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Ornge revamps fleetwith its new aw-139s

future watch pg 19 • news frOm abOve pg 25

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July/august/september 2011 HeliCopteRsmagazine.com 3

depaRtMents

featuRes

4 EditorialHeavy Hitters

6 On the Fly

8 MacDonaldThe Right of Control

10 DixonThe Safety Evolution

12 BellamyThe Elusive Search

13 SurvivalStocking Up for Survival

38 Guest ColumnScotty Aldie

CoVeRAn Ornge AW-139 lands in Sudbury, Ont.

14 Power to CareWith a new fleet of AW-139s at its disposal, Ontario’s medical transport team Ornge is more than ready to save lives.by Matt Nicholls

19 Forecasting the FutureSeven industry leaders come together for some serious banter during Helicopters’ first annual industry roundtable. by Matt Nicholls

25 News From AboveCTV’s specially designed Bell 206L-4 captures the stories we need to see.by Rob Seaman

29 Flying Against the OddsA chiropractor explores ways to ensure the long-term health of your spine.by Dr. Emily Roback

be not slow to visit the sick.

‘‘

’’– Ecclesiastes

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July/August/September 2011Volume 32: Issue 4

Cover Story Power to Carepg 14

Forecasting the Futurepg 19

News From Abovepg 25

4 HeliCopteRsmagazine.com July/august/september 2011

editoRial

ne of the great advantages of being the editor of Helicopters magazine is having the opportunity to exchange ideas with many of the dynamic leaders who drive this critical canadian industry. it’s a rare privilege, one i’m more than happy to share with readers.case in point: presenting information gleaned from Helicopters’ first industry roundtable held earlier this year

during the helicopter association of canada (hac) annual general meeting and conference in vancouver. Our “super seven” panel repre-senting a variety of operators nationwide gathered for a spirited conver -sation tackling a wide range of key topics. in just under an hour-and-a-half, the group covered everything from surviving in a tough economy to training and pilot/ame retention to the impact unmanned aircraft may have on operations in the years ahead. (see part 1 of the roundtable, “forecasting the future, pg. 19).

it was a tremendous learning opportunity, to be sure, but what struck me most was the passion and depth of knowledge each participant dis-played – and the commitment each has to ensuring the integrity of the canadian landscape remains intact. it’s a dedication to higher learning and exploring bigger-picture scenarios that younger industry profession-als would be wise to emulate as their careers progress.

for terry Jones, operations manager at highland helicopters, shar-ing insights on challenges and nuances in the industry must seem like second nature. Jones has spent more than 50 years in the helicopter

business and has gained a thorough understanding of its changing dynamics – and he’s hardly resting on his laurels. Jones attends n umer-ous conferences, actively learning and applying new information to help improve the highland operation. and to paraphrase the famous ads from u.s. brokerage firm e.f. hutton, “when terry Jones speaks, people lis-ten.” when he speaks at an hac committee meeting or an industry gathering, people do listen – and rightly so. We certainly did throughout the proceedings and learned a great deal.

Of course, the same can be said for fred Jones. the hard-working president/ceO of hac represents the interests of some 80 per cent of

civil helicopters – 130 operator members and 120 associate members. Jones is actively involved with various levels of government on a multi-tude of issues and is passionately engaged in working with operators to remain competitive in a rapidly changing environment. Jones brought a sense of calm dignity to the group, navigating key issues with great insight while offering a stern point of view when necessary – particularly when the discussion touched on the issue of working with transport canada.

as chair of hac’s ifr committee and a passionate driver of the asso-ciation’s nvis working group, bob toews was able to shed light on key industry issues. the senior pilot with calgary-based air amblance stars was a spirited participant in the roundtable and quick to iron home the importance of the helicopter industry to the canadian economy, remind-ing participants that strong governmental support is essential for the industry’s future success.

“not only are we creating jobs for our industry, we are supporting the resource economy of canada,” toews said. “and more and more, if you read the economic analysis of canada, that’s where our economy is going to be based. we can’t support the industry if we are not being supported ourselves.”

walter heneghan, vice-president of safety and quality at canadian helicopters, and Jimmy emond, operations manager at panorama helicopters in alma, Que., concurred, adding that careful attention to the specific needs of the helicopter industry must be accounted for in discu s-

sions where aviation-based issues such as fatigue management or call and duty times are considered.

hydro One chief pilot John bosomworth, brought a positive, objective approach to the group, relating, for example, that interac-tions with transport canada can indeed be constructive – a perspec-tive echoed by toews in reference to the nvis working group. On the

topics of training and career development, paul bergeron, president of springbank, alta.-based flight school mountain view helicopters, pro-vided a constructive assessment of the challenges young professionals face when entering the industry.

it was a compelling discussion all around, underscoring the impor-tance of sharing perspectives to uncover constructive solutions to important issues. at Helicopters we are committed to sharing the insights of key industry leaders on topics you need to know about. stay tuned for more exciting roundtable discussions in the months and years ahead.

what struck me most was the passion and depth of knowledge each participant displayed.

‘‘’’

oMatt niCHolls

editoR

Heavy HittersCelebrating the Insights of our Super Seven Team


MoRe aCtion needed: tsB

R esidents in Ontario are safer today thanks to the Opp’s recent acquisition

of two new helicopters. at a spirited ceremony at Ontario provincial police headquarters in Orillia in may, Opp commis-sioner chris lewis accepted the delivery of two eurocopter ec-135s that will replace the Opp’s aging fleet of twin star helicopters.

calling it an excellent fit for the Opp, chief pilot brian paul says the ec-135 is highly suited for a law enforcement role for a number of reasons including its low noise rating, reduced main-tenance needs, cost effective-ness, high tech cockpit, tremen-dous visibility and versatility.

Over the past 20 years, Opp pilots have logged a combined total flying time of approxi-

mately 20,000 hours (or about 106 trips around the world at the equator) on the retiring twin stars. commissioner lewis says the twin stars served the force well for close to 20 years, four years more than their perceived life span.

the new ec-135s will be used for a variety of roles including search and rescue (approxi-mately 65 per cent of opera-tions), surveillance, drug eradi-cation, searches, suspect appre-hension pursuits and regional traffic and crime initiatives.

the helicopters will be based in Orillia and sudbury.

eurocopter is a leading choice for law enforcement operations in canada – 18 out of the 22 police helicopters in the skies in canada are made by eurocopter.

OPP Spruces Up Its Fleet

The new EC-135s will be used for a variety of roles including search and rescue, surveillance, drug eradication, and regional traffic and crime initiatives. (Photo by Matt Nicholls)

Stemming from its investigation into Cougar Helicopters' Sikorsky S-92A helicopter crash on March 12, 2009, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has given a Satisfactory Intent rating on responses to four recommendations.

For helicopters certified in the future, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transport Canada (TC) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have all agreed to review the certifica-tion rules. “But it is going to take more than promises to solve the safety problems we found,” said TSB chair Wendy Tadros. “We need firm commitments and action to make these helicopters safer.”

Tadros was clear: “For those who rely on these helicopters today and in the future, the TSB needs a firm commitment that they will all be capable of flying for at least 30 minutes following a massive loss of main gearbox oil.”

While the immediate cause of the crash off Newfoundland has been resolved with the replacement of the titanium studs, today’s S-92As can still only fly for 11 minutes in the event of a total loss of oil. “That is why the Board is seeking prompt clarification from the FAA on

whether it will require improvements to the S-92A’s main gearbox,” adds Tadros.

On measures aimed at improving survival, TC said it will initiate a focus group of industry stakeholders to review the last two TSB rec-ommendations. “This is a positive first step,” said Tadros. “At the end of the day, Canadians need to know that helicopters will not operate if the seas are too rough for their Emergency Flotation Systems. In addi-tion, all those who travel to Canada’s offshore will now have an Emergency Underwater Breathing Apparatus.”

Tadros concluded, “Over the next six months, the TSB will be watching closely for regulators to follow through on the promises they made. We will be looking for clear commitments and action plans to ensure these important safety issues are squarely addressed.”

A guide to the TSB’s rating system, the full text of the TSB recom-mendations, the responses of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities and the Federal Aviation Administration and the TSB’s rating of those responses are posted on the TSB website at www.bst-tsb.gc.ca.


l ooking for some interesting reading? add Flying on the

Edge and Aviation Mysteries of the North to your summer reading list.

Flying on the Edge is a true adventurous account of start-ing a bushplane and helicopter charter service in the wild and untamed canadian north dur-ing the 1960s. a book guaran-teed to keep readers engrossed from start to finish, Flying on the Edge is a fascinating collec-tion of true incidents and bizarre stories of aircraft and people encountered while try-ing to develop a small airline business in newfoundland and labrador. author/pilot gene manion invites readers to climb into the cockpit and share this thrilling journey with him.

the hon. John crosbie

(now lieutenant-governor of newfoundland and labrador) writes the foreword and calls it a thrilling account of that diffi-cult era and the best account he has read about bush flying.

author gene manion joined the rcaf after graduating from high school, and during a sev-en-year stint as a pilot, he instructed natO air students, and flew jet fighters during the cold war. thereafter, he spent 43 years in newfoundland, fly-ing brush planes, commuter craft and helicopters. gene manion now lives in the thousand islands area.

