big Island. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is seeking funding for 42 Boeing CH-47 Chinooks for the Army.
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24 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Aero Dynamix Offers L-3 M949 Gen III Night Vision GogglesNight vision systems provider Aero Dynamix of Euless, Texas has become a full line distributor for L-3 Electro-Optical Systems’ M949 Generation III night vision goggles. The goggles are built to DO-275 standards with Class B filters, and versions with Class A and C filters are also available. The M949 has an image intensifier tube, interface controls, 25mm eyepieces, a clip-on power source and a low-profile AA battery pack that attaches to the helmet. Contact Aero Dynamix by phone at 1-817-571-0729, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.aerodynamix.com
Flight Display Systems Introduces HD-DVRAlpharetta, Ga.-based Flight Display Systems unveiled its FDHDR200 high-definition digital video recorder during Heli-Expo in late February. Designed for rugged use, the HD-DVR provides up to eight hours of record time in 1080i resolution from an HD-SDI camera or other SDI source. The company says the unit, which comes with two 32GB Com-pactFlash cards, takes up 50 percent less installation space than a traditional VHS recorder. FDHDR200 comes in two variants, including a remote cockpit configuration for helicop-ters. Initial deliveries of the HD-DVR were scheduled to start in late February. Flight Display Systems can be reached at 1-678-867-6717 or on the web at www.flightdisplay.com
Obstacle Warning System Undergoes Flight TrialsIn partnership with the Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD), Fort Worth, Texas-based Elbit Systems of America has completed flight tests for its SWORD obstacle warning system for helicopters. Elbit Systems affiliate Electro-Optics Elop also par-ticipated in the trails, which were carried out late in 2009 as part of a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA). SWORD is a laser radar (LADAR) that provides obstacle detection alerts in real time for helicopter pilots operating at low altitudes or in hazardous weather conditions. Flight tests were completed on AATD’s EH-60L. For more details, contact Elbit Systems of Ameri-ca at 1-817-234-6799 or visit www.elbit-systems-us.com
For the month of March
07_RW_030110_HotProducts_p24-25.indd 24 2/18/10 2:16:32 PM
25march 2010 | rotor & Wing magazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o m
beyerdynamic HS 600 Removes Background NoiseGermany’s beyerdynamic has upgraded its HS 600 digital adaptive noise reduction (DANR) avia-tion headset to include an Executive version. HS 600 Executive features a leather headband, soft ear seals with a visco elastic material, glossy wood ear cup finish and a black audio box, where the user can plug in a mobile phone or MP3 player. The headset also has a microprocessor with a beyerdynamic-developed software algorithm. The company says that background noise from traditional analog headsets is “completely eliminated” with DANR headsets. List price of the HS DANR Executive is $818. It is available at www.shop.beyerdynamic-usa.com and various pilot shops. For more details, contact beyerdynamic at 1-239-283-7880 or visit www.beyerdynamic-usa.com
Eye-Lite Camera Available from Premier ElectronicsUK-based Premier Electronics has introduced Eye-Lite, a con-tinuous zoom thermal imaging camera that provides night vision capability for both airborne and ground military and paramilitary surveillance operations. Eye-Lite has two basic versions, a 320 x 240 InSb FPA and a large-format 640 x 480 version, and can be config-ured for short-term and long-term applications. Premier Electron-ics, +44 0199-247-8321or visit www.premierelect.com
Donaldson IBF Ideal for Mountain OperationsBloomington, Minn.-based Donaldson Company’s Aero-space & Defense division has installed its inlet barrier filter (IBF) on Eurocopter AS350s for Air Dynasty Heli Services of Nepal. The filters are protecting engines that operate near the world’s highest mountain peak, landing at up to 16,000 feet asl. Based in St. Louis, Mo., the Aerospace & Defense division supplies IBFs for the AgustaWestland AW119/119Ke and AW139; Bell 205A1, 206B and L-vari-ants, 407, 429 and 430; Eurocopter EC130 and AS350 models; and MD Helicopters 369H series, MD500D/E/F and MD900/902. Contact Donaldson Aerospace & Defense at 1-952-887-3435, toll-free (U.S./Canada) at 1-866-323-0394 or visit www.donaldson.com
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26 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
Q&A | NTSB
On a snowy February morning, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman, left, sat down with
magazine in her L’Enfant Plaza office in downtown Washington, D.C., for a wide-ranging and broad discussion about helicopter safety.
By Brian F. Finnegan
SAFETY BOARD CHAIRMAN ADVOCATES
“RAISING THE BAR”THROUGH VOLUNTARY STANDARDS
ANDASSUMING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITYP
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Interview with the Honorable Deborah A.P. Hersman Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board
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27MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINEW W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
The Chairman
We were joined in the chair-man’s off ice by NTSB Executive Officer Thom Zoeller, Deputy Director of
Aviation Safety for Regional Operations Jeff Guzzetti, the Chairman’s Confiden-tial Assistant Cresence Stafford, and NTSB Public Affairs Officer Keith Hol-loway. We began by discussing Chair-man Hersman’s stated mission to “raise the bar” for what I called the rotorcraft industry’s struggle to find its way with financing and safety and the competing priorities that they present.
Rotor & Wing: I’d like to start by talk-ing about your “raising the bar” philosophy with respect to transportation in our highly regulated industry, particularly helicopters. What does that raised bar look like for rotorcraft?
Hersman: One of the challenges we see at the Safety Board is that people are often just meeting the minimums. But some-times the minimums just aren’t enough. Unfortunately, it takes a fatal accident and recommendations from the Safety Board to identify that. That’s really what our rec-ommendations do—address areas where the existing rules, regulations, laws and requirements aren’t enough to identify the gaps and the holes in the safety net.
“Raising the bar” is stretching a little bit, doing something that might get pushback. It gets people thinking about where they want to be. I’ll share with you a quote that I have often used from Roslyn Carter. “A good leader takes people where they want to go, but a great leader takes people where they need to be.” For example, Bell Helicopter and American Eurocopter are both working with Appareo to install a flight recorder on all their new produc-tion helicopters. Their decision to install that equipment on newly manufactured helicopters raises the bar. That’s exactly what we want to see—voluntary action leading the way. If they can do it, others can do it, too.
R&W: When Congress gets involved, things happen differently than when it’s just the FAA and others. Do you feel a need to bypass the lengthy FAA regulatory pro-cess and go straight to Congress for a law?
Hersman: The Safety Board has been around for over 40 years and being effec-
tive is always something that’s an evolu-tion. You have try different approaches. I think our preference would always be to go through a normal regulatory process because FAA houses the expertise to make the objective decisions, to do the research, to bring together the stakeholders in the industry … and really, perhaps, achieve the right conclusion.
Our recommendations are fairly broad and we’d like for FAA to make the right decision. What we’ve found throughout our history, though, is that we can only wait up to a point. The FAA does have huge challenges. They have over 500 open rec-ommendations from the NTSB right now. It is a burden for them. The question you have to ask is ‘How do they prioritize those 500-plus recommendations?”
One way that we help them prioritize is through our Most Wanted list. We had issued recommendations on HEMS [heli-copter emergency medical services] and for years they went unheeded. After wait-ing for a year, two years, we made the deci-sion to add HEMS to our most wanted list.
R&W: In Safety Recommendation A-09-106, you ask the Centers for Medi-care & Medicaid Services (CMS) to devel-op wide ranging ‘minimum safety accredi-tation standards for HEMS operators that augment the operating standards of 14 CFR 135.’ Do you see accreditation stan-dards on the next Most Wanted list?
Hersman: This is one of those situa-tions the Safety Board had tried to address through the FAA. After years of inaction, we needed a new approach. When we held our public hearing last year on helicopter EMS issues, the curtain was raised on many industry practices regarding com-petition and scarce resources. We saw that the scales are not balanced.
You can have one operator with newer, better safety equipment and you can have another without extra safety equipment installed, such as TAWS [terrain avoidance warning system] or night vision goggles. Even though they are clearly in different financial postures competing for the same business, if they are being reimbursed through Medicare, they are getting paid a flat rate. However, the taxpayer receiving service doesn’t get to pick between the good investment with high standards and
a committed company safety culture or the bottom-feeder.
We had to level this playing field some-how. If FAA was not going to put for-ward regulatory requirements for safety enhancements, we wondered where else we could look to achieve some parity, to raise the bar. We followed the money and, frankly, it was pretty simple. We feel that CMS has an obligation when they are reimbursing a company and should do their due diligence.
R&W: Has the Safety Board given con-sideration to addressing any recommenda-tions to the insurance industry?
Hersman: To my knowledge, we haven’t. We did have an insurance consul-tant on one of the panels for the HEMS hearing and we’ve had insurance folks on other panels. We understand that there are a number of ways to skin the cat and we are looking at those opportunities now.
The Safety Board is very persistent and we’re trying to be flexible in the way that we look at things. The recommendation that you just asked me about—regarding the accreditation process—is a demonstra-tion that we are willing to think out of the box and not pursue just the sole regulatory path. It’s a good point and I have taken the opportunity to meet with insurance com-pany staff in the past to ask them what we could do.
R&W: After the August 8, 2009, midair over the Hudson River, both the FAA and the Safety Board were quick to issue rec-ommendations.
Hersman: The FAA convened a work-ing group about five days after the accident and their recommendations came out a few weeks after that. Our recommenda-tions preceded the FAA panel’s recom-mendations, but they were very similar. There were a lot of synergies there.
R&W: Was there collaboration? Hersman: No.R&W: Is it appropriate to collaborate? Hersman: The Safety Board feels there
is value in us being able to understand what’s going on with the industry and the FAA, but we also value our independence and we think it’s important for there to be some separation. The public is counting on us to take an independent stance and have a critical eye about what’s going on in
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28 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
the industry and with the regulators. We have to be the watchdog of the regulators, so to speak.
We don’t want to be involved in their decision-making process because at some point in the future we might be called to investigate an accident that resulted from some activity that they’ve taken and we want to be free to identify any shortcom-ings without having ownership of them. We do need to make sure that we are getting feedback, but we do maintain our independence and we guard it fiercely. Sometimes that means putting a wall down to separate ourselves.
R&W: Data indicate that the number one cause of HEMS accidents is inadver-tent flight into IMC (instrument meteo-rological conditions) and you’ve addressed that with several recommendations, in particular asking for two pilots or autopi-lot. Do you see two pilots or autopilot as a Most Wanted item?
Hersman: We’re going to be having our Most Wanted list meeting two weeks from now (Feb. 18, 2010). I really cannot comment on that until the board adopts a new list. I will say that the HEMS issue area on our Most Wanted list is one of the most visible and one that has a high degree of public and Congressional attention. There have been efforts to adopt all of our Most Wanted list recommendations in legisla-tive vehicles, verbatim, both on the House and on the Senate side in the past couple years. That’s a testament to the Most
Wanted list and how it serves its purpose. It helps us to identify, of those hundreds of open recommendations, which ones we think need immediate action.
R&W: Regarding fatigue, there is a recommendation that the FAA Aerospace Medical Certification exam for pilots include some kind of sleep apnea analysis (A-09-61). Then you go forward and you actually make a recommendation directly to the Maryland State Police (A-09-134) that they develop their own sleep apnea recognition program. With the FAA rec-ommendation already in place, why would you make a specific recommendation to Maryland State Police? Also, if it were important enough to mention it to the Maryland State Police, why wouldn’t you just recommend it to the whole industry?
Hersman: By asking the FAA to address it on medical certificates, that’s our effort to reach the entire population. However, we recognize those changes might take some time to occur.
When we go to an accident investiga-tion, especially a fatal accident, we some-times find an organization who may not want us there and is uncomfortable that we’re investigating. They may not really want to share information. With the Mary-land State Police, that was not at all what we found. They really wanted to take an internal look and say: ‘This was devastating to us. We want to figure out anything we can do to make our operation better.’ Some of our discussions with the Maryland State
Police led us to believe that they were will-ing to be industry leaders when it came to adopting and making change.
On the sleep apnea issue, there was a recognition among the family members of the pilot and the crewmates who served with him. This gentleman snored so loudly in the crew quarters that everyone knew when he was there. Our investigators felt they could ask Maryland State Police to be an industry leader and demonstrate to other operators how they did this. It wasn’t singling them out. We’re saying, ‘How can we raise the bar?’ If we have individual organizations that are willing to lead, then that’s helpful to everyone in the industry.
R&W: Is there a process by which you can follow up or give them an opportunity to share how they’ve gone forward?
Hersman: Since we’ve made the rec-ommendation to them, it’s open. They have an obligation to respond to us about their plans. We also have a concurrent obligation to check in with them to get a status update on how they’re progress-ing. Our investigators had such a positive experience with the Maryland State Police leadership that we felt good about mak-ing that recommendation to them. Now, if they can’t get the resources or execute a program like that, that’s another issue. It was worth making the effort to ask. With every organization, adversity makes them take a step back and look at their processes and procedures and really reevaluate what’s important and what they want to do.
In the past 25 years, the number of HEMS operators in the state of Missouri has more than tripled. While a concern, the NTSB Chairman says it is trying to ensure anyone operating in a geographic area regardless of whether it is “one operator or 15 operators, they are doing so at the highest level of safety.”
