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EDITORIAL
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Contributing Writers: Rick Adams; Chris Baur; Lee Benson;
Igor Bozinovski; Keith Brown; Keith Cianfrani; Steve Colby; Dan
Deutermann; Peter Donaldson; Ian Frain; Pat Gray; Frank Lom-
bardi; Elena Malova; Vicki McConnell; Robert Moorman; Douglas
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ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MAY 2014 WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
D1
S
ome of you may have heard
of this concept that is com-
monly being referred to
as the Digital Revolution. I
believe it has something to do with
that whole Inter-Web thing every-
bodys also been talking about.
And I imagine that as you read
these words, many of you are
expecting a sales pitch about how
much better digital magazines are
than print, how much more quick-
ly you can receive your monthly
issues and how we can now offer
you search capabilities along with
video and audio files into your
tired old hum-drum magazine
reading experience.
But while all of those things
happen to be true, some of us
myself included grew up on
paper and ink, and we arent quite
ready to relegate traditional print
magazines to the trash bins of our
lives just yet.
There is a zen-like quality to
the experience of opening our
mailbox to find the latest issue of
our favorite magazine waiting for
us there. And whether we take it
to our desk and immediately read
it, or throw it into our bag to read
at home later, we always know
where it is and we dont forget
about it as the other demands
of our inbox start piling up to
the point they can no longer be
ignored. Even if we do get inter-
rupted while reading our favorite
print/paper publication, the mag-
azine itself serves as a giant 8x11
reminder note, calling us to pick
back up wherever we left off.
But the lure of the digital format
was far too much for big publish-
ing companies to ignore. It mini-
mizes all of the most significant
expenses of producing a maga-
zine print, paper and postage.
So while magazines such as ours
will still gladly send a free digital
version to qualified industry pro-
fessionals anywhere in the world,
getting the free printed magazine
you received for years sometimes
became next to impossible, and we
were simply not set up to handle
paid subscriptions.
While our company contin-
ues to lead with the products
and services we now deliver to
helicopter industry professionals
online, this note is actually about
letting you know that we also
understand the inherent lure and
value of print. Paper and ink will
always have their place. But any
magazine that attempts to define
itself as a News Magazine today
is in fact admitting that they pre-
fer to remain in the buggy-whip
business. Nobody gets news on a
30-day cycle anymore. However,
we can prioritize and organize
the most important news of the
past month for you and present
it with our own commentary,
and we can provide a wealth of
insight on all the most impor-
tant topics of our industry each
month via our expert writers and
columnists.
All that said, we took a hard
look at our content and our cus-
tomer base and came to three
very basic, but very important
conclusions about print magazine
subscriptions today:
Many readers living and work- 1.
ing outside the U.S. tell us they
would still like to receive a
print magazine if it wasnt so
expensive.
Some readers simply are not able 2.
to receive a digital version of our
magazine due to the security
policies within their company
or organizations network.
Most work in an environment 3.
where there are a number of
other individuals who might
also like to receive a monthly
subscription of their own.
Using those observations as
our guide, weve created a new
Annual Company Subscrip-
tion plan that, for the old price
of a single subscription outside
the U.S., now allows you and up
to eight qualified individuals at
your same location to each begin
receiving your own personal-
ized print copy of Rotor & Wing
each and every month, while the
digital version remains available
at no cost. But whether you opt
for the free digital version, the
new low-cost print version or
both, now you only have a single
form for your whole team, and a
common renewal date to manage
each year.
Check it out online at www.
omeda.com/rw
Which is also a fitting way to
sum this all up we will continue
to provide print where print is val-
ued, and we will use the internet
where the internet adds value
each will always have its place.
Of Print, Paper and Pixels
By Randy Jones
rjones @accessintel.com
Publishers View
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4 ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MAY 2014 WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
aparker@accessintel.com
T
echnology is, and always
will be, one of the corner-
stones of Rotor & Wings edi-
torial coverage, and the May
issue is dedicated to the subject. It
is often said that military technol-
ogy is 10 years ahead of civil/com-
mercial technology. Around 10
years after the cancellation of the
Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Coman-
che program in 2004, the world is
experiencing a period where com-
mercial applications are growing
in number and diversity ranging
on the lower end from single-seat
experimental designs up to tiltro-
tors such as the AW609 and Bell
V280 Valor or compound aircraft
like Boeing-Sikorskys offering for
U.S. Army Aviations Joint Multi-
Role (JMR) program, a precursor
to Future Vertical Lift (FVL). Then
theres prototypes like Airbus Heli-
copters (Eurocopter) X3 (X-cubed).
Whether military or commer-
cial, some of the most interesting
ideas are coming out of both the
established manufacturers and the
start-up companies that are alter-
ing the landscape of helicopter
technology. This month leads off
with the Sikorsky autonomous
research aircraft (SARA) on the
cover with accompanying feature
from Dale Smith on page 42. Igor
Cherepinsky, chief engineer on
Sikorskys Autonomous Program,
said that the manufacturer is try-
ing to automate a lot of things in
current VTOL machines that the
human (pilot) now has to do
You can think of it like the old days
when you got on an elevator and
there was an operator there to run
it. It was too complicated for an
untrained person to do safely.
As automation advanced, the
operator was no longer needed, he
continued. You just push a button.
We are working to bring the same
advancement to the pilot/aircraft
interface. Were saying it doesnt
really matter where the human
being is but there needs to be
human interface at some level
but that human can either be in
the aircraft or at a remote location.
It doesnt really matter.
Next is a Pilot Report on the
AgustaWestland AW609 from Edi-
tor-at-Large Ernie Stephens begin-
ning on page 22. Ernie is the first
pilot from an aviation trade publi-
cation to fly both the AW609 and
the Airbus Helicopters X3, accord-
ing to officials at AgustaWestland.
He has also flown the AW109,
119 and 139; nine different Bell
Helicopter variants; the Boeing
CH-47; Airbus EC120, EC135 and
AS350/355/365; Kaman H4-43
and SH-26; MD500 series, MD600
and MD902; all the Robinson types;
RotorWay Scorpion; and Sikorsky
S-76D and S-92 (to name a few).
Ernies observations about the
AW609 bear repeating: Ninety
minutes after takeoff, I stepped
out of the 609 feeling like I had
just sampled a portion of civil avia-
tions future. Part helicopter, part
airplane, the AW609 tiltrotor is
an unusual but fun machine to fly.
And if it attains its FAA certifica-
tion in 2017, as the company hopes
it will, you may see a lot of them.
Andrew Drwiega follows up
with Eastern Innovations, the first
of a multi-part series covering the
Eastern Hemisphere, on page 26.
Focusing primarily on Australia
and New Zealand in this months
edition, Rotor & Wings Interna-
tional Bureau Chief reports on the
KC518 Adventourer, Coax Heli-
copters and Sydney-based Stop-
Rotor Technologys RotorWing,
also mentioning the Marenco
Swisshelicopter SKYe SH09.
One of the design objectives of
the KC518, Composite Helicopters
founder and director Peter Malo-
ney told Rotor & Wing, has been to
develop a helicopter that would be
suitable to a low-time private pilot,
yet offer the performance and pas-
senger appeal of our peers. At 110
knots and using only 64 percent
torque, straight and level, we were
hands and feet off all controls and
the helicopter remained stable until
the rotors passed through a change
in air density.
Then theres Technology Editor
Frank Lombardis interview with
Jay Carter, CEO of Carter Aviation,
which has developed its slowed
rotor/compound technology, or
SR/C (see story starting on page
14). Carter notes: Our aircraft is
really a hybrid between a helicop-
ter, an autogyro, and a fixed-wing
airplane. The rotor is driven by the
air flowing up through the rotor,
like wind through a wind turbine,
providing lift at low speed like a
helicopter. It can be pre-spun to
allow for a jump-takeoff. Our wing
is sized for high-speed flight and
does most of the lifting as speed
increases. We have the ability
to slow the rotor down in flight,
which greatly reduces its drag and
the horsepower required to keep
the rotor spinning
One thing is clear: the future of
rotary wing aviation is as diverse
as the day is long. And the lines
between helicopter, fixed-wing
and hybrid offspring are more
blurred than ever.
Helicopter Technology
Flourishes in Limelight
Editors Notebook
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THIS MONTH FROM
DEPARTMENTS
10 Rotorcraft Report
18 People
19 Coming Events
46 Essential Equipment: SVS
51 Classified Ads
53 Ad Index

COLUMNS
4 Editors Notebook
8 Meet the Contributors
M2 Military Insider
52 Public Service
54 Law Enforcement
On the Front Cover: Sikorsky Matrix SARA
platform. Photo courtesy Sikorksy
On the Military Insider Cover: Aircraft Rescue
Firefighting Division during a live-fire training
exercise that tested the speed and efficiency of the
ARFF. USMC photo. Cover designs by Rob Hudgins.

FEATURES

22 Pilot Report: Flying the AW609
Rotor & Wing becomes the first publication to have an editor fly
both the AW609 and the Airbus Helicopters X3 (X-cubed). By
Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large
26 Eastern Innovations: Down Under
First of an ongoing series that examines rotorcraft technology
developments in the Eastern Hemisphere. By Andrew Drwiega,
International Bureau Chief
M8 Military SAR: Extreme Challenge
How two of the latest tragedies in the SAR world could be
repeated in different circumstances in the Arctic. By Andrew
Drwiega, International Bureau Chief
COVER STORY
42 Sikorskys SARA Advances Matrix
Matrix is Sikorskys program to improve the capabilities and
safety of flight for autonomous, optionally piloted and piloted
VTOL aircraft. By Dale Smith
(Above) AgustaWestland AW609 in flight. Photo courtesy of AgustaWestland
(Bottom) U.S. Navy has ordered more unmanned MQ-8Cs from Northrop
Grumman. (Right) CoaX Helicopters up close. Photo courtesy of CoaX
22
M4
Public Service
7
MAY 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE
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STORIES & PHOTOS ON THE WEB
Go to rotorandwing.com to see more photos and read some of the stories that
didnt make it into this months print edition, for example:
Kaman NZ SH-2G(I) Goes Airborne in Maiden Flight
Aerochine Purchases Five 505X Jet Rangers from Bell
ONR to Develop Autonomous Rotorcraft Landings
Japanese Police Buy Another AW139 for Kagoshima
New Zealand CAA Reviews Robinson Safety Awareness
Sikorsky Starts Naval Air Systems Command Tests for CH-53K
Mercy Life Line Receives Two Metro-Completed EC135s
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26
Vol. 48
|
No. 5
May 2014
Meet the
Contributors
LEE BENSON is a retired helicopter
pilot whos flying career started in Viet-
nam with the U.S. Army and concluded
as Chief Pilot for the Los Angeles County
Fire Department. Lees 15,500 hours of
flying and 40 years of military, commercial and govern-
ment flying operations afford him a very broad back-
ground in the helicopter world. In 2008 he started a con-
sulting company and is contracted to several helicopter
equipment companies as a subject matter expert.
KEITH CIANFRANI is a retired U.S.
Army lieutenant colonel, master
aviator and Army instructor pilot,
rated in both helicopters and fixed-
wing aircraft. He holds a masters
degree in aerospace safety from Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University. Keith is a certificated flight
instructor and has flown commercial aircraft for
more than 20 years in and around the New York
City area.
ANDREW DRWIEGA, International
Bureau Chief, is a senior defense/avia-
tion journalist with a specialization
in international military rotorcraft.
Based in London, he has reported
from Iraq and Afghanistan on numerous occasions
on attachment with American and British helicopter
forces. Andrew is a member of the Army Aviation
Association of America, the Royal United Services
Institute, the Air Power Association and is an associ-
ate member of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He has
a BA (Hons) degree in War Studies.
FRANK LOMBARDI, an ATP with both
fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings,
began his flying career in 1991 after
graduating with a bachelors of science
in aerospace engineering, working on
various airplane and helicopter programs as a flight
test engineer for Grumman Aerospace Corp. Frank
became a police officer for a major East Coast police
department in 1995, and has been flying helicopters in
the departments aviation section since 2000.
DOUGLAS NELMS has more than
30 years of experience as an aviation
journalist and currently works as a
freelance writer. He has served as
managing editor of Rotor & Wing. A
former U.S. Army helicopter pilot, Nelms specializes
in writing about helicopters.
DALE SMITH has been an aviation
journalist for 24 years specializing in
business aviation. He is currently a
contributing writer for Rotor & Wing
and other leading aviation magazines.
He has been a licensed pilot since 1974 and has flown
35 different types of general aviation, business and
WWII vintage aircraft.
ERNIE STEPHENS, Editor-at-Large,
spent 27 years with a major county
police department, retiring as a deco-
rated sergeant and chief pilot of its
aviation section in 2006. He began
his flying career in the late 1980s when he earned his
rotorcraft license and incorporated a small aviation
company as a sideline to his law enforcement career.
He has been writing features and columns for Rotor &
Wing since 2003.
TERRY TERRELL gained his early
aviation experience as a U.S. Navy
fixed-wing instructor and U.S. Coast
Guard aircraft commander, where
his service included SAR in Sikorsky
S-61s. Terry served as a cross-qualified captain and
safety special projects officer with Houstons Transco
Energy, and later with Atlanta-based Kennestone
AVSTAT Helicopter Ambulance Program and Geor-
gia Baptist LifeFlight.
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The Royal Australian Navy Sikorsky S-70B2 Seahawk joined the international search
mission for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean, west of Perth,
Australia. On March 28, a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster
transported the Seahawk from HMAS Albatross, Nowra, NSW, to RAAF Base
Pearce in Western Australia, from where the search is being coordinated. The
Seahawk was transported to the search area by RAN Anzac-class frigate HMAS
Toowoomba, which reached the area on April 1.
We know this will be a tough and potentially challenging deployment, but Too-
woomba is capable and well-suited to this mission and our Seahawk helicopter will help
us to maximize our reach, says HMAS Toowoomba acting Commanding Officer Matt Doornbos. Seven Chinese ships
involved in the search effort or on their way are also believed to be carrying helicopters. The Australian Maritime
Safety Authority is coordinating the search effort, which on April 3 was centered on an
area of about 223,000 square kilometers, some 1,680-km west-northwest of Perth.
