Edition 3/2000
Over 400 participants from 30 different countries joined the 6TH AIRMED held in Stavanger, Norway this summer. Using a blend of technology, nature, culture, and art, the Norwegian organizers made a vivid impression at the start of the congress and set the tone for the international air rescue experts attending to hold a productive meeting with the theme "climbing to a higher level". The aim of the congress was to advance to a four-day world forum reviewing and discussing problems involved in the medical, operational and technical aspects of air rescue. In addition to fundamental air rescue themes - the crucial point of the meeting - other topics covered included helicopter operations in mountain rescue and snow catastrophes, night vision goggle (NVG) operations, SAR in the polar region, crew concepts and advanced helicopter flight procedures in co-operation with air traffic services. The new European directives and regulations of the Joint Aviation Authority (JAA), especially possible restrictions on air rescue helicopters landings at hospital landing sites, were discussed intensively. The experts agreed that flight safety in Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) operations is a basic requirement for all paticipants in air traffic. It was pointed out that HEMS operation should be given high priority, while ambulance flights — pre-planned to a certain extent — should obtain lower priority. The AIRMED congress at Stavanger was a very successful event with a distinct medical accent. The conference was well organized , the hospitality great, and the atmosphere pleasant. The next AIRMED World Congress is scheduled to take place in 2002 in Interlaken, Switzerland.
During the AIRMED World Congress the Royal Norwegian Air Force presented an example of a typical SAR helicopter operation in the polar region. On 19 December 1999 a SAR helicopter (SeaKing ) was alerted to rescue a seriously wounded sailor from a Russian trawler. In bad weather with 800 to 1500 meters visibility in snow showers at wind speeds from 40 to 45 knots, gusts up to 57 knots, and temperatures around minus 11° C, the SAR-SeaKing had to cover 860 NM — mainly over the Polar Sea - with refuelling stops at Hammerfest and on Bear Island. At the end of the successful SAR mission the crew looked back to a flying time of 11:45 hours. In order to fulfill the Norwegian SAR commitment in the North Sea, Atlantic, and Polar regions, the 330 squadron of the RNAF covers an area of about 702,000 square miles with five SAR helicopter detachments equipped with SeaKing helicopters.
The official delivery of the first EC-135 military training helicopter to the German Army Aviation School in Bückeburg on 13 September 2000 was a first step towards the introduction of a new helicopter pilot training system to teach the next generation of helicopter pilots to fly the most advanced attack helicopter TIGER and the modern transport helicopter NH-90. The new helicopter pilot training program will use modern computer systems for academics combined with advanced flight simulators and the EC-135 as the standard training helicopter. The program is scheduled to start in spring 2001, but will not be fully operational until 2003, when eight flight simulators will be ready for training. The Italian Army and France have indicated their interest in participating in the helicopter pilot training program at Bückeburg, but no final decisions have been made so far.
The four European nations (Italy, France, The Netherlands and Germany) participating in the NH-90 program have ordered a total of 595 NH-90 helicopters for their forces. The German Armed Forces, with Army, Air Force and Navy will get 219 NH-90s. The Army has proven a need for 108 Tactical Transport Helicopters (TTH). The Air Force claims 77 Light Transport Helicopters / SAR (LTH/SAR) — 23 for Combat SAR. Thirty-eight Marine Helicopters (MH), also known as the NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH), were ordered by the Navy. This makes a total of 223, but the government only signed up for 219. Getting four NH-90s less than needed calls for decisions to be made by the services. First delivery is expected to the Army in 2004, to the Air Force in 2005 and continuing until 2013.
The Active Control Technology Demonstrator and Flying Helicopter Demonstrator is under common development by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and industry (ECD,LLI), and is financed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The ACT/FHS is designed for testing, evaluating and demonstrating new control technologies, advanced cockpit designs, and other relevant factors in aviation. The demonstrator is based on an EC-135 with redundant optical fly-by-light steering; modular computer architecture; high frequency actuators with full control authority; programmable displays; and numerous sensors. The necessary modifications to the EC-135 are completed and the installed equipment is undergoing testing. The first flight with fly-by-light controls is planned for early next year. The partnership of European research centers and industry will make the ACT/FHS available for joint European projects within the next twenty years.