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29March 2010 | rotor & Wing MagazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o M
The Chairman
Grand Total of Static and Dynamic ScoresRISK CATEGORY COLOR
CATEGORYEOC ACTION TOTAL
POINTSnorMaL green Pilot approval 0 - 14
FLight ManagerLeVeL
YeLLoW call Manager 15 - 18
UnaccePtaBLe red cancel Flight 19 or greater
SAMPLE GO/NO-GO DECISION MATRIX
STATIC RISK FACTORS SCORE < 6 mos. on current Job +1 < 1 yr. in eMS +1 < 200 hrs. in type +1 > 500 hrs. in type -1 Last Flight > 30 days +1 Last night Flight > 30 days (night requests only) +1 6 mos. Since check ride +2 cockpit not configured for inadvertent iMc +1 navigation or radio item on MeL +1 Back-up aircraft +1 newly-installed equipment (i.e., satellite phone, avionics, gPS) +1 night Vision goggles (nVg) equipped -1 < 3 nVg Flights in the Last 120 days +1 Medical crew < 1 yrs. experience (both crewmembers) +1 iFr Program -4 VFr Program +1 external Stresses (divorce, illness, family/work issues/conflicts) +1 Total Static Score
DYNAMIC RISK FACTORS ceiling within 200’ of Program Minimums +1 Visibility within 1 Mile of goM Minimums +1 Precipitation with convective activity +1 convective activity with Frontal Passage +1 deteriorating Weather trend +1 high Wind or gust Spread defined by operations Manual +2 Moderate turbulence +2 temperature/dew Point < 3 degrees F +1 Forecast Fog, Snow, or ice +2 Weather reporting at destination -1 Mountainous or hostile terrain +1 class B or c airspace +1 ground reference Low +1 ground reference high -1 night Flight +1 90% of Usable Fuel required (not including reserve) +1 Flight turned down by other operators due to Weather (if known) +4 Control Measures delay Flight -1 avoid Mountainous/hostile terrain -1 Utilize Pre-designated Lzs for Scene requests -1 Plan alternate Fuel Stop -1 Familiarization training (self-directed) -1
Total Dynamic Score
NTS
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30 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
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R&W: We put a message on the Rotor & Wing Facebook page that we were going to have this interview with you to make sure we at least gave the industry an oppor-tunity to come up with some topics for dis-cussion and we got a few comments back.
Hersman: Great! This is my favorite part. Questions from the people.
R&W: OK, well here’s one. Should there be a limit on the number of HEMS operations in a given geographic area or region? (See charts on page 28.)
Hersman: The Safety Board is trying to ensure that whoever is operating in a geo-graphic area or region, regardless of wheth-er it’s one operator or 15 operators, they are doing so at the highest level of safety. We are fully cognizant of some of the pressures that emerge when you have a competitive market and so that is what was at the heart of our recommendations last September to FICEMS (Federal Interagency Committee on EMS) and CMS. We think that if there are higher standards, then perhaps you can weed out some of the less safe operators.
R&W: I did not find any maintenance discussion in the last round of recommen-dations, but I did find quite a few mainte-nance issues in the tour operators recom-mendations that were published in 2008. Are maintenance problems a broader issue than just with tour operators or were they just not a problem in these EMS accidents?
Hersman: We make our recommen-dations based on each accident that we investigate and we see what the issues are. I don’t think that means that maintenance is not an issue across the board because it’s always an issue. You’ve got to stay on top of that, especially as fleets age. We did not find maintenance issues in Trooper 2. We’ve looked at other HEMS accidents and I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. By and large, we found that they were human factors issues. The majority of them were happening at night, or in weather. It’s trying to keep pilots out of those higher risk situations that were a problem. The facts of the accidents are going to speak to us. Everybody has got to stay on top of mainte-nance. It’s the human, the machine and the environment in which you are operating. Those are the three things. You’ve got to be on top of that.
R&W: What about public use aircraft? Is it the Safety Board’s view that the FAA
should have regulatory authority over all non-military aircraft operating in the national air space?
Hersman: One particular concern in the Maryland State Police accident, which was public use, was that we could not get a consistent read from the FAA about whether or not EMS operators should be covered by them. Our concern is that it doesn’t matter whether they are private, for hire, commercial operators or they are public use. They are still providing a service. We want to make sure everybody is operating at the same high standards. Maryland State Police were actually seek-ing FAA oversight.
They wanted to get the FAR Part 135 Certificate and the FAA couldn’t figure out whether or not they wanted to do that or if they could do that. That is an issue that concerns us. If an operator wants this type of oversight and to have these standards, we ought to be doing that.
R&W: Regarding electronic news gathering (ENG) organizations, the Safety Board recommended at the beginning of 2009 that FAA host annual safety confer-ences (A-09-06) to discuss operational and safety issues affecting all ENG as well as those pertaining to their specific region. How can operators and associations work to support this recommendation?
Hersman: We recognize the value of organizational leadership. Groups such as IHST (International Helicopter Safety Team) and HAI (Helicopter Association International) are many times the ones who can put together a collaborative effort. They’re ones that achieve voluntary indus-try audit standards and help to raise the bar. They can reach out to their member-ship in a way that is non-punitive and help support them.
We value the role that they can play and we would encourage any efforts that would result in better information dissemination, communication, collaboration and sup-port for operators in a particular area when it comes to safety. Frankly, we’ve seen a lot of voluntary measures taking place absent FAA requirements. The FAA has not really been delivering on the mandatory require-ments.
R&W: But even if the wealthy organi-zations improve like that, you’re still going to have the laggards. Aren’t the laggards
really the only ones for whom the regula-tions are written?
Hersman: Well, the bottom feeders are always going to be a problem in any indus-try. There is always going to be someone trying to figure out how to do something cheaper and easier. The public can’t figure out how to differentiate between operators and that is really the tragedy of it. In the absence of regulatory action, you’re going to have people who are way behind on the power curve of safety.
For example, we were told that the majority of the industry had voluntarily adopted risk matrices for making the go/no-go decisions. Then we investigated accident after accident where an operator didn’t have them. Or they would say, ‘Well, they’re not written. We kind of do it in our head.’ Well that’s not assessing risk. It’s so easy and it’s cheap. We’ve appended them to our report [Special Investigation Report on Emergency Medical Services Opera-tions. For a sample risk assessment from that report, see page 30]. Print them out or put them on your computer and use them. What’s the weather? What are the lighting conditions? What is my experience? These are pretty straightforward things.
R&W: Finally, what can we do to ensure that your message of raising the bar gets out to the industry and how can industry support the mission of the Safety Board?
Hersman: People who read the maga-zine can help by advocating for our recom-mendations. If they think there are things that they want to see happen, whether it’s through the rule-making committees they participate in at the FAA or whether it’s through Congress, keep us informed about what’s going on. It goes back to what I said at the very beginning of our conversation. A lot of voluntary things are being done out there to raise the bar.
It is a challenging environment that helicopters operate in. They have mis-sions that I think would probably make a lot of other people very uncomfortable. Every day when they come in and they shut it down and it’s been a safe day, that’s something they should be proud of. When you ask how they can help us—it’s by not having accidents. Don’t just take organiza-tional responsibility; take personal respon-sibility. Do the right thing when nobody’s watching.
Q&A | NTSB
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Extra Mile
Body 1st paragraph Combat unit training scenarios must include a continuum of threat levels designed to train students to
avoid, degrade, defeat or destroy threat systems in order to survive. Man-por-table air defense systems (MANPADs), present one of the most lethal threats to helicopters since Vietnam. Training to deal with them impossible.
04_Body
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32 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
PUBLIC SERVICE | EMS
EMS SAFETY AWARENESS UPBUT WAVE OF REGS EXPECTED
After a horrible year in 2008, when HEMS fatalities ballooned to 29, the industry experienced six fatalities in 2009, according to
the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). While this may be a statistical anomaly, safety awareness is high. Rotor & Wing spoke to NTSB and operators about several NTSB recommendations.
NTSB added HEMS to its Most Want-ed List in October 2008 (see sidebar, page 34). The following September the board issued 19 recommendations—to FAA, public operators, EMS agencies, and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Servic-es (CMS)—ranging from the installation of aircraft safety equipment to evaluation of the government insurance system’s reim-bursement rate structure. While agreeing that some progress has been made since then, NTSB member Robert Sumwalt
declared: “Six fatalities [in 2009] are six too many. I don’t want people to think … that the system is fixed.”
One disaster in the FAA’s backyard probably cranked up pressure on the agen-cy to address NTSB’s concerns. That was the Sept. 27, 2008, Maryland State Police crash, killing four of the five on board. Last April FAA announced a HEMS rulemak-ing project covering, among other things, helicopter terrain awareness and warning systems (H-TAWS), radar altimeters, oper-ational control centers, Part 135 weather minimums for all legs, risk management, flight data monitoring, inadvertent IMC currency, and weather reporting relief for IFR operations.
Part 135 vs. Part 91Although EMS operators can fly under
the less stringent Part 91 rules in certain
circumstances, the board’s Most Wanted List calls for Part 135 on all flight legs with medical personnel on board. An NTSB report covering 55 fixed-wing and rotary-wing EMS accidents from January 2002 to January 2005 found that 35 of them had occurred while operating under Part 91.
Sumwalt praised the revisions to FAA’s A021 HEMS Ops Spec, which addresses some concerns about weather reporting. A021 states that if a flight or sequence of flights includes a Part 135 segment, then all VFR segments must follow the (higher) weather minimums and flight planning requirements in A021 or be con-ducted under IFR. And it also gives opera-tors credit for use of night vision goggles (NVGs) or TAWS.
A021 also encourages IFR operations by allowing operators to use weather reporting within 15 miles of the destina-
By Charlotte Adams
How can HEMS operators balance the competitive nature of business with challenges like the need for the latest safety equipment and the overhead of infrastructure and sufficient crews?
Flight nurse Jackie Turcotte (left) and flight paramedic Bob Johnson move a patient from LifeFlight of Maine’s AgustaWestland AW109 to the emergency department at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Cat
hy C
ase
Pho
to
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33MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINEW W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
Safety Awareness
tion area or an area forecast if the former is not available.
The main difference between Part 135 and Part 91 is duty hours, according to Jim Swartz, president and CEO of CareFlite, a small operator with six helicopters. (The maximum duty period for pilots in single-pilot, Part 135 non-scheduled HEMS operations is 14 hours, while Part 91 has no duty time restrictions.) The pilot has to be rested and his situation continuously con-sidered during flight under either regime, Swartz said. But operators ought to be able to reposition aircraft and fly without patients under Part 91.
With four exceptions, CareFlite flies everything to the Part 135 standard, said Ray Dauphinais, vice president and direc-tor of operations. These are maintenance flights and training flights, which don’t carry passengers, administrative flights, as approved by the director of operations, and the outbound legs of IFR flights with CareFlite medical personnel on board. Outbound IFR flights use Part 91 for weather requirements, Dauphinais said. Part 91 lets you use an area forecast, he said.
CareFlite schedules 12 hours duty time. But on the final leg, if a pilot “wanted to go 91 back” and if it looks like the pilot might exceed his 14-hour maximum, Dauphinais has to be called. It’s a case-by-case decision, based on the weather, how long you’ve been flying and familiarity with the des-tination, he said. “They don’t call me very often.” If the company anticipates a duty time issue, it will reposition the aircraft. As far as actual flight time goes, a high-time flight day is typically 3 to 3.5 hours, he said. The average patient transport flight is about 48 minutes.
OmniFlight, a mid-sized operator with around 90 helicopters, flies all legs under Part 135, according to Ray Wall, vice presi-dent of flight operations and safety and compliance. The NTSB recommended that EMS operators use Part 135 rules pri-marily for the weather minimums, he said. OmniFlight’s weather minimums were “a little bit higher” than what NTSB recom-mended. The company flies VFR and IFR depending on customer need.
Air Methods, a large operator with 301 helicopters and around 15 fixed-wing aircraft, also flies all flight legs under Part
135, according to Ed Stockhausen, direc-tor of safety. This includes outbound and positioning legs and even if there are no medical crewmembers on board.
LifeFlight of Maine (LFM), an “indirect operator” that owns its helicopters but contracts with Part 135 operator EraMED to fly them. LifeFlight and Era have policies that anytime anybody other than an Era employee is on the Era-operated aircraft, it’s Part 135, said Thomas Judge, executive director. All flight segments are conducted under full Part 135 requirements. “When medical crew are on board whether it is an outbound or empty leg back home, the flight is Part 135. If I get on the aircraft, it’s Part 135,” he said.
ReimbursementThe flat-rate reimbursement structure
of this government program is a sore point with the better-equipped operators. But fixing the system won’t be easy. As of early February, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services had not responded to NTSB’s recommendation that they evalu-ate the rate structure. NTSB recommend-ed, among other things, that CMS establish
accreditation standards and make sure that only carriers meeting the standards be reimbursed by Medicare.
“You can fly an old single-engine air-craft that’s been in aviation longer than I have and get paid the same amount … for a twin-engine IFR aircraft,” said CareFlite’s Swartz. “It could be a 206 that’s 30 years old.” In the free enterprise system, he added, “you cannot expect safety to get bet-ter when the incentives are against it.”
LFM’s Judge agreed. The current reim-bursement system “incentivizes the lowest cost for the most profit—it’s a problem when it comes to safety,” he said. LifeFlight has one of the oldest and poorest popula-tions in the country. Forty-three percent of its patients have no insurance and another 40 percent are on Medicare or Medicaid. So LFM is reimbursed at much less than cost, Judge said. That’s why it has a chari-table foundation.
IFR InfrastructureLifeFlight views IFR infrastructure as
its No. 1 priority. Basically a public util-ity in Maine, LifeFlight owns two full-IFR AgustaWestland AW109 Powers. About
HEMS Recommendations on NTSB’s Most Wanted List: * Part 135 during all flight legs with medical personnel on board—open, unaccept-
able response;*Flight risk evaluation programs—open, unacceptable response;*Formalized dispatch and flight following procedures, including timely weather
information—open, acceptable response; and*Terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS), including training—open, unac-
ceptable response.
Safety awareness is high at HEMS operators like CareFlite.
Agu
staW
estla
nd
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34 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Cobham Avionics is aggressively pursuing certifications for HeliSAS:
• STCs for Bell 206/407. Projected for
June, 2010 via Edwards & Associates.
• STC for Eurocopter AS350. Projected
for 4th quarter, 2010.
The HeliSAS® Autopilot and Stability
Augmentation System delivers a number
of workload reduction and safety en-
hancements, including significant stability
improvement and automatic recovery to
near-level flight attitude.
HeliSAS provides many of the functions found
in heavy, expensive helicopter autopilots, but
at a fraction of the cost and weight:
• Safe. Enhanced control while dramatically
reducing pilot workload.
• Affordable. Cost-efficient safety feature
for Part 27 helicopters.
• Lightweight. Parallel design = fewer
components = total system weight of
less than 16 pounds.
• All-Digital. Full-authority system based on
a dual-processor, fail-passive architecture.
