Features Aircraft Innovations
Built to Guard?

"Currently, the 22 aircraft of the Canadian Coast Guard's (CCG) air fleet are in good working order and provide safe and effective delivery of CCG programs, “says Gary Sidock, director general, Fleet Directorate. Yet he adds that “having said that, our air fleet is dated technology, as the aircraft range in age from 25 to 37 years old. The entire fleet is only VFR capable, with the exception of our current single heavy-lift S-61N aircraft based in Prince Rupert, which is IFR capable.” While the current fleet is well maintained and adequate to meet CCG and partner needs, Sidock notes that “…given their age, operating and maintenance costs for our helicopters are an issue.”

Visibility and room make this a flexible “cube van” for the skies.

With the CCG’s current responsibilities, such as marine nav-aid, telecommunications, icebreaking, Arctic resupply and some search-and-rescue tasks and, increasingly, sovereignty patrols, the 22 helicopters are in high demand. So it comes as a relief that the agency is planning to replace its aged fleet with new aircraft to the tune of 16 light utility twin engine helicopters and six medium utility twin-engine helicopters, all IFR capable.

When the CCG has committed funds and is ready to entertain bids for its fleet renewal, there will be no shortage of modern helicopters to choose from – see the sidebar on page 20 for available options in the medium utility twin class. Among these will certainly be the Eurocopter 145, a strong contender in the medium utility twin engine class.

Melding Man & Machine
An outgrowth of the German BK-117s, the EC-145 is actually a 117C-2 but a significant leap from the old 117s.  Distinguished by its stylish energy absorbing fuselage and its tail boom with fixed horizontal stabilizer and two end-plates, the 145 has combined Eurocopter’s latest developments, like the advanced cockpit design and avionics, with the proven, rugged BK-117 legacy. But there are several other proven helicopters on the market right now in this class – so what makes the EC-145 stand out? 

The design and rigid rotor allow four people to work on one side of the platform at once, handy characteristics should winch rescues be part of the work diet.

Gary G. Krebs, Eurocopter’s chief test pilot, says they began with three assets – “Space, ergonomics and man-machine interface.  Taking the last, when we look at the basic instrumentation in the CPDS (Central Panel Display System), Eurocopter has been working over the last decade doing two things: decreasing pilot workload and thus increasing safety.  To decrease pilot workload, it developed the VEMD (Vehicle and Engine Management Display), which gives engine parameters (oil pressure and temperature, etc.) with two three- by four-inch screens and Caution Advisory Display (CAD) on a three- by four-inch screen.”

Having cut his teeth on air ambulance helicopters more than 20 years ago, Krebs remembers when pilots had to continually scan various instruments to monitor engine and transmission torque, gearbox and engine oil temperatures just as they were executing intricate hover manoeuvres. In the EC-145, the First-Limit Indicator (FLI), which is part of the VEMD, does it for him. It takes in the engine, aircraft and atmospheric parameters, computes the data and then automatically indicates to the pilot the first limit he will reach during a period of flight. “The pilot just has to look at one needle,” Krebs explains. “If he does not “red line” the needle, all systems are within their limits.

Whether loading patients and doctors, or resupply gear for the Arctic, the clamshell doors make it fast and easy work.

The FLI encompasses six basic engine parameters, three per engine and torque from both engines – all of that onto a single gauge.  From the pilot’s perspective, it is one gauge and one needle to look at as opposed to the six for takeoffs and landings in older models. This decreases the pilot workload considerably. For something like hovering, which is when we are doing our most work in terms of pilotage – the FLI makes that side so much easier.”
 
Krebs’s enthusiasm for the EC-145’s avionics is evident as, with pilot fatigue reduced, safety is enhanced.  Other cockpit features include the engine twist grip controls at the pilot’s collective pitch lever, the three-axis autopilot (pitch, roll and yaw is through the autopilot), the dual Garmin 430s, the dual GPS/NAV/COM and the two SAGEM glass cockpit MFD/PFD (multi function/primary function displays). With this, the EC-145 is able to fly day and night VFR, with night vision goggles, and it is also certified for single-pilot IFR.

The display, which combines six key engine parameters in one gauge, has been designed to reduce pilot fatigue and to allow simple one-pilot operation.

