In light of my recent run of law enforcement themes, for this next, short bit I’d decided to draft in the military as well and give their flying forces a bit of screen time too ๐ . While the Croatian Air Force’s rotary units are featured here on occasion – operating, as they do, from Luฤko – most of its fixed-wing assets are generally kept out of sight in the country’s two main air bases, one of which can be found tucked away behind the terminal of Pleso Airport (LDZA).
Even though the AF boasts a number of different airplane types – including the Air Tractor AT-802, Antonov An-32B, Pilatus PC-9 and the Zlin Z-242L – the most interesting of them all have always been the MiG-21s; old, worn and tired beasts that are still the elite of the entire force. The rock stars of the local aviation world, they don’t have much in the way of raw military capability – with all of them already in their late 30s – but their iconic looks, distinctive camouflage schemes and (not least of all) their deep, throaty roar never fail to excite the inner nine-year-old ๐ . Put simply, they’re like the Rolling Stones: years of hard graft and abuse have taken their toll, and in purely technical terms they’re somewhat past their expiry date… but when you see and hear them in person, you’re as sold as you would have been when they were in their prime!
122 spooling up and preparing to light the reheat for a practice scramble. Along with its sister ship 116, 122 is part of the so-called QRA pair – short for Quick Reaction Alert – on permanent standby to take off within minutes and intercept any stray aircraft within Croatian airspace
However, while their evocative rumble on take-off can often be heard all the way to town, seeing them up close is quite a different story. While I personally do get the odd chance to enjoy them from the apron – as in the shot above – for many the only shot at a close approach is at the (almost) annual Open Day at Pleso, held this year on 13 December. While this may seem an odd date to host an open-air exhibition – with visitors having had to contend with 100 meter visibility, -5 degrees Centigrade and pervasive freezing fog – the event is traditionally tied to the anniversary of the formation of the Air Force, officially created on 12 December 1991 ๐ .
Undaunted though by the increasingly pessimistic forecasts from the airport met office – and eager to test out my new 24-105 lens ๐ – I decided to brave the cold and fog and see just what kind of shot I could pull off this year… ๐
Weathered and tired – but still infinitely charismatic – 121 is seen quietly sitting around in the background of the official anniversary celebrations, held a day earlier on 12 December. Sadly, this is one of the last times we’ll be able to enjoy the good old camo scheme, with the fleet being progressively repainted into a customized NATO-standard air superiority grey pattern…Fading into white nothingness… while the weather did leave a lot to be desired, it did at least provide me with quite a symbolic shot for what was once Europe’s most widespread fighter. Operated throughout the East, the -21 is today clinging onto the Balkans for dear life, being still flown in front line service in Croatia, Bulgaria and Romania (and relegated to secondary duties in Serbia)Sad and forlorn – but still not forgotten – old 102 defies the fog at the head of the base’s small open-air museum. Named “Osvetnik Dubrovnika” (“Avenger of Dubrovnik”), this machine is actually a distinguished combat veteran, having defected – along with two other bis interceptors and alone recce R model – from the Yugoslav Air Force at the start of the 90s civil war. The three bises – including 101 and 103 (“Osvetnik Vukovara”) – would quickly go on to form the first proper fighter wing fielded by the Croatian Air Force; sadly, only 102 would survive till the end of the war, with the rest having been lost in action with their pilots in 1992 and 1993 respectively
Even though Eurocopter had ultimately emerged as the victor in the recent tender to re-equip the Croatian Police helicopter squadron – managing to dethrone Bell as the county’s de facto default helicopter supplier – I could not in all honesty complete this run of rotary themes without at least casually mentioning Bell’s losing entry ๐ .
A brand that has been associated locally with law enforcement ever since the late 60s, Bell has sadly been autorotating steadily downwards for years now, devolving into an almost marginal manufacturer living off little more than its former glory. Indeed, even a casual look at the company’s recent production lineup was enough to reduce one to tears, being made up mostly of models my grandparents would have taken for granted ๐ . The civilian division is especially guilty, having become quite comfortable in its rut of periodic refreshes of models way past their prime. The 407GX, for example, is a warmed-over 407 from the mid 90s, itself a development of the LongRanger (still in production as well!), which was created by stretching a JetRanger II back in the 70s. The 412 doesn’t even need an introduction, its family tree sprouting all the way out of the original long-body UH-1D of 1961.
