Hans J Marter

31 January 2008

SEARCH and rescue in the northern isles has just made a quantum leap forward with the arrival of the two new coastguard helicopters.

The two Sikorsky S92s replacing the much adored S61 working horses will be known as Rescue 102 and Rescue 103 but, appropriately, the main helicopter will continue to be referred to as Oscar Charlie.

The arrival of the two £15 million aircraft comes as crews based at Sumburgh Airport settle into their new contracts with CHC Scotia, the Canadian company that took over the search and rescue contract from Bristow at the middle of last year.

Now after months of training, first with the simulator at Sikorsky in the United States, and then a lengthy transition process at the Sumburgh base, both helicopters became operational earlier this month.

Crews continue to be busy clocking up as many flying hours as they can and familiarising themselves with the new choppers, which are to become a regular sight around the isles for years to come.

It was a pretty breezy day when chief pilot Paul Bentley and his crew set out for a normal training exercise last week. An overnight westerly force 10 storm had abated and the wind out on the uninhabited island of South Havra blew at a mere force eight with the spray still washing on to the island.

Winchman Gordon Rae said working conditions such as these were quite normal for the search and rescue crews.

However with the new helicopter they could go that little bit further, which often was needed to bring a rescue job to a successful conclusion.

"It has to be really bad before we don't go. Obviously the captain of the aircraft has to take the interest of the crew and the aircraft. If there is a conflict of danger than we can't go, but most of the times we do go. And this aircraft with the equipment it has at its disposal, is fantastic," he said.

With its two main engines, the S92 is significantly faster and can reach location further afield. With a range of up to 210 miles before the helicopter has to return to base for refuelling, the crews' capabilities have been further boosted.

However, as with every new piece of kit it takes a while before one gets used to it. Mr Bentley said: "There was a lot to take in. The course we did in the United States was very intensive and at times we were concerned that we would not be able to take in the amount of information that was provided to us."

But there are no doubts that the S92 is at the forefront of helicopter technology and has given search and rescue a major boost.

Mr Bentley said: "The machine certainly has a good pair of legs on it. It cruises at 140 knots and can be put up to 158 knots dash speed, so it is a lot faster than the old machine.

"It is considerably more powerful, so we don't have single engine considerations to the same extent as with the S61. It has got full icing clearance which enables us to go out even in snow and fairly bad icing condition. It is very, very roomy, and everything is just bang up to date. The technology inside is absolutely state of the art."

The aircraft’s technological capabilities also include the latest forward looking infra red and low light cameras, Nightsun searchlight, a satellite communications system featuring a flight following tracking facility, Skyshout public address system, and dual hoists, both of which are high speed.

The introduction of the S92s at Sumburgh comes after the same process was concluded successfully at the coastguard base in Stornoway last year.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency district controller Ian Burgess said search and rescue has undergone continuous changes and improvements over the years.

The transition from the S61s, which had been involved in so many memorable and heroic life saving rescues, to the new S92s was just one of the more visible.

He added that all search and rescue services in the UK, not just those run by the coastguard, were in transition to a unified service by 2012 when a 25 year contract will come into force.

“The interim contract from 2007 to 2012 is a very important contract. We have asked for innovation and looking towards the future in providing this service,” Mr Burgess said.

“In this particular case CHC Scotia has been particular successful. They came in with the S92, and that is why we had a complete change of aircraft and brought in the most up to date technology that we can.

“We are now looking for the future, but this is not to say that the S92 is going to be the aircraft as of 2012, but it is an indication for the way we are going.”

Meanwhile Mr Bentley, who has flown the Sumburgh based S61 for more than 20 years, paid tribute to the old Oscar Charlie.

"The S61 did sterling service, there is no two ways about it. It saved a lot of people in its time and I think this aircraft will be a fine tribute to it being called Oscar Charlie as well," he said.