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Aviation History
1977
1977 - 0062.PDF
56 j* AIR SUPPORT FOR NORWAY'S OIL rently makes any form of scheduled activity unprofitable except for smaller types like the Islander. It is nevertheless served twice daily from Oslo by SAS DC-9. The shipyards of Haugesund are unusual in that they can accept oil rigs moored alongside their quays, and an increasing number of structures are coming in for refit and survey. A number of UK-based aircraft have operated charters into Karmoy, a trend which is likely to gain momentum as the yards turn away from tankers to oil-related work. The airfield has a single runway 1,720m long. Its landing approaches are, for Norway, obstruction-free, and its weather record looks good. Further north lies Bergen (Flesland), Norway's second oil-related airport. With the imminent development of the Stratfjord field to production levels, Flesland is poised for major involvement. Flesland is 19km from the city of Bergen and was built in the 1950s. Bergen has always been regarded as the gateway to Norway, as witness inter national traffic originating from points as diverse as New York, Newcastle and Aberdeen. UK traffic is derived from regular Dan-Air BAC One-Eleven and HS.748 services and, more recently, a five-times weekly Air Anglia F.27 flight from Aberdeen. Despite its traffic mix and density, Fles land does not yet have radar, a lack which in bad weather can occasionally cause difficulties. Though the single run way can suffer crosswind problems, the construction of another would be prohibitively costly. The surrounding area is fairly heavily populated and generates a few noise complaints. By UK standards helicopter traffic into Flesland is not heavy. It has however to be fed across the runway, and delays can occur. An imminent increase in activity on the Frigg and Statfjord fields (95 n.m. to the south-west and 120 n.m. to the north-west respectively) may well force some procedural changes. Helicopters operating from Flesland use designated lanes until they are at a set dis tance from the field. They are then transferred to Stavan ger flight-information region for offshore control. Bergen Airport is also the home of Norway's second oil-support operator, Offshore Helicopters A/S, formed in 1975 as part of the Fred Olsen group. Initially equipped with two Aerospatiale SA.330G Pumas, Offshore realised early last year that the offshore oil industry much pre ferred American helicopters for the support role. The Pumas were therefore returned to France last July, and Offshore Helicopters announced the purchase of two Sikorsky S-61Ns plus one or two Bell 212s, all for delivery by the end of 1976. During its brief operational period in Norway, the Puma proved to be a popular type with its crews, hand ling well in the area's notoriously unkind weather and giving its engineers no serious trouble. Offshore opera tions with the type were limited, but various other mis sions were successfully flown. The circumstances leading up to the type's departure from the scene were politically confused. But had a civil Puma been available earlier, the American hold on the market might not have developed so strongly. Offshore Helicopters and Helikopter Service competed keenly, and it is perhaps unfortunate that early attempts to come to some form of pooling agreement were ap parently unsuccessful. Their confrontation came to a head over the prestige Statfjord support contract. Political in terests became involved when it became obvious that a monopoly could develop, but this objection was overcome when Offshore Helicopters leased its aircraft to its rival, so remaining technically in business. Ironically, the main cause of the difficulties, the Statfjord production platform has not been completed in time for the 1976 weather "window," and it will not now be emplaced until well into 1977. The Statfjord delay will allow the training of more crews and has obviously come at a most opportune time for Offshore vice-chairman Peter Nissen and his team. Helikopter Service maintains a detachment at Bergen to serve the Frigg Field, Statfjord (exploration and ap- FUGHT International, 8 January 1977 Below, Offshore Helicopters is the only North Sea operator to have used the Puma, now withdrawn to make way for American aircraft. Bottom, scheduled flights to Stavanger by Air Anglia and Braathens SAFE have become established as a result of the growth of oil-related traffic praisal), Heimdall Field, and rigs working in the northern part of the Norwegian sector. The operation is largely served by the Bell 212—at least one of which is now based on the Frigg complex—but regular S-61N require ments also exist. These are usually handled by tasking an aircraft for short periods from Forus, but a steady in crease in Bergen-base traffic could well result in a change in this policy. A new helicopter-only passenger check-in area has been provided in the main terminal building, where handling is provided by Braathens SAFE personnel. An increasingly important aspect of Norwegian oil- related aviation is the provision of charter flights for drilling personnel travelling to other centres of the in dustry. Braathens SAFE pioneered this activity with regular F.27 and F.28 flights to North and West Africa, Edge Island, and all the major European oil areas. It has now been joined by a number of operators, chief amongst which is Nor-fly, whose spotless CV-440s are near-daily arrivals at Aberdeen or Sumburgh. Other oil-related opera tors of note include F.27 and Skyvan operator Air Execu tive (Busy Bee), Bergen Air Transport (DC-4), Fred Olsen (L-188 Electra), and Nordsjofly (PA-31). Norwegian aviation is still small enough for almost everyone to know everyone else. This, and respect for commonsense regulation, has resulted in very responsible operations in this area of the North Sea. All Norwegian commercial operators, regardless of the size of their aircraft, have to hold the equivalent of an air operators certificate, a requirement which has had a welcome effect on safety. Scandinavian aviation authorities co-operate very closely, a policy which could usefully extend to the other side of the North Sea. The Norwegian Directorate of Civil Aviation inspects its operators at least once annually. Although the Norwegian authorities demand and maintain the very highest standards nationally, they tend to do this by encouragement and example rather than by the generation of reams of paperwork. The development of Norwegian oil-related aviation has been both orderly and well phased, an experience which will be of great value when the northward expansion takes place in the late 1970s. Operations in the Norwegian Arctic will provide the greatest challenge to aviation since offshore activity began in the North Sea. But current planning obviously fully appreciates the difficulties, and solutions are under discussion.
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