Commercial helos eyed for training

WASHINGTON – Seapower magazine reports that the Navy plans to replace the TH-57 training helicopter with a commercially available helicopter. Rear Adm. Scott D. Conn, the Navy's director of air warfare, said it's a new approach to replace the 115 training helicopters. He told the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee March 6 that the Navy would hold a competition and pick a winner to purchase. The TH-57, derived from the Bell 206, has trained rotary-wing pilots for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard since 1968. It's flown by three helicopter training squadrons at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Milton, Fla. (Source: Seapower Magazine, 03/07/18)