NEW ENGLAND HELICOPTER COUNCIL SERVING MANY INDUSTRIES—SAVING MORE THAN TIME www.nehc.org
April 2017
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear NEHC Members, I’m disappointed to tell you that progress to re-establish a public use heliport in Boston has stalled. We were particularly encouraged by the attention focused on the heliport project by City of Boston officials and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation during the past year. However, Boston residents had several opportunities to express their concerns about the proposed heliport during public hearings and similar to the outcome of our 2008 heliport effort their overwhelming objection is helicopter noise. We recognize that helicopter noise is problematic, particularity in congested urban areas such as New York City, NY, Long Island, NY, and Los Angeles, CA (just to name a few well know noise sensitive areas.) It’s worth noting that the NEHC’s members are widely regarded as conscientious helicopter professionals who routinely fly neighborly. That being said, it’s important that the helicopter community remain cognizant of the noise it creates and each of us needs to continue to do our individual part to minimize our helicopter’s noise footprint by flying neighborly. Unless operationally necessary, please consider flying as high as possible, stay on published helicopter routes, be aware of and comply with published noise abatement procedures, and follow the helicopter manufacturer’s recommended noise abatement procedures. If your operation puts you in a situation where you can anticipate a noise complaint, consider calling the local authorities, in advance, and tell them what you’re doing. An explanation of the importance of the task, whatever it may be, will in most cases resolve the noise complaint without escalation. Boston is among the top 30 most economically powerful cities in the world and the Greater Boston Metropolitan area has the sixth-largest economy in the country. Boston, however, is the only economically powerful city that remains without a public use heliport. The NEHC has advocated tirelessly on behalf of its members and the entire helicopter community for a replacement to the now long closed Boston City and Nashua Street heliports, and will continue to do so. We have better news to report in a related heliport project. An NEHC member, and very active participant in the local helicopter community, has initiated a project to help NEHC members easily find local laws and zoning ordinances that pertain to establishing and registering heliports with state aeronautical agencies and the FAA. Please watch for more information about this project on the NEHC website (www.nehc.org) in the next few months. Speaking of active NEHC participants; we are an all–volunteer organization and rely on individuals who are passionate about helicopters, like you, to contribute time and energy toward the group’s success. We can certainly use your help! Whether you’re a helicopter professional or simply enjoy helicopters recreationally, we hope you’ll consider making a 2-year commitment to help our organization. Please join us at our upcoming membership meeting. We plan to start the evening with a short business meeting, election of Directors, followed immediately by our featured presentation, “Accident Investigation”. Our guest speaker is the Honorable John Goglia. Mr. Goglia received a presidential appointment to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) where he served from 1995 until 2004. As a Board Member, John distinguished himself in numerous areas of transportation safety. In particular, he was instrumental in raising awareness of airport safety issues, including the importance of airport crash fire and rescue operations and the dangers of wildlife at airports. Please join us at the Tewksbury Country Club on Wednesday, April 12. It promises to be a great night, and you won’t want to miss it!
W. Gregory Harville President
The Engine Just Quit: What Will You Do? Author: Randy Rowles
The fact that an engine may quit while flying isn’t a revelation to the experienced helicopter pilot. It’s when the engine will quit that keeps us on our toes. In this article, we’re going to look at the engine failure from three different perspectives: Known-Known, Known-Unknown, and the UnknownUnknown. Known-Known Often, training programs will present the pilot with scenarios based upon accident data to heighten the realism of the training. This is accomplished because it is a known that engines quit, and it is also a known how to train for the event when it occurs. All helicopter pilots receive training to handle an engine failure throughout their training program. This training will continue throughout their career as a helicopter pilot during initial and recurrent training events. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires engine failure training and checking during pilot examinations and proficiency checks using two uniquely different methods identified in the Practical Test Standards (PTS): Performance Maneuvers and Emergency Operations. The Performance Maneuver requires the pilot to determine the appropriate location to simulate an engine failure, and then manipulate the aircraft in-flight to a pre-selected point of intended landing. The Emergency Operation provides the FAA Examiner or Check Pilot an opportunity to surprise the pilot with the engine failure. This leads us to the first unknown.