Prominent on the EC-145's roof is the hingeless rotor system, its monolithic titanium hub and four glass and carbon fibre reinforced blades, ensuring low noise and vibration levels.

“Basically, “Krebs says, “it is a rigid rotor system so all of the lead lag flapping happens within the blade rather than the head, which makes it extremely manoeuv-
rable and agile.  The titanium hub head is something that Eurocopter has grown from the mid-sixties from the 105 to the 117 to the 145.” The low vibration and high flight stability are designed for transporting patients, medics or combat-ready troops, and, because it is high set, there is no crouching and the main rotor provides safe access to the cabin.

Mission Space
The instrumentation and rotor aside, another attraction is the unobstructed interior of the main cabin.  Here there are no boxy partitions or floor to ceiling door posts in sight – just space for up to 10 high-density seats or 6 m3 (213 ft3) of cargo volume. “The unobstructed space is behind you, around you and in front of you,” the chief test pilot points out. “A lot of times when you get into older helicopter models you have control tubes that hinder movement, but in this case the cyclic and collective control is through the ball cables which are in the pillar between the two windshields.”

Nor is the cabin floor on several levels, allowing for unimpeded loading of whatever equipment the mission demands – plush leather seats for VIPs, operator’s consoles with multi-mission screens for police or battlefield surveillance or high-density seating for SWAT teams.  The two wide passenger sliding doors and two rear hinged clamshell doors also make for easy access and exit of the cabin and cargo compartment.  But what makes the 145 particularly suited to SAR or other similar missions is that the open cabin can take straight-in loading of two stretchers through the rear clamshell doors as well as two doctors and two attendants with all their equipment.

“When I look behind me and see the space,” says Krebs, “this is a flying cube van.  But the best feature of this aircraft is the versatility of the cabin – the ability to change from configuration to configuration very quickly. We can do any kind of passenger /cargo combination. And the rails allow us to change configurations fast. In one aircraft you have SAR, VIP, EMS, troop transport. I think that’s really where it excels. The flexibility of the aircraft to perform many roles is its greatest selling point.  Also if you look at the way the windows are in the aft cabin you can virtually see down the side of the helicopter.”

While the CCG does not currently perform hoist rescues, the EC-145 is well positioned should that need change in the future. For helicopters used in SAR, and especially those operating in maritime and Arctic regions, strong winch performance is essential, and the 145’s rescue winch does not disappoint. Marc Jouan, Eurocopter program manager, pointed out its capabilities. “With a lift capacity of 272 kg (600 lbs) and a cable length of 90 m, the winch is also positioned on the right side of the aircraft, next to the pilot, allowing him to see the location for the winching and position the aircraft accordingly. The winching can be done with four people on the same side: pilot, winch man, the guy at the bottom of the winch securing it (could be a swimmer) and the patient.”

Four people on one side of a hovering platform – and it is no problem?  “The rigid rotor,” Krebs explains, “gives you the widest lateral C of G so winching is much less of an issue laterally. It provides a cone of stability better than an articulated rotor.”

Other missions
In 2007, Eurocopter scored an impressive victory when the militarized version of the EC-145 was selected by the U.S. Army as its new multi-mission Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). Called the UH-72A Lakota, it made history as the first civilian-built helicopter to be bought by the U.S. military.  Full rate production of 345 UH-72As was then initiated at the Eurocopter facility at Columbus, Miss., for the U.S. Army and Homeland Security. Washington said that the decision to replace the Black Hawks currently in use with an off the shelf, lighter, cheaper helicopter like the EC-145 had much to do with cost-savings, lessening pilot fatigue and expediency of procurement – points that the CCG might also consider.

As to that agency’s agenda for helicopter replacement, there was no firm timetable as of press time. Gary Sidock says that, given the magnitude of the capital investment required, the CCG cannot afford to self-fund this investment from its own resources and the usual Government of Canada processes will apply to funding decisions and approvals, as well as to the procurement process, including the specific types of replacement aircraft. In short, an open bid. Still, what would Canadian content be if the CCG did purchase the EC-145?

 “It would be some part production, possibly the tail boom,” says Jouan, “to be made at the Canadian Eurocopter plant in Fort Erie, Ont., which would also handle all repair, overhaul, pilot and AME training and simulation. It’s a good base for support,” he adds.  “Thanks to the Fort Erie plant we have a good footprint in Canada.”