The odds and sods were nothing of significance, but included connecting a TOT reset key that had never been working, replacing the backlight bulbs on my VOR. N1 gauge and the compass so they can all be seen at night. We had also found that the throttle had become very stiff so they are replacing the throttle cable and also the collective had become ‘notchy’ and made it difficult to operate in a precise manner. On inspection of the main rotor head, PDG identified, some wear in a component on the swash plate and they were certain this was the cause of the problem on the collective , so that has been removed and is being sent to Sloane Helicopters for attention. They are all doing their best to have it returned prior to Xmas so that I can have it back during the New Year period, but to be honest I’m not holding my breath.

A major consideration for this inspection is the starts which have become very poor. I have previously written about these having a tendency to be very warm and although we changed the FCU (a scheduled change), replaced the starter generator and one or two other things, they have become poor again. So much so that it was becoming impossible to fire the machine without using a ground power unit in conjunction with the internal battery. A procedure that isn’t recomended but was necessary in the last few weeks to get her going.

The correction of this problem was to be number 1 priority on the list of things to do and the boys at PDG have concluded that my battery is actually the problem. This is slightly disappointing as I only had it fitted in March and is therefore less than 6 months old. I purchased it directly from the supplier and had it shipped to PDG for installation so I will have to deal with that element on my return although a new one is being ordered prior to my return to the UK.

Other items are unlikely to get done including a pre-flight kit that I bought in January and mainly provides for the installation of flight steps on the outside of the machine to stop me having to stand on the seats to conduct my pre-flight. They will get fitted eventually I guess. So that’s he update so far. I’ll keep you posted.

Please visit and bookmark this new address for all future updates.

Eurocopter EC135

Editors note :- My good friend Richard Tyrer is the youngest CPL (H) and FI (H) in the country. He is currently in the midst of training for his Instrument Rating, part of which includes a type rating on the EC 135. He is a very competent pilot and regularly flies my machine. He has kindly agreed to contribute some articles on my blog.

For every one who is a regular to this website, my name in Richard Tyrer. I have been a commercial helicopter pilot and a flight instructor since January 2009. I came in to contact with Joel when I was in need of a Jet Ranger to go down to the south of France in earlier this year and much to my surprise he said yes! Ever since Joel has very kindly helped me out with my career which I cannot even thank him enough for.Anyway to the Type and Instrument Ratings. You need various boxes ticked to qualify to get an instrument rating; the main ones being you need to have valid ATPL (Airline Transport Pilot Licence) exams and usually a commercial licence.

I looked at many places to get my IR, but the one that really stood out from the crowd was Bond Air Services at Gloucester Airport, the reasons being is the quality of the aircraft and simulators, the friendliness and professionalism of the staff and the general good atmosphere within the building. This shows in the waiting list, I have wanted to start since the middle of 2009 but October was the earliest slot I could get.

Eurocopter EC135 Engine

Before you start an instrument rating, you need to have sufficient training in a multi-engine helicopter. In the UK, you are only allowed to fly in IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions), or basically cloud, in a multi-engine helicopter, the main reasons being that if one engine fails you have another one to get you to your destination or diversion safely.

The aircraft of choice for Bond Air Services is the Eurocopter EC 135 T2. This is a latest version of a very modern range of helicopters being very reliable and having state of the art technology (sometimes I don’t think it even needs a pilot to fly it!)

My start date with Bond was October 26^th, and from day one it is intensive work. You have 30 minutes to copy your licences and meet the instructor and then it is straight into the deep end starting the ground school for the type rating. My instructor, Roy Weatherall, is a very experienced pilot who has over 14,000 hours, many of which are offshore and also air ambulance, so he has many stories to tell and experiences to share. The first four days of the course are purely ground school, learning the systems of the aircraft, what goes wrong and how to fix it! And to prove that you have been listening in during these four days you have to take a type rating ground exam which consists of 70 questions. On the fifth day you get let loose in the simulator.

Eurocopter EC135 Panel

The simulator is fantastic fun; it is a state of the art full motion EC 135, the only kind of its type to date. In the first session you learn how to start the aircraft and basic multi-engine aircraft procedures. This is quite different to a single engine helicopter because if you have an engine failure you need to have a sufficient height or speed to make a safe landing (i.e the avoid curve). In a multi-engine helicopter the takeoff and landing can be done with a different and much more relaxing profile, going higher and slower making it a much more comfortable procedure. The reason behind this is that you have a second engine to rely on in the case that the first one quits.

