Sneak Peek: Ireland's newest SAR helicopter

sneak peek - the new s92

Sneak Peek:

Ireland’s newest SAR helicopter REPORT & images: JIM O’NEILL, CHC SHANNON

Jim O’Neill, is an aircrew trainer, working with CHC Ireland at the Shannon Coast Guard Helicopter Base….

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s most of our colleagues in Mountain Rescue Ireland are aware the Irish Coast Guard Helicopters are shortly to change over from the Sikorsky S61n to the Sikorsky S92 aircraft. Although it will be a little sad for those of us flying on the S61n the transition to the new aircraft is an exciting opportunity to develop the service and advance SAR in Ireland to a new level .The Coast Guard crews have already completed the transition to Paramedic level of care and are fully approved to practice at CPG 3rd edition level. CHC Ireland has also successfully been granted approval as a CPG 3rd edition service provider. This will enable use to work seamlessly with other P.H.E.C.C. personnel especially Advanced Paramedics.

Having to manoeuvre a heavy patient from outboard hoist to paramedic care area in board, can compromise the safety of both casualty and carer. The high cabin ceiling will greatly enhance the crews’ ability to operate safely and reduce the risk of injury.

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What winching looks like from the ground. Photo courtesy of CHC Ireland.


Some of the technical stuff!

Max speed: A whopping 269 km per hour Length: 56 feet long Width: 12ft 9 inches wide (the fuselage) Rotor Disc: a diameter of 56 ft 4 inches Seating: The aircraft can comfortably carry 22 passengers Engines: powered by 2 x 1,877 Kw General Electrics CT7-8 engines The marking for the Irish Coast Guard S92. Image courtesy of Sikorsky

The pilot, engineer and crew training has also commenced with the first aircraft due to go online in Shannon in July 2012. As part of the introduction of the new aircraft it will be a priority for us to ensure that the other rescue services that we operate with are familiar with and gain training on the new aircraft. This will involve the training of mountain rescue personnel at their local SAR base as the aircraft are introduced on a rolling basis. As in all fields of work, with the introduction of new equipment, the need to adapt and introduce new techniques will be required to ensure we all get the most from the new machines.

The range

With standard mission equipment the range of the S92 is 490 km. However, with a mission specific kit with 2nd auxiliary tank fitted (kept on all bases), the range will expand to 637 km. Both variations allow for 30 minutes hover on scene, the ability to lift 22 survivors and diversion fuel on return.

Cockpit

A Rockwell Collins advanced glass cockpit provides increased field of view and is equipped with a dual, four-axis automatic flight control system and the highly integrated open-architecture Rockwell Collins avionics

management system (AMS). The aircraft is fully NVG compliant.

certified) with full de-icing protection on rotor blades up to a height of 10,000 feet.

Hoist

Rotor blade lights

The aircraft is fitted with two completely independent variable speed rescue hoists which operate at a max speed of 325 feet per minute and both have 300 feet of cable. The hoist also has a powerful spotlight positioned to illuminate the winchman if needed.

Point of interest

Dual hoists are now standard for professional SAR units as they allow the winch man to changeover from the primary hoist to the secondary hoist in the event of a malfunction. The lack of a second hoist has lead to fatalities in other countries after the winch man has been stranded. Also it means in the event of a malfunction the mission will not need to be aborted or a second aircraft requested.

Rotor blade de-Ice Protection System (RIPS)

The risk of ice build up on rotor blades is a constant serious threat to helicopter rescue crews in cold environments and especially during Mountain Rescue operations. The S92 is the first helicopter in the world to be fitted (and FAA

The crash proof multistretcher rack. Photo courtesy of CHC Ireland.

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The main rotor blades have path recognition lights.

Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR)

The aircraft is fitted with a new generation FLIR system, which gives full 360-degree night vision capability, colour day TV, recordable camera with a zoom lens.

Nightsun search light

The aircraft is fitted with a Spectrolab Nightsun XP searchlight. It has 30-million candle watts of illumination and has a 1-mile target identification range. The light is designed to be co-ordinated with FLIR. This will be useful for lighting up large areas at night.

Aeromedical Evacuation Kit

The aircraft is fitted with a “3 litter” evacuation station, which allows 3 patients to be treated simultaneously. The system is both crash proof and removable. The Paramedic crew will also have full medical equipment on board. This will


enable us to carry multiply serious casualties and will be useful for the proposed future “Aeromedical” evacuation role by the Irish Coast Guard.

Rear Ramp

The aircraft is fitted with a rear ramp, which can be used for the deployment and recovery of personnel when the aircraft has landed on the ground. This has proven to be useful in the UK for deploying Mountain Rescue personnel when landing on. It also means that a stretcher party can walk directly on to the aircraft with the stretcher.

Cargo Hook

The aircraft is fitted with a cargo hook, which can be used for carrying underslung loads. During the recent bad snow condition earlier in the year the S61n was used for cargo slinging animal feed to remote areas. The cargo hook on the S92 will enable us to expand this role.

Cabin Space

Most helicopters are not designed with the ergonomics of winching a stretchered casualty off a deck/mountain and manoeuvring him/her to a patient care area for treatment. The simple reason for this is demand - most aircraft are not designed for SAR, but Oil & Gas and general utility operations. The 6ft height of the S92 cabin was designed with SAR operations in mind. Daithí Ó Cearbhalláin, (Chief Rescue Crewman with CHC Ireland) says, “Having to manoeuvre a heavy patient from outboard hoist to paramedic care area in board, can compromise the safety of both casualty and carer. The high cabin ceiling will greatly enhance the crews’ ability to operate safely and reduce the risk of injury”. The new aircraft will play a major part in the Coast Guard service maintaining and expanding their roles. It will also provide increased range and lift capacity. This will be useful both on the hostile west coast of Ireland and also for the deployment of Marine Ambulance Response Teams and Fire Fighting Teams to major emergencies at sea on the busy shipping lanes of the east coast of Ireland. It will also mean the ability to deploy large numbers of Mountain Rescue personnel into the mountains even during high risk icing conditions that would ground all other helicopters. Also it will increase time efficiency due to a greatly reduced need for multiple lifts and the aircraft’s high speed.

Torridon MRT practice the high-line evacuation. Photo courtesy of Ryan Maclean, Torridon MRT

The Torridon Perspective... Torridon MRT is based in the North West Highlands of Scotland. We cover a vast area of Munro’s and Corbets, a few tame ones but some very challenging ones. The nearest Helicopter to us, is the Stornoway Coastguard Helicopter Rescue 100, which is a Sikorsky S92. There is a loading ramp at the back of the aircraft for loading casualties and team members when the aircraft is landed on. Winching duties are normally done with MRT members using the high-line procedure if the casualty is in a difficult position. This takes 2 or 3 Team members, but good co-operation between the winch-man and the Team, means the casualty can be loaded safely to the aircraft. With the use of the high-line, the aircraft can hover a good bit higher above the MR Team which means the down wash does not have that much of an effect on us on the ground. I have been privileged enough to be on board during rescues and training and to witness the crew working with this great machine. At the end of the day it allows us to get the casualty to safety much quicker. We

at Torridon MRT have been working with the new S-92 for over two years now. It has been a great asset to both the Mountain Rescue Team and the casualties we rescue. We very much look forward to operating with it in the future. Ryan Maclean :: Torridon MRT

Members from Torridon MRT during a winching exercise. Photo courtesy of Ryan Maclean, Torridon MRT

Members of Torridon MRT prepare to board an S92. Photo courtesy of Ryan Maclean, Torridon MRT

The new S92 in flight. Photo courtesy of CHC Ireland

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