By Craig Hoyle2021-04-20T14:54:00+01:00
The UK’s Qinetiq-run Empire Test Pilots’ School (ETPS) is poised to complete its major fleet renewal programme, with a trio of replacement rotorcraft due to enter use within months.
Qinetiq says it will declare initial operating capability “this summer” with the assets: a pair of Leonardo Helicopters AW109 Grands, plus a single AW139.
Source: Qinetiq
AW139 is among a trio of new rotorcraft entering use this year
Each equipped with an electro-optical/infrared sensor turret and featuring “a modern, complex avionics suite”, the aircraft will be employed at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire in support of ETPS courses for test pilots and flight-test engineers.
13-Apr-2021 Source: HeliHub.com
The G7 Summit for 2021 is being held in the UK at a hotel by the beach in the picturesque Carbis Bay in Cornwall. With necessarily tight security, all the VVIPs will need to be transported from Newquay Cornwall Airport to Carbis Bay – about 35 miles straight line.
We understand that British operator Castle Air, the only AOC holder headquartered in the county of Cornwall, has won the contract to support the event using 11 helicopters and 22 pilots for all the air transport requirements related to the summit. The official dates are 11-13 June 2021, but we expect days before and after that to be included as well.
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Q&A with Bristow’s sponsored Instrument Rating cadets By Bristow | January 7, 2021
Estimated reading time 10 minutes, 6 seconds.
Janine Lythe and Mathew Reid joined the Bristow team in Aberdeen in January 2020, as part of a fully sponsored Instrument Rating training program designed to develop a new generation of helicopter pilots. They recently discussed the initial stages of their training with Bristow:
What made you want to pursue a career in aviation?
Mat: “I knew very early on that I wanted to be a pilot and have always been involved in aviation in some way. I joined my local RAF Air Training Corps as a cadet as a teenager and volunteered at a gliding squadron when I turned 16. After studying aerospace engineering at university, I worked for a helicopter operator on the ramp as ground support. This was a great learning experience as I was exposed to the different disciplines involved in helicopter operations.”