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DENVER, CO, October 10, 2018 – United Rotorcraft announced today that they have received a contract from Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Air Operations (LACoFD Air Ops) to complete their fourth FIREHAWK® helicopter. The contract is for the conversion of a new Sikorsky S‐70i helicopter into a multi‐mission firefighting aircraft. United Rotorcraft’s Decatur, TX team have already painted two new S‐70i helicopters this past spring in the traditional black, white, and yellow paint scheme of LACoFD Air Ops.
LACoFD’s newest FIREHAWK® will receive modifications to add multi‐mission capabilities and enable single pilot operations. The Aerial Firefighting Mission Package will include extended landing gear, a 1,000 gallon firefighting tank, and a retractable snorkel system. The EMS Mission Package will include two floor mounted patient litters, mounts to secure medical equipment, and an integrated medical services module that provides onboard oxygen, suction, electrical outlets, lighting, and two medical panels for distribution of services.
The avionics modification to the aircraft includes an audio system upgrade and expansion, tactical radios, and a wireless audio system. TCAS, flight following, and a public address and siren system will be added. Multiple external lighting systems will be integrated as well as an external hoist for search and rescue operations.
“Teaming up with LACoFD Air Ops back in the early 2000s to complete their first three FIREHAWKS® has been one of United Rotorcraft’s greatest projects. That those aircraft are still flying is a testament to the FIREHAWKS® reliability, durability, and effectiveness. To be able to add new aircraft to their fleet is a privilege.” says Mike Slattery, President of United Rotorcraft.
About United Rotorcraft
United Rotorcraft, An Air Methods Division, ( www.unitedrotorcraft.com) specializes in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. United Rotorcraft offers a full range of completion, paint, and MRO services and products for Emergency Medical Services, Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Utility, VIP, and Military operators.
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DENVER, CO, August 23, 2018 – United Rotorcraft is pleased to announce the receipt of a contract with Ventura County Fire Department to convert two surplus U.S. Army aircraft into FIREHAWK® helicopters.
VCFD purchased two U.S. Army HH-60L aircraft, originally configured as dedicated MEDEVAC helicopters. These aircraft had been outfitted with the United Rotorcraft medical equipment & patient litter systems, some of which will be re-purposed in the new FIREHAWK® configurations. Following a full maintenance inspection, the aircraft will be painted at the United Rotorcraft Decatur, TX facility and modified at their Englewood, CO facility.
“Ventura County Fire Department, along with our partners from Ventura County Sheriff’s Air Unit, have worked hard over the past years to identify the right solution for expanding and modernizing our aerial fleet,” says Battalion Chief Gary Monday of Ventura County Fire Department. “We are looking forward to seeing the new FIREHAWK® aircraft serving the fire crews and people of Ventura County and the State of California.”
The reconfigured aircraft will include an aerial firefighting mission package with extended landing gear, a 1000 gallon firefighting tank, and a retractable snorkel system. A multi-mission interior including reconfigurable crew stations will be installed to allow the aircraft to perform a veriety of missions including firefighting, fire crew transport, search and rescue and medical evacuation. In addition to mission equipment, upgraded avionics and a new instrument panel will be installed in the cockpit.
“We are so proud to be part of the future Ventura firefighting mission as well as repurposing these Army surplus aircraft for their new homes,” says Bob Brodin, Director of Government Programs at United Rotorcraft. “The FIREHAWK® aircraft have so many capabilities to help the people of Ventura County and we look forward to delivering these aircraft.”
For more information on the FIREHAWK® aircraft and/or United Rotorcraft, please contact *protected email* or Bob Brodin at *protected email*.
United Rotorcraft, An Air Methods Division, (www.unitedrotorcraft.com) specializes in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. United Rotorcraft offers a full range of completion, paint, and MRO services and products for Emergency Medical Services, Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Utility, VIP, and Military operators. About Air Methods
Air Methods Corporation (www.airmethods.com) is the global leader in air medical transportation. The Air Medical Services Division is the largest provider of air medical transport services in the United States. The Tourism Division is comprised of Sundance Helicopters, Inc. and Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, which provides helicopter tours and charter flights in the Las Vegas/Grand Canyon region and Hawaii, respectively. Air Methods’ fleet of owned, leased or maintained aircraft features over 450 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.
In September 2005, the first International Helicopter Safety Symposium was staged in Montréal Canada, for the purpose of considering additional safety measures which might be adopted by the helicopter industry. All major stakeholders were in attendance, including professional associations from five continents and 13 countries, maintenance organizations, manufacturers, operators, accident investigators, and regulatory agencies.