Visit www.tidespoint.com or www.chapters.indigo.ca for more information.

more than 100 aircraft have vanished in the far reaches of alaska and canada. in his new book, Aviation Mysteries of the North, author gregory p. leifer details the circumstances of 17 of these missing aircraft, including a commercial airlin-er carrying 38 passengers and crew, a military transport with 45 occupants, an air force bomber carrying a nuclear payload, and two u.s. con-gressmen on a campaign tour.

historical perspectives and aircraft descriptions add an informative background to the stories from takeoff to the final moments. covering four decades of aviation history, through the searches to the controversy, the events of these disappearances are presented.

Aviation Mysteries of the North includes more than 180 photographs and map illustra-tions, including flight routes and last known positions of the aircraft.

author gregory p. leifer holds an faa airline transport pilot certificate and has flown more than 11,000 hours in var-ious aircraft. twenty-one years of his 30-year flying career have been spent in alaska, where he now works with a major heli-copter company on the trans-alaska pipeline.

Visit www.publicationconsul-tants.com for more information.

survival Knows no Boundaries

Summer Reading

Have you signed up for the Helicopters newsletter yet?

Visit www.helicoptersmaga-zine.com to register for a free biweekly electronic newsletter

that will keep you updated on important industry news. Check out our job board, events section and digital mag-azine while you’re at it.

and if you've got a great photo to illustrate your opera-tion, we'd be glad to make it the "photo of the week." We want to hear from you!

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No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission ©2011 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the pub-lisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication.

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Helicopters received the following letter from Matthew rosati in response to our new Survival col-umn, written by award-winning pilot, and president of Bear Beaver aviation Services, Dan Gibson:

I am writing to let you know that I’m really enjoying the new Surviva l series – it’s a nice addi-tion to the magazine. as a pilot, it increases my aviation knowledge and insight into the rotary world I know nothing of. I’m a fixed wing pilot with a commercial lic ence and a multi rating. and since I have little to no knowledge of helicopters, I enjoy reading the articles and look forward to future ones. I look forward to educating myself more on this sector of a viation. With regards, Matthew rosati


ColuMn

n a previous issue of Helicopters magazine, i wrote about the importance of having a valid and up-to-date will. although this is a critical part of estate planning, there are other areas that command attention – specifi-cally, power of attorney and representation agreements.

these are both b.c.-based instruments, but other provinces likely have similar schemes in place. both allow you to appoint another person, or a corporate entity, to handle some of your personal affairs, providing that certain sets of preconditions present themselves. these pre-conditions are either created by you, or will operate as a matter of law .

the power of attorney allows you to choose someone (perhaps a spouse or other family member, but it could be anyone else) to make decisions about your finances on your behalf. it allows them, and the appointed attorney, to do whatever you are able to do for yourself – such as buy or sell property – without you being present.

more than one attorney can be appointed either to act separately, or to act in conjunction with one another, on your behalf. a corporation may also appoint an attorney for a specified matter or purpose, to execute deeds or documents on its behalf. any instrument executed by an attor-ney on behalf of the corporation (providing it falls under the scope of the attorney’s authority) is binding on the corporation. You can make a power of attorney subject to conditions or restrictions you specify in the document itself.

a power of attorney will be effective and binding until it is termi-

nated by revocation, or by operation of law, or by both. the power of attorney can be terminated by operation of law should you develop a mental infirmity. You can overcome this by writing the following: “in accordance with the Power of Attorney Act, i declare that this power of attorney may be exercised during any subsequent mental infirmity on my part.” this is called an enduring power of attorney. any lawyer can create these documents for you quite easily.

another legal instrument to consider is the representation agreement. this provides a mechanism to allow you to prearrange how, and by whom, decisions can be made on your behalf should you become

incapable of making them yourself. it obviates the need for the court to appoint someone instead. some reasons for creating this could include an incapacitating injury or illness.

the standard clause on the instrument deals with decisions on health care, personal care or financial issues. the types of decisions that can be made include major and minor health-care issues, personal-care issues such as where you live, and financial issues, such as paying bills or ma k-ing investments.

You may also need to appoint a “monitor” to oversee your represen-tative for financial issues, unless your representative is your spouse (or public guardian or trustee, or credit union or trust company), or unless you have designated two or more to act unanimously.

the standard provisions do not allow your representative to make life-support decisions for you, unless you specify that they could. You may also specify that the representative be permitted to physically restrain you, make health-care decisions for you – even if you are re fus-ing at the time – and make decisions regarding your minor children.

both your representative and your monitor must act in good faith. this means they must act as a reasonably prudent person would, in a diligent manner, and in your best interests. the monitor must make reasonable efforts to make sure the representative is complying with their obligations toward you. Once satisfied, they have complied with their obligations toward you and would not be found liable if anything went wrong.

there are several ways for the “representative agreement” to come to an end. Your death will end it, so will a divorce – if your spouse is your representative (unless you indicate it should continue). the incapacitation or death of your rep-resentative would also, of course, end the agreement.

these instruments give consid-erable power to others to act on

your behalf when you are alive. great care should be taken when consid-ering whom you give this power to, for what purpose, and for how long. think of these as a couple more tools in your estate planning tool kit!

Neil MacDonald is an aviation consultant and lawyer, working in the Middle East. He is ISMS and ISO 9001:2008 QMS Lead Auditor trained, holds an ATPL-H, and flies as an IFR Off-Shore Captain. neil.j.macdonald [email protected] is not a legal opinion. Readers should not act on the basis of this article without first consulting a lawyer for analysis and advice on a specific matter.

The right of Control

neil MaCdonald

these instruments give considerable power to others to act on your behalf when you are alive.

‘‘’’

iSorting Out Power of Attorney and Representative Agreements

Versatility for your missionsValue for your budget

Designed to achieve the multi-mission demands ofhomeland security

Excellent value for money in terms of operating andmaintenance costs

Maximum survivability, built-in safety and superior performance


ColuMn

n addressing the opening session at this year’s chc safety and Quality summit in vancouver, bristow group president/ceO bill chiles recalled entering the world of offshore oil exploration in the early 1970s, when missing limbs or digits were seen as rites of passage.

and if you look back over the past couple of hundred years, this was the prevailing attitude in just about every industry. You learned by doing, workers were often viewed as disposable and delays from death or injury in the workplace were seen as part of the cost of doing busi-ness. that’s the way it was, because that’s the way it had always been.

in the weeks after chc, the Vancouver Sun ran a multi-page feature on how changes in attitude and safety culture had slashed the death rate in b.c.’s forestry sector. in 2005, 45 forestry workers were killed in workplace accidents across the province, against a 10-year average of 22 deaths. Just five years later, only six deaths occurred, the same as in 2009. not a statistical blip, but the result of a number of interde-pendent events that led to a groundbreaking change in attitude. the provincial government made changes in workplace safety regulations, while management and unions joined forces to emphatically say there was no room for the risk culture that had been a way of life for decades. it was groundbreaking in a way, but when you look at what actually transpired, it was pretty simple. people stopped talking about safety and started doing about safety.

i spent most of my working years in public safety (police/fire/ambulance) and many of the issues that have come up in aviation safety in recent years were the same issues i had experienced in my previous life. it wasn’t long ago that the worth of a firefighter was measured by how much heat and smoke he could endure. today, scba (self-contained breathing apparatus) is ubiquitous and advances in turnout gear provide a greater level of protection. body armour for police officers was introduced in the ’70s, though at first many “ old-timers” were reluctant to accept it under the “real men” argument. forty years ago, as the concept of medical first response was intro-

duced and the concept of paramedics emerged as a separate career path, there was little in the way of personal self-protection, such as gloves and masks – and body fluid precautions have taken on a whole new meaning.

the biggest change in safety culture for first responders – and still a challenge in many jurisdictions – is the concept of operating emer-gency vehicles safely. there was a time when activating the red light and siren was seen as a licence to thrill and damned be anybody who didn’t get out of the way. today, there are very strict policies for every police, fire and ambulance agency in the country, coupled with provin-cial traffic laws and civil court decisions requiring adherence to speed limits (generally no more than 20 km/h over posted limits), full stops at red lights before proceeding through, etc.

the reality is response times have not lengthened, but there has been a marked decrease in the number of crashes. it took a while, but people finally realized that when a police car, fire truck or ambulance en route to an emergency is involved in a crash, not only is the response to the initial incident delayed but also the new incident cre-ates an even greater drain on resources.

the Vancouver Sun also carried a recent story highlighting an edito-rial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on the issue of sleep-deprived doctors and the resulting impact on the quality of patient care. it’s not just about grinding interns and residents with 36-hour shifts to build “character”, but also doctors in practice who cling to the

idea that working long hours on call is something to be proud of. while limits are being placed on long intern shifts and residents can go without sleep, there are no restrictions on doctors once they’re out on their own. what’s disturb-ing is the pushback from a large number of established doctors who resist any change.

the changes in safety practices across a wide range of industries over the past 40 years or more have been as much a change in attitude as anything else. for far too long people clung to the idea that if that’s the way they had to learn their job, then that’s the way everyone else should have to do it. it took a few brave people to say it was wrong back then and even more wrong today. Once enough people could say that out loud, the rest was easy. here’s hoping those in the aviation world continue their steadfast com-mitment to creating the highest safety standards possible – at all co sts.

Paul Dixon is freelance writer and photojournalist living in Vancouver.

The Safety evolution

paul dixon

it took a few brave people to say it was wrong back then and even more wrong today.

