Thanks HeliComparator, I just had read an article somewhere and they mentioned that as a possibilty, not being a pilot myself but having been involved in Ops previously it was one thing that crossed my mind.

Right on the quote...I know the general HTML but does seem very clunky and searching the FAQ's indicates that there was indeed an option available, I was thinking it might have been down to my very low post count hence asking

The EVS in the Grand New is (I believe) a lot more capable than the SV that HC refers to: the local operator is very impressed with it.

A better idea in this video, but the only decent images I can find online are in a bl0g, and PPRuNe won't link to the url :(



for those asking about quoting: press the reply button bottom right in the post you want to quote, then in the resulting url delete the number 1 at the end where it says &noquote=1, press enter and the post will be quoted.

Enhanced Vision (EV or EVS) and Synthetic Vision (SV or SVS) are two totally different things in current technology.

EV enhances something that is seen, though poorly (fog, haze, etc), with assistance and image enhancement.

SV is purely that - synthetic, not real, created from a database and displayed as a "virtual" scene. It can display terrain with elevation relief (from a terrain DB) and obstacles (from an obstacle DB). Terrain is quite accurate but obstacles are basic geometric symbols.

Current SV technology, as good as it is, would not be of much help in the offshore environment. Not much "terrain" to look at. It could have offshore obstacles (if in the DB), but not a realistic display of each individual rig, etc. Then, any movable obstacles obviously would be an uncharted hazard.

This link is to a story on the Aberdeen Press and Journal today. I have included the body of text as they tend to delete stuff daily.

Press and Journal - Article - Tragedy probe targets ?cramped? copter seats
Tragedy probe targets ‘cramped’ copter seats

SAFETY chiefs are to investigate the seating set-up inside offshore helicopters following last month’s fatal accident off Shetland.

One of the four people who died when the Super Puma plunged into the North Sea was unable to escape from the aircraft.

Today, the Press and Journal can reveal that a task group made up of industry leaders will investigate whether the way “cramped” workers sit can be made safer.



Hope I am not breaking rules posting straight from their site.

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Bristow reports return of AS332 helicopters to service :

Bristow reports return of AS332 helicopters to service | Vertical Magazine - The Pulse of the Helicopter Industry

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At lunchtime today the BBC were promising a statement from the Scottish Parliament about the Sumburgh incident. The day has passed, has anybody heard anything?

John Finney made a statement and answered several questions. Much of it was what you would expect. He firmly states during the statement and the answers to questions that the investigation is ongoing and we must wait until it takes its course.

However, he states that the HSSG change in recommendations about SP flying was based on new information from the AAIB. I am not sure that this is correct.


He also states that the incident Gold and Silver command centre was the Aberdeen Division police command centre. This leaves me wondering what the police were doing getting involved in an aeronautical SAR job below the High Water Mark when they have no appropriate skill set and are not the Statutory Co-ordinating Authority. Surely their place in this is subsequent investigation of an accident or sudden death as required by the Procurator Fiscal.


There may be territorial restrictions on the video content.
BBC News - Shetland helicopter crash: Government says lessons will be learned

I believe that continuing part results from the Procurator Fiscal's duties under the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry (Scotland) Act 1976. Under the act, these deaths inevitably result in an FAI because the deceased persons were at work. I think it may be the REDL FAI that a questioner asked Finney about in parliament.

What I question is the police part in an SAR operation at sea. The new Police Scotland regime struggles to operate beyond the street lights on land, and as previously, often defers to the Coastguard in coastals ops, and in large inland waterways. We have the Coastguard for maritime SAR and the ARCC and RAF MRS for aeronautical. I am all for joint working and so on but what can they bring to the party at that stage?

Who said they wanted to bring anything to the party? They probably just want a share of the limelight!

I recently received word that a glider pilot had a minor landing accident in his glider whilst landing in a field in Englandshire, slight damage to the glider and no injury. Police got wind, and next thing it was all over the police's official Facebook page in sensationalist terms, no doubt using words such as "plunge", "fell out of the sky" "wind stopped" etc. Apparently that page has since been taken down but one does wonder how much time is spent on such trivia (not to mention the inappropriateness of it) as opposed to detecting crime (viz Manchester police's recent admission that less than 1/2 of reported crime is investigated).

Osborne gets in on the OE act
 

Looks like though he may have been told not to wear jeans, he wasn't told he might need nappies

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...e_2661165k.jpg

AAIB update available

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/latest_news/s...helicopter.cfm

Link doesn't appear to work, neither directly from the news page:

Air Accidents Investigation: Latest News

That's annoying, the link doesn't work and the report is not yet on the AAIB even though its mentioned on their "latest news" page! Its so "latest news" that it doesn't exist yet!

Edited to add - and now its been removed from the "latest news page". The AAIB is such a tease! But presumably its imminent.

Latest news
 

AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter, G-WNSB – Latest News

The combined voice and flight data recorder from the AS332 L2 Super Puma helicopter has been successfully recovered and will be transported to the AAIB HQ in Farnborough later today.




..... I think that is it !

Link has now been removed altogether.

Was: http://www.aaib.gov.uk/latest_news/s...helicopter.cfm

That was last week's "latest news".

"Jeremy Cresswell: Helicopter safety… don’t reinvent the wheel"
 

An interesting item on the Energy Voice website:

Jeremy Cresswell: Helicopter safety?... don't reinvent the wheel | Energy Voice

Its back:Air Accidents Investigation: S6/2013 - AS332 L2 Super Puma, G-WNSB

just dismal.... I think step 1 on the road to improvement must be a few quid to resource the AAIB.

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources...2%20G-WNSB.pdf

Seems to be working now.