First TCAS II Certified For Helicopters

The first operational TCAS II (traffic alert and collision avoidance system; second and current generation) installation on a helicopter has been accomplished by Bristow, Rockwell Collins and Shell.

A Super Puma operated by Bristow Eastern Hemisphere departed from Aberdeen Airport on April 9^th to various Shell installations in the East Shetland Basin with a Rockwell Collins' TCAS II, which provide the same level of enhanced safety for helicopters that such systems normally provide to fixed wing aircraft.

Rockwell Collins worked with the Aberdeen-based Bristow with the assistance of Shell Aircraft to install, test and certify TCAS II, using an existing Rockwell TCAS-4000 without making any modifications, but "creatively" applied to a helicopter platform.  The effort resulted in Bristow Eastern Hemisphere receiving the first ever European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) STC (supplemental type certification) of TCAS II on a rotary aircraft.

John Cloggie, the director of European operations for Bristow Helicopters, said "it was commonly believed in aviation circles that the installation of a TCAS II for helicopters would not be possible because of their speed and flight profiles."

But it was done.  04-09-2008.

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