Story and photos by Ray Dick

The military’s new Cormorant helicopter lands in a clearing near Muskoka Falls, Ont., to retrieve two search and rescue technicians during a recent training exercise.

The huge rotor on the military’s new Cormorant helicopter thumped with a soft rhythm in the hot, still air at 8 Wing, Canadian Forces Base Trenton as engines and systems were tested by the crew of Tiger 913. The tests were in preparation for an early morning training flight that would cover several hundred square kilometres of the southern Ontario landscape.

“We should be back in Trenton by about 3 p.m.,” explained first officer Captain Richard Lavalle of Chicoutimi, Que. “Unless we get a real rescue call. Then maybe we won’t be back for three or four days.”

That last warning was for my benefit, the only journalist on the flight. Also on board were Capt. Byron Johnson of Peterborough, Ont., flight engineers Sergeant Dave Rainbird of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., and Master Corporal Gary Lloyd of Trenton, search and rescue technicians Sgt. Steve Andrews of Corner Brook, Nfld., and Sgt. Bill Burton of Brantford, Ont.

The training mission is to locate a group of canoeists on the Ottawa River near Arnprior and retrieve two search and rescue technicians who jumped from a Hercules—Tiger 325—into a small clearing in the forest near Muskoka Falls in south central Ontario. All would have lunch in Muskoka, then the repatriated techs and myself would return to Trenton on the Hercules.

On the return trip to Trenton, the Herc would drop a pump and a life-raft to a ship feigning an emergency in Georgian Bay near the town of Meaford, Ont.

It was a typical training day for 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, one of six flying squadrons operating out of Trenton around the clock, 365 days a year. Flying the venerable Herc four-engine transport plane and now the new Cormorant jet-powered helicopter, which replaced the aging twin-rotor Labrador, 424’s primary job is search and rescue (Search and Rescue). Overall, 8 Wing’s search and rescue coverage area stretches over millions of square kilometres, from the Alberta/British Columbia border to the Quebec/New Brunswick border, and into the North.

However, 8 Wing is not just about search and rescue.

Tucked away onto some high, level ground between Highway 401 and Lake Ontario’s Bay of Quinte, the old, but modern air base is the hub that transports Canada’s military forces to locations around the world. In addition to 424 Sqdn., the base is home to 426 Sqdn., which provides training for aircrew and technicians on the Hercules; 429 and 436, which operate strategic and tactical airlift on the Herc; 437, which operates strategic airlift on the CC-150 Polaris or Airbus A-310. And so most of the aircraft flying out of Trenton are used to supply Canadian Forces personnel with food and equipment, and deliver medical supplies and emergency relief. The base also has eight Challenger jets of 412 Sqdn., used to provide VIP transport for the prime minister, cabinet ministers, royalty, foreign heads of state and other dignitaries. Aircraft from here also re-supply Canadian Forces Station Alert, located in Canada’s far North.

Trenton is also home to the Canadian Parachute Centre, the Sky Hawks Acrobatic (parachute) Team, 2 Air Movements Sqdn., 8 Air Communications and Control Sqdn. and 8 Air Maintenance Sqdn. The parachute centre is the focal point for all parachute training in the Canadian Forces. The air communications and control squadron, meanwhile, must be able to deploy within six to 12 hours of being notified. Its main job is to provide communications and information services as well as air traffic control facilities.

“8 Wing or CFB Trenton is the home of Canada’s air mobility force, the largest and busiest wing in Canada’s air force,” explains public affairs officer Captain Andrew Coxhead. Its 2,500 military personnel and 500 civilian employees are “involved in virtually every operation the Canadian Forces undertakes.”

However, the mission to provide flexible airlift forces to any part of the world, search and rescue services and deployable support serving Canada’s interests worldwide is becoming ever more challenging after a decade of downsizing in personnel and reductions in military funding. The fact is, the demand for the base’s services keeps growing.

In recent years, the missions have been extensive and varied, and come on top of the more than 70 international operations Canadian armed forces have been involved in since 1947. As of June this year, more than 3,800 Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen were deployed overseas on operational missions, meaning that on any given day approximately 8,000 military personnel are either preparing for, engaged in or returning from an overseas mission.