‘‘’’

iImplementing Higher Standards Is a Shared Responsibility


young man strides through the hangar door looking for the chief pilot, a hopeful smile on his face. in his hand, he carries a bundle of photocopied resumés. it’s a scene repeated time and time again across canada, as newly minted helicopter pilots embark on a campaign for that first job.

at the beginning of the job search, expectations are always high – and for good reason. flight schools often encourage new recruits with predictions of high demand, and articles they have devoured in avia-tion magazines may support this sentiment.

but reality is not so benevolent. after numerous rejections, many may seriously consider returning to their old jobs and shelving the dream, at least for a while. too often, basic flying skills are left to lan-guish, awaiting a better time, or are never practised again. the licence that was achieved occasionally bears witness to the fact that this once eager job seeker was also at one time a helicopter pilot.

with commercial helicopter operations in canada, there is no shal-low end of the pool that new pilots can wade into to gain experience. management has to be supremely confident in a pilot’s abilities, before entrusting them with the company’s reputation and, more importantly, the lives of passengers. so, how then do you outfit that 100-hour pilot with the skills to survive in this competitive and demanding industry?

many helicopter firms have been burned in the past when it comes to training new pilots. seeing promise in a low-time candidate, they

may have invested considerable money in training that candidate, only to watch helplessly as the competition lures them away, capitalizing on someone else’s foresightedness.

such firms can’t be blamed for venturing down this avenue. after all, they’ve heard the promises before and are hesitant to invest in a candidate when there is such poor chance for a return. and besides, there still exists a ready supply of mature pilots with skills in place.

candidates with above-average knowledge in computer program-ming, or electronics, may find themselves employed with a particular company, but not in the profession they had first anticipated. with the

enthusiasm and optimism of youth, however, they will try any task where they can put their new skills to use – and in the process, esta b-lish a reputation with the company. Once this is satisfied, the expecta-tion is for a “pilot proficiency check” and their name appearing on the pilot roster.

On a recent indoctrination to great slave helicopters in Yellowknife, i was very impressed to see that management has instituted what they refer to as their “hOc” (helicopter operations co-ordinator) program. the program enables newly licensed pilots to do yeoman duties while learning about the industry from the ground up. these pilots are pro-viding valuable service: flight following, courier duties, maintaining sling gear and all manner of preparing aircraft for the next dispatch.

the hOc program enables pilots to develop important skills before they venture close to the big money seat. the program also lets them witness the happiness and loyalty other employees develop.

the hOc program also benefits supervisors, providing them the opportunity to evaluate real-world scenarios the new pilot may be exposed to, be they in-the-field situations or demanding customers. Other firms, large and small, likely have similar programs, and they’re all a terrific benefit for younger pilots – even if all they can provide is a tour of their operation, a coffee and encouragement. after all, pilots are not born with 5,000 hours to their credit.

a new generation of pilots is entering a world that is much differ-ent from the one i, or many of my older colleagues, were exposed to.

modern helicopters have more capability and are more reliable, and customers now generally opt for a machine that will exceed their requirements rather than just meet them. the industry is immersed in safety criteria gener-ated from myriad sources. most are informed and constructive, while others are based on specious knowledge – but all are obligatory

and here to stay. gaining flight experience in this environment makes it a lot easier to adapt to and accept change.

for all of the new pilots reading this, please don’t give up. somewhere, there is a job with your name on it. prepare yourself as much as you can, and remember, “the helicopter is not a shady lady – she just works in a tough neighbourhood.”

A native of Spruce Grove, Alta., Michael Bellamy has been flying fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft in a variety of capacities since 1971, and is an accomplished author of several books, including Crosswinds.

ColuMn

The elusive Search

MiCHael BellaMY

aBreaking into the Business Can Be a Trying Escapade

in canada, there is no shallow end of the pool that new pilots can wade into to gain experience.

‘‘’’


n parts 1 through 3 of our “survival” series, we drew up a dire crash scenario that left you alone in the wilderness. we examined the considerable role psy-chology plays in survival, the many benefits of fire, and how to set priorities, build emergency shelters and facilitate your own rescue.

continuing where we left off, you are cautiously approaching the wreckage for the first time since last night’s crash, growing hopeful of retrieving your flight survival kit. locating your kit will increase your chances of survival, making the wait to be rescued less stressful and more tolerable. at this critical stage, it’s important to keep expectations of establishing some form of radio contact to a mini-mum, however, in part due to the condition of your helicopter, but also because you don’t want to set yourself up for disappointment should you be unable to do so.

You move methodically among the wreckage with heightened awareness and with the complete understanding that, unaided in the wilderness, even the slightest scratch or sprain may result in serious infection and potentially immobilize you, impeding your chances of survival. the distinct odour of fuel makes your immediate situation far more hazardous.

as luck would have it (in survival situations, luck is a very relative term), the fire was primarily contained to the annunciator panel wiring and, despite the fuel leak, has almost burned itself out. the radio is clearly inoperable, however, and this realization suddenly inundates you with an enormous wave of sadness. the remaining embers still smouldering are quickly extinguished by a few handfuls of dirt though, and your spirits are so buoyed by this accomplishment that you shout out loudly. this paradoxical sequence of spontaneous, almost primi-tive, emotion is quite worrisome, so you step back to compose yourself.

in crisis situations, our state of mind may become precarious and anxious. impacted by fear, anxiety and trauma, and often compounded by the onset of dehydration and/or hypothermia, seemingly insignifi-cant disappointments, as well as inconsequential accomplishments, frequently result in exaggerated, erratic and confusing behaviour. taking a few minutes to compose yourself in a precarious situation like this is a sound plan.

with focus back on your recovery efforts, you spy your survival kit, still strapped in the helicopter, apparently intact and easily accessible. remembering to review and restock your kit before yesterday’s walk around may prove invaluable now, and while the precarious position of the aircraft makes things a little challenging, in no time, you are breathing a sigh of relief as you put safe distance between you and the wreckage.

now, you can make fire and tackle a myriad important tasks/needs: staying warm, signalling overhead aircraft, tending to your injuries, purifying water, improving your shelter, deterring predators and eating something. most importantly, you can finally experience a sense of composed safety for the first time since the crash.

Stocking Up For Survival is Part 4 in a series aimed at providing pilots with critical wilderness survival skills and insight. Coming edi-tions will highlight how to guarantee a constant fresh water source, how to identify wild edibles and how to manage the threats (and discredit the myths) of large predator behaviour.

Dan Gibson is a consultant with the Helicopter Association of Canada, an award-winning pilot and president of Bear Beaver Aviation Services. He teaches wilderness survival skills for the Ottawa Flying Club in the Commercial Pilot/Aviation Management Program at the Algonquin School of Advanced Technology in Ottawa.

suRViVal

Stocking Up For Survival

dan GiBson

iBuilding a Well-stocked Flight Survival Kit

Creating a comprehensive flight survival kit is a key part of wilder-ness survival. Put some of the following items in a compact, sturdy rucksack/backpack with exterior straps and pockets. Adapt the kit to suit your needs and endeavour to pack items that have multiple uses – and always have more than one fire-starting tool. • Butane lighter, flint and magnesium • Lightweight cordage• Signalling mirror and whistle• Fishing line and hooks• Candles, waterproof matches• Solar blanket• Needle and thread• Hunting knife• Multi-tool/Swiss Army knife• Lightweight hatchet/saw• Power bars/snack bars/gum• Extra gloves, hat and socks• Mini first-aid kit complete with personal meds, Tylenol/Advil

and Loperamide• Compact rain poncho• Compact cooking containers (tin/cup/can/cutlery)• Self-charging radio/flashlight• Water purification tablets The recommended kit “manual” is the compact SAS Survival Guide by John Wiseman, published by HarperCollins.

taking stock

CoVeR stoRY

upperware is one of the handiest inventions ever created for those on the go, and when you’re flying for Ontario’s not-for-profit transport medicine organization Ornge, it’s an essential part of your daily survival kit.

how essential is it for rotary pilots and medics in this organization? “critical,” pilot Jean-luc laroche says, smil-

ing, as he hustles to his seat in the cafeteria of the sudbury regional hospital, a steaming bowl of homemade soup recently heated up in the microwave waiting for him. the sudbury, Ont.-based pilot is sitting with fellow pilot andre bertrand, and it’s time for lunch – or more accurately, time for a break in a day with no set schedule, where eating quickly between calls takes on a “now or never” level of importance.

by the time i join the pair for lunch after waiting patiently in line, laroche and bertrand are, to my amazement, almost done. “sometimes, it can be just like this,” laroche says, packing up his plastic bins. “i don’t know if that was good or not, but it’s in.”

lunch finished, the pilots head back to the landing pad and their new agustawestland aw-139, where medics Dennis Quenneville and michael steinman are waiting. it’s time to attend to any number of calls this afternoon. “it’s just the nature of the job,” says laroche. “You never know what you are going to do. You could be flying vfr in the morning, something completely different in the afternoon.”

case in point, prior to our brief lunch break, we had travelled to a small community approximately 75 nautical miles south of sudbury where a man was suffering from a traumatic injury. minutes earlier, an emergency call to toronto via sudbury to transport a pediatric patient was in the offing.

en route from the sudbury base, Quenneville explained the nature of the call was quite serious. upon arriving at the heavily wooded site fol-lowing a 30-minute flight, it was apparent setting the helicopter down would be difficult – the location left few options for safe landing, other

than two potential cottage docks in an adjacent lake. it became a moot point when the call was cancelled, and the crew returned to sudbury to complete the toronto call. the Opp later confirmed the 69-year-old patient was pronounced dead at the scene after an excavator accident.

an oRnGe aWaKeninGfrom helping the severely injured following serious car crashes on Ontario’s most northerly roads, to dealing with critical care cases in remote parks, to patient transfers between medical facilities, it’s all part of the Ornge mandate. and it’s a responsibility every member of the more than 400 Ornge employees across the province holds in the high-est regard.

a vital part of Ontario’s medical system, Ornge provides sophisticated medical transport for ill and critically injured patients in the air and on the ground. the history of the non-profit organization dates back to 1977, when the province established a helicopter-based aero-medical program at toronto’s buttonville municipal airport associated with sunnybrook hospital.

after more than two decades of service, the program grew to include a variety of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft and several bases across Ontario. in 2002, base hospitals in sioux lookout, thunder bay, sudbury, timmins and toronto were amalgamated under the Ontario air ambulance base hospital program.

