Airforces Monthly - February 2017

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EXERCISE REPORT Swedish Mountain Flying Right: The ASW mission equipment takes up most of the space in the HKP 14F’s cabin. Visible here are the dipping sonar to the left and the two tactical workstations to the right. Below right: The acoustic sensor system used for ASW in the HKP 14F consists of a Flash-S dipping sonar supplied by Thales Underwater Systems, located centrally in the cabin, and a sonobuoy dispenser at the rear. Below: The cabin of the HKP 14F ASW version is dominated by two multifunction consoles, which control the Saab-developed tactical mission system and the acoustic sensor system. A single multifunction console can also be installed in the HKP 14E TTT version. Above: A crewman in the open side door provides a valuable extra pair of eyes for the pilots during the final manoeuvres before touchdown. Swedish Air Force helicopter organisation microclimate in which weather may deteriorate rapidly. The landscape influences wind speed and direction, making it necessary to identify local wind conditions and look for signs of up and down-draughts. When wind flows over a cliff it tends to tumble over the edge in a turbulent manner. When it is forced through a gap, such as along a valley, the wind speed increases. Clouds can form quickly on both hilltops and valley bottoms, and pilots must learn to recognise the clues that cloud formations give about local weather conditions. Before landing in this terrain a thorough landing site recce must be performed from above, to identify local wind speed and direction, obstacles, the approach/departure path and a potential escape route in case visual references are lost. Unit Base Equipment Task Helikopterflottiljen 1st helikopterskvadron Luleå HKP 14 (NH90 TTT) Land operations 2nd helikopterskvadron Malmslätt HKP 15 (AW109 LUH), Land operations HKP 16 (UH-60M Black Hawk) 3rd helikopterskvadron Ronneby HKP 14 (NH90 ASW) Maritime operations HKP 15 (AW109 LUH) Särskilde helikoptergruppen (SHG) Malmslätt HKP 15 (AW109 LUH) HKP 16 (UH-60M Black Hawk) Special forces operations 66 FEBRUARY <strong>2017</strong> #347 www.airforcesmonthly.com
From the Cockpit Maj Thomas Palmklint from the 1st Helicopter Squadron, Swedish Air Force, spoke with AFM about flying helicopters in mountainous terrain. AFM: What is your own background as a pilot? I flew 20 years as a fighter pilot, logging a total of 3,000 hours, mainly on the Saab JA 37 and AJS 37 Viggen, and moving on to the Saab JAS 39 Gripen. Both are multi-role-capable systems, but with the Viggen one had to land and switch aircraft for the role change. For five years now I have been flying helicopters, mainly the HKP 10 Super Puma, including one year of conversion training in Germany. AFM: You have recently switched from the HKP 10 Super Puma to the HKP 14. How is the new helicopter from a pilot’s perspective? It is an easy helicopter to fly with all the computeraided stabilisation and trim systems up and running. It has a little bit more of an artificial feel and touch than the previous helicopters I have flown, possibly because of the fly-by-wire system. It’s rather like the experience I had as a fixed-wing pilot when I switched from the Viggen to the new-era, fly-by-wire Gripen. Otherwise the HKP 14 is not very different when flying in mountainous terrain. Size and downwash are comparable with the HKP 10, only the HKP 14 has a little more of a nose-high attitude during the hover than the HKP 10, which means you must be more mindful of the tail when landing on sloping ground. AFM: How often do you practise mountain flying? We aim at doing a two-week training session once a year in winter conditions. To get really good value for the missions you ideally want windy conditions combined with snow showers. At the same time, it is very enjoyable on a sunny, calm day, where the views of the mountains and surroundings are just stunning. Some years we also do one week of mountain flying training in the summer; it provides for quite a good introduction. AFM: What is special about flying helicopters in the mountains? The environment is very variable. Unexpected weather changes can happen rapidly; visibility especially can change in the blink of an eye. In those conditions, and even in better weather, it can be difficult to judge the size of objects: what looks like a small stone can turn out to be a big rock. This is due to the lack of known references around, such as trees and infrastructure, as the landscape is somewhat desolate. There are stories about crews arguing about what animal they can see on approach: ‘It’s a grizzly’, ‘no, a wolf’ — then it turns out be a lemming! The wind direction and speed can vary a lot around and between different mountain formations. Moreover, the snow on the surface behaves in different ways, depending on how heavy it is. Powder snow requires a special technique because it can cause rapid whiteout from the downdraft from the rotor. You also come closer to performance limits due to thinner air when working at higher altitudes. As in all flying, it demands respect and knowledge about what you are doing, but perhaps these are even more necessary up here [in the mountains of northern Sweden]. AFM: Do you fly in the mountains at night? Yes we do, preferably with the aid of night-vision goggles. Due to both technical and human spatial limitations, the weather conditions have to be more favourable for night flying than during daylight. That applies especially for the combination of visibility and precipitation. Fortunately, at these latitudes we have daylight ‘24/7’ and the sun can be seen over the horizon from mid-May to mid-July. Then, of course, it is the opposite situation during winter; the polar night [when the sun never rises above the horizon] is a pretty strange experience. Above: Both pilots concentrate while flying through a valley. The fully ‘glass’ cockpit of the HKP 14 includes five colour multifunction displays for flight, mission systems and maintenance data. www.airforcesmonthly.com #347 FEBRUARY <strong>2017</strong> 67
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Airforces Monthly - February 2017

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