Cobham AvionicsIntegrated Systems
One S-TEC Way
Municipal Airport
Mineral Wells, TX 76067
(817) 215-7600
www.helisas.com
© 2010 Cobham, plc. All rights reserved.
Now TSO'd by the FAA!
The most important thing we build is trust
HeliSAS® Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System
Lightweight, affordable stability in an unstable world
1
1 The HeliSAS will automatically recover to a neutral attitude when the cyclic is released.
2 The HeliSAS® control panel is just 5.75” x 0.75” and weighs only 0.53 pounds.
2
CAIS428_RtrWng_MAR10_HeliSAS.4.indd 1 2/8/10 9:59 AM
20 percent of its flights are tied to IFR. The nonprofit charitable medical organization has completed 21 GPS approaches, with another 18 in the works. It is building a low-level IFR route structure that will link all the GPS approaches and hospitals. LFM has built 31 hospital helipads and 10 com-munity helipads, and worked to provide fuel trucks at two airports in order to refuel aircraft at remote hospitals. LFM has also finished six of a planned 14 automated weather observation systems (AWOSs) to help fill in the grid.
IFR is important to Air Methods, as well. The company has 61 GPS non-pre-cision approaches and is developing wide area augmentation system (WAAS) IFR infrastructures at two of its programs.
CareFlite is in the midst of an FAA IFR infrastructure program, which is “like a test case,” Swartz said. It already has 17 non-precision GPS approaches. The com-pany flies four AW109 Powers certified for single-pilot IFR and two Bell 222s that don’t fly in weather. At night, outside the local flying area, the company requires pilots to go IFR, Swartz said. “Twin-engine IFR was the single most important safety upgrade.”
Every pilot is given about an hour a month to practice IFR without an instructor on board. CareFlite has also added a camera-based recording system on a couple of aircraft and plans to add NVGs.
Tracking and DispatchAlthough EMS is very competitive
in New England, in an ongoing effort to improve safety, LifeFlight collaborates with other providers in the region. All of the programs in New England have agreed to use a Web-based system that allows each program to track the others’ aircraft in real time. This system includes DHART at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in New Hamp-shire/Vermont (Metro), Boston MedFlight (Era), UMASS LifeFlight, (Air Methods) and LifeStar in Connecticut (Air Meth-ods), as well as LFM. This arrangement lets the control centers know when they have aircraft going to the same location, so that their pilots can communicate with each other. The communications centers can also talk to each other. Both LFM and Era also follow LifeFlight’s helicopters through a satellite tracking system in their respec-tive communications centers. OmniFlight,
for its part, has 15 communications centers arou nd the country and a centralized opera-tional control cen-ter at corporate headquarters in
Addison, Texas. Air Methods likewise has an operational con-trol center that tracks all of its aircraft.
“We have at least one qualified EMS helicopter pilot in the control center at all times,” Stockhausen said. In addition, OmniFlight is in the midst of a Line Oper-ations Safety Audit (LOSA)—the first helicopter company to have done it.
SMSThe big news at OmniFlight is its
Safety Management System rollout, the first SMS under the new FAA framework. “The intent is to include every person in that process in every aspect of the orga-nization,” Wall said. In addition to giving risk assessment tools to the employees, there are quarterly audits and daily inputs by employees into a hazard registry. A senior management SMS council reviews all events and the root causes of every type of event.
OmniFlight sifts and analyzes huge amounts of data. Every pilot, technician and clinician has to report anything that seems amiss, from the smallest thing to an incident or higher, Wall said. Weath-er aborts (with details) and duty time exceedances also are reported. This event reporting database allows OmniFlight to track and trend operational data down to the problem history of an individual piece of equipment like a fuel pump. Commu-nications within the company are also a high priority. There are daily conference calls on maintenance and operations and a monthly telecom to update all employ-ees on operational issues. There is also a compliance hotline run by a third-party vendor for anonymous safety complaints.
CareFlite is implementing an SMS pro-gram, as well. And Air Methods is part of FAA’s SMS pilot project, including 68 com-panies. The SMS encompasses flight oper-ations, communications, maintenance, repair station and product sectors.
No Pressure InitiativeThe National EMS Pilots Association (NEMSPA) is attacking the pressure problem through its No Pressure Initiative (NPI). The foundation of NPI was a survey the association con-ducted of 257 pilots. Thirty-six percent said they sometimes or frequently pressured themselves to accept or complete flights; 24 percent said they sometimes or frequently felt pressured by competition to do so; and 23 percent replied they sometimes or fre-quently felt pressure from management to do so.
NPI features three layers of protection, including culture, risk assessment and the enroute decision point (EDP). Particularly interesting is the EDP, which “puts hard num-bers on a flight, based on airspeed and altitude,” said Kent Johnson, NEMSPA president. Basically, at night it’s cruise airspeed minus 30 knots and 500 feet AGL. So if your airspeed sinks from 120 to 85 knots, the EDP protocol says it’s time to turn around or land.
EDP is meant to keep pilots from plunging ahead on missions in deteriorating weath-er conditions when, even though they may not know it, they are becoming tentative. It’s analogous to the decision height on an ILS approach. When the pilot reaches the listed limitations, he must make a decision. And continuing on the present course, as before, is not an option, according to NEMSPA literature.
The association also surveyed 13 pilots who have used the EDP protocol for several years. Eight-five percent considered it a very effective aid in deciding whether or not to continue flight into marginal weather conditions and 31 percent said EDP had helped them decide to abort a flight or significantly alter the flight plan route more than five times.
NEMSPA is also working with fatigue expert Mark Rosekind to implement an on-line alertness management program. Johnson hopes to have the “Z-Coach” training program available on the NEMSPA website in the near future.
LFM’s Thomas Judge
PublIc ServIce | emS
09_RW_030110_HEMS_Update_p32_35.indd 34 2/18/10 12:39:27 PM
35March 2010 | rotor & Wing MagazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o M
Cobham Avionics is aggressively pursuing certifications for HeliSAS:
• STCs for Bell 206/407. Projected for
June, 2010 via Edwards & Associates.
• STC for Eurocopter AS350. Projected
for 4th quarter, 2010.
The HeliSAS® Autopilot and Stability
Augmentation System delivers a number
of workload reduction and safety en-
hancements, including significant stability
improvement and automatic recovery to
near-level flight attitude.
HeliSAS provides many of the functions found
in heavy, expensive helicopter autopilots, but
at a fraction of the cost and weight:
• Safe. Enhanced control while dramatically
reducing pilot workload.
• Affordable. Cost-efficient safety feature
for Part 27 helicopters.
• Lightweight. Parallel design = fewer
components = total system weight of
less than 16 pounds.
• All-Digital. Full-authority system based on
a dual-processor, fail-passive architecture.
Cobham AvionicsIntegrated Systems
One S-TEC Way
Municipal Airport
Mineral Wells, TX 76067
(817) 215-7600
www.helisas.com
© 2010 Cobham, plc. All rights reserved.
Now TSO'd by the FAA!
The most important thing we build is trust
HeliSAS® Autopilot and Stability Augmentation System
Lightweight, affordable stability in an unstable world
1
1 The HeliSAS will automatically recover to a neutral attitude when the cyclic is released.
2 The HeliSAS® control panel is just 5.75” x 0.75” and weighs only 0.53 pounds.
2
CAIS428_RtrWng_MAR10_HeliSAS.4.indd 1 2/8/10 9:59 AM
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36 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
FLYING INTO THE ABYSSAbyss: A deep or seemingly bottomless chasm; the
regions of hell conceived as a bottomless pit; night flight
over significant bodies of water.
By Dan Deutermann
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37MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINEW W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
Imagine for a moment that a single-piloted, passenger-carrying heli-copter leaves on a VFR flight plan from its airport-based helipad,
enroute to a remote island 20 miles off-shore. The flight was intended to take off in the late afternoon, however the VIPs were delayed until after sunset. Weather is reported as overcast at 6K, 6 miles in haze, 28°C, calm winds, and no significant weather is forecasted along the route. The VFR-rated pilot is current to fly at night, however all previous night flying has occurred overland primarily at the airport where he is based and, up until now, there has never been a need to go to the island at night. Yet the pilot is quite comfortable with the venture and is looking forward to logging some more night VMC time enroute to the familiar destination.
The pilot crosses the coastline and wisely elects to engage the flight director. As he levels off at 1,500 feet, he thinks to himself: “Man, it’s dark … just a couple of boat lights out here to look at—if that’s what those are. Okay, 15 minutes to go. Where is that full moon from last night?”
Minutes later, while actively engaged in a “there I was” story for the captive audience in back, he fails to notice that the flight director has disengaged and that an insidious rate of descent has begun to develop. Taking a brief pause in his story, something suddenly sounds different to the pilot, and a sensation of pitching up begins to take hold. A quick glance outside reveals absolutely nothing but pitch black. A rapid scan to the instruments reveals a VSI showing 1,500 FPM in the “bad” direc-tion along with a RadAlt blowing through 200 feet heading for 0. “It can’t be, I was on...” Splash!
This type of mishap is hardly unheard of, and not exclusive to the maritime realm. However, the night maritime environ-ment doesn’t seem to get the attention it deserves. The conditions described above are technically VFR flight, but is it really VMC when you consider that there was no visible horizon? If there were any moon or stars you can bet they would be of no use as they were likely obscured by the overcast
layer. The haze effect over water is only going to be amplified by a hot, calm-wind night and visibility could be far less than six miles, making the anticipated island lights at 20 miles not so visible. Additionally, the lack of wind significantly adds to the prob-lem by glassy smooth water eliciting zero visual reference texture to perceive move-ment. Make no mistake about it, overwater flight with no visible horizon is an instru-ment meteorological condition (IMC) and with a little extra preflight analysis, you can anticipate it.
Now, one might jump to what a prudent pilot should do when faced with looking into total blackness over featureless terrain, but all too often pilots have a difficult time abandoning the plan they have already set forth to accomplish. Therefore a critical component to preventing fatal mishaps over lakes and oceans, which are caused by spatial disorientation, is to ensure aviators are imprinted early on with the appropri-ate mindset regarding this environment.
Once armed with this correct mindset, the decision-making process may perhaps begin with a more conservative stance and in turn may better serve to prevent flight into realms where that pilot’s abilities are likely to be exceeded. For this reason, I will refer to the night maritime world as the “Abyss”.
To those pilots who have baptized themselves with flight into the Abyss with-out the benefit of instrument skills, I am sure you appreciate the analogy and per-haps recall the eeriest of sensations from your experience (unless you are the type who really likes dark places).
Regardless of the reported cloud levels and visibilities, factors such as ambient illumination, potential marine layers, no winds (for those glass-like surfaces and increased moisture in the air on warm nights) and the lack of any reliable light sources (supertankers don’t count) must be accounted for prior to flight.
All these factors directly contribute to creating an environment that can only be characterized as a place without depth, a seemingly bottomless chasm. While not every night flight over water is going to present a black hole, if you point the air-
craft offshore and that is what you see, then you need to make a decision as to whether you can really press on as if you were in VMC on a VFR plan. Even if you are head-ing to a single source of light on the horizon (like a small barrier island), realize that the visual illusions are plentiful when flying over water. If you weren’t contemplating using instruments from start to finish on this flight, stand by for lots of drama when spatial disorientation creeps into cockpit. Your inevitable attempt to rapidly establish an instrument scan will likely lead to a little more drama, and turning on the search-light at lower altitudes to see the water can actually induce vertigo. Take the recent EC145 mishap off Captiva in Florida: The pilot could not remember the exact sequence of the final 500-foot descent; however, at some point she remembered the medical crew commenting they “couldn’t see anything.” She responded, that the flight to Captiva is usually very dark over the water and there’s “never anything to see.” She remembered turn-ing on the searchlight and shortly after, impacting the water. —NTSB: ERA-09LA464 Accident, Aug. 17, 2009, North Captiva Island, Fla.
With so many helicopter jobs occur-ring over the water, one would hope that somewhere in a pilot’s training, instructors would set aside some time for discussing this realm. But my observations lead me to find pilots more focused on things like how to successfully ditch and what the required equipment might be to meet FAR requirements. Judging from discussions I’ve had with instructors—both military and civilian—they all acknowledge hav-ing been in places where it is “really dark,” searching desperately for some light source before they realized they had better get that instrument scan going and perhaps get an IFR pick up, if one was even available. Would you like to guess where most of their “really dark” experiences took place?
Student VFR pilots are told from day one to stay away from clouds and what to do if they inadvertently encounter IMC. It is treated like an emergency, because that’s
The Abyss
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38 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
exactly what it is for a VFR-only pilot. What about situations where there is no discern-able horizon, or, at night, a visual surface light reference sufficient to safely control the helicopter? That last part would make it illegal to be VFR if you don’t have it (FAR 135.207), and unless your operation has been reviewed by the FAA administrator, flying IFR outside of controlled airspace is prohibited below 1,200 feet.
A pilot takes off to fly VFR with a solid 1,500-foot overcast and six miles in haze. Conditions will be VMC over the city all night long, no argument there, which is why the U.S. permits night VFR. So when the pilot points offshore towards a barrier
island 20 miles away, the additional effects of no moon and the resultant lower vis-ibility from the additional moisture in the air on that warm, no-wind night are going to make that 20-mile trip somewhat sporty unless there are some instrument skills on standby. Why? Because it is every bit the same as flying into clouds unexpectedly, and for some, the experience will lead to an all-too-tragic outcome.
When instructors are molding a stu-dent pilot’s ability to exercise sound “aero-nautical decision-making,” certain envi-ronments are unfailingly emphasized as dangerous places to venture, i.e. thunder-storms. For helicopters, the opportunity to go inadvertent IMC is much easier since the ceiling and visibility requirements are less restrictive due to a helo’s unique maneuvering capabilities. If one is going to make a profession out of flying helicopters, just know that when it comes to inadver-tent IMC, there are two types of pilots out there: those that have done it and those that will; especially if pilots are taught they need only analyze clouds and visibility for
that “legal” rationale to commence aviating. Then you can bet it is only a matter of time until they find out the hard way that some places need more analysis than others, like the Abyss. For helicopter operations over water, U.S. regulations simply state that the helicopter must have an emergency flota-tion system for commercial operations and make no mention of IFR-related equip-ment. The gap between the definition of IMC and the actual conditions that require instrument skills is significant when you truly look at it, but can be mitigated by sound judgment through analyzing your environment and telling yourself: “if there is no horizon, change the plan.” You could
even train your brain monthly by picking one of those no moon nights, maybe with lots of cloud cover, fly a coast line (ocean or big lake) and see the horizon painted with all those city lights (now you see it), then look to the water (now you don’t). Think: No Horizon = IMC, get on the gauges!