The SAR Meet 2000 turned out to be a very special event. The German Navy Helicopter Squadron celebrated the 25 year jubilee of the Westland SeaKing Mk41 helicopter. 120,000 flying hours with this reliable and efficient SAR helicopter was a good reason for a great show. Eighteen helicopters and crews from 10 nations participated in the meeting. The "Star"among the visiting helicopters came from Naval Air Squadron 824 in Culdrose, UK — a Royal Navy EH-101 Merlin. After 25 years of service in the German Navy - mainly as a SAR helicopter, the SeaKing Mk41 is being assigned new roles as an on- board helicopter with international commitments, as a support helicopter to Forward Logistic Sites, and for evacuation of people in critical situations during UN-Missions.
The four Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden - agreed 1996 to commonly procure a Nordic Standard Helicopter. In May, 1999, the Joint Program-Office in Stockholm selected four helicopters for further evaluation: the Cougar Mk 2 and 3 (Eurocopter), the S-92 Helibus (Sikorsky), the EH-101 Merlin (EH Industries), and the NH-90 (NH Industries). It seems to be difficult to arrive at a decision that meets the requirements of all four countries. The mission profiles range from tactical transport of troops to search and rescue (SAR), and sea-borne combat missions against submarines. In addition, the helicopter should be able to assist in disaster relief like fire fighting and other civil support missions. The procurement program includes a total number of 70 to 100 helicopters.
The automobilclubs of Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany have established a European Crew Training Center (EUCREW) to improve HEMS operation in Europe. The EUCREW program offers language courses, mediates knowledge of the different rescue systems, arranges training courses on progressive and efficient emergency medical treatment, and provides information about organization and helicopter flight operation. The administration, coordination and planning of the training program was taken over by the German ADAC-Luftrettung. The policy of EUCREW is to use regional hospitals and installations of the participating nations for the conduct of courses instead of creating its own infrastructure. The acceptance of EUCREW has already surpassed all expectations within a few months.
The managing director of the German ADAC- Luftrettung, Mr. Friedrich Rehkopf, confirmed during an interview with ROTORBLATT that a new fleet concept is under consideration and that decisions are expected this autumn. He also expressed that, in his view, the majority of secondary or ambulance flights are high priority missions according to HEMS regulations. In cases of low medical priority, ambulance flights have to be cost effective in relation to transport via ambulance.
During the Berlin Air Show (ILA 2000) the four important air rescue operators in Germany, ADAC- Luftrettung, German Air Rescue (DRF), Border Police (BGS) and SAR-Service came together for the first time to offer a joint presentation of their organizations, their standards, and available assets. The well attended exhibition of the world’s largest air rescue net was initiated, organized, and hosted by ROTORBLATT.
Helicopter experts from all over the world came together from 5 to 6 July 2000 in Bückeburg, Germany, to discuss helicopter topics such as the market situation, public acceptance of helicopters, noise reduction, flight safety; to report progressive on engineering efforts; and to present new development and technology. In some lectures demands were made to find ways to make the helicopter more cost effective and to increase public acceptance of helicopters on the civil market. A series of very specialized lectures informed the audience of results of research and development programs. These scientific presentations certainly caught the interest of scientists and engineers. The International Helicopter Forum should not, however, be turned into a science and technology oriented meeting. The great number of operators, pilots and crewmembers in the audience demonstrated the general interest in helicopter issues and calls for the Forum to reflect the wide spectrum of helicopters at future meetings. "The tiltrotor — american perspective", presented by Senior Vice President of Bell Helicopters, Troy Gaffey, offered a good opportunity to learn more about further perspectives on the tiltrotor program in the USA. Unfortunately the European answer — announced in the program — about the "European perspective of the tiltrotor" was omitted.
Affiliated with the Forum, the AHS — German Chapter held its annual meeting which included some interesting lectures about helicopter development in Germany, France and USA, followed by an overview of future perspectives for helicopters in view of current projects in Europe and USA.
Paul Mers took the opportunity to fly the new two-engine helicopter in the category below 7.000 lbs weight for ROTORBLATT. The detailed technical and flight impression report is not summarized in english. In his resume´, he states that with the Bell 427, another good helicopter is on the market and calls for detailed evaluation before procurement decisions can be made for a helicopter of this class. Cost effectiveness and product support may play a role and influence the decision.
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