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42     HELICOPTER AIR SERVICE PROGRAM

personnel directly in charge of maintenance and inspection functions hold an FAA certificate authorizing them to serve in such capacity.

FAA prescribes minimum flight crew components for each type of helicopter and requires that each of these crew members hold and airman certificate. We also require the air carrier to demonstrate that it is competent to operate safely over specific routes utilized in scheduled operations. Each carrier must adhere to FAA's basic operating and flight rules and to special operating limitations prescribed for his particular operation, including minimum altitudes and minimum weather conditions applicable to specific routes and terminal areas.

The fleet operated by New York Airways consists of four V-107 helicopters and one S-61 helicopter. These aircraft are turbine powered and have a 25-passenger capacity. Both of these aircraft have been certified for operation under the instrument flight rules, and authorization for the carrier to operate IFR is imminent. Up to now, however, New York Airways, like Chicago Airways and Los Angeles Airways, has been operating in accordance with special VFR minimum weather requirements designed for its particular operation.

Chicago Helicopter Airways operates an all piston-powered fleet, consisting of four S-58 helicopters having a 12-passenger capacity. These aircraft are not certified for IFR operations. Los Angeles Airways, on the other hand, utilizes, mainly, four S-61 helicopters similar to the S-61 used by New York Airways, that carrier, is on the verge of acquiring FAA authorization to conduct IFR operations.

I would like now to indicate to you some of the operational problems which are peculiar to helicopter service, and I will attempt to analyze those problems in terms of their economic impact on the carrier.

Generally speaking, a scheduled helicopter operation is a high-cost operation. There are several factors that tend to make this so.

The length of haul, or the distance between the points served, is extremely short. The average stage length for scheduled helicopters is about 18 miles; for local service operations it is about 100 miles. A short-haul operation is the most expensive of all to perform, and the scheduled helicopter services now in operation are the shortest of all short-haul operations.

Short hauls involve frequent landings and takeoffs. Those phases of the flight contribute more to wear and tear to the aircraft than the cruise phase. A short-haul operation also requires that the aircraft be frequently on the ground, loading and unloading, and preparing and clearing for takeoff. This results in lower utilization of the equipment than if it were airborne for longer stage lengths. The best utilization in 1963 was for turbine-powered helicopters, which averaged only 1,338 block hours per aircraft during the year. The F-27 in local service operations averaged more than twice that. Low utilization is uneconomic and pushes costs up.

Another problem, inherent in the nature of the helicopter, is high maintenance cost. The lift and propulsion system of the helicopter is more complex than in a fixed-wing aircraft. For example, where the fixed-wing aircraft relies on the wing for its lift, the helicopter has a rotor which is driven mechanically and is itself part of the propulsion machinery.

Helicopters operate with engines at maximum or near-maximum power during a large portion of their flight. That means high fuel