My personal philosophy after 18 years of maritime aviation is to treat going “feet wet” at night (and even on some days) as being in IMC. No exceptions! In the performance of my missions, if I need to descend below 500 feet over the water, it is through the use of an instrument scan to get me to a target. Perhaps I will use a flight director, but I will always have set limits, placed error traps, and have a well-briefed safety pilot to hold the line (sorry folks, I am one of those that is a real fan of dual-piloted instrument flight in helicopters).
Even when I am instructing in the Abyss on NVGs with a full moon out, I can be on the controls and easily distract copi-lots of all experience levels long enough to fly them uncomfortably close to the water or to trip their RadAlt warning horn.
The trick is simply to know if I know their mindset has lead them to fly strictly using their Mark-1 eyeballs.
However, when it is so dark that there is no light for NVGs to amplify, then there will be no horizon coming through the tubes, and without a horizon for the eyes to interpret spatial orientation via mother Earth, you will no doubt have to rely on instruments in the very near future if you decide to press on with your flight plan. If one is not instrument qualified, or perhaps only a “little rusty,” the Abyss is not the place to fly as if VMC, however “legal” it may appear to be on the ground prior to pulling pitch.
Accident investigators say that unin-tended flight into IMC is one of the leading causal factors in fatal aircraft accidents. They point to specific human factors as contributors to the event. Like the fatal flaw mentioned earlier, so many pilots demon-strate the inability to abandon their current plan of action and replace it with one that has higher odds of survival. Many regions of the world prohibit night VFR and simply say you need an instrument ticket. Others give it special emphasis and have some minimum training requirements. For VFR helicopter operations in the U.S., a pilot must have “visual surface reference, or at night, visual light reference, sufficient to safely control the helicopter.” For those uninitiated to helicopter operations over water, know this: the opportunities for the last part of that statement to manifest itself abound, and you will be in IMC.
If you are contemplating bringing NVGs into your operation, take caution in attempting flights to places where you may have not gone before simply because you can now see more on the tubes. Even if you are not going to be operating over water, be aware that the Abyss has relatives, and going “green” is not going to always counter their similar hazards. If I had to look into my crystal ball, I would say that the incor-poration of NVGs is not going to curtail many inadvertent IMC-related accidents in a certain industry that seems so des-perate to get them. NVGs will certainly help in some cases, but the combination of existing regulations, inexperienced yet
No moon and lower visibility from the moisture in the air on that warm,
no-wind night are going to make that 20-mile trip offshore somewhat sporty.
Category | Info
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39MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINEW W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
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legally qualified pilots operating alone, and the self-imposed pressures driven by the pursuit of profits will continue to open an ample number of avenues to circumvent sound judgment. There is little doubt that NVGs enhance safety in our profession, but they also come with a new set of challenges and will best be discussed in a separate article.
Eventually, pilots may undertake instru-ment flight training and on day one the mystery of flying in a degraded visual envi-ronment unveils itself as the pilot begins to learn the complexities of this discipline. One becomes exposed to the procedures and techniques for safely operating aircraft with no outside references and overcom-ing the sensations of flight that create illu-sions. Illusions with complicated names like “somatogyral” or “somatogravic” with pilot-given names like “the leans” or “false climbs” will quickly overwhelm a visual-only reference pilot. Hopefully, as the
pilot develops the ability to see the mental picture that flight instruments provide, he or she will also develop an appreciation for how fast these new skills may become degraded from disuse. But with knowledge comes power, and now that they are armed with these new abilities and certifications, their confidence is strengthened. Now inadvertent IMC doesn’t look so evil, and if it is encountered on a VFR flight, then all one must do then is start working in the ol’ instrument scan and make a radio call to ATC for some vectors, right?
What if it has been five months since you have flown at night or even practiced instruments? Couple that with flying off-shore, heading GPS direct on the modes, well outside of radar coverage, and not even talking to ATC. Sprinkle on some IFR equipment being degraded or inopera-tive (which was acceptable in your mind at takeoff because no significant weather was forecasted and you are, after all, flying
VFR). In the U.S., such an event is legal, sort of.
The mindset you begin a flight with is critical. The intent is to adequately estab-lish this environment as one to venture into with great caution, no matter what level of experience or qualifications you may have. For the inexperienced, don’t just point to rules to justify your presence if you find yourself in degraded visual environ-ments. Don’t treat your instrument skills as a backup plan and recognize the potential early by digging a little deeper during your flight planning so as to anticipate IMC. If you don’t, just remember, the Abyss and its relatives patiently await you.
The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the commandant or the U.S. Coast Guard. LCDR Dan Deutermann is a Flight Safety Officer who currently flies the MH-65C Dolphin.
The AbyssThe Abyss
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40 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
THE EXTRA MILE
COMMERCIAL | OFFSHORE
It requires no great leap of faith to accept that the business of flying offshore oil & gas operations can be safer in some parts of the world
than in others. Developing new energy resources is an ever-more challenging task and, to get the stuff out of the ground, partnerships often have to be struck with governments, national oil companies and helicopter operators who might not be as familiar with “western” standards as oth-ers. But who drives improvements in the riskier areas of production while, at the same time, monitoring standards in the more developed areas? These national oil companies? The relevant regulators? The operators? Their “big oil” customers?
The answer, to varying extents, is “all
of the above,” but their efforts are coordi-nated by a group of 18 men and women representing the International Associa-tion of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP). The main contributors to the work of the OGP Aviation Subcommittee are the oil majors—Shell, Exxon, Chevron and so on. And although it can only issue guidelines rather than impose standards, the ASC now wields significant clout in the offshore industry.
With the longest-established aviation standards division in the world, Shell takes a leading part in much of its work (see side-bar, page 42). In fact, most of its standards have been adopted chapter-and-verse by the subcommittee. While many of the smaller national oil companies (NOC)
are OGP members, they are usually not involved in this particular subcommittee’s work. The group reports to the OGP’s Management committee through the Safety Committee.
The principal objective of the ASC is that oil workers flying in offshore helicop-ters should be at no greater risk of dying in an accident than if they were flying on vacation. With cooperation from all stakeholders, it is driving for a rate better than one fatal accident per million flying hours. The airline rate hovers around that level—and that’s globally, not just the major carriers (see table on page 41).
In the past, the committee argued, the hel icopter industr y had be en under-funde d and complacent in
By Andrew Healey
The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) Aviation subcommittee is driving for a rate better than one fatal accident per million flying hours. Learn how they are trying to achieve that goal.
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Extra Mile
improving safety, and regulatory improve-ments had been insufficient and incon-sistent. Its analysts calculated the baseline accident rate for offshore helicopter opera-tions was 20 per million flight hours and the baseline fatal accident rate was seven per million flight hours, with both rising. Those rates cost the oil and gas industry an unacceptable number of lives—and mil-lions of dollars—each year.
Several areas were identified for improvements in airframe design, training, management and equipment (see table). Applying all of them, Shell estimated, would cut the accident rate to 3.2 per mil-lion flight hours and the fatal accident rate to 1.1 per million flight hours. That would save the lives of more than 200 offshore oil and gas workers over 10 years.
OGP members adopted the Shell stan-dards. In turn, they committed to paying the higher contract rates dictated by these higher design, performance, and equip-ment requirements.
Lower Accident RatesThe end justifies the means. Mark Stevens, Shell Aviation air safety and global projects director, says: “We have proven statistically that OGP members have a better accident rate than the oil & gas industry as a whole, and active members of the ASC maintain a still-lower one. They are more aware of the risks inherent in aviation and how to mitigate against them—even though the levels of implementation across the OGP
are extremely variable.” Stevens has just finished running a small strategy review group within the ASC, which has con-cluded that it was relevant and supported
by a reasonable suite of advice and guidance tools. “The
issue, as ever, is simply one of implementation,
particularly among the national oil companies. We
are embarking on a process of education, which is
intended to open the eyes of their senior management to the
fact that if they do have an aviation opera-
tion, there is a risk.“The danger is that a number of people
have been extremely lucky—so far they haven’t had an accident. It’s only when you open the senior management’s eyes to their liability, the wider implications of having an accident—including loss of production and reputation—that you start being listened to. In certain parts of the world the national authorities, including the governments, are not as attuned to risk as we now are. National regulation is extremely limited.”
The OGP compensates for that by ensuring that its guidelines exceed most, if not all, national regulatory requirements. It spends a lot of time emphasizing the need to go the extra mile in managing and miti-gating risk. “At a national oil company you don’t have that driver. Most international companies will coordinate with their part-ners as a matter of routine.”
By virtue of its organization, says Ste-vens, Shell probably does more than most, but most oil companies demand something now. “If you look at the Gulf of Mexico now for instance, you will see a totally differ-ent picture than you would have even five years ago. In large part, Super Pumas have replaced Jet Rangers. In the field of flight deck monitoring, for instance, at one point Bristow was pre-eminent but PHI is now in a very strong position.
“We’ve been banging on for years about our contract requirements and they’ve got the message that it’s not just about pleasing Shell or Exxon or whatever—they realize the benefits to themselves. It’s getting over that hump that’s the difficult
bit. Once they’re over it, they’re up and running.” As a result of this drive, argu-ably, AgustaWestland has carved a niche with its new-generation AW139—Bristow ordered three of them at Helitech in Octo-ber (two were delivered in December) and anticipates requiring scores more over the next year or so. Eurocopter’s EC155 is also well-regarded. Legacy types such as the Sikorsky S-76 and Bell 412 are now less popular offshore.
The OGP format can be particularly useful when it seeks improvements in a region where several of its members are involved. For example, if one oil company expects its people to fly only in HUMS-fitted helicopters, this may be difficult to achieve if it only contracts a few aircraft in a specific region. If its total fleet is 10 times that, there is little incentive for the operator to comply. If however, the oil companies band together to demand HUMS-fitted helicopters, then the initiative may cover 50–60 of those helicopters and be much easier to manage.
Taking Regulators to TaskSuch improvements can be driven by the OGP whenever regulation is perceived as not sufficiently proactive. Stevens can identify instances during its own incident and accident investigations, where he believes regulators should have regulated, but didn’t. “One investigation we have conducted determined that helicopter simulators are not fully representative of the aircraft in certain emergency situa-tions. Clearly, therefore, there is a danger of picking up the wrong techniques during simulator training.
“We are working to get the regulators to be more prescriptive in this area and to ensure that the flight test data and model-ing used by the simulator manufacturers accurately represents the real aircraft.”
Fatal Accidents per Million Flight Hours (latest OGP analysis)
Commercial Airline: 0.9
Commuter Airline: 3.0
Offshore Helicopter: 5.7
Oil Industry (All Activity): 7.7
Seismic Operations: 21.9
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42 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
CommerCial | offshoRe
While some are better than others, the offshore sector is almost at the point, believes Stevens, where the OGP acts as a de facto regulator. “The OEMs respond by and large to demands from their energy company customers. This represents a huge turnaround from the situation in its early days, when the operators and OEMs would develop the technology, the regula-tors would then set the standards and the oil companies would go with the operator that offered the best package. Safety was taken as a given.”
The helicopter manufacturers, on the other hand, make an effort to follow OGP guidelines—they contribute observers to the ASC, along with organizations like the European Helicopter Operators Commit-tee. They are also now in a position to offer that same service when entering areas controlled by NOCs, if they partner with a company like Shell. Then they can per-suade their new partners of the advantages of using the latest helicopters.
This communications strategy also drills down to airframe design. As the just-flown EC175 took shape, Shell was on the OEM’s customer advisory team. After the first meeting they noted several areas for improvement and, by the time they went back for second meeting, Eurocopter had changed the design.
Stevens says Shell will soon tender to upgrade to new-generation helicopters in Nigeria. “We want to get rid of AS332s and replace them with EC225s, [and] S76s with AW139s. And we’ll be doing this in coop-eration with the NOC of Nigeria.
“With the OEM’s help, we can illustrate the advantages. It’s not just a question of safety. If you have your demand manage-ment—I mean your control of passenger movement—really sharp, with really good load factors and so on, and you replace old types with new ones, you can sometimes do the same job with one less airframe. So your initial start-up costs and operating costs are both lower.”
There are less tangible benefits as well. If Exxon moves into a new operating area with AW139s and its competitor on the other side of the airfield has tired old helicopters, passengers and crews in both types will be the first to comment. “People power can play a big part.”
right attitude/right approach/right alongside
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Standards Guardians British World War II flying ace Douglas Bader set up Shell Aircraft after leaving the Royal Air Force. The business now comprises three small divisions, including a corporate jet fleet based in Rotterdam, Houston and Calgary. An aviation consul-tancy group develops standards against which all Shell operations are run. It also owns and operates three S-92s based in Brunei, and owns (Bristow operates) six EC155 in Nigeria. All other air assets are through contracts. The division acts to set and maintain Shell standards, sending auditors to vet suppliers all over the world.
The third division is known as Air Safety Global Projects. It was set up about six years ago by the division’s then-director, Eric Clark, who decided that they needed the time to think more strategically; to be more proactive in the safety arena. The four-man staff now works with “everybody,” including operators, regu-lators and manufacturers, to address this ambition.
With the goal of one accident per million flying hours in mind, Shell now insists its employees fly in helicopters that meet the latest standards in seven categories (see table at right). They range from the latest design and performance standards, through type-specific simulator training to integration of cockpit aids like terrain and traffic warning systems.
