Reserve improves safety, floor space on rescue helicopters Published Oct. 25, 2005 ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Air Force Reserve Command’s 15 combat search and rescue helicopters will get improved crew seats and more cabin space to care for rescued people when modifications are complete this year. The HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters will feature safer, more ergonomic cabin crew seats. New auxiliary fuel tanks will add more than 7 square feet of useable cabin space and reduce aircraft gross weight. “The 305th Rescue Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., was the first unit in the Air Force to get these new features,” said Mark McUmber, HH-60 program manager for AFRC. “We’ve had four kits delivered. The new modifications have been tested for airworthiness, and the next step is to use them in an operational environment.” A squadron HH-60G received the first modifications June 16 after a coordinated effort by Reserve maintainers, operators and planners along with contractors, representatives from Air Force Special Operations Command and the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center. This summer three of the helicopters will use the improved fuel tanks in Afghanistan. Aircraft maintainers will install the new seats when they receive technical order data. According to Chief Master Sgt. Craig Bergman, 943rd Maintenance Squadron superintendent at Davis-Monthan AFB, the search and rescue and special operations communities have desired the modifications for a long time. “We were looking for a way to lighten our total load and provide additional cabin space,” the reservist said. Originally submitted in 2001, the request was not fully acted on until the combat search and rescue mission was turned over to Air Force Special Operations Command and its AFRC counterparts. “AFSOC didn’t have the funding to perform a fleet-wide modification, but AFRC found a way to do it by using priority funding avenues made available in the Global War on Terrorism,” Mr. McUmber said. Each modification is a separate action. It takes a few hours to replace the internal auxiliary fuel tank with a slimmer unit in the rear of the helicopter. The new 200-gallon tank fits flush across the back of the crew compartment, freeing up nearly 15 inches of floor space once taken up by the older tank that protruded into the cabin area. “The 15 extra inches may not seem like much, but to a helicopter crew, the extra space is significant, especially when you’re loaded with equipment or have pararescue personnel working on the injured back there,” Mr. McUmber said. Replacing the crew seats is a more involved modification that takes several days to complete. The seat mod will begin in earnest once technical order data is distributed to the field. By year’s end, all of the command’s HH-60s will be equipped with the new seats. Maj. Pete Kern, 10th Air Force combat search and rescue/special operations officer, called the aircrew seat modification a safety of flight improvement. “The improved cabin seating increases aircrew survivability by reducing injury in hard landings,” said the major who is stationed at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. “The new seat allows easier access to the cabin and crew-served weapons, and it reduces aircrew fatigue on extended missions.” Senior Master Sgt. Mike Flake, 305th RQS, is the lead flight engineer for the seat replacement project. The sergeant survived a helicopter crash in 1994 and knows the value of improved seating. He was standing in the door during a canyon rescue when the chopper crashed. Both seats broke off the floor mounts. “I always thought we could use better seats,” he said. “The current seats aren’t adjustable and are uncomfortable. They really tire you out, especially on a long mission. This new seat adjusts up and down and fore and aft so you can sit exactly how you want for hoisting or scanning.” Sergeant Flake said the added comfort is the best aspect of the new seats. “Flight engineers and gunners have wanted a better seat for a long time,” he said. “We [AFRC] were able to get it done.”