Port City Air/NH Helicopters Steve Fox, DOM
Known-Unknown Training for an engine failure, even when the emergency is initiated by the person administering the exam or check, is a [known] condition. During the pre-flight briefing, the simulated engine failure will be discussed so that (Continued on page 6)
2
2017 NEHC Annual Helicopter Safety Day Author: Fred Bedard
The 2017 NEHC Annual Helicopter Safety Day may was the best so far! The day was supported by four excellent speakers and their outstanding subject matter. Attendees were greeted at the always immaculate JBI Helicopter Services facility, with top notch hospitality. Not a bad seat in the house could be found all thanks to the NEHC’s considerable investment in much improved Audio & Visual equipment which allowed all in attendance to enjoy the presentations. While the weather for the previous weeks had been some of the snowiest and coldest of the winter, Saturday proved to be a beautiful, bright sunny day albeit a bit breezy. At the top of the presentation order; Randy Rowles founder of Helicopter Institute gave his presentation “Surviving an Engine Failure In-Flight”. During his time as a pilot for the Fort Worth Texas Police Department Randy experienced an engine failure while supporting ground officers in pursuit of a suspect. Although Randy’s background story was exciting, his case study and presentation of the situation as the pilot in command was equally intriguing from a training standpoint. Randy (Continued on page 4)
3
(Continued from page 3)
articulately gave a firsthand account about the engine failure, how he was able to draw upon his training, and how he was able to land safely without injury or damage to the ship. Following Randy was Robert Grotell founder of PlaneNoise Incorporated. An aviation noise consultancy serving public and private clients, PlaneNoise Inc. focuses on airport and aircraft noise complaint management solutions. Robert demonstrated his product named ComplaintBox. Simply put ComplaintBox allows anyone who wishes to make a complaint about aircraft noise to leave a message with his or her complaint, along with the date and time of the call and any additional information the caller chooses to leave. ComplaintBox uses this information along with data feeds from FAA radar tracking to identify the fight path of the suspected aircraft along with its tail number. Mr. Grotell gave the audience a demonstration of an actual complaint and its tracking was nothing short of amazing. Next on the stage and back by popular demand, the audience favorite from the the 2016 Safety Day, Dr. Joseph Ray. Dr. Ray presented three different actual FAA medical reviews he handled personally (all anonymously of course). His case studies were a fantastic way to understand how the FAA views various medical situations and how decisions are made. Dr. Ray reviewed the new Third-Class Medical rule called BasicMed and drew comparisons of the previous Third-Class and BasicMed. Dr. Ray opened the floor to the audience for this portion of the presentation and was met with a great deal of willing participation. When the presentation was over (Continued on page 5)
4
(Continued from page 4)
everyone’s questions were answered leaving everyone much better informed and hungry just in time for lunch! As always, lunch was terrific! Speaking on my own behalf, I love the pizza. A special thanks to Nicole Kullgren, JBI’s office manager, for making all the food arrangements and set up as well as making the Caesars salad which was excellent! Bene bene, bella donna!
Desert was served up by pilot Carl Svenson who gave a perfect demonstration of longline lifting. The mission; lift a large commercial lawnmower from the bed of a truck, depart the area, and return to place it back in the bed of the truck. While the wind was blowing an estimated 15 knots, Carl executed a perfect placement of the load. – Way to go Carl!!! The afternoon presentations were kicked off by Captain Glenn Daley. Captain Daley served with the New York City Police Department Air Wing for 24 distinguished years. Glenn currently serves as a Sikorsky S-76 Training Captain and Safety Program Manager for the Altice USA Flight Operations in New York City. Glenn’s presentation focused primarily on the condition known as IIMC (Inadvertent Instrument Meteorological Conditions), which was some(Continued on page 8)
5
(Continued from page 2)
both the student and instructor have the same expectations of the flight profile. This is a safety consideration and not to be ignored. What isn’t discussed is the exact timing and location of the simulated engine failure. The unknown timing and location of the simulated engine failure provides the instructor an opportunity to observe the student’s reaction to the event. Although the student is aware that an engine failure will occur at some point, an alert and attentive instructor will often initiate the simulated engine failure when the student least expects it. In this case, the instructor must be prepared for the students incorrect or lack of reaction. This leads us to the second unknown. Unknown-Unknown You’re ready! You’ve trained for engine failures your entire career. You’re aware of the dangers of where you fly, and fly at altitudes that would facilitate a successful autorotation. There’s only one remaining unknown. What will you do when the engine quits? The pilots timely and correct reaction to the sudden onset of an engine failure is key to the success of the situation. Immediate recognition and action in this situation will return the helicopter back to a stable flight profile (autorotation) quickly. This is very important because a stable autorotation is a predictable autorotation! So, the difference between autorotational (Continued on page 7)
Open Invitation to All Helicopter Flight Schools and Flight Instructors Join the New England Helicopter Council and help grow our helicopter community. Join us at the membership meeting on April 12th. Identify yourself as a CFI-H and be our complimentary guest.