21st Century mils?Shell paid for the HUMS integration on the Russian Mil 8 fleet (example shown above) at Sakhalin Island. Stevens says that, “we don’t operate anywhere else with Mils. It’s not that they’re unsafe—it’s just that they could be safer. Now the ones at Sakhalin have HUMS, push-out escape windows, four-point seat harnesses—they are a different beast altogether.
“We are looking now at upgrading these aircraft but, as with any overseas operation, there are local factors to take into account. In Sakhalin in particular, we have the issue of supporting a national helicopter manufacturer, so there’s national pride at stake. Mil has consulted with us and we will probably end up fly-ing in the Mil-171. Indeed, now we are in discussions to make sure that, from our perspective, this helicopter is as good as it can be.”
“Shell expects…”• Latest build standard,
• Latest simulator standard (line oriented flight training),
• Company run to latest QA/SMS philosophy,
• HUMS, vibration monitoring,• Flight data monitoring,
• Appropriate flight profiles (PC2E), and
• Terrain/traffic avoidance equipment
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43March 2010 | rotor & Wing MagazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o M
Extra Mile
right attitude/right approach/right alongside
www.goodrich.com
Goodrich’s Vehicle Health Management System (VHMS) is a highly effectivemission enabler that monitors helicopter systems and is combat proven toprovide significant increases in mission readiness, reduced troubleshooting,fleet wide visibility of maintenance status and cost savings due to earlyidentification of maintenance requirements.
VHMS is so successful that the U.S. Army’s 159th Combat Aviation Brigadeachieved a 27% increase in missions accomplished on their BLACK HAWKSwhile sustaining an operational readiness rate of 89%.
For every aspect of your helicopter operations, you can depend on Goodrich.Mission critical systems for defense.
For more information about Goodrich Vehicle Health Management Systems,email [email protected]
WHEN MISSION READINESSDEPENDS ON YOU,WE’RE RIGHT ALONGSIDE.
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44 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
MILITARY | PROFILE
One of the world’s first helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) pilots shares his combat rescue experiences in the Korean War.
Korean War helicopter pilot, World War II fighter pilot, author, artist , great-grand-father. Many people would
relish in accomplishing just one of these goals. For Richard C. Kirkland, that’s just where his story begins. Among his hon-ors are the Distinguished Flying Cross, six Air Medals and the U.S. Air Force Commendation Medal. Rotor & Wing visited Kirkland recently at his home in Vienna, Va., where his basement features an “aviation gallery,” filled with helicopter and aircraft models and WWII, Korea
and Vietnam War memorabilia from his 50-plus years in the aviation industry.
His new book, “MASH Angles”—pub-lished by Burford Books in late 2009—pro-vides a detailed account of life in a helicop-ter emergency medical services (HEMS) unit in the Korean War. Kirkland’s unit—the 8055 MASH with the 3rd Air Rescue Group—helped pave the way for modern military HEMS operators. He flew the Sikorsky R-5 (H-5 after 1948, S-51 in com-mercial designation) and H-19 Chicka-saw during the Korean War, picking up downed pilots and injured soldiers from
the battlefield and transporting them to Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) units. The H-13, a military variant of the Bell 47, was also used in Korea. Many of the medevac ops would take place in Korean-controlled territory, and the helicopter played a new and integral role in the war.
Helicopters from the 3rd Air Rescue Group “were given credit for picking up 846 pilots and aircrew from behind enemy lines,” Kirkland explains, adding that the group rescued 8,373 soldiers from the front lines and transported them to the mobile hospitals. “Quite a feat for a handful of taxi drivers,” he says. Kirkland served with Capt. Sam Gilfand, who was the basis for the fictional character “Hawkeye” in the popular 1970s television series, M*A*S*H, that was based off a Richard Hooker novel.
“They were real people,” Kirkland says. “The reason we called him Hawkeye is he could take a wounded [patient] and see stuff no one else could see. He could save a patient when no one else could,” Kirkland says, pointing to a picture of Hawkeye, “Trapper” (Capt. Michael Johnson in real life) and himself (see photo page 45). While noting that Hooker exaggerated “quite a bit,” in writing the fictional characters,
By Andrew D. Parker, Managing Editor
Richard Kirkland displays a model of his favorite helicopter, the Hughes 500, while standing in his “aviation gallery” of memorabilia and artwork in the basement of his home in Vienna, Va.
And
rew
D. P
arke
r
One of the world’s first helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) pilots shares his combat rescue experiences in the Korean War.
TO GET ME TO GET ME TO GET ME LIKE AN ANGEL CAME DOWN
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MASH Angels
Kirkland says Gilfand “was a great guy, a great surgeon … and a great prankster, too.” While the book and TV series provided the story from the doctors on the ground, “it didn’t really get into the helicopter part. That was a really important part,” he adds.
An author of four published books—”MASH Angels,” “War Pilot,” “Tales of a War Pilot” and “Tales of a Helicopter Pilot”—Kirkland spends most of his time these days writing and painting, chroni-cling his experiences. Each one of the other books contains anywhere from 15–20 short stories, except “MASH Angels,” which is one cohesive story from cover-to-cover.
He’d been aiming to write “MASH Angels” for some time “because it was a story that just needed to be told. It’s another part of that great story that hasn’t been told. It lays the groundwork for the current air medical helicopter program that’s all around the world now, and it began in Korea.”
Flying Roots“My dad used to say, if you’re lucky you’ve got the world by the tail, but if you’re not, you’re in deep trouble. And I’m lucky. Because I’ve gone through an awful lot,” Kirkland says, including 103 combat mis-
sions in WWII and 69 in Korea. He initially got into flying after joining the Army when WWII came to America.
“The country was basically isolation-ist when the war broke out,” he recalls. “Nobody wanted it, but when they bombed Pearl Harbor, it changed overnight. Every-body just signed up. In some places, you had to stand in line for two days just to sign up.” He decided to apply as a pilot. “They would divide us up into groups—bomber pilot, fighter pilot, reconnaissance pilot, transport pilot. I wanted to be a fighter pilot and was fortunate enough to get it through
the Army Air Corps cadet program.” After WWII, Kirkland flew “many different kinds” of aircraft up until the Korean War, when he joined the MASH unit.
Inside the MASHThe MASH helicopters were given mis-sions by Army headquarters to fly to one of a number of pre-determined base camp locations.
“They would call us on a landline—we had a phone right in our tent—and say there’s a wounded soldier at spot number 23 [or K-23]. We would go and pick him
From left to right, Kirkland, Capt. Michael Johnson (Trapper) and Capt. Sam Gilfand (Hawkeye) in front of the officer’s quarter’s tents at 8055 MASH during the Korean War in spring 1953.
His
toric
al p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f Ric
hard
C. K
irkla
nd
Capt. Kirkland takes off in a Sikorsky H-5 from the 8055 MASH. The aluminum pods were used to transport patients from the battlefield to the mobile medical units.
HelicoptersSikorsky R-5/H-5/S-51
Sikorsky H-19 ChickasawKaman H-43Piasecki H-21Hughes 300
Hughes 500/500NBell HU-1 Huey (changed to UH-1
Iroquois in 1962)
Fixed-Wing AircraftBoeing PT-18 trainer
Vultee BT-13 Valiant trainerBeechcraft AT-6 advanced trainer
Saab T-17 trainer
Lockheed P-38 LightningPiper L-4 Grasshopper
Republic P-47 ThunderboltBell P-39 AiracobraBell P-63 KingcobraFairchild C-82 PacketDouglas C-47 Skytrain
Boeing B-17 Flying FortressStinson L-5 Sentinel
Stinson L-13Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star
C-45 Expeditor/Beechcraft Model 18de Havilland L-20 Beaver
North American B-25 Mitchell bomberMartin B-26 Marauder
His
toric
al p
hoto
s co
urte
sy o
f Ric
hard
C. K
irkla
nd
List of rotary and fi xed-wing aircraft that Richard C. Kirkland has fl own, in order of date, according to his recollection:
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46 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
up and bring him back to the MASH, and then they’d call again when the next one was coming. Sometimes, when they had a big battle, we’d just be going back and forth as fast as we could, but otherwise they’d just call us when they had one.”
Many times, wounded soldiers who could still walk were taken out on the ground via ambulance, but “if the area was under fire or the patient was seriously wounded and his life was in jeopardy, they called on the helicopter,” he says.
“If he just had an arm or leg wound or something where he could get on an ambu-lance, they would just bring him down, but if the roads were cut or they were under fire … we would have to do it all,” Kirkland adds. A doctor would come along on each helicopter medevac flight, and maintenance crews would be based at the MASH home location and each spot, or station, designated by “K” (for Korea) and a number, such as K-8 or K-14. The stations would move around every two to three weeks, depending on the battle lines. The helicopter units would rotate around the various stations—two on the front lines, two behind the lines, and another couple at the major combat bases.
The Army and Air Force supplied the pilots and medics for the different MASH units. Kirkland says that the Army units
flew the H-13 (military version of the Bell 47), which has a pod and didn’t have room for a doctor. “We had a medic, using the Sikorsky H-5, which is a little larger and has a little more horsepower. The medic came in handy because the wounded might be in pretty bad shape and need attention while we were getting him back to the hospital, particularly when we’d go behind the line.”
Vietnam Vs. KoreaKirkland explains that the way helicopters were used in the Korean War differed from Vietnam (he didn’t serve in Vietnam, but did train pilots for that conflict).
“We did lose some pilots and some heli-copters, but nothing compared to Vietnam. In Korea, we primarily flew up the bottom of the canyons, or we would fly offshore,” he says, adding that if a fighter pilot got into trouble, he could bail out in the Yellow Sea and be picked up by a helicopter-mounted rescue hoist.
Stepping back for a moment, Kirkland explains that before Korea, when helicop-ters came out in the 1940s, “everybody thought they were kind of novelties. They were in great demand during the holidays to come and show people how they could fly, do circles, bring in Santa, etc. But then they would go home and everybody would get back to business.”
The Korean War “changed all that,” he continues. “All of a sudden, helicopters were doing all kinds of neat stuff.” The Army picked up on this, having lost a sig-nificant amount of air power when the Air Force split off from the Army Air Corps in 1947. “They were looking for something to [establish another] air unit, and latched on to helicopters, saying they are ground-related. Pretty soon they had thousands of helicopters.”
In Vietnam, Kirkland says, “they made a big mistake, they thought the helicopter could fly like a fighter or bomber,” he says. This resulted in thousands of pilots and around 4,000 helicopters being shot down, a stark contrast to Korea. “You could count on two hands the number of pilots killed in the Korean War,” he notes.
Post-KoreaKirkland’s love for helicopters didn’t stop after he left Korea, flying “a little bit of everything.” In 1963, he took a job work-ing for Hughes Aircraft Company, starting out in sales. He went through a number of promotions—sales, then a demonstration pilot, a sales pilot and national salesman—before McDonnell Douglas took over the company in 1984.
Kirkland stayed on, working as a divi-sion manger. A few years later “Boeing took over, and I [continued] as a division man-ger, and then I retired,” he says. But that would not be the end of his professional career, as Kirkland became vice president of marketing for Heli-Source before retir-ing again in 1996. His ratings include com-mand pilot, multi-engine, single-engine fighter, transport, seaplane and helicopter. “I have all the flying ratings,” he says. He gained the helicopter rating in 1949, fol-lowing his first flight in 1947.
Hughes 500Kirkland says that if he was forced to pick which type of aircraft “you love the best of all, I would choose the Hughes 500. I love my helicopter flying experience, particu-larly in that bird. You could go in and out of almost anywhere. It was the best.”
From around 1975 until 1985, while he was a demonstration salesman at Hughes
Kirkland kept a demonstration Hughes 500 in his back yard for about a decade from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. He describes the Hughes 500 as his favorite helicopter.
Military | PRofile
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47March 2010 | rotor & Wing MagazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o M
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MASH Angels
Aircraft , Kirk-land kept a Hughes 500 in his back yard in Vienna. In addition to company business, he would occasionally fly his wife, Maria, various places instead of driving, many times landing in a parking lot or field near a park, restaurant, or hotel. Of course, Kirkland wouldn’t be allowed to fly a helicopter from his back yard these
days, but back then he “had an advan-tage. [Former Washington Redskins
Quarterback] Joe Theismann was my neighbor. So I think they figured if it was
all right with Joe, it must be OK.”
Family ManAfter retiring his wings in 1992, Kirkland has stayed out of the cockpit. “When I walked away after 50 years of flying, I’d had a great career and enjoyed it. Well, there were some parts I didn’t enjoy so much, but when I walked away, I said, ‘That’s it, I’m through,’ and I haven’t flown since,” he explains, adding that he still won’t take to the air—except on commercial airlines as a passenger.
“It’s just that I did that, and loved it. But everything has an end to it and I shifted to writing books and painting pictures.” He still speaks at local organization meet-ings around his community, such as the McLean Historical Society, the adult
program at George Mason University, the Aeronautical Society of Vienna, and other local Rotary and Kiwanis-type events.
“They love to have me come because they’re not too many people left, I’m one of the fortunate ones,” he says, pausing for a second. “There’s only two people in my squadron that are still alive, and I’m 86 years old.” People who are history buffs really seem to appreciate the stories, he adds. “It’s fun, I enjoy it.”
Above all, Kirkland is a family man—by far the most important role he’s played. With nine kids, 16 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, it’s hard to imagine where he finds the time to write memoirs and paint memories. Spending even a little time talking to Kirkland reveals his great appreciation for his wife of 35 years. The dedication on the third page of “MASH Angels” helps to sum up his feelings, thank-ing Maria “for her continued encourage-ment and inspiration.”
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TRAINING | GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
EUROPEAN HELO INDUSTRY STRIVES TO IMPROVE SAFETY
At the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) third Rotorcraft Symposium in Cologne, Germany in December 2009, the European helicopter industry continued an open dialogue to improve safety.
Initiatives from various parts of the world were discussed at the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)’s third rotorcraft sympo-
sium in Cologne, Germany in December. Offshore operations are still a major focus, but some speakers warned that real prob-lems may be somewhat below the radar—at small operators and/or in remote areas.
