A Flight in a CH-148 Cyclone

Last year, as a local contributor for Warships IFR magazine, I was exceptionally fortunate to fly in one of the RCAF's new CH-148 Cyclone helicopters out to HMCS VILLE DE QUEBEC so that I could prepare a piece on the Cutlass Fury naval exercise off the coast of Nova Scotia (see the January 2020 edition, Page 14). 

That trip has been constantly on my mind since the tragic accident this past week in the Ionian Sea, involving a Cyclone (tail number 148822) flying from HMCS FREDERICTON (FFH 337). The body of one sailor has been found, and the remaining sailor and four aviators onboard are now presumed lost as well. From the RCAF website, the deceased are: Sub-Lieutenant Abbigail Cowbrough, a Marine Systems Engineering Officer; Captain Brenden Ian MacDonald, Pilot; Captain Kevin Hagen, Pilot; Captain Maxime Miron-Morin, Air Combat Systems Officer; Sub-Lieutenant Matthew Pyke, Naval Warfare Officer; and Master Corporal Matthew Cousins, Airborne Electronic Sensor Operator (AESOP). My condolences to the families and friends of the crash victims.

While I intend to try and provide some minor context to Cyclone flight operations, I will preface this post with a disclaimer: I do not have any special knowledge or perspective on Cyclone flight operations, or indeed flight operations involving any maritime helicopter, and am merely writing this post to describe my one personal experience flying in one of these helicopters. 

September 17, 2019:

We (myself, and a CTV video journalist) joined our Cyclone (tail number 148817) at 12 Wing Shearwater. After meeting in a briefing room and being provided with some basic instruction, we were suited up and led out to the aircraft. The water temperature was cold enough that day that we were provided with orange immersion suits to keep us warm if we needed to ditch on the ocean. The suits are not themselves inherently buoyant, so we were also provided with life jackets. We also needed to wear hearing and eye protection. Add in my camera bag, and I was walking to the helicopter like a mummy.

Cyclone on the ground at 12 Wing Shearwater.

Keep your head down!

The Cyclone is a state-of-the-art maritime patrol helicopter - as one would hope, seeing as they are brand new and still being delivered to the Air Force. That said, they are far from luxurious inside, and in fact the cabin is rather utilitarian. 

Cabin looking forward, with the cockpit in the background. The white plastic knobs on the rail (top right) are intended to point you to the nearest emergency exit in the event of an emergency when visibility is curtailed - in other words, at night or underwater. The orange-suited guy to the left is standing in front of the tactical console, from which the helicopter's surface and sub-surface sensors are operated - this is where the AESOP would be seated. We were encouraged to NOT take photos of this console, so I didn't.

Another view looking forward, this time with the AESOP sitting at the tactical console to the left.

Helicopters are loud and sound insulation is heavy - so we were instead provided with hearing protection. Passenger seating is basic, and folds up when not in use. We were joined by two foreign naval officers on this trip, one of whom is pictured here, with his green inflatable life-jacket worn over his orange immersion suit..

While strapped into my seat, my movement restrained by my immersion suit and life jacket plus the two cameras handing from my neck, I replayed our safety briefing in my head, and hoped fervently that none of that instruction would prove to be pertinent within the next few hours. In the event of the helicopter ditching, we were told (among many other things) not to inflate our life-jackets until after exiting the aircraft, otherwise we might be too bulky to fit through the emergency exit. The Cyclone predecessor, the Sea King, was designed to land on, float on, and take off from the surface of the water - in calm conditions at least. The Cyclone, like most helicopters, is not designed in this way, and will tend to capsize (flip over) even during a gentle landing on water - helicopters are very top heavy, with the gas turbine engines mounted above the cabin.

The view from the cockpit.

The Cyclone is designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare and, in addition to the impressive sensor suite intended to locate surface and undersea objects, is fitted with large windows to allow crew and passengers a good view outside. There is some video taken during our flight here.

The view out a starboard side window. I lost the toss for the jump seat beside the open door on the way out to VILLE DE QUEBEC, and so had to content myself with this window beside my seat.

The irony is that with the crash of 148822 from FREDERICTON last week, probably the most capable platform with which to immediately search for the missing crew members was already lost. 

A room with a view!

On our way out to VILLE DE QUEBEC ("VdQ"), we flew over FREDERICTON ("Freddie") carrying out boarding drills.

A rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) from FREDERICTON approaches Leeway Odyssey during a boarding exercise. At the bow, out of site from the RHIB, are two "armed" men. FREDERICTON and NATO warships will be expected to be proficient in this sort of boarding operation. 

