Canada

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Canadian Sea King Goes U/S During Operation Reassurance

A Canadian Sea King helicopter became unservicable aboard HMCS Toronto as the vessel patrolled the Black Sea during the past week. The technical fault could not be resolved on location and as a result a replacement Sea King had to flown out aboard a C-17 from Nova Scotia.

Critics state the the Sea King is more than 50 years old and that the helicopters are long past their prime but Canadian Air Force pilot Antonio Gomez says there's still life in the aircraft: “The fact they're 50 years old means we know we know everything there is to know about them,” he told CTV News. “They very rarely throw us any curve balls or present us with surprises.”


Sea King aboard HMCS Toronto

Canada's fleet of Sea Kings are supposed to be retired next year and be replaced by a new fleet of Sikorsky Cyclone helicopters. HMCS Toronto is also slated for an overhaul around the same time. Until then, "Operation Active Endeavour" will keep the crew in the Mediterranean until the end of the year.

The Halifax-based frigate is patrolling the Black Sea as part of "Operation Reassurance," a multinational training mission aimed at building security amid pro-Russian separatist aggression in Ukraine.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/navy-se...onto-1.2028126

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Canadian Forces Griffon Clips Ship's Antenna

A Bell 412 Griffon Canadian Forces helicopter has clipped the antenna of a Coast Guard ship during an exercise off Nova Scotia, forcing it to make a precautionary landing on the front lawn of a summer home in Lunenburg County.

Maj. Martell Thompson of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax said the helicopter's main rotor struck a wire on the Sir William Alexander on Monday night.


A Canadian Forces Bell 412 Griffon has hit a ship's antenna during a training exercise

Thompson said the helicopter landed on Shaw Island, about 70 kilometres southwest of Halifax, at around 10:30 pm.

Blair Hodgman, a resident of the island, said the helicopter landed on the front lawn of a summer residence belonging to Scotiabank president Brian Porter, who wasn't home at the time.


The Sir William Alexander Canadian Coast Guard vessel

Hodgman said fire trucks, the RCMP and paramedics arrived shortly after and cut a lock to enter the property and check the aircraft.

She said the pilot went to a neighbour's house and asked to use the telephone to call his supervisor because he didn't have a cellphone with him.

Thompson said the military will investigate what caused the helicopter to clip the ship's antenna.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...enna-1.2782991

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Sea King Precautionary Landing, Nova Scotia

A Canadian Air Force Sea King helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a field in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, Monday 6th October, before being towed down a street in the community.

"It's in fine shape. It just looked like it may have had a little bit of fire damage," said Naomi Robinson, who lives nearby.

Air Force spokesperson Alexandre Cadiuex says the six-person crew was returning from a training flight when it had an in-flight emergency.

A sensor in the gear box detected an anomaly. The crew landed at the helipad at Hartlen Point Golf Course and the aircraft was then towed to 12 Wing Canadian Forces Base in Shearwater on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour.

No one was injured during the incident.


A gearbox sensor detected an anomaly resulting in a landing at the Hartlen Point Golf Course in Halifax Harbour. The Sea King was then towed to 12 Wing's base a short distance away


Right of way? The Sea King was seen on Shore Road in Eastern Passage on Monday evening


The Sea King making its way back to 12 Wing's base in Halifax Harbour

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...ding-1.2789444

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

Royal Canadian Air Force Completes Operation Nevus

From the High Arctic – Among its many operational commitments, 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in St-Hubert, Quebec, recently participated in Operation Nevus, conducted in the High Arctic, to support maintenance work on Ellesmere Island.

This year, two helicopters, with three crew members each, left St-Hubert for Canadian Forces Station Alert in Nunavut, stopping in the villages of Puvirnituq and Arctic Bay along the way. A team of six technicians joined them on board a CC-130 Hercules.


Two CH-146 Griffon helicopters from 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron hover over an ice floe in Otto Fjord in Nunavut (Photo: Captain Ray Connelly)

The squadron’s mission included transporting the specialists who maintain the transmissions antennas linking communications between Alert and Eureka, both on Ellesmere Island, so the communication link between the Canadian High Arctic and the government of Canada in Ottawa remains intact and usable.

In the past, helicopters and their crews generally made the 4,000 kilometre trip on a CC-177 Globemaster aircraft. This time, the crews travelled on their CH-146 Griffons.

This self-sufficient deployment posed several challenges for both the aircraft and their crews, but the crewmembers’ high degree of professionalism enabled them to rise to the occasion.

“Our unit has some of the most experienced Griffon pilots in Canada,” said Major Sylvain Bélanger, the squadron’s operations officer.

While the 438 Squadron has participated in close to a hundred operations since 1934, Operation Nevus holds a special place in the Wildcats’ hearts.

“Our Arctic expertise keeps growing, so we are always better able to meet the challenges of this environment,” said Major Martin Pesant, deputy commanding officer of the squadron.

Equipped with CH-146 Griffon helicopters, 438 Squadron supports a variety of missions, taskings and operations locally, across Canada and abroad. With reservists making up 50 per cent of its strength, 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron embodies the “Total Force” concept, wherein members of the Regular and Reserve Forces work in symbiosis to achieve the operational objectives of the RCAF.

Operation Nevus is conducted under the operational command and control of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, through Joint Task Forth North. 438 Squadron is part of 1 Wing, which is headquartered in Kingston, Ontario.

http://globalaviationreport.com/2014...-accomplished/

[Aviafora Newsdesk]

RCAF Sea King Stops Over at Palm Springs

A Royal Canadian Air Force Sea King helicopter landed at the Palm Springs Air Museum this week for a short stopover during a training mission in Southern California.

The Sea King carried a five-person crew that included U.S. Navy Lt. Scott Kellerman, a Palm Desert High School graduate.


L-R: US Navy Capt. Scott Kellerman, RCAF Cpl. Melissa Levesque, RCAF Capt. Robert Millen, RCAF Capt. Jesse Owen and RCAF Capt. Darlene Sych

The members of Squadron 443, a maritime helicopter squadron based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, were participating in local mountain area training — flying in a hot climate at high elevation — RCAF Capt. Robert Millen said.

“It’s a chance to experience these conditions down here,” Millen said. “It prepares us for our missions overseas.”

Kellerman, 28 years old and a 2007 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, is on a three-year assignment with the RCAF in a personnel exchange program for aviators.

Kellerman’s mom and dad — Russell and Tina Kellerman of Palm Desert —watched their son land the aircraft on the tarmac just outside the gate of the Palm Springs Air Museum. They then met for a quick lunch during the short layover.

Rounding out the crew were RCAF Capt. Darlene Sych, RCAF Capt. Jesse Olsen and RCAF Cpl. Melissa Levesque.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/...grad/18359489/