6
(Continued from page 6)
success and failure may lead directly to you! Are you mentally and emotionally attached to each flight you take? The first [unknown] is out of your control; where the engine will fail. However, your reaction is completely within your control. Therefore, it’s better to do a good autorotation to a bad spot, than a bad autorotation to a good spot! In any case… a little bit of luck may help! (Stay lucky my friends!!!)
Boston Helicopters is commiƩed to providing superior helicopter flight training to our students. Our North Andover, MA helicopter school has a great environment to conƟnue challenging your skills as a developing helicopter pilot. Since we work individually with each student, we are able to tailor the pace of the flight training specifically to each persons needs.
Boston Helicopters provides: All levels of Helicopter Pilot Training; Private, Commercial, Instrument and Flight Instructor
Flexible Scheduling 7 Days a Week AircraŌ Rental Helicopter Tours On-Site Maintenance Authorized Robinson Service Center
Contact us today to schedule an introductory flight or to conƟnue your helicopter flight training. Boston Helicopters can accommodate your training needs and schedule at our facility located at:
Lawrence Municipal Airport (KLWM)
Call, Email or Visit Us or our Website Telephone: 978‐689‐7600 info@bostonhelicopters.com www.bostonhelicopters.com www.naflight.com 492 Su on Street North Andover, MA 01845
About Randy: Randy Rowles has been a FAA pilot examiner for 20 years for all helicopter certificates and ratings. He holds a FAA Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate, a Master Flight Instructor designation, and was the 2013 recipient of the HAI Flight Instructor of the Year Award. Randy is currently the Lead Instructor for Bell407training.com, and the Director of Training at Epic Helicopters in Ft. Worth, Texas. Randy is a monthly contributor to Rotorcraft Pro magazine's Rotorcraft Checkride Column.
Attention—Military Aviators A number of NEHC members are current, or former, military helicopter pilots. We want YOU to be a member, too. Please join us at the membership meeting on April 12. Identify yourself as a military aviator and be our complimentary guest.
The New England Air Museum is owned and operated by the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association, a private, nonprofit educational institution organized in 1959. Located at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, the Museum is the largest aviation museum in New England. This educational organization is dedicated to preserving and presenting historically significant aircraft and related artifacts, engaging visitors through high-quality exhibits helping them to understand aviation technology and history, and inspiring students through innovative and hands-on educational programs.
www.neam.org 7
(Continued from page 5)
thing none of us can get enough of since it is one of the biggest causes of CFIT. CFIT, or Controlled Flight Into Terrain, refers to accidents in which there was an in-flight collision with terrain, water, or other obstacles, without indication of loss of control. The critical distinction in these types of accidents is the fact that the aircraft is under the control of the flight crew. Glenn’s presentation came from a real-life professional pilot’s perspective and not a text book approach which captured everyone’s attention. He pro-
vided many valuable take-away pieces of practical information we can use in our everyday flying and stressed the decision-making process to avoid going IIMC. Randy Rowles closed the day with another fantastic presentation on Operational Decision Making. Randy thoroughly discussed the decision-making process from the Single Pilot Resource Management (SRM) perspective. He also went (Continued on page 14)
8
Spring 2017 Membership Meeting
Admission
Wednesday April 12, 2017
Free for Members.
