Originally Posted by
RotaryJ
It's okay, I understand. I do like the H135 and H145s they are awesome aircraft by all means! They just seem really slow aircraft compared to AW109s and AW169s.
I thought the Bell 429s were good due to lots of Law Enforcement's globally utilising them for their operations. Also, WAA also seem to love G-WLTS.
I thought the reason why NPAS and other operators were restricted to choosing Bell 429s was due to a lack of type approved engineers and service centres.
Apologies that I may have perceived that response as negative. I am just really passionate about Police Aviation in the UK and enjoy chatting with people of experience in this forum.
Type approved engineers and service centres can be grown of course. The mass limit is set in stone and just kills the machine dead once you do the sums (unless you're in Canada who allow max weight). It also is worth noting that French Air Ambulance operators sold off some of their Bell 429 recently (F-HBEL and F-HBEK) and are not buying ones to replace them. The Swiss ones (extra one bought recently) are a special case due to the operating environment at high altitude (the power/payload scales get tipped a little differently when you operate at height). Also worth noting the lack of uptake of the machine for Air Ambulance in the UK except by Wilts. I'd say the H145 is the sweet spot, particularly given the imminent introduction of a UK simulator for the type.