Vittorio Morassi, chairman of newEHA, gave an updated picture of the European industry. NewEHA (the New European Helicopter Association) is the association that represents European helicopter opera-tors, except emergency medical services
(EMS) operators, which are still regrouped in the European HEMS and air ambulance committee (EHAC). Negotiations to inte-grate EHAC into NewEHA failed at the last minute, in September 2009. NewEHA is based in Cologne.
In Europe, 2,000 companies operate a total of 6,960 helicopters. Two-thirds of them have only one aircraft in their fleet. The European fleet is used for commercial missions (28 percent), public service (21 percent), private flights (16 percent), EMS (10 percent), offshore oil and gas (4 per-cent) and other operations (21 percent). About half of the fleet is made of single-
engine helicopters.“Aerial work, private, air taxi and cor-
porate operations have suffered a major drop in demand since the economic slump began,” Morassi stated. EMS, firefighting and civil protection operations have been stagnating. Businesses involved in such operations have been doing fine “only where they benefit from stable relation-ships and long-term contracts.” Offshore flights for oil and gas companies remain steady. “Overall, this situation has caused a lot of job cuts,” Morassi said.
A number of rules impacting heli-copters are in the making in the Euro-
By Thierry Dubois
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European Safety
pean Union now. “Helicopters are being included in the EU emission trading scheme (ETS) only for political reasons, to please the environmentalists,” Morassi complained.
Regarding CO trading, Morassi said helicopters below 5,700 kilos (12,555 pounds) of MOTW are excluded from the European Union ETS. Still to be con-firmed is that operators emitting less than 10,000 metric tons of CO per year will be allowed to use a simplified reporting pro-cedure. The 10,000-ton threshold equates to 7,100 pounds of fuel used.
The OPS regulation, which EASA is working on for aircraft operations, is at the NPA (notice of proposed amend-ment) stage. NewEHA has requested that rotorcraft specificity should be taken into account. In response, EASA has appointed two “focal points” for general aviation and helicopters. There also has been a long-standing disagreement on single-engine operations over hostile environments. The industry finds current rules too restrictive. EASA is prepared to reconsider the matter, according to Morassi.
Some 14,000 comments have been received, EASA air operations officer Willy Sigl said. First draft rules should appear in April of this year. Then, in October, the agency will publish a comment response document. The new regulation is to be adopted in 2012.
NewEHA is also requesting to be involved in the development of specific flight and duty time limitations for gen-eral aviation and helicopter operations. “Airline rules do not suit our needs. Please keep rules affordable and proportionate,” Morassi urged EASA. He praised EASA and the European Helicopter Safety Team (EHEST) for working out “recommenda-tions that are suitable.”
The EHEST, a component of the Inter-national Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) that aims at cutting the helicopter accident rate by 80 percent by 2016, is issuing “con-solidated recommendations” from a wide-ranging accident data analysis. It is thus encouraging the use of safety management systems (SMS), “based on real safety cul-ture including risk management and codes of practice.” Moreover, operators should be encouraged to establish and apply standard
operating procedures (SOPs), EHEST rep-resentatives said.
Focus on TrainingAnother recommendation is to focus
on training to improve pilot decision-making before and after inadvertent entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The importance of mission prepa-ration and the benefits of installing flight data recorders (FDR) and conducting flight data monitoring (FDM, also known as flight operations quality assurance) were highlighted.
Commercial air transport, including EMS, accounted for 19 percent of the accidents EHEST has analyzed. General aviation accounted for 45 percent, while aerial work’s contribution was 32 percent. State flights accounted for four percent. (See chart page 50.)
Robert Carter, principal inspector of air accidents at the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), confirmed that FDRs have been extremely helpful in recent investigations. However, such data “cannot do everything and sometimes make the investigation even more com-plex,” he said. One probe used data from the helicopter health and usage monitor-ing system (HUMS). It proved useful but difficult to understand. “Investigations are as complex as ever,” Carter insisted.
More Offshore OpsAnother helicopter that has become
common in offshore operations is the AgustaWestland AW139 medium twin. Francesco Paolucci, a flight test engineer with the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) and Nicola Pecile, an Italian Air Force experimental test pilot, explained how the 2006 certification for IFR/night VFR single pilot operations was obtained. The AW139 had been certified for IFR/night VFR dual-pilot and day VFR single pilot operations in 2003. In the meantime, a new, four-display cockpit configuration had become available, making it eligible for extended single-pilot operations.
Paolucci, Pecile and their team focused on pilot workload. The method added the time spent in primary tasks (flight con-trols) and auxiliary tasks (communication, navigation, etc.) over the total duration of
a flight phase, such as approach. The pass/fail criterion was approximately 30 percent spare time available for normal operation.
Therefore, some emergency procedures were revised so the workload never reached 100 percent. “They are now more easily handled by a single pilot,” Paolucci said.
Bernardino Paggi, an AgustaWestland specialist in new flight test methodologies, presented how the AW139 was tested for category A offshore takeoff and land-ing procedures. EASA approved such operations in July 2009. “We wanted no procedural change between all-engine-operative and one-engine-inoperative,” Paggi emphasized. Quite simply, in case of an engine failure, the pilot should not do anything unusual. Otherwise this could have disturbing aerodynamic effects, Paggi said. AgustaWestland chose to allow some depletion in the rotor’s rotation speed.
Tests showed that tail clearance to the deck’s edge was about 100 meters (330 feet) in the worst-case scenario. This is when the engine fails at 17 feet, followed by the decision to continue takeoff. The takeoff decision point is at 20 feet. The difference between the 17- and 20-foot heights represent the pilot’s reaction time. Should the engine fail at 15 feet, the takeoff should be rejected.
“We chose a low takeoff decision point to ensure the best helideck sight in case of a rejected takeoff,” Paggi said. The 30-foot rotation point is 10 feet higher than the takeoff decision point to allow longer pilot reaction time for continued takeoff. It allows a greater deck edge clearance, too.
At the 15,000-pound MTOW, the maximum drop-down was 40 feet. This provides enough height above the sea, tak-ing into account the deck’s height.
In case of a balked landing, which should take place somewhat laterally away from the deck, the helicopter is never lower than the helideck level, Paggi said.
TCASOne more valuable insight into off-
shore safety was given by Bristow head of centralized engineering Mark Plunkett, who detailed how a second-generation traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS II) was fitted onto a helicopter—an AS332 Super Puma. Such an installation was until
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recently deemed impossible. Regulation states that helicopters cannot comply with TCAS II avoidance procedures, due to a lack of performance.
Yet, there is a need. First-genera-tion TCAS can’t be relied on for evasive maneuvers. It is just considered an aid to visually spotting traffic. Yet, in the North Sea, “visibility is not great,” as Plunkett put it. The need is widespread. In Nigeria, there were 32 airproxes in a few years in the early 2000s.
Bristow and Rockwell Collins engi-neers proved the operator’s helicopters can perform as required. They found a place to install the antenna, behind the main rotor. In flight tests, they demon-strated the absence of any blanking. They were awarded the first EASA supple-mental type certificate (STC) ever for a TCAS II on a helicopter. The first TCAS II-equipped Super Puma started operat-ing in the spring of 2008.
Bristow is now moving to other types. A Sikorsky S-92 with the antenna located above the windshield is close to flight testing. There are also plans for another Super Puma variant and the Sikorsky S-76. What about OEMs offering TCAS II on new helicopters? “There was skepticism but manufacturers’ interest is growing,” Plunkett said.
ADS-BOffshore safety was decidedly a major
focus at the symposium, as FAA rotorcraft directorate manager Mark Shilling gave
an update on the experimental period that began in December for the auto-matic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system in the Gulf of Mexico. It is hoped to improve traffic and weather information for helicopters flying to and from offshore rigs. Due to the distance from the shore, there is very limited radio coverage and no radar coverage. Position and weather reporting have been continu-ing issues. Moreover, instrument condi-tions exist frequently.
Yet, the Gulf of Mexico is the place for some 3,000 operations per day for the U.S. only, Shilling said. To report helicopter progress on its route, the existing process is “convoluted,” Shilling said, as it involves sat-ellite phones. To ensure aircraft separation, the airspace is divided into grid squares of 10 nm by 10 nm. The resulting air traffic control (ATC) capacity is very small—10 aircraft at a time.
The FAA and local operators place great hopes in ADS-B. The relatively simple sys-tem has been used by some fixed-wing aircraft operators. It periodically transmits information without any pilot or operator input. The position and the velocity vector are derived from the GPS. The transmitted information is available to anyone with the appropriate receiving equipment.
The painstaking grid scheme thus becomes useless. The main challenge is not to equip helicopters but offshore plat-forms. Relays are needed on the surface but space is scarce on the rigs. Final rules are to be issued in this month.
Maintenance ChallengesGiving a different mood to the sym-
posium, Christophe Cubières, a Bureau Veritas senior engineer, pointed out that the real world is quite different from the regulators’ expectations. Bureau Veritas has audited 45 rotorcraft operators in recent years. These audits took place in Europe, Russia, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Cubières and his team have seen recur-rent weaknesses in quality assurance. “It is supposed not only to survey the compli-ance of the organization to the regulation but also to measure and improve its per-formance,” Cubières pointed out. Except for large operators, SMS will remain a “dusty and pre-formatted book on a shelf,” Cubières worried, due to a lack of knowl-edge and insufficient resources.
Maintenance training is noted to be “weak.” Cubières sees a lack of formalized standards. He also emphasized a lack of records.
In Europe, EASA should bring national authorities closer to operators, Cubières suggested. It also should be “more involved in practical airworthiness matters.”
David Downey, Bell Helicopter’s vice president for f light operation/safety, expressed a concern that the three major authorities frame airworthiness directive (AD) compliance as if there is a major air-line maintenance organization capability. “The infrastructure for engineers (mainte-nance personnel) to actually comply with alert service bulletins outside of North
Chart on the left shows that commercial air transport, including helicopter EMS, accounted for 19 percent of the accidents EHSAT analyzed, with general aviation accounting for 45 percent and aerial work at 32 percent. Incidents most likely occurred during enroute phase of flight, followed by approach/landing, maneuvering and takeoff, as shown on right.
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America and the EU is very different. There are 120 countries or so where Bell has helicopters.”
There is still no Internet access in many places. “If an operator is flying out in remote areas—it can take a year before air-worthiness directives actually get to a small operator flying seismic surveys in Papua New Guinea,” Downey told Rotor & Wing. In Nepal, the national aviation authority only employs two people to oversee com-mercial operations, according to Downey.
At a small operator, a single person can be both the pilot and the mechanic. There-fore, Bell Product Support strives to make maintenance as easy as possible for these operators. “We try to avoid special tools like an expensive magnifier. We try to use tools the operator can find in his standard toolbox or can be locally procured,” he summarized. One of Bell’s ongoing safety initiatives is the development of a cockpit information recorder. It can be used for flight data monitoring (i.e. quality assur-ance) and accident investigation. A feature is that images of the instrument panel can be read by optical recognition software and in turn, can generate graphs.
SimulationCould flight simulators contribute to
the targeted safety improvement? Thales Training & Simulation program man-ager for FSTD (flight simulation training device) development Bernard Del Ghin-garo believes so. He explained how and why the use of simulators may well grow from small to significant.
“Training is the top category for the EHEST’s recommendations,” he said. One benefit of using simulators is heli-copters are thus kept for revenue flights. Moreover, the instructor commands the environment, notably in terms of traffic and weather. Simulators also enable safer training when it comes to tailrotor failure, entry into IMC and autorotations. Still, in a full flight simulator, the trainee will be closer to the reality of a malfunction.
“In a real helicopter, malfunctions are fake. In a simulator, malfunctions are real,” Del Ghingaro said.
Yet, in Europe, only 14 full flight simu-lators can be found for civil helicopters. “Historically, the cost ratio between FSTDs
and real aircraft has not been as attractive as for airplanes,” Del Ghingaro said.
This may be changing. FSTDs are becoming cheaper to use, according to Del Ghingaro. Simultaneously, FSTD standards are becoming more harmo-nized [see related story on page 12].
Technology is helping, too. Simulating the flight of a helicopter is highly complex. Now, the software and hardware to run these real-time models are available at lower cost.
Similarly, visual aspects are more important for helicopter operations, which take place closer to the ground. Simulators thus need larger fields of view and better details. “Visual system technol-ogy is now available to provide high-fideli-ty helicopter training,” Del Ghingaro said.
SMS and ISBAOBrian Humphries, who is both the
chairman of the British Helicopter Associ-ation (BHA) and the CEO of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), presented the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) as a proven SMS approach available to the helicopter industry. This kind of effort is worth it, he insisted. For example, the fatal accident rate in the North Sea has been halved since the 1980s, notably due to the use of SMS. IS-BAO is suitable to both small and large operators.
Humphries introduced IS-BAO as a professional code of practice. A report
analyzed 297 business aviation accidents and determined that more than one-third could have been prevented, if the operator had implemented IS-BAO, Humphries asserted. “Insurance companies are start-ing to understand by cutting premiums,” he said.
IS-BAO has been in use for fixed-wing operators for some time, and “minimal adjustment” is needed for the helicop-ter industry. IS-BAO is based on ICAO standards and recommended practices. It also draws from corporate best practices, regulations and guidance. Finally, it tailors ISO9000 principles to aviation. It is already recognized as a standard by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN).
For successful implementation, “You need commitment from the top,” Humphries emphasized. Implementation starts with a safety risk profile and gap analysis. Hazard identification, analysis and mitigation then becomes a continu-ous process. IS-BAO was developed and is administered by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC). IBAC is a coun-cil regrouping 15 business aviation associa-tions from around the wold. It represents business aviation at ICAO.
There are now more than 200 business aviation operators registered. For newcom-ers, support is available from other IS-BAO registered organizations and IBAC experts. There are approximately 100 auditors around the world, accredited and moni-tored by IBAC.
Unmanned RulingEASA rulemaking officer David Haddon unveiled EASA’s philosophy in a sec-
tor that could become significant over the coming decades—unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). There are currently 257 unmanned rotorcraft types at various stages of development or in service in the world. A notable portion of them are candidates for civil roles, he said.
“Their safety is not demonstrated but manufacturers face a Catch-22 situation,” Haddon pointed out. Regulators are not willing to develop rules before a need is established for such aircraft. But these companies do not want to invest without the assurance a design can be certified and operated in a civil activity, Haddon stressed.