Tewksbury Country Club 1880 Main Street Tewksbury, MA 01876 (978) 640-0033 Fly-In ~ 5:00 PM Meeting Starts ~ 6:00 PM
Non-members―$10 Waived by joining NEHC at the meeting. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres ―Cash Bar―
Anyone interested in flying into this meeting should contact Marc Ginsburg at 978.640.0033 to make arrangements. Tew Mac Heliport (80MA)
Mr. John Goglia Accident Investigator & Transportation Safety Expert Understanding the root cause of accidents is an important step in accident prevention. Join us to learn how safety experts use accident investigation techniques to prevent future disasters.
About our Guest Speaker John Goglia―Has more than 40 years experience in the aviation industry, and was the first Airframe and Powerplant mechanic to receive a presidential appointment to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) where he served with distinction from August 1995 to June 2004. As a Board Member, John distinguished himself in numerous areas of transportation safety. He was instrumental in raising awareness of airport safety issues, including the importance of airport crash fire and rescue operations and the dangers of wildlife at airports and played a key role in focusing international attention on the increasing significance of aircraft maintenance in aviation accidents. John pressed, successfully, for greater integration of civilian and military safety information, becoming a featured speaker at national aviation symposiums attended by military leaders and major defense contractors. Prior to becoming a Board Member, John worked in the airline industry. He started as a mechanic for United Airlines and eventually joined Allegheny. For more than 20 years he served as the International Association of Machinist union’s, flight safety representative on accident investigation teams. Numerous prestigious groups have recognized John’s contributions to aviation safety. Aviation Week & Space Technology awarded him a coveted 2004 Laurel for his outstanding service as an NTSB Board member and the Society of Automotive Engineers presented John with the Aerospace Chair Award for outstanding leadership in 2003 and the Marvin Whitlock Award for outstanding management accomplishment in 2002. John writes a regular column for Aviation International News. In addition, Bill Carroll will host, “Back-To-Our-Roots.” This is an interactive discussion to identify and propose solutions to solve local hazards, safety issues, ATC concerns, or other such problems that may affect NEHC members. We look forward to your participation in this discussion. 9
Helicopter Puzzles Mystery Rotorcraft (Hmmmm) Using the picture to the right do you know; 1. It’s name? 2. When it achieved type certification? 3. What year it was the first rotorcraft to successfully make a transcontinental flight in the USA, and land on the Whitehouse lawn? In order to win, you must properly answer all of the questions Submit your entries to editor@nehc.org, or let us know what this helicopter is at our Spring meeting. Good luck!!!!
Words
Word Search; Helicopter Parts X
E
C
T
N
D
X
T
S
S
S
R
M
Q
S
Battery
Compass
C
X
O
L
O
P
R
E
H
E
E
O
O
T
P
Cyclic
Exhaust
O
M
M
E
I
S
A
I
G
R
O
D
A
O
G
Gearbox
Mast
W
A
P
B
S
T
N
U
V
B
O
B
A
S
D
Seat
Stabilizer
L
U
R
T
S
E
A
O
L
E
A
T
A
L
C
Throttle
Windscreen
I
S
E
A
I
G
N
I
I
L
S
E
T
O
B
Blades
Compressor
N
T
S
E
M
M
A
I
I
T
V
H
M
L
O
Door
Frictions
G
X
S
S
S
T
A
Z
B
I
C
P
A
I
E
GPS
Pedals
S
O
O
L
N
B
E
S
T
R
A
I
D
F
E
Seatbelt
Tailboom
C
B
R
A
A
R
N
C
T
S
U
A
R
D
T
Transmission
Collective
I
R
S
D
R
F
E
I
S
I
R
T
X
F
N
Cowlings
Driveshaft
L
A
K
E
T
L
R
O
T
O
R
L
I
A
T
Gauges
Lycoming
C
E
I
P
L
W
I
N
D
S
C
R
E
E
N
Radio
Skid
Y
G
D
O
L
Y
C
O
M
I
N
G
X
Q
L
Tailrotor
Turbine
C
W
C
E
D
Y
R
E
T
T
A
B
D
M
L
10
Uber and VTOL Coming To A City Near You! Every day, millions of hours are wasted on the road worldwide. In Los Angeles, CA and Sydney Australia, residents spend seven whole working weeks each year commuting, two of which are wasted unproductively stuck in gridlock. For all of us, that’s less time with family, less time at work growing our economies, more money spent on fuel—and a marked increase in our stress levels: a study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, for example, found that those who commute more than 10 miles were at increased odds of elevated blood pressure. On-demand aviation, has the potential to radically improve urban mobility, giving people back time lost in their daily commutes. Uber is close to the commute pain that citizens in cities around the world feel. We view helping to solve this problem as core to our mission and our commitment to our rider base. Just as skyscrapers allowed cities to use limited land more effi(Continued on page 12)
