LAUNCHED! - Royal New Zealand Navy

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THE RNZN’S HELICOPTER AIRCREWWHEN A NEW ZEALAND FRIGATE PROCEEDS ON DEPLOYMENT, IT IS ALWAYSWITH A FULLY OPERATIONAL SEASPRITE AND FLIGHT-CREW ABOARD—READY TO DO ANYTHING ASKED OF THEM AND TO DO IT WELL. PACIFIC WINGSCORRESPONDENT ANDY HEAP LOOKS AT THE RNZN’S SH-2G(NZ) SEASPRITESAND TALKS TO THOSE WHO TAKE THEM TO SEA.THESE are interesting times for the smallSeasprite community, with the <strong>Navy</strong> aboutto receive three more aviation-capable vesselsin the near future. Due for delivery in2007, the large 8,000-ton multi-role vessel(to be called CANTERBURY) is intendedto provide a significant sealift capabilityfor the NZ Army and will incorporate twohelipads and abundant hangarage. It islikely that the RNZAF’s forthcoming NH-90s may well end up as the prime users ofthese facilities with the ship acting as ananchored floating base to support airliftoperations ashore.Two Australian-built Offshore Patrol Vesselsbased on a design in service with theIrish <strong>Navy</strong> are intended for surveillance andenforcement of our Exclusive EconomicZone and the wider Pacific region. The factthat a modern naval helicopter acting as anelevated and fast-moving sensor platformis significantly superior in the surveillancerole undoubtedly had an influence on thedecision to equip the ships with helipads.However, time will tell how often the16 N T 1 1 7 D E C E M B E R 0 6W W W . N A V Y . M I L . N Z
S E A S P R I T EAK 05-0169-65AK 05-0183-01WN 05-0284-01F A R L E F T F l i g h t d e c ka c t i v i t y : t h e f l i g h td e c k p a r t y w a l kf o r w a r d w i t h t h e h o l d -d o w n c h a i n s i n h a n d ,w h i l e t h e F D O d i r e c t st h e a i r c r a f t b e f o r et a k e o f f A B O V E T h eS e a s p r i t e s h o w s o f f i t su n d e r s i d e s L E F T W i t ht h e c a b i n d o o r o p e nt h e t h r e e a i r c r e w a r ev i s i b l evaluable Seasprites can be spared to bedeployed aboard these vessels, as the twoAnzac frigates will presumably have firstcall on resources.Regardless of which ship they will beoperating from, the Seasprites will beclocking up much more sea time in thenot-too-distant future; No.6 Sqn is directedto be able to embark three of its five airframesat any one time. A knock-on effectof this increased tasking is the need formore aircrew—a resource that needs topass through a long training pipeline toreach the squadron.T H E P I LO T SThe RNZAF Wings course is the first hurdlethat potential naval pilots must overcometo realise their dreams of commanding aSeasprite. On the face of it, learning to flyAirtrainers then progressing to King Airsmay not seem the most direct preparationfor a life flying helicopters. However, LTCDRJason Haggitt, the pilot training officer forthe RNZN’s Seasprites, certainly approves,describing the fixed wing component ofthe course as “an economical method ofinstilling, at the very highest standards,the fundamentals of aviation.”In the early days, having completed theirKing Air training, students progressed tothe Sioux for basic helicopter training beforebeing posted to the Seasprite. The leapfrom 1940s piston-engined technology tothe twin-turbine electronic sophisticationof the Seasprite was found to be immense;pilots now follow up the Sioux trainingwith a taste of operational flying as a copilotin the Iroquois before moving on to 6Sqn. When a decision is made on the Siouxreplacement, the new training helicoptershould better prepare students for thestep up to the SH-2G. But LTCDR Haggittalso hopes the current practice of pilotsbuilding hours and experience during anapprenticeship period before joining theunit will continue into the future.Around 60 hours of instruction await newSeasprite pilots as they come to grips withthe aircraft’s handling, instrument flyingand an operational phase. Then it’s off to afrigate for two weeks of embarked training.It may be a no-brainer to figure out that thehardest part of training is night-time decklandings, but this is only partly correct.LTCDR Haggitt explains that while flyingat low-level over water at night is certainlynew to most of the students, the actuallanding itself is “relatively” easy.Landing on the stern of a frigate is achallenge when the pilot (having alreadycompleted a challenging mission) mustreturn to the helipad with the certainknowledge that it has not only movedsince take off, but is also likely to be rollingand pitching to boot. Attempting this on ablustery, pitch-black night with no horizonand while contending with the turbulencegenerated from a ship’s superstructuremakes it even more problematic!“Most of the time, it’s just an enjoyableexperience,” explains LTCDR Haggitt. Whileit would be easy to dismiss the line asprofessional aviators’ understatement, tothe writer, it speaks volumes about the ex-W W W . N A V Y . M I L . N ZN T 1 1 7 D E C E M B E R 0 617
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