An extensive fixed-wing fleet has been deployed to date, including two RAAF Lock-
heed Martin P3 Orions, two Malaysian Lockheed Martin C-130s, a Chinese Ilyushin Il-76,
a U.S. Navy Boeing P8 Poseidon, a Japanese Gulfstream V, a Republic of Korea P3 Orion, a
Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 and a Japanese P3 Orion, with a business jet providing a
communications relay. On April 3, eight military aircraft and nine ships were involved in
the search. MH370, with 239 passengers and crew onboard, disappeared on March 8 on a
scheduled service between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. By Emma Kelly
PUBLIC SERVICE
|
SAR
Helicopters Take Part in Search for
Malaysian Airlines MH370
MILITARY
|
AIRFRAMES
U.S. Navy Reveals Program for Next-Level Unmanned Helicopters
The U. S. Navy has unveiled a
$100-mill ion program to fund
the development of newer, more
autonomous helicopter drones. The
program aims to further reduce the
need to have a trained aviator in the
loop. Unlike current unmanned
systems, the new technology will
be expected to solve operational
problems at landing zones, such as
blowing debris and unforeseen
obstacles, without on-site or remote
intervention from humans.
You cant have an 80 percent solu-
tion with an autonomous system going
into an unprepared site, said Brig.
Gen. Kevin Killea, head of the Marine
Corps Warfighting Laboratory. Its
got to have it figured out.
The push for more automation is
driven by data collected between 2003
and 2007 that revealed that one soldier
was killed or wounded for every 24
fuel resupply convoys in Afghanistan,
and another for every 29 water resup-
ply missions.
Moving those supplies by air elimi-
nates exposure to the roadside attacks
that cause most casualties, while using
drones frees up aviators for duties
elsewhere.
The Navy and Marines want the
new unmanned systems to be pro-
grammable and executable by non-
pilots through the use of a simple
tablet, or similar device.
Its taking unmanned aerial sys-
tems to the next level by introducing
autonomy, said Rear Adm. Matthew
Klunder, chief of Naval Research,
referring to a 100-lb sensor and soft-
ware system under development
to replace remote pilots. [Its] truly
leap-ahead technology. By Ernie
Stephens, Editor-at-Large
Top photo caption: Loading the Seahawk in
preparation for MH370 search. Photo courtesy of
Royal Australian Navy
Rotorcraft Report
11 MAY 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
PRODUCTS
|
AIRFRAMES
Airbus, Avicopter Reach Framework Deal for 1,000 EC175s
With an increase in the number
of vessels entering the polar circle
in the Arctic, most search and
rescue (SAR) specialists agree it is
a matter of when, not if, an accident
happens that will put many lives in
grave danger. The point was made
by several speakers at the start of
IQPCs Search and Rescue Europe
conference (April 8-9) held in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
Maj. Gen. Stig Nielsen, com-
mander, Arctic Command of the
Royal Danish Defence Force, said
the increasing incursion of cruise
ships around Greenland some
carrying more than 3,000 passen-
gers and crew posed a major chal-
lenge, particularly as most of the ves-
sels were not ice protected and were
entering waters that still have not
been properly mapped. No matter
what precautions, someday there
will be an accident, he predicted.
However, agreements with the
cruise ship operators now mean
that there is the ability to monitor
their position virtually continuous-
ly to look out for potential dangers
in advance. The challenge would
be rescuing a volume of people
from such a hostile environment.
Nielsen said that with a population
of 57,000, mainly on the southwest
side of Greenland, there were only
two police helicopters with 2.2 mil-
lion square kilometers to cover. In
Denmark, we have three helicop-
ters to cover an area 50 times small-
er. Any other helicopter support
would have to come from naval
ships that would be unlikely to be
in the vicinity. But anyone having
to enter the water would have min-
utes, not hours, to be rescued.
Rear Admr. Georg Larusson,
director general, Icelandic Coast
Guard, shared Nielsons fears. With
new Polar shipping routes through
the arctic, and more cruise ships
and oil and gas tankers, there is far
more traffic than before. Larusson
said that the number of cruise ship
passengers to Iceland had increased
300 percent in the last three years.
The Coast Guard currently oper-
ates three Airbus Helicopters (for-
merly Eurocopter) AS332-L1 Super
Pumas, two of which are leased. In
2013 the units flew 185 missions,
54 of which were over the sea. The
mission breakdown was: SAR 39
percent, HEMS 46 percent, Other
15 percent. Larusson said that the
influx of tourists had resulted in an
increase in the number of missions,
some due to the fact that people
were not aware of how quickly the
environment could turn against
them. Other speakers on the first
day included those representing
the Joint Rescue Center Norway;
Maritime New Zealand; the Portu-
guese Navy; Polish Maritime SAR
Service; JRCC Tallinn, Estonia; the
UKs Royal National Lifeboat Insti-
tution; the Finnish Border Guard;
and the Swedish Maritime Admin-
istration. By Andrew Drwiega
Read more in Military Insider
on page M8 of this issue.
PUBLIC SERVICE
|
SAR
SAR Conference Focuses on Arctic Operations
Airbus Helicopters has reached
an agreement wi th Chi nas
Avicopter to jointly produce 1,000
new generation EC175/AC352
rotorcraft.
The production agreement was
signed at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
Airbus will produce the EC175 for
the worldwide market at its facil-
ity in Marignane, France, while
Avicopter will produce the AC352
mainly for the Chinese market.
France and China first launched
cooperation on the EC175/AC352
in 2005. The EASA certified the
airworthiness of the EC175 earlier
this year.
Li Fangyong, executive vice
president of Avicopters parent
company AVIC, said the agree-
ment allows the two companies to
satisfy the Chinese and worldwide
market needs in the medium heli-
copter segment.
Airbus Helicopters has reached a
framework agreement with Avicopter
covering a thousand EC175. Photo courtesy
of Airbus Helicopters
PRODUCTS
|
DATA MONITORING
Robinson Agreement Expands
Spidertracks Opportunities
Auckland, New Zealand-based Spidertracks
is hopeful of other deals with helicopter
manufacturers after its Spider real-
time tracking system was recently
selected by Robinson Helicopters
as an option for all R22, R44 and
R66 models.
The Spidertracks system uses the
Iridium satellite network to send real-time aircraft location to a web appli-
cation. Two versions are available the Spider S3 which costs U.S. $995
and the S5 at $1795, which is enabled with Bluetooth allowing the user to
send and receive SMS messages to any iOS or Android device.
The company has sold nearly 4,500 systems, with 50 percent of these
used on helicopters operators who were early adopters of the technol-
ogy, says Kathryn Dallison, marketing executive. Australian operator Heli-
west, for example, uses the system to track its 29 helicopters. Sundance
Helicopters in the U.S. is using it to track its helicopters in the Grand Can-
yon, as is Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters.
Under the agreement with Robinson, all aircraft will be pre-wired with
a Spider power cord and a mounting bracket will be installed on top of the
instrument cluster, offering clear view to the sky for optimal connectiv-
ity to GPS and Iridium satellites, says Spidertracks chief executive officer
James McCarthy. Spidertracks is talking to other manufacturers, he adds,
declining to provide details. By Emma Kelly, Australia and Pacific Cor-
respondent
Rotorcraft Report
MILITARY
|
PROCUREMENT
Sikorsky Settles
False Claims Act
Violation
Deirdre Daly, U.S. Attorney for
the District of Connecticut,
announced on March 31 that
Sikorsky Aircraft will pay $3.5
million to resolve allegations
that it violated the False Claims
Act arising from the submission
of inflated costs in the pricing of
spare parts.
The allegation detailed that
from Feb. 7, 2008 through Sept. 8,
2011 the company failed to dis-
close accurate, complete and cur-
rent cost and pricing data to the
Army Aviation and Missile Life
Cycle Management Command
(AMCOM) for UH-60 Black
Hawk spare parts.
Craig W. Rupert, Special Agent
in Charge, Defense Criminal
Investigative Service (DCIS), said:
Unethical decisions and instanc-
es of fraud occurring within the
defense contractor communi-
ty continue to burden the U.S.
defense budget and puts U.S. mili-
tary readiness at a disadvantage.
By Andrew Drwiega
SERVICES
|
CERTIFICATION
Airbus EC145 T2
Achieves EASA
Certification
The European Aviation Safe-
ty Agency (EASA) has granted
certification for the EC145 T2
from Airbus Helicopters. The
approval covers single-pilot and
instrument flight rules (IFR) and
single engine operations (Cat.A/
VTOL), along with night vision
goggle (NVG) capability. Airbus
reports orders and options for
more than 100 EC145 T2s, along
with 15 of the military EC645 T2
variant for the German Army.
(Source: Airbus Helicopters)
TRAINING
|
SAFETY
USHST Accident Report Reveals Best and
Worst Segments of Helicopter Industry
The U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) has released a follow-up report
to its initial helicopter accident analysis from 2011.
The report, conducted by the U.S. Joint Helicopter Implementation
Measurement Data Analysis Team (JHIMDAT), analyzes U.S. civil heli-
copter accidents from 2009 to 2011, and compares the results to the Joint
Helicopter Safety Analysis Team (JHSAT) analysis from 2000, 2001 and
2006.
The report found an overall 21 percent decrease in civil helicopter
accidents, with the top three industries showing the greatest improvement
being firefighting, air tours and logging.
However, the agriculture, instructional and personal flying industries
remained the top three industries that recorded the most accidents in both
reports. These three industries accounted for 57 percent of all helicopter
accidents, up from 46 percent in the JHSAT report.
In order to increase safety in these areas, the International Helicopter
Safety Team (IHST), parent organization of USHST, has improved com-
munication efforts to industries with higher accident rates in hopes to
decrease the number of accidents in these specific industries. By Katie
Kriz, Assistant Managing Editor
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PRODUCTS
|
AIRFRAMES
Q&A with Carter Aviation CEO Jay Carter
A trip to one of the many aviation conferences that highlight vertical lift
machines will reveal the fast-paced progress of rotorcraft technology. The
desire to fly higher, faster, farther, and longer in rotary wing machines has
become an increasingly important design point to many large manufacturers.
The smal l Wi chi ta Fal l s,
Texas-based aviation research
and development firm of Cart-
er Aviation Technologies sees
the importance of these design
points as well. In contrast, they
have been trying to exploit the
simplicity of the not-so-new
autogyro concept, integrating
it with their slowed rotor/
compound technology (SR/C)
with the intent of producing a
fast, efficient aircraft capable
of vertical takeoff and landing
(VTOL). In a recent interview
with Rotor & Wing, president
and CEO Jay Carter shared his
thoughts and answered some
questions about their current
prototype the Carter PAV,
and his companys vision.
Rotor & Wing: For those who are
unfamiliar, can you explain the
benefits of your slowed rotor/
compound technology?
Carter: Our aircraft is really a
hybrid between a helicopter,
an autogyro, and a fixed-wing
airplane. The rotor is driven
by the air flowing up through
the rotor, like wind through
a wind turbine, providing lift
at low speed like a helicopter.
It can be pre-spun to allow
for a jump-takeoff. Our wing
is sized for high-speed flight
and does most of the lifting as
speed increases. We have the
ability to slow the rotor down
in flight, which greatly reduces
its drag and the horsepower
requi red to keep the rotor
spinning. Our high aspect ratio
wing has no high-lift devices,
keeping it simple and light. The
wing design in combination
with slowing the rotor lets us
f ly closer to our best lift-to-
drag ratio at higher speeds.
Continued on Page 16
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Continued from Page 14:
Carter (continued): This allows us to achieve
very high forward speed and exceptional efficiency.
The ultra-high inertia rotor allows us to land like a
helicopter with little or no forward speed.
Rotor & Wing: One of your most publicized
achievements recently would be the breaking of
the Mu-1 barrier. What is it and why is it impor-
tant to your design goals?
Carter: Mu-1 is nothing more than an engineer-
ing ratio. It is the aircraft forward speed divided by
the rotor tip speed relative to the aircraft. At Mu-1,
the tip speed of the retreating blade is zero, and all
the flow inboard of the tip is reversed over the air-
foil. This causes problems with dissymmetry of lift
and rotor instability, and in fact there were 10 issues
that we had to resolve before we could safely slow
the rotor down to achieve Mu-1.
Flying at a Mu greater than one will allow us to
fly very fast. Since the RPM of the advancing blade
is slower than the aircraft airspeed, this will keep
the advancing blade tip speed slow enough to avoid
critical Mach and the associated increase in drag.
Since the rotor is controlled to produce very little
lift in this condition, we will not have to worry about
retreating blade stall.
Rotor & Wing: You hold many patents. Which of
your technical innovations would you say contrib-
uted the most to your success in achieving Mu-1?
Carter: Probably four or five of them. But the
fore and aft tilting mast is very important to hold the
proper angle of attack and control the rotor RPM.
Also, the tip weights at the ends of the rotor help to
move the blades center of gravity to 75-80 percent of
the blades chord, instead of the more conventional
25 percent chord. This helps with instability on the
retreating blade encountered above Mu-1.
Rotor & Wing: Youve often said your designs
are scalable both up and down. Lets talk about the
high inertia rotor. What engineering challenges do
you see in trying to scale it up to 150 foot diameter,
as mentioned on your website?
Carter: Our rotor design is very clever. Even
though it has a lot of tip weight, it remains very
simple. It has a twistable spar and no hinges. Its
stiffness will keep it away from any rotational natu-
ral frequencies. Since there is no swashplate it can
easily be scaled up with no issue.
Rotor & Wing: There has been an explosion
of interest in unmanned aerial systems (UAS)
over the last few years, and in September 2013,
Carter received a contract to be one of five teams
Rotorcraft Report
to participate in a Phase I study for DARPAs Tactically Exploited Recon-
naissance Node (TERN) project. The shipboard mission presents many
challenges, mostly in landing during a class five sea state, when there is
likely the need for precise control and the ability to hover. For this project,
how do you intend on powering the rotor? Will the ultra-high inertia rotor
present challenges in achieving precise cyclic control?
Carter: We dont have to have a powered rotor. We can get by with
what we have, but this rotor will have full collective control. We dont
expect to require the ability to hover. This is due in part to our very strong
landing gear, able to withstand loads associated with a class five sea state.
Also the very high inertia in the rotor will give us plenty of stored energy
to complete the landing. Precise control will be aided by GPS. Many small
subcontractors have partnered with us over the larger manufacturers to
help us with this project.
Rotor & Wing: In 2009 you entered into a licensing agreement with Tex-
tron Systems subisidary AAI, giving them exclusive access to the SR/C tech-
nology for all unmanned aerial applications. Whats the status of that deal?
Carter: They were not moving forward as we had hoped, and so Carter
Aviation bought back the licensing from AAI.