On the approach to VdQ, with the ship visible out the window.

We left Freddie, and headed to VdQ. Conditions were good and relatively smooth in the air, but landing on a ship sometimes requires sharp maneuvering - my stomach was in for a bit of a treat, with some banking back and forth on our approach. There is a video of this maneuver here.

Cyclone #817 approaching the ship on a flight subsequent to ours. This image is taken from the Landing Safety Officer (LSO) hut on the flight deck, from which the Beartrap hauldown equipment is operated.

The helicopter approached VdQ from aft and off to one side, then slid sideways over the deck, and touched down. It was a calm day at sea, with minimal sea state, and the Cyclone was able to land without assistance. In more lively sea states, the ship and helicopter would make use of a Canadian invention called the Beartrap (or C-RAST) haul-down and traverse system, which assists in landing the helicopter and moving it in and out of the hangar and allows helicopter operations to continue in up to Sea State 6. 

Rotor wash is visible on the surface of the water as the Cyclone comes in for a landing. The white object near the bottom right of the image is one of the ship's railing stanchions. 

The Cyclone is now moving to port, over the deck.

Now touched down on the ship, crew will run out and put chocks under the wheels, and attach chains to the helicopter to hold it to the deck.

The pilots kept the engines running to push the helicopter down onto the ship's deck until the wheels were chocked and chains were attached. Non-essential personnel are kept away from this area of the ship during helicopter operations, to minimize the number of people who could be injured in an accident - we were even told we couldn't stay in the hangar while a helicopter was operating due to the risk of a rotor blade detaching from the helicopter and being thrown through the hangar doors.

Helicopter crew members stand at the starboard door while a ship's crewmember chocks the aft wheels.

Another photographer takes photos of us from the LSO hut. Presumably there is an unflattering photo of me in a large orange suit around somewhere - having seen him there gave me the idea to ask if I could take photos of the helicopter's return to the ship from that same location. 

Ship's crewmembers aid in the landing of the helicopter. As you can see from the blurred rotor tip in the top of the image, the rotors are still spinning at this point, and we were kept on deck beside the helicopter.

Anchor chains and wheel chocks are in place to hold the helicopter on deck.

The control cabin can be seen in the top left of the image.

While the Beartrap is controlled from the LSO's hut at deck level, helicopter operations are directed from the control cabin one deck higher.

The flight operations control cabin at the aft port corner of the hangar superstructure on VdQ, with USS JASON DUNHAM in the background.

After dropping us off onboard VdQ, the Cyclone spun up again and headed off to transfer personnel to another ship in the exercise.

Liftoff!

The Cyclone slid to port and took headed off.

The Cyclone was constantly active during our visit, and carried out several take-off and landing evolutions. I was able to watch a second takeoff from the starboard bridge wing, and I was fortunate that the helicopter headed off down VdQ's starboard side this time. I have to assume it was all just luck, but I definitely felt I was being catered to as a photographer.

The Cyclone takes off and moves off the deck to starboard.

Rotor wash is kicking up spray from the ocean's surface.

If you look closely, you can see tip trails extending from the rotor blades to the right of the image.

We were not the only visitors to fly out to the ship that day - ships at sea provide good resting spots for migrating birds, such as this Baltimore Oriole.

After being overcast for most of the day, the sun briefly broke through as we headed out onto deck to re-board the Cyclone.

The North Atlantic is hard on ships, and VdQ is showing some of the wear and tear.

VdQ at sea.

As with the flight out, our return to Shearwater was uneventful. Our approach took us in over Eastern Passage, and I took this photo of a car carrier tied up at the Autoport - a reminder that one of the purposes of exercises like Cutlass Fury is to keep open our sea lines of communication and the delivery of cars and other products upon which we depend.

Car carrier at the Autoport in Eastern Passage.

In October 2019, I was able to attend the memorial service held in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the HMCS KOOTENAY gearbox explosion. Seven RCN sailors died in that accident.

The 50th anniversary service for the KOOTENAY gearbox explosion at the HMCS BONAVENTURE Anchor Memorial in Point Pleasant Park.

Local sailors and aviators gathered at the HMCS BONAVENTURE Anchor Memorial in Point Pleasant Park. The service was accompanied by a flypast and wreath laying by Cyclone helicopter - which, coupled with an onshore breeze, ensured that everyone got wet with salt spray. This memorial, built around an anchor from HMCS BONAVENTURE, bears the names of sailors lost at sea during peacetime. Sadly, some new names will now be added to that memorial.

The Cyclone headed off, spraying Air Force personnel in the process.