Heliventure '07 Headed Back To France Thursday
A group of French pilots, flying an array of helicopters, landed
in Oshkosh on Tuesday after an exhaustive trip from Paris.
Heliventure '07, as the event is called, took the helicopters
through several countries and over long expanses of ocean. Several
pilots recounted their memories of the trip, which was delayed
several times due to weather and an issue with US Customs.
Four of the five helicopters made it to AirVenture, with one R44
being forced to head back after a split belt was discovered. The
final count was one Agusta A109, an AS350B Squirrel, an AS355F2
Squirrel, and an Alouette. The Alouette is serial number 3, and the
oldest flying Alouette in the world. It was fitted with a fuel tank
in the cabin because the helicopter's range would have required
frequent stops otherwise.
The trip from Paris to Oshkosh was only half the journey, but an
event in and of itself. The journey required around 50 hours of
flying time, 26 stops, and flying over 5,000 nautical miles of
terrain and open water. A TBM 700 would lead the pack, checking for
weather and other hazards. Behind the helicopters, a Diamond DA42
Twinstar followed the group to check on any stragglers and search
for weather as well. Frederic Beniada, one of the Heliventure '07
pilots, said the group "initially underestimated the weather."
Heliventure '07 spanned many countries, with the helicopters
flying through France, England, Scotland, the Faroe Islands,
Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and after a few frustrations, the
United States. The group departed on Saturday, July 14th, and at
first had no real weather troubles. Once into Greenland, storms
kept the helicopters grounded for some time, and on a few occasions
the helicopters flew two-thirds of the way to the next checkpoint
only to be forced to return due to back weather. Once over Hudson
Bay in Canada, the weather started to improve. "The scenery all
over was great." says Beniada.
During a leg in Greenland, the helicopters had to fly over an
icepack at 11,000 feet to avoid bad weather. Another leg was
supposed to last three hours, only to end up taking Beniada five
hours and twenty minutes due to weather issues, leaving fifteen
minutes of fuel in the Squirrel helicopter's fuel tank.
While the majority of airports were well-equipped, occasionally
the helicopters were forced to land in small villages in the middle
of nowhere. Marc Mongeau, a helicopter engineer flying in the DA42
and a copilot in one of the Squirrels, said that Qikiqtarjuaq, an
island in Nunavat, Canada, was one such village. It was there that
Mongeau and the group was told of a national park in the area, and
they made it a point to fly through the park. "It was the most
wildlife I've seen." says Mongeau. "There were lots of seals and
whales in the ocean."
After leaving Qikiqtarjuaq, the helicopters flew through a
valley "at two thousand feet with the mountains above." reflects
Mongeau. The crew had survival kits and life rafts, and the pilots
were careful to keep track of one another.
Once to the US, the group was held up due to an issue with US
Customs. It seems the French translation for commercial pilot is
very close to professional pilot, and foreigners flying into the US
for commercial purposes require a visa that the crew simply did not
have. After many expensive phone calls to the French embassy, the
issue was sorted out.
While the trip ran several days late, the Heliventure '07
mission was a success. One can imagine the scenery on such a
flight, as well as the drain of flying 47 hours in such a short
period of time. For Frederic Beniada, "the most enjoyable part was
to get to Oshkosh."