FirePhotography.net

A couple of months ago I spent the weekend doing photography for QFRS at the Rural Operations Volunteer Conference. Is always nice to see the glossy results. The “Are You Ready” campaign photos look good on the new training/recruitment posters etc, will need to scan some in on the A3 at work. (Note the “Are You Ready” promo banner beside the Assistant Commissioner on the front cover)

Relevant pages of Rural Fires Bulletin Special Edition

Some time ago the first of three Agusta Westland AW139 helicopters was delivered from Italy to Emergency Management Queensland and has been going through the various steps in order to certify the aircraft for operational use. I was fortunate enough to take a bit of a closer look and share some photos with you.

The AW139 is a significant upgrade from the existing Bell 412’s. As you can see pretty much everything is computerised with simple analog instruments for backup purposes only. The avionics in the aircraft are pretty impressive and is equipped with latest tech such as NVG (Night Vision Goggle) capability, FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red), Auto Hover, TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) EGPWS (Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System), Intelligent Health & Usage System, multiple SAR modes and a variety of radio communications equipment. The NVG and upgraded auto hover systems will allow rescue missions to performed that would have been previously not possible, such as night time winch retrievals over water.

Engine performance is outstanding with two 1200kw Pratt & Whitney’s giving a max range of just over 1000 km’s and ~5 hour endurance. With a top cruise speed of 310 km/h this cuts 25 minutes off a 2 hour retrieval compared to the existing aircraft. Due to new modern design the engine & transmission components no longer need to come down from the rotor head and directly through the center of the cabin allowing the entire space to be opened up for passengers and payload. The AW139 boasts a 1 + 14 ( pilot + passengers ) configuration which will allow much larger multiple patient transports than before.