Rotor & Wing: As a small aviation company trying to develop a technolo-
gy, funding can be hard to come by. Youve been able to continue development
for many years. Is there anyone youd like to thank for the continued support?
Carter: I have private investors who have stuck their neck out and
believed in this technology and have supported us beyond what would be
a normal investment because they believe this can be a game-changer and
theyre happy to be a part of it. Ive been fortunate that we have people like
that, who will step forward when we need some help. Its a team effort.
Rotor & Wing: What would you say your biggest challenge is?
Carter: Our greatest challenge is obtaining funding and demonstrat-
ing the technology to the doubters. We have to do something that is so
dramatic; something that will get the attention of upper management that
will be like hitting them over the head with a two-by-four.
With proposed performance such as flying at 500 mph and altitudes of
30,000-40,000 feet, while carrying payloads over 1,000 miles, the Carter
Aviation team has lofty goals for sure. Although theyve never sold a
product, theyve been in business for 20 years. The greatest benefit to
Carter Aviation will come when they produce repeatable flight test data
that shows they could meet the mission spec of any one of their proposed
variants. Until this happens, their tenacity, faith in their product, and will-
ingness to push the limit of what they know to achieve what they believe,
remain as the things that cannot be denied. By Frank Lombardi
Carter Aviation Technologies Slowed-Rotor Compound. Photo courtesy of Carter
Rotorcraft Report
PEOPLE
Russi an Hel i -
c o p t e r s h a s
made numerous
announcements
and appointments
in recent weeks.
Victor Novikov is now managing
director for Kumertau Aviation
Production Enterprise, which
is part of Russian Helicopters.
Kumertau produces co-axi al
hel icopters i ncludi ng Ka-27,
Ka-31 and Ka-226s. Novikov was
previously with DBA Engineering
as deputy CEO. He replaces Sergei
Mikryukov who had been in the
post since 2008.
In 2009 he completed a course
in Innovation Management at the
Ufa State Aviation Technical Uni-
versity then spent over 10 years
at Gidravlika, a company special-
izing in the production of auxiliary
power units for military and civil
aviation, where he finished as CEO.
He has received awards including
both Honored Mechanical Engineer
of the Russian Federation and of the
Republic of Bashkortorstan.
During a meet-
ing of the Board
of Directors of
Russian Helicop-
ters on March 18,
Vladimir Artya-
kov was re-elected as chairman.
Oboronprom CEO Dmitry Lelik-
ov was re-elected as deputy chair-
man of Russian Helicopters.
In addition to Artyakov and
Lelikow, the board of directors now
comprises: Alexander Mikheev,
CEO of Russian Helicopters; Ser-
gei Skvortsov, deputy CEO of Ros-
tec; Pavel Osin, first deputy gen-
eral director of Oboronprom; Shiv
Vikram Khemka, vice chairman
of SUN Group; Jean-Loup Picard
(independent director); Jean-Paul
Bchat (independent director);
and Vladimir Litvin, head of the
Department of Corporate Proce-
dures and Property at Rostec.
E n g i n e e r -
i ng c ompa ny
Circor Interna-
tional, design and
ma nuf a c t ur e r
of val ves and
other products for several sectors
including aerospace and defense,
announced on March 19, 2014 that
Vincent Sandoval took office as
its new group president, aerospace
and defense, replacing Michael
Dill. Sandovals previous position
was president of the TransDigm
Group, a subsidiary of Semco
Instruments.
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TRAINING
RESTAURANT
SHOP
Rotorcraft Report
May 46: Quad-A Annual Convention, Gaylord
Opryland Hotel, Nashville, Tenn. Contact Quad-A,
phone 1-203-268-2450 or visit www.quad-a.org
May 1215: Association for Unmanned Systems
International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems 2014,
Orlando, Fla. Visit www.auvsi.org
May 2022: European Business Aviation
Convention & Exhibition, Geneva, Switzerland.
Contact NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit
www.ebace.aero
May 2224: HeliRussia 2014, Moscow, ICE. Call
+7 (495) 926-38-83 or visit www.helirussia.ru/en
May 2425: Rotortech 2014 Conference,
Queensland, Australia. Visit www.austhia.com
July 1619: ALEA Expo, Phoenix Convention
Center, Phoenix, Ariz. Visit alea.org/events
July 1920: Farnborough International Airshow,
Farnborough, UK. Visit www.farnborough.com
July 2022: Aviation Leadership Summit,
Wellington, New Zealand. Visit www.aia.org/nz
July 28Aug.3: Experimental Aircraft
Association (EAA) AirVenture, Oshkosh, Wis.
Contact EAA, phone 1-920-426-4800 or visit www.
airventure.org
Aug. 2021: NightCon 214, Dallas, Texas. Visit
www.nightcon.com
Sept. 25: European Rotorcraft Forum,
Southamptom, Hampshire. Contact Royal
Aeronautical Society at +44 (0) 207 670 4300 or visit
aerosociety.com/Events
Sept. 1719: ATC Global, Beijing, China. Contact
ATC Global, phone +44 (0) 207 921 8149 or visit
www.atcglobalhub.com
Oct. 1416: Helitech International, Amsterdam,
Netherlands. Contact Reed Exhibitions or visit
www.helitechevents.com
Nov. 1719: National Business Aviation
Association Convention & Exhibition, Orlando,
Fla. Contact NBAA, phone 1-202-783-9000 or visit
www.nbaa.org
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TRAINING
|
SPECIALTY
New Issues
Burden Australias
Helicopter Industry
Australias helicopter industry
will meet at Sunshine Coast,
Queensland, in May for its first
major gathering since the sectors
new representative body the
Australian Helicopter Industry
Association (AHIA) was formed
in late 2012. The Rotortech 2014
event comes as the Australian
helicopter sector continues its
enviable growth, although slightly
slowed compared with previous
years. Up until 2013, it had
achieved growth in the region of
9 percent per annum, but is now
around 6 percent. Australia now
has the sixth largest helicopter
fleet in the world at more than
2,100 helicopters, according to
AHIA, which anticipates a fleet
of 3,000 within seven years.
The meeting also comes as
the sector is facing new regula-
tory issues under the Civil Avia-
tion Safety Authoritys protract-
ed regulatory reform program.
AHIA warns there are a lot
of changes on the horizon; many
with unknown economic ramifi-
cations. Emma Kelly, Australia
and Pacific Correspondent
Read the Full Story online at
www.rotorandwing.com
TRAINING
|
SAFETY
BARS Risk Program Continues to Grow
The Alexandria, Va.-based International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST)
reports that its Basic Aviation Risk Standards (BARS) program has been
meeting with great success in the helicopter community. IHSTs vision to
see an international civil helicopter community with zero accidents is
what drives BARS.
BARS was developed three years ago to provide a uniform, objec-
tive method for evaluating an operations safety culture by way of
an audit, which is conducted by specialist from the IHST team. The
audit is provided upon request by an interested operator, and per-
formed for a nominal fee.
It assess the aircraft operator against a common standard, said Greg
Marshal, managing director of the BARS program. It doesnt matter
where in the world it is whether its helicopters or fixed-wing - there is
a common standard that applies to all of those organizations. Marshall
added that a company can define the scope of the audit. Once the audit
is completed, a very detailed report is prepared showing where things
were done well, and where things could be improved. Marshal said that
the report is often seen as a health check by companies that demand
the aircraft operator produce one before contracting it. More than 100
operators around the world have been audited and registered with the
BARS program. Approximately 40 percent operate helicopters only, 40
percent fly fixed-wing only, and 20% operate both. As of February of this
year, a total of 250 audits have been completed. BARS also offers safety
courses entitled, Aviation Risk for Managers, Helicopter External Load
Operations for Ground Personnel,
Aviation Coordinator for Onshore
Personnel, and Aviation Coordina-
tor Offshore Personnel.
Marshall encourages operators
to visit the IHST website at www.
IHST. org to learn more about
all of its safety initiatives, and to
download checklists that can help
them prepare for a BARS audit.
By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-
Large
Rotorcraft Report
MD Helicopters has reached an agreement
with G&G Aviation to become a sales
representative in Italy. See more online at
www.rotorandwing.com. Photo courtesy MD
PRODUCTS
|
SERVICES
Aerocomputers Founder Passes Away
Mark Gassaway, founder and President of Aerocomputers, passed away on Monday, March 17. He will be
missed by his many friends in the aviation community. Mark was both a pilot and an engineer. These combined
interests led to the foundation of Aerocomputers in 1993. Aerocomputers went on to become the first company
to develop a tactical moving map solution for public safety organizations in the United States and aboard. Mark
accomplished these goals with an outstanding team of people. In an act of loyalty toward his team and a sense
of respect towards his customers many of whom he considered friends Mark had developed a succession
plan for the family owned company going forward. Kathy Tarr, long-time financial advisor to Aerocomputers,
will step up to the position of president. In lieu of flowers Marks family has suggested a contribution in his
name to a local flight school or an aviation scholarship program. By Lee Benson
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PRODUCTS| AIRFRAMES
PILOT REPORT:
Flying the
AW609 rotors tilting.
Photo by Ernie Stephens
AW609 Pilot Report
WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
T
he idea of a flying machine
that will take off and land
vertically, then achieve
airplane speeds, has been
around since the development
of engine-driven aircraft. Several
designs have been toyed with, but
arguably the most successful have
fallen into one of two categories:
a hybrid using a main rotor and
propellers, or vectored thrust (i.e.,
a tilting rotor). In 2012, I conducted
an evaluation flight of the Eurocop-
ter (now Airbus) X3 experimental
aircraft, which uses the hybrid
system. So, it was only fitting that
I accept AgustaWestlands offer
to fly the AW609 tiltrotor, which
employs vectored thrust. The 609
actually began life in 1998 as a Bell-
Boeing project, and later became
the Bell/Agusta Aerospace BA609.
But in 2011, when Bell Helicopter
officially pulled out of the partner-
ship, the rebranded AW609 tiltro-
tor was placed under the control of
the newly formed AgustaWestland
Tilt-Rotor Company (AWTRC) of
Arlington, Texas, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of AgustaWestland.
Upon my arrival at AWTRCs
combi nat i on headquar t ers ,
development facility and hangar
at Arlington Municipal Airport
(KGKY), I was greeted by experi-
mental test pilot Dan Wells, a for-
mer Army helicopter pilot who had
also worked for Boeing on the V-22
Osprey program, the only other til-
trotor flying today. Fellow test pilots
Pietro Venanzi and Paul Edwards,
also former military pilots, joined
Wells. The AW609 is simple in con-
cept, but complicated in execution.
Its pair of three-bladed, 26-foot in
diameter prop-rotors, coupled to
their 1,930 shp Pratt & Whitney
PT6C-67A turboshaft engines,
must lift its 16,800-lb bulk into
the pure vertical. They must then
be able rotate forward and propel
the 40-foot-long, 33-foot-wide,
15-foot-tall airframe at forward
speeds of 275 KTAS and altitudes
of 25,000 feet MSL.
To accomplish this, the engines
must simultaneously rotate back and
forth between 95 degrees (straight
up, plus another 5 degrees aft), and
zero degrees (straight forward). The
engines must also be able to turn
both rotor systems at any tilt angle as
a team, or independently.
To make the units tilt as a
matched set, the engineers employ
one tilt-axis gearbox on each engine
nacelle. Lubricating systems and
chip detectors are carefully posi-
tioned to function throughout their
range of motion, and a shaft-driven
fan helps cool the engine when the
normal ram air intake is rotated up
for helicopter mode.
The 609s rotor mechanism can
best be described as a main rotor
head that can rotate. So, if you were
to look behind the cowling, you
would see a set of swashplates with
some clever modifications to con-
trol blade pitch. Their inputs are
tied one engine to the other so that
pilot commands will act upon each
equally. My AW609 classroom
training covered substantially more
details, such as hydraulic, electrical,
and structural systems, but space
prohibits me from sharing it here.
Ill say this, though: The designers
of the aircraft did their best to make
as much of the aircraft safe, reliable,
and simple to maintain by using
Rotor & Wing Editor-at-Large becomes the first trade
journalist to fly both the and the AgustaWestland
AW609 and Airbus Helicopters (Eurocopter) X3.
By Ernie Stephens,
Editor-at-Large
PRODUCTS | AIRFRAMES
tried-and-true aeronautical engi-
neering practices found in todays
most sophisticated airplanes and
helicopters.
Flight day arrived bringing with
it clear skies, winds out of the south
at 12 knots, a temperature of 24
degrees C, dew point of 12 degrees
C, density altitude of 1,900 feet, and
an altimeter setting of 29.99. Our
takeoff weight would be 16,200 lbs.
The aircraft, N609TR (serial
#0001) had returned earlier that
day from its date with the paint
shop outside of Dallas. The BA
had been replaced with AW, and
the companys logo now dominated
the fuselage.
The interior, like all aircraft
under development, was still free
of trim panels, so that its wire runs,
fasteners and other critical com-
ponents could be easily reached. A
circular escape trunk dominated
the center of the floor inside of the
single cabin door... just in case.
Today, I would be flying with
Venanzi, who took the right seat. I
settled into the left one. I immedi-
ately noticed that both he and I were
able to achieve comfortable flying
positions, in spite of a substantial dif-
ference in our heights and weights,
thanks to seats that could travel
forward and back, as well as up and
down. They even had the nerve to
be rather comfortable.
The windscreen and side win-
dows bear a mild family resem-
blance to those on the AW139, in
that they droop at the corners to
give an impressive field of view
when looking toward the ground.
Facing me was a well-thought-
out instrument panel containing
a three-display Rockwell Collins
Pro Line 21 glass cockpit system.
Several switch panels were in
customary places, such as center
and overhead consoles. Some-
thing foreign to me as a helicopter,
though, was a cabin pressurization
and oxygen control panel. Venanzi
was quick to remind me, however,
that any experimental aircrafts
cockpit layout is subject to change
as the design team makes tweaks.
Like the V-22, the 609 has a
cyclic called a center stick that
is held in the pilots right hand. But
unlike the Ospreys fighter jet-like
thrust lever, the 609 has a conven-
tional-looking collective they call a
power lever.
The pedals and toe brakes look
normal, and control pivoting about
the yaw axis. But they are not con-
nected to a tail rotor, and there is
no rudder. In a hover, pedal inputs
change the pitch on the rotors cycli-
cally, causing one or the other set to
drive the aircrafts nose around its
yaw axis. In forward flight, pressing
on the left pedal adds thrust to the
right rotors, and vice versa. Like
the other flight controls, it too is
fly-by-wire.
