AVIATION RESCUE (A.K.A. HELICOPTER RESCUE)

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Aviation Rescue is about understanding the capabilities and limitations of helicopters as a rescue tool, and then being able to use them safely. This course focuses primarily on the understanding of the risks of working around, with and in helicopters, and how to manage those risks.

Please note that you must have completed AND PASSED High Angle 2 before you may commence with this course.

We also STRONGLY recommend that you have completed Wilderness SAR before attempting Aviation Rescue, unless your department operates only in urban areas.

Please note that the costs of the helicopter are not included in the course costs, as many of the government departments for whom we conduct training have access to state resources. If training is required for a private group then these costs will have to be included.

This course focuses on rescue from both land and water. Consequently, in addition to being able to pass the fitness requirements for High Angle II, we also require you to be able to swim confidently. This means:

• Be able to swim 200m in 5 min or less with no bouyancy aids.

• Be able to swim 2000m in 60 min or less while wearning a buoyancy aid.

• Treat water for 20 min.

Your fitness will be assessed during the course and if you are not fit enough  then you will not be permitted to complete the course.

The assessment takes place in 2 phases:

• The formative assessment takes place during the practical phase of the course.

• The theory exam is written after the practical phase. It is a written paper of up to 150 marks and has a 50% pass mark.

• History of helicopter rescue

• Physics of flight

• How do fixed-wing helicopters fly?

• How do helicopters fly?

• Density altitude

• Autorotation and the height-velocity curve

• Loose articles and F.O.D.

• Recirculation

• Brown-out

• Wire-strike

• Dynamic rollover

• Main and tail rotor configurations

• Characteristics of helicopters typically used for rescue.

• Radio

• Hand signals

• Position marking with pyrotechnics

• Position marking with heliograph

• Situational Awareness

• Crew roles

• Rescue team roles

• Unprepared landing zones

• Moving arond helicopters

• When the hoist is appropriate

• Personal equipment

• Patient retrieval equipment

• Personal hoisting techniques

• Stretcher hoisting

• Challenging hoisting situations

• Hoisting from water