The company’s military arm lags little behind in terms of complacency, offering only the 407GT (a lightly armed 407GX), the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior (a more thoroughly militarized original 407), the UH-1Y Yankee (a shiny 412) and the AH-1Z Cobra, an upgrade of the first proper US attack helicopter.
One Bell, many whistles
When all was said and done then, up until a few years ago, the last all-new civilian helicopter to come out of the Bell works was the elegant 222 – debuting way back in 1976. The military division had fared somewhat better though, having managed to pull off the MV-22 Osprey in 1989 (despite what was a VERY difficult birth). But for the most part, Bell’s pre-2007 catalog was as refreshing and interesting as a week-old salad… *
* however, the rival Eurocopter can’t boast an all-new offering either ๐ . The AS.350 Ecurueil is an Aerospatiale handover, like the AS.365 Dauphin and the veteran AS.332 Super Puma (their military versions included). The EC-145 had also started out in life as a late 70s design (the BK-117), as had the EC-135 (the on-off Bo-108) – while technically even the Tiger gunship predates the creation of the company (if only by a few years, having been jointly developed by Aerospatiale and Daimler Aerospace/MBB right before their merger into Eurocopter). The only “pure”, new designs on offer are the EC-120, EC-130 (and even that’s a stretch), EC-175 and the NH90, developed together with AgustaWestland. But, unlike Bell’s refreshes, virtually every Eurocopter upgrade is a significant leap forward in all aspects of the aircraft’s design – and not just a few bits of new tech shoehorned into an airframe that hasn’t changed much since its introduction.
In terms of sheer development speed though, even Eurocopter lags behind the aforementioned AgustaWestland – a company that seems to pop out a new model every lunch break, with the majority of its products developed on this side of the year 2000 ๐ (even though it, like Eurocopter, had a crop of existing Agusta and Westland helicopters to choose from at the time of its creation in 2000) .
Some – but not all – of this would change in 2007 with the first flight of the all-new 429 GlobalRanger ๐ . Bell’s first civilian helicopter designed from the ground up since the old 222, the 429 at first glance doesn’t really suggest that the company’s engineers had fully woken up from their stupor just yet, bearing a startling visual similarity to the unloved (and commercially unsuccessful) 427 twin. The ultimate – if slightly forced – evolution of the JetRanger, the 427 is essentially a thoroughly updated version of the very rare 206LT TwinRanger, itself (as the designation suggests) a LongRanger with an extra engine. Heavy, yet underpowered, with a useless cabin configuration and severe asthma at altitude, the 427 had failed miserably in its quest to become the new standard in HEMS/utility machinery, eventually ending up making the most money (and not much at that) on the private marked (with one example even having made it to Croatia as 9A-HTI ๐ ).
One of the more pleasing shapes of the light helicopter world (and one of the few things that actually worked on the 427). While it is generally similar to the 429, there are a number of obvious clues that set them apart – notably the 429’s clamshell loading doors under the tail, a first for any Bell design.
Still sore from this debacle, Bell’s engineering teams had finally put their heads together and decided to go all out, no-holds-barred with the new GlobalRanger – agreeing also to future-proof it as much as possible along the way in order to avoid any hassles when they (inevitably) decide to recycle it later on ๐ . To this end, the 429 was conceived around a modular construction concept – called the Multiple Affordable Product Line, or MAPL – in which the design would essentially be made up of three sections (front, fuselage and tail) that could then later be scaled up or down to quickly and cheaply produce new helicopters of different sizes and roles.
However, therein lay the 429’s first stumbling block – a block that continues to haunt it to this day. Being the module that holds the whole helicopter together, the fuselage section would naturally be subjected to the greatest loads in flight, requiring it to be made the toughest and strongest. Now, this wouldn’t be much of an issue if the design would later only be scaled down; the fuselage section could then be designed to fit the 429, with any smaller helicopter – with a lighter nose and tail – benefiting from additional robustness and crash protection.
