February 2016 PDF

February 2016
Tracking Air Ambulance Flight Data

The Cost of Speed
Surviving the Post-Crash, Part 3
After 10 Years,
Have We Failed?
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EDITORIAL If we can’t communicate,
Randy Jones, Publisher, rjones@accessintel.com
James T. McKenna, Editor-in-Chief, jmckenna@accessintel.com
we can’t save lives...
Amy Kluber, Assistant Managing Editor, akluber@accessintel.com
Joseph Ambrogne, Technical Editor, jambrogne@accessintel.com
Ernie Stephens, Editor-at-Large, estephens@accessintel.com
Pat Host, Defense Analyst & Associate Editor,
phost@defensedaily.com
Contributing Writers: Claudio Agostini; Chris Baur; Lee Benson;

Igor Bozinovski; Keith Brown; Keith Cianfrani; Mark Colborn; Steve
Colby; Peter Donaldson; Ian Frain; Pat Gray; Michael Hangge; Emma
Kelly; Frank Lombardi; Elena Malova; Vicki McConnell; Terry Terrell;
Richard Whittle .
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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 3
Editor’s Notebook
By James T. McKenna
jmckenna@accessintel.com What Do We Do Now?
P
eople’s eyes glaze over when “safety” seen experts point to the sawtooth patterns
enters the conversation, I’ve been of annual accident numbers and ask what evi-
warned. Bear with me. I believe we dence we have of steady gains.)
need to spend some time on the topic. Confronted with the prospect of failing to
This year brings the deadline the industry set reach its goal, IHST two years ago set a new
for itself in 2005 to achieve a dramatic change in one: to achieve zero accidents. Do IHST’s lead-
safety: an 80% reduction in the civil helicopter ers intend to alter the approach and tactics that
accident rate. failed to hit the 80% mark in pursuing this more
That was a monumental challenge to take on, ambitious goal?
as everyone involved knew at the time. Scores Some other questions come to mind.
of volunteers around the world have dedi- Since its earliest days of data analysis, IHST
cated themselves for years to its pursuit. While has said the biggest categories of helicopter
we, as an industry, will miss our goal, those accidents involve instructional and training
volunteers—working under the occasionally ill- flights, personal and recreational flights and
fitting structure of the International Helicopter aerial application missions.
Safety Team (IHST)—have contributed greatly to Refer to a frequently cited IHST chart, “Per-
enhancing helicopter safety. centage of Accidents by Activity,” and you will
Collectively, they have raised awareness of see that these three categories account for more
safety issues throughout the world. than 40% of accidents. (Two other activities,
As members of specific working groups and “positioning/return to base” and “passenger/
project teams, they have researched and ana- cargo,” round out the top five; with them, the
lyzed helicopter accidents. rate is roughly 66%.)
Drawing on the results of that research and I’ve followed IHST since its launch. I under-
analysis, they have sorted out best practices. stand how the data crunchers came up with
They have fielded toolkits and checklists and this data and why they sorted it in this way. I
wouldn’t presume to second-guess their work.
But it seems that this chart fosters a focus on the
‘Land the Damn Helicopter’ excuses individual pilot.
Is that where it belongs?
us from asking tough safety questions Look at the data differently. How many acci-
dents involve flights by “professional” pilots—
those commercially rated or paid to fly? The
training aids to promote the use of those best number nears 90% if you exclude all the per-
practices. Most recently, the European Helicop- sonal/recreational flying.
ter Safety Team (part of IHST) released a new Going forward, should we not pay more
risk assessment toolkit for helicopter pilots and attention to how these pilots are trained and fly
operators. than to the performance of the weekend fliers?
These volunteers have built, staffed and In a related vein, what is the benefit going
supported safety teams in most regions of the forward of the slogan HAI launched in 2013?
globe. They have organized and conducted “Land the Damn Helicopter” would seem to
regional and international safety symposiums, be discredited by numerous accident investiga-
followed up on action items from those teams tions, not the least of which are the recent ones
and events and built momentum toward of the Alaska State Police and the New Mexico
improving helicopter safety. State Police, which identified organizational
We have, however, missed our target. This cultures that spurred pilots not only to fly when
year is very likely to have a total accident rate they shouldn’t, but to continue those flights.
significantly short of an 80% reduction and (if If “landing the damn helicopter” were so
past performance holds) a fatal accident rate on easy, all pilots would do it. The key question is,
par with each of the last 10 years. what factors lead them not to land but to end
Worse than that is the possibility that we up crashing? That slogan is an excuse not to ask
haven’t achieved any sustained success in such questions.
reducing the accident rate. (I’ve seen the charts How does that approach fit with the essential
that show a declining trend line. But I’ve also work that makes this industry safer?
4 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

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THIS MONTH FROM

Vol. 50 | No. 2 | February 2016
Features
32 After 10 Years, Have We Failed?
Commercial
The international industry likely will miss its goal of

cutting helicopter accident rates 80% this year. What
have we learned from the attempt, and how do we
move forward?
By James T. McKenna
36 Flight Reports
The FAA’s new air ambulance data requirements have
received pushback from wary operators even as flight
Public Service
data experts call them too vague.

By Joseph Ambrogne
There is a dichotomy in industry opinions concerning
36 flight data recording requirements.
42 What is the Pay-Off of Speed?
The answer still depends on which mission will be
flown and which operator will fly it.
By James T. McKenna, with Frank Lombardi
and Richard Whittle
Personal | Corporate
44 Heliport Insurance
Covering risks at your heliport requires an assessment
of how and by whom your facility is used.
By Rex Alexander & Larry Mattiello
Advantages to faster aircraft highly depend on
42 several factors. 48 Surving the Post-Crash
Survival gear is important, but knowing how to use
that gear might be even more so. Mastering the basics
of survival and medical care can help save your life in a
difficult situation.
By Mike Hangge
Training
54 Last Flight
The Royal Netherlands Air Force’s Alouette III flew a
variety of missions before retirement.
By Wim Das & Kees Otten
54 The Alouette has retired from the Royal Dutch fleet.

Departments
On the Cover: Wreckage of a helicopter in Seattle. Photo courtesy 8 Feedback
Products
of the Associated Press / Stephen Brashear

12 Meet the Contributors
14 Rotorcraft Report
Columns Heli-Expo preview, oil rig retirements, Coast Guard
4 Editor’s Notebook milestones, fighting high-rise fires, Mumbai air tours
27 Washington Insider 28 Program Insider
58 Legal Perspective 30 People
60 Public Service 31 Coming Events
59 Advertiser Index
Services
62 Leading Edge
61 Coming Up
63 Hot Products
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Feedback
CORRECTIONS get sighs, attitude and the cold shoulder. Of
In the December 2015/January 2016 issue’s Peo- course, as our shift changed so did his, and with-
ple column (page 30), we incorrectly presented out the write-up, the aircraft went unfixed.
Be sure to follow the photograph of Mark Tattershall of AGC Aero- When we did write the aircraft up, we often
@RotorandWing to Composites with the item on Rob Tattersall of found the mechanical condition unchanged,
AVS-SYS Ltd. We apologize to both gentlemen though the log had been as it is called “pencil-
stay up to date on the and our readers for the error. whipped.” I was even spoken to by the owner of
latest helicopter news In our September 2015 story on privacy con- the airline on another occasion when I wrote up a
cerns raised by small unmanned aircraft systems tire for having no tread left.
(UAS), “The Wild Card for Small UAS” (page 38), we I did write up that aircraft because I was forced
introduced an error through our editing. Author to wait what would be more than an hour for
Mark Colborn correctly noted that U.S. police a cargo net to return. There were maintenance
agencies are required to have a warrant to use a people in the hangar with nothing to do at the
small drone for surveillance below 400 ft agl. We time. Even so, I had to convince the owner that
changed that so that the article read the limit is at the write-up would not affect the operation.
400 ft agl. We apologize to Mark and our readers I should add that despite the frustration of
for the error. having your squawk “pencil-whipped,” that pro-
Also, like us at cess does eliminate the pilot’s culpability in the
facebook.com/ Disclosure Woes matter. But that’s the crux of my argument: write
up legitimate problems with the aircraft to pro-
rotorandwing I read Arthur J. Negrette’s column, “Voluntary tect yourself and soon find your career in trouble.
Disclosure and the Airman” (November 2015, page A second charter-only operator had mainte-
48), and it brought forth some thoughts and nance at an airport that was not the company’s
memories from my work at a couple of low-end home base, nor was it near it. A simple way to
Part 135 airline and charter operators. examine whether aircraft write-ups are being
The operators I worked for ran Cessna 402s, deferred would be to examine where the major-
and there were many instances of little but ity of the write-ups take place. I’m sure with that
potentially dangerous mechanical deficiencies charter outfit, as well as with both scheduled 135
that sounded just like what the pilot in your story operators, aircraft write-ups would be back at the
experienced. But after I read your article, I found primary maintenance airport and then often later
myself frustrated by what I thought you might in the day or evening rather than when the prob-
have left out of the story. lem first became noticeable.
I found that with one of the operators I worked There is nothing factually incorrect in your
for, there was definite pressure NOT to write up article about the unfortunate pilot’s predicament
mechanical discrepancies that would remove that I can see. I do believe, however, that if you’re
the aircraft from the line. There were mainte- going to discuss the FAA and self-disclosure, then
nance personnel on duty at one operator, but the the pressure pilots get or perceive should also be
maintenance manager preferred to be told what discussed. I believe that doing so could only shed
was wrong (after the pilot shift change) rather light on a potentially dangerous part of aviation
than have us write up the aircraft. We knew this operations and would, therefore, be useful and
because if we did write up an aircraft, we would productive. I’ve always thought (and would have
8
? Question of the Month:
What does the term “safety stink” mean to you?
Let us know, and look for responses in a future issue. You’ll ind contact information below.
Do you have comments on the rotorcraft industry or recent articles and viewpoints we’ve published? Send them to: Editor, Rotor & Wing, 9211
Corporate Blvd., Fourth Floor, Rockville, MD 20850-3245, fax us at 301-354-1809 or email us at rotornwing@accessintel.com. Please include a
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R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

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Feedback
been greatly pleased) if the FAA were to occa- pulsion Laboratory and from private research
sionally study this issue with any and all Part 135 companies.
operators and other operators. One of our instructors has won three Emmy
Be sure to follow A simple, anonymous maintenance ques- Awards and has decades of experience in
@RotorandWing to tionnaire mailed to the pilot base from records the TV industry to instruct advanced tech-
the FAA already has would be, in my opinion, niques for film and TV. Another of our senior
stay up to date on the immensely telling and would measurably instructors has three tours in Afghanistan as
latest helicopter news increase our knowledge of aviation maintenance a civilian instructor and forward operator and
safety issues. If you don’t believe me, just get has taught hundreds of unmanned aircraft
them to try it. system (UAS) pilots in surveillance and tactical
Jim Daugherty operations.
Woodstock, Maine Since we are an FBO in both fixed-wing
aircraft and helicopters, our curriculum for UAS
A voluntary disclosure might protect a pilot or was developed using the same foundation and
mechanic from an FAA enforcement action, but it standards as conventional flight training, modi-
won’t save your job. fied to UAS methodology and injected with all
I was one of a handful of mechanics for an air of the proposed Part 107 requirements.
Also, like us at medical operator with fixed-wing turboprops We believe we may be the only fully hands-
facebook.com/ and helicopters. With more than 25 years experi- on private training facility in the U.S. We hope
ence as an airframe and powerplant mechanic, I that in any future conversation regarding UAS
rotorandwing generally worked solo at one of its bases. training, you might consider us. We also can
I personally saw evidence of maintenance be a resource for you in this topic area.
gripes that were not written up in the helicopter’s Steve Dupont
logbook. Note paper was used instead. Rotor F/X LLC
Some of the discrepancies made it into the
logbook and some didn’t. Some gripes were Looking to 2016
closed out with inspection and repairs. For some, Your recent Question of the Month asked our
nothing was done. This happened for more than thoughts on the biggest issues facing the rotor-
a year. craft industry this year (December 2015/January
I alerted management, which after a spell 2016, page 8). Because of the flooding of the oil
called in consultants to investigate. They recom- and gas market by OPEC nations, with the goal
mended a number of steps, including obtaining a of destroying U.S. producers and support indus-
Part 135 certificate. (I also filed with NASA’s Avia- tries (which I see no end to in 2016), I would
tion Safety Reporting System.) have to rank this as No. 1 on the list.
Not much was done that I saw to correct the The U.S. recently did make a good first step
problems. But the company did give up the heli- by lifting the self-imposed ban on exportation.
copter and I was out of a job. I do not see how many of the helicopter com-
Name and Address panies whose primary business is support to oil
Withheld by Request and gas can weather the storm. For example,
they cannot just pivot to running emergency
medical service operations without major reor-
UAS Training ganization. Also, helicopter EMS is already pretty
Having just read your article “UAS Train- well covered.
ing” (November 2015, page 40), we wanted to I served as an aircraft maintenance officer,
reach out and make you aware of our training maintenance test pilot and medevac pilot, and
programs. flew Part 135 helicopter operations for PHI
They have been successfully operating for for three-plus years during a break in military
quite some time. We offer training from begin- service.
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a 30-hr, hands-on commercial course. We have Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired)
highly technical and advanced courses in spe- Commercial, Fixed- and Rotary -Wing
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flir and film/television. Instrument-Rated, Fixed- and Rotary -Wing
Our instructors have tutored many scientists Master Army Aviator
from organizations like NASA and the Jet Pro- Dayton, Nevada
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Meet the Contributors
JOSEPH AMBROGNE
Joseph Ambrogne is the technical editor of R&WI. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Christopher
Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, and spent eight years as a technical writer in the software and
manufacturing industries. He holds a commercial pilot license and instrument rating.
PAT HOST
Associate Editor Pat Host, in five years with our sister publication Defense Daily, has developed a stable of inside
sources to gain access to sensitive documents and stories that impact readers. He has conducted one-on-one
interviews with high-ranking members of the U.S. Congress and American military and executive branch offi-
cials, with a focus on breaking down official policy statements, memos and complex scientific information.
FRANK LOMBARDI
An ATP with both fixed-wing and rotary-wing ratings, Frank began his flying career in 1991 after graduating
with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. He worked 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 department’s aviation section since 2000.
WIM DAS
Wim works with Kees Otten for the publishing company Dutch Aviation Media, a project they began as a hobby
15 years ago. Wim, a customer care technician at his local postal service, contributes the editing, photography
and organization of visits to aviation operations around the world. Together with a team of four other contribu-
tors, Wim and Kees deliver articles to various leading European aviation magazines.
KEES OTTEN
Kees is a medical analyst at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands and also the primary
author for Dutch Aviation Media. The project brings him and Wim Das to countries all over the world to write
articles and provide photography on aviation operations. Wim and Kees are permanent staff members and
contributors to magazines in the Netherlands, Italy and Hungary.
ARTHUR J. NEGRETTE
Arthur J. Negrette is a Sacramento, California-based lawyer with a practice limited to aviation law. In addition,
he has completed more than 30 years flying both airplanes and helicopters for various military and civil
organizations.
LEE BENSON
Benson is the retired senior pilot for the Los Angeles County, California Fire Department. Before he was named
senior pilot, Benson ran the aviation section’s safety and training programs, including organizing the section’s
yearly safety meeting with other public agencies and the press.
REX J. ALEXANDER
Rex Alexander is a 30-year veteran of military, general and commercial helicopter and fixed-wing aviation.
Currently a senior consultant, member and co-founder of HeliExperts International, he also serves—among
other positions—as a member of the National Fire Protection Assn. committee on the NFPA 418 standard for
heliports and HAI’s Heliport Committee.
LARRY MATTIELLO
Larry Mattiello is the director of aviation for Specialty Aviation Underwriters and co-founder of PalMatt Aviation
Safety and Risk Management LLC. He began his aviation career 36 years ago and specializes in general aviation
and helicopter insurance and safety and risk management. Larry is a commercial/instrument pilot.
RICHARD WHITTLE
Richard Whittle has authored two aviation books, The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22
Osprey and Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution. He is a global fellow in international security
studies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C., and a Verville Fellow at the Smithso-
nian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.

