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RWS 92 – Human External Cargo Helicopter Ops with Jeff Yarnold

Jeff Yarnold Boost Human External Cargo Systems

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Jeff Yarnold Boost Human External Cargo Systems
Jeff Yarnold has 23 years experience working in the helicopter rescue field. He now operates a company that develops equipment and training for Human External Cargo operations.

As versatile as helicopters are there are still tight places where they just can’t land to get people in or out. For overwater flights, rescue teams and some utility operations that means using a hoist or under-slung line to reach someone. A hoist fitted helicopter is not always avaliable. Hence we have the considerations that go into Human External Cargo (HEC) where people are flown on the end of an extended line attached to the helicopter belly hook(s).   

Jeff Yarnold is VP of Operations at Boost Human External Cargo Systems, a company that he co-founded in 2013. In the interview Jeff goes into the Transport Canada grounding of Human External Cargo equipment that was avaliable at the time and the search and eventual manufacture of a certified solution.

When conducting external load flights with underslung equipment or stores as pilots and crews we want the ability to quickly release the load should that be required to ensure the safety of the aircraft. As long as the released load does not hit someone on the ground then it may be expensive but is an accepted risk of that type of cargo carriage. The load is expendable. The release control is almost always located on the cyclic and requires minimal effort by the pilot. Inadvertent releases are rare however can occur. Either through human error or a failure of the hook system.

Now with people on the end of the line that could find themselves inadvertently fall free of the helicopter the acceptance of risk goes way down and additional measures are required. The previous solution (which is still used in different jurisdictions) was to fit a ‘belly band’ through and under the helicopter cabin to provide another backup anchor point to the line and its attached humans. 

The advantage of the belly band solution was that it was extremely portable and could be fitted to a wide range of helicopters used in the external load role. It was this belly band solution that Transport Canada grounded due to concerns about its certification and fitness for purpose. 

Second hook mount on a Bell 212 to allow Human External Cargo usage. The primary aircraft hook can be seen further back inline.

The North Shore Search and Rescue organisation in British Columbia that Jeff still works for, found themselves without a viable way to effect many of the mountain rescues in their area of responsibility. Necessity being the mother of all invention… Jeff and his business partner Derek set about designing a solution.

While Jeff goes into the sometimes bumpy road to market in the podcast the end product was a purpose designed 2nd hook system that is now approved for AS350/355, Bell 206L, 407, 212, 412 types and MD500.

In this podcast we go into:

  • Helicopters rescues in BC, Canada
  • Jeff’s experiences as a rescue technician then helicopter pilot
  • HEC vs hoist ops
  • Grounding of existing HEC equipment and impact on operators
  • Design and manufacture journey to bring a solution to market
  • HEC procedures
  • Insurance considerations for flying people suspended underneath a helicopter

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Boost Human External Cargo Systems – This is Jeff’s company producing role equipment for the HEC market.

An Airbus AS350 helicopter cockpit configured with additional controls for the 2nd hook used during Human External Cargo operations.

Do you have a question for Jeff or tips from your own experience? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 91 – Helicopter Powerline Operations with David McColl

David McColl has flown a range of powerline industry roles using the MD500

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David McColl has flown a range of powerline industry roles using the MD500
David McColl is Chief Pilot of Rotor Blade LLC and has flown a range of powerline industry roles using the MD500 helicopter.

The general line thrown out there is that most helicopter pilots try to spend their careers staying away from wires – the guys and girls flying in the powerline industry get right up close as part of their job. David McColl is a powerline pilot in the US and has built up experience in a number of the different types of operations that helicopters perform on the powerlines.  

David switched careers from a ground soldier in the UK and as a security contractor across to helicopters – his first experience was in the back of a Chinook and figured this flying gig looked pretty good. 

He trained on the H269 in Florida and after some hard work put into networking and going out to talk to companies resulted in a lucky break and two different job offers immediately on finishing training. David shares some advice on how to make your own luck around this too.

“It usually takes at least a year if I’ll time training to get from private to CFI. I did it in 9 months and then immediately started flying pipeline patrol.”