Venanzi handled the start-up
procedure, because every opera-
tion is recorded and monitored live
in the flight test control center on
the ground level of the hangar.
As the FADEC brought the first
engine to life, both rotors began
turning, proving that they are inter-
connected. As the second came
online I noticed the interior was not
as noisy as I would have expected.
Venanzi explained that placing the
engines and rotors out to the sides
creates a relatively quiet cabin.
Once the pre-taxi checklist was
complete, Venanzi took the con-
trols and hopped us from the AW
ramp across the runway to the
taxiway near the tower. Once there,
he set it on the ground and gave me
the controls.
For takeoff, the nacelles are set
for 87 degrees as indicated on the
nacelle angle indicator integrated
on the PFD which is accomplished
by pushing one click forward on
the nacelle tilt control (NTC), a
thumbwheel switch mounted on
top of the power lever. But failing to
hold the brakes until airborne will
cause the machine to slowly drift
forward. Shortly after the nacelles
hit 87 degrees, and I gently pulled up
on the power lever and got the only
true scare of my flight. Because even
though I had been warned that the
609 did not like to hover below 15
feet, I did not realize how unsettling
it would actually be.
The 609 imparts downwash
on its own wings, causing the air-
craft to be very unstable about its
roll axis. Called darting by the
pilots, the way to avoid it is to pull
straight through to a 20-foot hover.
Once there, it settles down nicely.
And because the counter-rotating
disks cancel any yawing induced by
power changes, no real pedal work
is required.
After a few pedal turns, which
felt like a pedal turn in a conven-
tional helicopter, I conducted a
standard 609 departure by tilting
the rotors to 75 degrees, which vec-
tors thrust forward and up into a
helicopter-like climb. But you must
AW609 in flight. Photo by Ernie Stephens
AW609 Pilot Report
remember to use the center stick to
keep the deck level.
During climb out, I had to moni-
tor the limiting airspeed indica-
tor (LAI). This display reads the
angle the rotors have assumed, and
adjusts its green arc to show how
much power you can pull using
the power lever at that setting. As
the rotors tilt farther forward, the
green arc shifts to authorize higher
speeds. And in case you arent
minding the LAI as closely as you
should, the aircraft will impart a
gentle vibration through the power
lever as a tactile indication that you
are about to exceed a speed range.
(You can still pull past it, however, if
an emergency dictates it.)
As the green arc on the LAI
climbs, the nacelles can be rotated
farther forward. When they reach
an angle of 45 degrees or less, the
aircraft is wing-borne and should be
controlled like an airplane. Unlike a
standard airplane, the flapperons
on the wings automatically extend
and retract as speeds change, but
can be manually overridden. With
the nacelles at zero degrees, which
is full forward, you may as well be in
a turboprop plane. The center stick
commands climbs and rolls just like
a yoke, and the power lever per-
forms like a throttle in a jet. Flying
the 609 like an airplane was... well...
like flying an airplane, which is
great, considering it recently lifted
off the ground at zero airspeed.
At an altitude of about 2,500
feet MSL, I started the nacelles on
a rearward rotation to 90 degrees
to put us in an out-of-ground-effect
hover. It was interesting enough to
feel the ship dynamically breaking
from 220 KIAS down to zero so
quickly, but downright bazaar to
look to my left and see a huge por-
tion of the aircraft silently rotating
aft. Once in a hover it felt and per-
formed like any other helicopter.
After about an hour executing a
variety of maneuvers, we returned
to the airport where I practiced
normal, steep and run-on landings.
Each was followed by either a nor-
mal, maximum performance, or
running takeoff. We did a normal
takeoff when we first departed, so
our first landing back at GKY was
also normal. We entered it from a
right downwind to runway one-six,
giving us a 30-degree quartering
right headwind.
The secret to landing or taking
off, for that matter in the tiltrotor
is to select the nacelle angle that
will deliver the velocity and verti-
cal speed you want for the various
phases of your maneuver.
For a normal landing from a
1,000-ft., I reduced and the nacelles
to 75 degrees on downwind, which
slowed us from 200 to about 120
KIAS. On final, I incrementally
stepped the nacelle angles up and
brought the power back to put me
as about 50 KIAS on the lower half
of my final. As I neared the point
where I would have flared a normal
helicopter, I tilted the rotors back
to 91 degrees to really bleed off the
speed. I forgot, however, to return
the nacelles to 87 degree prior
to reaching zero airspeed, which
caused the ship to inch backwards
instead of holding its place over my
touchdown point.
Autorotations, however, are a
little different from what one might
assume. When power is lost, the
pilot must rotate the nacelles back
to 95 degrees, which is done by
pulling the thumb switch on the
power lever all the way back past
the detent. As the aircraft descends,
the nose will naturally hang at a
5-degree nose-down angle, giving
the pilot a better chance of spotting
a suitable landing zone. Altitude
permitting, the pilot can maintain
an airplane configuration long
enough to glide to a suitable loca-
tion before rolling the nacelles back
to 95 degrees for autorotation.
When the f lying was over,
Venanzi let me ground-taxi us back
to the hangar. That was accom-
plished by tilting the rotors forward
to about 88 degrees, easing the
power lever up an inch or two, and
using the rudder pedals and differ-
ential braking for steering. Ninety
minutes after takeoff, I stepped
out of the 609 feeling like I had just
sampled a portion of civil aviations
future. Part helicopter, part air-
plane, the AW609 Tilt-Rotor is an
unusual but fun machine to fly. And
if it attains its FAA certification in
2017, as the company hopes it will,
you may see a lot of them.
AW609 serial #0001 is equipped with a Collins Proline 21 avionics suite, as well as a myriad
of test equipment. The pilot-in-command sits on the right.
COMMERCIAL | TECHNOLOGY
First in a continuing series to examine innovations in the
Eastern Hemisphere. This months edition focuses primarily on
advancements in Australia and New Zealand.
By Andrew Drwiega,
International Bureau Chief
S
everal rotary innovations have been in development for a num-
ber of years in New Zealand and Australia. What unites them,
as with any organization large or small searching to improve on
that which already exists, is the constant and insatiable need
for funding. But with that as a constant moderator of the rate of prog-
ress possible, take the influence of new composite materials together
with the growing potential for unmanned systems, add a dash of the
old pioneering spirit and the result is a rash of exciting initiatives which
could all help to move the rotorcraft market forward.
Kiwi Copter Harbors Great Ambitions
Despite an emergency autorotation and ditching of its KC518 Adventour-
er into Auckland Harbor New Zealand in May last year, an incident caused
by a deterioration of the aft isolation dampers, founder and director of
Composite Helicopters Peter Maloney told Rotor & Wing that aircraft No.
3 is now in the test phase while aircraft No. 4 is currently being assembled.
The KC518 took five years to design but then only two years to transi-
tion into a helicopter capable of its first flight in late 2011. At the time of the
ditching the company had completed over 200 flight hours in the testing
EASTERN INNOVATIONS:
Rotary Down Under
program.
Peter Maloney points out that at
the time of the ditching our proof
of concept prototype (s/n 001) was
feeling very comfortable and prov-
ing easy to fly. One of our design
objectives has been to develop a
helicopter that would be suitable
to low-time private pilot, yet offer
the performance and passenger
appeal of our peers. At 110 knots
and using only 64 percent torque,
straight and level, we were hands
and feet off all controls and the
helicopter remained stable until the
rotors passed through a change in
air density.
When asked the typical ques-
tion about cruise speed, Maloney
answers: If we consider that 64
percent torque (+/- 205 shp) pro-
vided S/L at 110 knots and maxi-
mum continuous power is 284 shp,
so at 110 knots we still have +/- 79
shp up our sleeve. Our flight testing
program is conducted one step at a
time and we have not yet expanded
the flight envelope fully.
Originally started by husband
and wife team Peter and Leanne
Maloney (director and chief finan-
cial officer), the Auckland-based
Composite Helicopters is wholly
owned by them and other share-
holders from New Zealand.
The team has been strength-
ened by the addition of Norbert
Idelon from Frances test pilot
school (EPNER) and Colin Palmer,
a composites expert formerly with
Americas Cup Team New Zealand.
Norbert will take over test pilot
duties allowing Maloney to focus
on the engineering aspects of flight
testing.
Said Maloney: Colin Palmer
will lead our very experienced
composites team. The addition of
these very experienced and quali-
fied people provides industry with
a clear indication of our intended
development direction.
The ambition is that the compa-
ny will progress steadily from offer-
ing the first helicopters in kit form,
building toward the establishment
of a helicopter production line with
more complex aircraft. However by
starting out with a helicopter in kit
form, Peter Maloney said that it will
appeal to experimental amateur
builders of private aircraft, allow-
ing the company to generate more
revenue. This will lead future sales
into the light corporate market and
eventually the general commercial
sector. Said Peter: It will be an easy
to build helicopter with techno-
logical support provided direct by
the companys engineering staff.
The kit will come with 20 major
components including airframe,
cabin floor, internal beams and
bulkheads. There are around 22
secondary components that com-
prise carbon fiber doors and bulk
hatches. It has been designed spe-
cifically to meet FAA Part 27 (air-
craft under 7,000 lb and with less
than nine passengers the KC518
will accommodate 5 to 6 people).
According to the company there
are numerous benefits to this type
of kit helicopter: the manufacturing
process is quick and the assembly
is straightforward and sequential.
The airframe itself is light, the hold-
ing fixtures are easily set up within
the fuselage and there are no bolted
joints. The basic price for the ini-
tial kit is $335,000 although a fully
completed helicopter will come
to just under $400,000. Leanne
Maloney claims that the company
has designed the worlds first all-
composite, single turbine heli-
copter. It is a rapid build carbon/
kevlar hybrid helicopter, she says.
The main and tail rotor blades are
carbon fiber; the same carbon fiber
as in high tech sports boats (hence
Palmer) and new commercial jets,
and are not subject to corrosion.
It is designed to be a lightweight,
high speed airframe with a robust
transmission.
Due to its design and the materi-
als used, the company claims that
the time between overhauls will be
nearly twice that of other helicop-
ters, resulting in appreciably lower
direct operating costs for owners.
This year the third and fourth
aircraft incorporate further refine-
ments focusing on the basic fun-
damentals of weight, strength and
the cosmetic look of the aircraft.
We are currently awaiting the
new composite main rotor blades
[MRBs], said Maloney.
The prototype KC 001 was fit-
ted with aluminum MRBs using
an 8-inch chord. We did this to
reduce our build to flight time to
a minimum, he said. Our new
MRBs are carbon-fiber with a 9.5-
inch chord and designed to be on
condition. KC flew very nicely with
the aluminum main rotor blades,
however the design has always
Eastern Innovations
We were hands and feet off
all controls and the helicopter
remained stable until the ro-
tors passed through a change
in air density. Peter Maloney
included the on-condition carbon
fiber main rotor blades. Ray Prouty,
a recognized helicopter main rotor
expert, recommended the choice
of airfoil used for the MRBs. Along
with the development of the new
carbon-fiber MRBs, we are expect-
ing a significant increase in perfor-
mance. While this is not necessary
for the entry-level KC helicopter, it
is an important design factor with
future higher-powered derivatives.
These new carbon-fiber MRBs
are designed for a gross weight of
4000lbs and MCP of 450 shp.
From the basic design of the
original KC518, the plan moving
forward will be to evolve new heli-
copters with an increased seating
capacity and greater performance.
However, the immediate need is
to obtain FAA certification, which
should take a further three years to
complete.
Director Tim Pike made a pre-
diction that we will do with Com-
posite Helicopter what the PC did
for the computing industry.
The second KC518 airframe
was built with the express pur-
pose of being used as an exhibit at
airshows and aviation gatherings
around the world and, according
to Leanne, was positively received.
Proof that a new project can get off
the ground, although on a different
scale, was demonstrated recently
by Swiss-company Marenco Swis-
shelicopter when it revealed its
SKYe SH09 at the end of 2013, then
showed it at this years Heli-Expo in
Los Angeles. So contrary to general
belief, a new breed of innovators do
exist who are seeing opportunities
within the worlds rotorcraft mar-
kets from a different perspective to
that of the world renowned OEMs.
As for confidence in the prog-
ress being made on his Kay Cee,
Maloney says that he looks forward
to every flight like a kid with a new
toy. Thats the pioneer spirit.
Australian Manned/
Unmanned Pioneers
Look to Agriculture
Not ISR
Australian 2007 start-up company
CoaX Helicopters Limited, based
in Warnervale, NSW, is focused
on developing a range of small
coaxial rotor systems that can be
either piloted or unmanned. CoaX
is designing the rotorcraft with
technology that is already available,
which it intends to manufacture
and sell to the home and interna-
tional markets. The manned option
Anytime. Anywhere.
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Eastern Innovations
they will initially be available as a
single seat version with later devel-
opment toward two and four seat
configurations. Power options will
range from turbine, twin diesel to
potentially electric motors.
In a discussion with Rob Rich,
secretary of the Australian Helicop-
ter Industry Association (AHIA),
Peter Batten, managing director,
CoaX Helicopters said that the
development program was ongo-
ing and therefore pricing had not
been established. Our final tech-
nological challenge is to fit the
Hirth engine. We anticipate this
will take around 12 months before
we are ready for our first release,
the 17-foot Naked Sports Experi-
mental Class helicopter, he said,
adding that further investment
would be advantageous.
Company statements claim that
the coaxial design with the lack of
a tail rotor makes these craft more
stable, more maneuverable, quieter,
safer and provides a better power to
weight ratio. They also claim lower
running costs. CoaX Helicopters
ALEA_EXPO14Rotor&Wingad_Layout 1 1/8/14 10:06 AM Page 1
Hybrid RotorWing from StopRotor
Technology. Photo courtesy of StopRotor
intends to provide an after-sales
service together with financing and
leasing options.
Speaking at the Heli Pacific
conference in 2012, Batten said
that it had been necessary to
rewrite the initial strategic plan
and that the company would
focus on civil applications rather
than military due in particular to
the current potential for on-off
military budgets which would
significantly impact any develop-
ment plan.
This involved the optimization
of the aerodynamics and power
plants in particular. He said that the
reliability target was 2,000 hours
mean time between overhauls
(TBO), although the blades would
be less.
Battens belief is that agriculture
employing unmanned systems,
particularly in large countries such
as China, would welcome such a
light unmanned aircraft that could
perform routine yet precision tasks
within an area. He observes that
while most military unmanned
aerial systems (UAS) are currently
devoted to intelligence, surveil-
lance and reconnaissance (ISR), his
platform would be out there doing
the job carrying weight for agricul-
tural applications such as spraying,
seed laying and other industry
sector uses that could also include a
variety of monitoring tasks.