Here’s a sample of some of 8 Wing’s recent and current operations:

In 2000, the wing completed 130 humanitarian flights between Darwin, Australia, and East Timor, carrying 2,100 passengers and more than two million pounds of cargo in just over 60 days. Besides regular sustainment flights of supplies and troop rotations to Bosnia, the Golan Heights, Afghanistan and Haiti, 437 Sqdn. delivered millions of pounds of cargo and thousands of passengers in strategic long-range flights to the Persian Gulf in 2001. While that was going on, tactical or shorter range flights by Hercules aircraft from 429 and 436 squadrons ferried supplies and troops to combat areas from undisclosed locations in the Gulf. These flights continue today.

In 2000, 8 Wing was responsible for the delivery of 60,000 pounds of humanitarian assistance supplies to the flood-stricken residents of Mozambique. And in May this year, one Hercules aircraft rescued 432 residents from the Northern Ontario town of Attawapiskat which was threatened by flooding.

Along with its primary roles of providing air transport and search and rescue, 8 Wing maintains the equipment warehouse for the Disaster Assistance Response Team, (DART), which provided humanitarian aid to Honduras following Hurricane Mitch in 1998. In August of 1999, DART supplied humanitarian assistance to Turkey after a devastating earthquake.

While the demand for 8 Wing services keeps growing, the backbone of its delivery system—the Hercules—is old. The base has 20 of the aircraft in its stables, which the Canadian Forces says are the most heavily used Hercules aircraft of all the world’s air forces. The wing also has five Polaris long-range transport aircraft. The twin-engine jet, which replaced the air force’s use of the Boeing 707, can carry up to 194 passengers or 32,000 kilograms of cargo.

Keeping these well-used aircraft in top running condition is no small task. The base’s air maintenance section is the largest in the Canadian Forces with 600 personnel. And as the name suggests, its job is to provide and maintain mission-capable transport aircraft that can support Canadian Forces missions anywhere in the world, no matter how remote the location.

Training for aircrew and technicians is another ongoing effort, one that has been helped by advances in technology. “An updated Hercules simulator allows us to simulate emergencies at substantial savings compared to the use of an actual aircraft,” explains Coxhead.

2 Air Movements Sqdn. processes all airlift traffic which includes approximately 40 million pounds of freight, baggage and mail and more than 42,000 passengers a year. Not surprising, the amount of air movement through Trenton has increased dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Prior to that date, the freight movement was approximately 23 million pounds a year. “Everything that needs to go by air comes through here destined for everywhere the Canadian Forces are deployed,” says Master Warrant Officer Paul Brochu, who supervises the squadron’s 94 military personnel and 10 civilians.

There are also three Labrador helicopters at the base. These familiar bright yellow search and rescue vehicles have been used by the Canadian Forces for the last 41 years. This year they have been shut down and retired from active service—replaced by the Cormorant choppers, also painted in the familiar yellow.

The base itself is much older than the Labradors and Hercs. Its history dates back almost 75 years, almost as old as the Royal Canadian Air Force which was founded in 1924. “RCAF Station Trenton” began in 1929 as an order in council authorizing construction of a military flying station which opened in 1931. The old fabric-covered and open-cockpit Siskins and Tiger Moths were the first aircraft to test the facilities, and during World War II thousands of Allied airmen trained in the area under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

On Feb. 2, 1959, an airborne visitor caused a sensation at the base. One of five prototypes of the Avro Arrow paid a visit. The Arrow was the Canadian-designed fighter aircraft that was way ahead of its time, but died an early death when the government pulled the financial plug. It was the only time an Arrow landed anywhere other than at the Malton, Ont., airport before all prototypes and plans were ordered destroyed by the Progressive Conservative government of John Diefenbaker.

And lately, because of heightened security concerns following terrorist attacks in the U.S. and elsewhere, the CF-18s, Canada’s frontline jet fighters, have been making frequent appearances at the base. In addition, two of the new Polaris transports will be capable of providing in-flight refuelling for the CF-18s.

The hustle and bustle at 8 Wing has also meant a boon to Trenton and other communities in the region, pumping some $140 million into the area each year. Mayor Bob Capney of the amalgamated community of Quinte West is a big fan of the military base, having watched with fascination “as a young fellow” the comings and goings of the various warbirds over the years. “Having the biggest air base in Canada in your backyard has been a big advantage. The spinoffs from base activities means a lot.” Many of the military personnel and their families live in the local communities, spending their money there and generating employment.

“The big thing is the base’s payment in lieu of taxes (PIL)” says the mayor. “This amounts to about $4.5 million a year to the municipality.”