Rotorcraft Report
Heli-Expo’s move to Louisville

comes as oil prices continue to
drop. Expect updates on programs
like Bell’s 525 and various efforts to
put surplus UH-60As to commercial
uses. Photo courtesy of Louisville
Convention & Visitors Bureau
What Will Louisville Bring?

NEED TO KNOW Heli-Expo 2016 should be an intriguing event bringing the V-280 tiltrotor it is developing for the
for several reasons when it opens Feb. 29 in U.S. Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration
Mumbai Gets a New Air Tour Louisville, Kentucky. for a future, high-speed rotorcraft. Bell’s new pres-
For one thing, the show offers perhaps the ident and CEO, Mitch Snyder (making his Heli-
Offshore Rig Retirements first opportunity to assess the broad industry Expo debut as the top dog), said the Valor speaks
Increase effects of the turmoil in global energy markets. to Bell’s commitment to vertical-lift innovation.
It is among the rotorcraft industry’s largest trade Bell also is bringing flight test articles of the
U.S. Navy Seeks a ‘Smart’ shows, and most key players should be there. super-medium 525 and single-engine 505, as well
Fastener Who is missing will be as telling as what those as the latest 407, 412 and 429. What will the other
attending bring to exhibit and discuss. OEMs bring? And who are they these days, specif-
New Zealand Fights Wire Look, for instance, for indicators of how oil’s ically the newly owned Sikorsky Aircraft and the
Strikes plunge has affected businesses beyond the company formerly known as AgustaWestland.
operators supporting offshore exploration and Expect to see another military type at the
production. show. A number of companies plan to use Lou-
Aircraft manufacturers’ activities will be key isville to update the market on their commercial-
touchpoints. In a departure, Bell Helicopter is ization of surplus U.S. Army Sikorsky UH-60As.
Photos courtesy of Bell Helicopter (bottom, left) and the U.S. Army / Visual Information Specialist Pierre-Etienne Courtejoie (bottom, right).

Rotorcraft Report
MILITARY
USMC Brings V-22 Lessons to FVL Meeting

The U.S. Marine Corps is telling other military ing the first of its new V-280 Valor tiltrotors as
services that its primary requirement for one of two technology demonstrators under
future rotorcraft is speed because it needs a the Joint Multi-Role effort, which is a precursor
gunship fast enough to escort its MV-22s. The to Future Vertical Lift. The other demonstrator is
assistant deputy commandant for aviation, Brig. the SB>1 Defiant, a coaxial rotor compound with
Gen. Karsten “Hazel” Heckl, told R&WI that he a pusher propeller for added speed being devel-
emphasized that point Dec. 8, 2015, when two oped by Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing as a team.
Bell Boeing MV-22s from HMX-1, the Marines’ Heckl said the Marines explained to the Army
presidential support squadron, flew him and representatives how the V-280 design reflects
other experts from Quantico, Virginia, to the lessons learned from the V-22. The Valor’s
U.S. Army’s Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort engines, for example, are fixed in the wing hori-
Rucker, Alabama, for a meeting on the joint zontally, rather than swiveling up and down in
Future Vertical Lift initiative. the nacelles that hold its rotors. Heckl said that
“We flew a couple of airplanes down and spent change should make the V-280 easier to main-
about an hour and a half, two hours out there on tain and avoid the Osprey’s tendency to over-
the flight line there [at Cairns Army Air Field] and heat ship decks. To avoid that, V-22 pilots have
let the Army guys crawl all over the aircraft and to periodically shift their nacelle angles when on
ask questions,” said Heckl. “Then we went and had deck with engines running.
a working lunch.” In a separate interview, the commanding gen-
Heckl said he told the lunch audience that, eral of the Army’s Aviation Center of Excellence
as he had made clear in other Future Vertical Lift said that while speed in the Joint Multi-Role and
meetings, the Marines’ top requirement for future other Future Vertical Lift aircraft is important, “It’s
utility and gunship rotorcraft is that they be able not just speed in level flight.”
to escort the V-22, which cruises at 250 kt. Maj. Gen. Michael Lundy explained: “It’s
“It’s an Achilles Heel for us right now, quite the speed to transition from that level flight
frankly,” Heckl told R&WI, because the service’s and into the objective and then out of there.
far slower Bell Helicopter AH-1Z Cobra gunships That’s survivability.”
and armed UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters lack For that reason, Lundy said, the Army’s
the speed and range to keep up with the V-22. top requirement for Joint Multi-Role is agility
“Whatever Future Vertical Lift is, it’s got to fill over the landing zone. “That’s one of the key
V-22 achievements are driving
that requirement. If it doesn’t, it’s not something balance points that we’re going to look at. I’m U.S. joint discussions on speed
we’re going to pursue.” not willing to take speed over capability in the characteristics for future rotorcraft.
The Army experts were eager to see the V-22s objective area. You’ve got to have that agility.” Photo courtesy of U.S. Marine Corps
and talk to their aircrews because Bell is fabricat- —Richard Whittle / Cpl. Virginia Jiminez

Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
Pawan Hans Launches Mumbai Air Tours

In an effort to boost local tourism in India’s most calculated at a rate of roughly $5 (320 rupees)
populous city, the Maharashtra government on per minute. Flights take off from Mumbai Juhu
Jan. 7 approved helicopter air tours of Mumbai. Airport, the facility west of the city that handles
The new Mumbai Darshan service was launched helicopter traffic, and keep to the west of the city
following an agreement between Pawan Helicop- to avoid the flow of other air traffic as they over-
ters and the Maharashtra Tourism Development fly sites to the north and east.
Corp. (“Darshan” is the Sanskrit word for view and The service may be expanded to other areas
often is used in reference to divine visions.) Mum- if it proves viable.
bai is the capital of the Maharashtra state. According to local news sources, 60 pas-
The government-owned operator offers sengers were booked to fly in the service’s first
10-minute flights in its two Bell Helicopter two days, with 25 passengers flying on day
206 L4s, each of which can accommodate up one despite a roughly 30-minute delay in flight
to five passengers and two pilots. The price is operations due to poor visibility.
COMMERCIAL
AirMule Flies Untethered for the First Time

After a brief delay, Israel-based Urban Aeronautics successfully
flew its AirMule unmanned lift-fan demonstrator in its first
autonomous and untethered flight Dec. 30 at Megiddo Airfield in
Yavne. The aircraft had been undergoing repairs after incurring
damages from a ground incident. The AirMule uses two internal
rotors, fore and aft of the cabin. The aircraft is being marketed
to military and homeland security customers. Photo courtesy of
Urban Aeronautics, Ltd.

Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
chief test engineer with Robinson Helicopter, said a bird could conceivably have caused
That’s Finmeccanica- the damage, but added that theoretically an object “the size of a quarter, striking the wind-
Helicopters to You screen in the right place” also could cause a crack.
No other midair collisions have been confirmed outside the military, though the public
On Jan. 1, the legendary names Agusta has made many assumptions prior to investigations. Flightglobal reported that a drone
and Westland moved from the rolls of may have collided with a “light aircraft” on Aug. 30, 2015, in Norway, though the Norwe-
active helicopter manufacturers to those gian Civil Aviation Authority declined to offer further details. Another alleged collision
of historic ones. between a Piper PA-23 and a drone over Romeoville, Illinois, on Aug. 27, 2015, was found
Parent company Finmeccanica is com- to be a bird strike, according to AVweb. Both incidents involved fixed-wing aircraft.
pleting its 18-month process of central-
izing and integrating the operations of its
diverse aerospace, defense and security
units into one organization that will be
run in a “more consistent, cohesive and
efficient” fashion, according to the com-
pany. The “one company” shift began
shortly after Italy’s government named
Fly
Mauro Moretti in early 2014 as Finmecca-
nica’s CEO with the mandate of stabilizing
after bribery investigations had led to the
departure of two CEOs since 2011.
The change mar ks the end of
AgustaWestland as the name of the com-
pany’s vertical-lift manufacturer. Going
forward, that unit will be called Finmecca- 83otin"
nica-Helicopters. attitude,
altitude,
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COMMERCIAL
Helo-Drone gtj"yrov4
Collision In
Question
The public is still waiting to hear from
SAM,® the MD302 Standby Attitude
investigators whether the first midair SELECTABLE
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ORIENTATION
collision between a drone and helicopter joyvrg "gzzoz{jk2"grzoz{jk2"goxyvkkj2"yrov2"
occurred this past November in California. |kxzoigr"zxktj2"gtj"nkgjotm"otluxsgzout"
On Nov. 23, a Robinson Helicopter R22 ot"gt"gj|gtikj2"83otin"luxsgz4
operated by Los Angeles Helicopters made
FIELD YGS"jkro|kxy"gt"kgy 3zu3ãz2"iusvgiz"
an emergency landing during a cross-
UPGRADEABLE jkyomt"}ozn"ykrkizghrk"uxoktzgzout"
country training flight after its windscreen .nuxo\utzgr"gtj"|kxzoigr/"roqk"tu"uznkx2"
SOFTWARE
was partially shattered. A lack of residual kty{xotm"g"vkxlkiz"ãz"}oznot"gt "vgtkr4"
bird matter, along with previous experience YGSÙy"{tow{k2"z}u3yixkkt"joyvrg "
of bird strikes that hadn’t caused notice- lkgz{xky"nomn3jkãtozout"mxgvnoiy"gtj"
able damage, led the operator to believe it LITHIUM-ION k~zxg3}ojk"|ok}otm"gtmrky4"Gtj"gz
had been a drone despite the fact neither EMERGENCY 74<"rhy42"YGS"}komny"rkyy"zngt"znk
BATTERY znxkk"otyzx{sktzy"ozÙy"jkyomtkj"zu"
pilot nor flight instructor saw what hit
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the screen.
The FAA told R&WI that investigations
à{uco0eqo
would determine such things as whether
there was a paint transfer indicating contact
with an artificial object. Keith Newmeyer,

Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
Offshore Rig Retirements to Accelerate This Year

The Ensco DS-6 Drillship takes on
fuel bunkers in Walvis Bay, Namibia,
Photo courtesy of CellsDeDells / CC
BY-SA 3.0
The oil industry slowdown continues to affect the offshore oil rigs since the new year. Other reports,
outlook of global offshore oil and gas rigs, the on the other hand, show the number of operating
number of which is expected to decline this year, Canadian rigs continuing to drop.
according to investment banking firm Evercore ISI. In Brazil, Evercore projected offshore rig numbers
Evercore’s December report showed a lag in could fall below 35, the lowest level in eight years.
retirements, but said they should accelerate this Earlier this month, offshore drilling services provider
year, posing a threat to helicopter operators servicing Ensco said Petrobras had terminated its contract for
the areas. Although the firm reportedly projected the DS-5 deepwater drilling ship.
that spending on offshore rigs could rise later in the Elsewhere, drilling services provider Transocean
year, a sustained increase would require oil prices to in late December said that Shell had ended its con-
stay near $60 a barrel. That number dipped below tract for harsh-environment rig Polar Pioneer; the
$30 Jan. 12 for the first time since December 2003. contract was supposed to have run into July 2017.
In mid-January, BP blamed this new low for thou- Transocean also said that Statoil had ended
sands of its employee layoffs, 600 of which included the contract six months early for the ultra-deep-
jobs in the North Sea. water drilling ship Discoverer Americas because
Despite these reports, a Baker Hughes rig-count of a lack of work for it. The rig had been operat-
analysis showed a slight rise in the number of U.S. ing in the Gulf of Mexico.
COMMERCIAL
Robertson Fuel Systems Sold to Heico

Heico Corp. on Jan. 12 completed the acquisition greater use of crash-resistant fuel systems on
of Robertson Fuel Systems for $255 million in U.S. civil helicopters. With the NTSB, politicians
cash to be paid at closing, subject to typical post- and the media focusing on why crews and pas-
closing adjustments. The sale was subject to U.S. sengers are still burning to death in otherwise
anti-trust reviews “and other customary closing survivable crashes, the FAA on Nov. 5 launched
conditions,” said private-equity investment firm the Rotorcraft Occupant Protection Working
American Securities LLC, which penned the Group to look at means of increasing the per-
agreement to sell Robertson to Heico’s Electronic centage of helicopters with crash-resistant fuel
Technologies Group. systems and more crashworthy seats. Later that
Heico said Robertson would continue oper- month, the Air Medical Operators Assn. said it
ating at its current locations with its manage- would work with Airbus Helicopters and Bell
ment team, and it did not foresee any material Helicopter to develop options for such systems
staff turnover due to the acquisition. on newly delivered aircraft and for retrofitting
The deal comes amid mounting pressure for current fleets with them.

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Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
Era Takes Delivery of First Two AW189s

Era Group says it has taken delivery of its first two AgustaWestland AW189s following work on “technical acceptance” issues for the
aircraft. The Houston, Texas-based offshore and transport operator ordered 10 AW189s in 2013 but had canceled one. In August, the
company said it was working through issues on the aircraft that were “not at all atypical for new helicopter models.” The 16-seat AW189s
are designated for work under a contract with a Gulf of Mexico offshore support customer. Era President and CEO Chris Bradshaw said
the company is the only helicopter operator in the Gulf of Mexico flying the AW139 and 189, the Airbus Helicopters H225 and the
Sikorsky Aircraft S-92.
Photo courtesy of Finmeccanica
PARTS AND SERVICES YOU CAN TRUST... MILITARY

EVERY STEP OF THE WAY! DARPA Picks Flying Wing
EXCHANGES * SALES * REPAIR * OVERHAULS
for Further Drone Study
Extensive Inventory of Rotor/Fixed Wing Spares Northrop Grumman has won a multi-million-dollar contract
to develop a vertical-lift, long-endurance unmanned aircraft
system (UAS) prototype to support U.S. Navy reconnaissance
Flight, Navigation and Engine Instruments *
needs at sea.
Transmitters * NAV/COM * Radar Inverters The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Control Heads * Actuators * Fuel Controls * announced the $132.5 million contract Dec. 24 for phase
Governors * Grimes Lighting 3 of its Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (Tern)
program with the Office of Naval Research. N-G will cover
$39.4 million for the cost of designing, developing, build-
ing, demonstrating and testing its proposed tail-sitting,
flying-wing design with counter-rotating propellers.
The new UAS is intended to take off from and land
on smaller Navy ships and perform intelligence, surveil-
lance, reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions from
medium altitudes. It also will “make it much easier,
quicker and less expensive” for the Pentagon “to deploy
persistent ISR and strike capabilities almost anywhere in
TEL: 305.251.7200 • FAX: 305.251.2300 the world,” said DARPA.
12181 SW 129TH Ct., MIA., FL 33186 The Navy today relies for such missions on helicop-
email: sales@aviation-instrument.com ters with shorter ranges from smaller ships and fixed-
www.aviation-instrument.com wing aircraft deployed from large carriers or runways
ashore.