The original intent though was that the design could also be scaled up, which required the fuselage to be capable of withstanding the greater loads imposed by the new machine’s increased weight. Consequently, the GlobalRanger had ended up with a thoroughly over-engineered fuselage for its size, a fuselage that had added considerably to its (already not insignificant) empty weight.
From a purely engineering standpoint however, this was still not the end of the world – you could simply bolt on more powerful engines and off you went ๐ . Yes, the resulting machine would burn more fuel and be more expensive to operate, but the added structural strength would (as in the case of a scaled-down machine) make it considerably safer and more durable* – traits particularly useful in the world of HEMS, often noted for its appalling safety record and the need to operate at high loads in almost any weather.
* the fixed-wing world provides ample proof to back this up, especially in the form of the superlative DC-9 ๐ . A singularly tough old bird, the Diesel-9’s longevity needs no special mention, with numerous examples still flying scheduled commercial services all over the world. The legendary Dakota – as well as Bell’s own untearable Huey – also leave little room for doubt.
But, while all of this sounds perfectly reasonable here, in the real world it’s not nearly as straightforward – especially when aviation regulators become involved ๐ . As designed, the GlobalRanger was intended to be certified to FAR Part 27 standards, which specify a maximum take-off mass of 3180 kg/7110 lbs. But, the extra bulk of the one-size-fits-all fuselage had kicked the 429’s empty mass up to 2012 kg/4455 lbs, leaving just 1159 kg/2555 lbs left over for the fuel, crew and whatever/whoever would be crammed into the back. While this too doesn’t sound like a show-stopper, this payload is a whopping 640 kg/1411 lbs (or roughly 45%) lower than that of the design’s main rival – the EC-145 – which was from the outset certified against the much more demanding FAR Part 29, allowing it a higher maximum take-off mass (all the while being 228 kg/503 lbs lighter while empty).
However, the very FAR that taketh had also offered Bell some hope of reprieve ๐ . Among its myriad stipulations is a paragraph that gives individual Civil Aviation Agencies free hand in approving a 227 kg/502 lbs increase in MTOM within their jurisdictions, bringing the 429’s payload deficit down to a more agreeable 413 kg/911 lbs. Creating thus the 429IGW (Increased Gross Weight), this approval was duly granted by the CAAs of Canada, Brazil and China – but, surprisingly, not by the FAA, denying Bell a competitive place on its traditionally most important market…
While it can then be conclusively stated that MAPL had backfired straight into Bell’s face (leading to its swift abandonment even though it was now forever integrated into the GlobalRanger), other innovations intended to give the design the edge had met with more success ๐ . One of these is what could best be described as a “brand-neutral” cockpit (officially called the BasiX Pro), in which Bell – and not the manufacturer of the actual equipment – is responsible for systems integration. In simple terms, in a “traditional” cockpit, the aircraft maker selects one avionics manufacturer and then commissions it to put together the entire avionics fit AND then get it to work seamlessly on the actual aircraft. This was always a laborious and time-consuming job – since the avionics maker has to tailor its setup to the specifics of the aircraft and its systems – whose sheer costs and complexities generally perclude it from being repeated with a second avionics brand.
What the BasiX Pro did was leave all that integration to Bell – meaning Bell’s own engineers would now have to do the hard work of connecting the electronic dots ๐ . The upshot is that each buyer can now request an avionics setup from a different manufacturer, as opposed to just deciding between predefined options from only one maker. For example, one buyer might want a system built entirely out of Garmin blocks, while another might be more partial to Bendix-King; previously one of them would have to choose, but now both can have their cake and eat it ๐ . The downside though is that this had ended up consuming FAR more time and resources (financial included) than Bell had anticipated, adding yet another item to the list of things the company will not attempt again in the near future ๐ .
