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CHF - Merlin Mk 4

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CHF - Merlin Mk 4

Old 22nd Oct 2011, 14:37
  #361 (permalink)  
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This picture is captioned "With 633 Sqn AAC":

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Old 22nd Oct 2011, 20:02
  #362 (permalink)  
 
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If the FAA and the AAC are going out of their way to emphasise the significant contibution of their rotary branches, why is the RAF so quiet?
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Old 22nd Oct 2011, 20:20
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Beats the hell out of me.
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Old 23rd Oct 2011, 08:22
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Because the Snr Officers in the RAF view RW as their dirty little secret that they'd really rather not have to mess about with. Far better if it's all kept in a dark corner.

After all, it is all about fast pointy things isn't it?

Oh for a RW CAS...!!
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Old 23rd Oct 2011, 08:40
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why is the RAF so quiet?
A 'can do' attitude followed by modesty; according to a 2* in the last week.
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Old 23rd Oct 2011, 10:06
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A 'can do' attitude followed by modesty; according to a 2* in the last week.
Oh good, I was worried that we didn't have a strategy to influence the MOD beancounters.
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Old 23rd Oct 2011, 10:26
  #367 (permalink)  
 
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Because the Snr Officers in the RAF view RW as their dirty little secret that they'd really rather not have to mess about with. Far better if it's all kept in a dark corner.

Yep, that's the official line. (Inspector of Flight Safety - CHART report Aug 1992 "Chinook is the Cinderella fleet of the RAF"). Not a lot changes. Although it has to be said Cinderella popped up again in the Hercules report of 1998 (HEART) so perhaps RW and Transport are both dirty little secrets!
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Old 26th Oct 2011, 01:04
  #368 (permalink)  
 
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The RAF believe that winning the PR battle involes DFC's....and while they dont look too good compared with other front page news, in 10 years when Afg really finishes, then the parade of aviators wheeled out will show a very different signal to the public....

When will the army learn?

Spin and PR......we almost may as well be in politics! ;-)
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Old 26th Oct 2011, 07:25
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Ralph,
Too true, but perhaps the army is too busy writing up it's future (infantry) leaders with DSOs? Soldiers first and all that.....
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 07:40
  #370 (permalink)  
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AW&ST: Marking Merlins

The U.K. Royal Air Force has been celebrating a decade of almost continuous operations with its EH101 - now AW101 Merlin – helicopters.

The first 22 Merlin Mk3s entered service in 2001 and two years later began operations in Bosnia supporting peacekeeping operations in the region. This was then quickly followed then by operations in Iraq and more recently in Afghanistan where the type worked alongside the Chinook providing transport around Helmand Province for British and coalition troops until the type was withdrawn from the theatre earlier this year as part of the wider drawdown of British forces in country. With the last Merlin returning to the U.K. in July, the entire RAF Merlin force is back home for the first time in 10 years and with good reason.

Over the next three years, all the remaining RAF Merlins - including the six aircraft purchased in 2008 from the Royal Danish Air Force - will be absorbed into the Royal Navy’s Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) where they will form the backbone of the U.K. helicopter amphibious support force and replace the Jungly Sea Kings currently in use. Royal Navy personnel now make up a third of the Merlin Force, and that will steadily increase through into 2015 and 16 when the helicopters slowly move from their current home at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire to Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset.

Training to convert new RAF pilots to the aircraft came to an end at the beginning of the year, and Navy pilots and crewmembers will dominate proceedings until the Navy takes responsibility for training in around 2016. RAF Benson will remain busy however, as the based Puma Mk2 force grows to its full complement of 24 helicopters. They may also be joined by a handful of Boeing CH-47 Chinooks once the RAF’s fleet grows to 60 in the coming years. The main Chinook operating base at Odiham does not currently have the facilities to cater for 60 Chinooks, so commanders are exploring alternative options which include basing some at Benson or enlarging the Odiham facilities................
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 08:31
  #371 (permalink)  
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when the helicopters slowly move from their current home at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire to Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, Somerset
Will they hover-taxi at 10kts down the A34 and A303 then?
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 09:24
  #372 (permalink)  
 
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Will they hover-taxi at 10kts down the A34 and A303 then?
Or move at 30 kts on the back of a Queen Mary...
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 14:16
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So are they (RN) training 2 "crew members" to operate in the back, or are they sticking with the one?
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 19:44
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Currently it is 2. What they do in the future is anyones guess!
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 22:58
  #375 (permalink)  
 
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CHF - Merlin Mk 4

28 puma and 60 Chinook and that needs 2 bases? Why not put them all at Benson and then shut Odiham?
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Old 28th Sep 2013, 23:16
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28 Pumas, 60 Chinook plus the Merlins that they cant fit down at Yeovilton... In only 4 hangars...
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Old 29th Sep 2013, 09:36
  #377 (permalink)  
 
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28 puma and 60 Chinook and that needs 2 bases? Why not put them all at Benson and then shut Odiham?
Ok, lets play a game.

How many hangars are at RAF Odiham and how many hangars are at RAF Benson?

Now consider the current usage of the hangars at Odiham, especially the new hangar. 'Quart into pint pot' would seem apt here given your suggestion.

Last edited by The Helpful Stacker; 29th Sep 2013 at 09:38.
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Old 29th Sep 2013, 10:10
  #378 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by seadrills
28 puma and 60 Chinook and that needs 2 bases? Why not put them all at Benson and then shut Odiham?
I know some of the pitfalls of operating helos from a CVS or LPH but for a small shore base like Benson at busy times, how many of those 88 helos could safely be kept in a holding pattern and/or doing 'circuits & bumps' simultaneously? Also, are there any local restrictions on the type and amount of flying operations conducted?
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Old 29th Sep 2013, 10:24
  #379 (permalink)  
 
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24 Pumas, not 28.
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Old 29th Sep 2013, 10:42
  #380 (permalink)  
 
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surely theres spare room at Yeovilton to take all the helicopters including Puma and Chinook? At present its only got half the aircraft it used to have
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