“EASA wants to break this Catch-22 situation,” he said. A principle is that base certification specifications will be chosen from kinetic energy equivalent. A lot still has to be worked out. For example, what could be safe separation distances?
“EASA is committed to develop rules for civil UAS but they will be allowed to operate only if they demonstrate equivalent safety to manned aircraft,” Haddon stated. He insisted that the industry must get it right the first time.
European Safety
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MILITARY | PROFILE
Gerry Ventrella has piloted 41 different aircraft—fixed and rotary wing—in as many years. He’s f lown combat missions
across the globe. He’s been nominated for multiple aviation halls of fame. When asked to consider his career, the 61-year-old Chicagoan shrugged. “I haven’t done anything special,” he said. “But it does seem pretty bizarre, considering all I ever wanted to do was teach music.”
“My parents were musically inclined, and I was drawn in that direction,” he explained. “The French horn was my instrument, and Mozart’s concertos were my favorite to play.” How did he take a seismic leap from horn concertos to helicopters? Speaking to him at the Chicago Brauhaus, over an assortment of photographs dating back to the 1960s, it became clear that the key to the answer lies with a nickname: Huey. “When I graduated high school in ‘66, we were at war in Vietnam,” he said, lifting a photo of a helicopter emblazoned with a chicken. “I felt a patriotic duty, so I joined the Army.”
Hello HueyA boyish curiosity about aircraft led him to request fixed-wing mechanic school, but helicopters flying overhead during basic training captivated him. “I heard sto-ries about helicopter mechanics getting to fly missions with flight crews,” he said. “So I applied for a transfer.”
After basic training he completed Bell UH-1 Iroquois and Boeing CH-47 Chinook maintenance courses. He was about to deploy as a mechanic when he risked applying to flight school. “I didn’t think I would pass the application test,” he recalled. He did, and soon found himself in the first phase of flight training.
White-Winged WarriorThe rotary valves of his French horn were forgotten as he took up the balsa-wood rotor blades of the 1951 Bell OH-13, a Korean War veteran and star of the popular 1950s TV show Whirlybirds. “I remember the show,” Ventrella said. “I was flying a historic warbird!” During advanced training he transitioned to the
Huey, graduating in February 1969. One month later the 20-year-old was a Huey “Slick” pilot in Vietnam, flying combat assault, extraction and re-supply mis-sions for the 1st Air Cavalry Division. His company’s call sign was “Chickenman”, a humerous nod to the 1966 radio series spoof of Batman (see photo on page 53.)
Ventrella was thrilled by flying, and refined his skills and techniques such as low-level and formation flight. “There were no nav-aids other than the occa-sional non-directional beacon,” he point-ed out. “It was all good old-fashioned pilotage and dead reckoning.” But it was on-the-job training, with a heavy price. “I saw terrible things,” he said. “Some good friends died.”
Ventrella doesn’t dwell on the brutality of war, and punctuates even dark memo-ries with humor. During one mission, his helicopter was hit by enemy gunfire and he landed in a field. With a battle raging nearby, his copilot and gunner took the downed Huey’s M60 machine guns and boarded a sister ship, leaving Ventrella and his crew chief vulnerable as they wait-
By Anne Grahn
UH-1 Iroquois sets pilot on the path to aviation Hall of Fame.
FROM Mozart
UH-1 Iroquois sets pilot on the path to aviation Hall of Fame.
TO Huey Fellow aviators (not shown) saluted Gerry Ventrella as he disembarked from his last mission flight at Camp Speicher in Iraq on Dec. 30, 2007.
U.S
. Arm
y/S
FC J
eff T
roth
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Mozart to Huey
ed for it to return. It never did.He smiled at the memory of an Ameri-
can soldier approaching them a few hours into their wait. “I could still hear the gun-fire,” he said. “We were all alone, some-where along the Cambodian border in enemy territory, when all of the sudden this Special Forces guy appears out of nowhere. He didn’t say a word—just gave us a smile and a six-pack of beer!”
After seven hours, a Huey and Chinook managed to withstand the gunfire and extracted them. Ventrella’s tour of duty ended soon afterward, and he left with a promotion. He had flown 813 combat hours and was awarded 18 Air Medals.
A Teacher is BornVentrella went back to Fort Eustis, Va., where he’d first learned about helicopters. Three years and a Bronze Star later he was there to teach flight controls, test flight procedures and rotary-wing aerodynam-ics. “I still loved music,” he said. “But avia-tion was my life.”
Through the G.I. Bill he earned a fixed-wing commercial license, followed by a CFI and CFII. He worked for several years as a fixed-wing instructor at Chicago’s Midway Intl Airport (MDW) before becoming an aviation safety inspector for the FAA, and then a designated pilot examiner (DPE).
“I enjoyed civilian flying,” Ventrella said. “But I missed military helicopter opera-tions, so I joined the Reserves.” He taught fixed and rotary-wing flight to reservists and reverted to his military rank on mis-sions in the U.S., Honduras and Egypt, hap-pily flying Hueys again.
By 1983 he was a chief warrant officer 4 (CW4), a senior-level expert in aviation. When his reserve command was deacti-vated in 1997, he continued civilian work as the Army placed him in the Individual Ready Reserve.
The Enemy WithinDuring a routine flight physical in 2001, he faced his deadliest enemy yet. It was cancer, and it was closing in on his carotid artery—the doctor told him he would never fly again.
Undaunted, he tracked down a spe-cialist and underwent surgeries, chemo-therapy and radiation. He wasn’t ground-
ed for long. He beat the cancer, received his first class medical certificate, and was back to work (as a contract pilot, flight instructor, weather observer and DPE) in 2002. He was 55 years old and eager to return to the military. He got his wish—by 2005, he was back in the Reserves. He continued working and wondered if he would be activated.
Soldier OnIn 2006, a specialized counter-insurgency battalion was ramping up in Iraq (see Rotor & Wing, “Spies In The Sky,” May 2007). U.S. Army Task Force ODIN (short for observe, detect, identify and
neutralize) combats improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with reconnaissance.
F i xe d - w i n g a s s e t s , i n c l u d i n g unmanned General Atomics Warriors and modified Beech/Raytheon Hurons, are coordinated with rotary assets such as the Boeing AH-64 Apache into a “persistent stare,” allowing combat com-manders to stealthily observe insurgents as they scout locations for IEDs. The unit needed experienced pilots and having instructed in the Huron, Ventrella was ideal. He arrived at Camp Speicher in northern Iraq in January 2007. It had been nearly 40 years since he had first gone to war, and the landscape shift from jungle
Ventrella’s 227th Assault Battalion in Vietnam, part of the 1st Air Cavalry Division, carried the call sign “Chickenman,” as seen in this photo taken of Huey maintenance in 1969.
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Military | PRofile
to desert was dramatic, both literally and figuratively.
In Vietnam, Ventrella interacted with the infantry he supported every day. “We were going directly into hot LZs with troops and pulling them out under hostile fire,” he noted. Unlike other pilots, who returned to their ships after battle, Army pilots like Ventrella “lived with our guys on the ground, eating C-rations cooked over cans of dirt mixed with jet fuel and swapping stories.”
In Iraq, he piloted the Huron covertly, offering troops he neither knew nor saw his assistance through high reconnaissance.
Experience keeps the change in per-spective. “I know the war-fighting value of reconnaissance,” he said. “Even though I wasn’t on the front line in Iraq, I realize aerial intelligence directly impacts our soldiers on the ground.”
Ventrella was surprised that two fellow pilots had also flown helicopters in the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam in 1969. One of them, CW4 Lonnie Clark, had been a Bell AH-1 Cobra “Snake” pilot in the same battalion, and had probably covered him on missions.
Ventrella is grateful that he was able to battle through cancer and serve in Iraq, and he’s not alone. “Gerry is always will-ing to share his aviation knowledge and
experience to make the company and the task force a better organization,” enthused Maj. Mike Milo, executive officer of Ven-trella’s brigade company.
After his final mission, Ventrella was given an award from the commander of the 1st Armored Division, and his 19th Air Medal. As he touched down on the runway at Camp Speicher for the last time, he was met by the salutes of fellow aviators, who lined the taxiway in a show of respect.
Soon after returning home, he was retired from service as he reached the Army’s mandatory age of 60. “There was more to contribute,” he told me. “I didn’t feel done yet.” And he’s not.
Safety RulesA founding member and board of director of the Chicago Flight Instructor Associa-tion, he completed the University of South-ern California’s Aviation Safety Officer program in 1976, and has been involved in safety for decades as a CFI, FAA inspec-tor and pioneer safety counselor in the “Wings” pilot proficiency program.
“As the Army says, attitudes should be adjusted to prevention,” he cautioned. “The first accident I ever investigated involved two men and a seven-year-old boy. The boy’s father was flying a well-equipped aircraft, but he wasn’t instru-ment rated. He got caught in some weath-er and lost control. If he’d just known how
to set the autopilot, they’d be alive.”He gives safety talks and courtesy
checks to pilots in flight schools, flying clubs and law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and the Chicago Police Department. “I try to pass on lessons learned from accident investigations, prevention courses and my experience as a weather observer.”
Hall of FameMilitary retirement hasn’t slowed Ven-trella down. He is scheduled for induction into the Illinois Military Aviation Hall of Fame this summer, and was nominated for the 2010 HAI “Salute to Excellence” safety award. In the words of Lt. Col. James Jenke (Ret.), who’s known him since 1972, “Gerry Ventrella is the ulti-mate aviator’s aviator. He sets the stan-dard in every system he’s ever flown.”
He’s logged more than 14,000 flight hours across three continents—nearly two years in the cockpit. Half of his hours are fixed-wing, but he considers himself a helicopter pilot first.
Of all the aircraft he’s flown, the Huey is his favorite, and it’s an apt choice. Recently retired by the U.S. Army, it’s widely described as “durable, versatile and able to continue flying after heavy damage.” Sound familiar?
“It’s like an old friend,” Ventrella said fondly. “The sound of those blades is bet-ter than Mozart!”
From left to right, Lonnie Clark, D company, 227th Battalion, Ventrella and Ken Inabnit, 1st Brigade “Flying Circus.” All three Iraq veterans served in the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam in 1969.
Then-warrant officer candidate Gerry Ventrella in a Bell OH-13 at Fort Wolters, Texas. Photo was taken in June 1968.
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56 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Safety WatchStay with the Wreckage!
The business of developing strate-gies for actions following aviation mishaps is not usually a favorite topic for helicopter operators, but
it does represent an area of flight planning, and mission execution, that can prove to be absolutely pivotal where bottom-line safety concerns are considered. Optimum strategies dealing with post-crash actions are usually thought of as so unlikely to be needed that they receive little attention during mission planning, but the particu-lars of one recent anecdote would seem to illuminate an alternative argument.
A couple of years ago a news article came to national light which described heroics exhibited by a U.S. Forest Service employee after the crash of a small aircraft (it doesn’t matter whether it was an airplane or a helicopter) in the mountains of Mon-tana. The Forest Service group leader, it turns out, was one of four persons on board, as the ill-fated single-engine encountered terrain in a remote setting, at a high eleva-tion. One occupant was killed on impact, but three souls survived to deal with some interesting post-crash challenges.
A second fatality, after an uncomfort-able night in the cold, imposed itself on the group as burns from a post-crash fire took their toll on another occupant, leaving one survivor with fractures, and the Forest Service group leader relatively uninjured. The uninjured survivor con-vinced the fellow with fractures to follow, on foot, in a walk out of the mountains, toward envisioned help.
During the torturous two-day trek a helicopter was spotted by the highly stressed pair, and the team leader tried to attract its attention with lots of yelling and arm waving, but to no avail. Their hellish hike was consigned to continue.
Finally, after interminable suffering, the couple was able to achieve completion of their awful journey to at least an edge of civilization. Eventually, after several days spent recovering and debriefing, the group leader became widely lauded for an extended list of “heroics”, largely imagined by an innocently appreciative public.
The amazing aspect of this story is not that the uninjured survivor was able to “force” an eventually successful mobiliza-tion to eventual assistance, and that lavish but misplaced praise was awarded, but that the victims, and most lay observers, failed to appreciate, or even notice, that the rescue helicopter had flown directly to the wreck-age of the aircraft, and that the survivors would have realized assistance and rescue two days earlier than recorded if they had stayed with their wreckage.
The helicopter community at large should be able to draw considerable wis-dom from this story. Operating areas, of course, are widely variable in terms of envi-ronmental conditions and population den-sities, and thinking pilots must always keep correctly proportioned strategies in mind accordingly. Many flights, taking advan-tage of the helicopter’s attractive trans-port flexibilities, are conducted in remote geographies, and/or challenging weather conditions. Other operations, for those perhaps more fortunate, are conducted in the vicinity of well-populated areas, and can offer mission proximities never more than short distances away from perceived access to ready help. Either way, many cases of downed aircraft producing mobile sur-vivors involve some element of temptation toward the allure of walking in the direction of imagined comfort and assistance.
In recent years a newly upgraded prolif-eration of contemporarily available survival
equipment, most electronic by category, has been injected into the aviation mar-ketplace, contributing substantially to potential survival strategies. Any number of “personal locator beacons” can now be carried, greatly enhancing the likelihood that a downed airman or passenger can be found quickly and easily. Additionally, GPS locators are now so common that very few public service organizations, or associated individuals likely to be involved with search and rescue activities, are not familiar with latitude/longitude navigational particulars and universally standard position locating. And cell phone networks, combined with handheld radio transceivers accessing any imaginable communications band, make it increasingly improbable that an air trans-port mishap survivor would ever suddenly find himself on the ground minus the ability to communicate with assistance.
But the Montana story, availability of advanced equipment notwithstand-ing, provides an opportunity to stress a categorically proven and time tested cardinal rule of post crash survival. Unless and until ready assistance can be posi-tively confirmed, ALWAYS STAY IN THE VICINITY OF THE WRECKAGE. The downed airframe, whether hosting its own operating ELT or other beacon, will almost always be found more quickly (and much more reliably) than a survivor, or even a group of survivors, on foot.