But, by far the most successful (and painless!) innovation of them all was the implementation of the advanced MSG-3 maintenance standard, itself short for Maintenance Steering Group 3 and a first for any helicopter to ever go into series production ๐ . In a traditional maintenance system, the useful life of an aircraft component is defined by a fixed time period known as the Time Between Overhauls – TBO – expressed either in terms of flight hours flown (more common) or “regular” months and years (for components that wear out regardless of the actual “airtime”). The default measure that has been used for ages, TBOs are however often quite conservative and rigid (in the interests of safety) and may not be at all representative of the actual state of the component. For example, a bearing that has a 1000-hour TBO might break in half after just 700 flight hours – but it may also continue to work all the way till 1500 with no issues whatsoever*.
* a real-world example is the engine on the Skyhawk I currently fly. It’s nominal TBO is 2000 flight hours, a pretty standard figure for that type of engine – and a figure that has been shown though experience to usually be on the money ๐ . However, as 2000 had ticked over on the totalizer, the engine was still as tight as a nut, with all of its parameters showing near-perfect scores. Clearly it could keep going well beyond its TBO with no ill effects – a fact that had enabled us to get a one-time 200 hour extension to the servicing interval, bringing it up to 2200 ๐ . And, 76 and a bit hours into that extension, the engine is still happily droning away.
MSG-3 gets around this issue by introducing specific monitoring procedures for each major component, giving the user unparalleled ability to see and track the ACTUAL state of the aircraft – and not just rely on a predetermined number. The advantage is that if the user notices a component has the potential for weakening before its TBO, he/she can replace it in due time before it starts making trouble. Another benefit is that if the user determines a component is holding its own better than the manufacturer said it would – like the engine in “my” Skyhawk – he/she can retain it in use beyond its normal TBO, reducing expensive replacements and loss of productivity due to aircraft down time (for reference, the overhaul of the O-320 on the N model Skyhawk takes up to two months and drains EUR 20,000 out of your pocket – almost HALF the value of the entire aircraft). Naturally, if the component can be kept going beyond what the papers say, MSG-3 specifies frequent checks and performance tracking more rigorous than a nun in a convent ๐ *.
* actually, the greater, overarching point of MSG-3 is the creation of a revised global maintenance standard, a standard rooted not in theoretical approximations or lab tests, but in actual data collected from real-world operations in real-world conditions.
CroatianRanger
Having finally shook itself out of its sedentary lifestyle, Bell was naturally quite keen to show the 429 off to potential customers from around the globe ๐ . Somewhere on what would later turn out to be quite a long list was the Croatian Police, at the time still shopping around for something to use once the EU hands it the baton of protecting its borders.
The first of what would be the GlobalRanger’s two visits to Croatia would come in December of 2011, when N10984 – the type’s third prototype – stopped briefly in Zagreb on a promotional tour of the region…
A well traveled bird this… a casual search of the Airliners.net database had shown it had already visited Dubai, Hungary, Australia and Singapore before arriving at LDZL – and would later also pop into Japan, the Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Belgium, the UK and Switzerland…Taking off for another promo flight (soon it would be my turn as well). As presented, N10984 was sporting a standard passenger interior – seating six in the cabin – and a mixed Garmin/Rogerson Kratos avionics fit.
Once N10984 had moved on – with photo evidence placing it at Nagoya, Japan barely two weeks later – we would have to wait a further 11 months for the type to return to the field, this time in the shape of the earlier second prototype. In town specifically to be presented to the Police and Mountain Rescue Service in great detail, C-FTNB had arrived fitted out with a full HEMS interior, including an appropriate – but hardly exciting – white-blue scheme ๐ .
Fully set up to be looked over in the warm and dry police hangar. Note also the rear clamshell doors, a first for any Bell design (as previously mentioned). Unlike the models used on Eurocopters, the 429’s doors open upwards to lie flush with the fuselage, making loading and unloading much easier and safer (especially in high-stress HEMS situations).Neither rain, nor wind, nor low cloudbase… with outside conditions typical of those HEMS machines have to endure, the crew of C-FTNB were more than happy to provide a couple of free demo rides for the press.