I treated flight school like a full-time job and I had some great instructors and encouragement from family and friends.

“I transitioned into the MD500 and Bell 206 very quickly in my career. It was a trial by fire. My MD500 training consisted of a 42 min flight. I had to make the best of it through YouTube videos, other pilots and reading up in the RFM.”

“I had an engine flame out in my first 7 hours which was my fault for not having my anti ice on and flying in snow. My engine flamed out about 8 ft above the ground while I was in the hover at an airport, the training kicked in and I carried out a hover auto, it was a non-event for the helicopter. Once on the ground the re-igniter kicked in and relit the engine. I have my initial instructor and my CFI instructor to thank for that.”

Human External Cargo (HEC) is used in the powerline industry to position lineworkers close to wires. Alternatively a special platform is fitted to the helicopter that the lineworker sits on the end of.

Like any specialised field once you dig into it there are all kinds of nuanced operations. A helicopter licence is only just the ticket to get in the door. 

In this episode David walks us through powerline patrolling, LIDAR, insulator washing, marker ball placement, human external carriage (HEC), tower transfer, platform work, construction and stringing tasks. 

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Rotor Blade LLC – The helicopter utility company that David is chief pilot at.

This shot of David shows some of the modifications to the MD500 for powerline work. The large blue strap is the belly band used for Human External Cargo operations.
Washing the insulator discs with de-ionised water to remove dirt build up. The helicopter has to come over the wires for the spray boom to reach the inside set.
There are lots of videos on YouTube showing close up some of the operations we’ve talked about in this episode. Note the wire strand under the helicopter in this position. No pressure!

Do you have a question for David or tips from your own experience? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 90 – Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) with Andrew Boniface

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Andrew Boniface is at the forefront of Electronic Flight Bag training solutions in Australia

The pace of consumer electronics development far outstrips that of aviation equipment and helicopter installed functionality. Electronic Flight Bags are becoming a fixture in cockpits throughout the industry. For about AUD$799 in 2020 you can bring a range of features with you into any legacy aircraft that would have previously either been impossible or would have been prohibitively expensive.  

Electronic Flight Bags or EFBs are off the shelf consumer tablet devices running a range of aviation software with iOS hardware making up most of the market.

At their simplest they replaced having to carry a suite of hardcopy documents into the cabin but now provide to the ability to conduct or augment almost all aspects of flying administration.

Weather forecast downloads and plotting, flight planning, weight and balance, flight notification, moving map display, airborne access to weather radars, flight following, traffic situational awareness,  debriefing and logbook recording can all be achieved without touching a piece of paper and in most cases without any modification to the helicopter flown.

Check the resource links below for EFB training videos that Andy has provided for listeners

Like any aviation tool though there is a need to know the regulations that apply to EFBs, their limitations, human factors involved in using them and training to get the most out of them.

Andy Boniface is a Grade 1 Instructor with Instrument and NVIS training endorsements who has been deeply immersed in EFB use and training for several years. Outside of his flying roles Andy now consults with companies to assist them to setup regulator approved EFB programs for their aircrew and fleets. 

In this interview Andy takes us on a wide look at the development of EFBs up to their current evolution, tips and tricks for optimising their usage and where both aircrew and helicopter operators can come unstuck either from human factors impacts or through conflict with different country regulator requirements. 

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Airspace Flight Solutions – Andy’s company. Access several free short EFB training videos.

Andrew Boniface (right) first got heavily involved with the regulations and administration of Electronic Flight Bags when he developed the Becker Helicopters fleet EFB usage program. The company recognised Andy’s contribution by sending him to the US for the HAI Expo.

Do you have a top tip for using an electronic flight bag? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below. What software do you run?

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RWS 89 – Night Aerial Firefighting 2020 Update with Richard Butterworth

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Photo: Richard Butterworth has lead a team from Kestral Aviation that now has two fire seasons of experience in night aerial firefighting.

