Date: 08 Feb 2004
Time: 21:49
A joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., has been awarded a US$ 417 million, five-year contract from the U.S. Navy to provide supply support, spares and repairs to in-service H-60 helicopters. Under the contract, Maritime Helicopter Support Company (MHSCo), a joint venture formed in 2001, will provide for the procurement, repair, overhaul, modification, packaging, handling, storage, configuration management, obsolescence management and reliability improvements for the next five years on 540 Navy H-60 unique spares and repair parts. The US Navy's H-60 Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) programme is one of the largest applied to a fully fielded naval aircraft fleet. It includes an innovative compensation plan in which MHSCo will be paid based on total helicopter flight hours, rather than on the number and type of repairs. "Payment based on flight hours gives MHSCo a direct and clear incentive to help the Navy improve the reliability of the fleet," said Jeff Bantle, vice president of Multi-Mission Solutions for Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego. "Under this contract, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin are committing to a bold new approach to life-cycle logistics support."
Date: 10 Mar 2003
Time: 11:18
A Cormorant helicopter from Canada’s 19 Wing logged its longest West Coast mission on 4 February, flying more than 1,100 kilometres to bring an injured ship's captain to a Comox hospital.
The bulk carrier Blue Leo, a 150-metre vessel enroute to Japan from Washington, contacted Victoria's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre after the ship's captain fell and struck his head. The fall had left him with dizzy spells and blurred vision. The crew feared he had suffered a concussion, and would not last the journey across the Pacific.
After consulting a 19 Wing doctor, RCC tasked the Cormorant to pick the man up. They also dispatched a Buffalo aircraft to fly "top cover" for the helicopter. At more than 400 kilometres from land, the Blue Leo made an abrupt U-turn, steaming towards Port Hardy to bring it within range.
The Cormorant flew from Comox to Port Hardy to gas up. Due to fog in the area, it needed to conserve a portion of its fuel so it could make Comox if it needed to divert on the return leg. When the helicopter reached the Blue Leo at 11 p.m. Tuesday, the ship was still 300 kilometres from land.
Circling above in the Buffalo, navigator Maj. Dennis McGuire watched the medical evacuation unfold. "The mission went very smoothly, but the extended range was a concern," he said. "Given the need to hold fuel for Comox, another 50 kilometres or so and they would have been on the edge."
Two search and rescue technicians rode the Cormorant hoist to the ship. After examining the patient and preparing him for flight, the helicopter hoisted all three aboard. The entire sequence took 45 minutes.
Both aircraft were able to return to Port Hardy, where crewmembers transferred the Cormorant's patient to the faster Buffalo. The aircraft was met on the ground in Comox by a waiting ambulance. The ship's captain is now in St. Joseph's hospital in stable condition.
The rescue marks another long-distance flight for the new Cormorant fleet. On 8 December 2002, a Cormorant helicopter based in Gander, Nfld. flew its longest trip, a 1,600-kilometre oddessy, to rescue a seriously injured crewman from a Norwegian bulk carrier. The trip included a refueling stop on the Hibernia oilrig. Canada has so far received 12 of its planned fleet of 15 Cormorants. The aircraft is already operational at both 19 Wing Comox and 9 Wing Gander. Canada purchased the helicopters in 1998 for Can.$778 million. They replace 12 Labrador helicopters, which remain in service in Greenwood, N.S. and Trenton, Ont.