Press Release

Issued by RVL Aviation.

October 20, 2021

Team members from specialist UK aviation services provider RVL Aviation were in action off the Cornish coast this month, providing key resources to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). They were taking part in a routine live training exercise designed to make sure the UK is ready to respond to a major pollution incident, which is part of an annual programme involving a mix of ground and full flight training exercises.

At the heart of this exercise was a Boeing 737 with its innovative RVL-designed aerial spray system designed to protect marine environments from oil-spill pollution. In an operational area south of Fowey, the 737 carried out low-altitude passes over a target area using its onboard oil dispersant spray system.

Another RVL asset, a King Air B200 with on-board intelligence and surveillance equipment, was deployed to provide safety and operational oversight while co-ordinating the spray runs. For the purposes of the training exercise, water was used in place of the chemical dispersants which would normally form part of the response to an oil spill.

Convert 400, an integral part of the MCA's selected service, breaks new ground by offering a modular air cargo palletised spray system, which can be installed into current and future generation Boeing 737 aircraft to make it mission capable within three hours.

RVL Aviation managing director Dave Connor said: “The Cornwall exercise was one of several annual exercises for RVL to test and demonstrate our response readiness and service capability provided to the MCA. Not only was there rigorous testing of the accuracy of the spray system, the efficiency of the on-ground turn-around between the three separate spray sorties was also put to the test at Newquay Airport. We are pleased that the exercise went extremely well and provided all the stakeholders with valuable feedback and information which will undoubtedly prove invaluable when the system is called into operation for real. Our thanks go to everyone involved.”

Will Crocker, aviation contracts manager with the MCA, said: “The training exercise was delivered safely and successfully in Cornwall and was a really effective and thorough way to test out the extensive attributes of each aircraft in a typical coastal setting. Being ready to respond to incidents, which can happen any time at the coast, is our key priority and we will continue to utilise training opportunities at this level so that we are prepared for all eventualities. Both the 737 and its support plane operate from East Midlands Airport, meaning our crews are ideally placed to respond to incidents anywhere along the UK coastline.”

Convert 400 is custom designed and engineered to mate with pre-modified Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft. The system could be used in Boeing 737-800 cargo aircraft, as well as other aircraft types with minimal design/hardware changes.

The spray hardware consists of 10 roll-on/roll-off pallets. At the front is a utility/control module, followed by seven tank pallets, then a powerful pump module which connects to a distribution pallet that directs the output to the outlet nozzles at the rear of the aircraft.

The system has the flexibility to use various currently available dispersants. In addition, RVL can re-fill the Convert 400 anywhere because the loading equipment can be carried onboard to increase time-on-spray. The Convert 400-equipped aircraft can fly in known icing conditions to and from the spray site.

The key benefit of Convert 400 is the flexibility and versatility it enables. Prior to its development, most aircraft used in oil spill missions were dedicated to the purpose, custom-fitted with fixed and immovable spraying equipment.

Convert 400 is a roll-on/roll-off system that can be fitted in around three hours, permitting the host aircraft to be used in other roles – carrying cargo, for example – when not required on oil-spill duties. Major oil spills that would require Convert 400 statistically occur rarely, though countries with coastlines are required by IMO agreements to have the capability to deal with these effectively.

The service provided to the MCA was declared 'full operating capability status' in 2019 where an extensive testing programme was carried out to demonstrate the system, its function, and all of the corresponding operational and technical aspects.

The kit is certified by the UK Civil Aviation Authority CAA, Federal Aviation Authority in the USA and the European aviation governing body EASA.