The skies over Rialto, California are sweetened by a familiar sound these days. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's (SBSD) Aviation Division's gorgeous Sikorsky H-3 is now the "Big Iron" in the Valley, with just over a hundred hours on the clock since she arrived. With all her whistles and bells, the H-3 is hot!

The county got a good deal, and after all the fires and mudslides of late, the largest county in the U.S. will quickly learn to appreciate this new aerial resource.

Ray Sarr, the Aviation Division's mechanic supervisor gave me a tour of the spacious facility at Rialto's Art Scholl Memorial Airfield, as the H-3 was taking off for Cajon Pass. A mountain rescue was under way for yet another missing climber, the third in a long string of bad weather.

Thirty-five miles east of here, ice-crowned Mount San Gorgonio dominates the sky around southern California. At 11,502 feet, this massive rocky peak is a magnet for thousands of hikers annually. On a good day, a flight up to the summit is a spectacular treat, requiring your darkest sunglasses. On a bad day? Well, I'd have to put my Dr. Pepper down to describe it, but you get the idea.

Around these parts, the Santa Ana winds howl. Remote deserts range in elevation from "high" to below sea level; summer temperatures top 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49�C), and helicopters must sometimes fly through hell in the pursuit of the good, the bad, and the helpless.

And wherever you find the unfortunate: clinging to frozen ropes,laid out in the dead of night by 40-mile-per-hour mud slides, or stranded at the gates of hell, you will find Sheriff's Deputies in white (hard) hats, strapped into their amazing flying machines, coming to the rescue.

With the extremes in elevation and just under 21,000 square miles to cover, the SBSD's mission requires some serious hardware. An impressive variety of aircraft is at their disposal: 10 rotorcraft, including the Sikorsky H-3; four EC 120s; one Bell 212; two Bell UH-1H Hueys; one MD 600N, and one MD 500E. Two swift fixed-wingers fill out the inventory, a six-passenger Rockwell 690A and a sleek, seven-passenger Sabreliner 40 twin jet.�

But machines don't save lives, people do. To that end, 11 highly trained, top-caliber pilots keep 'em flying while Ray Sarr's eight dedicated, factory-schooled and naturally handsome mechanics keep 'em a-burnin' and a-turnin'. And clean and shiny, too.

Sarr's own words summed up the SBSD crew's stringent and careful approach to quality maintenance: "No matter what the mission calls for," he said, "the aircraft will be ready!"�

 

Lord's New Spin on Rotor Hub Assembly

Not too long ago Lord Corporation would routinely ship Bell Helicopter all of the nearly 500 elastomeric parts used in the assembly of a rotor hub for a model 407 helicopter. Today Lord ships Bell one part, and the folks at Lord couldn't be happier. Why? "Bell was looking to do some strategic outsourcing and we wanted to grow our business and become more of a systems integrator instead of just a parts supplier," explained Andy Stevenson, Lord Corporation account manager. "Now instead of shipping out a number of component parts, we provide Bell with completely assembled rotor hubs for the model 407 and 427 helicopters."

The arrangement makes perfect sense. Lord is already making almost all the parts, so why not do the final step and put them together? "There are 498 individual parts in the model 407's rotor hub and 500 parts in the model 427's hub," Stevenson continued. "We now supply all of the parts except the composite yoke; that comes to us from Bell."

Even though the relationship between Bell Helicopter and Lord spans some 50 years-Stevenson proudly says that there hasn't been a Bell helicopter since the legendary model 47 that hasn't had Lord parts on it-it took considerable effort to elevate Lord from a parts maker to a supplier of complete systems. Especially something as sophisticated as a four-blade rotor hub assembly.

One of the major steps Lord took was to build a dedicated rotor hub-manufacturing cell at its facility in Erie, Pennsylvania. "The new 10,000-square foot hub-assembly facility is environmentally controlled and is fully secure," he added. "You need an access code to enter the area."

Stevenson explained that Lord's assembly cell was one of the key determiners in helping the company win the assembly business from Bell. "We released the first hub in a very short cycle time and Bell was very impressed with our ability to do that," he said.

He also added that, to date, Lord has delivered more than 100 complete rotor hubs to Bell's assembly plant, and their acceptance rate couldn't be better. "Bell claims that they have not had any problems with quality or issues with the hubs' installation," Stevenson said. "That's pretty impressive when you think of the sophistication of the hub mechanisms.

"The program has been evaluated by the Textron Corporation [Bell's parent company] and is now considered a benchmark case," Stevenson said. "It's something our people are proud of. We've worked hard to maintain a high level of quality while still meeting Bell's delivery requirements."