Even if an ELT is removed from an airframe (so that, for instance, it might be “saved” from a fire threat, and made avail-able for “walking” with survivors), and even if “known” civilization and assistance can be reached “just over the next ridge,” resist the temptation to strike out on a walking gamble and STAY WITH THE WRECKAGE!
By Terry Terrell
Training | RecoveRy
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58 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
CSAR – Not Just a ‘Spur of the Moment’ Thing
There were at least two factors behind last year’s decision to ter-minate the funding for the U.S. Air Force’s Combat Search and
Rescue (CSAR-X) aircraft. The first was the obvious one that it saved money by an incoming president eager for quick wins. It meant not beginning another procure-ment chain and not re-starting a program that still had a lingering bitter aftertaste following the win by Boeing’s HH-47, fol-lowed by a vehement challenge, then the success of overturning the decision. It is easier to drop such a program totally than re-open a “can of worms.”
The second factor involves political gambling. The gamble is that most politi-cians believe in the principle of ‘it will be alright on the night’ in regard to CSAR. The lessons of Vietnam are forgotten. Another era—different challenges, replaced by an unstated belief (and hope) that the professionalism and ability of the armed forces to throw a rescue mission together with the existing assets at their disposal in the face of adversity will, unless they are very unlucky, result in success. And the frequency. There should not be too many Captain Scott O’Grady missions.
Let me illustrate how a belief in oppor-tunist rescue could lead to a reduced reli-ance on specialist CSAR assets—either within the U. S. or Europe. During Opera-tion Glacier 2, focused on the Jugroom Fort in lower Helmand Province on Jan. 15, 2007, and on the spur of the moment, two British Apache AH-64D helicopters each with two Royal Marines perched precari-ously onto the side pods and “bungeed” on to the aircraft, launched a rescue mission to save an isolated soldier (believed to be still alive) into the very teeth of insurgent forces. The units involved had no training or specialization in this kind of combined
rescue. The board of inquiry later stated that: “the courage and professionalism of those men that recovered his body was exemplary and in the best traditions of the UK’s armed forces.”
While at the time this was judged as the right decision to take during the battle, many a government bean counter will sub-sequently wonder why there needs to be a specialization in personnel recovery (PR), or CSAR, depending on your name for rescuing military people (usually aircrew but not exclusively) isolated and needing help in battle (in many cases behind enemy lines).
The story of the Jugroom Fort rescue is superbly narrated in Ed Macy’s book “Apache.” It is a testament to military dar-ing, the best of the element of surprise and prosecuting a plan of action totally unex-pected by your enemy. In the cold glare of day, however, it should be admitted that they were very lucky to get away with it.
But then war can be like that. A well-planned mission can still fail due to some chance event, and equally one that is thrown together at the last moment can sometimes succeed—largely as it is some-thing the enemy, and perhaps even your own side, least expects. If your forward elements haven’t modified their behavior, then why should the enemy expect any-thing different?
During the Jugroom Fort rescue, all the elements usually required for a classic per-sonnel recovery mission, as most of today’s practitioners would agree, were on hand. They had the rescue vehicles (albeit those were AH-64D Apache Longbows) and escorts (another two Apache Longbows flying higher above them as they entered the danger area).
They even had the assistance of a B1 bomber flying very high overhead that
added to the confusion of the insurgents. The ground protection force comprised a handful of the Royal Marines who had initially volunteered for this extraordinary mission. Finally, there was an AWACS on station to tie the communications together. And it worked!
Although there is a procedure for rescuing fellow downed aircrew using the AH-64 Apache, it was not in general use. There was also no Plan B to extract them-selves had anything gone wrong during Plan A—especially if the rescue force had begun to take casualties during the rescue. Considering that a couple of the crewmen assisted in the recovery outside the aircraft, this potentially could also have resulted in the loss of an Apache.
What they did was not wrong, but it would be unlikely to achieve the same results again. The danger lies in that the people who are making decisions on what to support and what not to finance might start to believe that ‘spur of the moment’ CSAR is the way forward. It isn’t. The danger also multiplies in a joint operating environment such as exists in Afghani-stan, where multiple national forces oper-ate side-by-side.
A small team within the European Air Group, based at Air Command in the UK, runs an annual Combined Joint Personnel Recovery course that has been supported over the years by France, Italy, Germany and others. They are but a small team, doing a good job, but also short of funds.
What personnel recovery/combat search and rescue specialization, equip-ment and training delivers is the prepara-tion and knowledge to plan for, and deal with, the unexpected. To limit casualties and extract to a plan when things go wrong. Without dedicated CSAR, it rapidly turns into a deadly game of chance.
By Andrew Drwiega
MiliTARy | combat SaR
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60 RotoR & Wing magazine | maRch 2010 W W W. R o t o R a n d W i n g . c o m
Law Enforcement NotebookCurrency vs. Proficiency
Vacations are great. They give you a chance to put the stresses of work and daily chores aside for awhile and decompress. Occu-
pying your mind with something other than flying can sometimes be a good thing, but once you get back in the cockpit, you may find that the rust sets in rather quickly. Picture this: you walk back into the hangar after a nice vacation, greet your evening partner as you relieve the day crew, and then almost immediately receive a call to medevac a car crash victim.
As you strap in, you notice it takes you an extra second or two to orient yourself on the start-up instruments, but you suc-cessfully avoid the hot start. You land at the scene uneventfully, yet you rushed the approach and did not recite your landing checklist in your head prior. You never even considered what you’d do if you lost an engine (or THE engine, for that matter).
Heading off to the hospital in the dark-ness, it takes noticeably longer for the sight picture of the helipad lighting to look familiar to you as you start your approach. Damn—you’re so tasked with flying a good approach, that you forgot your landing checklist again. You return to base and land, much to the appreciation of your burning calf muscles; it feels like you were trying to bend the tail rotor pedals during your platform landing. All these issues may have been transparent to the rest of the crew and passengers, yet you know your performance was below your best.
A quick check of your logbook shows that you are definitely within the currency requirements of FAR parts 61.56 and
61.57, which, in a nutshell, require you to have a flight review every 24 months, as well as to have accomplished three takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days. But while your currency advocates your legality or your minimum compli-ance with established rules, it is your proficiency, or by definition, your “ability to perform a given skill with expert cor-rectness” that is in need of attention.
Flying is a perishable skill. The issues described above should be clear flags that your skills are less than peaked, and you are cutting into your margin of safety. When you are out of practice, consider-ably more than your normal amount of pilot attention goes towards performing critical flight skills such as takeoff and landing, and the amount of brainpower left for judgment and decision-making is decreased. If you are not able to multitask other processes such as reciting checklists or running the “what if ” scenario in your head at crucial points in your flight, then your task saturation boundary may be closer than you realize, and in the event of a real emergency, your ability to think and act quickly might disappoint you.
Of course on a normal basis, certain flying skills will be used more than others. FAR parts 61.56 and 61.57 were created in an attempt to help retain the most basic of those skills at a bare minimum. But the unpredictable nature of law enforcement missions means that any of your more specialized skills can be called upon at any time. It is imperative that agencies dedicate ample and frequent flight time to continued training and proficiency. Flying
enough actual missions does not preclude the need for actual training. There is no question that flying mission after mission certainly helps to retain skills, since tasks most often repeated are best remem-bered. But speaking for myself, I’d say I’ve acquired retainable experiences more so than retainable skills during actual mis-sions, especially in the scenarios where I’ve scared myself … not my favorite way to train, by the way. Proficiency is best brought back by dedicated training flights, where the pilot’s mind is in a mode to receive, and instructor’s mind is in the mode to teach and critique.
If your agency is going to pride itself on being able to respond to a wide variety of specialized missions such as tactical insertion, hoist and medevac, my feeling is this: If you don’t frequently train for it, don’t advertise that you do it. Agencies that are involved in a recur-rent training program of their own, with an established way of critiquing and documenting proficiency, stand the best chance of maintaining the safest of operations, while being readily capable of conducting their specialized missions, and easily satisfying any FAA require-ments for currency in the process.
Ideally, upon returning from vacation, after greeting our coworkers, we should all make it a point to greet our other partner—our aircraft! Open the pilot’s manual, do some “arm-chair” f lying and review emergency procedures, and request a proficiency flight to sharpen your skills before those in need ask you to use them.
By Frank Lombardi
PubliC ServiCe | Police
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61march 2010 | rotor & Wing magazineW W W. r o t o r a n d W i n g . c o m
April 2010:Quad A Preview—A look at what to expect at the annual Army Aviation extravaganza held this month, April 14-17, 2010 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas.
Dream Machine—Rotor & Wing contributing editor Richard Whittle shares an excerpt from his about-to-be-published book on the life and times of the V-22, “The Dream Machine: The Untold His-tory of the Notorious V-22 Osprey.”
Glass Cockpit Upgrades—After talking to people who have upgraded their rotorcraft from analog to all-digital glass cockpits, their enthusiasm is contagious. The improvements in per-formance, ease of use, and maintenance are stunning as the stories in this article attest.
Electronic Maintenance Tracking—Technology as a tool for helicopter maintenance technicians.
MRO Safety Management Systems—StandardAero experts explain the philosophy and challenges in implementing a safety management system and why StandardAero put SMS in place well before it was mandated.
Bonus Distribution: 2010 Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) Convention, April 7–10 in Orlando, Fla.; Quad-A 2010, April 14–17 in Fort Worth, Texas.
May 2010: New Technology Sneak Peak—We’ll look at advance-ments in technological areas like external threat awareness, opera-tional economics and training.
PBN—Integrating performance-based navigation into the rotor-craft environment.
Desert Defense—Helicopters of the U. S. Customs and Border Protection Yuma Air Branch stop crimes and save lives in the harsh environment along the Arizona-Mexico border.
Rotor Blade Balancing—The rotor blade generates an aerodynamic force unlike any other. With so much riding on them, helicopter rotor blade testing is critical.
PLUS: V-22 Update
Bonus Distribution: SeaAirSpace Expo 2010, May 3–5 in Baltimore, Md. EBACE 2010, May 4–6 in Geneva, Switzerland. American Helicopter Society (AHS) Forum 2010, May 11–13 in Phoenix, Ariz.
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62 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MARCH 2010 W W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M
Public SafetySuspension of Disbelief
I recently attended an aerial fire-fighting conference in Rome, Italy. The food was great, the people are wonderful, but I managed some-
how. Conference attendees came from all aspects of aerial firefighting. Great discussions were held in the conference itself and more importantly in the bar.
One bar comment comes from an observation over the last 40 years. I don’t drink, not a big deal, I never did drink, but I have observed at conferences and the HAI Convention that more truth is spo-ken at 11 p.m. in the bar then at 11 a.m. on the convention floor. The hot issue at the conference was the use of night vision gog-gles (NVGs) for firefighting. I listened as various speakers and attendees discussed plans to incorporate NVG technology into their operations. This included Canadair CL-415 and Skycrane operations. Finally on the last day of the conference, I had to say something.
I know that comes as a shock to those of you that know me. What I said is this; Los Angeles City and County Fire Air Operations have conducted more night firefighting operations then the rest of the world put together. Los Angeles City doesn’t use NVGs for firefighting. Coun-ty pilots do use them for flights over dark terrain to and from the fire, but not on the actual drop itself.
The only pilot fatality that the Los Angeles County Fire Department has suffered in 53 years of service occurred in 1977 while conducting NVG operations on a fire. This accident occurred when the unit employed much different technology than we have today and is not a straight
apples-to-apples comparison. The find-ings of the accident review board listed the mixing of two different agencies working from the same helispot as a major contrib-uting factor to the accident.
I take from the report the following: the number of helicopters that can be uti-lized from one helispot should be limited to two, certainly not more than three and then only if they are from the same agency. The ability of the pilot to maintain spatial awareness of where other aircraft are located is greatly hampered at night.
Differences in protocols among agen-cies for separation and traffic patterns do not help the individual pilot’s aware-ness of his flight environment. If you have a large fire and two independent helispots can be established with non-conflicted routing between the helispot and the respective flanks to be dropped on, the number of helicopters can increased accordingly. If two agencies are employed, separating the agencies to different helispots is very desirable.
Pilots must account for the higher risk element of night operations. Good moonlight, lots of ambient light from infrastructure, and a reasonable number of aircraft from a limited mix of agencies working on the fire all reduce risk. The gain side needs close attention. Will this operation save lives or property? Can the night operations add to the safety of firefighters on the ground? If the answer is no, and all we are going to do is put out weeds in the middle of nowhere, then I for one strongly believe that your risk versus gain is out of balance. Los Angeles County Air Operations evaluated night
snorkel operations with its Firehawk aircraft.
The unit concluded that hovering four-to-eight feet over water at night with poor viability due to rotor wash was unduly risky. At night, Firehawks are filled with a fire hose off of an engine. I would caution others to take a hard look at this issue before committing to night snorkel operations. The idea of trying to scope on goggles with a Canadair aircraft off a lake, seems a bit sporty to me. But I am not a fixed-wing pilot so others will need to address that issue. I am a quali-fied helicopter coordinator and have worked helicopters and Canadair aircraft together on many occasions, and I would refuse to attempt it at night.
Several years ago, a pilot was quoted as saying that if he would have been allowed to conduct night operations in his Hughes 500 with a water drop bucket, he would have extinguished a Santa Ana-driven fire. Let’s say that for once in my life I agree with Hillary Clinton, that pilot’s comment “would require the will-ing suspension of disbelief.” The fire went on to destroy hundreds of homes and the politicians grabbed his comment to try and vilify anyone who questioned night aerial firefighting operations. This was in an attempt to move the spotlight off of their own neglect of the issues at hand.
The fire pilot community has been trying to find balance on this issue ever since. The Los Angeles County Fire pilot who died in that accident was Tom Grady. Let’s hope Tom is the only one that pays the price for the lessons learned.
By Lee Benson
PUBLIC SAFETY | FIREFIGHTING
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63MARCH 2010 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINEW W W. R O T O R A N D W I N G . C O M 17071
June 8-9, 2010Denver, Colorado | Hyatt Regency Tech Center
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