Rotorcraft Report
MILITARY
US Navy Seeks Smart Fasteners to Detect Cracks

The U.S. Navy wants proposals by mid-February from industry
partners interested in investigating how fasteners might be
turned into “smart” devices for detecting cracking in airframe
structural joints.
Fatigue cracking in aircraft structures often originates in holes
drilled for fasteners to hold multiple layers of skin or to attach skin
to frames, bulkheads, longerons and stringers. Undetected cracks
can lead to structural failure with catastrophic consequences.
But finding cracks is “problematic, costly and time consuming,”
said the Navy in a solicitation under its fiscal 2016 Small Business
Innovation Research program. “Innovative Sensing Fasteners for
Aircraft Fatigue Monitoring” is one of 72 topics included in that
solicitation, which is part of a larger Defense Dept. effort targeting Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class
high-tech companies with fewer than 500 employees. Peter Lewis
Detecting fatigue cracking can require disassembling joints, fasteners (such as AN or Hi-Lok series ones) to monitor for the start
reaming out individual fastener holes and performing eddy-cur- of in-hole fatigue crack in multi-layered joints.
rent inspections on them. After inspection and necessary repairs, The “smart” fastener “should be capable of detecting crack
those holes must be rebored for reassembly of the joints with initiation inside of a borehole without requiring any disassembly
new fasteners. of the aircraft structure,” said the Navy. It also should be able “to
Although low-profile ultrasonic and eddy-current sensors be integrated into the assembly of an aircraft with minimal impact
are used for structural health monitoring applications (typically to weight, structural strength and durability of the parent joints.”
incorporated via flexible films), the Navy noted, this approach has It also should be capable of interfacing with an existing health
shortcomings. “The sensors are fragile, sensitive to orientation and and usage monitoring system, such as the B.F. Goodrich systems
potentially difficult to install on small curved surface areas.” used on Sikorsky Aircraft H-53Es and H-60Rs and Ss and Bell
The service is asking for proposals by Feb. 17 on the feasibility Helicopter H-1s.
of minimizing fastener hole inspections by developing a sensor You can find the information in the Navy’s Small Business Inno-
capability that could be incorporated onto common aerospace vation Research solicitation at www.acq.osd.mil.

Rotorcraft Report
PUBLIC
Tokyo Launches High-Rise Fire Rescue

The Tokyo Fire Department
The “Air Hyper Rescue” fleet includes an EC225 equipped with Simplex
on Jan. 6 introduced a new
Aerospace’s high-rise firefighting system. Photo courtesy of Simplex
helicopter unit for fighting
high-rise building fires amid
a doubling of those fires in
Tokyo and a rapid growth
in the number of buildings
with more than 11 floors.
Air Hyper Rescue dem-
onstrated its Airbus Heli-
copters EC225s, on loan
from the depar tment ’s
aviation unit, along with
more than 150 fire vehicles
and 2,800-plus firefighters
during the annual Dezome-shiki ceremonies ft from the aircraft through a 24-ft boom that
on Tokyo’s Koto waterfront, according to Tokyo can rotate to the left or right of the centerline.
media reports. The ceremonies, the origins The system received FAA, European and Japa-
of which are more than 300 years old, remind nese aviation certification in November. Japan
Japanese citizens of the hazards of fire and offer Aerospace delivered the system. Simplex told
prayers for a safe and fire-free New Year. R&WI it is marketing the SkyCannon in Eastern
One of those aircraft is equipped with Sim- hemisphere cities, where high-rise firefighting is
plex Aerospace’s Model 516 High Rise Firefight- prioritized. Dubai experienced one such fire late
ing System. Dubbed the SkyCannon, the system December at the 63-floor The Address Down-
can discharge water and foam more than 125 town Dubai Hotel.
PUBLIC
Irish Coast Guard Hits 1,000-Mission Mark

The Irish Coast Guard completed its 1,000th The service said it has seen a record response
helicopter mission on Dec. 26, the first time it has in 2015, with both its Shannon and Sligo SAR heli-
reached that annual milestone since its helicopter copters having flown 330 missions each. Its total
service was launched in 1991. fleet, including those servicing Dublin and Water-
ford, completed more
The Irish Coast Guard’s than 1,000 missions, an
fleet includes a Sikorsky increase from 914 mis-
Aircraft S-92 operated by sions in 2014.
CHC. Photo courtesy of The Coast Guard pro-
Bjorn Christian Torrissen
vides round-the-clock
/ CC BY-SA 3.0
helicopter service from
bases in Dublin, Shan-
non, Sligo and Waterford
using Sikorsky Aircraft
S-92s operated by CHC,
which in 2010 won a
10-year contract to pro-
vide the Coast Guard’s
helicopter search-and-
rescue services.

Rotorcraft Report
PUBLIC
Report: FAA Seeks Special Committee on

Bird Strikes
The FAA Rotorcraft Directorate is calling for the agency’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory
a special group to review helicopter bird- Committee.
strike protection standards, according to a Reported collisions between helicopters
news report citing recent testimony before and birds increased 68% from 2009 to 2013
and more than 700% since the
early 2000s, according to the Asso-
ciated Press, which cited testimony
of a directorate engineer.
INSIDE THIS SHIPPING CONTAINER, YOU WILL The increase stems in part from
greater awareness among pilots
FIND OVER 100 YEARS OF AVIATION EXPERIENCE. following the January 2009 strike
For over 100 years, ZF has designed, manufactured and supported aviation related that forced the successful emer-
gearboxes. Our extensive design, STC mod, production, test bench and MRO capabilities,
combined with our attention to customer service, have made us the supplier of choice for gency landing of a US Air ways
both helicopter OEM’s and operators around the world. ZF offers a full range of gearbox flight in New York’s Hudson River.
R&O services for EC135, EC145, BO105 and BK117, and now we’re proud to offer the same But the news report said popula-
for Bell 407 and 212/412. We can repair or overhaul your gearbox or supply you with a tions of large bird species—such
ready-to-install exchange unit verified on our own full power test rigs. Whether you have
an upcoming scheduled gearbox overhaul, or need a transmission AOG, ZF is ready to help. as Canada geese, snow geese,
After all, we’ve already been doing it for more than 100 years. rw.zfaviation.com bald eagles, wild turkeys, turkey
vultures and white pelicans—
are growing, raising the risk of
more strikes.
The rise in helicopter bird strikes
parallels a decrease in incidents
involving airliners and other fixed-
wing aircraft, said the news report.
“The Rotorcraft Directorate has
asked the Aviation Rulemaking
Advisory Committee to consider
what bird strike regulations may
be needed for Normal Category
rotorcraft, since the FAA’s bird
strike data collection process has
improved,” the FAA told R&WI. “The
Directorate will give additional
information to the ARAC at its
March 2016 meeting.”
The 2011 fatal crash of a U.S.
M arine Corps AH-1W at Camp
Pendleton, California, is one exam-
ple of the danger presented by cer-
tain types of birds. A 3-lb red-tail
hawk collided with a pitch change
link, which led to separation of
the main rotor. According to the
New York Post, Marine investiga-
tors subsequently recommended a
redesign of the Cobra rotor system
to make it less vulnerable to bird
strikes.

Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL Those governments have invested about $1 billion in P&WC, which took a roughly $870
HAL Helo Factory million charge against the 2015 fourth quarter to cover repayment of the loans over four years.
Those payments and the 14 years of innovation and R&D investments would cover the cost of
Construction the loans, said UTC.
P&WC manufactures turboshaft, turboprop and turbofan engines in Canada, including
Begins in India the PT-6 turboshaft family that powers many helicopters. P&WC is required to pay royalties on
Construction of Hindustan Aeronautics future engine sales to the national and provincial governments under the loans, which are not
Ltd.’s new 610-acre helicopter plant due until at least 2030. The four annual repayments, which will total about $965 million, will
began Jan. 3 in India’s Tumkur district pay the loans off P&WC’s books in 2020.
in Karnataka, northwest of HAL’s
headquarters in Bangalore.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had
laid the cornerstone to the plant that
same day.
The plant will house HAL’s manufac-
turing unit to build light utility helicop-
ters for the country’s army and air force.
The first aircraft produced there are
expected to take flight by 2018. • 5 seats + baggage compartment
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The company in December also set
up a joint venture with Russia’s Rostec to
build 200 Kamov Ka-226Ts in India; those
aircraft perform light utility missions.
HAL is currently negotiating with third-
party suppliers outside Russia to build
the aircraft’s components in India.
COMMERCIAL
P&WC Paying Off

Canada, Quebec
for Royalties
Pratt & Whitney Canada this month will
start paying off Canada and its province
of Quebec to end royalty payments on
future engine sales, its parent company
told investors this week.
But the company is staying put in
LING *
Longueuil, Quebec, “to perform certain
SEL✯
assembly, test and manufacturing opera- P ✯✯
TO
tions,” parent company United Tech- 1

nologies Corp. said Wednesday in a U.S.
BER
M
NU
Securities and Exchange Commission
✯
TER
filing. UTC also said P&WC has agreed to

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www.robinsonheli.com
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UR C
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through initiatives with post-secondary

institutions and key industry associations * GAMA 2015 civil aircraft shipment report
in Canada and Quebec” through 2030.

Rotorcraft Report
COMMERCIAL
Robinson Builds 700th R66 Turbine

On Dec. 18, 2015, Robinson Helicopter’s 700th upgraded the R66 Turbine Police Helicopter with
R66 Turbine rolled off the production line roughly new features and options.
five years after its initial FAA certification. Serial The company said it currently is developing
Number 700, a pop-out float-equipped Turbine an auxiliary fuel tank and cargo hook, both of
Marine, was slated for delivery to Robinson dealer which are expected in 2016.
Air Technology Belgium—making the aircraft the
first of that variant delivered to Europe since its Photo courtesy of Robinson
EASA certification last October. Helicopter
The R66 brought about a spike in publicity
for the normally quiet manufacturer in late 2015.
Early in December, the company finally achieved
Transport Canada snow certification of the
aircraft after having waited years for the neces-
sary weather conditions. In August, Robinson
announced it would offer the Genesys Aerosys-
tems HeliSAS Autopilot packaged with Aspen’s
EFD 1000H Primary Flight Display, instead of
with the heavier Garmin G500H Avionics Display
System. (R&WI got a chance to test fly the R66
HeliSAS, and wrote about it in the November
2015 issue.) In July, Robinson announced it had
SAFETY
NZ Aviation,
Farming Leaders
Fight Wire Strikes
Leaders of New Zealand’s aviation and
farmer communities are pressing their
campaign to remove suspended wires
that pose hazards to helicopters and other
agricultural aircraft.
The New Zealand Agricultural Aviation
Assn. launched the “Down to the Wire” ini-
tiative two years ago with the nation’s Civil
Aviation Authority and Federated Farmers
of New Zealand. The latter’s goal is to ask
farmers to remove overhead wires across
gullies and other wires that are not used.
The campaign’s latest ambassador,
according to the news website Stuff.co.nz,
is Shannon Carr; her father, Peter Robb,
died Oct. 28, 2014, after his Hill Country
Helicopters Hughes 500E apparently struck
a wire near Wanganui, about 80 nm north
of Wellington on New Zealand’s North
Island. Carr is one of 29 ambassadors, one
for each pilot killed in a New Zealand wire
strike. She succeeded her father as Hill
Country Helicopters’ CEO.

Rotorcraft Report
Washington Insider
New Laws Postpone AH-64 Transfers By Pat Host
T
he fiscal year 2016 appropriations and national Studies think tank in Washington, said
authorization bills signed into law late last last month the extension of the ban on further
year didn’t contain any U.S. Army aviation implementation of the restructuring is intended
bombshells. But they do affect important Army to give the National Commission on the Future of
efforts like the Aviation Restructure Initiative. the Army time to issue its final report, which was
President Barack Obama on Dec. 16 signed scheduled to be released Jan. 28.
into law the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations That commission was created by the fiscal
Act, which provided $573 billion for the Defense 2015 defense authorization act to examine the
Department. Three weeks earlier, he had done Army’s structure and policy assumptions related
the same for Congress’ second attempt at the to its size and force mixture and to make an
2016 National Defense Authorization Act. (The assessment of the size and force structure of
president had vetoed the first attempt after its active and reserve components. It also was
Republicans stuffed the wartime spending charged specifically with examining the transfer
account, formally known as Overseas Contin- of Guard AH-64s to the Army.
gency Operations—or OCO—account, to evade Hunter said he believed the “little delay” on
sequestration budget caps.) further restructuring implementation inserted
The defense authorization act extends by into this year’s defense authorization act was to
about three months, from the end of March to the allow lawmakers to “outsource” any hard deci-
end of June, during which the Army is barred from sions on the restructuring to the commission.
transferring more than 48 Boeing AH-64 Apaches “I think the commission’s recommendation
from the Army National Guard to the active Army will be highly influential,” he said.
and from preparing more than 48 for transfer. The Army told R&WI the Guard had transferred
It also bars the Army secretary and defense 24 Apaches to the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade
secretary through June 30 from reducing person- of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley,
nel related to any Army National Guard Apaches Kansas, in October. The next 24 Guard Apaches
to below the levels in place on Sept. 30, 2014. Any are scheduled to be transferred to the 25th Infan-
personnel cuts require the defense secretary’s try Division’s 25th Combat Aviation Brigade at
certification that the transfers would not create Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii, next month.
unacceptable risk to the strategic depth or regen- Army brass calculated a restructuring initia-
eration capabilities of the Army and of the Army tive could cut $12 billion up front and another $1
National Guard in its role as the combat reserve billion annually because the service ultimately
of the Army. would own about 700 fewer aircraft.
Moving Apaches from the Guard to the Army Hunter said he believes the Army is making
is part of the Aviation Restructure Initiative. The time and is poised to further transfer aircraft once
Army plans to alter its rotorcraft fleets by mov- the national commission issues its report. He said
ing Apaches from reserve to active units while that report should give the service a good read as
retiring Bell Helicopter OH-58D Kiowa Warriors, to whether Congress will allow it to move forward
among other aircraft shuffling. on restructuring.
The Army would trade its Sikorsky Aircraft The president and lawmakers in November
H-60 Black Hawks for the Guard’s Apaches. Addi- also agreed to lift sequestration caps for 2016 and
tionally, the Army is retiring its Bell TH-67 Creek 2017 on both defense and non-defense spend-
single-engine trainers in favor of Airbus Helicop- ing, but their two-year budget deal only allowed
ters’ twin-engine UH-72A Lakota, as part of the for $607 billion to be spent on defense in the
restructuring. current fiscal year—$5 billion less than the presi-
Andrew Hunter, director of defense-industrial dent’s budget requested and authorized in the
initiatives at the Center for Strategic and Inter- initial defense authorization act.