Once you have mastered all of this the majority of the remaining time in the simulator is general handling and emergency procedures. One mistake I made was after an engine fire, I naturally shut down the good engine, leaving the last remaining one on fire! Thank god for simulators.

After you have had your six hours in the simulator, you can finally let your hands loose on the aircraft! This is one of the most exhilarating experiences for any helicopter pilot who has only flown a single engine helicopter before. Starting up for the first time just gets your heart racing like never before. It is surprising how realistic the simulator is compared to the real deal, apart from a few “sim glitches” it would be quite hard to tell them apart. The 4 hours required on the aircraft are recapping what you have done in the simulator, you just have to remember that it costs significantly more if you crash!

Eurocopter EC135 Rear Doors

The EC135 is a beautiful machine to fly, having many stability systems and auto-pilot it will happily let you take your hands off all controls in flight and also in the hover (even though this is not recommended). Eurocopter has designed it to be very pilot friendly, where the normal procedures and emergency drills require very little actions.

Richard Tyrer, Tim Lieber and Roy Weatherall

Overall my experience with Bond Air Services so far has been very good. It’s a very professional and efficient environment with good facility’s make it one of the top training schools I have ever been to. The instrument rating starts next which is the more lengthy and intensive part of the course lasting seven weeks, which I am really looking forward to. The only part I don’t agree with is flying one of the most beautiful helicopters in the world and not being able to look out the window!

Hughes 500c HS Helicopter with Lee

Joel has asked me to write a short piece on my experiences of bringing a Hughes 500 back from the USA to the UK so here goes.

I’m Lee Jones ,my day job is as a Captain on Airbus A320/321 for Monarch Airlines based at Manchester Ringway. I have long had an interest in helis and got my PPL (H) about 5 years ago. The Hughes and MDH product line has always been a favourite of mine due to its great handling, versatility and above all it supposed ‘relatively’ lower operating costs.

The 500 has since gone through several owners including the Hughes Tool Company ,McDonnel Douglas, Boeing and now MDH Inc.

I initially started looking in the USA for an old OH-6A ex-military example of the 500 which was within my limited budget that I could restore but the CAA and FAA just made that option too difficult and restrictive. I eventually found a  500C HS civil model through a great aircraft broker I had been working with. This machine had only just come up for sale and hadn’t even been marketed yet.

Hughes 500c helicopter ready for loading

This aircraft was a little unusual in its history in that the owner flew regularly but then developed heath problems and so one day parked it up and then it just sat there for almost 14 years as he couldn’t bear to part with her!

Normally this would be really bad for any aircraft, but this heli had been stored in a sealed hanger in New Mexico -one for the best places on the planet for storage due to its warm temperatures  and very low humidity being at 4000ft ASL.

It has only had 2 owners since leaving Hughes at its Culver City factory in 1974- its previous owner was the Southern California Edison Electric company who used it for power line survey throughout California. In fact its is still wearing its original 1974 colour scheme from Hughes.

Many hours were spent in the research and going over the logs (luckily I have an understanding wife) and I eventually managed to get to a deal that made sense to both parties.

Almost 5 months after first hearing about the heli, me and Steve Halliwell, one of the G-LADZ owners set off from Manchester early one Sunday morning bound for New Mexico. Im still amazed at the number of people we talked to (even some Americans) who don’t realise that NM is a US state and not part of Mexico!

The owner Gary Beeson,kindly collected us from the airport in El Paso and we set to work. Firstly the blades had to come off which was relatively easy then the vertical stabiliser unit and then the skids  had to be then replaced with stubby artificial shipping legs. All this so the 500 could fit into a standard ISO shipping container for its sea voyage. We were also reminded  by the owner to keep an eye out for the Black Widow spiders that also occupied the hanger. “Its rare they’ll kill you- just make you kinda sick” – said our host! I will be giving the aircraft a very thorough pre-flight for a while!

Hughes 500c Helicopter with short legs

All went reasonably well until we tried to fit the short legs- they had been manufactured specially in the UK for us to an existing 500 pattern but had been made too big. We found this out when the heli was sitting up in the air about 4ft on its crane!

A lot of head scratching went on and several ideas bounced around like sitting the aircraft on its belly on some mattresses until we could get  replacements  made. Eventually I managed to take a trip  1hr into the local town and get a grinder and disks and ground them down to make them fit. Field engineering at its best!

Hours before the container was booked to arrive the shipping company  came up with whole draft of additional paperwork and compliance issues we had to overcome – including proving that the aircraft was not a ‘munition of war’ and could not be adapted for such. Many emails and calls were made across the Atlantic and eventually the box tickers were happy and container arrived on site.

