HALO ready to hit the skies with student-built Vans RV-12

Commentatpr/Courier Photo Submitted. ASSEMBLY: Grade 12 Flight Academy students Naomi.

By Samantha Johnson
Prairie Rose Public Schools Content Writer

Three of the six HALO pilots are licensed for both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, so getting them certified to fly the Dave Rozdeba South Alberta Flight Academy student-built plane isn’t difficult. Thus far, only Captain Ryan Shrives is certified to fly the Vans RV-12 and said, “certification wasn’t complicated, it was more about time management and having people available. It was a few flights to get familiar with the machine and the systems.”

Shrives said the plane, which now has about 300 flight hours on it, was fun to fly and he has taken up CEO of HALO Paul Carolan to give him a feel for how the plane handles, what it can do and visibility.

“We haven’t used it on a search or a fire yet because in the cases where we were doing that this year, we needed to be able to deploy people and we can’t do that with the plane,” explained Carolan. “The idea is we might not always have to put people on the ground and then this makes way more sense because it can fly longer and is more affordable. We aren’t doing what I would call proactive patrols, but if someone reports something, the idea is between one of the two aircraft, we can confirm if there is a fire and identify the seriousness of the situation.”

This past summer, there were reports in Cypress County of the smell of smoke, but nobody knew where the fire was. This is the type of situation, said Shrives, where the plane could have been used to scout the area. “The reason we have the specific partnership with the plane,” added Carolan, “is because if the situation doesn’t require taking people out and being able to land and put them on the ground, the plane is a great asset to go look from an aerial reconnaissance perspective. It can stay up longer, is more affordable to fly and can cover greater distances. It is a great opportunity to have that under the program as well, plus Prairie Rose is deeply invested in the community and their support to be out there in emergency situations is a great way for them to give back.”

When HALO began working with Cypress County, the South Alberta Fire Academy was already in operation. Thus, there was a natural synergy for HALO to partner with Prairie Rose. Additionally, it allows Fire Academy students the opportunity to witness the EMS and helicopter side of emergency situations.

Cypress County represents nearly 40 per cent of HALO’s annual call volume and they regularly train and work with their fire department. It could be for landing zone operations, medevac situations or the establishment and enhancement of the aerial fire program. HALO can provide aerial recons, where someone in the aircraft is spotting fires to establish the seriousness of the situation, what direction the fire is heading and if there are any obstacles in the way.