Rotorcraft Report
Program Insider
Russia Issues Mi-38 The current plan includes upgrades of existing Chi-
nooks and new-build aircraft for regular Army and
Type Certificate special forces units.
R
ussian Helicopters said it plans to start
serial production of its Mil Mi-38 following Chinese Coast Guard Ship
its receipt Dec. 30, 2015, of Russian type China reportedly has finished building a second,
certification of the medium, multi-role helicopter. 13,200-ton-displacement coast guard ship fitted for
The Mi-38 was designed by the Mil Moscow helicopter operations for deployment in the South
Helicopter Plant; Kazan Helicopters is assembling China Sea. A sister ship is said to have been patrol-
fuselages for the serial- ling the East China Sea since its completion in 2015.
production aircraft.
The head of Rus- Brazilian Upgrade
sia’s Federal Air Trans- Airbus Helicopters’ subsidiary in Brazil, Helibras,
portation Agency, has delivered to that nation’s army the first AS365
Alexander Neradko, upgraded to the K2 configuration entirely within
presented the type the country. The army already is operating two
certificate to Russian new-build Panther K2s.
Helicopters CEO Alex-
ander Mikheev today More Afghan MD-530Fs
during a ceremony at MD Helicopters said last month it had received a
the Mil Moscow Heli- firm, fixed-price contract to build and deliver 12
copter Plant. MD-530Fs with enhanced mission equipment to
The manufacturer Afghanistan’s air force from the U.S. Army’s Non-
Production of the newly certificated
said the helicopter has been designed to Russian Standard Rotary-Wing Project Office. The com-
Mi-38 is expected to start this year.
Photo courtesy of Russian AP-29 standards, which it said equate to European pany delivered the first 12 of the Cayuse Warrior
Helicopters Aviation Safety Agency Certification Specification scout attack helicopters to support operations
29 and U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations Part 29. last year.It said it also has upgraded five MD-530F
Testing to support flight certification involved trainers in Afghanistan to the Cayuse Warrior
two Mi-38 prototypes fitted with Klimov TV7-117V configuration.
engines, which had achieved certification earlier
this year. South Africa Upgrades
The Mi-38 is positioned between the Mi-8 and Denel Aviation is finishing avionics and navi-
the Mi-26, the world’s heaviest-lift helicopter. Dur- gation upgrades to the last four of 39 South
ing the 14th FAI World Helicopter Championship, African Air Force Oryx helicopters and projects
the Mi-38 set a world record for helicopters with the work will be done by the end of this month.
takeoff weight of 22,000 to 44,000 lb (10,000- The company won a 492-million-Rand, fixed-
20,000 kg) by climbing to an altitude of 28, 215 ft price, fixed-term contract in 2007 to upgrade
(8,600 m). the medium utility helicopters’ onboard avi-
onics and navigation systems. The work origi-
PROGRAM UPDATES nally was to be completed by June 2012. The
upgrade is part of a project to extend the Oryx
Chinook Upgrade Cleared service life to 2020.
U.S. Army leadership has cleared the service to
proceed with a Block 2 upgrade of its Boeing CH-47 Saudi Romeos
and MH-47G fleets in the coming decade, Maj. Sikorsky Aircraft closed a deal in December to sell
Gen. Michael Lundy told an Assn. of the U.S. Army Saudi Arabia 10 MH-60Rs. The U.S. government had
conference Jan. 14 in Arlington, Virginia. Lundy is approved the sale of the “Romeo” anti-submarine
the commanding general of the service’s Aviation Seahawks in May 2015 and estimated the transac-
Center of Excellence and of Fort Rucker, Alabama. tion was worth $1.9 billion.
28 R OTO R & W I N G M A G A Z I N E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

Don’t miss AHS International’s
72nd Annual Forum & Technology Display
“Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Future Capabilities”
May 17-19, 2016

Tours and other events begin on May 16
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• More than 250 technical papers • Cutting-edge company and
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www.vtol.org/forum
Rotorcraft Report
People
Metro Aviation appointed Instructor with Instrument and ters and established technical
Becky Ross to second director Multi-Engine Instructor privi- support services for the NH90
of transport leges, joined the company in and TIGER helicopters.
business 2004 as an instructor and was U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kevin
services. most recently the company’s Chaney has
Ross recently director of training. received the
served as FlightSafety International Product Man-
the assistant promoted Daniel MacLellan to ager of the
VP of emergency services SVP of opera- Year award.
for Vidant EastCare in North tions and Chaney is the
Carolina and previously worked will provide manager for
at Metro as a consultant for guidance Aircraft Survivability Equipment
an operation customer. As its and support Countermeasures. He manages
interim program director, Ross to the com- the Advanced Threat Counter-
helped establish financial and pany’s Learn- measures, which is currently
operational processes. Ross ing Center operations, train- installed on CH-47s, and the
is also a registered nurse who ing programs and interaction Common Infrared Countermea-
earned an MBA in 2003. with global aviation regulatory sure, which is currently being be
Ball Aerospace & Technolo- agencies. He also will provide tested for the U.S. Army’s rotary-
gies Corp. customer service and lead the wing fleet.
promoted Dr. company’s entry into service of Rober t A. Gordon has
Mike Gaza- flight simulators. At the com- been named Keystone Tur-
rik to VP for pany, he held various positions, bine Services, LLC’s sales and
engineer- including worldwide sales service manager. Gordon has
ing and Jeff director and regional marketing more than 27 years of experi-
Osterkamp manager. ence maintaining and repair-
to VP for mis- Boeing appointed Heidi ing helicopters and gas turbine
sion assur- B. Capozzi as corporate SVP. engines. He has supported the
ance. Gazarik, Capozzi will replace the com- U.S. Army’s OH-58D helicopter
previously pany’s retiring human resources programs for the past 15 years,
Ball’s technol- leader, Tony Parasia, in March. most recently with the Army
ogy director, was an associate She currently leads the team National Guard Aviation Sup-
administrator for the Space that identifies and develops port Facility in Jackson, Tennes-
Technology Mission Director- emerging leadership talent see. He also holds an Airframe
ate at NASA. Osterkamp spent within the company and has and Powerplant License.
more than 30 years at Ball, with held senior human resources Canada’s Maxcraft Avionics
previous roles in executive positions within Boeing Com- Ltd. appointed Mitchell Chiang
leadership positions in various mercial Airplanes and Boeing as a business
departments, including the Defense, Space & Security busi- and commer-
National Defense strategic business units. She also led HR oper- cial special-
ness unit and the component ations, internal services and ist. Chiang’s
technologies business area. quality at Boeing Insitu. experience
Thierry Pierard has been Robert has focused
appointed Sollinger is ZF on avionics
assistant Luftfahrttech- support contract sales. He is a
manager of nik GmbH’s licensed AME-E avionics techni-
FlightSafety new director cian. He most recently served as
Internation- of sales and an avionics technician for Avmax
al’s Learning product development. He has in Vancouver. Previously, he was
Center in Dallas, Texas. Pierard, held international management a partner with Penta Aviation
an FAA Gold Seal Certified Flight positions with Airbus Helicop- Services.

Rotorcraft Report
coming events
Feb. 9-10: Development, Affordability and Qualification April 4-6: CHC Safety & Quality Summit - Back to Basics:
of Complex Systems, Huntsville, Alabama. Prioritizing Safety in a Challenging Economy, Vancouver, British
www.vtol.org/complex Columbia. www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
Feb. 9-12: Flight School Operators Conference, Lake Buena Vista, April 5-7: MRO Americas 2016, Dallas, Texas.
Florida. www.fsana.com mroamericas.aviationweek.com
Feb. 16-21: Singapore Air Show, Singapore. April 12-14: Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition,
www.singaporeairshow.com Shanghai. www.abace.aero
Feb. 24-26: Air Warfare Symposium and Technology Exposition April 20-21: Aviation Electronics Europe, Munich.
2016, Orlando, Florida. www.afa.org www.ae-expo.eu
Feb. 29-March 2: Military Radar Summit, Washington, D.C. April 27-30: Aircraft Electronics Assn. Annual Convention and
www.militaryradarsummit.com Trade Show, Orlando, Florida. www.aea.net
Feb. 29-March 3: Heli-Expo 2016, Kentucky Exposition Center, April 28-30: 2016 Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit,
Louisville, Kentucky. heliexpo.rotor.org Atlanta. www.quad-a.org
March 2-3: UAS West Symposium, San Diego. www.uaswest.com May 2-5: Xponential (AUVSI), New Orleans, Louisiana.
www.xponential.org
March 8-10: Abu Dhabi Air Expo, United Arab Emirates.
www.abudhabiairexpo.com May 9-13: Naval Helicopter Assn. Symposium 2016, Norfolk,
Virginia. www.navalhelicopterassn.org
March 22-23: Aerial Firefighting International 2016, Sacramento,
California. www.tangentlink.com/event/aerial-firefighting- May 17-19: American Helicopter Society International 72nd
international-2016 Annual Forum and Technology Display, West Palm Beach, Florida.
www.vtol.org/forum
March 22-24: Airborne Law Enforcement Assn. Southeast
Regional Safety Seminar, Indianapolis, Indiana. www.alea.org July 18-23: ALEA Expo 2016, Savannah, Georgia. www.alea.org
March 29-April 3: FIDAE 2016 International Air and Space Fair, Sep. 8-9: Aircraft Electronics Assn. Europe Connect, Irvine,
Santiago, Chile. www.fidae.cl California. www.aea.net/connect
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Military
After 10 Years,
Commercial
Have We
Public Service
The international industry likely will miss its

goal of cutting helicopter accident rates 80%
by this year. What have we learned from the
Training
attempt, and how do we move forward?

By James T. McKenna
NEED TO KNOW
T
he helicopter industry presents several Less appealing for the public is the aggra-
faces to the public. vating noise of birds transporting the rich and
IHST was based on a There is the dramatic and heroic res- famous to their hideaways and hovering tourists
Products
successful airline initiative cue following a natural disaster or man-made over landmarks during pricey flights.
catastrophe. A serious highway crash may trig- The most troubling face of our industry,
Early IHST actions focused ger calls that lead to the spectacle at the scene however, is the one like the image on this page.
on private pilots and flight and on TV of traffic cleared and halted for an air It is the image of a crushed, crumpled, possibly
instructors ambulance landing. burned helicopter on a hillside or street, in a field
We see in the news the dance of helicopters or a forest, with accompanying details of surviv-
The U.S. team will host an dousing wildfires and the charge of others car- ing family and friends of the aircraft’s occupants.
infrastructure summit this rying troops into combat and bearing wounded If you track helicopter news on a daily basis,
month. from the field. as I have for more than seven years, you will find
Services

The Dec. 15, 2015, crash of an
Air Methods/Native Air Ambulance
AS350 is among the latest examples
of accidents that taint the public’s
image of the helicopter industry
Photo courtesy of the Associated
Press
that the most common reference given to the The image will not be redeemed at all
public through newspapers, television and the by a 10-year industry campaign to cut the ‘Safety and the
Internet is to a helicopter and a crash. world’s helicopter accident rate by 80%. The Bottom Line’
The U.S. Helicopter Safety
It might be the Dec. 15, 2015, crash depicted International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST)
Team will host a safety sym-
here (of an Airbus Helicopters AS350B3 in Supe- was launched with that goal in late 2005. The posium in Louisville at the
rior, Arizona), which killed the pilot and a flight 10-year mark is this year, and there is wide- start of Heli-Expo 2016.
nurse and severely injured a flight paramedic. spread agreement that we will miss the goal. The theme is “Safety and
It may have been the collision three years IHST’s performance will be the subject of the Bottom Line,” according
ago of an AgustaWestland AW109 in poor vis- some discussion at Heli-Expo 2016, which starts to the U.S. arm of the Inter-
ibility with a London office building; that crash Feb. 29 in Louisville, Kentucky. That discussion national Helicopter Safety
Team. The event is to include
killed the pilot and a man on the ground. will touch on why the international effort fell
presentations on how safety
short of its top-level goal and how it should initiatives and the foster-
‘Damaging and Dangerous’ change in pursuing its new goal of establishing ing of a safety culture can
It might have been the June 2015 crash of a a culture throughout this industry that tolerates result in a more profitable
Bell Helicopter 206B near Ouro Preto in Brazil’s no accidents. operation. It also will include
state of Minas Gerais; a crewmember and two This review of IHST’s work and the state of its a panel discussion on cost-
passengers died after that crash. efforts is based on interviews and conversations effective safety initiatives.
The symposium is sched-
Specific details aside, this is a chronic image. with participants and safety experts from its
uled from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at
“We face a massive cultural challenge,” said inception in 2005 until the first week of January, the Kentucky Exposition Cen-
Sir Christopher Coville, a former chairman of as well as observation of IHST meetings and the ter in Louisville. See heliexpo.
Westland Helicopters Ltd. “The helicopter is work of the international Commercial Aviation rotor.org for registration
viewed as elitist, expensive, environmentally Safety Team (CAST) on which the helicopter information.
damaging and dangerous.” team initiative was based.