The PIL, however, is not on the minds of the crew of Tiger 913 on this bright, Friday morning as they checked out the Cormorant’s systems in preparation for their “almost daily” training flight. For many of the crew, this is also their first flight in the new chopper which officially took over the duties of the Labradors in July after 424 Sqdn. officially made the transition. The Cormorant was already operational at Comox, B.C., Gander, Nfld., and Greenwood, N.S., prior to a national ceremony at Trenton near the end of June for the official transition. It was a fond farewell to the CH 113 Labrador which has participated successfully for the Canadian Forces in thousands of Search and Rescue missions.

The Labrador was acquired prior to the total unification of Canada’s armed forces in 1968, with both the army and the RCAF acquiring the big twin-rotor chopper for different purposes. The army chose the CH 113A version to transport troops and supplies while the RCAF got the CH 113 primarily for search and rescue work. The two versions were merged in 1967, and since then it has operated as the Labrador in support of the army, air transport and most notably in search and rescue.

Bundled up in life jackets and helmets that allow instant communication among the crew without pressing any buttons, the miles slip quietly by as the Cormorant cruises easily at 2,500 feet and about 120 indicated air speed fed by the power from its three engines. “We would be cruising at 160,” the pilot explains, “but we have a crack in the windshield.” The speed would be limited until the windshield is repaired by the manufacturer. The crew, however, seems to be enjoying the smoother, quieter ride.

“It’s the difference between a tank and a sports car,” was one of the comments in comparing the chopper with the Labrador. The only comments heard on the downside was that the Cormorant was “a bit more complicated and needed more maintenance.”

Tiger 913 skims over the town of Arnprior, dipping down to follow the Ottawa River to Braeside and then circling around islands in the river in search of 10 Canadian Forces canoeists on a trip down river. Finally located in a bay, waves are exchanged and streamers are dropped before the chopper continues its training mission over Eganville and through parts of Algonquin Park on its way to Muskoka Falls and a rendezvous with Tiger 325 personnel at a small clearing in the forest. The landing site is selected through air-to-air communications as the Herc and Cormorant circle the clearing.

The chopper lands and drops off myself and Search and Rescue techs Andrews and Burton, and the stage is set for Tiger 325 to take the spotlight. We watch as the two Search and Rescue techs from the Herc, Warrant Officer Roger Moroni of Montreal and Sgt. Marc Lessard of Shediac, N.B., glide down in their steerable parachutes and land safely in the clearing, although one managed to get a foot wet in a creek.

“We jumped from 2,500 feet,” says Moroni, explaining that in a real emergency the Search and Rescue techs will jump from as low as 1,200 feet. The two jumpers are among 22 Search and Rescue techs in 424 Sqdn. There are more than 100 other Search and Rescue techs stationed primarily at Comox and Greenwood. “We fly almost every day,” says Moroni, and are on duty round the clock with a 30 minutes notice to move during the day and two hours at night. Trenton search and rescue gets about 150 emergency calls a year, many of them false alarms.

In a scant few minutes, the Cormorant reappears over the trees, picks up the jumpers and the rest of its original crew and after a short flight to Muskoka meets up for lunch with Tiger 325. During the flight back to Trenton, it is time for the Hercules crew to practice some precision navigation and Search and Rescue techniques. On board are first officer Capt. R.J. Ellis of Brampton, Ont., aircraft commander Major Mike Graham of London, Ont., navigators Capt. Phil Bischoff of Kelowna, B.C., Capt. Al Baldry of Kingston, Ont., flight engineer Sgt. Jack Newbury of London, Ont., and load master Sgt. Neil Franklin of Winnipeg.

The mock emergency is a ship taking on water in Georgian Bay near Meaford, so the Hercules locates the ship, drops smoke bombs to judge wind direction, then opens its cavernous rear doors to drop a pump to the stricken vessel. “No good,” radios the stricken vessel. Once more the big plane circles the ship, drops some more smoke bombs and then a life-raft to save the ship’s crew.

Mission accomplished, Tiger 325 heads for home with its two Search and Rescue techs Moroni and Lessard back in their familiar spots after being plucked from the wilds of Muskoka. “This is ideally how the Search and Rescue planes operate and co-operate on search and rescue missions,” explains Moroni. In real emergencies, however, it doesn’t always work out that way.