George Tonking - HELI OPS

THE 650KM ROAD TRIP from the island’s capital Antananarivo to the famous Avenue of Baobabs on the west coast took us two days by car – on tar roads! And let me not mention the dirt roads, which become quagmires in the rainy season!

While in Antananarivo, I was introduced to Craig Pearson, a South African expatriate who works in Madagascar as base manager for a faith-based humanitarian organisation called Helimission.

As I chatted to Craig, I began to realise just how vast and inaccessible Madagascar is. Around half the size of South Africa, the “red island” is close to 1,600km long and 570km across at its widest point. With its endless rolling hills, natural forest and wetlands, much of the country is inaccessible by road. In 2010, Madagascar had approximately 7,600km of tarred roads. In contrast, South Africa has over 158,000km. As a result, the helicopter is the most efficient way to provide development and humanitarian aid to countless remote communities across the island.

Based in Madagascar since 1994, Helimission currently operates two Airbus AS350BA Écureuil (Squirrel in French) helicopters. When it comes to off-field operations, these guys are extremely well organised. In addition to the airport in the capital, there are 11 other airports in the country where it is possible to get Jet-A1 for their helicopters. They have also created numerous private fuel depots that enable them to operate pretty much across the whole island. Overall, there is only a handful of helicopters in Madagascar, but not a single official rescue or HEMS helicopter. This is a role Helimission now undertakes when they can. Free of charge. The two Airbus AS350BA helicopters have proven themselves in Madagascar in the twentyseven years that Helimission has been active there. Having flown the Squirrel extensively myself, I have grown to enjoy the type and seen much of its potential fulfilled, and I loved hearing about Helimission’s particular experiences with the machine.

Like many military and civilian operators, they chose the Squirrel primarily for its practicality. Let’s see why. The Airbus AS350, formerly known as the Aérospatiale Écureuil, was one of the successes of René Mouille, who had produced such great helicopters as the Alouette, Super Frelon and Puma families at SUD Aviation. This later became part of the French government conglomerate, Aérospatiale. Mouille then drew on his design team’s experience with military helicopters, including Aérospatiale’s Gazelle, to produce a modern helicopter that could win commercial sales.

At the heart of the new design was a revolutionary epicyclic main gearbox and the Starflex rotor head. The Starflex was radical as it was the world’s first composite semi-rigid rotor hub, relying on the composite material and elastomeric bearings to absorb rotor lead-lag and flex, making the rotor head far simpler than its fully-articulated predecessor. The Squirrel remains in production more than forty years after its first flight, in no less than three continents. It’s fair to say that it is a success.

The AS350 series of helicopters remain relevant today because they were purpose-designed to be the world’s most configurable helicopter platform. From the flat floor cockpit to the sliding doors, it remains a versatile machine that can be ordered from the factory to fit the customer’s exacting specifications. The Squirrel has been so good that the manufacturer developed a twinengine version, the AS355 Écureuil 2, to operate in the light twin market. And in my opinion, no competitor has come close to it. Due to the Squirrel’s popularity, many certified aftermarket parts manufacturers such as Dart Aerospace also have extensive ranges of enhancement

a handful of helicopters in Madagascar

parts available, further widening the aircraft’s usefulness.

When first flown, the AS350 used the Lycoming LTS 101 powerplant. This proved successful and spawned the AStar in the USA, which is produced to this day. Later that year, Turbomeca, the venerable engine manufacturer from the Snecma Group, produced the Arriel series engine, specifically for the Squirrel. That engine itself became legendary for performance and serviceability. It still powers the latest Airbus H125 (formerly called the AS350 B3e) Squirrels four decades later, although having gained about 500 extra horsepower since it was first developed! The Squirrel was designed from the outset to be a “hot & high” helicopter, meaning that it has the capability to fly in the most extreme environments that Africa can throw at it. Along with many smaller upgrades, the major change came in 1985 with development of the AS350BA. This was a factory modification, mating the AS355 Twin Squirrel’s wider chord rotor system onto the single engine AS350B, thus increasing the useful altitude performance significantly. Although not a cheap modification, Airbus Helicopters allows standard “B” models to be upgraded away from factory with a factory kit. And that’s why they were chosen by Helimission.

In South Africa, we can take helicopters and their usefulness in search and rescue, emergency medical situations, transport, police work, charters and military applications for granted. Madagascar, though, is another story. Without helicopters, much of the humanitarian, faith-based and medical work currently being undertaken would be practically impossible. Helicopters were made for the undulating hills and low-land rice paddies of Madagascar. And chief amongst them is the Squirrel.j

a “hot & high” helicopter