Carepower

to

tOrnge retools its fleet with the

AgustaWestland AW-139BY Matt niCHolls



LEFT: The AgustaWestland AW-139 is a popular choice for EMS applications. (Photo courtesy Ornge)

BELOW: The AW-139 "is like a Sikorsky S-76A on steroids," says pilot Jean-Luc Laroche. (Photo courtesy Ornge)

Ornge also owns 10 pilatus pc-12 fixed-wing aircraft and has access, through its subcontracting agreements, to more than 50 aircraft operat-ing a number of bases across Ontario. the co-ordination of these medical assets is a challenging task, as helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and critical care land vehicles handle approximately 21,000 transports annually.

co-ordination of all medical transport assets is handled from the company’s head office and medical command centre in mississauga, an impressive facility that houses administrative offices, the Ornge academy of transport medicine, and a busy control centre, known as the Ornge communications centre, manned by a bevy of communications officers at the ready to cycle priority calls to various bases for crew deployment. it’s a highly complex operation that accurately reflects the Ornge man -date – compassion, collaboration and innovation to provide the highest level of care to patients in need quickly and efficiently.

Ornge ceO christopher mazza has witnessed firsthand the tre-mendous disconnect that can exist between the medical and air trans-port teams, and it’s a situation he contends will never happen at Ornge. “transport medicine is not about aviation and medicine. it’s not about ‘you fly and we’ll do our thing.’ it’s a team,” says mazza, an emergentologist who has had an accomplished career as a transport medical professional in the u.s. and canada. “it’s the integration of the two most regulated professions on the planet. You don’t make decisions without me. i don’t make decisions without you. Ornge was created on that philosophy.”

exCellenCe peRsonifiedthe Ornge philosophy is easily discernible at the sudbury base, which is home to some 10 pilots, 16 medics, six ames and an avionics specialist. the nickel city base is one of the busiest bases in the province and, as operations manager frank st. Jean points out, there’s plenty of pride to fulfil the Ornge mandate.

in 2005, the Ontario government announced that the Oaasc (Ontario air ambulance services co.) was appointed to co-ordinate all aspects of the province’s air ambulance services. the company changed its name to Ornge in 2006, a play on words to describe the unique-ness of the colour of the medical transport vehicles. since assuming responsibility for all aspects of the provincial transport medicine programs in 2006, Ornge has been actively seeking ways to modernize its service and make it more sustainable for years to come.

serving an area of more than 1.1 million square kilometres is a daunting task, especially given the province’s unique geographical and climate-related realities. to ensure the safe trans-port of patients to and from medical facilities provincewide, Ornge deploys a variety of fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft from its various bases.

the Ornge air fleet includes 11 sikorsky s-76a helicopters, an aging fleet that is currently being phased out after the introduction last year of 10 state-of-the-art aw-139s from agustawestland.


Don’t miss ccaa’s event of the year!

www.avaerocouncil.ca

See you in Winnipeg!

The 20th CCAA Forum & AGM in Winnipeg, MB October 19 to 21, 2011 Radisson Hotel Winnipeg DowntownThe CCAA Forum & AGM continues to be one of the foremost events for the Canadian aviation and aerospace industry. The goals of the Forum are to provide industry professionals with the opportunity to examine current trends and best practices, and for CCAA to consult with industry on its projects and priorities. In addition, popular social events such as the Welcome Reception and the Awards Banquet & Gala Evening are perfect occasions for delegates to socialize in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.

The Forum is preceded by CCAA and industry meetings beginning on Monday, October 17. In addition, pre-Forum training workshops will be offered on Wednesday, October 19. It is both valuable and productive to hold these meetings and workshops before the Forum because they bring many stakeholders together to exchange ideas about the work and direction of CCAA and the industry.

For more information about Forum presentations and workshops, please check the web site at http://www.avaerocouncil.ca/index.php/en/events/2011-forum-a-agm.

Sponsorship is essential to the success of the Forum. To discuss corporate sponsorship opportunities, please contact Gail Vent, Director, Membership Services at 1-800-448-9715, ext. 223 or at [email protected].

“it’s a very busy base, a very senior base. we have some of the most senior medics and pilots in Ornge,” says st. Jean. “attrition is slow here because it’s a lifestyle choice. it’s a career base and people stay here for the long run and, generally speaking, they enjoy their jobs.”

flying an average of more than 1,500 hours annually in one rotary-wing aircraft, the sudbury base is unique to the Ornge operation, he says. and given its location in the province, near several provincial parks, major highway traffic from southern Ontario, and significant population bases, it’s not surprising that the new agustawestland aw-139 is of critical importance.

“this helicopter is very precious to the community – and rightly so,” he says. “we are on demand a lot. i don’t even see my staff when i come

in because they are out the door . . . it’s collingwood here, toronto there . . . they get the job done and they do it well.”

mike trottier, chief pilot at the sudbury base, concurs, and he too has high praise for the teams manning and maintaining the aircraft. trottier is a veteran pilot with canadian helicopters, the company that has been contracted to fly medical transport helicopters for the Ontario ministry of health since 1977/78. Ornge has now formed its own air division and many former canadian pilots, including new Ornge chief pilot Kendal beatty, are moving over to the Ornge team.

trottier has noticed a marked change in the nature of calls at the sudbury base and it’s a dynamic that illustrates how the new aw-139s will be used going forward. “there’s a fundamental difference with a helicopter and a specific call. it’s a fairly extensive vehicle,” he says. “Our flying hours haven’t changed dramatically since the old days, but what’s happened is we are being tasked with much longer – and i suspect the medics would say, lower priority, calls. this helicopter [aw-139] really shines in the scene calls, but we have fewer scene calls. snowmobile accidents, accidents in the park, this is where the helicopter really comes through. the focus now seems to be more on transport medicine, which is moving bodies.”

st. Jean is cognizant of changing dynamics but is impressed by the commitment his team delivers – an altruistic purpose that makes it more than just a job. “for 20 years, there hasn’t been a lot of change, but there has to be a realization that after two decades, things change,” he says. “and the demands change with it. as a company, we have to look at the model and ask, as a company, how do we adapt to make things run more efficiently? that’s where some of those decisions are coming from.”

CoVeR stoRY

Ornge has added 10 new AW-139s to its fleet to replace the aging Sikorsky S-76As. (Photo courtesy Ornge)


MaKinG tHe sWitCHthe secure transportation of patients throughout the province is made possible not only by Ornge staff but by the aircraft it flies. for years, Ornge has depended on the reliability of the sikorsky s-76a aircraft and the team has high expectations for its new fleet. since its introduction in 2005, the aw-139 has gained an international reputation as a highly versatile, adaptable and respected aircraft, and its transition into a state-of-the-art flying hospital for Ornge has been a sound transformation.

Dr. christopher Denny, a transport medical physician with Ornge, says the aw-139 offers several improvements over the s-76a. Denny helped design the medical interior with a team of Ornge employees, travelling to switzerland prior to delivery last fall to work with the team from swiss firm aerolite. the design team went through several real-life medical scenarios to get the interior configuration just right. the con-cept phase was to block out an interior that would work for the mission profile that is done in Ontario.

some considerations included:• access to the patient – the interior was configured with longi-

tudinal access in the middle of the aircraft.• multi-paramedic implementation – the configuration had to

be considered for two paramedics with access on both sides of the patient, so if you wanted to start an iv, it didn’t matter which side of the patient you were on – both paramedics had the ability to do so.

and although there have been issues with elements of the design not working up to snuff – paramedics have complained about the stretcher system, design elements of the interior, and other aspects of the configuration – Denny remains confident the bugs will be ironed

out. so far, to those who matter most – patients being transported – only positive things have been conveyed.

“the patient feedback has been very positive and the reality is we are going to continue to work on what we have,” Denny says. “this is going to be our first summer season, it’s a busy time of year for us, so we will be challenged, looking after primary responses. we will be able to find ways to make the design even better.”

plentY of MusClepilots and ames echo the sentiment that the new aircraft will help Ornge continue to deliver the critical care service that Ontario residents deserve. “there’s no doubt it’s been positive from their perspective,”

A large number of the AW-139’s medical calls are patient transfers to hospitals throughout the province. (Photo courtesy Ornge)


says st. Jean. “the ambient temperature is a good example. it’s been a huge issue for us in the past and it affects the payload of our fuel. now, we can go with what we call full regular dispatch fuel no matter the ambient temperature. and you can run air conditioning and be able to have full power for those engines for a vertical scene. before, we would go to a scene and worry if we had too much fuel on board and we might not be able to go vertical enough to go above the tree line after we take off. even the medics have commented about this.”