Military
CAST, started with decades of data and analysis

on flight hours, accidents, incidents and contrib-
uting causes. IHST volunteers had to build the
most basic data set. No one had a central data-
base of flight hours, essential for calculating the
rate of accidents. Even the National Transporta-
Commercial
tion Safety Board’s data was severely lacking. It

combed over airline accidents, but helicopter
ones typically got little more than paperwork
reviews.
While CAST dealt with a small number of
operators with big, largely homogenous fleets,
IHST’s universe was made up of thousands of
operators, most of whom operated fewer than
five helicopters.
Public Service
CAST, which like IHST is co-chaired by

an industry and an FAA representative, was
refreshed regularly with new leaders. IHST’s
leaders served for years; HAI President Matt
Zuccaro has been the industry co-chair since
IHST’s inception.
The process of collecting and analyzing data
to enable the identification of key contributors
IHST officials point to data that
to accidents and means of mitigating them

shows reduced accident rates
compared to a 2001 to 2005 necessarily took years. But some participants
baseline (top). Other groups cite It would be unfair to label the efforts of scores grew frustrated at the apparent lack of progress
data showing no improvement in of dedicated volunteers around the world who toward the 80% reduction goal. At the same
fatal accident rates (bottom). have striven to drive the accident rate down time, the ground began to shift beneath IHST.
Images courtesy of IHST, FAA
over the last decade. They have raised aware- At a 2011 top-level IHST meeting, the FAA
ness of safety shortcomings throughout every co-chair (then-Rotorcraft Directorate Manager
level of the industry and in every region of the Kim Smith) urged members to begin working
globe. They also have put a wide assortment of on reducing fatal accidents. Industry representa-
training aids and safety toolkits in the hands of tives resisted, arguing that the focus since the
pilots, instructors and helicopter managers on start had been on accidents, not just fatal ones.
nearly every continent. Smith explained that FAA headquarters’ direc-
Training
But IHST’s inability to achieve

the 80% reduction—or, in the
view of some, to demonstrate IHST’s successes include forums for
promoting safety awareness, like
a sustainable improvement in
this 2014 event held with Helibras
the accident rate—has driven and other entities in Brazil.
changes in the group’s organiza- Photo courtesy of Airbus Helicopters
tion and activities and is forc- / Guto Marcondes
ing conversations now about
topics that were set aside in the
Products
early years.
These changes include a
new focus not just on accidents
but also on fatal ones and on
investigations of equipment
on aircraft and tools on the
ground that might make flying
helicopters safer.
IHST in 2005 took on a monu-
Services
mental challenge. Its model,

tive to its offices was to work toward reducing safety teams. Europe took the lead in the
fatal accidents. regional work, and has had the most success in
The message was clear: IHST could attack that regard. (Its website offers a host of safety
fatal accidents or risk having FAA resources newsletters, brochures, videos and toolkits.)
diverted from its work. Work in other regions was spotty. In Africa
In April 2015, Rotorcraft Directorate officials and the Middle East, for instance, work was
said they would begin focusing on ways to launched but soon suffered for lack of fund-
reduce fatal accidents. They justified the move ing and volunteers. Efforts in Australia were
in part with data showing no sustained improve- orphaned by a disagreement between the
ment in fatal accident rates over IHST’s tenure. co-chairs.
“From 2006 to 2015, 17% of all U.S. rotorcraft In the U.S., most work was done directly by
accidents involved a fatality,” FAA Operations IHST. That changed in 2013, when two leaders
Research Analyst Lee Roskop told April’s Rotor- were named to head the U.S. Helicopter Safety
craft Safety Forum in Hurst, Texas. “That number Team—the FAA’s Jim Viola and Bristow Group’s
surged above 20% in 2008, 2010 and 2013.“ Bill Chiles.
In 2015, Roskop said at R&WI’s Rotorcraft One result of the U.S. team’s establishment
Certification Summit, “We saw the percent- has been a shift toward an examination of
age trending above 20%” for the first half of what roles infrastructure and the environment
the year before dropping “back around the play in accidents and how to best mitigate
historical average.” them.
From early on, IHST’s plan envisioned a high- IHST’s early data analysis led to a focus on
level group to oversee the work of regional flight instruction sorties and private and rec-
reational training. Remember, the
Lack of improvement in addressing safety shortfalls over more than 20 team’s volunteers built their data
years contributed to IHST’s creation (top). Early analysis focused efforts on sets of flight hours and accident
the performance of private pilots and flight instructors, as well as ag pilots causes from scratch. They had to
(bottom). Photo courtesy of IHST
figure out how to slice this new, big
data set (made up initially of re-ex-
amined accidents from 2001, with
2005 and 2006 added later). They
chose to slice by flight activity.
One rationale was that different
commercial/public use activities
(from aerial application to emergen-
cy medical services to search and
rescue) had unique characteristics
that required separate analysis and
cause-mitigation efforts.
In looking at the data by activity,
the biggest groupings of accidents
were seen to be instructional/flight
training, positioning/return-to-base,
personal/recreational, passenger/
cargo and aerial application.
That led to a focus on human-
factor causes and the performance
of individual pilots.
The U.S. team is now evolving
and this month will host a two-
day meeting in Washington, D.C.,
to assess the potential role of
low-level aviation infrastructure,
including IFR options, in improving
helicopter safety.

Military
Commercial
Public Service
A 737 MAX 8 in CIT livery.

Photo courtesy of Boeing
The FAA’s new air ambulance data requirements

have received pushback from wary operators
even as flight data experts call them too vague.
By Joseph Ambrogne
Training
I
f we take popular news coverage at its face, Although worldwide helicopter aviation laws
NEED TO KNOW it may seem like dodging quadcopters and only sparsely require them, flight data monitor-
laser pointers is the primary concern of public ing systems and operations control centers
Concerns about FAA flight service helicopter pilots in the U.S. have been well received on a voluntary basis
data requirements include But let’s not forget flight data analysis—an by offshore transport operators worldwide. In
privacy, liability and cost issue far less likely to drum up images of a sum- both cases, proper use of the technology and of
mer blockbuster, but still of great relevance its underlying philosophy has resulted in safety
Air ambulance operators to air ambulance operations as we get closer improvements and in its favorable perception
Products
with 10+ helicopters must to 2018. By then, more data requirements will among operators.
establish operations control become law under Federal Aviation Regula- But within the U.S. air ambulance commu-
centers by April 22 tions Part 135 subpart L (thanks to the 2014 nity, the FAA’s final rule has encountered resis-
set of changes “Helicopter Air Ambulance, tance from both critics and proponents of flight
Commercial Helicopter, and Part 91 Helicopter data analysis. The former cite concerns about
Operations,” broadly known as the Helicopter Air privacy, legal liability and the cost of implemen-
Ambulance rule). tation. The latter say the regulations don’t go far
The U.S. airline industry successfully uses enough to properly reap safety benefits. Now,
flight data analysis tools—particularly flight as operators struggle with how to best meet the
Services
data monitoring systems—following more than new requirements, some proponents are step-
two decades of development. ping forward to correct what they perceive as a

misunderstanding of the rule’s intentions and flight instrumentation system).”
effectiveness, and to push the boundaries of Notably, the rule requires no specific data
what data can do to improve safety in the air. points and gives little advice about what types
of data would be valuable during post-flight
Flight Data Monitoring analysis. (For example, it doesn’t say that atti-
The FAA’s March 26, 2015, Advisory Circular tude and rate of descent would be useful in
135-14B explains one of the new regulations, reviewing a hard landing.) The FAA left this
FAR 135.607, which says, “After April 23, 2018, aspect purposely vague, out of concern that
no person may operate a helicopter in air requiring specific data would make the operator
ambulance operations unless it is equipped with legally liable for them.
an approved Flight Data Monitoring System There is also no requirement to establish
(FDMS).” Later, that rule says such a system is flight operational quality assurance—a program
free to collect data “according to a broadly designed to improve aviation safety through the
defined set of parameters, including information proactive use of data collected from a flight data
pertaining to the aircraft’s state (such as heading, monitoring system.
altitude and attitude), condition (such as rotors, According to Stuart “Kipp” Lau, a consultant
transmission, engine parameters and flight with flight data monitoring provider SkyTrac,
controls) and system performance (such as full the regulation falls short of the mark. Lau wrote
authority digital engine control and electronic about the new requirements in a 2015 white

CHC Helicopter is using flight data analysis to improve its line-oriented flight training program.
Military
Commercial
Metro Aviation’s Helicopter Flight

Training Center hopes to harness
flight data monitoring information
Public Service
in its simulators to improve

training. Photo courtesy of paper while acting as the lead for the Internation- “One example relates to landing an aircraft
Metro Aviation al Helicopter Safety Team’s systems and equip- type with a relatively low tail boom as part of its
ment working group. design,” CHC’s Melinda De Boer told R&WI. Pilots
In the paper, he called the lack of data require- of such aircraft must be conscious of the risk of
ments in 135.607 “a missed opportunity,” adding striking the tail on the ground during short final
that flight data monitoring programs—from and landing, when the aircraft will have a nose-up
airlines to large offshore helicopter operators— attitude.
”leverage large amounts of data to benefit the CHC’s flight data monitoring program “record-
entire enterprise.” He also wrote that the value of ed data that indicated our crews were coming
“each additional parameter is exponential to the in with the nose up at an angle that was increas-
organization when employed” in an effective pro- ing the risk of tail boom impact,” said De Boer.
Flight Data in
Europe gram, from safety to maintenance to “back-office “The data was not specific to one base or type of
The European Aviation Safety functions such as operations and dispatch.” operation, which told us we needed to amend
Agency in June 2013 pub- On the other hand, the air ambulance com- our training and SOPs globally.” She said the data
lished a Notice of Proposed munity has still met this baseline requirement was communicated to all pilots flying the aircraft
Amendment (2013-10) that with wariness. Resistance from operators gener- type. “From the first day after that communica-
would affect large offshore ally stems from the cost of implementation. They, tion, the data recorded an immediate correction
transport operators.
pilots and even medical insurance underwriters by all crews in all locations.”
That document has become
EASA opinion 04/2015, a final fear data might be misused. Such fears are not CHC is also using flight analysis data to improve
Training
version presented to the Euro- totally unfounded. The FAA’s rule affords opera- its line operations safety audits, examining how
pean Commission for transla- tors legal protection of private data only if they flight crews react individually and collectively to
tion into law. According to a have established an agency-approved flight oper- threats and errors.
U.K. Civil Aviation Authority ations quality assurance program. This is good Like their offshore counterparts, air ambu-
official, Tony Eagles, it should news for large operators, but may concern smaller lance operators of all sizes stand to benefit from
become a regulation within a
outfits that lack the resources to establish a robust flight data analysis and are in various stages of
few years.
The rule requires opera- program. compliance with the upcoming requirements.
tors of helicopters that are Lau said even large offshore support oper- Dallas-based aeromedical transport provider
equipped with flight data ators—which pioneered the use of flight data SevenBar Aviation currently operates three heli-
Products
recorders to “establish and monitoring and other safety best practices for copters—two AgustaWestland AW109Es and one
maintain a [flight data moni- rotorcraft—initially resisted the technology AW109SP—but hopes to have eight by summer.
toring] system, as part of because of the data-sharing aspect. They feared SevenBar is also in the process of starting an FAA-
its integrated management
that if specific operators were identified, one approved flight operational quality assurance
system” by Jan. 1, 2019. It
also says that the flight data could theoretically benefit from the other’s data. program, and is participating in HAI’s Aviation
monitoring system “shall be But these fears were ultimately replaced with Safety Analysis & Sharing Helicopter Flight Data
non-punitive and contain enthusiasm once those operators began to see Monitoring Research Project.
adequate safeguards to pro- tangible benefits to safety. According to B.J. Raysor, SevenBar’s SVP of
tect” data sources. CHC Helicopter is using flight data analysis to operations, about half of his line pilots at a previ-
Services
improve its line-oriented flight training program. ous organization resisted the flight data monitor-

BECOME ONE OF THE
ROTORCRAFT
You’ve earned it.
ai.omeda.com/RENEWRW
Military
ing program initially. But within 30 days of Seven- operations specifications establish operations
Equipment Bar’s implementation, he said, a hospital aircraft control centers by April 22 of this year.
Options was involved in an autopilot excursion under SevenBar established its own center despite
Unlike the large helicopters
instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) that being a three-helicopter operation. Though the
used in offshore support,
helicopters used in air ambu- proved the value of flight data monitoring. company’s experience has been positive, Raysor
lance operations tend to be Data collected from the flight “helped the pilot conceded, the cost of setting up and running
Commercial
of the smaller variety (and try and validate what happened and allowed us the center could run as high as $500,000. That
single-pilot ones in the U.S.). to look at it and say, ‘Wow, you did a really great contributes to resistance to their use, especially
Heavy-duty flight data moni- job of handling that,’” said Raysor. “It picked up a from medium operators barely above the 10-he-
toring systems don’t make really unusual attitude-type maneuver before he licopter threshold.
sense for them.
could get it to stop.” Furthermore, the FAA has set a maximum duty
But several companies have
developed, or are developing, Raysor said he also showed the data to man- shift of 10 hr for the operations control specialists
lower-cost, lighter-weight agement, further validating the company’s simu- who staff the centers. This not only means having
systems fit for installation on lator training program. to employ more specialists, but it also compli-
the light helicopters. Here are On the larger end of the size spectrum, Air cates aviation planners’ efforts to staff 24-hr shift
Public Service
some of the options: Methods has not yet completed installations of schedules (which is far easier to do with two
• Appareo Vision1000 flight data monitoring systems on all of its heli- 12-hr-shift employees).
• IONode
copters, but expects to meet the 2018 deadline. Another point of contention is who to des-
• Outerlink’s Iris (in devel-
opment) Dennis McCall, the company’s operations direc- ignate as a specialist. Rather than training new
• SkyTrac Insight tor, told R&WI that the company is in favor of the employees, a few of the larger operators have
• Sagem Cassiopée new rule, saying “it lends itself to driving down insisted on employing former line pilots—such as
the accident rates, and that is what makes it an those who have lost their medical certificates—as
important initiative.” He added, “It is a huge driver specialists. This saves an operator money, since
of our SMS by raising awareness within the com- pilots are already familiar with the operation. But
panies and industry.” it also runs the risk of introducing a dangerous
He also added that flight data monitoring has bias into a center’s operation.
“created the need to make more modern devices Part of an operations control specialist’s job is
at lower prices.” to perform a risk analysis of each flight. A high-
Some groups are pushing the boundaries time pilot in that role might have an individual
of what flight data monitoring can provide for opinion of what constitutes a risk and clear a
the rotorcraft industry. Raysor, who previously dangerous flight. Operators choosing this staffing
served with the National EMS Pilots Assn., sug- method will have to use caution in emphasizing
gested flight data analysis could benefit that compliance to procedures.
group’s Enroute Decision Point protocol—which For those looking to train new specialists,
it developed to help pilots recognize from their options exist, such as the National Operations
Training
own flight profiles when they are entering dete- Control Academy, which is kicking off its inaugu-
riorating weather conditions that could lead to ral operations control specialists training courses
inadvertent IMC. Flight data monitoring, he said, this month in Wichita, Kansas.
could reveal trends in flying behavior that might Owner David Hartter has other advice for
inform revisions to the protocol. Metro Aviation’s operators looking to establish their own centers.
Helicopter Flight Training Center is using its full He stressed five essential components: aviation
flight simulators and flight training devices to situation displays for flight following; weather
test pilots against that protocol. reporting tools; communications systems; navi-
The center’s director, Terry Palmer, said she gation systems; and risk assessment tools. With
Products
hopes to harness flight data monitoring informa- regards to the situation displays, he said there
tion in the simulators to improve training—both are many options that are partially suitable, such
by collecting flight analysis data from simulator as FlightExplorer. It is a great tool for the airlines,
flights and by using it to run new scenarios. he said, but its airport-to-airport navigation is
unsuitable for air ambulance operations. Another
Operations Control Centers option is RotorWatch, which he said has come a
FAA AC 120-96A describes another regulation long way toward becoming a viable choice. But
established by the 2014 changes. FAR Part he said his favorite is Google Earth Pro, which can
135.619 requires that air ambulance operators be used with a SkyTrac overlay to provide surpris-
Services
with 10 or more helicopters assigned to their ingly robust data.

