DEMOCRACY AND SECURITY in Southeastern Europe, No 1

Pho to: Anto nio Prle nda
Cro ati an ai rmen wi th one of the ir Mi-171[ he li co pte rs in the Bo ndste el ba se
cus on tra ini ng in indi vi du al and gro up flyi ng, as we ll as
in flyi ng in are as si mi lar to Ko so vo. The re are ve ry few
pi lo ts le ft in the squ adron who used to fly in the fo -
rmer Yu go slav Na ti onal Army. Tho se who flew over
Ko so vo, did so in li ght Ga ze lle he li co pte rs.
Altho ugh the Cro ati an Air Fo rce has two Mi-8 MTV-1
he li co pte rs, which we re equ ipped to NA TO sta nda rds
co uple of ye ars ago wi th he lp from the US, it was he new
Mi-171[ he li co pte rs that we re se le cted for the mi ssi on
Bo ndste el Ca mp
A re gu lar wo rk day in the Bo ndste el ba se
sta rts wi th a 6 a.m. wa ke-up ca ll. Aro und
7 a.m. pe ople ha ve bre akfa st, and re gu lar
da ily acti vi ti es sta rt aro und 7.30 a.m. Pla -
nned da ily acti vi ti es sta rt wi th the we -
ather re po rt, and pi lo ts usu ally ke ep an
eye on it du ri ng the day. Te chni ci ans do
the ma inte na nce wo rk in the mo rni ngs
and in the eve ni ngs, but when the re are
fli ghts sche du led, the re are addi ti onal
pre-fli ght, inter-fli ght, and po st-fli ght che -
cku ps. The so und of the Ame ri can tru -
mpet ma rks the end of the wo rk day at 5
p.m., and sta ff go to bed at 10 p.m., altho -
ugh ope ra ti onal sta ff wo rk ho urs are ge -
ne ra lly de te rmi ned by the ir ta sks.
in Ko so vo. Cro atia got a to tal of 10 he li co pte rs from Ru -
ssia in 2007 and 2008 as pa rt of a de bt se ttle me nt de al.
“The new Mi-171[ he li co pte rs we re se le cted be ca use we
alwa ys try to ea se the pla nni ng for ma inte na nce, su pply,
spa re pa rts, te sti ng and me asu ri ng equ ipme nt,” sa ys Kri -
za nec. “Acco rdi ng to our sta ti sti cs, we co uld ha ve expe -
cted to ha ve mo re fli ght ca nce la ti ons and me cha ni cal
fa ilu res wi th he li co pte rs that ha ve alre ady be en thro ugh
a re pa ir. That wo uld ha ve re qu ired mo re spa re pa rts.”
Kri za nec no tes that the Cro ati an Mi-171[ fu lly co mpli -
es and even exce eds Inte rna ti onal Ci vil Avi ati on Orga -
ni za ti on (ICAO) no rms when it co mes to
instru me nt-ba sed fli ghts acco rdi ng to ci vi li an ru les
(IFR). He empha si zes that this cho ppe r’s ‘bla ck bo x’
re co rds mo re pa ra me te rs than that in a ci vi li an Ai rbus
ai rpla ne which is abo ut to get off the pro du cti on li ne.
Altho ugh the he li co pte rs sti ll do not ha ve the ‘fri end
or fo e’ ide nti fi ca ti on de vi ces (IFF) which wi ll be re qu -
ired in mo re co mplex NA TO ope ra ti on, KFO R’s re qu -
ire me nts for ide nti fi ca ti on equ ipme nt are a li ttle lo wer.
“The tra nspo nder itse lf or IFF is not so impo rta nt in
this envi ro nme nt, be ca use the re are no ai rcra fts which
co uld play di ffe re nt ro les”, Kri za nec adds.
In addi ti on to he li co pte rs, the Cro ats are equ ipped wi -
th Ru ssi an Z [-7VN he lme ts and wi th ni ght vi so rs
(NVG), and cre ws are tra ined to use them whi le flyi -
ng. A re ar ra mp in the Mi-171[ pro ved to be exce lle nt,
be ca use the cre ws in older Mi-8 he li co pter had to tu rn
off the ro tor to open the old-fa shi oned do uble do ors.
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