Search And Rescue

[Guest RossCJ]

Why are recreational/sports aircraft like trikes, not used more for Search And Rescue in Australia?

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Ross you have a very good point. From my decades of experience with rural searches, the sooner they begin the better. Local and low-tech expertise usually beats "professionals".

 

One of the most effective tools is a group of horsemen (and/or women). From high up they cover so much ground and quickly too, as well as silently. Quad bikes are also useful in quickly getting a couple of people to vantage points to look and listen. I've often wished we had a trike or two -ideal with their low speed, wide visual field and low cost.

 

Unfortunately the copper in charge of a search has other issues to deal with- like a chain of command, protocols and liability to think of.

 

When I once suggested we get a local rag and tube airborne (parked on a private strip less than a mile away) the dismissive reaction has been quite disappointing, especially when a squillion-dollar-an-hour rescue helicopter has been called in instead. Noisy, expensive and quite intimidating to the frightened and confused subject of the search!

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Anything government run is destined to be hijacked by vested interests.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Remember Ronnie Barker in "Open All Hours"?

 

His immortal (stuttered) line describing a malfunctioning appliance...

 

"...deader than if it had been nationalised!"

 

 

[turboplanner]

Good idea but be ready for the dumbest politics you'll ever see.

 

I would suggest you write up an A4 Information Sheet with:

 

Your name and contact details

 

Typical elapsed time from phone call to take off

 

Range in km

 

Cruise speed in km/hr

 

Endurance in time

 

Refuelling Requirement

 

Payload in kg (pax or equipment)

 

Landing requirement

 

Rules you operate to (and a copy of them)\

 

Amount of Public Liability Insurance cover, and expiry date

 

Regulation showing you are not permitted to charge - voluntary only

 

If it was in Victoria, I would then take this to the Commander of the local SES and see what reaction I got

 

 

[Guest RossCJ]

All good points but why would it need to involve Government other than in relation to cooperation, unless of course Australia is a dictatorship? Local communities looking after their local area as well as others in times of need. The only way that government organisations can get away with telling us how to go about doing things, is if we let them. After all, they work for Australians, not the other way round. Ignore the ineficient bureucracy and replace it with common sense!

 

 

[turboplanner]

You're a bit too deep for me there CJ.

 

Historically there are cases of notable private searches and rescues, but realistically things need to be organised.

 

If someone's lost the command generally goes to Police automatically

 

Same usually applies to Police, and in Victoria where the old Displan system seems to have been replaced by Municipal Emergency Management Plans for each town, the most senior Police Officer becomes the Commander.

 

So immediately an emergency occurs, no one is in any doubt who is in charge of the situation, and the Commander then calls on his Police, Fire officers, Council and SES.

 

My logic in suggesting the SES is that the Police would usually be too occupied to consider the lateral thinking of calling up a local trike pilot, by the SES Commander is not under as much pressure, their structure is more volunteer based, and there's a chance you could operate under his sub command.

 

It's more a matter of structure than politics.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

points for consideration:-

 

1) Does being involved give you a dispensation to fly under 500ft, indeed do you need to?

 

2) I pressume you are talking about a 2 seat trike, the pilot flys the aircraft and the observer does the looking. If you are talking about the pilot doing the looking I think that is likely to be problematic.

 

3) How will you search in such a way that you know youve covered the search area? I pressume a GPS and an established route that you follow. Not every Trike will have a suitable GPS for that work.

 

These are just Questions I would want an answer to if someone asked me to be involved in a search in a trike. They arent insurmountable but do need to be addressed

 

Andy

 

 

[Guest RossCJ]

Yes turboplanner, I am also thinking along the lines of SES or similar for the same reasons you mention. An interesting addition to the mix also, is the recent introduction of PLB's (Personal Locator Beacons). I believe trike's would be ideal for locating people who have activated these as a last resort as well as many other applications. Just to add, they could also be used to render first aid in certain situations or for-warn of pending disasters such as bushfires, storms or floods. People involved, would of course need to have the right attitude. :thumb_up:

 

 

[turboplanner]

CJ - two good posts from Andy and CFI - there are no daredevils in those services because first priority is everyone gets home and a lot of other things which mean much bigger aircraft with the specifications to handle it and much better trained pilots to survive it.

