Helideck, Helicopter and Other Specialist Training Facilities
Safety training specialists Falck Nutec (now RelyOn Nutec) have installed an ex-Royal Navy AgustaWestland Lynx HAS3 at their Aberdeen training facility on their helideck training mock-up. This aids the training of Helideck Landing Officers (HLOs) and Helideck Assistants (HDAs) on their OPITIO approved training courses.
This replaced a rather more basic former Lynx AH7.
A similar Lynx is in place at Stockton-On tees, with a refuelling system:
Falck, one of a number providing such training, also uses a Airbus Helicopters H225 mock-up at the Fire Training Group facility on the other side of Aberdeen Airport.
At Survivex:
ThinkDefence report that Lutra Associates and Oxford Specialist Coachbuilders have delivered one Merlin and one Puma escape trainer under a £200,000 UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) contract. The units are containerised for easy transport to, for example, barracks and infantry training areas.
In September 2014 Dytecna delivered a trailer mounted Emergency Exit Jettison (EEJ) training rig to the National Police Air Service (NPAS). It can replicate the emergency exits of the three aircraft types currently in the NPAS fleet: Airbus Helicopters EC135s and EC145s and the MD Helicopters MD902.
On its delivery, Head of Compliance and Safety for NPAS, Dave Taylor, said:
Before safety training like this was carried out using real aircraft meaning issues of damage, loss of availability of the aircraft when being used for training and staff time to operate it.
The rig can be moved on a trailer and… it will be going to every NPAS base across England and Wales as a part of a rolling training programme so that staff can carry out mandatory safety training in the physical operation of emergency exits.
UPDATE 14 September 2016: Helideck Safety Alerts: Refuelling Hoses and Obstructions
UPDATE 24 January 2017: At Mount Pearl in Canada Falck have introduced an S-92A refuelling rig.
UPDATE 31 January 2017: A mobile propane-fuelled fire-fighting training rig was recently used at Fort Polk, OK.
UPDATE 11 May 2017: Aberdeen Airport has commissioned a new S-92A fire simulator:
UPDATE 30 March 2018: CHC has opened a new hoist training facility in Den Helder (video). CHC say:
The facility, located within CHC’s Den Helder base, has been designed to resemble a Leonardo AW139 cabin and can also be used to simulate Helicopter Hoist Operations (HHO) conditions from an AW169.
The one-day Helicopter Hoist Operations course, with an optional second day on the aircraft, is designed to offer theory and practice to between four to six candidates. Feedback from launch customers, including a major global oil and gas super operator major, has been very positive.
UPDATE 10 July 2019: Survivex have now added a retired Airbus AS365 to their training helideck in Aberdeen.
UPDATE 15 July 2019: Capital Air Ambulance have introduced a King Air air ambulance cabin simulator.
Other Helideck Safety Resources
- Helideck Safety Alerts: Refuelling Hoses and Obstructions
- NTSB Recommendations on Offshore Gas Venting
- Mind the Handrail! – Walk-to-Work Helideck Hazard
- Passive Fire-Retarding Helideck Designs
- US BSEE Helideck A-NPR / Bell 430 Tail Strike
- Troublesome Tiedowns
- Wrong Deck Landings
- FOD and an AS350B3 Accident Landing on a Yacht in Bergen
Aerossurance regularly assists oil and gas companies and vessel operators review and update their helideck procedures and adverse weather policies, examine helideck structural integrity issues and provide independent assurance of helideck readiness.
Aerossurance has extensive helicopter safety, offshore helicopter operations, mergency service, helideck and aviation safety analysis experience. For practical aviation advice you can trust, contact us at: enquiries@aerossurance.com
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