As could have been expected by my regular readers, all that recent Police Eurocopter business had quickly sent me roving through my photo database in search of more (somewhat) related material to post ๐ . The train of thought that had derailed me this time was the sudden realization that 9A-HBB represents only the fifth Eurocopter ever to be registered in Croatia – quite the anomaly given the country’s proximity to the European heartlands and traditionally strong ties with one of Eurocopter’s biggest (and most forceful) players, Germany.
The primary reason for this discrepancy – a small, but nevertheless painful thorn in the side of the EU’s aviation industry – was the country’s long-standing “marriage” with Bell Helicopters, a relationship Croatia has entertained in one way or another ever since the earliest days of rotary aviation in Yugoslavia. While its strong socialist orientation would have immediately suggested that any flying machinery would, by default, be sourced from the Eastern Block, Yugoslavia’s geographic position – not to mention Tito’s near-violent split with Stalin and the subsequent drift into the non-aligned sphere – had made it a prime target for some economic wooing by the West ๐ . Aviation was always pretty high on the bargaining list, which had translated into unprecedented liberty in buying Western hardware. The national airline JAT, for example, had throughout its lifetime operated an all-Western fleet (707, 727, 737, DC-9, DC-10, Caravelle, Convair 340/440, ATR-42/72), while the country’s flying clubs were awash with Cessnas bought in huge batches from the company’s dealership in Belgium (many of these are still flying today, with myself having logged time on at least half a dozen of them). The Yugoslav Air Force had too started out* with Spitfires, P-47s, Dakotas, T-33s, Sabres and Thunderjets, as well as a number of indigenous designs built using Western components produced locally under license (most notably the Armstrong Siddeley/Rolls-Royce Viper turbojet) ๐ .
* while its beginnings were indeed rooted deep in Western hardware (with a few Eastern types inherited from the Partisans), the YuAF would eventually switch to mostly Soviet machinery when relations between the USSR and Yugoslavia thawed in the years following Stalin’s death. While the home-grown G-2 Galeb and G-4 Super Galeb (seagull), J-1 Jastreb (goshawk) and J-22 Orao (eagle) would continue to legally use the Viper engine and select Western components, the bulk of the Air Force would switch to types such as the MiG-21, MiG-29, An-26 and Mi-8.
Interestingly though, throughout all of this, Yugoslavia’s procurement delegations had always shown a clear preference for aircraft designed in the US but – if at all possible – actually produced somewhere in Europe. Consequently, Reims-built 150s, 172s and 182s had become de rigeur, with “original” Cessnas generally chosen only if the sought-after model (or its quantity) was not available in France ๐ .
This trend was perhaps even more evident in the sizable police and military helicopter fleets. One of the types that will forever be associated with the latter (even though it’s an original European design) is the superlative Sud Gazelle, originally sourced direct from France, but later produced in large numbers at the Soko plant in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (where it became known as the Soko SA-341/342 Partizan) ๐ . Soko production would eventually reach such heights that their Gazelles can still be found across the width and breadth of ex-Yugoslavia (and, interestingly, Hungary), with a few having even made it overseas into the UK! Similarly, the military had also briefly flown a handful of Sikorsky piston designs, procured – as expected – from Westland.
The civil government though had gone completely Italian-American, turning to Agusta and its license-built Bells (and whistles) for virtually all its rotary needs. Having been the world’s dominant helicopter maker at the time of Yugoslavia’s rotary expansion in the late 60s – back when Eurocopter’s parents hadn’t even met yet ๐ – Bell was the natural choice, and would continue to furnish the police force all the way into the late 80s. Throughout this period, it would shift a total of 64 helicopters this way – nothing to sneeze at in a country with a peak population of just 23 million! – including 32 JetRangers and a remaining mix of LongRangers, 47s, 212s, 412s and the odd 222. Spread across bases throughout the country, many of these machines would greet the dissolution of Yugoslavia on station, eventually becoming absorbed into the nascent police forces of whichever successor state they were in at the moment. In Croatia’s case, this fleet would include a lone 212 (9A-HBM) and four JetRangers (HBC, HBZ, HCG, HDM) – all of which are still happily flying today, save for HCG which was written off in an accident in the early 2000s.