CoaX Helicopters sees the
potential of several variants of its
flying prototype, from a manned
platform with a payload of around
100 kg to a larger UAS carrying in
excess of 300 kg with several hours
of flight time.
The autopilot would be provid-
ed by Australian company Cyber
Technologies and Batten add that
the Defense Science and Technol-
ogy Organization (DSTO) found
that the system was unparalleled in
its accuracy. It is already Automatic
Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast
(ADS-B) compliant.
Hybrid Heli-Plane or
Aero-Copter?
When is a plane not a plane?
When its a helicopter. When is it
neither? When its a RotorWing.
That is the name of the concept
designed by Sydney based StopRo-
tor Technology. Covered before in
Rotor & Wing, the company is
developing a prototype aircraft
that can transition between fixed
and rotary wing f light. It uses
existing technology with common
fail-safe operations.
As a transition in forward flight
was found to be difficult due to
airflow being experienced over the
rotor blades, but can be accom-
plished if the aircraft is in a high
angle of attack. Stopping and start-
ing the rotor blades needs a stable
environment with symmetrical
airflow acting on the rotor.
A series of successful flights
have demonstrated not only regu-
lar fixed and rotary wing flights
including takeoff and landing, but
also fixed and rotary flight in tran-
sition and fixed to rotary wing in-
flight conversion.
The first flight test that incorpo-
rated an in-flight transition between
the fixed and rotary dimensions
took place last year with a two-
meter-long prototype. The transi-
tion is achieved by unlocking the
RotorWing during a descent so
that it could enter helicopter mode.
Rowan Watkins, company founder
declared the inflight transition to
be a key milestone in our develop-
ment. However, further invest-
ment is sought. StopRotor Tech-
nologys ambition is to continue
to develop this hybrid technology
and demonstrate its safe conver-
sion between fixed and rotary wing
operation while in-flight. Objec-
tives include: demonstrating entry
into and exit from the transition
envelope, demonstrating sustained
stable flight at high angles of attack
in the transition envelope, demon-
strating the stopped rotor transi-
tion between flight modes, and
demonstrating stopped RotorWing
enabling technologies
Further developments will
include looking into alternative
sources of power and a modern
computer management system.
Missions will include those
where the versatility of a VTOL
aircraft can be mixed with the need
for fixed wing range and the abil-
ity to hover. Users will look to see
how it might perform with mission
systems such as ISR pods, among
others.
CoaX aircraft in flight. Photo courtesy of CoaX Helicopters
from
The Definitive Source of Worldwide Rotorcraft Procurement Intelligence and Insight
Spring 2014 rotorandwing.com
U.S. Navy Buys Five
Additional MQ-8Cs
Australia Retires
Sea King Fleet
SAR & FIRE
TRAINING
MILITARY INSIDER
M2
By Andrew Drwiega
Military Insider
O
n April 8, Gen. Frank
Grass, chief of the Nation-
al Guard Bureau, seemed
to have conceded to the
Senate Armed Services Commit-
tee what was always going to be
an unwinnable fight against the
sequestration-caused reshaping of
U.S. Army Aviation; that the Guard
could not keep its Boeing Apaches.
The Guard will hand over its 192
AH-64 Apaches to the regular
force while gaining 111 Sikorsky
UH-60 Black Hawks in return a
combination of modernized UH-
60Ls and new UH-60Ms. But at
the same meeting, Army Chief of
Staff Gen. Ray Odierno presented
figures derived from the Aviation
Restructure Initiative (ARI) that
showed a saving of around $12 bil-
lion through fiscal year 2017. With
the Army downsizing in numbers
and with a new expeditionary force
structure in mind, the cuts had to
be made. Lets not forget the regular
Army Aviation force is taking hits
too, losing three combat aviation
brigades. Pre-sequestration the
Armys research had indicated a
minimum need for 15 CABs
this has now been hacked back to
only 10. Gen. Odierno reminded
everyone that between FY12 and
FY21 the Department of Defense
(DoD) was scheduled to take $900
billion in budget reductions, of
which the Armys share was $265
billion. More specifically, under
the ARI the active component of
Army would absorb 86 percent of
the total reductions (687 of 798)
with only 14 percent (111 of 798)
from the Guard and Reserve com-
ponents. The active Armys overall
helicopter fleet will decline by
about 23 percent, and the Army
National Guards fleet of helicop-
ters will decline by approximately
8 percent, he said. The stand of
the Guard certainly attracted sup-
port of Congressman Joe Wilson
(R-S.C.), who introduced a bill to
set up a National Commission to
investigate the ARI. There was also
logic to the argument that it should
keep its attack helicopter capability
and skills. Hadnt they just proved
their worth in over a decade of
fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan?
With reserves in the more modern
armies around the world now being
called upon for increased commit-
ment but without the financial allo-
cations usually attributed to regular
forces, the possibility that reserves
could be gradually well, quickly if
huge cuts continue to be made be
turned into paper tigers has to be
avoided at all costs.
The Guards absence of a rotary
attack capability will have a ripple
effect across the whole Army, not
just the reserve component. Training
must be put in place to ensure that
the reserve component does not lose
sight of the developing operational
capability of the Apache force (partic-
ularly manned-unmanned teaming,
or MUM-T). However, the reduc-
tion in monthly flying hours that will
impact Army Aviation aircrews once
the withdrawal from Afghanistan is
complete, is going to narrow training
availability as well as currency skills.
They will now need to be available
to train with reserve forces as well
as the regular force elements. Not
everything can be achieved through
synthetic simulation.
But the greater danger to all
reserve forces is that they will be
asked to fulfill the same role as that
of their regular colleagues, but with-
out the same financial commitment
allocated to regular active soldiers.
As an example, the British Minis-
try of Defence (MoD) is currently
engaged in restructuring the mili-
tary into Army 2020. This will entail
the building up of the Volunteer
Force from its current level of 19,000
to an anticipated strength of 30,000
soldiers. While this is happening,
the regular Army will reduce in size
to 82,000. The vision is that: The
changing nature of the Reserves
presents an opportunity for the
Army to be integrated by design,
with the Reserve used routinely, not
just in extreme circumstances. So in
reality to achieve this they should be
as well trained in virtually all aspects
of soldiering as the regular force.
Herein rests the comprehensive
challenge: to deliver an equal effect
across two different levels of force
structure while the governments
treasury benefits from the money
saved. Unless specific reserves are
trained for specific tasks and mis-
sions, maintaining their ability to
deliver an equal capability across
all scenarios would seem to be an
unrealistic and potentially danger-
ous ambition.
Taking Hits, While
Trouble Lies Ahead
ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MAY 2014
MILITARY | POLICY
agustawestland.com
AgustaWestland is a world of people united by a great strength:
passion.
Passion for technology, innovation, forward-thinking, delivery and
above all our customers.
Passion is the energy behind the people that keep our rotorcraft
in skies the world over.
LEADING THE FUTURE
Everything we do,
We do with passion
M4
Mil Insider by Andrew Drwiega M2
Australia Retires Sea King Fleet M6
SAR Extreme Maritime Challenge M8
Military Report
The Department of National Defense (DND) for the
Philippines has begun the acquisition process for two
brand new anti-submarine helicopters. It will be the
first time the small republic has sought to procure
helicopters for such a mission.
The two anti-submarine helicopters will primarily
be ship-based with mission-essential equipment, said
Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic, a spokesperson for the Philip-
pine Navy.
The invitation to bid on the P5.4-billion ($120 bil-
lion) contract, which will include integrated logistics
support, will be opened to both local and foreign rotor-
craft manufacturers. A pre-bid conference to familiar-
ize potential contractors with the requirements has
tentatively been scheduled for April 24 at the DNDs
Camp Aguinaldo headquarters in Queson City.
The proposed acquisition of the two helicopters, how-
ever, did not come without controversy. Rep. Rodolpho
Albano III of the Philippines House of Representatives
wanted his legislative colleagues to scrutinize the need
for the aircraft more closely if not cancel the process alto-
gether before moving forward with bid invitations.
What do we need those anti-submarine choppers
for? asked Albano. Do communist guerillas and the
remaining [religious] separatists possess submarines,
or are we preparing for a possible confrontation with
China? He went on to suggest that the money could be
put to better use equipping ground soldiers with new
uniform clothing items.
The deadline for submission of a bid is April 24, with
delivery of goods required within 730 days of contract
award. By Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large
Philippines Dept of National Defense
Opens Bids for New Helicopters
Both the British and French governments have finally
confirmed an $830 million (500-million) investment
into MBDAs helicopter launched anti-ship missile,
the Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy)
(FASGW(H)), which is alternatively known as the
Anti-Navire Leger (Light Anti-Ship) or ANL in France.
The project was jointly announced in March 2008
with a Statement of Intent signed in January 2009. But
he missile has been extensively delayed which has been
mainly attributed to the French governments lack of
an immediate requirement for the missile which has
caused problems for the Royal Navy (RN), placing a seri-
ous question on how workable such joint projects can
ever be given different priorities and budget allocations.
Thales UK, the developer of the FASGW (Light)
missile is also waiting for a contract from the ministry
of defense. This missile too is unlikely to be ready
before 2020 leaving the AW159 without an important
part of its strike capability. FASGW is intended to
replace the RNs old Sea Skua, which was to have been
taken out of service around 2015.
Investment is split with the UKs Ministry of Defense
paying 280 million with France paying the remainder.
The 100-kg missile will be used by the Navys new ver-
sion of the Lynx, the AW159 Wildcat helicopters that
are beginning to come into service. However they will
not be armed with the missile until around 2020.
Minister for defense equipment, support and
technology Philip Dunne commented that the devel-
opment would bring 200 jobs to the UK and was an
indication of the strengthening relationship over joint
procurement between the two countries. FASGW(H)
will be suitable for use against small and medium
maritime targets, particularly fast attack craft between
50-500 tons. The French Navy will use the missile on its
Airbus Helicopter AS565 Panther helicopters and later
with its NH90s. By Andrew Drwiega, International
Bureau Chief
Britain, France Confirm Investment in
MBDAs FASGW(H) Missile
Graphic showing a Wildcat firing a FASGW missile.
Rendering courtesy of UK MoD
APRIL 2013 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
M5
When Warfare Calls,
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MILITARY INSIDER | NEWS
M6
Royal Australian Navy Retires Last Six
Helicopters in Westland Sea King Fleet
The Royal Australian Navys last six Westland Sea Kings have been
removed from storage at HMAS Albatross, Nowra, NSW, and trans-
ported to Port Kembla for export to the UK, where they will be broken up
for parts by Aerospace Logistics (ASL).
The Sea Kings were withdrawn from RAN service in December 2011
and replaced by the MRH-90 helicopters. The Sea King was considered
the workhorse of the RAN for over 36 years, logging more than 60,000
flying hours in 817 Squadron.
The type played a key role in RANs contribution to disaster relief and
humanitarian assistance in Australia and overseas, with domestic mis-
sions including firefighting in the Sydney fires of 1994, one of the largest
fire-fighting efforts in the countrys history; rescue missions at sea, includ-
ing the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race; and one of its last missions
rescuing people from the Queensland floods of 2010/2011.
The Sea King fuselages were wrapped in heat-shrink plastic to pro-
tect them and transported on low-load trailers. ASL provides specialist
services in the supply, refurbishment, exchange, repair, maintenance and
overhaul of aircraft parts. The Sea King inventory will be used to support
capability of international military and search and rescue fleets.
A seventh Sea King is being preserved at the Fleet Air Arm Museum
in Nowra. The helicopter, Shark 07, was selected as it has the most
operational history in the fleet, having served in the Middle East and East
Timor. By Emma Kelly, Australia and Pacific Correspondent
RAF Chinook Pilot, Aircrew Recognized
with DFC Operational Awards
Another Royal Air Force (RAF) Chinook pilot, Flight Lt. Charlie
Lockyear, has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for
operations in Afghanistan with Master Aircrew (MACR) Bob Sunder-
land receiving a Mention in Dispatches during the same action.
While on a mission in May 2013 to insert British forces the Boe-
ing Chinook came under fire from insurgents. The incoming fire
wounded MACR Sunderland and disabled the Chinooks radio and
intercom. Still under fire, Flight Lt. Lockyear aborted the mission but
due to the lack of radio was not aware that some troops had already
disembarked the aircraft and were engaged with the enemy.
However, aware of the damage to the aircraft, Lockyear once
again landed the aircraft to extract the troops on the ground. During
this time MACR Sutherland engaged the insurgents with suppress-
ing fire from the helicopter despite his wounds.
Flight Lt. Lockyear flew the damaged aircraft, which also had bullet
hits on the rotor blades, back to Camp Bastion where the injured could
be treated. By Andrew Drwiega, International Bureau Chief
Safety Culture Spreads
Throughout UK Military
The success of the United Kingdoms
Military Aviation Authority (MAA) is being
regarded as a model for wider application of
its principles across all arms of the military
with the planned creation of a Defense Safety
Authority. We publish without approval we
dont let other people mark our homework,
said the director general of the UKs MAA,
Air Marshal Dick Garwood. Speaking at a
briefing to the Air Power Association, at the
RAF Club in London, Garwood was reporting
on how the MAA had developed since it was
established in April 2011 in response to the
Haddon-Cave Nimrod XV230 review.
This review by was triggered when a Royal
Air Force (RAF) Nimrod MR2 exploded while
on a mission over Afghanistan on Sept. 2, 2006,
killing all 14 personnel on board. Among the
findings of the subsequent investigation led by a
senior British judge, Sir Charles Haddon-Cave,
were that aircraft safety concerns had been
overlooked to cut costs, which had resulted in a
systemic breach of the military covenant.
Now Garwood reports directly to the Sec-
retary of State, not the Chief of the Defense
Staff or any military superior. Garwood stated
that he did not believe that the MAAs work
had developed an insidious safety culture and,
if anything, the pendulum has swung slightly
back after stringent safety application since
2011. Now, he added, we enforce the rules,
which has come as a slight shock to some. But
he revealed that time between fatalities had
significantly improved, averaging one fatality
every five months to one every nine months
although the last fatality had been nearly two
years ago. Garwood said there was now a
wider culture of understanding operating risk
against operational risk. Safety does not get in
the way of operational freedoms we can go
to war, he asserted.
Overall, Garwood said that people within
the military now understood risk and that
there was accountability. You cant quantify
value for money, but the culture is changing.