Other attributes have caught st. Jean’s eye, specifically the power. “the pilots tell me it’s more than double what we had before from a horse-power perspective,” he says. “we had the a-model s-76, but compared to the a-model it’s a huge difference. and the cabin size is tremendous.”

the avionics is also a huge transformation, he says. “from what the pilots are telling me, the gps approaches coming on board . . . coupled with de-icing, the power, and so on, it’s just going to allow us to service calls that we just couldn’t before.”

BuildinG foR tHe futuRealthough there have been definite issues with the conversion of the

new aw-139 fleet, there’s a sense of optimism that it’s a solid choice for Ornge in its commitment to serve Ontarians with the best medical transport possible. working to improve the process and make key refinements is just par for the course.

“we just have to remember that you start with this and it takes a while to see it grow,” says laroche. “when you operate for many years doing something the same way, it takes time to get up to speed. come back and talk to us in a year. it is an evolving operation right now. we’re learning, management is learning, engineering is learning.”

CoVeR stoRY

With ample power, reliability and multi-role capability, it’s not sur-prising the AgustaWestland AW-139 medium twin has become the aircraft of choice for a variety of key operations. In Canada, the Ornge fleet of 10 flying hospitals is soon to be joined by two more flying for the Calgary-based Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARs). London Air Services and CHC also fly the AW-139 for cor-porate transport, and oil and gas support, respectively.

Earlier this year, the CHC fleet achieved 50,000 flying hours in the aircraft and is the world’s largest AW-139 operator with some 25 aircraft in service and an undisclosed number of aircraft on order. CHC introduced the AW-139 into service in 2005 as part of its renewal and expansion plans.

Worldwide, more than 500 AW-139 helicopters have been sold with more than 350 now in service, many with the world’s leading large-fleet operators.

Key characteristics include:• Two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C-67C turboshaft engines

(1,531 hp each)• Configuration for one or two pilots, up to 15 passengers (or

medical transport configuration)• Maximum speed: 310 km/h (193 mph)• Range: 1,061 km (573 mi.)• Service ceiling: 6,098 m (20,000 ft.)• Length: 13.77 m (45 ft., 2 in.)• Width: 3.04 m (10 ft.)• Height: 3.72 m (12 ft., 2 in.)• Gross weight: 6,800 kg (14,110 lbs.)

a desired CommodityFast facts about the AgustaWestland AW-139

An AME crew at the busy Sudbury base prepares an AW-139 for another potentially hectic day. (Photo by Matt Nicholls)


he sun rarely shines on canada’s left coast in the early spring, but key industry leaders shared a sunny forecast for select segments of canada’s helicopter industry dur-ing Helicopters magazines’ first annual industry round-table.

the invitation-only event held during the helicopter association of canada’s annual general meeting march

26 in vancouver brought together seven industry leaders – including hac president/ceO fred Jones – for a thought-provoking hour-and-a-half discussion.

Our “super seven” panel tackled a number of key issues ranging from the effects of a moribund economy to the looming ame and pilot shortages to the impact of unmanned aerial vehicles (uavs) on the canadian helicopter landscape. panellists represented a wide cross-section of industry segments and experience levels, bringing a unique perspective to the discussion. when the dust had settled, panorama helicopters’ operation manager Jimmy emond summed it up rather succinctly: “we certainly covered a lot of ground.” indeed we did.

in the first of our two-part roundtable coverage, the panel looks at how operators have weathered the economic storm, what signs of growth are in the offing, the importance of keeping safety standards

high and navigating the often challenging relationship with transport canada. for more coverage on the event, please see our video seg-ments at www.helicoptersmagazine.com.

eConoMiC Realities: VaRYinG peRspeCtiVescanadian helicopter operators have been faced with myriad chal-lenges over the past two years due to a stagnant economy, and one of the key discussion questions was “how has your organization weath-ered the storm – still profitable, productive and strong?” are the tables starting to turn?

stars senior pilot bob toews offered an encouraging perspective from his firm, one of canada’s leading medical transport operators. the alberta-based not-for-profit organization is riding a wave of suc-cess that includes adding two new agustawestland aw-139s to its fleet and expanding services into saskatchewan. the province is investing $5 million in the initiative in 2011-12 and an estimated $10 million annually in future years. the remainder of the estimated costs of developing and operating the service will come from stars fund-raising and from contributions from the community and the corporate sector, including $5 million from lead donor crescent point energy.

“things are going very well for us at stars and we have weathered

featuRe

forecasting the future

tIndustry Experts Discuss Key Issues at Helicopters’ First RoundtableBY Matt niCHolls

LEFT: The economy was just one of the topics covered by the roundtable panel. (Photo by Paul Dixon)

BELOW: Terry Jones (left) listens as Bob Toews discusses the STARS safety philosophy. (Photo by Paul Dixon)


the last downturn very well, not without challenges though,” toews said. “in alberta and here in b.c., i’ve been actively lobbying to expand in b.c., and there have been some significant challenges at the health-care level, some significant rationalization of costs. but that cuts both ways for the helicopter medical transport business. money is tighter in terms of how they allocate it within their various priori-ties. however, because of changing demographics and the closure of rural hospitals, there’s increased need for effective transport solutions. so, the helicopter industry is doing fairly well across the country in responding to that need, so these aren’t bad times for us.”

like stars, canadian helicopters has done well in the downturn, says vice-president of safety and quality walter heneghan. the coun-try’s largest helicopter operator was fortunate over the past couple of years due to corporate restructuring. when canadian split from chc in 2006, new company management started to rationalize operations and make a number of cuts to bases, equipment and people even when the economy was growing.

“so when the industry went into recession, we got away with only laying off 10 per cent of our workforce,” says heneghan. “that, cou-pled with a fortuitous decision to expand our horizons overseas, has really helped. as you know, canadian is a public company, so our bottom line is open for all to see, but we had a very successful 2010 and that was buttressed by our decision to work with the u.s. Department of Defense in afghanistan in 2009.”

John bosomworth, chief pilot at Ontario’s hydro One, says the economic downturn had little impact at his firm. the company’s five bases and nine-helicopter fleet are constantly busy servicing the thou-sands of kilometres of hydro lines that traverse canada’s second largest province – and that won’t change anytime soon.

“we’ve seen some financial restraints and such but we still have this large commitment to the province to keep the lights on and it requires pretty much the same amount of effort as last year, and the year before,” says bosomworth. “we still have a pretty reasonable work program; it doesn’t seem to be changing.”

panorama’s emond said his company’s fleet based out of alma, Que., should be kept busier this year due to increased mining exploits in the northern part of the province, renewed forestry projects, and firefighting and government opportunities. “but the problem in Quebec at this time is there are a lot of machines there,” he said. “and with the safety requirements from the big mining companies, it makes

it expensive. we are just straight on the line and trying to make every-thing work.”

since 1959, highland helicopters ltd. has operated bases in alberta, b.c. and the northwest territories, offering services in for-estry, oil and gas, mining and exploration, resource management, and aerial media work. with more than 40 light and medium helicopters in its fleet, the company prides itself on offering the highest operating standards possible. Keeping standards high in an economic downturn is always challenging terry Jones maintains, and he is pleased his firm

has been able to hold the line with few layoffs – despite declining revenue hours over the past three years. like other panelists, Jones sees signs of optimism in the market. for example, he attended a major mining conference earlier in the year in vancouver and reports there was enthusiasm, excitement, a lot higher attendance. “there were people there with money to invest,” he said.

“forestry is also looking up, there are mills opening again, but there’s a long way to go in that area,” he said. “if the oil and gas sector, the seismic activity that was referred to in the oil and gas committee

meeting, materializes, certainly with the activity in the middle east, the pressures on oil prices are going to augur well for the canadian industry in general. and oil and gas is about 40 per cent of our market. so, overall, it’s been rough, but we’re optimistic about how things are looking.”

as president of a helicopter training school, paul bergeron has a unique perspective when view-

ing economic cycles. flight training is very dependent on the economy and, as the head of springbank, alta.-based mountain view helicopters, he knows all too well that when the economy is good, people have extra money; they want to take flight training. when it’s bad, it makes for a very long year. last year was the company’s slowest in its 15-year history, as numbers were down some 50 per cent.

“but we don’t feel that bad about it because we don’t want to be training a bunch of pilots to go into an industry where there’s no work,” bergeron said. “Our goal at mountain view is to train people

featuRe

it has been a difficult couple

of years and we’re not out of

the woods yet.

‘‘’’ – FRED JONES


and get them jobs and when the industry is hurting we have difficulty placing these people. we’d like to have as many students as we can, but we also have a conscience – we don’t want to take people’s money and not ensure we can help them get a career.”

bergeron said the school has a good roster of students now and things are looking promising for the fall. “we’re kind of weathering it. we’ve had to shorten up some of our staff, cut my amO basically in half, but luckily they are skilled individuals and they found work elsewhere,” he said. “we’re keeping our fingers crossed things will keep happening and we’ll be able to place people in jobs that are coming available.”

helicopter association of canada president fred Jones said there’s no way to sugar coat the effect the economy has had on many operations. “it has been a difficult couple of years and we’re not out of the woods yet,” he said. “but i think most operators have done what’s prudent under the circumstances. in a difficult economic environment, they’ve reined in costs and behaved more conservatively from a business perspective.”

a safe appRoaCH: sMsDespite watching costs, maintaining high safety standards remains paramount. panellists were quick to point out safety is the no. 1 prior-ity, and the implementation of a safety management system (sms) is a key step in the process.