Welcome to (what used to be) Bell Country! Pictured almost a year before the arrival of the first EC-135s, this is the fleet that had staunchly served the Croatian Police for 22 long years… (a number made even more impressive by the fact that all of these machines are 1978-79 vintage – save for HBC in the back, which had rolled off the line in 1972 – and had been in law enforcement service ever since)
Having thus accumulated almost 20 years of operational experience with 206s and 212s as the late 90s dawned, Croatia was now well and truly deep in Bell territory – so when the Air Force expressed a desire for a light training helicopter, Bell already had its foot very firmly in the door ๐ *.
* the military helicopter forces had however followed a different “career path” to that of the government fleet. At the time of Yugoslavia’s disintegration, the bulk of the YuAF was composed of the aforementioned Gazelles – filling the light attack and training roles – and heavier Mil Mi-8s performing the day-to-day haulage. With war imminent, the YuAF had withdrawn the lot of its assets back to Serbia, leaving what would become the Croatian AF without any machinery (save for an ex-Police Bell 47 that was plucked from Zagreb’s Technical Museum, restored and sent to the front on MEDEVAC and CASEVAC duties). However, while the helicopters themselves were gone, the people and experience had remained, so it was decided to acquire a fresh batch of Mi-8s, since they were cheap and could be pressed into service the quickest (the first example was, in fact, captured). With the haulers sorted – and the war over – the AF now needed a helicopter to mimic the Gazelle, a role that was eventually fulfilled by – surprise, surprise – a fleet of 10 JetRanger IIIs ๐ (the CroAF had also operated a small fleet of Mi-24V gunships during the war, but these were retired in the early 2000s due to the prohibitive costs of maintaining them operational).
With the state’s needs and desires now finally sorted out, the newbie Eurocopter – first appearing as a functioning unit only a few years prior in 1992 – was left with no room in which to flex its new-found corporate muscle. Even though it commanded the impressive might of Aerospatiale (itself the successor of Sud) and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (which had absorbed Messerschmitt-Bรถlkow-Blohm – MBB for short – in 1989), the harsh reality of post-war economics had also denied it any hope of breaching the nascent civilian market, leaving it out in the cold for the remainder of the 20th century ๐ .
Eurocopters to the rescue?
The brand’s first breakthrough into the Croatian market would come only in 2005 – and then just as a meager two-ship “assault” that faltered and failed barely four years in (though through no fault of Eurocopter itself). At the time, civilian HEMS duties were still being performed exclusively by the CroAF’s increasingly rickety Mi-8 fleet, a fleet composed primarily of machines that had seen their fair share of action during the war. After a few safety scares, it was decided in the corridors of power – with the helpful assistance of the JAA ๐ – that HEMS operations should in future be handed over to a dedicated (and private) civilian operator, flying proper, modern equipment intended outright for the job.
However, while this was all fine and well on paper, in the real world things were somewhat more complicated. While the government’s intention to the above was duly published through official channels – and consequently widely reported in the press – it had still remained just an intent and not a concrete call to action. That needed to take the form of a standard public tender, at which various private operators could submit their bids for the role and then proceed to beat each other senseless with various cost-benefit analyses ๐ .
The catch, however, was that at the time there was only ONE private helicopter operator in the country, flying a lone 1963 Sud Alouette II (9A-HAT) on leisure and pleasure flights up and down the Adriatic coast – and rumored to not even be interested in the whole HEMS issue. Sensing a very lucrative niche just waiting to be fulfilled – a niche perilously open to well-heeled and established operators from beyond the border – a group of local businessmen soon founded the company Helikopterska kompanija in anticipation of the actual tender (a company that would quickly become known under the cute and easily-pronounced acronym HIKO – despite, or perhaps because of, “hik” being a Croatian onomatopoeic word for an alcohol-induced hiccup ๐ ).