Duty holders and operators are compliant but
we have some way to go with duty holder fac-
ing organizations. He said that around 12,000
reports per year were being generated and that
his organization was continually improving
how they were received and used. The main
question on safety that everyone needs to ask,
he says is: Have you done all that is reasonable
to do? The ongoing strategic air safety risk that
MAA is studying involves the potential for mid-
air collisions, the shortfall in suitably qualified
and experience persons (SQEPs), the cumula-
tive effect of defense change initiatives and the
effect of the redeployment home of forces in
Afghanistan. By Andrew Drwiega
One of six Sea Kings in transit through Nowra.
Photo courtesy Australian Navy
7 MARCH 2012 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE MAY 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
M7
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19878
M8
T
wo recent tragic incidents
have revealed the chal-
lenges of searching for,
and rescuing people from,
aircraft or vessels that get into
difficulties in the maritime envi-
ronment.
In the case of Malaysian Airlines
MH370, the challenge was actu-
ally tracking and locating where it
had gone after it disappeared off
its scheduled flight path with 227
passengers and 12 crew onboard.
The slowness of tracing the likely
path of the aircraft, once the tran-
sponder had been switched off, left
many professionals mystified as to
how this occurred losing an air-
liner belonging to a major airline.
The mystery deepened when
it was revealed that Inmarsats
MILITARY | SEARCH AND RESCUE
How two of the latest tragedies in the SAR world could be
repeated in different circumstances in the Arctic.
By Andrew Drwiega, International Bureau Chief
EXTREME MAR
CHALLENGES
MAY 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
M9
Extreme Maritime SAR
onboard satellite communications
systems had been pinging satellites
for several hours after the tran-
sponder was switched off. After
verifying the true track of the
aircraft, the technology providers
sent the information to the airline
which then allowed search forces to
be guided into the southern Indian
Ocean where, at time of writing,
over six weeks after its disappear-
ance the precise location of the
aircraft has still not been verified.
The search for MH370 is now
the most expensive
search and recov-
ery operation (as
there seems to be
nobody to rescue)
i n hi stor y. The
search now moves
into an underwa-
ter phase with the
deployment of the
U.S. Navys Blue-
fin 21 autonomous
underwater vehi-
cle (AUV) ,which
can scan the sea-
bed, al bei t at a
maximum of 150
meters across.
The si nki ng
of the Republic of
Korea ferry Sewol,
again at time of
writing less than a
week after the inci-
dent, seems to have
claimed hundreds
of lives many of
whom are school
children.
Current reports
indicate that out
of the 475 people
o n b o a r d , 3 3 9
were students and
teachers. To date
only 174 have been
rescued.
Strong currents
have been reported by divers on
the scene and this together with
the temperature of the water 12
degrees C (54 degrees F), appears
to be one of the reasons why the
captain of the ferry broadcast mes-
sages stating that people should
remain where they were many
of whom were inside the vessel.
The children onboard would likely
have followed the advice given to
them by adults, perhaps one of the
reasons why more people did not
make their way outside the ship.
The ferry was on a well-travelled
route from the main port at Incheon
to Jeju Island, a well-known resort
to the south of the mainland. While
not speculating on the reasons for
the sinking, it is known through
the release of a transcription of
conversations between the ferrys
bridge and the Korean Coast Guard
that the ship had begun taking on
water by 9:00 am on April 16. By
9:30 am the ferry had a 60-degree
list with passengers beginning to
be rescued by small boats. How-
ever, the Korean Coast Guard has
released the transcription of radio
conversations between Jindo Ves-
sel Traffic Services Center (VTS)
on Jindo island and the ferry during
the crucial period in the emergency
after 9:00 am.
It shows that despite the rapidly
sinking ferry, there were still major
concerns onboard about advising
passengers to abandon the ship and
get into the sea with the hope that
surrounding ships would then be
able to rescue them.
9:25 a.m. JINDO VTS: The evacu-
ation of people on board Sewol
ferry ... the captain should make a
decision about evacuating them. We
dont know the situation there. The
captain should make the final deci-
sion and decide quickly whether to
evacuate passengers or not.
9:26 a.m. SEWOL: Im not talking
about that. I asked, if they evacu-
ate now, can they be rescued right
away?
JINDO VTS: Patrol boats will be
there in less than 10 minutes.
SEWOL: In 10 minutes?
By 9:38am there was no more
communication with the ferry and
by the time the first helicopter rescue
occurred around 9:45am, the ferry
had rolled over and people were on
and around the upturned hull.
ARITIME
S-70B Seahawk launches as a refueling probe is
transferred while both ships are deployed in search of
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Photo courtesy of RAN
M10
An early summary of this disas-
ter reveals: the ferry was travelling
a known route; weather conditions
were not extreme or abnormal; the
ferry had good communications
with the authorities; less than an
hour passed between the declara-
tion of an emergency and the ferry
capsizing with the superstruc-
ture fully emerged into the water;
instructions were issued for people
to remain where they were in the
ship during critical periods; the
location was not remote and res-
cue service and other vessels were
quickly on the scene but did not
have an opportunity to rescue the
majority of the passengers for rea-
sons that are still emerging.
Cruising in the Arctic:
the SAR Challenge
The Sewol ferry disaster illustrates
just how quickly an emergency
can escalate into a full search and
rescue (SAR) recovery operation
even in benign conditions and with
emergency rescue services and
other vessels willing to assist rela-
tively close at hand.
Less than a week earlier, several
speakers at IQPCs Search and Res-
cue Europe conference (April 8-9)
held in Copenhagen, Denmark,
revealed their concerns about the
number of vessels entering the
polar circle in the Arctic, particu-
larly cruise ships now able to ven-
ture further north than ever before
due to the receding polar ice sheet.
Most of the SAR specialists
present with responsibility for the
region agreed that it is only a matter
of when, not if, an accident occurs
that will place many lives, possibly
thousands, in grave danger.
Maj. Gen. Stig Nielsen, com-
mander, Arctic Command of the
Royal Danish Defence Force, said
the increasing incursion of cruise
ships around Greenland, a few with
the capacity to carry over 3,000
passengers and crew, posed a major
challenge in keeping them safe,
particularly as most of the vessels
were not ice protected and were
entering waters that have still not
been properly mapped. Weather
was also going to be a crucial fac-
tor in an emergency and Nelson
was quick to illustrate how it could
cause an emergency, or hamper the
rescue services: We have 1,900 low
pressures in a year coming over the
area. With climate change the ice is
pulling back. The wind (speeds) are
higher, we are seeing wave heights
we havent seen before some up
to 30 meters in the Denmark Strait.
It is a very hostile environment.
No matter what precautions,
someday there will be an accident,
he predicted. However, agreements
with the cruise ship operators now
mean that there is the ability to
monitor their position virtually
continuously to look out for poten-
tial dangers in advance.
The official tourist site of Green-
land is eager to encourage people
to join such cruises. On its web-
site, Greenland.com, it builds up
expectation of sailing into poten-
tially dangerous waters: Those
travelling by sea enjoy sailing along
Greenlands coasts to see icebergs
of different shapes and sizes; from
small transparent ice floes to colos-
sal 100-meter-high (330-foot-high)
icebergs. Do not forget that you
only see about one tenth of the
iceberg above the surface of the
water the rest has to be left to
your imagination.
The challenge to SAR agencies
would be rescuing a volume of
people from such a hostile envi-
ronment. Nielsen said that with a
population of 57,000, mainly on the
southwest side of Greenland, there
were only two police helicopters
with 2.2 million square kilometers
to cover. In Denmark we have three
helicopters to cover an area 50
times smaller. Any other helicopter
support would have to come from
naval ships that would be unlikely
to be in the vicinity. But anyone
having to enter the water would
have minutes, not hours, to be
rescued. Compared to the waters
around the Korean ferry which
has a temperature of 12 degrees
C (54 degrees F) with around 90
minutes before hypothermia set
in, the waters off Greenland are
less than 0 degrees C (32 degrees
F) so hypothermia begins to set in
almost immediately.
Rear Admiral Georg Larusson,
director general, Icelandic Coast
Guard, shared Nielsons fears. With
new Polar shipping routes through
the Arctic, and more cruise ships
and oil and gas tankers, there is far
more traffic than before. Larusson
said that the number of cruise ship
passengers to Iceland had increased
300 percent in the last three years.
The Coast Guard currently
operate three AS332-L1 Super
MILITARY | SEARCH AND RESCUE
Tiger75, an S-70B-2 Seahawk, launches to port off HMAS Toowoomba, to conduct a
surface search as part of the Flight MH370 recovery effort. Photo courtesy Australian RAN
MAY 2014 | ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M
M11
Pumas, two of which are leased.
In 2013 they flew 185 missions,
54 of which were over the sea.
The mission breakdown was: SAR
39 percent, HEMS 46 percent
and Other 15 percent. Larus-
son said that the influx of tourists
had resulted in an increase in the
number of missions, some due to
the fact that people were not aware
of how quickly the environment
could turn against them. There is
a plan to evaluate these helicopter
operations with the aim of secur-
ing three to four new helicopters
between 2018-2020.
One of the points made dur-
ing the conference was that in
such extreme circumstances, an
international rescue plan would be
coordinated. That would almost
certainly involve the Arctic Search
and Rescue Agreement (formally
the Agreement on Cooperation for
Aeronautical and Maritime Search
and Rescue in the Arctic), an inter-
national treaty that came into force
on Jan. 19, 2013, after it had been
ratified by each of the eight signa-
tory states (Canada, Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway, Rus-
sia, Sweden and the U.S.). The
agreement has established areas
of primary SAR responsibility and
has overcome the sensitive issue of
territorial claims with the provision
that the delimitation of search and
rescue regions is not related to and
shall not prejudice the delimitation
of any boundary between States or
their sovereignty, sovereign rights
or jurisdiction.
One of the countries with expe-
rience of, and great exposure to,
the Arctic is Canada. Lt. Col. Chris
Conway, director of Air Require-
ments 2, Royal Canadian Air Force,
revealed Canada places the Coast
Guard as the lead agency in terms
of maritime SAR. Given that, Can-
ada had only four fixed-wing (three
CC130 Hercules and one CCII Buf-
falo) and four rotary assets (CH149
Cormorants versions of the
AgustaWestland AW101) that are
dedicated SAR assets for the whole
geographical area of Canada.
Conway made the point that
because of great distances within
the Canadian geographic area,
we end up choosing an aerial
fixed-wing delivery platform over a
rotary wing recovery platform. The
first point of response will most
likely be fixed-wing.
One of the national SAR prob-
lems is that the bulk of Canada does
not have cell phone coverage so,
unlike other countries such those
in Europe, people needing rescue
cannot get out their cell phone
and make a call. It is also primar-
ily land focused. He also made the
point: You can launch from south-
ern Ontario in plus 25 degrees C
and travel into minus 25 degrees.
He said that this drives the way
in which Canada will respond to
remote SAR missions. A fixed wing
rapid delivery of men and equip-
ment and then we will figure out
the recovery after that.
Nielson helped to illustrate
the type of SAR emergencies that
occur in the Greenland area, from
people lost on the land to aircraft in
distress and boats of various sizes in
distress. There are many hunters
and fisherman in small boats who
sometime sail alone. Most inci-
dents in south and west are because
that is where the people can get to
and most are because encounters
with ice. There were 348 people in
distress 2013, compared to 263 in
2012; 233 in 2011; and 199 in 2010].
He hel ped command the
SAREX Greenland Sea exercise in
2013. Its aim was to train the SAR
organizations of the eight Arctic
Nations in a live exercise providing
SAR cooperation training to all par-
ticipants in a remote Arctic envi-
ronment. It involved a search for,
and evacuation of, a missing cruise
ship. An extra element added in a
pollution contamination factor.
What did we learn? asked
Nielson. That communications is
always a problem, especially fur-
ther north. The value of fixed-wing
aircraft in the search phase and the
recognition that satellites could be
helpful. A common SAR log was
needed.
Tore Wangsfjord, director of the
Joint Rescue Coordination Center
in Norway, summarized the diffi-
culties of SAR operations in regions
such as the Arctic. Many incidents
outside of range of SAR helicopters.
We need to make arrangements
to refuel them (off oil rigs, ships
involved, etc.) for extended opera-
tions. That all takes time which is
the main challenge in the north. It
may take 24 hours before you reach
people in distress.
Extreme Military SAR
Royal Australian Navy S-70B-2 Seahawk on the tarmac at RAAF Base. Courtesy RAAF
If a man is in need of rescue, an airplane can come
in and throw flowers on him, and thats just about all.
But a direct lift aircraft could come in and save his
life. ~Igor Sikorsky
By Dale Smith
Sikorsky Matrix:
Advancing Autonomy
to Higher Levels
I
t seems like autonomous
helicopters or unmanned
aerial vehicles (UAVs) are
all the rage these days. From
individual UAVs being turned into
package deliverers to a swarm of
small quad-copters playing the
James Bond theme, it seems like
there is no limit to what were going
to ask these small rotorcraft to do.
And while, from a technological
standpoint, many of these accom-
plishments are pretty amazing,
other than a public-relations grab
or pure entertainment, few are of
any measurable benefit.
Thankfully though, company
founder Igor Sikorskys dream of
giving vertical takeoff and landing
(VTOL) aircraft even those oper-
ated without pilots on board the
capabilities to serve mankinds
greater good is alive an well in the
form of the Matrix Technology.
Matri x is Sikorskys maj or
research program to develop, test
and field systems and software
that will significantly improve the
capabilities, reliabilities, and safety
of flight for autonomous, optionally
piloted and piloted VTOL aircraft.
What we are basically trying
to do is to automate a lot of things
in current VTOL machines that
the human (pilot) now has to do,
explained Igor Cherepinsky, chief
engineer on Sikorskys Autono-
mous Program. You can think of
it like the old days when you got on
an elevator and there was an opera-
tor there to run it. It was too com-
plicated for an untrained person to
do safely.
As automation advanced, you
did not need that operator any lon-
ger. You just push a button, he con-
tinued. We are working to bring
the same advancement to the pilot/
aircraft interface. Were saying it
doesnt really matter where the
human being is but there needs
to be human interface at some level
but that human can either be in
the aircraft or at a remote location.
It doesnt really matter.
Cherepinsky said that with
Matrix, instead of the pilot having
to worry about sticks, rudders,
cyclics, collectives and the like, he
is able to concentrate on managing
the mission.