“my company and i are both in our 51st year in the industry this

year and i don’t think i’ve seen a single development that has had more positive an impact than the implementation of sms,” said terry Jones. “Other industries have had standards for ages and why the aviation industry has been so long in getting around to seriously addressing sms is beyond my comprehension. but nonetheless, from the eco-nomic side of it, we’ve been moving ahead by leaps and bounds with sms.”

highland has faced challenges in implementing its program but they’ve borne the costs because there was no way of avoiding them. “ it hasn’t been an impediment in any way other than it shortens funds available for other pet projects,” he said.

hydro One has an extensive in-house sms program and chief pilot bosomworth contends it remains a high priority. having strong buy-in from upper management is essential. “it’s an excellent system we have and there’s no compromising on that; we’re fortunate that our com-pany recognizes that, too.”

while panorama is firmly on board and has its own sms in place, emond contends smaller operators may have a challenge coming up to speed due to cost restrictions. he maintains many clients only work with operators with an sms, so you don’t want to be left holding the bag.

“the system is good, but i think they pushed the sms program too rapidly for a little air carrier,” emond said. “i imagine for someone who has only two machines, for example, it’s very, very difficult [to implement a program]. it’s a very big structure for a small operation.”

from hac’s perspective, the challenge with sms is two dimen-sional, said fred Jones. One dimension is that the smallest operators seem to be having the most difficulty implementing because the sys-tem was designed for implementation in a larger operation. the prom-ise of sms has been that it’s scalable for small operations, but it’s more difficult in practice than it was in theory. the other is that the imple-mentation date is constantly moving off, and it’s moved again until 2012.

“i know there are issues inside transport canada with culture and getting the culture change with inspectors, but, i think we’re at a stage where the credibility of the process is being affected by the constantly

moving implementation dates taking place,” he said. “and like many other things tc does, frequently the systems are built for large opera-tors and the small operators are an afterthought about how it’s actu-ally going to work in a small operation.”

toews concurred, adding the main issue is scalability. “stars is a small operation and the difficulty of adapting to sms and implement-ing the kind of standards tc is looking for isn’t just a matter of throw-ing more money at it. it’s getting the personnel in house that can set the time aside to do it – and we’re really seeing this on the main te-nance side because that’s where we’ve been challenged first.”

sms has forced stars to

re-engineer its whole maintenance

control system.

‘‘’’

LEFT: Jimmy Emond, John Bosomworth and Paul Bergeron discuss the challenges of working with Transport Canada. (Photo by Paul Dixon)

– BOB TOEwS


stars has been forced to find ways to break management’s attention so it’s basically re-engineered its whole maintenance control system, so it can successfully meet the audit requirements, he said.

“it’s a good thing in the long haul, but in the short run, it certainly is challenging,” he said. “the danger has been, and i guess from a pilot’s standpoint, is there have been things falling through the cracks in terms of day-to-day operational maintenance because we’ve been distracted by some of these other tasks. i’m sure that will correct itself in the long term, but it’s a concern for our operation in terms of maintaining a high safety standard at the time we’re transferring to a new paradigm.”

RelationsHip BuildinGwhen discussing sms implementation, pan-ellists uncovered another challenging issue with long-reaching tentacles: working with tc. it’s a conundrum some operators have on many levels, and one that generated plenty of feedback from the group.

terry Jones said his biggest issue is regional disparity and the interpretation of regulations. there are several cases on the table right how, he explained, where the

featuRe

Paul BergeronRole: President, Mountain View Helicopters Flight School Location: Springbank, Alta. Fleet: Three R-22s, two R-44s Details: Operates sea-sonal base outside Drumhiller, Atla., to bring graduates out to build time

John BosomworthRole: Chief Pilot, Hydro One (Ontario) Location: Five bases across Ontario Fleet: Nine helicop-ters Details: Organization has been in operation 62 years, maintains 150,000 km of power lines

Jimmy EmondRole: Operations Manager, Panorama Helicopters Location: Alma, Que. Fleet: 12 medium helicopters, primarily A-Stars Details: Concentrates a significant portion of opera-tions on mining and government contracts

Walter HeneghanRole: Vice-president Safety and Quality, Canadian Helicopters Location: Edmonton Fleet: Canada’s largest operator, 140 aircraft, 35

base locations Details: Has diversified opera-tions with two international bases, large opera-tion in Afghanistan

Fred JonesRole: President/CEO, Helicopter Association of Canada Location: Ottawa Details: Association represents 80 per cent of civil helicopters in Canada, operated by HAC members, 130 oper-ator members, 120 associate members

Terry JonesRole: Operations Manager, Highland Helicopters Location: Vancouver Fleet: 42 Bell 206 series and AS350 series Details: Boasts 20 bases across Alberta, B.C. and Northwest Territories

Bob ToewsRole: Senior Pilot, STARS air medical transportLocation: Calgary, three other bases Fleet: BK-117 aircraft; two AW-139s on order Details: Chair IFR committee, HAC; Chair ICAO EMS study group (international standards for EMS operation)

the super seven


interpretation of regulations is different. and that can be troublesome to understand when you work for a company that works out of two primary regions: the northern prairies, and city environments such as edmonton and vancouver. “to have the regulations interpreted differently by two regions, and one company have to deal with those differ-ent regions, it’s ridiculous,” Jones said.

heneghan concurred. “i feel your pain, terry. we operate in six regions and it’s tre-mendously frustrating. and a large part of our frustration is cars have been around since 1996 and they’ve been interpreted a certain way, and there seems, in the past two years, that some of the interpretations have changed. the language hasn’t changed but the interpretations have changed. that doesn’t seem fair to the operators.”

the regional disparity issue is one hac is very sensitive to as well, fred Jones added. when the association hears from individual members problems about inter-pretation in one region and discovers that it’s being interpreted differently in another region, or a couple of different regions, that creates problems.

“On some of the issues that have arisen Consistent enforcement of regulations remains a hot issue, the roundtable panellists contend. (Photo by Paul Dixon)


we’ve been able to work with transport canada and resolve them, but they still tend to be a huge and costly distraction for industry and the association,” said fred Jones. “they seem to be dealing with issues on a tactical basis by the department. when a problem arises, they’re trying to fix it rather than having a system in place that ensures all of the regions can interpret it in an identical way. we are an area of federal jurisdiction and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to cross regions and have the same interpre-tation apply.”

the other problem for operators, he contended, is the level of service. the impression seems to be that tc has retreated in some ways from the sms principles that were articulated a few years ago. at a time when more and more responsibility is being shifted to industry to manage its own safety and mitigate risks in its own operations, there is a situation where less and less responsibility, or

less and less authority, is being given to operators to actually accom-plish that in a flexible way.

“it’s put us in a very awkward position, “fred Jones said. “we all appreciate the safety benefits of sms. we understand that, and many operators are well along the way or have implemented sms. but part of the problem of sms was a little bit more flexibility based on risk management principles and the opportunity to make those changes that just hasn’t materialized for industry.”

and the solution? “i don’t see any other way but to become more

engaged with industry through the association, and to look to industry to help develop the safety standards,” he said.

the good news is, there are examples of tc and members of the industry working well together to implement positive change. the nvis working group led by toews is a shining example of what’s pos-sible. tc’s stephane Demers and rob freeman have worked closely with hac committee members in laying the groundwork for the development of nvis regulations for operators. the fruits of their

labour are to be revealed in the coming months.

“nvis is one where transport has engaged with us – and it’s a very promising example of how the system can work,” said fred Jones. “but the short answer is, the only way out of this, and to leave something on the table for opera-tors in the way of efficiency gains, is to capitalize on the experience in our industry. when faced with

a declining level of experience inside the department, you need to turn to the people with the experience to help develop standards and regu-lations that will guide our conduct and help mould our regulatory environment in the years going forward. tc just doesn’t have the horsepower anymore to do it all themselves – or the expertise.”

This is Part 1 of helicopters’ first industry roundtable. Stay tuned for Part 2 in the Oct/Nov/Dec issue, where we explore more issues, including call and duty times, training and worker retention, UAVs, and more!

featuRe

to have the regulations

interpreted differently by two

regions is ridiculous.

‘‘’’

Roundtable panellists from left: Terry Jones, Highland Helicopters; Jimmy Emond, Panorama Helicopters; Matt Nicholls, Editor, Helicopters magazine; Paul Bergeron, Mountain View Helicopters; Bob Toews, STARS; Fred Jones, HAC; Walter Heneghan, Canadian Helicopters. Missing: John Bosomworth, Hydro One.

– TERRYJONES


f you watch tv – and let’s face it, who doesn’t, at some time in the day – then you’ve seen footage of some sort coming from a helicopter. whether the event is a search-and-rescue effort, a natural or manmade disaster, a police pursuit, a traffic report or an aerial shot of some grand occasion, there’s likely an “eye in the sky” cover-ing it and bringing the pictures and report into your tv.

using helicopters to gather news has become known as electronic news gathering, or “eng,” for short. the industry has evolved a great deal from its early days when a cameraman was seen hanging out the side of the helicopter or fixed wing aircraft to capture a shot and then rushed the footage back to the station for air time. eng helicopters and their pilots today give news organizations a rapid and direct response to quick, developing and changing stories. being first is not only bragging rights, it means credibility, audience and, i n turn, advertising monies to the station and network. the “news” as a business segment is intensely competitive, whether it is local, national or international – and being the first to reach a scene and get a story makes all the difference.

the industry has grown in size and importance to the point where it now holds a position as a stand-alone part of the rotorcraft world as

a whole and has its own special interest association – the national eng helicopter association (neha). the association publishes guidelines for its industry – pilots, engineers, photographers, reporters and station management – with a goal to keeping that industry and operations safe. it works alongside other “alphabets” as well, bringing interaction and professionalism to the eng job and operations.

in a nutshell, eng is all grown up. and in keeping with its maturity, it has driven its own unique technology developments to answer chal-lenges that have come along and stay leading edge in a fiercely com-petitive business. shoot, editing and transmitting multiple images with the announcers (or talent, as they more politely known) on board are commonplace today. getting to this point has taken time. Just sending tv signals from a fixed location can be a challenge. eng requires the ability to do it from a constantly moving platform. steady cam technol-ogy and microwave transmission refinement have brought the age of “real-time” ability to the eng world. coupled with that, lighter, more compact, higher-resolution cameras and editing equipment have evolved. but like anything in the technology world what is new today, will be dated tomorrow. upgrades and changes are ongoing.

