fly far & high fly safe
South Africa’s varied terrain can present challenges, too. “The main challenge is hot and high conditions, as well as the nightmare of fuel logistics with the vast areas operated in,” Valentine explains.
This amazing landscape can produce unique and memorable experiences. Chief Flight Instructor Vicky Sankey describes one of her favorite flights in extreme conditions. “I was very fortunate to fly to Drakensberg Mountains where we do our annual flight training and to where I took the Bell 505 helicopter. At 11,000 feet we could actually operate with it amazingly. We landed on that altitude and the aircraft still had ample power; she just blew our mind! The machine itself had sufficient power and at 11,000 feet we could fly in snow conditions, and swoop down to the valley; the competence was just amazing!”
The Bell 407 is NAC’s main workhorse, NAC Chief Pilot Marnus Gouws says. They find it highly reliable and praise its ride quality and maintenance support. “We can take it anywhere around the world, and we will always have fast and reliable maintenance support. With a 407, we once went to rescue a gyrocopter that crash landed on a mine dump. The 407 gave an amazing performance at saving the injured crew, as well as at airlifting the gyrocopter,” Gouws says.
Alister Brown, division head and partner in NAC helicopter operations, recalls one of his most memorable missions in a Bell. “We rescued two lions from caged hunting and transferred them in the back of a Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter. We also had a veterinarian with us staying at the back with the two male lions
who were snoring away, and I just remember thinking to myself that I hope they won’t wake up before landing. They didn’t, ha ha!”
NAC has been a Bell independent representative for the last 28 years, said Gary Phillips, executive director of the Helicopter Division. “In Johannesburg, Bell helicopters are mainly used for executive and corporate transport, but we also use them for tourism flights around the Cape Town peninsula. We also do emergency medical services in the Eastern Cape, and occasionally we do other utility missions when required.” One of the primary reasons they operate Bell helicopters is their safety and reliability, Phillips added.
The team emphasizes that in all the years of flying with Bell helicopters, they have never stumbled upon any major problems with the aircraft. Most of their aircraft are maintained by the NAC maintenance division at Rand Airport, which is an approved Bell client services provider.
The rainbow skies of South Africa have been dominated by NAC colors for decades now, and it’s safe to say NAC will continue to fly high for decades to come. The team works with passion and professionalism. They have a strong vision for the future that includes expanding their HEMS (helicopter emergency medical services) as well as their firefighting operations to new and higher levels.
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Mar/Apr 2020
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