U.S., Honduran airmen building partnerships: IAAFA, 571st MSAS help install fi rst helicopter radar altimeter

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Lesley Waters
  • 615th Contingency Response Wing Public Affairs
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - The U.S. and Honduran Air Forces scored a win-win victory between the two partner nations with the recent installation of a radar altimeter in a Honduran helicopter, the first of five to be installed. 

Airmen from the Inter-American Air Forces Academy, 318th Training Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, and the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron, 615th Contingency Response Wing, Travis Air Force Base, Calif., advised the Honduran Air Force in installing the radar altimeter as part of a month-long Building Partner Capacity mission in Honduras. The BPC mission, which began Feb. 6, is designed to promote regional stability by fostering key relationships and enhancing partner nation capabilities.

"The radar altimeters give the FAH (Honduran Air Force) an added capability that improves night flying operations on night vision goggles," said Senior Master Sgt. Jason Hood, 571st MSAS helicopter crew chief and air advisor. "This will help the pilots with better situational awareness and increased safety."

The RAD ALT is a digital readout of aircraft altitude Above Ground Level. It also incorporates a discrete warning indicator for a pre-selected decision height. Discrete warning indicators let the pilot know when the aircraft drops below the selected altitude. This is a vital function when aircrews are operating under increased stress associated with NVGs during nighttime operations.

As with most processes, installing the altimeter required a certain amount of ingenuity. Honduran airmen had to adjust the indicator panel in order to install the indicator. The wiring  already in the aircraft had to be adjusted since it was configured for an analog system, instead of a digital system.

Installing the transmitter-receiver required the manufacturing of a mounting plate for the original location. Structural technicians built mounting plates for the transmitter-receiver and relocated the indicator position in order to give the co-pilot better visibility.

The Honduran airmen also installed a guarded switch, which is used to calibrate the system to zero feet and simplify the calibration maintenance process.
 
"We worked as a team," said Tech. Sgt. Ruben Sigala, IAAFA instructor. "All suggestions were heard and analyzed. At the end, we all agreed installing the RAD ALT in the manner they (the Honduran airmen) did was the best solution."

MSAS air advisors said it takes approximately five days to complete an installation, which includes possibly replacing damaged wiring and defective equipment, and factoring in time for understanding unclear installation manuals. The team had the RAD ALT installed the first day after working 15 hours.

"They were very motivated to get the equipment installed and knew it would increase their capabilities significantly," said Hood. "They were extremely excited to have the system installed and see how well it worked."

With the system reading nine feet, Honduran and U.S. airmen reset the altimeter to zero and did a complete system check. With the check complete, the helicopter aircrew successfully took the RAD ALT on its maiden flight.

Sigala said he was impressed with the Honduran maintainers' professionalism and how quickly they were able to install the altimeter, especially with the limited resources available to them.

"Usually, it takes a couple of tries because you find out you didn't think of everything," said Sigala. "But we, the air advisors and (Honduran airmen), worked together and thought of everything that could happen and what would be best for the aircrew."

Honduran Air Force inspector Sub-official Master 2nd Class Enrique Hernandez Sanchez thanked the U.S. Air Force for its friendship and contributions.

"This has been a great experience, having the U.S. Air Force here," said Hernandez. "We were able to get to know each other more because of the time we've spent working together. The things we have learned and shared between our two air forces are invaluable."