This is ultimately what Matrix is
all about, he explained. But like any
new technology it has an upward
spiral development path. We need
to start by making the machines
autonomous and more reliable at
lower levels (capabilities) and build
up from there.
As Sikorskys vice president of
research and engineering, Mark
Miller stated in a recent presenta-
tion: The game-changing Matrix
Technology we are developing
and testing will provide orders-of-
magnitude improvements in sys-
tem intelligence and contingency
management to ensure high levels
of reliability, and ultimately, make
unmanned missions by helicopters
and other VTOL aircraft of all sizes
highly affordable, he said.
Both Cherepinsky and Miller
stressed that improving the air-
crafts reliability and, more impor-
tantly, safety are the foundation of
the programs efforts. Of course
if any of the autonomous aircraft
have read Isaac Asimovs Three
Laws of Robotics: much of this
would not be a problem. But we
know that as smart as they are,
autonomous vehicles cant read.
But, I digress
Cherepinsky explained that
the current industry loss rate for
unmanned aircraft is right around
one-per-1,000-hours of operations.
Thats way too high to allow any
meaningful UAV applications.
Theyre maturing but most
are single- or dual-strand systems.
They dont have enough redun-
dancy to really sustain high-tempo
Sikorsky Matrix
Sikorksy Matrix Technology at AUVSI
Unmanned Systems in 2013. Photo by
Woodrow Bellamy III
lossless flight, he said. Our goal
is to improve that loss rate to one-
in-100,000 flight hours. The com-
bination of our robust architecture,
multi-level contingency manage-
ment and advanced system intel-
ligence algorithms will enable that
transformation.
He continued: We have to bring
autonomy into the vehicle in a very
reliable fashion and to enable the
pilot to become a mission operator.
Pilots are never going to disappear,
but their role is going to change.
There are lots of missions where
humans dont really belong on the
aircraft. But, there are also lots
of missions where you really do
want human eyes right there in the
middle of the action.
Developing the First
AI Autopilot
So by now youre thinking, okay the
pilot can be located hundreds, if
not thousands of miles away from
the Matrix-equipped UAV, thats
nothing special. Yes, they both can
operate remotely or even autono-
mously, but Cherepinsky stressed
that thats pretty much where the
similarity ends.
Todays UAVs borrow a lot of
technologies from the autopilot
systems used by both VTOL and
fixed-wing applications. They are
all waypoint-oriented in the way
they operate, he explained. You
enter a flight plan and it goes off
and flies the mission. Thats all fine
as long as the mission is that simple
and nothing goes wrong.
Matrix is the first system that
really allows the operator to mod-
ify the mission and mission goals,
Cherepinsky stated. For example,
the operator can just say I need to
get from Point A to Point B what
happens between those two points
becomes totally up to the machine.
If weather or mechanical prob-
lems pop up during the mission,
the Matrix-enabled UAV is free to
modify its flight plan to take these
issues into account when continu-
ing the mission or opting to land.
The machine itself will be able
to handle all major contingencies.
So if there is a single-item failure, it
will be handled on board. If there
is something the machine cannot
cope with it will notify the opera-
tors, he said. Instead of telling you
that engine one is out it may just
say that its range or payload capac-
ity has gone down or give you other
immediate affects on the mission.
Its up to the pilot/mission manager
to take it from there.
Even if your UAV is remotely-
piloted, if theres a mechanical
issue and it needs to land now
its nearly impossible for a pilot
who is time-zones away to know if
theres a suitable landing site within
range. From Sikorskys point-of-
view, it would be easier, and safer to
give that autonomous, task aware
decision-making capability to the
aircraft itself.
One of the key capabilities of the
Matrix Technology is the ability for
the system to autonomously find a
suitable site and land the aircraft.
The basics of any truly autono-
mous helicopter is it needs the
capability to understand its loca-
tion, obstacles, and terrain and can
actively plot a path that enables it to
land in the sorts of places helicop-
ters need to land in both normal
and emergency situations, Chere-
pinsky said. Pilots do it all the time.
They go out to a site, locate the
obstacles and plot a path around
them to land safely. This is one of
the first capabilities we need to give
to our machine.
At the end of a mission or during
an emergency the pilot can either
make the final decision or just let the
machine proceed with no interven-
tion, he said. Thats really the first
spiral of true artificial intelligence
and autonomy that we are starting
to put into our products.
How does it work? Well, Chere-
pinsky said its still top secret and if
he told us he would have to well,
you know the drill.
Anyway, while a totally self-
operating helicopter may seem
the stuff of science fiction, and
depending on the FAA, it may well
be for a long time yet, Cherepinsky
said that autonomous site selec-
tion and landing capabilities are an
excellent addition to the cockpits
of crewed helicopters.
Mike Miller with Sikorsky Innovations. Photo courtesy of Sikorsky
One application could well be
a Please Land Me mode, Chere-
pinsky explained. Should a pilot
become incapacitated or disori-
ented, he could engage the system,
which will use its onboard percep-
tion system to examine the imme-
diate areas and locate a suitable
landing spot. Once there, the pilot
can choose to handle the landing or
the system can do it.
Its just like the autopilot flies
a set flightpath today, but this is
much more elaborate and intel-
ligent, he said. We see this as a
major step in eliminating CFIT
(controlled flight into terrain) acci-
dents. We dont want to see another
machine that is perfectly capable of
flying being flown into the ground
because the pilot is disorientated or
cannot see.
SARA Platform
To help put all of the Matrix Tech-
nology theories into practice,
Sikorskys engineers chose to buck
the small aircraft trend and go with
a full-size S-76 as its test and dem-
onstration platform.
We had done some work with
small remote controlled platforms,
but those tend to be computation-
ally and payload constrained and
are not really representative of a real
aircraft, Cherepinsky explained.
Having the large aircraft like the
S-76 has been very good for us.
Using an aircraft that looks and
performs like our objective vehicles
enables us to tackle problems that
are real and not waste time dealing
with issues that only show up in
smaller aircraft.
With its new fly-by-wire con-
version and Matrix Technology
installed, the SARA S-76 is enabling
rapid flight-testing of all of Matrixs
hardware and software, including
the multi-spectral sensors.
To date, Cherepi nsky said
Sikorsky has completed Phase 1,
while Phase 2 of the Matrixs spiral
development process is progress-
ing very well.
Phase 1 demonstrated that
we can provide full autonomous
operations and very accurately
control the vehicle to put it where
it needs to be in both position and
time, he said. We can easily hold
hover that stays within a one-foot
sphere in winds gusting from 12- to
28-knots.
Cherepinsky said that Phase 2
includes the first demonstration
of Matrixs AI capabilities. Weve
installed a multi-level sensor system
on the aircraft and thats what were
using to locate and avoid obstacles
around landing zones, he said. We
had some big successes with it. We
recently flew over an area and iden-
tified the landing zones. We didnt
land yet. We were just verifying the
algorithms. We are planning a series
of other demos over this year with
increasing complexity in these areas.
Cherepinsky said while a full sys-
tem roll out is probably years away,
he does see situations in the near-
term where particular applications
of the Matrix Technology suite,
including the aforementioned
Please Land Me mode, can be put
to use by commercial and military
operators in the very near future.
Of course in the near-term the
major technological transfer will
be in more sophisticated auto-
pilots for helicopters and fixed-
wing aircraft, he said. Eliminating
CFIT is a big priority. Further,
there are applications for more
advanced optionally-piloted and
autonomous aircraft. That may
take a while not because of tech-
nology, but more from a political
and certification perspective.
Were having ongoing conver-
sations with the FAA on this tech-
nology and how we will roll it into
the system, Cherepinsky said. The
FAA has been doing an excellent
job trying to find ways to get UAVs
integrated into the NAS (National
Airspace System). Its going to take
a bit to get it all done.
Matrix Technology addresses
the unique needs of vertical flight
systems, Miller said. By our efforts
we seek to expand the types of mis-
sions that can be flown, improve
the efficiency of existing missions
and continue to build on the safety
and reliability that has been a Sikor-
sky hallmark.
Sikorsky Matrix
Sikorsky autonomous research aircraft flying over New York. Photo courtesy of Sikorsky
PRODUCTS | SERVICES
By Ernie Stephens,
Editor-at-Large
H
elicopter avionics have
changed dramatically in
the past 10 years. Tech-
nology that was once
reserved for military fighters, cor-
porate jets and airliners have now
found their way into the cockpits
of every kind of helicopter, from
the 13,000-lb offshore transport,
all the way down to the 1,000-lb
entry-level piston trainer. In fact,
at Heli-Expo 2008, attendees were
shocked to see an aftermarket glass
cockpit suite made by Grand Prai-
rie, Texas-based Sagem Avionics
in a two-seat helicopter. Six years
later, glass now comes standard in
many rotorcraft, and is a popular
option in the rest.
Analog gauges, often referred to
as steam gauges, ruled the instru-
ment panels of all aircraft for nearly
80 years. But with the advent of
powerful and inexpensive semi-
conductors, and the clarity of liquid
crystal diode displays, it became
easier to combine many instru-
ments onto space-efficient, yet easy
to read, glass screens called multi-
function displays (MFDs). Along
with advancements of glass display
screen came synthetic vision sys-
tems (SVS).
Loosely defined as real-time,
3D color imagery, SVS makes
paper navigation products nearly
obsolete. Instead, it uses a pre-
loaded, internal database to cre-
ate a pilots-eye view of the terrain
the aircraft is passing over at that
time.
SVS began with simple topog-
raphy i nformati on that onl y
showed mountains and water-
ways. But i t qui ckl y grew to
include most of the other things
pilots were trying to avoid, such
as power lines, transmission tow-
ers, and even buildings. Engineers
quickly plugged greater enhance-
Essential Equipment
Synthetic vision systems, such Rockwell Collins Helisure, can be an invaluable feature for
pilots who must fly in mountainous terrain where visibility can be reduced by clouds and
precipitation with little advanced warning. Photo courtesy of Rockwell Collins
PRODUCTS | SERVICES
ments i nto SVS capabi l i ti es,
including graphic rate-of-closure
information. In essence, when
the helicopter closes to within
a 30-second estimated time of
collision with an object, the sys-
tem will paint that object or ter-
rain feature yellow on the pilots
MFD. If the aircraft remains on
that course, the obstacle will be
repainted in red, indicating that
a collision can now occur in 20
seconds.
That visual warning, plus an
audible cue, will remain activated
until the pilot maneuvers the air-
craft away from danger.
One drawback to SVS has
always been the currency of the
information depicted, in that the
location of radio towers, buildings
and other man-made obstructions
to flight is only as up to date as
the last time the information was
uploaded to the onboard computer.
So, an area that the SVS might be
showing as clear of obstructions
might now contain a 300-foot radio
tower that was erected a few weeks
after the data was gathered and
uploaded, but a few days before the
next update was installed aboard
the aircraft.
One of the latest fixes to solve
the problem of outdated or vague
information in an SVS came from
Astronics Max-Vi z Enhanced
Vision Systems. The Portland,
Ore.-based technology company
manufactures sensors that can
detect the most subtle changes in
heat radiated from anything with-
in its field of view. With its model
1500 device mounted to the front
of a helicopter and coupled to
Honeywells Primus Epic avionics
suite, a pilot will see an infrared
image overlay of everything in the
aircrafts path in daylight, dark-
ness, or poor visibility.
Obstacle avoidance using IR
imaging was common on fixed
wi ng ai rcraf t l ong before i t
appeared in helicopters. The rea-
son for the delay was because of
the differences in the flight charac-
teristics of rotorcraft as compared
to planes. In an airplane, the direc-
tion that the nose is pointed or
angle of attack is usually closely,
if not exactly, related to the air-
crafts flight path.
But not so in rotorcraft. In fast
forward flight, the nose of a heli-
copters is often pointed down
below the flight path, and some-
times the nose if up at very slow
speeds.
In order to meet the tough
standards required for FAA Part
29 (airworthiness standards for
transport category aircraft), as
well as the standards of common
sense, the field of regard seen by
the sensor had to precisely show
the helicopters flight path. This
meant having to engineer the
camera to disregard the angle of
attack on the fuselage, and provide
information on what was in the
helicopters flight path at its ever-
changing attitude. Once that code
was cracked, the rotorcraft com-
munity could enjoy the benefits of
an IR image overlay for its digitally
produced SVS image.
SVS is not a product reserved
for larger, more expensive aircraft,
though. Many of these sophisti-
cated features can now be found on
smaller, less expensive helicopters
and airplanes, which increases the
odds of any level of pilot flying with
them. Since we introduced the
Bell 407GX and the Bell 429, most
of the aircraft we customize arrive
with a glass cockpit, said Dennis
Carothers, avionics manager for
Bell Helicopters completion cen-
ter in Piney Flats, Tenn. But we
do have customers who purchase
analog aircraft or wish to retrofit
older aircraft. And in those cases,
said Carothers, the most com-
mon requests if for the SVS capa-
bilities found in either the Garmin
G-500H or the Cobham (formerly
Chelton) electronic flight informa-
tion system.
With so many aircraft both
large and small coming online
with electronic instrumentation,
when should a pilot be exposed to
them for the first time?
(Left) Garmins SVS includes terrain shadowing to greater enhance the pilots situational awareness. (Right) Honeywells SVS paints hazards in
colors to give an immediate clue to the danger it presents, using red and yellow as indicators of obstacle distance. Photos by Ernie Stephens
Essential Equipment
At this years Heli-Expo 2014,
Robinson Helicopter announced
a glass cockpit with an SVS option
for its popular line of trainers and
small 4- and 5-seat models, while
Enstrom Helicopter unveiled its
new glass-equipped TH180 heli-
copter trainer with the same kind
of technology.
Ken Byrnes, the chairman of
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Uni-
versitys Daytona Beach f light
department, oversees the schools
training aircraft. In 2006, most of
his fleet was replaced with glass
cockpits, and he reports that all 61
aircraft will be digital by the sum-
mer July of 2014.
This is the future; [glass cock-
pits and SVS] are what theyll be
flying, said Byrnes. Plus, to get
these aircraft manufactured with
round gauges would have cost
more money.
Andrew Gappy, head of
AgustaWestlands Navy and Marine
Corps program, agrees that basic
training should now be accom-
plished with digital displays and
SVS. The company hopes that its
newest variant of the single-engine
Koala, the AW119Kx, which was
designed with training military
pilots in mind, will be purchased or
leased by the Navy.
Gappys logic is simple: Since
primary flight training for Navy
and Marine Corps pilots is in the
all-glass, T-6B airplane, the primary
helicopter trainer should be all
glass, too.
