Helos Being "Repowered"

The Coast Guard expects delivery of its first "repowered" HH-65C in January -- a much-anticipated event that pilots and crews say won't come a moment too soon.

"If a boater in distress calls us, he doesn't have to worry about a helicopter falling out of the sky onto his boat," said Cmdr. Richard Schlatter, head of the Coast Guard Atlantic City Group air station in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. "We've flown these aircraft for 20 years now. We know how to deal with these problems. The problem now is they happen more often."

The problems include sudden loss of power, complete engine out experiences and other issues that has led the Coast Guard to install new powerplants into its Dolphins. In the year ending July 31st, Dolphin crews reported 172 in-flight power losses. That's far more than the 55 incidents reported in the previous three years, according to the Asbury Park Press.

The Coast Guard says its powerplant problems aboard the HH-65s began when Congress ordered 60-percent of the Eurocopter-derived aircraft to be made in America. As a result, the USCG installed Textron Lycoming LTS-101 engines.

Sure, the Coast Guard's efforts have been greatly expanded since the 9/11 attacks three years ago, but an increased operational tempo isn't the problem, according to USCG spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Carter. "It's got more to do with age and the initial underpowering of the aircraft," he said.

"When we started experiencing increased engine failure rates, we had to come up with a solution sooner," Carter continued. "We're doing what we had planned, only sooner." To that end, the Coast Guard will spend a total of $158.7 million to install new Turbomeca Arriel 2C2 powerplants, changing the aircraft designation to HH-65C.

USCG Dolphin Facts

Manufacturer: Aerospatiale
Rotor Diameter: 39' 2"
Height: 13'
Length: 44' 5"
Max Gross Weight: 9,200 pounds
Empty Weight: 6,092 pounds
Number Engines: 2
Propulsion Type: Lycoming LTS-101-750B-2 Gas Turbines (Turbomeca Arriel 2C2 engines in the HH-65C variant)
Number of Operational Aircraft: 80
Number of Storage or Support Aircraft: 14
Total Number of Aircraft: 94

FMI: www.uscg.mil