 

Locations of PLB's are often fixed by high flying passenger aircraft with stage 2 being a controlled overland rescue team.

 

Just think of simple things - the KIS principle, and before getting too excited go talk to someone like the SES senior officer.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Ross

 

PLB's all have a 121.5Mhz beacon inbuilt to allow a search aircraft to home on the beacon in the final stages of the rescue. Ive yet to see a Direction Finding Radio system fitted to a trike, in fact we have problems geting an omni antenna to work as intended due to lack of places available to mount an antenna with uniform reception gain around the compass. Of course if the PLB has GPS fitted then search isnt required just goto, in which case a helicopter is more liely to be useful than atrike as well as being able to deal with most weather conditions and times while we are limited to good daytime weather only.

 

Might sound like Im being negative, dont mean to be, indeed if I was on the ground in need of rescue I'd be glad to have a trike or 2 searching, but would in general be more glad to have a purpose fitted heli available, perhaps carrying a Dr and medical crew.....

 

Andy

 

P.S You cant tell from my profile or info but I have a weight shift licenses (and a broken Edge X, seized 582...) as well so am well aware of what trikes can and cant do

 

 

[icebob]

Hi,

 

I think you may find going to SES or your local emergancy service that has volunteers you may need to comply with thier training before you would be considered. Locally to me that was tried even jollies for local senior SES around the local area but when there was a search on the aircraft was left on the ground and the pilot asked to jump on the truck to help?????

 

 

[turboplanner]

That may be the outcome Bob, without a doubt the self-preservation/induction training would be part of it.

 

 

[icebob]

there was the intro to counter disater course(a CD + workbook and FREE from SES) basics of counter disaster management(SES accredited instructors) free, local counter disatred co-ordination - free through SES. The biggest plus is getting to know all the group and the local area commander by visiting on a regular basis, I feel once they have your trust and you have thiers then things could be different. It is possible.

 

There now is a common training package for counter disaster with the option of maybe going as far as Diploma of Public Safety through SES all of it free.

 

Scouts do Certificate 4 in management (outdoor activities) for about $50 per module(11)

 

and no I am not with SES.

 

 

[icebob]

PS. Emergancy Management Australia has the "Intro to counter disaster management" CD and workbook, they are in each capital city- free.

 

 

[Guest RossCJ]

This of course, is all hypothetical at this stage. As I am thinking more along the lines of a Social Enterprise. Seperate to any government initiatives but willing to work in cooperation & not under the same controls or bureaucracy as the already established. Pilots involved, might be volunteers with say their local SES or Army reserves for example & the Search And Rescue part would be in assistance to other search initiatives. As the demand on these government services increase with climate change, including fire, floods & storms in particular areas. It won't be long before they are crying out for assistance.

 

 

[FlyingVizsla]

When I was on the management of the Barcaldine Aero Club we tried offering the services of drifters, thruster (members) and lightwing (Club's) to the local emergency services. The President was tied up with the rural firies, couple of members were SES. The locals could see the advantages, but higher up all they could see was increased risk. The thinking then was better to have a twin engine high performance aircraft scream past at 200kts than a drifter at 55kts when looking for little boy lost. I half suspect they believed that ultralights fell out of the sky on a regular basis and they were monumentally unsafe. Was canned on the basis of Risk. Controllers were instructed not to allow ultralights to participate or enter the search area. How can we educate them? We need a high profile case of "Kiddy Found by Drifter pilot after King Air Unable to Locate" They went past twice and I waved my coat, yelled and jumped up and down, but they kept going, then two days later Mr Wonderful flew over in his pink Drifter, spotted me straight away. Mother, Mrs Fretful, was incredibly happy to have her son back but questioned why authorities refused to allow the Drifter on the search.

