Global Aviator February 2013 Page 42

/ Vol. 5 / No. 2 / FEBRUARY 2013

Developments

in helicopter

ground handling

systems

Moving helicopters on the ground

has always been difficult. There is no

real problem with wheeled machines

such as the Agusta A109; these can

be simply pulled or towed in the

same way as fixed-wing aircraft.

But for helicopters with skids things

are very different. Of course, small

rotary aircraft such as the R22 can

simply have ground handling wheels

attached, and then the machine can

be pushed along. But for anything

slightly larger, even popular pas-

senger helicopters such as the R44 or

B206 JetRanger, ground handling is a

laborious operation usually involv-

ing several people. And for much

larger machines well, I haven't tried

moving them myself, but I have been

assured by someone who has that "it

can be pure hell" getting these heavy

but it works, and it only costs around

US$3,250. So it is a very affordable

solution for Robinson owners.

Not to be outdone, Robinson now

also make their own ground moving

equipment for their helicopters. The

Robinson Helicopter Company Tow

Carts are similar to the Power Tow

Cart, but are adapted so that they can

also be used to tow the Police and

ENG models with the hitching point

under the rear of the aircraft below

the engine; they can then be operated

from the aft position. These carts also

have a hand operated brake, which is

useful when towing a machine down

a steep slope, and they include racks

for stowage of the helicopter's ground

handling wheels a little thing, but

very useful. These carts are priced at

US$6,400 at the Robinson factory in

Torrance, California, USA.

Some of the more sophisticated

ground handling solutions can be

used for any helicopter type. This is

the case for the TLC Helilift, which is

manufactured at South Yorkshire in

England. This is close to my home, so

it was the only one of the companies

which I was actually able to visit. I

was most impressed with the `Helilift',

which is a system which allows one

operator to move any skid mounted

helicopter. It consists of a robust metal

framework on three wheels, which

approaches the helicopter from the

outside. Clamps then take hold of the

skids, and the helicopter is raised just

clear of the ground. It can be easily

transported by one person operating

simple hand controls. This approach

from outside gives the helicopter

a stable platform during ground

handling, and the three point handling

allows it to cope with uneven ground,

whilst remaining clear of underbelly

mounted equipment.

Tony Hancock is the inventor of

the Helilift system and Managing

Director of the company, and he

started researching the concept in

1995. He told me: "I needed to find out

what operators want. They said that

they were sick of swapping adapters

for different helicopter types, and often

damaging aircraft in the process. I

decided to make something that would

work for the R22 and the Bell 412 and

everything in between".

So that is exactly what he did.

Tony sold his first Helilift in 1997, and

since then the company has grown

dramatically, so that they now do all

the ground handling for the static

display at UK trade show `Helitech'.

Helilifts are now sold worldwide,

and the majority of customers are

extremely enthusiastic about the large

amount of time and physical effort

saved by the system. I saw the Helilift

in operation, and I even had a go at

operating one. Within five minutes I

was moving it easily in all directions,

though I didn't actually try picking

up any helicopters! Steve Johnson,

TLC's Sales Development Manager,

assured me that it would take a full

day's training to be proficient enough

to move helicopters safely and easily.

Certainly Helilift seems like a great

innovation, and although at around

$48,000 USD it is not cheap, it is not

the most expensive of the helicopter

ground handling systems.

Several other ground handling

systems work in a similar manner

to the Helilift. Made by Mototok

International, who are based in

Germany, the Mototok Helimo is

described as a universal helicopter

tug. It is a remote controlled unit

with long forks which fit underneath

the helicopter in a similar way to

TLC's Helilift. The forks are driven

by means of a hydraulic system,

and the skid holders can be fixed in

any convenient position. The four

skid clamps are then attached by

hand, and can be made to fit around

any equipment which protrudes

underneath the helicopter.

Working in much the same

helicopters in and out of hangars. It

also involves great expense one

carefully calculated estimate of

ground handling costs for an organi-

sation with a mere three helicopters

came to around $40,000.

Ground handling is also a main

cause of damage to helicopters and

injury to personnel. And there is no

way to avoid it, for while you can fly a

helicopter to many places and land it

in a very small area, you can't exactly

fly in and out of the hangar! So for

a long time there has been a definite

need for a better system.

Now there is one, or rather, there

are quite a few. It seems to be the

way of things in the world that several