Rotor & Wing honored the winners of the 2009 Helicopter Heroism Awards during a luncheon at the Search & Rescue Summit in September. From left to right are Maryland State Police Sgt. Nate Wheelock and Pilot Jim MacKay; U.S. Park Police Sgt. Jeffrey Hertel; Diane Ramage, wife of U.S. Forest Service Inspector Pilot James Ramage, who accepted the award on his behalf; U.S. Park Police Sgt. Kevin Chittick; Ginger Ramage, daughter of James Ramage; and U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Steve Bonn, Lt. Brian McLaughlin and AMT2 Robert DeBolt. Not shown is Coast Guard AST2 O’Brien Hollow, who also took part in the 2008 USCG rescue operation involving the Alaska Ranger. Photo by Mark Cavich.

Based at Barrow Airport (BRW) in Alaska, North Slope Borough Search and Rescue’s fleet currently includes two Bell 412s, a Learjet 31 and a King Air B200. “We have 10 highly experienced pilots. Our high-time guys are in the 24,000-hour range and our ‘young’ guy is around 10,000 hours,” says Chief Pilot Chuck Benson. “All of our pilots except one are dual rated.”

The Nivisys Industries NVG system includes a set of model NVAG-6 goggles with ITT tubes, power supply, an optional multi-helmet adapter from HelicopterHelmet.com, record/logbook and custom carrying case. NVAG-6s are currently the only goggles approved by the FAA under TSO-C164.

NH Industries’ NH90, shown here at the Paris Airshow in June, is designed for tactical transport and naval operations. The twin-engine helicopter features a carbon fiber fuselage, fly-by-wire controls, a glass cockpit and mission tools. It has a max gross weight of 10,600 kg (23,370 lbs), useful load of 4,200 kg (9,260 lbs) and max cruise speed of 300 km/h (186.4 mph).
Photo Credit: Ernie Stephens

This Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite is a completely modernized version of the twin-engine, ship-based helicopter that entered service with the U.S. Navy in the early 1960s. Its highly efficient rotor system, state-of-the-art avionics and more powerful engines have brought it renewed popularity. Photo Credit: Ernie Stephens

This Bell 427 is owned and operated by Bell Helicopter for use as a test bed for new rotor hub technology. The after cabin is filled with equipment that receives data fed to it by hundreds of orange-colored cables, and uses it to record performance across a wide range of parameters for later evaluation by engineers. It was on display at the American Helicopter Society's annual conference held in Grapevine, Texas, May 27-29, 2009.