Auckland’s new rescue helicopter goes to work

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust (ARHT), operator of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, has achieved its objective of owning its first helicopter on behalf of the people of the greater Auckland region.

The trust has purchased a BK-117B2 which has been equipped with the latest flight control and safety equipment.

In August 2005 ARHT announced that it was working toward replacing its then leased BK-117 with a second-hand Bell 412EP. The Bell 412EP is a much bigger machine that would take the Trust through the next ten years of its operations.

However no second hand Bell 412EP of suitable quality and condition was available on the world market.

ARHT CEO Rea Wikaira said that the trust needed a replacement helicopter by the expiry of its current lease contract at the end of last year. (Midnight last night)

“Fortunately we were able to source a BK-117B2 with much lower flying hours than the existing leased machine and equip it with advanced technology that was not previously available to us,” Mr Wikaira said.

“The significant fundraising efforts of the trust and the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Foundation over the past 18 months have made it possible for us to purchase and upgrade a helicopter, rather than lease one.

This means we have achieved our first objective of owning our own machine,” Mr Wikaira said.

Mr Wikaira said the upgraded BK-117B2 will give the trust’s pilots, crews and paramedics’ vital training and experience with the some of the latest technology and safety equipment, greatly enhancing the trust’s rescue capability.

The helicopter has been purchased from, and upgraded by, Oceania Aviation Limited which is based at Ardmore Aerodrome. Oceania Aviation Director Josh Camp said he was delighted to be involved with such a high calibre project.

“The upgrade and medical/rescue fit out the trust asked us to carry out makes it the most advanced and well equipped helicopter of its type in this part of the world.

“Everyone at Oceania is proud to be involved with the upgrade and the ongoing maintenance support of the new Westpac Rescue Helicopter,” Mr Camp said.

Additional avionic, flight management and safety features on ARHT’s new BK117B2 - ZK-HLN.

Autopilot

The autopilot will allow our helicopter to fly on instruments (IFR) with one pilot, as opposed to two which is currently the case. This will drastically reduce response times, as a 2nd pilot will not need to be called in from home. Also night flights and flights in marginal weather can be flown with much greater safety, as the autopilot will keep the aircraft stable if the pilot can’t see the ground.

Winch mounted on the Right hand side

This means the winch is on same side of the aircraft as the pilot, enabling him/her to see exactly where the crewman is winching the paramedic down to. With the winch on the other side from the pilot, like our current helicopter, it is can be hard to maintain visual reference as the pilot often can’t see what he was trying to hover over.

Radar ( including storm scope )

Radar enables the pilot to avoid really bad weather which reduces the danger of icing, severe turbulence or lightning strikes. This is particularly important when flying on instruments (IFR) in cloud. Radar is also a very useful tool in detecting survivors/boats at sea, and when trying to detect or follow coastlines or high ground.

Terrain Avoidance Warning System (TAWS)

This gives the pilot a map of the height of the terrain in front of the helicopter. If the aircraft descends below a predetermined safe height an alarm sounds in the cockpit.

Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS)

This puts the position, height and heading of other nearby aircraft on a moving map. It works by the helicopter and nearby aircraft communicating with each other via the aircraft’s secondary radar, or transponder. This is a tremendous piece of safety equipment in Auckland’s busy airspace.

Electronic Flight Indication System (EFIS) Horizontal Situation Indicator (HSI) Although not a full “Glass” Cockpit EFIS, one of the central instruments, the compass, and all associated pointers and bearing and distance indicators are on an electronic ‘glass’ screen. All critical information for the pilot is on one panel right in front of him/her. This reduces pilot workload and improves situation awareness, which is particularly important when flying in high workload environments.

Night Vision Goggles (NVG)

These amazing binocular type goggles, drastically improve visibility at night, by enhancing the available ambient light and magnifying it, so a black night looks like day, except a little green in colour. The cockpit lighting is specially modified to enable the use of the goggles. All three crew will wear the goggles at night.

Moving Map

An electronic map which shows all geographic features, airspace boundaries and aircraft tracks - a tremendous aid to getting to where you need to go quickly and safely.

Flight following

An electronic device mounted in the aircraft that uses Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and cell or satellite phone to transmit the helicopters exact location every few seconds to a tracking website. A moving map in can be logged onto which shows the aircraft’s position at any time. This means not only ARHT staff can monitor our aircrafts position, but also the Ambulance Control Centre, the Police or the National Rescue Coordination Centre (NRCC) if we carrying out a Search and Rescue mission.

Emergency beacon tracking Direction Finder

A state of the art Direction finding devise, that allows homing to any emergency beacon; including Marine, air band, military or the latest ‘satellite triggering’ 406 MHz beacons.

406 MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)

If we are ever in trouble, our own emergency beacon will be up to the latest standard. Instead of waiting up to 6 hours for a satellite to pick up the exact position of our aircraft, in an emergency the 406 beacons can be tracked in just a few minutes to within a few metres, rather than a few kilometers, as with the old VHF beacons.

Satellite Phone

Allows communication by phone in those areas where cell phone coverage is lost. This is quite common, in the areas we go to.

Doctor and Paramedic swiveling/sliding seat

By being able to swivel in any direction the seats used by the Paramedic and Doctor/ Nurse, when on board, will allow better access to treat patients, even when in flight. It also allows quicker and more flexible configuration of the cabin, when winching or carrying special equipment or crew such as Armed Offenders Squads.

Co pilot sliding seat

This allows the crewman to move his seat on rails between the Cockpit, when required to act as pilot helper, and the cabin, when required to assist the paramedic or carry out winching.

Enhanced Tail Rotor Authority

The new aircraft will have larger more efficient tail rotor blades. These give the pilot an improved ability to maintain heading, when hovering at high power settings, in a crosswind, or at high altitude.

Improved single engine power

By installing the correct Torque gauge, which was never fitted to our old aircraft, the pilot will be able to utilise more power from the engines. This is particularly important when having to depart from Mechanics Bay, Auckland Hospital, or other locations where the optimum take off direction may not be available due to obstructions. It will also improve the pilot’s safety margins should one engine fail.

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