We first looked at night aerial firefighting in episode 65 when the capability had just finished the first trials in Australia. Now with two more fire seasons of experience fighting fires at night, Richard Butterworth is back to give an update on the continuing road map and what as been achieved so far. 

Richard Butterworth is Head of Training at Kestrel Aviation based in Mangalore, Victoria. It is about 1 1/2 hours drive north of Melbourne. Kestrel has been developing a night aerial firefighting capability and has put a significant amount of private investment behind Richard, their other staff and equipment to become one of the first Australian operators to gain CASA approval.

Don’t forget to check out past episodes on Episode 65 Night Aerial Firefighting and Aerial Fire Fighting

The benefits on a fire scene range from not just the extended hours avaliable (Richard also talks about the daylight hours lost on current fires due to morning briefing requirements) but also the generally calmer conditions and colder temperatures reducing the intensity and speed of fires. This ‘quietening’ of the fireground provides more of a chance to affect the outcome with water drops.

The big advance in approvals for the night capability has been the successful proving of and then approval to conduct hover refills from natural water sources at night. The initial trials were only conducting using stationary ground refills from a prepared position. This allows crews to find water sources at night close to the fire and refill as they would for day operations – a corresponding reduction in logistical support and an increase in flexibility is gained. This was considered by many to be a world first, with other countries initially preferring ground filling operations.

To date one restriction on their operations was a requirement for a day reconnaissance of the fire location prior to going back out and operating at night. This was in place as an early risk mitigation factor as part of the first approvals by CASA. The goal now is to move to a first attack capability where crews can be the first response on scene during night hours opening up additional flexibility and greater impact for the firefighters on the ground.

Crews so far have operated entirely under visual flight rules which places certain requirements for weather and visibility for the holding of alternate airfields. In the future having the ability to recover on instruments under IFR to suitable airfields is another way of increasing the operational availability. During the large, widespread fires of January 2020 there were occasions where visibility due to the smoke was so bad and over such an extent that it was impossible to hold an alternate airfield anywhere in the state of Victoria.

A Bell 412 fitted out for firefighting and NVIS operations

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Kestrel Aviation Website

(Photos supplied)

Fire ground at night through NVGs
Rosedale, Victoria – fire front visible from the air during night operations
Ovens Airbase January 2020 – aircraft were grounded for several days due to wide spread thick smoke. At other times crews could not launch at night as there were no suitable alternate airfields anywhere in the state of Victoria.

Do you have a question for Richard and the Kestrel crews about night firefighting? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 88 – First Solo Flights with Peter Holstein

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Today’s topic is First Solo flights. If you are a student getting ready for your first helicopter solo this is the episode that you want to hear.
If you are an instructor sending students solo then you will also definitely want to listen to this one.

For everyone else there are some good risk management considerations in here and it provides another opportunity to step back from the day to day tasks and think about some of the legal liability that we all have when performing our jobs in aviation.

That first solo flight is a milestone for all pilots and culturally it gets a bit of nostalgia or mysticism wrapped around it.

To help us break down the topic we are joined today by Peter Holstein – a highly regarded and in-demand flight examiner here in the Australian helicopter community.

Peter has training and testing approvals for most of the things we need in the GA helicopter world – sling, NVFR, instructor ratings, Low level, PPL, CPL etc

When I needed to complete my Grade 1 instructor training endorsement – Peter conducted the testing for that. We’ve also used Peter a number of times for qualifications for our other staff instructors.

In 1992 Peter opened his own flying school in the south Sydney area called Aerowasp Helicopters which traded all the way through to 2016 and he then moved to where he is now at Touchdown Helicopters at Wollongong Airport.

Peter is also a Member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators.

There is a saying that experience is the best teacher. After 30 years of sending students solo and especially for today’s discussion – first solo – you can imagine that Peter has experienced a few lessons.

When it comes to aviation I would much prefer to learn something from someone else rather than have to learn it first hand. And with first solos there is not a huge amount of room there to make mistakes.

