Preparing helicopter crews for the demanding and stressful operations of specialized missions has long posed a challenge for commercial and government operators. The high costs of training, complicated by the limited availability of experienced instructors and aircraft, have put a noticeable strain on the development of ab initio air ambulance, search-and-rescue (SAR) and other special-mission aircrews.
“Many recognize there is a current gap in our profession,” said Brad Matheson, president of Priority 1 Air Rescue (P1AR). “There is a need to change the dynamics of training from traditional live flight only to a more graduated and systematic approach with simulation that is actually more cost-effective. Rear-crew training should have the same focus as the cockpit, and that includes the use of synthetic training as well as live flight.”
Over 20 years, P1AR has established a reputation among law enforcement, SAR and other emergency services as an innovative one-stop shop for aircrew training. The company is known for developing comprehensive programs based on industry best practices, tailored to customer missions and aircraft. Plus, it has an expertise in rear-crew operations that few can match.
“We train the mission. Our specialty is whole crew training, but more rear-crew centric,” explained Matheson. “It is a very specialized field, and it takes a commitment of time and money to get people up to a standard where they are capable of conducting those missions safely.”
The USCG contract is for ab initio to advanced-level, instructor-led hoist operator training for flight mechanics on the Airbus MH-65D/E and Sikorsky MH-60T helicopters. It is illustrative of the scope and savings P1AR can provide.
The five-year program will see up to 500 ab initio flight mechanics attend its academy in Mesa for ground school instruction and training on a hoist procedural tower and in a simulator. P1AR developed the customized courseware, an e-learning platform, hoist tower, synthetic environments (including night-vision-goggle operations) and examination processes.
“Once they leave our academy, they do their operational flight testing and then are in service,” said Matheson. “The synthetic training is increasing capability and saving services like the USCG and CBP-AMO time, money and resources to get their crews mission-ready.”
P1AR weighed the merits of acquiring and operating its own aircraft but saw the limitations of a single airframe. Matheson said hoist procedural towers and virtual simulators can be reconfigured to match any type of customer’s aircraft, including the positioning of the cabin door, hoist, seats and other equipment.
“Training needs to be completely realistic. We focus on perfecting our methods and technology to improve the student learning process and increase their safety and capability to conduct the mission.”
In a nod to the military adage, train like you fight, P1AR uses the synthetic environment to recreate the customer’s operating environment. However, it can also practice emergency procedures, from single-engine failure, cable entanglement shear, pendulum and spins, to scenarios that require fast decisions for the rear crew under extreme pressure. That attention to detail, wrote one recent USCG graduate, helped save two lives during a SAR incident.
While training may be the company’s backbone, many of those capabilities transfer readily to operational SAR/helicopter emergency medical service programs. In 2017, Era Group was recognized by Helicopter Association International for its advanced use of helicopters in air medical transport, responding to emergency calls in the Gulf of Mexico. P1AR is an instrumental partner in that commercial service, providing complete rear-crew capability, from the paramedics and hoist operators to the equipment, air ambulance licensing and medical oversight.
“We are also practitioners,” said Matheson. “The Era program is a world-class, full SAR service. For us, it was meeting the specific operational requirements in one comprehensive package. More and more international operators are seeking that level of turnkey solution and full-service partner.”