GLOBAL AEROSPACE
SILVER
MSF Pritchard ®
Syndicate 318
Underwriters at Lloyd´s Specialty Markets
Military
What is the Pay-

Commercial
The answer still depends on which mission

will be flown and which operator will fly it.
Public Service
By James T. McKenna, with Frank Lombardi and Richard Whittle
A
The U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B’s fter decades of abstract arguments Response. Set up after the 2012 attack on a U.S.
ability to deploy swiftly over
about the benefits that a tiltrotor would outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the Ameri-
great distances is providing
bring to military operations in the can ambassador and three security personnel
solid examples of speed’s value
in Pentagon future-aircraft field, U.S. Marine Corps leaders are offering to provide a rapid-response capability, the task
discussions. Some operators concrete examples. force is based in Moron, Spain.
want incremental speed gains, Those leaders are drawing on the activi- In December 2013, the newly formed nation
while Bristow (right) and others ties of Ospreys deployed to Europe, Africa and of South Sudan (in northeast Africa) was in
are investigating bigger speed
Southwest Asia to detail specific advantages turmoil. U.S. officials decided to evacuate the
advantages.
Images courtesy of the U.S. Marine the Bell Boeing tiltrotor’s combination of speed, embassy in Juba, South Sudan. Col. Rob Freeland
Corps / Cpl. Ryan C. Mains, Airbus range and payload bring to U.S. military opera- briefed a November 2015 meeting of the Ameri-
Helicopters and Finmeccanica- tions as well as diplomatic and other national can Helicopter Society International’s chapter in
Helicopters security ones. Marine officials and others main- Washington, D.C., on the operations. An MV-22
tain that those presentations are altering joint pilot, he was the commander of the task force’s
Training
discussions within the Defense Dept. on future air combat element in 2013.
vertical-lift aircraft.
Those developments come as AgustaWest-
land, now Finmeccanica-Helicopters, is working There to Stay
to recover from the loss of its No. 2 flight test Freeland explained that the task force deployed
AW609 (and its two test pilots) Oct. 30, 2015, four MV-22Bs and two Lockheed Martin KC-130
and to proceed with type certification that will tankers with about 160 Marines and sailors
enable it to begin flying missions and demon- from Moron to Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden
NEED TO KNOW strating the civil tiltrotor to customers. coast between Eritrea and Somalia. They then
Products
The question remains: how much would an moved on to Entebbe, Uganda. The deployment
U.S. Marines expanded use operator that doesn’t have access to a military- covered 3,400 nm, about the same distance as
of MV-22s in special roles style R&D, operating and contingency budget that between Chicago and London.
after the deadly 2012 attack be willing to pay for the advantage of added The troops evacuated nearly 400 Americans
on a U.S. outpost speed? A related question is: how much more and 300 others.
in Benghazi, Libya speed do operators actually want? Freeland said that the State Dept. had been
Some examples the Marines cite of the considering closing the Juba embassy during
AgustaWestland Osprey’s speed, range and payload benefits the turmoil, but opted to keep it open once it
is committed to certification are derived from the operations of the Special saw that the task force could provide support to
Services
of the AW609 in 2017 Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force for Crisis the facility swiftly.

-Off of
“That allowed us to send the Americans who As for how much
were in South Sudan and were there to stay,” he more speed civil
said. “We weren’t going anywhere.” customers want,
Several Marine officials and others said Airbus Helicopters’
experiences like that are leading other services Chris Emerson said
involved in Defense Dept. investigations of high- that is a complex
speed vertical-lift aircraft to assess the V-22’s and detailed ques-
capabilities more thoroughly (see Rotorcraft tion. He is the new
Report, page 15). president and CEO
Finmeccanica-Helicopters hopes to start of Airbus Helicop-
demonstrating such capabilities by gaining type ters Inc. in Grand
certification of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6- Prairie, Texas, and
powered AW609 in 2017. Its work was delayed head of Airbus
after the midair breakup of the No. 2 prototype Helicopters North
over Italy in October. The company has ground- America Region.
ed the No. 1 prototype as a precaution while civil “When you do
authorities in Italy, aided by their U.S. counter- this analysis, you
parts, investigate the crash’s cause. cannot do it generically, at an industry level,” he
The manufacturer said it plans to begin initial said. “You’ve got to do it in a segment. What is the
ground tests of the No. 3 prototype shortly and cost-benefit analysis of speed for air medical, for
resume flight tests before April (if findings of the instance, or law enforcement or a VIP operator?”
accident investigation support it). He noted that faster flight involves more vibra-
The AW609 program did get a boost after the tion and strain on the aircraft and a corresponding
prototype crash when the United Arab Emirates’ increase in aircraft weight for systems and struc-
Joint Aviation Command in November selected ture to counter those effects. That drives costs up.
the civil tiltrotor for search and rescue (SAR) mis- But some operators are willing to pay the price,
sions. It becomes the launch customer for the depending on their mission.
AW609 SAR variant. “Our tour operator customers in the Grand
The command ordered three AW609s, which Canyon would take it,” he said. “For them, more
are scheduled to be delivered starting in 2019. speed means they may have the opprtounty to do
The command also placed options for three an additional sortie before the sun goes down, and
more of the aircraft. that’s top-line revenue for them.”

Military
INSURANCE
Commercial
There are various heliport insurance

Public Service
options
Autatue that appropriately
rcipsusto cover
dolorem doloreet
each
autat, quamunique heliport
dipit, quam,operation.
volortio
Photos courtesy
consequis dionsenitofiniscing
Iridescent/
eui
Wikicommons,
et lut Forest
prat autat. Dit, and Kim Starr,
consequamet
Andy
volore C/Wikicommons
dignibh et ad minci tatis
eu faccum nibh et, sed minibh
euissequate Credit: XXXXX
Training
NEED TO KNOW
Products
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Xxxxxxxxxxxx
Services

Covering risks at your
heliport requires an
assessment of how
and by whom your
facility is used.
By Rex Alexander and Larry Mattiello

Military
Photos courtesy of Rex Alexander
H
eliports face a range of risks and liability ance, and products and completed operations
Commercial
exposures in their daily operations, not all coverage insurance.

of which might be apparent at first. This
information is intended to serve as an introduction Non-Owned Aircraft Liability Insurance
to help facilitate discussions between legal counsel, In cases where an entity contracts with an outside
risk managers and insurance brokers when vendor for flight services or provides a helipad for
reviewing and evaluating liability exposures and third-party flights, there might be an additional
coverage needs for any given heliport location. need for specialized insurance coverage.
All specific aspects and questions regarding this While it is understood that helicopter opera-
subject matter should be directed to a reputable tors are responsible for carrying primary “aircraft
Public Service
and licensed insurance firm with experience in the hull” and “liability” insurance, heliport owners
geographical area where the heliport is located have a potential “non-owned aircraft liability”
which specializes in aviation matters. exposure should an accident occur while the air-
There are a number of questions that heliport craft is in flight to or from his or her premises
owners should ask in preparation for discussing or while it is parked on site at those premises.
their insurance needs. For starters, what type of When dealing with any third-party aircraft or heli-
operations will be conducted at the heliport, and copter operator, prudent risk management prac-
who owns the aircraft operated at that location? tices dictate that as a starting point, heliport owners
Other questions concern the services offered should require certificates of insurance from all air-
at a heliport. Will fueling operations be provided craft/helicopter operators operating at their facilities.
or conducted at the heliport? Will maintenance be Private heliport owners who contract with or
conducted there? Will aircraft be stored or kept on allow other entities to utilize their facilities may
the premises? Will third-party flight operations be also want to set standards for acceptable insur-
conducted at this location? ance company paper, i.e., A.M. Best or S&P ratings.
Heliport owners also should address the require-
ments and standards covering their respective facil- Aviation-Related Activities and Heliport
ities. In the U.S., for instance, does the facility meet Liability Insurance
the codes and regulations established by the FAA, While some heliport owners believe their com-
National Fire Protection Assn., International Build- mercial general liability (CGL) policy covers any risk
ing Code, International Fire Code and the federal exposure they might have, there might be an exclu-
Training
Occupational Safety and Health Administration? sion “in connection with aviation activities” within
What are local and state requirements and limita- the CGL policy or umbrella policy. That exclusion
tions for insurance coverage? needs to be addressed.
In addition, heliport owners should ask them- Many CGL policies might treat a heliport as an
selves, “If there is an instrument approach, who extension of the property or as another location,
owns it, and who will use it?” and “Is there ground- and coverage might include care and maintenance
to-air radio communications provided on-site?” of the heliport. However, any type of aviation-relat-
Contingent on the types of operations con- ed activity exclusion might create gaps in coverage.
ducted at a heliport location, there are (at a mini- There are a large number of insurance claims
Products
mum) four basic types of coverage owners should every year associated with the ownership or opera-
evaluate and review for applicability beyond tion of heliports involving debris sent flying when
standard coverage. This should by no means be helicopters land or take off. Loose dirt or stones do
considered a complete list of potential coverage get kicked up quite regularly and have been known
and requirements, and one should seek profes- to damage nearby vehicles or injure pedestrians.
sional assistance from qualified legal counsel and An additional consideration would be damage
claims adjusters. The four basic types of insur- to a third party’s property, such as damage to a heli-
ance are: non-owned aircraft liability insurance, copter while it is on the insured’s heliport due to the
aviation-related activities and heliport liability insured’s negligence.
Services
insurance, ground hangar keepers liability insur- Heliports are oftentimes situated in close

proximity to buildings, vehicles or pedestrian walk- to utilize the instrument approach procedure to
ways and, in some cases, located on building roof- the heliport without significant prior coordination
tops. Although heliports are a significant benefit between both parties’ legal counsel and claims rep-
to operational convenience, they can increase risk resentatives, it is very likely that the heliport owner
and liability exposure in the case of a tragic accident will not be covered in the case of a mishap.
occurring on or in the vicinity of the heliport. Another concern relates to radio communica-
tion systems.
Ground Hangar Keepers Liability In cases where a heliport has an on-site ground-
Insurance to-air radio communication system, also known
This coverage is for locations where a helicopter is as a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency, or CTAF,
based or remains for an extended period of time great care must be taken as to what information
or for longer than normal use. The coverage pro- is offered over the radio to pilots. Only certi-
vides for aircraft that are not owned by the heliport fied air traffic controllers, operating under FAA
owner, but the heliport owner may be held liable regulatory guidelines and licensure may provide air
while the helicopter is at his or her facility and in his traffic direction.
or her custody. Heliport owners without an FAA-certified air
In the case of tampering with a helicopter or traffic control system and properly licensed per-
causing inadvertent damage to a helicopter at a sonnel may only pass along advisory information.
heliport due to a security breach, which in turn is Flight operations and safety of flight considerations
proven to be a contributing factor in an accident, are up to the pilot-in-command of each aircraft.
the owner of the heliport could face a significant Heliport owners who have radio sys-
liability exposure. tems that are used to communicate with air-
Damaging or disabling any aircraft, whether it craft operating at their facilities should ensure
be done inadvertently, accidentally or maliciously that their staff and agents have been provid-
by stealing radios, navigation equipment, auto- ed proper, documented training and that they
pilots, engines, rotors, fuel or any other parts, is in understand these communication limitations.
most cases a felony and a federal offense punish-
able by fines of up to $10,000, imprisonment for Punitive Damages
20 years or even death, if such a theft causes an Though punitive damage awards are relatively
accident resulting in loss of life. rare in aviation personal injury cases, this does
not mean that these types of claims should be
Products and Completed Operations disregarded. Owners should seek counsel from
Coverage Insurance legal representation along with claims professionals
At heliport locations that provide fueling or when considering punitive damage awards for an
maintenance for aircraft that land at their sites, accident at a specific location.
this coverage protects the owner from indirect or These types of claims go to a plaintiff alleging
contingent liability. While products liability can “willful,” “reckless” and “outrageous” conduct on the
be included in the basic general liability coverage defendant’s part. If a jury can be convinced that a
form, it can also be written on its own. Primarily it is heliport was knowingly and recklessly designed,
designed to cover the policy holder against claims constructed or operated, exposure to a punitive
stemming from products sold, manufactured or damages suit can increase significantly.
distributed such as fuel. It is very important to note that each jurisdiction
There are additional liability considerations. will differ as to what damages may be recovered and
One concerns instrument approaches. If there what, if any, caps are imposed for insurance on puni-
is an approved instrument approach provided for tive damages. States also differ on the methodology
at a heliport, whoever owns and maintains the required by a plaintiff to prove punitive damages.
approach will be generally covered under standard For these reasons, thorough research in regards to
operations and in aircraft for which they are operat- site-specific regulations, limitations and compliance
ing under their certificate. If a third party is allowed through legal counsel is highly recommended.

Military
Commercial
Public Service
SURVIVING
the Post-Crash
Training
Survival gear is important, but knowing how to use that gear

might be even more so. mastering the basics of survival and
medical care can help save your life in a diﬃcult situation.
Products
By Mike Hangge
NEED TO KNOW
T
here are two types of survival gear that But survival training and gear are nothing
Survival gear evolved as should be taken on every flight—the gear more than insurance—you pay for them, hope
military aviation grew you pack in a sack and the gear you pack in you’ll never have to use them, but can’t imagine
your skull. While the gear you carry is essential, being without them when they are needed.
aviators should know basic the training you have acquired is even more so. A Because of that, the value of a survival course or
medical procedures, such as trained survivalist wandering a frozen wasteland a kit far outreaches the initial cost—and every-
first aid and cPr in Bermuda shorts is better equipped than an thing comes with cost, whether it is measured in
Services
untrained person with a surplus of gear. time, effort or money. Quality gear will also cost
48 r oto r & W i n g i n t e r n at i o n a L | f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 6 W W W. r oto r a n d W i n g . c o m

Unplanned landings in isolated
areas could quickly become critical
survival situations (opposite, left;
bottom, right). Photo by Mike
Hangge
Smoke from survival signal fires

(opposite, right) can be seen from
miles away and might attract
the attention of fire and rescue
personnel. Photo courtesy of
Randall’s Adventure and Training
Pack your survival kit (left) smartly,

and keep it with you on every flight.
Photo by Kelsey Hangge
ESEE’s Advanced Survival Kit

(top, right) is one of the most
comprehensive survival kits around.
Photo by Becky Hangge
The MARCH
Procedure
M a s s i ve H e m o r r h a g e /
space and weight. But lack of preparation might offer classes that begin with simple CPR instruc- Bleeding—Stop any major
bleeding with tourniquets,
be more costly. If unprepared, cost might not be tion and end with initials behind your name.
quick clots, dressings, wound
measured in dollars or hours, but rather in life. Volunteer fire departments might be willing to packings, or any other means
The value of quality training and gear can- exchange valuable training for your time, and available.
not exceed the value you place on it. If you take there are hundreds of reputable survival schools Airway—Provide a clear
classes and learn hard lessons, you’ll be better around the world. airway and ensure the patient
prepared for a difficult situation. If you take Medics and first responders are often will- doesn’t choke on their own
those same lessons and apply them to your core ing to teach basic medical courses (given that tongue with the Head Tilt/
Chin Lift method.
values, you’ll be prepared for any situation. the requisite legalities have been covered), and
Respiration—Check for
Although we all know that anything made to you might even be able to get deeper informa- pneumothorax (air in the
fly or float costs more than it should, the price of tion about survival medicine for the cost of a area surrounding the rib cage
a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) class or case of beer or a meal. I recently attended a that puts pressure on the
a good knife is nothing compared to the cost of first responders class given by Andy Chiasson, a heart and lungs).
watching helplessly as you lose a friend. What- fantastic special-operations medic who focused Circulation—Check for a
ever the case, here’s the painful truth: quality on MARCH. MARCH stands for massive hemor- pulse, specifically the radial
(wrist) pulse and work to
is hardly ever cheap, and cheap is hardly ever rhage/bleeding, airway, respiration, circulation,
stop more minor bleeding.
good enough when quality matters. head injuries and hypothermia (see the sidebar). Head Injuries—Check for
If you’re truly interested in quality training Though the acronym does not cover all any signs of head injuries.
and in an opportunity to excel, then a trip to any aspects of medical care, the U.S. Army now uses Hypothermia—Prevent
military recruiter might be a worthwhile expedi- MARCH in its Tactical Combat Casualty Care as the onset of hypothermia by
tion. Then again, that might be a drastic solution the standard for providing care under fire. In keeping the patient’s body
to a simple problem. An easier method might the past few years, these methods were proven temperature regulated. Be
aware that this can actually
be to do an Internet search for survival train- highly successful on the battlefield, with the
occur even in a hot environ-
ing, medical training or wilderness emergency percentage of preventable deaths dropping ment if the patient has lost
medical technician (EMT) classes. Many schools from about 24% to only 3%. That statistic is even enough blood.

