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….
A
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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april 2011
What winching looks like from the
ground. Photo courtesy of CHC Ireland.
sneak peek - the new s92
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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APRIL 2011
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
sneak peek - the new s92
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
APRIL 2011
www.mountainrescue.ie
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