A wooden blade box to protect the rotor blades was constructed by me on site and all the other parts covered in bubble wrap  and tagged.

A 500, even on shipping legs is quite tall and we had only about 2 inches of clearance at the top of the container. It was a very tense time as I watched my new pride and joy precariously balanced at the container entrance but in she went – a real team effort!

Its been a great fun trip but exhausting –importing an aircraft is not for the faint hearted.

She is now on her way to the UK sailing out from Huston to Felixtowe, where she will go by road to Redhill for maintenance and return to the air hopefully by early next year-I cant wait!

Expect futher updates from the hangar.

With thanks to Liz my wife, Steve Halliwell, Gary Beeson , The RBS , and Heli Logistics at Redhill and everyone else without all this would not have been possible.

LJ

Hellfire is Ed Macy’s second book, the first being Apache, and both are about…..err the Apache Attack helicopter. Hellfire is the named of their most effective missile and is so called because of it’s mission capability it’s a HELIcopter FIRE and forget Air to Ground missile. Mr Macy has managed to write another book that really makes you believe that you are sat looking over his shoulder whilst he engages the enemy in Afghanistan. It’s a fast ride through some of his missions and at one point I considered ducking as he described being engaged by a twin barrelled anti aircraft gunner on the ground.

The intensity of battle is remarkable and I have often said that all of these guys deserve a lot more than medals for the time they spend doing their stuff in theatre. One thing is for sure, the Apache is a formidable attack helicopter and Ed’s second book further extols the choppers fighting capabilities.

Hellfire is now available in most good book stores and is, in my opinion, a must read.

continued………

Once you’ve completed all the assessment papers for module 1 and AFT have marked them to assess your progress, you can book the exams at the CAA. These are held on fixed dates every 2 months at Gatwick. In the mean time, you need to spend one week at AFT for a brush-up course. This is a requirement of the distance learning course that you spend 10% of the study time in-house, but it’s also very useful as you get together with other students and discuss areas you’re not 100% happy with.

After the module 1 exams, you repeat the study process for module 2 subjects. However, you don’t need to pass all module 1 subjects before you can start module 2 subjects. I decided to sit all 5 exams from module 1 at my first visit to the CAA. I then sat 3 exams from module 2 on my second visit, leaving “Aircraft General Knowledge” until the third visit on it’s own as this is a huge subject.

Each exam has a 75% pass mark. You can visit the CAA to sit all 9 exams in a maximum of 6 visits (within 18 months of the first visit) and you can re-sit a failed exam up to 3 times. Thankfully, I passed all my exams first time without any re-sits necessary. But if I needed to re-sit any subject, I’d have done it on my third visit also.

From receiving all the study material in August 2008, taking the exams in January, May & July this 2009, it took me 11 months to complete them all. That was based on an average of about 4 hours studying per day, 5 days a week. You can do  it faster, but I get tired of studying after a few hours and was also hour building at the same time. I also know others who were struggling to get finished within the 18 months allowed from the first exam. Don’t under-estimate the work involved and bear in mind also, that I was essentially doing this full time!!!!

Flight Training

So, all theory exams passed, that just leaves the flight training to sort out.

As AFT don’t do the helicopter flight training, I could basically choose where and who I wanted to do it with. I wanted a very experienced pilot with many thousands of hours experience. Having looked around at various schools, I decided to do my training with Geoff Day at Sandtoft Helicopters Ltd. Geoff is a hugely experienced and respected pilot in the industry. The benefit of doing the training with Geoff is he likes to do the full training (35 hrs including night rating) within a 3 weeks period, he books the CAA for the following day and it’s all completed in less than one month. I preferred this way rather than stretching it out over a few months, but it was hard work.

I also chose to do the training in a Bell 206 Jetranger owned by a good friend of mine, Joel. Geoff had no problem with that and also has many hours experience on the Jetranger. The machine does have to be approved for the purpose of the test though at a cost of £170!! The training was hard work, but enjoyable. We were flying 5 days a week, up to the 4 hours a day maximum. With all the briefing and planning involved, that meant 09:00 until 17:00 each day.

The flying training is based on the 5 stages of the CAA flight test.

Stage 1 – You start with the pre-planned navigation leg. On this leg, you must fly the planned heading and only change heading by calculated dead-reckoning which you explain as you’re calculating. When you leave the “start point” you must advise your heading, speed, chosen altitude and ETA at destination. At the “initial point” you then “track crawl” using the OS map to the destination point (eg farm house or small village). Once you’ve found the destination, you “track crawl” to another pre-planned point using the CAA ¼ mill chart, advising chosen altitude, speed, approx. heading and ETA.