11
(Continued from page 11)
ciently, urban air transportation will use threedimensional airspace to alleviate transportation congestion on the ground. A network of small, electric aircraft that take off and land vertically (called VTOL aircraft for Vertical Take-off and Landing, and pronounced vee-tol), will enable rapid, reliable transportation between suburbs and cities and, ultimately, within cities. The development of infrastructure to support an urban VTOL network will likely have significant cost advantages over heavy-infrastructure approaches such as roads, rail, bridges and tunnels. It has been proposed that the repurposed tops of parking garages, existing helipads, and even unused land surrounding highway interchanges could form the
basis of an extensive, distributed network of “vertiports” (VTOL hubs with multiple takeoff and landing pads, as well as charging infrastructure) or single-aircraft “vertistops” (a single VTOL pad with minimal infrastructure). As costs for traditional infrastructure options continue to increases, the lower cost and increased flexibility provided by these new approaches may provide compelling options for cities and states around the world. Furthermore, VTOLs do not need to follow fixed routes. Trains, buses, and cars all funnel people from A to B along a limited number of dedicated routes, exposing travelers to serious delays in the event of a single interruption. VTOLs, by contrast, can travel (Continued on page 13)
12
(Continued from page 12)
toward their destination independently of any specific path, making route-based congestion less prevalent. Ultimately, if VTOLs can serve the on-demand urban transit case well—quiet, fast, clean, efficient, and safe—there is a path to high production volume manufacturing (at least thousands of a specific model type built per year) which will enable VTOLs to achieve a dramatically lower per-vehicle cost. The economics of manufacturing VTOLs will become more akin to automobiles than aircraft. Initially, of course, VTOL vehicles are likely to be very expensive, but because the ridesharing model amortizes the vehicle cost efficiently over paid trips, the high cost should not end up being prohibitive to getting started. And once the ridesharing service commences, a positive feedback loop should ensue that ultimately reduces costs and thus prices for all users, i.e. as the total number of users increases, the utilization of the aircraft increases. Logically, this continues with the pooling of trips to achieve higher load factors, and the lower price feeds back to drive more demand. This increases the volume of aircraft required, which in turn drives manufacturing costs down. Except for the manufacturing learning curve improvements (which aren’t relevant to ridesharing being applied to automobiles), this is very much the pattern exhibited during Uber’s growth in ground transportation, fueled by the transition from the higher-cost Uber BLACK product to the lower cost and therefore more utilized UberX and UberPOOL products. Note from the Editor; The above article is an excerpt taken from the article titled “UBER Elevate, .Fast-Forwarding to a Future of On-Demand Urban Air Transportation October 27, 2016”. The full article can be found at https://www.uber.com/elevate.pdf
13
(Continued from page 8)
deep into flight training vs the operational pilot, and part 61 vs. 141 training. Randy capped his presentation with the concept of instructional intervention, which is where a pilot needs to receive training either dynamic (in flight) or static (on ground). The instructional technique has proved very successful in the reduction of accidents. The day was closed with a free raffle for various prize this together as our best Safety Day ever. Until next year of course. On behalf of the NEHC we thank our speakers, JBI Helicopters for the use of their facility, Carl Svenson for his great demo, and a special thanks to office manager Nicole Kullgren for helping for helping pull this together as our best Safety Day ever. Until next year of course‌... From the Editor; On behalf of the Board of Directors, and all of the membership we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the this year’s speakers, JBI Helicopter Services, and all those who helped to make this event such a special day. Your dedication and commitment to safety with in the Rotorcraft Community is greatly appreciated!