Not a helicopter one unfortunately but this is my favourite first solo certificate template

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Touchdown Helicopters – company where Peter teaches and is the Head of Operations

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 88? Where did you complete your first solo? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 87 – Search and Rescue at AMSA with Luke Brandley

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Luke Brandley is a Senior Search and Rescue Office with AMSA and used to fly Iroquois for the Australian Army.

We spend a lot of time training for emergencies in the air but how much do you know about what happens next or what kicks into gear if you go missing? Luke Brandley is an ex-Huey pilot now working as a Senior Search and Rescue Officer with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). He and the rest of the team co-ordinate the emergency search and response once an aircraft is in distress or missing.  

Located in Canberra, ACT, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) in manned 24 hours a day and is charged with looking after a vast portion of the Earth’s surface as you can see in the coverage map below. They respond to around 7000 incidents per year.

This episode covers what happens behind the scenes when something goes wrong. While it is Australian focused in content, the same types of procedures and assets will be applicable worldwide with other aviation rescue and response organisations. The more you know about this part of the aviation infrastructure the better prepared you can be if you ever have to be on the receiving end.

There are a number of different ways that AMSA get involved: when aircraft Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) are activated, an aircraft is overdue or there is concern for its safety, on declaration of a MAYDAY or alert by local authorities. They remain the chief agency up until the aircraft is found safe or until any survivors are delivered to primary care.   

The massive area Australian search and rescue assets have responsibility for.

At their disposal is a fleet of 4 contracted Bombardier Challenger 604 jets located in Perth, Melbourne and Cairns on a 30 minutes (60 minutes by night) notice to move with a nominal endurance of 8 hours. The aircraft are fitted with homing equipment, electro-optical turret, multi-mode search radar, fixed staring three-camera array with anomaly detection software and have the ability to drop emergency equipment.

The Co-ordination Centre staff also have the ability to call on a wide range of mainly Government fixed and rotary wing assets in the different States to assist with search.

How can you help rescue agencies help you?

Luke’s advice for aircrew is to always let someone know where you are going and the times you are operating. This could be via submitted flight plan, company operations or a responsible person. The more information that AMSA is able to access, the quicker they are able to make decisions to get the right rescue assets on scene with the least amount of time spent searching

Don’t delay contacting AMSA. If the safety of a flight is in doubt don’t hold off from letting AMSA know. If the aircraft is contacted or arrives safely it is easy to stand down the alert. There are cases where people have held off contacting authorities after an aircraft has failed to show and then when AMSA was alerted there was now limited time before sunset to start a search.

Know your equipment. Know where to locate and how to use your aircraft’s ELT and other emergency equipment. Because we interact with it so infrequently our ability to operate emergency equipment at short notice and under pressure is degraded unless you refresh that knowledge.

Correct disposal of ELTs. False or inadvertent activation of old or disposed of ELTs can tie up expensive rescue assets that then may not be avaliable when you or other aircrew need them. Each beacon is coded and should be registered with the national database which speeds the contact of the registered owner and verification of an actual emergency or false activation. When a beacon is disposed of the owner should update the database.

Instructions for the disposal of ELTs and beacons can be found here and include the removal of the batteries. Environmental considerations also come into play for the disposal of the long life battery itself.

Every year, thousands of dollars are spent in Australia searching for beacons in rubbish dumps.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority Website

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Australian Maritime Safety Authority – AMSA’s Search and Rescue webpage
AOPA Emergency Locator Transmitter Page – good source of info about aviation ELTs
Flight Safety Australia Article – Bump goes the beacon: dealing with false ELT alerts
FAA Information for Operators – False Alerts on 406 Megahertz (MHz) Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT)
When must an ELT be carried – CASA requirements (Australia)
Cospas-Sarsat – International Satellite System for Search and Rescue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHwIit0ORwo

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 87? Have you ever had to activate an ELT – what happened? Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 86 – Going for Height and Film Flying with Fred North

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Fred North built his early helicopter hours travelling from town to town in France selling joyflights. Now he works on some of the biggest films in the world.