 

Any volunteers? All in jest of course (no kiddies or drifters were harmed in the making of this drama). Might be an idea to use one on a SES training exercise to show authorities how easy it is to cover a large area / inaccessible area.

 

 

Sue

 

 

[facthunter]

Way back, 1964, I got called out to look for a rockfisherman around Caves Beach area.C-172... no fuss or carry-on. Quick phone call through the aero club..You were allowed to waive a few minimums on such occasions. A chopper would have been better. Rough seas.. No sighting.

 

1969 Used a DCA F-27 , on short notice to search for a missing plane in Bass Straight (GA). Had about 5 department observers in the cabin. No sighting, again.. My opinion is that low level in rough surface conditions the better choice would be a chopper or a non-rigid dirigible.

 

On the basis of recollection a Drifter or Trike would be a good low-cost and effective option,too in my view.. The choppers are expensive unless they are Robinson etc. Nev

 

 

[Guest RossCJ]

Yes Sue, you make some good points. I'm no "expert" (hate that word) but probably what needs to happen. Is that someone presents to these bureaucrats a challenge with an SAR exercise and their twin engined or rotary bird. Some researched evidence from around the world of successful uses of ultralight or microlight aircraft, might also present some pressure. Other than that, it might also help to rally some of the local people in your community, who support you.

 

 

[Guest RossCJ]

Thank's for that Nev, airships that's another interesting idea.

 

Also with the recent introduction of PLB's. There is more than likely going to be an increase of people in trouble at some point in the future (scientists, adventurers? etc). How do the authorities expect to deal with this effectively, if they are already stretched with present resources. It only makes sense to use any available aircraft, within reason. Helicopters are ideal but not always available & extremely expensive to run.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Have you spoken to anyone yet CJ?

 

 

[Relfy]

Great topic but I can add a few things here, from personal experience. Search and rescue work is nearly always conducted in remote, rugged and unforgiving terrain and on nearly every occasion I have been involved with, the weather has been terrible.

 

Search and rescue work is not easy. Searching by air is not just flying around looking for people on the ground. Even with a spotter on the ground it is physically very demanding and draining on both the pilot and spotters. Anyone who has searched intensively for someone in even moderately timbered areas will tell you that after about 15 mins your eyes start playing tricks on you and you need to be acutely aware of the spatial disorientation effects. One up in a trike or other smaller craft would be very demanding on the pilot, not even taking into account the terrain, conditions etc at the time. To effectively search by air, you have to be trained and be aware of the numerous issues effecting your body and mind when doing it.

 

The risk management issue is the greatest factor though. It is normal to enquire very early on in the notification, for any available commercial pilots/aircraft to assist with a search. Money, contrary to general belief, is generally not the issue because funding is sourced through AUSSAR, locally and at a state level. Usually there are available a/c and pilots in most parts of Australia. This is now a requirement under Emergency Management planning to have these details on hand to be used in an emergency. Yes, an R22 may be cheaper to run, but in a densely vegetated valley, at low level when the burner stops I'd rather be in a twin engined Bell 412 which is why EM outfits go with twin engined machines.

 

Commercial pilots are generally used due to their training standard being recognised and the a/c used being maintained to a known standard. Most search and rescue a/c will also be fitted with self activating emergency beacons and the necessary radios etc to be in contact with a forward command post and able to take instructions etc from ground controllers. Yes, there is a belief, that I don't agree with, that 'light' a/c fall out of the air 'all the time' and this will always play on the overall coordinator who will weight up having someone something missing, and then possibly a light a/c also involved in the search.