During the first quarter of this year, Kitchener aero avionics (Kaav) completed and delivered a new eng helicopter for the ctv television

featuRe

news from above

iKitchener Aero’s Fourth ENG Helicopter Takes to the SkiesBY RoB seaMan

LEFT: CTV uses its helicopters for some 600 flight hours per year. (Photo courtesy Kitchener Aero)

BELOW: CTV’s specially designed Bell 206L-4 is well equipped to deliver all the latest news into southern Ontario homes. (Photo by Rob Seaman)

network. this is the fourth helicopter Kaav has now modified for ctv. the current project represents another first for both Kaav and ctv; this is the only high-definition-capable, eng helicopter in the canadian broadcast industry, and is widely believed to be one of only a handful in north america. it is one of the most advanced and highly integrated eng platforms anywhere in the world, but then, as already noted, what is new today can be dated or superseded tomorrow. that said, the new pride of ctv went into full service at the end of January and is currently assigned to its toronto coverage area.

speCial Missions Modthis new eng helicopter project started with a base bell 206l-4, which is basically the same as the previous two units that were devel-oped with ctv by Kaav. the new helicopter was delivered to Kaav in the fall of 2010 and arrived by road with the fuselage having just received an overhaul and repainting. During the eng fitting, a fresh engine and rotor blades were installed at the Kaav hangar.

the special eng equipment that was integrated into this unit

included a flir ultramedia hD camera (hi-Definition), mrc strata ptX-prO microwave system, nat aa97-ctv custom audio/ics system, three iconix hD cameras (forward & aft talent plus a tailcam) and two motorola two-way radios.

the cockpit also received a “special missions” upgrade that included a garmin g500h flight Display system. the system also displays

eng video to ease pilot workload. Other cockpit avionics include a garmin gns 530w waas gps/nav/com, King KY-196a vhf cOm, garmin gtX 327 transponder, l3 skywatch traffic system, nat ams-43 panel and freeflight tra3000 radar altimeter system. as an added bonus, the “talent” has the option to work live from either the front cockpit, next to the pilot, or the aft suite adjacent to the engineer/editor.

Kaav handled all of the engineering, design and installation along with the avionics sales and stc, for the project. all told, the project took four months to complete.

a full RepoRtscott gibson, manager, engineering projects at ctv inc., has overseen the development of all of the ctv eng projects. according to gibson, the network uses its helicopters for approximately 600 flight hours per year. each ctv eng project is a step forward from the last. gibson says that this hD unit started with the “tv gear” – “it was all new in this


featuRe

if i can retain the good people, and just let them do their job, they will work miracles.

‘‘ ’’

The new CTV Bell 206L-4 boasts a special Flir UltraMedia HD high-definition camera. (Photo by Rob Seaman)


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current build. One example is the multi-image display for the main monitor.” in the past, the network used several monitors. now, it has a single, large screen with multiple images pro-viding information from all the helicopter cameras, station feeds and more.

“we used much better talent cameras this time as well to improve the look,” he says. “a new cOfDm microwave system has been installed to give us better range for live transmission. the evertz hD2020 is a piece of equipment that provides all the switching and processing of audio and video in the helicopter. in the past, we would have several pieces of equipment to perform the functions that the 2020 is doing.”

an eng helicopter is an excellent tool to help keep the station at the top of its game, says gibson – “and we are always open to using new equipment and ways of gathering and showing the news.” the latest ctv eng rotorcraft is based in toronto and replaces one that has been in continuous service since 2003. another bell 206-l, called “chopper 9,” is based in vancouver and was placed in service in 2004. it is oper-ated by talon helicopters. (see, “living large,” march/april 2010). the toronto-

based crew has two dedicated pilots and a rotating crew of three or four cameramen/technical operators. the vancouver-based crew uses more pilots, but a similar number of cameramen/technical operators. the

vancouver-based helicopter is also used for promotional work, whereas ctv toronto has its basically for breaking news, special events and the cp24 morning show traffic and news coverage.

CTV’s latest “eye in the sky” features lighter, more compact, higher-resolution cameras and high-tech editing equipment. (Photo by Rob Seaman)


while the toronto helicopter has not been used in community events as such, gibson says ctv has had it at the last two of their very popular “open house” events at the ctv studios, just north of the downtown area. at these events, the public has had the opportunity to sit in the aircraft and ask questions of the pilots and technicians. given the unique qualities and capabilities of their eng units, it begs the question will ctv make its footage open and available to com-munity needs, for example, police investigations, transport canada and the like? says gibson: “we try and keep our independence from the police and such, but will help if requested in something like a search-and-rescue, fire or such.”

liGHts, CaMeRa, aCtionKitchener aero is very active in corporate, commercial and general aviation avionics markets. in the 30-plus years that Kaav has been in business, they have been responsible for many industry firsts. in addi-tion to conventional avionics sales, installation and repair, the firm has become highly regarded as canada’s special missions specialists. the company has developed a strong niche in helicopter avionics and pro-vides some unique mods and stc work over and above the conven-tional avionics sales, service and support. Other helicopter work in hand or coming along soon to Kaav includes a flir ultra 8000e installation in a eurocopter ec-120b, avidyne tas 600 traffic systems installed in a number of aerospatiale as350bs and an agusta a-119 Koala corporate completion.

featuReLEFT: The CTV cockpit received a “special missions” upgrade that included a Garmin G500H Flight Display System. (Photo by Rob Seaman)


hen it comes to understanding how the long-term effects of piloting a helicopter can affect your spinal health, few people have as much knowledge as Dr. emily roback.

a practising aviation chiropractor with alberta sports rehabilitation firm chiroback trekker, Dr. roback recently produced a case study focused on seat

and spine position, spine hydration and back stabilization in aviators. she presented the report to a group of canadian air force helicopter pilots at the end of a spinal health seminar in January at the 408 helicopter squadron, edmonton-garrison military base. the premise of the study hit home with the vast majority of attendees, as approximately 90 per cent of the pilots in the audience reported experiencing back pain, with the remainder claiming to have suffered back issues in the past.

the premise of roback’s case study is clear: one of the realities of being a helicopter pilot is the risk of neck and back injuries due to poor posture and helicopter vibration. helicopter pilots from various backgrounds – however well-intentioned – often succumb to these injuries and are not able to operate at their optimum level. as roback chronicles in her report, chiropractors can be invaluable in the education, treatment and prevention of such injuries.

case in point: recent medical reports submitted on behalf of a 45-year-old male veteran helicopter pilot revealed a lateral curvature of his spine (a.k.a. mild “c” shape scoliosis). since scoliosis is com-mon within the general population, it is unlikely that having a lat-eral curvature of the spine by itself would indicate any evidence of a pathological change due to aging. the reports also showed that the pilot had been experiencing front and side chest pain from the tho-racic spine (mid-back) since 2002. that same year, he had received physiotherapy treatments for his neck that in the short term appeared to decrease his physical discomfort. the musculoskeletal structures of the thoracic wall and neck are common sources of chest pain; however, in this case, the musculoskeletal chest wall disorder stemmed from arthritis, which further complicated the articulations of the sternum, ribs, and thoracic spine.

tHe Good, tHe Bad and tHe uGlYroback’s case study is based on more than 17 years of research into the effects of prolonged flying and back injuries – and highlights a number of conditions pilots may experience. for example, according to a 1994 report by r. greth of the u.s. army aviation and troop command (see reference sidebar), “helicopter hunch” is one such

featuRe

flying against the odds

WSpinal Health Critical to Productive CareerBY dR. eMilY RoBaCK and HeliCopteRs' staff

LEFT: Military pilots are particularly susceptible to back problems over the course of their careers. (Photo courtesy Canadian Armed Forces Combat Camera)

BELOW: Dr. Emily Roback is an Alberta-based practising aviation chiropractor.


condition that may inflict pilots. this condition is generally caused by poor posture during flight. it occurs when the spine is bent for-ward and is a contributing factor in the back pain diagnosis of a pilot. the need to ensure the stability and operation of the aircraft’s cyclic control is the primary reason the pilot in this study main-tained this particular posture. by sitting with the body hunched forward, pilots are able to bring their arms closer to the dashboard to manoeuvere the controls more efficiently.

unfortunately, this slouch position is further exacerbated as pilots use their right thigh as an armrest to support and stabilize the forearm. since the elbow rest position is three to five inches above the thigh, pilots must lean forward and slightly to the right, to make contact. at the same time, they need to tilt their torso to the left to be able to look out the side window. this asymmetric hunching has resulted in a “hunched-back” curvature (ie. flattening of the low er back, increased mid-back curvature, and straightening of neck) which further increases the loading of the mid-back because of the forward displacement of the upper torso and head.

a ViBRation aCRoss tHe industRYresearch has shown that helicopter vibrations (pressure waves caused by imbalances in rotating aircraft parts) have a peak power frequency of approximately five hertz, which is within the range

where a human’s upper body presents resonance frequency (see references sidebar: De Oliveira, nadal). Other researchers have studied whole body vibration and the pathogenesis of disc degeneration in animals. the results have suggested that vibration can adversely affect the nutrition and metabolism of the disc, especially if the vibration matches the resonant frequency of the spine (four to six hertz). with

this in mind, people exposed to whole-body vibration in the same resonant range, such as helicopter pilots, are significantly more prone to experiencing back pain. further, according to a 2008 report on the pathophysiology of disc degeneration by a.g. hadjipavlou (see references sidebar), when the spine is flexed, the joints offer less constraint to rotation, a situation that leads to tears in the discs, yet does not damage to the joints.

according to hadjipavlou, the intervertebral discs (spine shock absorbers) are the largest avascular tissues in the body, which sug-gests the conclusion that cells in the centre of an adult thoracic

featuRe

Research confirms that helicopter vibrations can seriously damage the discs in a pilot's back. (Photo courtesy Canadian Armed Forces).

approximately 90 per cent of the pilots in the audience reported experiencing back pain . . .