Stage 2 – You’ll then be asked to pick up a specific radial on a VOR and asked to track that radial.

Stage 3 – You’ll then be asked to divert to another point. This is not pre-planned, so you need to estimate a heading, advise chosen altitude, speed and ETA, then “track crawl” using the CAA ¼ mill chart.

Stage 4 – You’ll be asked to put a hood on to obscure your view outside the aircraft. With the aid of the flight instruments only, you’ll be asked to fly straight/level, perform level 360 turns, climbing & descending turns, unusual attitude recovery etc. to demonstrate your ability to fly on instruments only.

Stage 5 – You’ll then be asked to demonstrate your general handling skills both off-airfield and on-airfield. This will include simulated emergency procedures (warning lights, autos, PFL’s), confined area landings, limited power take-offs & landings, sloping ground etc. etc. etc.

All the above has to be demonstrated with you in “command”, working the radio, navigating and maintaining situational awareness at all times. If you bust controlled airspace, don’t expect someone to help you. You’ve just failed the test if that happens.

The CPL flight test is just a more accurate extension to the PPL test. You need to demonstrate you can fly accurately in all situations and remain in control, even in emergency situations, following detailed procedures to the book. There’s nothing brand new that you won’t have covered at PPL stage, but there is more meat on the bone and accuracy involved.

My own flight test was conducted by the CAA’s chief examiner Fred Cross and the aircraft you fly takes on a new identity of it’s own in that it is assigned it’s own call sign for the duration of the exam. This call sign is allocated to the examiner and in this case was Exam 19 . Although you’re apprehensive and anxious to get the test done, Fred was very methodical and professional without being cold and unfriendly. I was very comfortable with Fred and the test went very well. I didn’t give him any reason to fail me at any stage and was overjoyed when he advised I’d passed the test first time.

Summary

So, I’ve now spent a small fortune on a commercial pilots licence and can indeed fly a helicopter now. I have 250 hrs experience including 120 hours on the Jetranger. I passed all my PPL & CPL exams first time, achieving 90% average. After all that work, dedication and proving my ability, what’s my chances of getting any work in this profession???

If you’re thinking of doing the same, think long and hard, do your homework and go into it knowing what’s involved!!!!

I’ve  just finished my Commercial Helicopter Pilot’s License – CPL(H) and I have to say it’s been a long road. For other pilots thinking of embarking on the CPL (H) training, it’s important you understand what you’re signing up for.

I passed my PPL (H) in March last year and for months I flew around on my own or with friends. My opinion at the time was that my flying ability wasn’t sufficiently acceptable to me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I believe when you get your PPL, it’s a licence to start learning and doesn’t mean you’re a good pilot. It just means you’re capable of flying a helicopter without killing yourself!!! So last July I had time on my hands, a new PPL licence and a hunger for all information heli related (yes, my names David and I’m a self-confessed heli-holic!!).

I decided, if I’m going to read all the books and learn about helicopters, as well as doing a lot of flying to improve my skills, I might as well get the qualification and do the CPL (H).

This is my story and I hope it helps others who are considering the modular route, which is the route I followed.

Medical

First of all, before enrolling with a training provider, it’s important to get a Class 1 medical. The initial examination can only be done at the CAA, Gatwick, but subsequent medicals can be done with an AME locally. I phoned the CAA, reserved my medical appointment for 2 weeks later and started eating healthy for the 2 weeks thinking it would make a difference!!  I can highly recommend using the train to get to Gatwick, as you arrive into the airport, get a free bus to the CAA building and you’re relaxed and ready for the medical. There are also numerous hotels in the area if an overnight stay is required.

The medical itself takes about 4 hours and there are various rooms and experts to see. They check your eyes, ears, blood (haemoglobin & cholesterol), urine (blood sugar), blood pressure, reflexes and also your heart with an ECG. After all the tests are complete, you then sit down with the GP who goes through all the results and asks questions about your lifestyle and history. If all goes well, as in my case, you’re issued with a new Class 1 medical certificate immediately and you’re on your way back to the train station. Insert the new certificate into your licence and the jobs done.

Theory Training

Next task on the list was to find a training provider that would allow me to work at my own pace. You have the choice of joining an integrated course which is full-time study, 5 days a week, or a modular distance learning course. I personally prefer to sit in my own home, relax in my armchair and study at my own pace. I am self-motivated so don’t have a problem doing the studying, but if I’m in a class of other people I feel the pace is either too slow or it’s too fast and I don’t understand everything. At least if I’m at home and don’t understand a certain point, I can re-read it as many times as I like until I’m happy. So it’s a modular distance learning course for me.

