Professional English

Flightpath
AVIATION ENGLISH FOR PILOTS AND ATCOs

Teacher’s notes  Helicopter operations

Lead-in 3
Students can cover the article with a piece of paper, or
fold the paper over. Students work alone to recall the
1
Discuss the questions either as a class or in pairs with missing verbs and complete sentences. They can then
full class feedback. uncover the article to check their answers. After this,
a Other kinds of operation that large helicopters you may find it useful to focus students’ attention on
might be used for include mountain rescue, short- the collocations begin decreasing / increasing, followed
hop civil passenger transport, business aviation, immediately, declare an emergency, request clearance.
transport to offshore oil platforms, military transport,
humanitarian operations, air ambulance services, and Answers:
law enforcement. a departed e followed
b The main safety concerns in this kind of operation b estimated f declared
are: operating in difficult terrain and weather c began g requested
conditions and in airspace without air traffic control; d illuminated
flying close to the ground and avoiding obstacles;
following different flight plans; liaising with people on 4
This will tend to work better with students who work
the ground who are not always aware of operational in the same environment and are reasonably familiar
constraints; brownout (visibility problems caused with a particular airspace. If students find it hard to
by sand in the air), whiteout (in certain fog, cloud visualise a specific airspace, it may be useful to be able
or snow conditions), dynamic rollover (pivoting of to display an authentic chart which they can work from.
the helicopter around a skid), ground resonance
(destructive vibration caused by rotor blades
spinning when the helicopter is on the ground); etc. Part 2
c Answers will vary, but as a rough guide you can
refer to the helicopter in the article, a Sikorsky 5
Students read the second part of the article about
S-92A. Its range is 539nm (999km); its service the St John’s S-92A incident. They work together to
ceiling is 14,000 feet; its maximum takeoff load is complete the table. Then check the answers as a class.
approximately 12,000 kg and payload 5000kg; and
its maximum speed is 165 knots. Answers:
d Differences between rotary and fixed-wing flying ACC issued: radar vectors
include: the need to be constantly aware of the
terrain and obstacles such as power lines at lower Distance from airport 54 nm
altitudes; the delicate and precise nature of landing Oil pressure at 09:47 0 psi
and take-off on small surfaces (on top of or between Pilots contacted: ACC (Area Control
buildings) or on uneven terrain with no infrastructure; Centre) and company
the fact that helicopters do not glide and that the dispatcher
pilot may have very little time to find a place to
land; the fact that pilots are often involved in other Captain intended to 1,000 ft
operations than flying (winching, searching, rescue level at:
etc.); the need to control hovering, etc. Helicopter descended to: 800 ft
Clearance with terrain: 300 ft
Part 1 Crew thought ditching: possible
2
Students read the article and then talk through the Time of accident: 0955
true or false questions in pairs, correcting the false Survivors: 1 passenger (out
statements. of 2 crew and 16
passengers)
Answers:
a F: from St John’s g F: an aural warning
b F: a morning flight (recorded voice)
c F: 9,000ft h T
d T i T
e T j F: they requested
f F: an amber light clearance to return to
St John’s.

1 © Cambridge University Press 2011 Photocopiable

 Professional English

Flightpath
AVIATION ENGLISH FOR PILOTS AND ATCOs

Teacher’s notes  Helicopter operations

6
Students can work together to transform the sentences. 9
Pilots should be familiar with the workings of the
They are reconstructing fragments of the pilot’s actual components of aircraft that they fly in, and should
words in the cockpit and to control from the report. be able to describe their workings in some degree of
detail. If they are unclear about this activity, you could
Answers: suggest aircraft working parts to them, such as:
a “We are in a ‘land immediately’ condition.”
b “The red warning is illuminated.”
Helicopter parts: rotor, tail rotor, cyclic control, anti-
c “The aural warning is sounding.” torque pedals, swatchplate, collective control, tail fin,
d “The oil pressure is dropping.” landing skids, mast, tail boom etc.
e “We want to turn back to St John’s”/ “Pan, pan, Fixed-wing aircraft parts: turboprop engine, jet engine,
pan pan, pan pan. Request return to St. Johns’’ ailerons, landing gear, flaps, rudder etc.
f “The passengers have donned their life vests
and survival equipment.” Monitor the conversations. Note any useful phrases, and
g “I / We can’t maintain our altitude.” discuss them with the class after the activity, as well as
h “We have to consult the SOPs.” (Standard noting errors for class correction.
Operating Procedures).
10 This could be a whole class discussion with the student
suggestions written on the board. Ways in which
Part 3 long flights over might be made safer include: using
helicopters with floats; ensuring that all passengers
7
Students read the third and final part of the article, and crew wear survival kit; twin power plants; carrying
which deals with the accident investigation into the robust lift rafts, etc.
causes of the crash. Answer this question as a class.
11 If you decide to do this activity, allow enough time:
Answers: it could be a lesson in its own right. Work in pairs.
The MGB (main gear box) is the central, crucial Most students working in the industry will have an
component within the main transmission assembly idea of the safety environment, the various regulatory
where the engine meets the rotor shaft. It is and investigatory bodies that work across borders
located on top of the cabin of the helicopter and at and within them, what constitutes ‘good practice’ in
the foot of the rotor shaft on which the rotor blades accident investigation, and what kind of causal factors
are mounted. Its purpose is to drive the blades of might be at work in an incident like this. In the case
the helicopter using the energy of the engine. of the Sikorsky crash, useful information which the
8
Students can discuss this in pairs or small groups. investigators would need includes: data from the
flight recorders; ATC recordings; information about
Suggested answer: the pilots’ background, qualifications, medical records
They recommended that S-92s and other large and experience; maintenance records; flight plan;
transport helicopters should be capable of meteorological records; weight and balance documents;
operating for at least 30 minutes after a massive findings of a technical study and reconstitution of
loss of MGB oil. This might be achieved by the wreckage; studying the operator’s authorisations;
redesigning the gearbox and especially improving possibly requesting an autopsy, etc.
the sealing so that the oil cannot escape so
quickly.
Typical accident investigations proceed by the
following steps: collecting the above data; visiting
the sites involved; interviewing the operational and
ATC staff and any eye-witnesses; checking all the
documentation gathered; consulting technical experts;
discussing findings; drafting a report and making
recommendations.

You might wish to consult the original article in Aero
Safety World, March 2011, which is available free
online, for details.

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