The event was hosted by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) and the Helicopter Association International (HAI), and as a direct result of the gathering, the International Helicopter Safety Team (IHST) was formed. The mandate to the IHST was to develop a safety program which could be used to continuously advance the safety progress of the helicopter industry in reducing accidents. What eventually came from that symposium and others which followed, were some data-driven helicopter safety tips, recommendations for better helicopter training, and identifying the need for universal usage of safety features like the helicopter safety belt.
The International Helicopter Safety Team reviewed a full 50 years of data which was available, in order to determine the most common causes of helicopter accidents, and this review was intended to provide the foundation for its recommendations on how to improve safety measures. Interestingly, one of the most obvious potential causes of failure was found to be one of the lowest statistically-occurring causes, that of engine failure. After reviewing all available data, it was found that engine failure was the cause of only 6.4% of all helicopter accidents during the five decades of data. This is probably since technology for engine manufacturing was fairly mature, as opposed to other components of helicopters, and the maintenance procedures used.
This category of accidents refers to mechanical failures of any kind on helicopters other than those occurring to the engines. Since helicopters were newer in design than commercial airplanes, and many of the parts used in the manufacture of helicopters were much newer than well-developed engines of the time, a larger number of accidents were caused by non-engine components. It was found that 11.6% of helicopter accidents were attributable to non-engine failures. Although this is nearly twice the figure of engine failures, it should be remembered that this is a very broad category which takes in literally every other part used in the manufacture of a helicopter.
During the study, it was found that about 8.7% of all helicopter accidents were caused by maintenance issues. This means that either proper maintenance was not performed on a regular basis, or that improper maintenance was performed, and the helicopter was not truly prepared for safe operation. At least some of the maintenance issues were known to be due to the fact that in the early days of helicopter operation, proper maintenance procedures were not clearly identified.
For the purposes of the study, helicopter accidents which were due to pilot error were lumped together with all other unknown causes, and this category was by far the largest at 73.2%. Part of the reason that there were so many unknown causes was the fact that for much of the period studied, there simply were not good on-board recording devices in use. The black box devices famously used by modern aircraft were not available in the earlier days of helicopter operation, so when some accidents occurred the cause could never be determined, and the cause was simply labeled as unknown. However, it is likely that a good many of these unknown causes were in fact due to pilot error.
One of the recommendations resulting from the massive study conducted by the IHST was that all helicopters should be equipped with cockpit information recorders (CIR’s), so that all relevant data could be collected and analyzed. An annual safety review is now conducted by the IHST, using information supplied by more than 40 regional teams around the globe, all of which recognize the need for constant analysis of accident causes. All of this has resulted in a tremendous reduction in the frequency of helicopter accidents, with the following areas specifically identified as being worthy of greater future attention:
Throughout the American military, there are squadrons and teams that have specific goals in order to strengthen operations used to protect the people and ensure that military personnel has the equipment and technology they need to succeed at every mission put before them. It is for this reason that the U.S. Naval VX-31 squadron operates today, using aircraft to complete its missions and help advance the technology and equipment used by the American military.
The VX-31 is a sister squadron to the VX-30, which is weapons test squadron in the U.S. Navy. The VX-30 squadron, which is called the “Bloodhounds,” focuses on providing research and development as well as testing and evaluation of both manned and unmanned aircraft. The aircraft used in the squadron include both fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
The squadron was established in 1995 and currently operates both locally and worldwide. In its efforts in the U.S. Navy, the VX-30 squadron adheres to a primary principle of leading by example among peers and subordinates in order to accomplish its goals and strengthen the U.S. Navy through its research and testing.
The goal of the VX-31 squadron is to act as an air test and evaluation squadron. The VX-31 squadron operates under the same principles as the VX-30 squadron but has slightly different goals and missions. The VX-31 squadron is not a weapons test squadron as the VX-30 squadron is, but does conduct research and testing just as the VX-30 squadron does. The VX-30 and VX-31 squadrons are the two components of the Naval Test Wing Pacific.
One rotary wing aircraft used in the VX-31 squadron is the SH-60F Seahawk helicopter. It is a dual-piloted aircraft designed to carry cargo. Along with seating for up to four passengers, the SH-60F Seahawk has an internal cargo area and can carry an external cargo load of up to 6,000 pounds.
The SH-60F Seahawk has a primary role of search and rescue capabilities for both day and night missions. The helicopter operates in the airspace surrounding the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, including capabilities to conduct missions in the Sierra Nevada mountains. In fact, the crews are on call seven days a week in order to conduct search and rescue missions.
