The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Bell 412 helicopter is expected to be back in full operation shortly.
This newspaper had reported that in 2009 the authorities had planned to dispose of the Bell 412 helicopter bearing registration 8R-GFP and the aircraft which has been with the GDF for close to three decades was put on the market for sale.
But sources at the GDF Air Corps base at Timehri told Stabroek News recently that the aircraft was repaired extensively by a team of engineers and it was restored to the state where it was deemed fully airworthy. During the first quarter of 2010, the aircraft was certified airworthy by the Guyana Civil Aviation authority (GCAA) and over the past several months reports are that the authorities expended considerable sums of money on spare parts to repair the aircraft.
The army had been severely criticized in the recent past by some within the aviation sector when the helicopter in question was placed on the market, several persons citing poor maintenance and the purchase of inferior spares as issues which had been plaguing the maintenance of the helicopter.
The chopper, which is capable of traversing difficult terrain as well as flying through challenging weather conditions, has been making short trips in recent weeks as tests continue to justify its capacity for the long haul.
Stabroek News had reported that the army had been pursuing plans to purchase a Bell 212 helicopter, an earlier version of the Bell 412 machine but it is unclear whether the department is continuing with this option.
The specific Bell 212 aircraft which was being considered for purchase had been placed under the microscope by persons in the sector who noted, among other things, that the 35-year old machine had outlived its usefulness.
Meantime, this newspaper understands that attempts by the army to have a small Cessna 206 aircraft which was found abandoned at the Kwapau airstrip in Region 7 several years ago, operated commercially have been shelved as the required equipment proved too expensive. It was noted by a source that the army had been working to upgrade the aircraft to operate as a commercial plane.
The GDF continues to rely on the services of its fixed wing aircraft, the Chinese Twin Panda Y-12 aircraft and the Shorts SkyVan for commercial purposes even though operators of domestic aircraft have criticized the commercial operations of the GDF in the past.
Meantime this newspaper understands that the two controversial Bell 206 helicopters which the authorities purchased several years ago to function mainly in the area of crime fighting, have been underutilized in recent months as both machines, which bear military call signs GDF-One and GDF-Two, have had varying mechanical faults. Stabroek News was told that mechanical parts were being substituted on both aircraft to have at least one fully operational.
A source at Air Corps said that the administration may not be receiving “a true picture” as regards the status of the two helicopters and the general status of Air Corps.
The army is yet to equip the GDF-Two helicopter with high powered UV lights which according to sources within the industry, would require precision-type technical expertise, a human resource requirement which the army did not have.
The authorities had defended the purchase of the two surveillance–type aircraft and in February 2008, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon had said, “These helicopters would be used as needed 24 hours a day.
We are going to be procuring equipment, the flare… the searchlights I understand, could illuminate more than half of a football field. These are going to be versatile helicopters to be used by the joint services.
That is why two of them had to be procured [for] crime fighting, search and rescue and such like.”
However, a GDF source noted recently that the two aircraft are yet to prove their capability in this regard as they are used mainly to transport government officials and administrators within the army.
