Coast Guard Shows Off New Copter : Sleek French Beauty Replaces Trusty Old Sikorsky H-3

Escorted by its sleek successor, the U.S. Coast Guard’s only remaining Sikorsky H-3 helicopter in San Diego lifted off from its bayside air station Tuesday and flew past Point Loma for the last time.

The trusty H-3, one of four that had scanned the Pacific along the coast of San Diego County since 1969, was relocated to an Oregon air station and eventual retirement. A versatile and reliable craft, the H-3 has compiled an impressive record here: in the last two years it has saved 89 lives, assisted 421 people lost at sea and salvaged more than $3 million in sinking or threatened property, Coast Guard figures show.

“It’s been a real workhorse for the Coast Guard,” said Coast Guard Cmdr. Bob Belote, who flew the H-3 for 12 years.

Flying beside it Tuesday was a new Aerospatiale H-65, nicknamed the “Dolphin,” a smaller French design with the latest high-tech options. It can conduct zig-zag searches automatically, “hands off,” to allow pilots to watch the ocean surface. It also automatically hovers 50 feet above the water, useful in darkness or heavy weather. An on-board computer improves the gathering and sorting of radio signals to pinpoint its location at sea, and its fiber compound rotor can splinter four-by-four blocks of wood. The tail fin has vertical stabilizers on each side, and nestled within the fin is a Fenestron, an 11-blade rotor that whines at 3,500 rpm.

The “plastic helicopter,” as pilots call it, is made largely of Fiberglas, making it lighter, stronger, more fuel-efficient and faster than its bulky, metal predecessors. It costs $3.1 million and the San Diego Coast Guard station will soon have four of them.

“The Dolphin has a faster air speed and handles a little like a sports car,” said Lt. Larry Cheek, who has flown it 25 to 30 times. “The more I fly it, the more I like it. . . . You won’t get bored of it.”

The Dolphin had been stationed Friday for a mere hour and a half during its first shift in San Diego--and on the West Coast--when it was summoned to rescue three fisherman floating off San Clemente Island. Two others were rescued Sunday.

But the Dolphin doesn’t have the power to match the H-3. It has only half the range--150 miles--and can lift about half the weight--8,900 pounds including the craft itself. And the H-3 can land on water to scoop up totally passive people or objects, which the Dolphin can’t do. Coast Guard officials said most missions occur within 100 miles of shore and rarely require heavy lifts, but said refueling on Navy ships or offshore islands could extend the Dolphin’s range if necessary. The Coast Guard is training a swimming rescue unit to assist the Dolphin.

“We’re going to miss it (the H-3),” Belote said, “but I think the Dolphin will do the job.”