When they move from the T-6B
to the [helicopter trainer], which is
all analog, they actually have to go
back and do some kind of remedial
basic instrument training because
they didnt start with gauges, said
Gappy, a former Marine Corps
helicopter pilot. And then they
go to the fleet and they never see
steam gauges again.
Jim MacKay, is a high-time avia-
tor who holds FAA licenses for
helicopters, airplanes, gliders, auto-
gyros and balloons. His opinion of
SVS and digital cockpits is molded
by his extensive experience flying
military, medevec, VIP and off-
shore missions.
Ive flown both analog and
glass in many different aircraft,
said MacKay, who currently pilots
multi-engine Airbus and Bell heli-
copters. And an integrated glass
cockpit with SVS is the best for safe,
efficient, single-pilot IFR.
For more information, call Wrights Media at 877.652.5295 or
visit our website at www.wrightsmedia.com
Logo Licensing | Reprints
Eprints | Plaques
Leverage branded content from Rotor & Wing to create a
more powerful and sophisticated statement about your
product, service, or company in your next marketing
campaign. Contact Wrights Media to fnd out more about
how we can customize your acknowledgements and
recognitions to enhance your marketing strategies.
Content Licensing for
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Marketing solutions ft for:
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Radio & Television

Western European Impact Operators
This month we launch a new series of feature stories,
which we will be running throughout the year, where
we examine a particular region of the world and look for
helicopter operators there who are making a significant
impact in their area of expertise. The impact may come in
many forms the exceptional service they are providing,
an exemplary safety record, a particularly unique mission
large or small, we look for operators who are making a
difference and share their stories. For the June issue, we
focus on SAR operator Swedish Coastguard, along with
an offshore operator and a police/EMS unit.
Farnborough PreviewWe query industry sup-
pliers to provide a glimpse into the new and interesting
products for helicopter operators that are likely to be
announced and on display at this years Farnborough
International Airshow. In addition to all the major OEMs,
well talk with some of the support companies in Europe
that will offer products and services at the show.
Engineering Change(s)We take a look at
how the changing military procurement process with
its heavy reliance on quasi off-the-shelf solutions and
increasing reluctance to fund rotorcraft R&D, together
with an ever more complex regulatory environment and
bogged-down approval process in the commercial mar-
ketplace is impacting the future of the rotorcraft market
for better and worse.
Drone DeadWhen CEO Jeff Bezos uncovered
Amazons dream of using small drones to deliver pack-
ages, half the world started looking out their windows.
Helicopter pilots are starting to look over their shoulders.
How much longer can they expect to be in a cockpit as
opposed to sitting in front of a video game console on
the ground? Hank Perritt and Eliot Sprag conduct an
investigation of the mechanisms for sharing public safety
helicopters. Theyre not looking over their shoulders.
Essential Equipment OptionsThis month
we present primary product options when you are in the
market to purchase the following equipment:
Tugs and Dollies
Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs)
ColumnsLeading Edge by Frank Lombardi; Back
Shop by Douglas Nelms; Safety Watch by Terry Terrell;
and Military Insider by Andrew Drwiega
June 2014: World Spotlight
Western Europe Impact Operators
Bonus Distribution: Eurosatory, June 16-20 in Paris, France. Heli-UK Expo, June 3-4 in Northampton. European
Helicopter Show, June 19-21 in the Czech Republic.

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We own and stock the largest inventory
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HELIPORT LIGHTING FAA-approved equipment.
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Public Service Public Service
By Lee Benson
TRAINING | FIREFIGHTING
A
s LA County Fire transi-
tioned into its first two
standard model 412s, we
suffered from a series of
issues with the Sperry automatic
flight control system (AFCS). Sperry
had been brought out, teeth had
been ground, swear words had
been used, but the answer to why
the aircraft would occasionally get
uncommanded tail rotor inputs
was only partially understood. We
were working through this problem.
Unfortunately, the occurrence was
rare enough that diagnosing the
problem was very difficult.
One fine day I was dispatched
to an accident on the 605 freeway
when I pulled to a high hover to turn
180 degrees and depart the scene.
The helicopter went into a soft
side to side motion for about five
seconds, which subsided by itself.
About 10 seconds later it did the
same thing again a little harder, so I
parked. Long story short, this result-
ed in shutting down all but one lane
for two hours. Lots of people going
by, rolling down their windows
and proclaiming what wonderful
sunny beaches we enjoy in Southern
California made it less than enter-
taining. A maintenance team came
out and after an extensive examina-
tion of the aircraft, it was cleared to
return to base. A week or so later
FAA informed us that the crew had
released the aircraft without the
appropriate Maintenance Manual .
A couple of years later, I was
flying one of our two standard Bell
412s FDH (fat dumb and happy) at
1,000 feet AGL, going 120 knots,
when the aircraft had a significant
yaw excursion to the left followed
by the nose rapidly swinging to the
right. The immediate corrective
action was to disengage Helipilot
#1, which controls the yaw axis.
Disengaging is a polite way of say-
ing I hit the switch with about eight
times more force than necessary.
The yaw quit and flight returned to
normal. Shortly thereafter, dispatch
called and directed us to a hoist
rescue about two miles away. The
paramedic up front, Bill Monahan,
acknowledged the call and we were
on scene almost immediately. The
crew and I examined the situation
and determined that a hoist was
absolutely the only way to get the
patient out. Even with a hoist, we
would still be required to descend a
couple hundred feet below the rim
of a narrow canyon to get the job
done. So now I have Helipilot #1 off
which degrades the yaw handling
qualities a bit. The mission is still
doable but not optimal. We will be
very close to the sides of the canyon
when in position, so what happens if
we do get a yaw kick? Hoist rescues
are desirable by the crews of LA
County Fire, who consider hoists to
be a good test of their proficiency,
and well-accomplished hoist mis-
sions are a thing of beauty to be
admired. With this background and
a very competent crew on board, I
knew they would be disappointed
if I canceled our involvement by
requesting a second crew to be dis-
patched to execute the mission. But
the safety culture I was in and my
previous teachings on this subject
told me it was the appropriate action
to take. Bill ordered up a second
crew and we proceeded to base.
Upon arriving, Bill jumped out and
did a walk around on the aircraft.
This was not policy the post-
flight was up to the pilot but I was
still in the pilots seat finishing my
paperwork. Bill asked me to come
to the rear of the helicopter, where
he showed me oil running off the
tailboom at the 42-degree gearbox
location. I quickly realized that the
chip plug detector was missing from
the gearbox and that no oil showed
in the sight window. The 42-degree
gearbox was removed by mainte-
nance and I saw the box. Metal had
begun to transfer from gear surface
to gear surface, and complete failure
was inevitable. How did the plug
come to be missing? Good question,
as the mechanic had completed his
daily and I had performed my pre-
flight check that morning, so there
is good reason to think the plug was
in at that time. We, the crew, had
washed the aircraft that morning
after the inspections. Could we have
loosened the plug out of its detent?
Who knows. One thing I did learn
was that although these plugs are
dry break when static, if the plug is
missing and the gearbox is running,
it will force the oil out of the box.
Bill Monahan didnt need to do
his post flight. He could have said
its not my job or its above my pay
grade, and maybe I get distracted by
who knows what and dont do a post
flight and Bill, the other paramedic
on board and myself leave widows
and orphans. Thanks again Bill.
Know Your (Legal) Limits,
Part 2: LA County Fire
Public Service Public Service
advertiser index
Page# ...........Advertiser ...................................................................... Website
14 ........................Aero Dynamix .......................................................................www.aerodynamix.com
9 ..........................Aeronautical Accessories .........................................................www.aero-access.com
19 ........................Aerospace Optics Inc. .....................................................................www.vivisun.com
M3 .......................AgustaWestland/Italy ..................................................... www.agustawestland.com
56 ........................Airbus Helicopters .....................................................www.airbushelicoptersinc.com
29 ........................Airborne Law Enforcement .................................................................. www.alea.org
51 ........................Alpine Air Support ........................................................................... www.alpine.aero
53 ........................Aviation Instrument Services ....................................www.aviation-instrument.com
15 ........................Breeze Eastern ...................................................................www.breeze-eastern.com
53 ........................Chopper Spotter ................................................................www.chopperspotter.com
3 ..........................Cobham ........................................................................................ www.cobham.com
18 ........................Complexe Capitale Helicoptere ..............................................www.complexech.com
51 ........................Component Control ..................................................... www.componentcontrol.com
55 ........................Farnborough International ...................................................www.farnborough.com
16 ........................FDC/Aerofilter .........................................................................www.fdcaerofilter.com
13 ........................Garmin International .................................................................... www.garmin.com
51 ........................HR Smith ..................................................................................... www.hr-smith.com
17 ........................Lightspeed .................................................................. www.lightspeedaviation.com
D2 ........................Pratt & Whitney Canada ......................................................................... www.pwc.ca
2 ..........................Rolls Royce ................................................................................www.rolls-royce.com
53 ........................Survival Products .......................................................www.survivalproductsinc.com
53 ........................Switlik .............................................................................................www.switlik.com
CV0 ......................Trakka Corp. .............................................................................. www.trakkacorp.com
5 ..........................UTC Aerospace Systems ........................................... www.utcaerospacesystems.com
M5 .......................UTC Aerospace Systems ........................................... www.utcaerospacesystems.com

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54
WWW. R OT O R A N D WI N G . C O M ROTOR & WING MAGAZINE | MAY 2014
By Ernie Stephens
E
lsewhere in this issue of
Rotor & Wing you may have
read my piece on synthetic
vision systems (SVS). As
I was compiling it, the point was
driven home that glass cockpits
rule the day. Sure, they all have a pri-
mary display containing basic flight
instrumentation, such as an air-
speed indicator and altimeter. But
its the other portions of the system
that can be tailored to the needs of
the operators purchasing them, like
air phones for traveling executives,
or software that maps the locations
of oil rigs for offshore missions. As
you can imagine, many available
features could be pretty good for
law enforcement work, too.
To begin with, all of the manu-
facturers I spoke with said that its
cheaper to have glass installed in
the aircraft when you order it. (And
we all know that saving money on
the front end of a helicopter deal
will always make the sheriff or chief
a happy camper.)
How much cheaper itll be has
everything to with what how much
you want to outfit your aircraft with,
of course. But any amount is good.
And then theres space for stuff.
I have flown light and medium
police helicopters, but the light, sin-
gle-engine turbines were the ones I
flew the most. And they proved to
be the most difficult to outfit when
built around steam gauges, espe-
cially in the years between the late
1990s and the early 2000s.
Once the panels were stuffed
with analog dials and radios, sepa-
rate monitors had to be mounted
on brackets all over the place to
handle a moving map here, a GPS
there, and a storm scope some-
where else. It all looked pretty high-
tech back then, considering just
15 years earlier air patrol technol-
ogy consisted of a handheld police
radio and a set of binoculars.
Were glass cockpit displays
available in the early 2000s? Yup.
But they were big boy toys found
in jets and corporate turboprops.
The ti mes, however, have
changed. Now, a police helicopter
with glass specifically setup for
law enforcement work is more
common and way more practical.
Theres a lot of information that
can be placed on a couple of multi-
function displays (MFDs) that only
a police flight crew can appreciate.
VIP transport pilots want to pull
up en route charts, weather radar
images and approach plates, but
generally couldnt care less about
flying to the 2100 block of Main
Street in Anytown, USA, let alone
help eight black and white cars with
antlers on top set up a perimeter
around it.
A police crew, however, needs a
sophisticated moving map that will
show addresses, structure shapes,
and owner records. And if that
crew has to cover a very large area,
like an entire state, a sectional chart
overlay is great. As for weather
radar; well, any police pilot would
like real-time storm information
laid over a chart or surface map.
So, why not get all of that from one
panel-mounted MFD?
And then theres the hot item
that you may have heard about
from following the Malaysian air-
liner situation: data gathering.
Police fleets are usually pretty
small, so we need to know when
our aircraft have to go down for ser-
vice, what will have to be fixed, and
how long it will take to get it back
on the flight line. Digital health and
usage monitoring systems (HUMS)
can be digitally displayed on an
MFD, and that information plus a
whole lot more can now be trans-
mitted directly to the manufacturer
of your aircraft.
Why should you send HUMS
information to the helicopter man-
ufacturer instead of just your own
mechanic?
Because when a manufacturer
can monitor the condition of every
aircraft in a model line, its engi-
neers can, for example, spot a subtle
engine problem in serial numbers
0008-0023, give those owners a call,
and tell them what repairs to make
long before those powerplants go
quiet in flight.
So, it seems to me that only
good can come out of glass cock-
pits in police helicopters. Theyre
cost effective, they allow you to
put more technology in the same
amount of space, and they can cer-
tainly improve crew efficiency and
safety. Check them out before your
next upgrade or purchase!
Police Glass: No Longer
Just Big Boy Toys
PUBLIC SERVICE | POLICE
Law Enforcement
You have spoken.
We have heard you.
With you on every fight.
WithYouOnEveryFlight.com
As the leading provider of commercial and civil helicopters in the U.S. for 13 straight years, Airbus Helicopters, Inc.
clearly has done a lot well. But the message we keep hearing from you is that we need to do a better job of support
and service.
Let me assure you that your message is quite clear and has been heard at the highest levels of Airbus Helicopters, Inc.
Improving our support, whether you have one aircraft or a feet, is my highest priority.
Weve done a lot of work and invested tens of millions of dollars in recent years to improve your service experience,
including:
Our CS3 center Customer Support, Service and Satisfaction is a central command post handling all incoming
customer calls. Customer Service Representatives are trained to address your issues and help get your aircraft
back fying. Service is available 24/7/365.
We have an 85,000 square-foot parts warehouse at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. About $90 million worth of parts
60,000 items are in inventory. Order a part on the Keycopter system by 2 p.m. and it will be in the hands of an
air freight shipper by 4 p.m.
A dedicated AOG team is on call at any time of the day or night to locate parts or a factory-trained technical rep to
assist you.
Even with these important changes, we know there are times we can serve you better. My commitment is that
everyone at Airbus Helicopters, Inc. will continually work to improve our customer service. Our goal is that a year from
now you will tell us we have made signifcant progress.
We thank you for your loyalty to Airbus Helicopters, Inc. and to our aircraft. We are listening, and you have my
personal commitment that we will continually improve the level and quality of support we provide. We will be with you
on every fight. Please feel free to contact me personally to share your experiences and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Marc Paganini, President and Chief Executive Offcer
Airbus Helicopters, Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas

May

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