HAI/DAN SWEET
I’ve said no. But there have been times where I’ve noticed, Hey, this might be a little bit dangerous. But thinking your way through the situation, having a plan, things like that really help.” Sullivan is aware that rescue swimmers tend to get media
Two Airbus MH-65s in the hangar at
Sector North Bend. The aircraft in the foreground is on
standby for the next mission, while the
helicopter behind it is undergoing heavy maintenance.
attention on many rescues, thanks to cameras the Coast Guard uses during missions. News crews and Hollywood favor this footage because of the dynamic rescue work it captures. But what does he wish the public knew about being a rescue swimmer? “How incredibly difficult it is to become one,” says Sullivan. “And that we are trained to conduct rescue missions basically by ourselves in any environment. Whether it’s water, mountains, deserts, or forests, we’re ready to go.”
Aircraft Maintenance Is Serious Business Te Coast Guard operates both MH-65 short-range recovery helicopters and larger, longer-range Sikorsky HH-60 Jayhawks. In 2019, it began transitioning the MH-65 from the Delta to the Echo model. It’s been a little over a year since Sector
North Bend’s Dolphins were upgraded, and pilot reviews are positive. “It’s great,” says Knutson. “I hear very few com- plaints. Te transition period, people getting used to the aircraft, took a little time. But now that we’ve been flying it for a year, I only hear great feedback [about] all of the improved avionics and all the upgrades that we got with the Echo.” Te maintenance teams give the upgrade positive reports
as well. “I’ve worked on 65s my whole career,” says Gigliotti. “I started with HH Charlies and then the MH Charlies, the Deltas, and now the Echoes. I think it’s a fantastic aircraft. It’s definitely done an exemplary job.” Te maintenance rotation for the sector’s five helicopters usually has one Dolphin in heavy maintenance, where the aircraft is stripped down, inspected, and rebuilt. Te main- tenance team works in shifts and includes 40 to 50 personnel. Most are already skilled in specific maintenance areas or have a general knowledge of the entire aircraft. Others are still undergoing training for their rating (military specialty). Te crews track the maintenance rotation closely to ensure that a helicopter is always mission ready. For the heavy-maintenance period, the crews will review
flight-hour schedules to determine what components must come off and any additional work that might be needed as a result. “We’ll usually look at what big-ticket items are coming due and what maintenance we can do early to ball into that package,” says Gigliotti. “If we have to do a little maintenance a month or two early or a hundred hours earlier than needed, it’s advantageous for us to try to get those all to sync up.” One element all sector personnel are keenly aware of is
salt. Left on aircraft, salt becomes corrosive, aggressively eating into metals and avionics. To combat it, the crews at Sector North Bend regularly wash the aircraft and engines. Tey become familiar with where corrosion commonly occurs, especially inconvenient, difficult-to-reach places such as the wheel wells and underbelly. Te flight mechanic conducting the mission is responsible
for pre- and post-flight inspections. After a mission, any available shift personnel also assist in the inspections. “It’s always better to have extra eyes on the aircraft,” says Gigliotti. “And the extra hands help to expedite the process.”
Safety First Today, risk assessment is a priority for all Coast Guard mis- sions. “When I first started, we had conversations about it, but it was not as prolific as it is now,” says Knutson. “Now, before we go on a mission, even just a routine training mis- sion, we do a risk analysis and talk about all the risk factors for this particular mission, each and every time we go out. I think the Coast Guard’s done a really good job of formalizing our risk-management procedures.”
34 ROTOR DECEMBER 2022
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