To make the best use of its state-of-the-art rotor hub assembly cell, Lord is also offering aftermarket repairs and remanufacturing services to Bell operators around the world.

"We have our FAA repair and overhaul station here," Stevenson said. "So we can do field repairs directly for Bell operators. In fact, we recently did our first hub refurbishment for Air Methods."

Stevenson explained that this opens up a huge opportunity for aftermarket services. A lot of the components in the hubs are timed-out by flight hours and need to be overhauled or replaced on a routine basis. When that time comes, operators now have a viable and experienced alternative.

"We see the service being very attractive to all types of operators," he added. "Large operators who have their own in-house maintenance departments can use us as a second source so they may not need as many people on staff. And some may see us as a valuable alternative to doing the work in-house.

"Small, one- or two-ship operators will not only benefit from our short turnaround times-we can turn a hub within two weeks," Stevenson concluded, "but they will also like the fact that we are competitively priced."

 

How Helicopters (Sometimes) Get Broken

One of the truly cool things about being a chopper pilot is sharing your love of flying with the public, especially the kids. It doesn't happen very often, but every now and then it just comes together, and some lucky young boy or girl gets to sit in the pilot's seat, talk to a real live helicopter pilot....and maybe go for a ride.� I'm here to tell you about a time it all backfired.

Window Rock, Arizona has a nice long runway, something all pilots appreciate at 6,800 feet above sea level. The Bureau of Indian Affairs painted an "H" just off the north end of that runway for Western Helicopters's spiffy little MD 500D.� On day one of our little summer fire contract, everything had been signed off; the all-Navajo crew had been in orientation meetings the whole day and were now headed back to the teepee.

With camera in hand, I decided to let that golden sunset percolate for a few more minutes and then I'd wrap up the ship and head for the barn. Meanwhile I turned my attention to the "injured" plastic on the ship's right front door, which had passed inspection, but the clear plastic tape we used to keep the fresh-air-vent hole in flying condition required new tape above ambient temperatures of 90 degrees or so.

The area around the vent hole had recently cracked out, but we delayed the inevitable expensive replacement with some of 3M's toughest clear packaging tape. Satisfied that it was good for another flight, I gently latched the door shut.

Reaching into my pack, I pulled out a brand-spankin' new pair of Nikes and began tugging on my hot ol' cowboy boots as the sun and some well-positioned clouds transmogrified into a golden finale.

While kneeling to lace up those pristine sneakers, I noticed a young fella around the age of five or so come walking hand-in-hand with his mommy toward the helicopter. She was looking down the road aways. He was looking straight at me. I grinned at the expectation of making this kid's day and put Mr.Nikon down, denying Mr. Kodachrome the image of a rare swirling bit of glory taking place behind me. Standing up next to the afore-mentioned door, I grinned my best grin and spoke first as mother and son approached: "Hello young fella! 'Ready to go flyin'?"

But mommy didn't seem to be in the mood. She strode right by the Magical Mystery Ship and did not slow down. The path she was on headed south, paralleling the runway, where I should be headed to get that killer sunset. Little Fella looked my way but didn't put up a fuss, he kept his legs churning to keep pace with mommy.

Suddenly the woman stopped, managing the little fella's momentum with ease as she turned on a dime, looked my way, and asked rather brusquely, "Why? Are you a pilot?"

I stood tall, chin up, filled my shirt with air and folded my arms proudly. And in my best impersonation of a young Kirk Douglas, I was about to say something truly clever when I realized that my sneakered toes were entangled and I was losing my balance! I had already committed my backside to leaning gently up against my flying machine (as I delivered said clever comeback) and I began falling backwards, my right toe locked behind my left heel. [Cue the imploding bubble-door sound bite, somebody!]

The gold was lifting off the sunset, I noticed. There's a big grease blob on the overhead plastic, I'll get that later. I don't believe I'm cut, but I'm in no hurry to move. Guess I could unlock those defiant arms now, and since the good woman isn't coming back to pull me out of this bed of razors, I'll have to somehow gingerly unwrap my tangled toes and levitate my sorry hide up out of this embarrassing mess.

The disbelievers were well down the golden path by the time I made it to the pay phone. Dialing the long charge-card number, I realized I'd let one get away. Poor kid, I lamented, he'll probably grow up to be an airplane pilot.

"Hello, Pete?" I whimpered. "We need a new door!"