To be able to actually perform the duties the tender was expected to require, the company had immediately acquired two helicopters, later to become famous in song and story as the first Eurocopters on the Croatian register ๐ . Unsurprisingly, the company went for versions of the tried-and-tested BK-117/EC-145 – still Europe’s default standard in HEMS operations – including a stock EC-145 (registered 9A-HKA) and aย BK-117C-1 (registered 9A-HKB)*.
* however, while it does say “Eurocopter” on the tin, the BK-117 is not the consortium’s original design. Tracing its roots back to the late 70s, the 117 had actually come about through cooperation between MBB and Kawasaki of Japan – a cooperation that predated the creation of Eurocopter by almost 15 years. A huge commercial success (especially in offshore and medical circles), the BK-117 was still rolling off the production lines when Eurocopter was born, eventually being absorbed into its product offering. Progressively updated, the design reached its apex with the C-1 version, which would soon – with a few technological, structural and visual tweaks – morph into the EC-145 ๐ (sometimes also dubbed BK-117C-2). So, even though its base design predates Eurocopter, HKB itself does not, warranting its inclusion into this list.
Quite the contrast as HKA and HAT share a fine winter day at Luฤko. Sporting the company’s distinctive paint scheme, HKA was kitted out with a full HEMS interior, as opposed to the more spartan HKBThe fleet lounging around at Luฤko. Even from this angle, subtle visual cues that differentiate the BK-117 from the EC-145 can easily be spotted
At this point through, the story turned overall Croatian ๐ (for lack of a suitably descriptive word). Having never experienced smooth sailing in all their time here, both of these machines would spend the subsequent four years leaping from one scandal into another, starting with HIKO’s PR deception about their true ages and histories. Always billed to the public as a 2004 machine, HKB was eventually disclosed to be a 1999 model and – more worryingly – to have been involved in a flying accident in Italy in 2000 that had required it to be virtually rebuilt from the skids up. HKA was not spared either, for it was argued that it too was not the 2005 version it was posing to be, but an earlier 2004 model that had initially served as a FADEC testbed before reverting to the regular EC-145 standard (FADEC would eventually be implemented on the EC-145T-2). While the allegations against HKB would eventually prove to be correct, HKA’s past was never fully and conclusively resolved – especially since the state’s official register had it listed as manufactured in 2005 with no previous registrations to its name (unlike HKB).
The second kick into HIKO’s shin came all the way from Russia (and without any love whatsoever ๐ ). Faced with the accelerating decay of its Mi-8 fleet – decay that had led directly to the HEMS tender – the Croatian AF had spent the better part of the mid 2000s looking (increasingly frantically) for a replacement type. However, while the intent was there, the funds were not, no matter how hard the government tried to scrape something together (likely much to Eurocopter’s continuing disappointment).
Salvation though was quickly at hand once Russia agreed (quite readily it must be said) to shift some brand new helicopters our way as repayment of its long-standing debt to Croatia. A concept that still tends to amuse the locals – a lion (admittedly with few teeth left) owing money to a mouse ๐ – this debt stems all the way to the heyday of commodity exchange between the USSR and Yugoslavia back in the 70s and 80s. Despite both countries having disappeared almost simultaneously in the early 90s, the debt had remained on the books, to be later passed onto Russia at one end and Yugoslavia’s successor states on the other.
Sixteen and a bit years later, the CroAF was gleefully rubbing its hands together as the first two of the ten brand new Mi-171s ordered touched down at Pleso Airbase… ๐
Pomp and Circumstance (sort of) as H-220 and H-221 approach the apron for the first time on this suitably dreary and grey day. Still smelling of newness and loaded with a host of options, these machines would quickly become the new backbone of the fleet, relegating the legacy 8s to secondary roles. As evident, they also have the capability to carry and use unguided rocket packs, allowing them to stand in (at least in theory) for the decommissioned Mi-24 fleet
While this would have been quite the occasion under any other circumstances, this acquisition had there and then resolutely sounded the death knoll for HIKO’s HEMS ambitions. Reinvigorated and back on strength – sporting the newest aircraft in the country – the CroAF was now poised and set to resume its former place as the country’s default HEMS provider. Convinced by this show of force, its operating economics – and not least of all by the lack of bidders save for the lackluster HIKO – the government quickly cancelled and shelved the civilian HEMS contract, leaving HIKO up the paddle and without a creek.
