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March 09, 2022

Ventura Sheriff Buys Subaru Bell 412EPX

Flight Unit Selects an Oddball Huey Descendant for Next Utility Helicopter

Ventura County California’s Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit has selected a somewhat unusual helicopter for their next aircraft, selecting a Subaru Bell 412EPX to be the first of its kind so configured in North America. The Unit began operations in 1971, flying an old Bell 47 for their aerial public safety missions, which has grown to include Law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical response, and fire suppression. The new Subaru is a recent addition to the industry, being a derivative of the venerable old UH-1 Huey in modern, updated trim. Ventura County should receive their Subaru by the end of 2022.

S-92 Helicopter Takes a Sustainable Cross Country Trip of 1,500 nm

This year's Heli-Expo 2022 has seen a number of sustainability efforts making their debut, like Sikorsky's S-92 flying in on a mixture of biofuel. The sustainable aviation fuel used was similar to the standard blend ratio used in previous GE testing. Their commercial biofuel demo flights have been working since 2008, with considerable headway being made in recent years as engineers have been able to titrate less and less petroleum feedstock into a functional blend - eventually reaching a 100% SAF flight in 2018. GE and GE Partnership engines throughout their portfolio can be flown on approved SAF.

Engine Modification Expert Obtains Stake in Carbon Fiber Firefighting Equipment Manufacturer

Blackhawk Aerospace signed a letter of intent to acquire a controlling stake of Recoil Aerospace, a fabricator of carbon fiber composite fire suppression tanks, aircraft structures, and aux tanks. The agreement will see the Dallas, Texas company diversify its holdings, allowing it to bolster its current product line with additional Recoil products. Blackhawk sees the marriage of the two as a way to combine their performance products and engine upgrades with Recoil's expertise in creating lightweight carbon fiber equipment to break ground in new aircraft equipment.

...Gradually Pitched Nose Down And Impacted Nose First, In A Near Vertical Attitude

On February 22, 2022, about 1020 Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, a Sikorsky S-61N helicopter, N615CK, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), Barking Sands, Kekaha, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai. The two pilots and two crewmembers were fatally injured. The helicopter was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 133 flight. The accident helicopter, owned and operated by Croman Corporation, was under contract to the United States Navy, being used to retrieve inert training torpedoes from the Pacific Ocean as part of the Navy’s, ongoing, Pacific submarine training operations.