more reliable digital avionics exist.” The Vietnam-era steam gauges were replaced by the
Aspen Evolution flight display (EFD) system; the first time an Aspen EFD1000H Pro PFD
and EFD1000H MFD have been retrofitted into an OH-58. The EFD system is designed
to work with one, two or three Aspen EFD screens, based on the customer’s budget and
needs.
McDonald appreciates the system’s ability to display XM Weather in real-time. “We
cover such a wide area, we need to be able to see our weather and pick our way around
it,” he says. “The Aspen also shows us the location of other aircraft in our area, and tracks
wind speed and velocity at altitude. This information is critical for making approaches;
especially at night.”
“The Aspen EFD glass cockpit has brought Air One into the 21st century,” Tim
McDonald concludes. “We now have the level of avionics support and reliability we need
to fly safely and effectively.”
Carson’s Glass Cockpit Brings S-61 to Cutting Edge
Frank Carson, owner of Carson Helicopters, is a big believer in his
Sikorsky S-61s (the civilian version of the famed Sea King). This is
why he has been developing numerous upgrades to this workhorse;
one of which is equipping a single S-61 with a state-of-the-art Sagem
glass cockpit.
“The original S-61 was developed 50 years ago, with its cockpit
being fitted with steam gauges,” Carson tells Rotor & Wing. “By
replacing this equipment with a modern glass cockpit, we have sig-
nificantly improved safety and pilot situational awareness.”
The centerpiece of the S-61 glass cockpit are five Sagem Avi-
onics’ ICDS- 10 active matrix liquid crystal displays. Mounted in
portrait configuration (the ICDS- 10’s 10.4-inch display length being
on the vertical axis, not horizontal), these displays can switch between a number of inputs for maximum redundancy. Normally, two of
the ICDS-10s show the S-61’s primary flight displays—one for each pilot position—while the other three show multifunction displays
(MFDs). “If one of the displays fails, the pilot can access the information by switching inputs on any of the other four displays,” says Car-
son. The S-61 also has a ICDS- 6 display that replicates the original master caution panel.
The upgrades don’t stop there: Working with Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services-North America (Vector), which developed the
supplemental type certificate (STC) and performed the integration of the S-61 glass cockpit upgrade, Carson Helicopters installed two Garmin GNS-530 W GPS/Nav/Comm units in this aircraft.
“The 530 is one of the best buys on the market,” says Frank Carson. “Putting in two gives us real redundancy.” Carson Helicopters’ upgraded S-61 also has Garmin GWX 68 weather radar and GDL 69 satellite
weather systems; a Sagem PA 155 automatic flight control system (AFCS); an AHC-3000 dual attitude
heading reference system; ALT-4000 radar altimeter; DME- 42 distance measurement; a TDR-94D Mode
S transponder; two Thommen air data computers; Technosonics TDFM-136D VHF, NAT N301 ICS and
Rockwell Collins Pro Line II radios; Avidyne TAS 680 traffic advisory system, Universal cockpit voice
recorder and Artex 406-MHz emergency locator beacon.
The glass cockpit is just one of the upgrades Carson Helicopters has made to this S-61. Others include
installing composite main and tail rotor blades to add more lift, range and increase payload capacity. “Vec-
tor rewired the S-61 to reduce weight, and replaced the older sensors with modern units,” Carson says.
“Most of these older sensors just aren’t available today. It made sense to ensure that the sensors it is tied
into are modern too.”
All told, Carson Helicopters is revitalizing the S-61 from the ground up. To date, the company holds 20
STCs for its S-61 upgrades, and is looking to extend them to its other such aircraft and then—by licence—
to S-61s owned by other companies.
“The S-61 is a great helicopter, and the glass cockpit upgrade is exactly what it needed to bring it up to
date,” says Frank Carson. “With the improvements we are making, I hope to see S-61s flying demanding
missions for many years to come.”
