The CH113/113A Labrador Helicopter

IF I had to describe the CH113/113A Labrador Helicopter in one sentence it would be as a big yellow school bus with two large fans on top, and two red tanks hanging off the side, and actually this description works pretty well, people usually know what you're talking about. The distinctly yellow and red painted helicopter is very easy to spot and and stands out like a sore thumb.

Here we have a picture of lab 11312 during the Winnipeg floods (Apr-May 97) after we had landed on one of the many rural highways that had become nothing more the helo landing pads surrounded and cut off by the rising water.On this day we were flying around highway workers who were errecting barricades on roads that were being washed out by the rising water. (notice the hydro poles along the left side of the road, the water here is about 6-8 feet deep.)

When I have had the opportunity to show the aircraft to the public (airshow static displays, community events etc) I'm always amazed at how many people take an interest in the old bird and I am plied with hundreds of questions from "where is the Sqn located" (Comox BC) to "which engine drives which rotor" (both engines go into a mixbox) and everything possible in between. So just in case any body runs into this website I am (without getting too technical and boring you to death) just going to post some quick facts about the CH113/113A Labrador Helicopter..enjoy!

• Gross weight; 21,400 lbs max
• speed-148 knots per hour max (we are very light) normal 90 to 125 kts
• Engines- 2 GE T58-100: 1500 SHP
• Tandem rotors- a forward and aft head with three blades each
• Transmissions-2- a forward and aft transmission drives the two heads
• mixbox- one ,output of the 2 engines comes through here and then to the transmissions, the forward transmission is connected to the mixbox via the synchronizing shafts that run along the top of the aircraft.
• landing gear- tricycle,two wheels each,non-retractable
• fuel tanks-2 big ones on the side (stub wings),painted red easy to spot,approx 750 gals capacity total (depending whether 113 or 113A which can take a little more) ( jp-4,jp-5 or jet A ,jet B the normal fuels) the aircraft uses 1000 Lbs (thats pounds) per hour of flight time which is approx 130 gal/or 500 ltrs per hr
• External/internal (back up) hoists,external 300 ft per min, internal 100 ft per min
• Communication and Nav gear, VHF AM/FM,UHF,GPS,TACAN,ADF,HF, BENDIX WEATHER RADAR (the radome is the funny black thing on the nose of the helicopter) and IFF (radar identification system)
• Ramp and Hatch: very handy, ramp and hatch is 6 feet high and 6 feet wide allows maximum flexibility
• Various medical and survival gear
• 18 passengers and/or 12 litters
• Crew; 5 for SAR , 2 Pilots (one is the aircraft commander), a flight engineer, and 2 SAR TECHS (one is the team lead)

Top Pic we have a side view of 307 undergoing the After flight ("A") Check at the end of the day. This is the right side of the Aircraft, note the external hoist boom just behind the open lower dutch door, the good view of the FWD and AFT transmission pylon areas and the right hand fuel tank.

Left Pic Front View Lab 307, note the radar radom on the nose, the copious amounts of cockpit windows, and the work platform the Flight Engineer is on for ease of maintenance. You can also see the 2 controllable landing/searchlights underneath.

Right Pic, rear View Lab 307, note the open ramp, a good view of both left/right fuel tanks, and the Engineer checking the APU (auxiallary power unit) exhaust.The external hoist can be seen sticking out from the aircraft on the right side just beside the APU exhaust

The background how the Operational Training Flight came into being at its "raison d'etre"

CH113 LABRADOR SCHOOL

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