14
—A Quiz NEHC Newsletter Quiz Spring 2017 For most helicopter pilots, the 1st rating you’ll earn will be Private Pilot Rotorcraft-Helicopter. Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 61 specifies the areas in which knowledge and skill must be demonstrated by the applicant before issuing a Private Pilot Certificate or rating. The FAA has published practical test standards (“PTS”) containing the Areas of Operation and specific Tasks in which pilot competency shall be demonstrated. How much to you know about these practical test standards? Have fun! 1
Which statement(s) is (are) correct regarding Areas of Operation of the practical test?
2
3
A
They begin with Preflight Preparation and end with Postflight Procedures.
B
The examiner must conduct the practical test in the sequence prescribed in the PTS.
C
The ground portion of the practical test may be accomplished before or after the flight portion.
Areas of Operation in the PTS include one or more Tasks and each Task includes a description of its objective. Which statement(s) correctly describes the elements of objectives? A
he description of the task.
B
Specifically what the applicant should be able to do.
C
The conditions under which the task is to be performed.
Which statement regarding the conduct of a practical test is correct? 1
An applicant who holds at least a Private Pilot Certificate, seeking an additional rotorcraft category rating, shall be evaluated in all tasks in each area of operation (unless otherwise noted).
2
Private pilot applicants shall be evaluated in all tasks in each area of operation (unless otherwise noted).
3
If an applicant holds two or more category or class ratings at least at the private level, the practical test shall be conducted solely at the discretion of the examiner.
Find Additional Questions and the Answers on WWW.NEHC.Org
NEHC is LinkedIN
Help
We’re pleased to announce that NEHC now has a LinkedIn Group.
Wanted
You can find our group by clicking: NEHC LinkedIn Group
NEHC is seeking a selfmotivated, well-organized and creative person to head up the organization’s efforts to be better connected through social media. Energy, enthusiasm and a passion for helicopters are a must.
When it comes to connecting with professional people who mean business no matter what the industry or profession is, few can com- Please consider making a 2-year commitment to pare to the power of LinkedIn. www.linkedin.com/groups/NewEngland-Helicopter-Council
help our organization.
Email your interest to: info@nehc.org 15
What do YOU want to see in the Newsletter? Please send any comments and/or submissions to info@nehc.org. We look forward to hearing from you and continuing to improve and expand our newsletter!
70 E Falmouth Hwy Ste. 3 East Falmouth, MA 02536 THE NEHC ORGANIZATION Board of Directors
Officers
Industry Members Director Designees
Affiliate & Operator Member Director Designees
Paul M. Montrone Chairman
Greg Harville President
Leonardo Helicopters Philip Coghlan
Aero Club of New England Deirdre O’Connor
Bill Carroll Vice President
Airbus Helicopters Scott Dodge
Boston MedFlight Rick Kenin
Fred Bedard Vice President
Bell Helicopter Textron Ron Orndoff
Friends of Flying Santa Brian Tague
Christian Valle Treasurer
Bose Corporation
Fred Bedard Chris Donovan Greg Harville Bob Jesurum Rob Smith Christian Valle Wes Verkaart Kurt West
Secretary
General Electric Company Alex Dadurian Operator Members
Aerial Productions, LLC AVINCO America Corporation Avlite Systems Boston Executive Helicopters, LLC Boston Helicopters Brady Sullivan Properties Conklin & de Decker Helio Helicopter, LLC Heliops LLC JBI Helicopter Services
Jet Support Services Inc. Northeast Helicopters Mass Mutual Financial Group Massachusetts State Police Air Wing Maine Helicopters, Inc. Media Wing, LLC Port City Air, Inc./NH Helicopters Sharkey’s Helicopters, Inc. Survival Systems USA, Inc. Textron Inc.
Tuckamore Aviation United Technologies Corporation
Affiliate Members EAA-106 Helicopter Association International New England Air Museum Tewksbury Country Club