With the final nail in the company’s coffin firmly in place, HKA and HKB would spend the next few years flying various odd jobs, struggling to survive until inevitability finally caught up with them. HKA was eventually struck off the register in 2009, becoming D-HDPP of the HSD Luftrettung, while HKB joined Flymed as D-HAOE in 2010…
The meat of the discussion
Even though HIKO’s demise would severely dent its already weak presence on the Croatian market, all was still not black for the Eurocopter brand as the end of the 2000s dawned ๐ . With the economy beavering away better than ever, the country started to see a sharp increase in the ownership of private aircraft, spanning everything from the humble Skyhawk to the odd Citation. With plains to the east, mountains to the west, islands to the south – and airfields few and far in between wherever you look ๐ – a significant proportion of these were always going to be light helicopters, a class particularly popular among the country’s few well-off agricultural industrialists, owning large swaths of farmland in often difficult to reach places.
Among them was also the heir of a locally-famous meat delicatessen empire – producing some of the country’s best-known salami and sausages – who in 2009 acquired a mint EC-130B-4 straight from the factory, later to become 9A-HEG. Representing only the second non-US turbine single in the country – 9A-HAT rears its rotorhead again ๐ – HEG was a frequent visitor at various local air shows, on occasion always being piloted by a former Mi-8 commander who was never shy to put it through its paces.
Putting on a swell performance at the 2009 Croatian International Airshow Varaลพdin. Weighing in at just 2430 kg – but being lifted by an 850 HP Arriel 2B1 and whirled around by a Fenestron tail rotor – the 130’s performance never fails to invoke images of the legendary Gazelle…A Sud invention, the Fenestron tail rotor has pretty much become the defining characteristic of most Eurocopter designs. Heavier and more complicated than a conventional tail rotor, the Fenestron is also noticeably quieter, while its much higher mass flow does wonders for maneuverability (especially in tight spots)
However, while they are operationally conductive to conditions in Croatia, privately-used helicopters almost invariably fail the acid, corrosive test of outright economic efficiency. While they do allow for unprecedented and easy access to the various out-of-the-way places scattered across the land (of which there are a lot!), their sheer thirst, high maintenance costs and legal hassles associated with off-field operations all conspire to turn financing them into an absolute nightmare. With one notable exception – another industrialist who has successfully been sustaining his own helicopter (initially a Bell 407, nowadays a 427) for years – almost all examples acquired solely for private use became notoriously short-lived. Such was the case with HEG as well, which in 2012 bade farewell to Croatia to become OO-EVL out of Belgium.
I, EU, he, she…
Somewhat unsurprisingly, Eurocopter’s fortunes began to pick up once again with Croatia’s ascension into the EU back in July 2013. Now the proud owners of the EU’s second-longest single border with non-EU lands – standing at 1198 km/745 miles, just 115 km/71 miles short of Finland’s border with Russia – Croatia has by default been given the task of reducing the porosity of this expanse as much as possible in preparation for the eventual implementation of the Schengen Agreement. While still operational and holding its own, the existing Bell fleet was – quite correctly – deemed unfit to cope with the task (through lack of numbers alone), leading to the EU-brokered acquisition of our famous pair of EC-135s ๐ (but, as if to underscore Croatia’s long relationship with Bell one last time, the 429 GlobalRanger had also made it into the running). The only ones actually ordered at the time, these machines are said to be part of a batch of seven examples that will be progressively introduced into service by 2015 (the earliest date Croatia would be eligible for joining the Schengen Area).
Well, as an old Croatian saying goes, “he who is patient will be saved”… ๐
A family reunion during the official handover ceremony. With their arrival, the Police fleet is now “three all” between twins and singles, through it is likely that the twins – being fully IFR and night ready both on paper an in actual capability – will likely get more air time in the future…
Achtung, Skyhawk! 