Searching through the internet, I didn’t find so many companies offering CPL courses. I’m not sure if that was just me not finding them, as I am aware for a few more now. Some companies do offer the ATPL course, but as I had no plans for an IR to work offshore, I decided to go down the CPL route rather than ATPL. Having now completed the CPL, I think I may have made a mistake there. The study material for the CPL includes almost everything you need to do the full ATPL exams and on reflection I may have been better doing the 14 ATPL exams ,rather than 9 CPL exams, but it’s no major problem.

The company I finally decided to go with was Atlantic Flight Training (AFT) based at Coventry Airport. They offer the modular CPL(H) course and provide all the study material needed. However, it’s important to understand that this is a “CPL(H) Interim” course. Basically it means that except for the Principles of Flight technical paper which is based on helicopters, many of the other subjects will be based on fixed wing planes (usually Boeing 737). That said, I have absolutely no experience with fixed wing but didn’t have a problem following the material, so don’t be put off. I can highly recommend AFT. They’re very helpful and answer any questions fast and precisely.  I’d would strongly suggest that you ask around for advice, as I’ve seen other companies recommended recently too.

Once you’ve enrolled and paid your money (about £1600 from memory), you’ll receive the folders of study material by courier to get started. Make sure you have a huge book-shelf available for these, as there’s a lot of reading to do!!! I’d estimate about 10 times the PPL study material!!! Stock up on Tea/Coffee/Sugar/Milk!!

The AFT course was split into 2 modules. The first module had 5 subjects and the second had 4 subjects (9 in total). The subjects in each module will vary between providers, but with AFT it was split as follows :-

Module 1 contains :

• Aviation Law
• Human Performance
• Meteorology
• Navigation
• VFR Communications

Module 2 contains :

• Principles of Flight (H)
• Operational Procedures
• Flight Planning and Mass & Balance
• Aircraft General Knowledge

The study guide you receive details how you should split your time between the subjects rather than concentrate on one subject at a time. This helps you digest the material and stops you getting bored of one subject. I wasn’t convinced with this system at first, but it does work!! At regular intervals you answer question sheets. Some of these you can mark yourself to see how you’re progressing, others you email to AFT so they can mark and assess your progress. This was a good system and worked well for me. You can then go back and re-study any weak areas.

Part 2 will be published on 7th November 2009

It looked in a sorry state but this was understandable as it had been stripped down, ready for inspection by all and sundry. The initial assessment (and I stress that this is not an official account of the damage) is that it has suffered a significant amount of damage starting at the rear of the engine all the way to the tail rotor. To be honest you don’t have to know the first thing about choppers to work this out for yourself.

There is no doubt that both horizontal stabilizers have been trashed, together with the tail boom itself which is bent to say the least. One of the tail rotor’s is bent down it’s longitudal axis and the other one hasn’t faired much better either. The tail rotor drive shaft which feeds into the tail rotor transmission has been traumatised and is certainly going to require replacement also.

These are the obvious items which are visibly damaged without question. It’s also clear that the rear skids have been stressed as the fractures are evident and considering the chopper was pushed about 3 feet laterally fas a result of the impact it’s hardly surprising that they have suffered. Further tests are being made of the airframe to consider it’s overall structural integrity and the results of these will be known shortly. It’s too early to determine what the prognosis is but more should be known in the next few days. In the meantime, the owners are chopper-less (except for the fact they can use mine) and G-LADZ is looking poorly although she’s being lovingly cared for in the HICU (Helicopter Intensive Care Unit)

Let’s hope she gets well soon.

Flowers and donations can be sent to me at Manchester Barton !!!!

I feel like I’ve been every step of the way with him as he’s progressed through his Class 1 medical, his theory training and written examinations closeley followed by his JetBox type rating, hours building and then his flying training and finally his flight test. Although I may have been looking over his shoulder I’ve done none of the work; it’s all been done by him and I’m pleased to say that he has successfully passed all of his examinations, with flying colours on the first attempt.

I have asked Dave to write a post for the blog and he has agreed to. I’ll be putting part 1 up on Thursday and part 2, a short time later. Meanwhile, for the record Dave, you’ve done a great job, you’re a great pilot (understandable given that you had a fantastic mentor) and I look forward to you doing another 150 hours in my JetBox.

Well done Dave!