Along with search and rescue missions, the SH-60F Seahawk helicopter supports testing at China Lake, transports personnel and equipment, and assists in the location and retrieval of equipment used in test flight projects. Recently, the SH-60F Seahawk was used to provide a live feed at Edwards Air Force Base for NASA space shuttle recoveries.
Whether the VX-31 squadron is assisting with testing innovations in radar or conducting search and rescue missions in the rough terrain of the Sierra Nevada mountains, the military personnel and equipment used by the squad are working to improve what the American military can do to protect its people. With the help of the SH-60F Seahawk helicopter, the VX-31 squadron will continue to highlight what, exactly, the U.S. Navy needs to be successful in every mission put before it.
In a very short period of time, drone technology is changing the way movie makers operate, and it is literally changing how Hollywood, the Mecca of movie-making, produces films for public consumption. Perhaps more than any other technological development of the past decade or two, the aerial photography provided by drone technology is having a massive impact on the way movies are made, on how much they cost to produce, and about who can afford to make high-quality movies these days.
Drones can go places that no other devices can, and in ways that even the most sophisticated photography equipment simply can’t match. From 200 feet up in the air, a rock-solid steady shot can be filmed by a drone, which is something that simply couldn’t be done until very recently. The only thing even close to that would have been a helicopter shot, and helicopters are so big and bulky that they simply can’t get into all the places that drones can, nor can they fly as low.
Drones can also be programmed to film high-speed chases, following the subjects through busy streets, mountainous highways, or any other setting which might be difficult using another approach. The kind of fluid, gliding sequences that drones can film, allow filmmakers to really expand the creative boundaries of the profession, creating scenes that until now could only be imagined.
Instead of having to rent out expensive cranes or pay for high-cost helicopter rentals, a production crew can now use a relatively low-cost drone to capture a higher-quality shot on film and save a ton of money in the process. With no dropoff in high definition quality, the cost for renting a very capable drone might only be 25% of the cost of renting other more expensive equipment, and the resulting film would not be as good.
Since the FAA approval for use of commercial drones in movie and television productions, many scenes can now be filmed domestically, rather than having to whisk an entire production crew to another country which allows drone usage. In another big savings bonanza, the time needed to set up a shot with drones is considerably less than it would be with any other type of equipment, which is a godsend to independent filmmakers with limited resources. Scenes that used to require 5 to 10 cameras and an entire filming crew, can now be captured with less than 30 minutes of setup time, and only three crew members to pull it off.
As with any new technology, it has taken a little while for drone usage to catch on, but now that it has, it’s seemingly everywhere, both in television and in movie scenes. Because the potential applications for drone videography is virtually limitless, more and more studios are becoming aware of the benefits, and are incorporating them as part of the production process.
The companies which have been formed already to provide high-quality drones to movie and television crews have seen so much demand, that it has been difficult to supply the needed equipment to everyone who requests it. On top of that, these same companies have had their phones ringing off the hooks with people who recognize the coming boom in drone usage, and want to come work for the drone companies.
DENVER, Colorado, October 10, 2018 – United Rotorcraft has announced receipt of a contract to complete an S-70i FIREHAWK® helicopter for San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD). Earlier this month, SDFD took possession of its newly-painted S-70i aircraft from United Rotorcraft’s Decatur, Texas, team before taking the aircraft back to San Diego for training. The FIREHAWK® aircraft was painted with San Diego Air-Ops’ signature red, white and blue colors.
“United Rotorcraft exceeded our expectations with the aircraft painting. Their staff was very professional and assisted us in getting the aircraft delivered on-schedule,” said Chief Chuck Macfarland, chief of San Diego Air Operations.
In the second quarter of 2019, the aircraft will come to United Rotorcraft’s Englewood, Colorado, facility for installation of an Aerial Firefighting Mission Package that includes extended landing gear, a 1,000 gallon firefighting tank and a retractable snorkel system.
“United Rotorcraft has worked hard to become the premier provider of FIREHAWK® aircraft. We are proud to work with San Diego Fire-Rescue to provide a state-of-the-art capability to combat the increasing California wildfire season,” said Mike Slattery, president of United Rotorcraft. The aircraft is anticipated to be delivered back to San Diego in the third quarter of 2019.
United Rotorcraft, an Air Methods Division, (www.unitedrotorcraft.com) specializes in the design and manufacture of aeromedical and aerospace technology. United Rotorcraft offers a full range of completion, paint and MRO services and products for emergency medical services, search and rescue, law enforcement, utility, VIP and military operators.