‘‘ ’’


disc are approximately eight millimetres away from the nearest supply of blood. the cells that are located on the outer edges of the disc obtain nutrients from large blood vessels in the surrounding muscles and from a sparse diffusion of capillaries (tiny blood ves-sels) in the muscle’s outermost region. the capillary network is regulated by noradrenalin and acetylcholine (vessel constrictors and dilators), and by mechanical stimuli such as vibration. each disc relies on a distribution system to pump water and nutrients into the disc. according to some researchers, sustained compres-sion or an immobilization of the spine can become a base for impairing the flow of nutrition to the disc. the reduced supply of nutrients leads to an increase in stress and cell death at the centre of the disc, and eventually spreads throughout the entire disc with increased age and degeneration.

a 1981 report on the effects of vibration, posture and low-back disorders of professional drivers by J. sandover of the university of technology, loughborough, england, reviewed the relationship between mechanical stress on the spine and intervertebral disc degeneration, considered to be the most likely cause of the back pain in roback’s case study. sandover’s findings disclosed that mechanical stress hastens degenerative changes in the spine via microscopic injuries to the uppermost and/or lower-end surfaces of the vertebrae – regions through which the discs between the verte-brae are nourished.

tHe RundoWnit is impossible to review all of the congenital and acquired malfor-mations or diseases of the thoracic (mid-back) and lumbar (low-back) spine. however, the most common malformations and/or dis-eases are disc degeneration (also known as spinal osteoarthritis) and disc herniation (slipped disc). it is normal for the discs between the vertebrae to deteriorate with age. herniation of a disc may be the result of degeneration accompanied by severe loading. the herniated disc can bulge or rupture into the spinal canal through the back end of the spine. this bulge can subsequently entrap the nerves of the upper and/or lower body, causing intense pain in the area served by the nerves, paralysis, or a parenthesis – a tingling, or “pins and needles” sensation.

in addition, D. harrison of the Journal of manipulative & physiological therapeutics, studied the optimal driver’s seat and spine position and established that piloting a helicopter predisposes a flight operator to mid-back pain and a degenerative joint disease (spinal osteoarthritis). in spinal osteoarthritis, it has been reported that there is an accelerated and increased level of deterioration (espe -cially in workers in the 45-50 age range) and the prevalence of this condition normally increases with age. the cumulative effects and repetitive loading of the spine due to an awkward body posture (static work, bending, and twisting), and whole-body vibration, does in fact contribute to expediting the degeneration and general fatigue failure of the spine.

based on research and experience as a practice chiropractor, roback concludes that the duties of a helicopter pilot actually accel-erate and amplify the level of spinal degeneration, originating pri-marily in the thoracic and low-back region. the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis due to induced vibration and postural stresses appear to be directly related to both back pain and the unique after-effects of having flown helicopters. furthermore, the helicopter pilot in this case study appeared not to have made any significant improvement while participating in his physiotherapy treatments in 2002 at a local base hospital. although the physiotherapy program was extensive, it would be difficult to ascertain whether or not if it would be therapeutically beneficial.

with this in mind, this veteran pilot would be an excellent candidate for an integrative health-care program – a platform that would incorporate postural exercises, nutrition, chiropractic, mas-sage therapy, acupuncture, and aircraft ergonomic advice. furthermore, mandatory mri scans and aviation medical examina-tions at regular intervals – designed and implemented for helicop-ter pilots based on their cumulative flying hours – would be a recommended course of action.

aiR foRCe 2011 looking at roback’s case study and understanding the positioning of the pilot’s form, the spine was identified as being near an extreme point of the body’s range of motion; therefore, the ligaments and discs were more prone to injury. the pilot’s back muscles became fatigued by experiencing stress in a constrained posture, and the pilot was less able to protect his spine against the effects of vibratio n.

Dr. Emily Roback recently presented the findings of her detailed back study to a group of Canadian Air Force helicopter pilots at the 408 Helicopter Squadron, Edmonton-Garrison Military Base.(Photo courtesy Dr. Roback)

C. De Oliviera, J. Nadal. Transmissibility of Helicopter Vibration in the Spines of Pilots in Flight. Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine (2005).

R. Greth – Helicopter Crewseat Cushion Program. Aviation Applied Technology Directorate U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command, Fort Eustis, Va. (1994).

AG Hadjipavlou et al. The pathophysiology of disc degeneration. J of Bone & Joint Surgery (Br). (2008).

D. Harrison, Sitting Biomechanics, Part II: Optimal Car Driver’s Seat and Optimal Driver’s Spinal Model. Journal of Manipulative & Physiological Therapeutics (2000).

J. Sandover, Vibration, Posture and Low-Back Disorders of Professional Drivers. Report No. DHS 402, University of Technology, Loughborough, England (1981).

References

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hings have changed considerably since i entered the aviation industry in 1977. with a noticeable shift in attitude toward safety, one area that has improved over time is the passenger safety briefing.

at canadian helicopters, we provide safety semi-nars for our customers as well as personnel safety brief-

ings for our passengers before they commence a flight. the passen-ger briefing covers many aspects – all of which are very important and should not be taken lightly nor skimmed over. things that may seem obvious are often worth stating.

it can certainly be challenging keeping everyone’s attention, so there are a few tricks to try to keep your clients interested. for example, when in a classroom setting, try to take advantage of the technology at your disposal, including powerpoint and videos – it’s possible to cover the important safety points in so much more detail using these tools. Keep to the point and make it interesting: try not to read the points word for word (i myself find it boring having to listen to someone ramble on).

as we all know, there are a lot of dangers around a helicopter, as there are so many moving parts. the primary dangers are the main rotor and tail rotor blades, as they are almost invisible when turning; and with all the noise, people tend to get distracted and forget about safety. Over the years, there have been numerous incidents and accidents involving main rotor and tail rotor

blades. it’s very important to always emphasize to your passen-gers never to approach or leave the helicopter until indicated by the pilot. Describe in detail the safe areas to approach and depart the helicopter, which, of course, will depend on the terrain of the landing area. for example, when departing a running helicopter, never walk up an incline or approach a helicopter that is downhill as you may walk right into the path of the blades.

i recall an incident that happened years ago involving a pas-senger who disregarded the exiting instructions. the aircraft had just landed on a beach with an embankment on the left-hand

side. the passenger was instructed to continue on straight for-ward until he was well clear of the aircraft, at which point he was to proceed over the bank. the passenger acknowledged the instruction and got out and proceeded directly over the embank-ment – he was totally unaware of the danger he had put himself in. it was only luck that, with the engine in flight position, the blades were high enough to miss him and not decapitate him.

all of our aircraft carry survival packs, axes, saws, first-aid kits, fire extinguishers and an emergency locator transmitter (elt) as part of our survival equipment. in sparsely settled areas, it may be required to carry more specific items for that type of terrain. During the briefing, all passengers should be shown the location of each item and how to use it in an emergency. also, everyone should be aware of how the doors operate and how to use the emergency handles (if it pertains to the type of aircraft). seatbelts should be used at all times, and everyone should know how to secure them and release them. there is nothing worse than coming in for a landing and hearing the click of someone taking off their seatbelt. humour is a good way to grab your pas-sengers’ attention. i tell everyone to remain in their seats with their seatbelts fastened until the aircraft comes to a complete stop, so that they don’t reach the landing area before we do. it seems to do the trick.

the tail rotor is a particularly dangerous area. always inform passengers never to go around the rear of the helicopter, even if it is not running. i like to tell my pas-sengers, “if you go around the rear of the helicopter and the tail rotor doesn’t get you, then i will . . . and it would probably be less painful if the tail rotor got you!”

no matter how careful you are, there is always the chance that something can go wrong, so never

skimp on the details in your briefings. remember, people are creatures of habit, so establishing good routines is important. if they are careless around a helicopter when it is not running, they may end up being careless when it is running.

safe flying.

With 18,000 hours of VFR and IFR flying under his belt, Scotty Aldie is a veteran pilot with Canadian Helicopters. Starting out with Viking Helicopters in 1977 (later amalgamated with Canadian Helicopters), he has been loyal to the same company for 34 years.

The Safety Briefing

remember, people are creatures of habit, so establishing good routines is important.

‘‘

tDon’t Skimp on the Portions

BY sCottY aldie‘‘

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