New 'copter trials

The navy is trialling the first model of its new Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter. HMCS Montreal is the test platform and has been anchored in the harbour as the new helo takes off and lands. This evening they did a few more passes for me, and the pilot apparently didn't like the ship's heading in the first go. So Montreal fired up her main engines and headed up a bit. This time the copter made a couple of passes then settled in on the deck. This seems to have been a free landing-no bear trap grabber device was used to haul the bird down.

This particular helicopter, with a US registration number, is a stripped down version of the final design, and is here for testing.