Even if you are not an avid movie goer it is still very likely that you have seen some of Fred North’s work. Fred has been involved in many of the largest Hollywood Blockbusters in recent times either flying helicopter stunts or providing the aerial filming platform. There is a lot that goes into setting up a filming sequence. Fred talks about some of the challenges in this episode. 

Fred North has one of the biggest followings on Instagram for a helicopter pilot. His short clips and still photos from behind the scenes of filming show helicopter action sequences that you just don’t otherwise see in normal ops.

Some of Fred’s film credits include:

Armageddon
Gladiator
Borne Identity
Da Vinci Code
The Incredible Hulk
Tropic Thunder
Inception
Fast and Furious – several including Hobbs & Shaw
Total Recall
Mission Impossible
Point Break
Captain America : Winter Soldier
All the Transformers films
Pacific Rim
Wolverine
Bad Boys for Life
Guardians of the Galaxy

See more here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0636005/

The type of flying that Fred North does today is not something that helicopter pilots start out doing. Fred is no exception. He built his first hours quickly by travelling from town to town in France selling tickets for joyflights in a Bell 47 and then backing up and conducting the flights.

In the interview Fred also talks about his experiences as a support and film pilot for the Dakar Rally through Africa for a number of years. There is a good navigation tip in there for remote operations around purposely laying off heading so that when you hit a straight across track feature such as a road that you know which way to turn.

Helicopter pilot mothers the world over appear to share some similar concerns when their children decide on that particular career. Fred’s mother insisted that he wear a parachute when he went for the helicopter altitude record. If you want to know what goes into getting a helicopter to 42,500ft then you will also get to hear Fred talk about that campaign and some of the things unplanned events that happened on that flight.  

Source: fred-north.com

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fred-north.com – more information about height record flight

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_YzJ8MFsE5/
Source: fred-north.com

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 86? Don’t forget Fred’s offer to answer your questions on a future episode. Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below or leave a question for Fred.

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RWS 85 – Buying a Helicopter with Stephen Boyce

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Stephen Boyce has been marketing and selling helicopters since 2011 leveraging his own wide industry experience in the process.

In the market for a helicopter or just want to know some of the ins and outs of the process? Stephen Boyce has been working in helicopter sales since 2011 and flying them since 1994. Helicopters are high cost purchases and almost always a case of buyer beware. Should you buy new or used? How do you determine what models hold their value? How does buying for private use differ from a commercial business case? Some of the things that Stephen talks about in this episode.

Stephen’s helicopter career has seen him collect commercial licenses under 5 different regulators, 18 different type ratings, 7500+ hrs, VFR, IFR, Multi-engine experience and time in the Arctic. You can see some more of Stephen’s background on his LinkedIn profile.

Growing up Stephen’s Dad was a fixed wing pilot and the family lived in PNG for a number of years with Stephen riding his bike on the local runway between flights. 

One of the stories that Stephen talks about in this interview is how he came to land a job in the Arctic flying a Bell 214ST in support of US early warning radar bases pointed over the North pole towards Russia.

For most of the interview though we get into some depth on the different considerations and steps that go into buying a helicopter. This is a really good primer on the topic and includes discussion on foreign currency rates, different models, contracts, pre-purchase inspections, inclusions, finance gotcha’s for helicopters out of country, shipping and more.

Stephen Boyce with a Bell 214ST at Resolution Island – remote north east Canada

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Heliskiing, off-shore, medivac, vertical reference, environmental surveys, fire ops, tourism – some of the operational experiences that Stephen has had in his career and allowed him to collect a number of different type ratings.

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 85? Maybe you have some great tips of your own that others can benefit from.  Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 84 – Pilotage FLIR with Tony ‘Squid’ Norton

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Tony Norton talks about some of the features and operating considerations of FLIR as a pilot vision system. 

Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) systems have been around for a while and used in a search or surveillance function normally by an operator with a control panel. A small number of aircraft are now incorporating FLIR as a pilot vision tool, tracked to the pilots head, as another way of seeing at night or through obscurants such as smoke or dust. 

Tony is currently the senior aviation instructor and and standards pilot for Australian Army Aviation. He is approaching 20 years of military instructing and 10 years as a graduate of the National Test Pilot School in the US. 