 

Yes, you may be able to just jump into your trike and fly out to the search area and find whoever is missing, and don't get me wrong, you may be of use in a particular situation, but there are a lot of dangers to be aware of and in particular a number of human factors areas that especially effect people involved in searching for another human being. I believe that to take part in SAR activities, there would need to be some formal recognition/training in the following areas-

 

- Search and Rescue Activities Awareness (covering search methods/radio use/grid patterns/briefings etc)

 

- Low level flight endorsement

 

- Maintenance release for a/c used

 

- emergency beacon

 

- Human factors attributable to SAR activities

 

The human factors area is incredibly important. When it comes to helping another human in trouble, we instinctively jump in to assist and quite often disregard other safety considerations. HF is the difference between someone who has an aircraft which may be overdue for a service volunteering instead of declaring that their a/c is u/s. It's the drive that keeps a pilot up beyond daylight conditions when they aren't rated, puts them below LSA, into and behind hills susceptible to wake turb/rotor etc, making inappropriate turns to check something out, using an aircraft that is low on oil, disregarding instructions from coordinators. I know some of these sound silly but I've seen them all.

 

The trouble is, to do it safely there would need to be a recognised 'standard' to ensure that emergency services could call on smaller a/c to assist, but is that just inhibiting the quick availability of an asset that may be available quickly?

 

 

[allowera]

I think most of us have thought about assisting in a search.

 

I have read in ERSA how you can set your radio just off-channel (121.4 0r 121.3) then fly a pattern to follow signal strength.

 

I also carry a UHF radio for air to ground coms.

 

However, I have noticed that whenever a search gets called around here it's either too late in the evening, or the weather is unsuitable, or the terrain is mountainous with no outlanding options at all.

 

So if a search is called in favourable conditions I certainly would help, as I am sure we all would.

 

 

[facthunter]

The situation with coastal searches, dictates that the flying is to the limit, at the lowest height and the slowest safe speed. Critical combination. Looking for bodies etc at the same time is adding to the criticality. The need to maintain a safe manoeuvering speed as slow as possible requires that the plane flies with flaps extended, reducing the margin of power available over drag. It's asking too much for the pilot to be actively searching as well, so this means an observer who would need to know when NOT to distract the pilot.

 

Excess speed is the problem with search fixed wing aircraft at low level. It affects you ability to turn in a small radius , (often having to climb at the same time), and if you are moving fast your search is not as effective.. I have no doubt that appropriate training is needed. ( More than I had) Also today we must be looking at hi tech stuff like infra-red sensing equipment etc as well as precise location capability which is available, so you would have to ensure that the aircraft is suitable from a weight carrying point of view.

 

Ranging and endurance. On another occasion While airborne in an aircraft that had 2,000 miles range we were alerted to remain available to shadow/locate a RAAF Neptune that had lost an engine out in the Coral sea, and there was some doubt as to it's ability to maintain height. Forum readers may recall the rescues of yacht persons in the Southern Indian ocean with Hercules at the limit of their range used to locate them. No good if the search plane becomes an object of another search. Nev

 

 

[Relfy]

Spot on Nev. You have highlighted a very important point in that after a period of time, you may well be involved in searching for someone who is immobilised, deceased or just plain unable to raise your attention from the ground which makes looking for them all the more difficult. I have spoken with the crews of rescue helos and a major task they have to perform when searching, and this is the whole crew not just the pilot, is looking for 'outs', that little bit of terrain to put down in if they have engine/mechanical failure. This is ongoing and requires excellent communication skills between the crew & pilot. Even simple things like being transponder equipped are important to other units in the search area, because once you start throwing 2, 3 and 4 aircraft into a search area, it starts to become quite crowded and keeping track of everyones position is another task put back on the pilot. Comms has always presented a problem and quite often it falls back on the good old 40 channel UHF to coordinate air/ground/command post/ses/other volunteers, with a pilot also monitoring the area freq and other VHF freqs used. Now when you look at it, as PIC you are flying at minimas, monitoring numerous sources of comms, performing ongoing emergency risk assessments in flight, communicating with crew in a multi crew environment, maintaining separation, monitoring a/c systems and on top of all that, focussing attention also on the ground looking for small objects easily obscured in amongst the terrain.

 

I'm not suggesting that there isn't a place for smaller aircraft in the search, just that there are a lot of considerations to be taken into account and the circumstances may allow them to assist.