Military
more impressive considering those preventable Latin American survival training.

deaths had not occured in sterile office environ- They offer medical, jungle/woodland opera-
ments, but rather in dusty areas with no lights tions, land navigation and primitive training.
except those from explosions and gunfire. Their Peruvian Amazon and American expedi-
Of course, MARCH isn’t meant to necessar- tions are specifically based around short-term,
ily save a life, just to prevent death until one downed pilot scenarios and will teach skills
Commercial
can receive proper medical care. If you’ve been such as how to navigate and travel through a
involved in a serious accident in a survival situa- jungle environment, make fires for cooking and
tion with injuries involved, following the steps of signaling, build a shelter from the surrounding
MARCH might allow you to help get the injured environment, prepare food from live animals
through the initial moments and provide you and fish and build a personal raft to travel safely
the valuable moments needed to recover from downstream.
the shock of what just happened.
It is important that you do not practice any The Birth of Aviation Survival Gear
medical procedures for which you haven’t been Randall recommended to go “beyond your
Public Service
trained. But with proper training, the life you comfort level” when training. Perrin added
save might be your own (or a loved one’s). In my that practice is necessary. “Like using a foreign
most recent training, Andy said, “A solid mastery language, the skills will fade if you don’t use
of the basics can sometimes be more valuable them,” he said.
than all the fancy training.” Eugene Burton Ely has been dubbed the
For the ultimate survival training, one sug- father of naval aviation, but he might also be
gestion would be Randall’s Adventure and Train- considered the father of aviation survival gear.
ing in Gallant, Alabama. For nearly two decades, On Nov. 14, 1910, Ely made the first successful
Jeff Randall, Mike Perrin and the other trainers takeoff from a naval vessel. On Jan. 18, 1911,
there have been recognized leaders in U.S. and he made the first landing on a different vessel.
Training
Products
Services

Through both flights, Ely wore a padded football kits can sustain both the crew and passengers
helmet and bicycle tubes for flotation. for much longer.
Ely’s flights represent the birth of aviation As military aviation grew, the gear used by
life-support equipment. Since those flights, the military aviators also matured. In World War
military has repeatedly emphasized the impor- II, aircrews wore those great leather bomber
tance of aviation life-support gear. jackets with “Blood Chits” sewn into the linings.
In many ways, the American military has Along with those jackets, some aviators also
always stretched the boundaries of technology had Gold Barter Kits containing country-specific
and equipment; aviation life-support gear is just gold coins and rings that could be used to trade
one of those many stretches. It encompasses the their way back into friendly hands.
vast spectrum of aviation equipment protecting By the beginning of the Vietnam War, mili-
military aviators prior to, during and after an tary aviation survival kits were becoming more
aviation incident. sophisticated and included important equip-
The military aviation life-support equipment ment such as canned water, food, fishing kits,
programs provide lightweight, versatile and signaling devices and even M1911 pistols.
comprehensive kits capable of sustaining crew Though the military has maintained some
and passengers in most climates long enough form of aviation life-support equipment since
for rescue teams to find them. For all tactical World War I, it has made the most tremendous
military flights, the crew is required to wear cot- strides forward during the last decades. Today’s
ton undergarments, Nomex flight suits, flight military aviators have received years of valu-
gloves, survival vests and flight/crash helmets. able training in life-saving medical techniques
The clothing will protect the aircrews against and survival methods while carrying quality
flash fires, the helmet against traumatic head gear that is lightweight and extremely compre-
injuries and the survival vest will sustain the hensive. They are issued an array of impressive
individual aviator’s life for several days. Aircraft aviation life-support gear, such as cooled over-

Military
suits for hot environments, lightweight ballistic plates and

extensive survival vests.
Never forget you are never more
than one low-fuel light from a
There are many companies that have great aviation life-
survival situation. support gear programs, but the military provides some of
Photo courtesy of the most impressive equipment and training to their aircrews
James “Elvis” Costello while backing that with the regulations and funding to
require the equipping of both aircraft and personnel.
Commercial
For those without an active life-support gear program,

such as what major companies like PHI and the military pro-
vide, you must take on that responsibility for yourself. In this
case, it might be best to emulate their rules and regulations to
the extent that your budget and aircraft capabilities allow.
This is not to suggest that you simply don Aviator Ray
Bans and recite cheesy “I’ve got the need… the need for
speed” quotes, but that you consider wearing flame-resistant
clothing or a survival vest or belt and equip your aircraft with
Public Service
enough gear to ensure you can weather the elements until

rescue crews can locate you.
As with everything in life, moderation is key. Not enough gear
could cost lives; too much gear could cost space and weight.
Obviously, taking an arctic parka on a summer trip to the Baha-
mas is a needless expenditure of calories, but it is not difficult to
carry a small flashlight, pen, paper, multi-tool and lighter.
If you are frugal or don’t fly enough to warrant an entirely
separate aviation survival kit, a good suggestion might be

to buy and pack gear that could double as auto and aviation
kits. The gear needed is not entirely exclusive to either mode
of transportation, and most of us park a motor vehicle before
going out to fly the helicopter. At best, it might cost less than
a tank of gas for enough gear to save your life. For the space
of a small carry-on bag, you can have enough gear to provide
medical support, make fire, eat, drink and live comfortably in
nearly any environment for any length of time.
Some of us fly for fun and others for pay, some in small air-
On Nov. 14, 1910, Eugene Burton Ely performed the first takeoff from a
craft and others in powerfully capable crafts, some in shorts
navy vessel while wearing a football helmet and looped bicycle tires for and others in full flight gear. Despite the many differences, we
Training
flotation. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy can all acknowledge that aviation is more than simply some-
thing we just do—it is an entire way of life. We think, act and
plan differently than those who have never stretched into the
skies to peer down upon the world below. Because of that, we
are a family tied by the bonds of flight rather than the bonds
of blood, and we have similarities that cannot (and should
not) be denied. One of those similarities should be our shared
desire to be prepared for any situation.
Never forget that you’re only one low-fuel light away from
Products
being thrust into a survival situation. Think of Uruguayan

Air Force Flight 571—only a third of its original passengers
survived being lost for 72 days as they clung to their last
strands of hope and humanity in the frozen Andes Mountains
of South America. I’m sure every passenger would have gladly
traded his or her carry-on for a simple ferrocerium fire starter
and a box of Meals Ready to Eat.
Take some time to start thinking about how you can pre-
pare today so that you might have a tomorrow. If you’re ready
Services
for anything, nothing can surprise you.

The MH-60 in a typical U.S.
Coast Guard livery.
Photo courtesy of the U.S.
Coast Guard / Petty Officer
Richard Brahm
Party Colors The newly painted MH-60 Jayhawk. Photos courtesy of the U.S. Coast
Guard / Petty Officer 3rd Class Jonathan Klingenberg
As part of the centennial celebration of U.S. Coast

Guard aviation this year, the service has painted a Sikor-
sky Aircraft MH-60 Jayhawk bright yellow, the paint
scheme used in the late 1940s and early 1950s for both
Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy rotorcraft. It’s a brighter
take on the USCG’s usual livery of orange and white.
The commemorative aircraft will be stationed at Coast
Guard Air Station Astoria, Oregon, for the next four years.
USCG aviation began officially on April 1, 1916, after 3rd
Lt. Elmer Stone and 2nd Lt. Charles E. Sugden were assigned
to aviation training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida.
In a related development, Jan. 14 marked the 74th
anniversary of the first flight of the Sikorsky R-4, the Coast
Guard’s first helicopter and the world’s first production
helicopter.

Military
NEED TO KNOW
The Dutch air force’s Alouette
had been configured for
many different missions
Commercial
Its replacements include

Chinooks and Cougars
Public Service
Training
Products
Services

the royal netherlands air force’s alouette iii
lew a variety of missions before retirement.
By Wim Das and Kees Otten
Photos by Wim Das
The Alouette III had been in service

for more than 50 years with the
Dutch air force until its retirement
in December.
W W W. r oto r a n D W i n g . c o m f e b r U a r y 2 0 1 6 | r oto r & W i n g i n t e r n at i o n a L 55

Military
Water blasts shower the Alouette

during its Royal Netherlands Air
Force “Last Flight” ceremony
Dec. 15, 2015.
Commercial
Public Service
T
he Aérospatiale Alouette III served more copters. Its major tasks were tactical and com-
than 50 years with the Royal Netherlands prised observation flights at low levels above
Air Force, demonstrating the helicopter’s the battlefield and hiding among trees in small
reliability and versatility. areas to serve as the eyes of the tank force. The
Training
The aircraft’s operational capabilities by the Alouette III fit perfectly in this role, which was a
time it was introduced were many times greater product of typical Cold War thinking.
than the available helicopters up to that point. It The Alouette III also was used in a variety of
had more applications, from search and rescue other tasks, like liaison, VIP and even medevac
and tactical air rescue to transportation of cargo and SAR flights. For the last role, a few were
and passengers. At one point, Dutch defense specially converted with a winch in the door and
forces were major users of the type, with no some with two pylons.
less than 77 in service among three squadrons.
It was called Leeuwerik (Skylark), or otherwise The Inevitable Reduction
Products
known as the Alouette. During the 1990s, the terms of

warfare were rapidly changing,
Army Support and the Alouette III was becom-
From 1964, when the first of this ing obsolete. Other helicopters then
batch arrived at Soesterberg Air came into service. Cougars and Chinooks took
Base, the aircraft began its opera- over most of the work, and a group of Bolkow
tional life with the “groep lichte Bo-105 helicopters began supplementing the
vliegtuigen” (or lightweight airplanes). These Alouette III. The SAR role was transitioned many
acted in support of the army, which provided a years ago to the Lynx helicopters of the Navy.
Services
budget while air force pilots manned the heli- Out of all older airframes that were taken out

The cockpit views were a favorite of Queen
Beatrix in the Alouette’s VIP transport
configuration (top). In its Dutch-flag paint
scheme, the Alouette was known as the
“Grasshopper” (bottom).
of service, about 35 remained in 1995. Further painted configuration. Special versions included
reductions three years later left only nine. The its most famous: a design painted in the Nether-
Bolkow 105s eventually left the scene, surpris- lands’ flag colors of red, white and blue.
ingly much earlier than anticipated due to Meanwhile, the Alouette was tasked with
defense cuts. playing a role as forward air controller, learn-
One of the main advantages of the Alou- ing how to operate in the field. The Alouette’s
ette III was its reliability and somehow pretty former tasks on tactical levels shifted from Cou-
comfortable flying characteristics. The cockpit gars and Chinooks to the Apache and FACs on
windows provided a great view of the outside. the ground.
This is why it became a favorite of Queen Beatrix
for her VIP transport. It is said that she had much Swiss Upgrade
influence on the decision to soldier on with S i n ce 2 0 0 4 , fo u r A l o u e t te s
the type. remained in the Royal/VIP flight configurations,
and they were upgraded by RUAG in Switzerland
Deployments to extend life service. They then were incorpo-
During its years of service, the rated in the Defense Helicopter Commando at
Alouette saw deployments in Gilze Rijen. About 10 pilots and 10 technicians
international crises like those in were assigned to fly and maintain the Alouette
Tunisia in 1970, Turkey/Northern in this period. Nearly 400,000 hr in total were
Iraq in 1991 during the Gulf War, the former flown by the Alouettes, with only a few accidents
Yugoslavia with NATO’s Implementation Force in due to mechanical failure.
1996 and Cambodia in 1992 to 1993. During sev- The Alouette’s parting ceremony was held
eral operations, the Alouettes flew in U.N. white- Dec. 15.

Legal Perspective
By Arthur J. Negrette
The Limits of a NASA Report
I
previously have discussed the FAA’s Volun- personnel are aware of the Aviation Safety
tary Disclosure Reporting Program, asking Reporting System, it is often mischaracterized as
whether it protects you. a “get out of jail free” card.
Because of shortcomings in that program and As noted above, filing a report with NASA
the application of rules and procedures related to actually might hurt your interests if the reported
it, I encouraged individual airmen to immediately event is excluded categorically. If it involves a
file a report with NASA’s Aviation Safety Report- criminal offense or aircraft accident, NASA will
ing System (using Form ARC 277B) in accordance provide the reported information not just to the
with Federal Aviation Regulation 91.25 and Advi- FAA, but also to other federal agencies, including
sory Circular 00-46E. You should do this whether the Justice Department and the NTSB, for appro-
your employer makes any voluntary disclosure of priate action.
a possible regulatory violation. Apart from these excluded occurrences, the
That advisory circular says the FAA considers most often cited justification for rejecting an air-
the action of filing a NASA Aviation Safety Report- man’s claim of immunity from an FAA-imposed
ing System report on an incident or possible fine or certificate suspension sanction is the
regulatory violation “to be indicative of a con- requirement that the “violation was inadvertent
structive attitude,” adding that “such an attitude and not deliberate.”
will tend to prevent future violations.” This justification has been the subject of
This might mean that, even if the FAA makes numerous legal decisions and interpretations.
a finding that a violation occurred, it may not Perhaps the seminal case was 1982’s Ferguson v.
impose a civil penalty or suspend your certificate. NTSB and Langhorne Bond, Administrator, FAA.
There are key considerations, however. The In that case, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held
FAA must be satisfied that the violation “was that the advisory circular’s scope “does not allow a
inadvertent and not deliberate,” according to the waiver of punishment for reckless conduct,” add-
advisory circular. ing that the phrase “inadvertent and not deliber-
It also wants to know that the violation did not ate” cannot encompass reckless conduct.
involve a criminal offense or an accident or action The case involved Ferguson’s actions as
that “discloses a lack of qualification or compe- pilot-in-command of a Western Airlines Boeing
tency” under specific U.S. laws and regulations. 737 that landed at the wrong airport during a
These rules include the accident and incident night VFR approach in unrestricted visibility. The
reporting requirements of the National Transpor- court found that Ferguson reflected purposeful
tation Safety Board. (Such accidents and actions reckless choices that connoted “a substantially
are specifically excluded from this protection, as greater degree of lack of care than inadvertence”
are crimes.) and barred him from protection based on his
The FAA also must be satisfied that the person NASA report.
who filed the NASA report had not been found Certificate holders should remember that
in a previous enforcement action to have com- even when the protection afforded by the
mitted a violation in the five years prior to the Aviation Safety Reporting System is applicable,
reported event. and they successfully obtain immunity from a
Finally, the reporter must prove that he or proposed certificate suspension or fine, they
she filed the report with NASA within 10 days nevertheless are “charged” with a FAR violation.
after either the violation occurred or the person Accordingly, if a certificate holder believes he or
became aware of it “or should have been aware of she may have violated a FAR, that person should
the violation,“ according to the advisory circular. immediately seek the advice of counsel, even
Although most professional aviation before submitting a report to NASA.