In Episode 82 Tony shared some of his experiences going through test pilot school and his career in the Army. In this episode we concentrate on the capability that FLIR provides and its use as ‘pilotage FLIR’ for extending the vision cues available to helicopter crews.

We also look at the specifics of how that plays out for pilots of the MRH90 ‘Taipan’ which is the Australian Army variant of the NHIndustries NH90.

FLIR is probably most easily explained in comparison to night vision devices. Where NVD/NVGs amplify visible light in dark settings FLIR devices work by detecting the heat given off by objects and the variation between objects.

The wavelength of infrared that thermal imaging cameras detect is 3 to 12 μm and differs significantly from that of night vision, which operates in the visible light and near-infrared ranges (0.4 to 1.0  μm). 

-Wikipedia

It’s surprisingly difficult to find good demonstration images for the FLIR output online however there are a number of videos here below on the page that give an idea of the capability.

Along with the FLIR pod, the other major difference for the MRH90 install is the TopOwl helmet. The aircraft can track the motion of the helmet to know where the pilot is looking. This is used to drive the FLIR pod to align with the pilots sight rather than a controller using a manual joystick. Integral to the TopOwl helmet is the projection system which allows NVD or the FLIR image to be superimposed in front of the pilot’s vision – allowing the pilot to look through the image and select between the different input as well as overlay HUD information.

One interesting effect of that is that the pilot can look ‘through’ the cockpit instrument panel or the floor to where the FLIR sensor is pointing as it has an unobstructed picture from outside the aircraft.

The technology brings with it a number of human factors considerations that crews need to train for and work through during a flight. Two quick examples are that only one pilot can steer the sensor and see the FLIR image on their visor at a time (different visual information between pilots and also crew in the rear) and that the eye point of the pilot is now no longer from their own head position but from the front of the aircraft.

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FLIR pod out of the aircraft with aperture visible. Photo: Leonardo Company
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo3sMOgGPCQ 
Elbit Brightnite FLIR Demo

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 84? Maybe you have some great tips of your own that others can benefit from.  Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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RWS 83 – SH2 Sea Sprite with Jim Palmquist

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Ditching a rapidly yawing helicopter into the open ocean is one of those experiences most of us would happily pass on. Jim Palmquist and his crew onboard a SH2 Sea Sprite survived just such an event during his time as an aircraft carrier search and rescue pilot. The Kaman Sea Sprite is a unique helicopter about which Jim goes into more detail.    

‘Plane guard’ is the term used for the search and rescue role of embarked helicopters on a flat top aircraft carrier. The helicopter crews are there to be on the scene as soon as possible should one of the carrier aircraft or ship crew end up in the water. The idea is not to end up in the water themselves! 🙂 

A left front view of a Helicopter Light Anti-submarine Squadron 30 (HSL-30) SH-2F Sea Sprite helicopter preparing to land on the helicopter pad of the destroyer USS NICHOLSON (DD-982).

 

 

 

After what was later found to be a crack tail rotor gearbox mounting plate the SH2 Sea Sprite that Jim was captain of experienced severe in-flight vibration followed by loss of yaw control. The crew and aircraft entered the water shortly after and thankfully all the crew were able to to the surface safely.

One of the unique features of the Sea Sprite was the design of a trailing flap on each of the main rotor blades. The blade was flown up and down by adjusting the angle of the flap rather than adjusting the pitch at the blade root as other helicopters do.

The SH-2 Sea Sprite also had a small part to play in the introduction of dedicated helicopter gunships to the US fleet during Vietnam. Jim also tells this story in the podcast and how the AH-1 Cobra ended up be selected. 

Jim went on to fly the OH-6 with the Army National Guard and these days volunteers at the American Helicopter Museum. 

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American Helicopter Museum website. The American Helicopter Museum & Education Center’s mission is to Preserve rotary-wing aviation history, Educate society on helicopters and their missions & Inspire future generations.

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 83? Maybe you have some great tips of your own that others can benefit from.  Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.