Skyline Aviation Prepares to Bring First Australian Seahawk into Firefighting Operations

The word bushfire is still well and truly fresh in most Australians’ minds following the disastrous 2019/20 fire season. A huge focus is on combating them by both state and federal governments, with local fire agencies and Australia’s aerial operators now more prominently featured.

A company established back in 1995 at Newcastle Airport in New South Wales, Australia; today finds itself moving into larger aircraft for the vital aerial firefighting role, joining the list of experienced operators already in Australia.

Skyline Aviation Group, based at Lake Macquarie Airport, operates helicopters in diverse roles, including scenic flights, helicopter flight training, external load and firefighting, and various other

missions. For these sorts of tasks, a diverse fleet is operated by the company, including the Robinson R22 and R44 Helicopter.

Skyline’s other types include several Bell Helicopters, including the 206 Jetranger and 206 Longranger, to the larger and more powerful Bell 427 twin-engine helicopter. Different types operated include the Airbus Helicopters BO105 and AS350.

The company moved into the national spotlight after announcing on 8 November 2018 the acquisition of eleven former Royal Australian Navy, S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopters, including a vast parts inventory.

Skyline Aviation again came into the spotlight at the 2019 Avalon Airshow when one of the retired Seahawks, N24-016, was displayed with a mock-up firefighting tank from Helitak slung underneath. The FT4500 collapsible tank was designed specifically for the Sikorsky UH-60 and S-70 helicopters.

With the preliminary report from the recent Australian Royal Commission into the 2019-20 fire season being released, it was strongly recommended that a sovereign fleet of aerial assets be made available instead of relying heavily on internationally sourced aircraft.

Skyline has moved to help provide this requirement to the Australian Government. With nine or more medium to heavily lift Type 1 aircraft annually contracted through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC), there is currently only a single Type 1 aircraft operated in Australia owned by an Australian company.

Large fires burning around the world, such as in California and Greece, coupled with the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, are likely to cause problems in the short term.

These problems include the availability of aircraft (with contracts overlapping those in the Northern hemisphere). More importantly, crews that rotate from their home countries roughly every four weeks are cause for concern.

Add the two weeks required quarantine aspect, and crews won’t be able to fly at the expense of the company they fly for, which is, in turn, is paid for by the Australian Tax Payer.

Skyline will be able to field between two and six of the Seahawks for fire season 2020-21, with the CASA type certification imminent. The type will also provide a nighttime flight capacity, with the company expecting to be approved by the end of 2020. The company has committed to operating the Seahawk with a large investment at its Lake Macquarie operating base.

Skyline estimates that with their turn-key solution based on two aircraft on a 120-day contract, the company could save ➤

the Australian Taxpayer millions of dollars against the leased overseas aircraft.

The first of the S-70Bs, VH-XHJ, joined the Australian register in October 2019, while the former N24-002 is the first of the Seahawks modified for its new role in aerial fire suppression.

In addition to a comprehensive component, drivetrain, and systems overhaul, an extensive weight shedding exercise to remove the now redundant military systems, the fitting of civilian radio and transponder units, and modifications for the tank installation is just a small portion of converting the airframe into its new role.

The S-70B final fit out will include a Helitak FT4500 collapsible fire tank with a 4500-liter (1188 gallon) capacity. This tank is designed in Australia and sold through Helitak, based in Noosa, Queensland. The company recently achieved international success by selling the same tank to High-Performance Helicopters in Redlands, California, who have installed the FT4500 on their UH-60 Blackhawk fleet.

The tank operates via the Helitak Programmable Logic Controller. The operator can control drop patterns, water collection and discharge telemetry, and tank maintenance reporting via a cockpit touchscreen. The uniquely designed tank is the brainchild of founder Jason Schellaars and can be installed or removed from underneath the Blackhawk/Seahawk in under twenty-five minutes. The tank attaches via mounting pins and electrical plugs.

The “Bravo” Seahawks first entered service in Australia in 1989 with the Royal Australian Navy. Sixteen aircraft formed the initial order and would eventually be operated by 816 Squadron until replaced by the “Romeo” variant from 2013 onwards.

The Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Technologies Corporation in Florida manufactured the first batch of eight aircraft. N24-001 was the first S-70B-2 aircraft built, flying for the first time in December 1987. Delivery to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) took place in Stratford, Connecticut, in September 1989. Aerospace

Technologies Australia (ASTA) at Avalon in Victoria assembled the second batch of eight airframes. The final Seahawk arrived in 1992.

The Australian Seahawk had specific avionics requested by the Navy, plus a rescue hoist located on the starboard side. The avionics installed included a CAE Electronics AN/AQS-504 internally- mounted MAD system and AN/SSQ-81 Barra sonobuoys with sonar processing equipment, supported by a MEL Super Searcher X-band radar housed in a small radome.

The S-70B-2s was powered by a pair of T700-GE- 401C turbines and could carry and fire the Penguin or Sea Skua light anti-shipping missiles.

Two of the Seahawks, N24-005, and N24-008 saw action in the 1991 Gulf War and were fitted with AN/AAQ-16 FLIR turret and AN/AAR-47 missile warning system.

With age came the need to source a replacement, and after the Navy’s disastrous A$ 1.1 billion, SH- 2G “Super Seasprite” debacle, a tried and proven platform was sought. The Australian Government announced the approval of 24 MH-60R Seahawk ‘Romeo’ naval combat helicopters at the cost of over $3 billion on 16 June 2011. The first of the new Romeo’s N48-001 was accepted into service by No 725 Squadron at Jacksonville in Florida on 24 January 2014.

The S-70B-2 Bravo Seahawk was formally retired from active service in the Royal Australian Navy on 1 December 2017 at HMAS Albatross.

The Seahawk had been in the RAN inventory for 29 years, without a single loss. A truly remarkable feat for a military helicopter, and one who regularly saw operational service at sea.