International Marketplace
27
Heliport Lighting
HELIPORT LIGHTING FAA-approved equipment.
MANAIRCO, INC. (419) 524 - 2121, www.manairco.com
Helmets
ANVIS 6 HELICOPTER HELMETS (Kevlar helmets and
spares including: HGU models). NOMEX coveralls, jackets,
gloves, etc. factory new, in stock. Sage green and desert
tan. GOVERNMENT SALES, INC., 69 Francis Ave. Hartford,
CT 06106, Tel: (860) 247-7787, Fax: (860) 586-8020.
Catalogue on website: www.aviationhelmets.com
advertiser index
Page# ..... Advertiser........................................................................................................................................................Website
51 ....................Aerometals............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.aerometals.com
9.......................Aeronautical Accessories.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.aero-access.com
64 ....................Airbus Helicopters ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.eurocopterusa.com
29 ....................American Helicopter Society...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.vtol.org
20 ....................Aviation Instrument Services ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.aviation-instrument.com
26 ....................Becker Avionics .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.beckerusa.com . . . . . . .
41 ....................CHC Summit .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com
59 ....................Chopper Spotter ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.chopperspotter.com
3.......................Cobham......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.cobham.com
19 ....................FlightSafety...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.flightsafety.com
31 ....................Genesys Aerosystems............................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.genesys-aerosystems.com
23 ....................ILA Berlin Air Show ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.ila-berlin.com
59 ....................Machida ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.machidascope.com
17 ....................Mid-Continent Instruments & Avionics .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.mcico.com
21 ....................Rebtech .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.rebtechnvg.com
25 ....................Robinson Helicopter............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.robinsonheli.com
2.......................Rolls Royce ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.rolls-royce.com
13 ....................Turbomeca .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.turbomeca.com
50 ....................Twirly Birds...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.twirlybirds.org
5.......................UTC Aerospace Systems.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................www.utcaerospacesystems.com
11 ....................Waypoint Leasing ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ www.waypointleasing.com
24 ....................ZF Aviation .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. www.zfaviation.com

Public Service
By Lee Benson
Civil Black Hawks: An Update
T
here are several clarifications regarding of P.J. Helicopters, he indicated that his conversa-
the U.S. Army’s program to offer surplus tions with Sikorsky have been very encouraging
Black Hawks for sale to the civil market. in that “Sikorsky has said all the right things in
It was previously unclear who would actually regards to support” and that Sikorsky had visited
show up with a checkbook. Now, several opera- P.J.’s facilities.
tors, including Northwest Helicopters, Arista Several aftermarket companies and product
Aviation, P.J. Helicopters, Brainerd Helicopters, support companies also have displayed an inter-
Brown Helicopters, Timberline Helicopters and est in getting into this market segment. John
Unical Aviation, have all taken advantage of the Holland, director of sales for Aero Metals out of
program and acquired multiple airframes. Surely El Dorado Hills, California, said the company has
that’s only a partial list. a long history of supporting various MD-500-
The price disclosed by folks willing to com- model helicopters, building Parts Manufacturing
ment has varied from $500,000 to $1.2 million Authority parts and projecting work for a wide
per airframe. With one exception, all of the com- variety of fixed-wing and helicopter manufactur-
panies listed previously have either acquired or ers. John has indicated that Aero Metals is devel-
were in the process of acquiring a Restricted Cat- oping an engine inlet barrier filter, which should
egory type certificate from the FAA. Their plans be qualified in the fourth quarter of 2016.
for the airframes include firefighting, lift work, Aero Metals is also considering manufactur-
movie production and heli-logging. The scope ing for the Black Hawk an exhaust system that
of use for these aircraft will, of course, be con- does not include the Hover Infrared Suppres-
trolled by FAR 91.313, or they will be operated sion System (HIRSS) to reduce the weight and
as public aircraft when on contract for various improve engine performance.
governmental agencies. P.J. Helicopters has developed a vertical refer-
So the question of the level of interest in ence kit for the Black Hawk with a blister-style
acquiring these airframes seems to be resolved. pilot’s window. A supplemental type certificate
The answer being that serious operators have has been issued for the kit, which has been used
done their sums, looked at their marketplace and on several vertical reference missions with great
followed through with serious money—the only success. This will be an important modification
reality that truly counts. to the aircraft for external load work. The pilot
Airframe and engine support going forward and co-pilot sit well toward the middle of a Black
is the next question. The model A Black Hawk Hawk for crashworthiness considerations. With-
airframes as delivered have General Electric T700 out such a window, it is nearly impossible for the
engines installed. This engine has been in service pilot to have a visual reference to the load.
for 35-plus years and has an enviable reputation Air Methods’ United Rotorcraft division is also
for reliability. However, it is faced with some end- interested in supporting the Black Hawk market.
of-life issues going forward. Building off of its work with the U.S. Army and its
That said, Edwin Birtwell, vice president of various medevac programs, and their involve-
Turboshaft engines for GE Aviation, was adamant ment with the Los Angeles County Fire Depart-
that “GE looks forward to working with their ment’s Firehawk program, Air Methods has a
new customer base for this engine” and that wealth of knowledge about the airframe from
“GE intends to support this engine to include which to base other product offerings.
upgrades to bring the engine into line with cur- Several of these Black Hawks will be on display
rent available technology.” For what it’s worth, I at Heli-Expo. Additionally, it appears both Sikor-
have known Edwin for 16 years, and he is a man sky and United Rotorcraft will be hosting meet-
who says what he means and does what he says. ings to facilitate better communication between
On the airframe, I see signs that Sikorsky will sup- the user community, the OEMs and the aftermar-
port the program. As I spoke with Mark Dunsall ket support folks.

Coming Up in
March 2016:
Managing Your Fleet—Overhaul and Protecting Aircraft Occupants: An FAA-
Maintenance: We take a close look at the issues industry working group faces a May 5 deadline
faced by all but the largest helicopter operators in to produce cost-benefit analyses of options for
ensuring their aircraft are always available to meet improving the survivability of newly built helicop-
operational requirements. ters, including maintaining a “survivable volume” in
the cabin post-crash. We look at the data informing
The Challenge of Projecting Parts the group’s discussions, from the latest research to
Requirements: Flipping to the other side of recent advances in fixed-wing survivability.
the availability coin, we examine how maintenance,
repair and overhaul shops track and meet operators’ Certification Updates: Following on our 2015
needs for helicopter parts. Rotorcraft Certification Summit, we update you on
efforts to streamline current rules and procedures.
Bonus Distribution: MRO Americas, CHC Safety & Quality Summit
April 2016:
Avionics Challenges—Keeping Your Vertical Flight and Ground Warfare: A
Cool: As demand for the capabilities offered by rotorcraft operations perspective of issues faced in
more advanced avionics grows, manufacturers face today’s war zones and hot spots around the world.
the challenge of keeping boxes cool in rotorcraft
E&E compartments. We check out how OEMs are Firefighting Worldwide: A report on lessons
meeting that challenge. learned in firefighting activities from South Africa
and Australasia to Europe and the U.S. over the last
Certification Updates—Radar Altime- year, plus forecasts for key wildland fire seasons in
ters and Terrain Awareness and Warn- 2016.
ing Systems: We report the latest on meeting
2017 mandates for these devices in air ambulances.
Bonus Distribution: Avionics Expo Europe, AEA Expo, Quad-A, ABACE, NAB

Leading Edge
By Frank Lombardi
Pilot Automation Dangers
W ithout a doubt, the explosion in
unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)
technology brought consumer-level
drones to many homes across the globe this
past holiday season. So when my nephew was
ware (S), hardware (H), environment (E) and live-
ware (L). Software refers to objectives, rules and
procedures. Hardware refers to any necessary
equipment, tools or devices. Environment refers
to climate, terrain and location. Liveware refers to
excited to show me his, I realized I had control crew and passengers.
of one for the very first time. The experience As I perform the SHEL model on UAS, I contin-
confirmed my mixed feelings about whether ually come across system engineering challenges
drones, their technology and their potential for on the pilot not being co-located with the aircraft.
technology have a positive or negative effect Those challenges include datalink delay, the lack
on the future. of physical, visual and aural cueing and display
Once I was taught the simple tablet-operated and control system design, to name a few.
controls, I was able to lift the drone off into a I’m sure with time they will be overcome. But
stable hover. Within a few minutes, I moved it what about the changing face of liveware? For it
around with some precision. I was impressed is not just the aircraft, but also information that is
with its stability and the control I had using noth- no longer co-located with the pilot.
ing more than my thumbs. This model also had For many, the line between technology’s use
a video camera, which transmitted a view back as a tool instead of a crutch is already blurred. If
to the controlling tablet. Though it was possible, we are not careful, reliance on automation can
trying to precisely command the drone only by easily cause a “situational detachment” rather
reference to the tablet video proved to be more than the much more desirable situational aware-
difficult, and I was uncomfortable with the sen- ness. Technology also is redefining how human
sory deprivation and lack of cueing it afforded. beings gather, process and retain information.
My family commented on how much better I, We are the most powerful computer onboard
“a real pilot,” could fly it, even with only a few min- any aircraft or as part of any UAS, yet we are
utes of experience. I scoffed at the silliness of the choosing less and less information to store on
comment, but after thinking about it, I theorized our own hard drive. Perhaps I am introducing my
why they might have said that. If anything, what own bias into what I see as an evolving new equa-
they saw was not my superior skill in handling tion. But while automation is allowing significant
the drone, but rather my years of first-person-de- gains in capability, what’s being lost is human
veloped situational awareness, decision-making adaptability—something very necessary when
and flight discipline, all of which amount to pro- things go wrong. This adaptability only comes
fessionalism as an aviator. Although most view from the retention of each and every byte of
this drone as a toy, I consciously treated it with data that gets stored in our brain (i.e. hard drive)
the respect I’d give any flying object. during the crawl-walk-run process and returns as
I’m sure that sounds overly dramatic to some, wisdom when needed. Anyone with any sort of
or even trite to others. I’m not suggesting every aviation wisdom knows that things can and will
non-certificated drone operator who is inca- go wrong.
pable or irresponsible is a rogue pilot or has poor Technology has a huge potential to short-cir-
intentions, nor am I saying drones are bad. It’s cuit the crawl-walk-run process if we let it, and the
just that technology has made it much easier for wisdom of safe professional aviation cannot totally
virtually anyone to bypass the entire “crawl-walk- be built into automation. So let’s stop looking
run” phase of any maturation process, including down so much at our devices and continue to look
aviation. As a result, the book on human factors is within. Some equations just can’t be solved by a
(almost too) slowly being rewritten. few swipes or taps on a screen, and soon enough
Systems engineering often uses the SHEL it’s not the machines, but rather the operators,
model to examine the interaction between soft- whom I fear are to become the drones.

Hot Products for Helicopter Operators
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THESE BLADES
TURN MORE.
More Room. More Safety. That’s why the H130 is a critical care transport
star. With its large cabin, flat floor and flexible configuration options, the high-
performance H130 allows better patient access, enhancing care. Safety
features include a crash-resistant fuel system and energy-attenuating seats.
Add lower direct maintenance costs and Airbus Helicopters’ HCare warranty,
and the H130 is an air ambulance that delivers.
Important to you. Essential to us.

www.airbushelicoptersinc.com

February 2016 PDF

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February 2016

Tracking Air Ambulance Flight Data

the power &

Contributing Writers: Claudio Agostini; Chris Baur; Lee Benson;

4 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

THIS MONTH FROM

The international industry likely will miss its goal of

data experts call them too vague.

54 The Alouette has retired from the Royal Dutch fleet.

of the Associated Press / Stephen Brashear

W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 7

R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

SIKORSKY | AIRBUS HELICOPTERS | AGUSTAWESTLAND

Aeronautical Accessories has the mission-specific products, world-

• Airbus AS350/AS355 and Robinson R44/R66 Bearpaws

Innovation. Reliability. Performance.

www.aero-access.com | sales@aero-access.com | 1-800-251-7094

10 R OTO R & W I N G M A G A Z I N E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

Waypoint is the world’s largest independent

market challenges operators face and structure

We put operators first — always.

Visit us at HAI Heli-Expo 2016 Booth #10751

way poi n t l ea s i ng . com

12 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

Heli-Expo’s move to Louisville

What Will Louisville Bring?

14 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

USMC Brings V-22 Lessons to FVL Meeting

W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 15

Pawan Hans Launches Mumbai Air Tours

AirMule Flies Untethered for the First Time

16 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 17

Offshore Rig Retirements to Accelerate This Year

Robertson Fuel Systems Sold to Heico

18 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

LEVEL D HELICOPTER TRAINING STAVANGER, NORWAY

WEST PALM BEACH

Era Takes Delivery of First Two AW189s

Photo courtesy of Finmeccanica

PARTS AND SERVICES YOU CAN TRUST... MILITARY

20 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

US Navy Seeks Smart Fasteners to Detect Cracks

W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 21

Tokyo Launches High-Rise Fire Rescue

Irish Coast Guard Hits 1,000-Mission Mark

22 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

Report: FAA Seeks Special Committee on

24 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

P&WC Paying Off

tions,” parent company United Tech- 1

filing. UTC also said P&WC has agreed to

Locate a Robinson dealer

vation and research and development ✯✯✯✯

through initiatives with post-secondary

W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 25

Robinson Builds 700th R66 Turbine

26 R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 | R OTO R & W I N G I N T E R N AT I O N A L 27

28 R OTO R & W I N G M A G A Z I N E | F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 W W W. R OTO R A N D W I N G . C O M

May 17-19, 2016

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