 

 

Heavy Hitters in the Firefighting Business

The December 30th issue of the Riverside, California Press-Enterprise ran a tribute to those who battled last year's big California fires and made a difference. According to the story, Heavy Lift Helicopters (HLH) was "tested by fire" yet "saved more than a dozen homes in one day." A generous pictorial featured chief pilot Mike Gilpin, and in the background, "Phoenix," a well-deserved pseudonym for his trusty CH-54A Skycrane air tanker.

Approaching HLH on a rough high desert road north of Apple Valley, I was reminded of a scene from Lawrence of Arabia: Peter O'Toole's weary caravan suddenly picks up speed as their camels smell a distant oasis, just coming into view through the shimmering mirage. In my case, the first recognizable images to appear in the middle of nowhere were the huge tail rotors of several Sikorsky Skycranes. Igor Sikorsky woulda spurred his camel, too.

Welcoming me into the inner sanctum of the rustic main office was none other than Pat Patterson, an old friend who handles the big job of general manager. Pat shares an office with president Harry Rogers. Joining our party was another old friend, the celebrated Mike Gilpin.

I first met Mike at Alaska's Eight Fathom Bight back in 1993, where we flew two 500Ds off a well-equipped barge in support of timber surveys around Chichagof Island. I didn't have to ask Mike why he traded 400 ponies for 4,500 (times two); I knew by the grin on his face that he had found his happy home.

Mike introduced me to Richard Proctor, HLH's director of maintenance. I knew from my last visit that Heavy Lift anticipated the receipt of up to six CH-53D Jolly Green Giants, as we called 'em back in The 'Nam. All are destined for fire service.

"We'll need six more acres for the additional hangars and shops," Proctor explained, pointing to the shiny new chain-link security fence south of the present three-acre facility. "We'll have enough room to keep the 'Cranes and the D models segregated and we won't have to pull the blades off to roll 'em in the hangar."

With 100 Skycrane hours in my logbook, my palms began to tingle as we walked out onto the flight line. There sat the famous Phoenix, its thirsty snorkel lashed down and ready to sssuck. Nearby were two other flyable CH-54s, and an unpainted cabin section that was about to join its rebuilt center section inside the main hangar. Like a grasshopper with his head pulled off.

It takes a special FAA supplemental type certificate to rebuild the big machines, and Proctor commands the allied shops necessary to that end.

"We do it all," he explained. "We only farm out the instruments, avionics, pumps, and generators."

As we strolled through the west entrance of the spacious transmission shop, two massive CH-54A gearboxes were held captive in hydraulic-powered overhaul jigs, nearing their return to service.

Continuing on through the engine shop, shop foreman Ron Scofield was balancing a T-73-P1 turbine component on a sophisticated device. "The last time a Sikorsky rep paid us a visit," Proctor explained, "he left saying, 'You guys don't really need our help, do you?'"

Passing through the break room, I had the pleasure of meeting more HLH personnel, including the illustrious Al Scoggins, who is referred to respectfully as "Mr. Sikorsky." Although HLH operates as a team, Scoggins is regarded as their "go-to-guy."

Before leaving, I had to ask Proctor what it was that motivated the HLH mechanics to keep these old complicated helicopters flying safely.

Looking at his boots for a second, he professed, "I'll do everything I can to make sure these ships and their crews come home alive. It's not the money."

 

 

Worldwide Helicopter Supports MROs

With its eyes firmly trained on the helicopter and fixed-wing MRO market, Worldwide Helicopter Solutions is continuing to upgrade its capabilities. Launched in December 2002 by helicopter support expert Paul Magno, Worldwide Helicopter Solutions hopes to carve its niche in aerospace training, engineering consulting and design, and technical support. Its offices are located in Glendale, Arizona.

The latest news: WHS is offering repair stations help in bringing their manuals up to the FAA's new standards. "The new FAR Part 145 manual and training requirements present a major task to all FAA certificated repair stations," said Magno, president and founder of Worldwide Helicopter Solutions. "We'll work with the customer to guarantee FAA approval and when we're finished, the customer can maintain their own manuals or we'll provide update service."

Meanwhile, the FAA has accepted Worldwide Helicopter Solutions's 22 operation and maintenance familiarization courses for Agusta, Bell, Eurocopter, Kaman, and Sikorsky helicopters. These courses cover automatic flight control systems, electronic flight instrument systems, and weather radar systems. For maintenance technicians with Inspection Authorization, these courses can be applied to their annual renewals. Worldwide Helicopter Solutions's offerings also qualify for credit under the FAA's Aviation Maintenance Technician Awards program. The company is online at www.worldwidehelicoptersolutions.com.