For info ..
the order of acft coming on line with the the present contract was BN2B, 406 then -8 .. the original contract had 9 +1 +1 year options for exactly this purpose .. allowing the tendering process to be adequately completed .. there would be mechanisms in place to cover any slippage ..
the only chat I have heard is the possibility of the Reims being replaced with possibly PC12 .. but there is a bit of angst ref a single engine acft over water .. and the inevitable chat about a jet of some sort for long range transit times being reduced ..
as always, cards are being kept pretty close to the chest .. for obvious reasons ..
the most likely base for Obs. is DWN having suffered a heavy loss due to the people leaving to take up other options interstate ..
it isn't always a gimmee that a BN2B driver will go to HID first .. it could be to another base most likely other than CS ..
Last edited by The Voice; 14th Mar 2004 at 22:40.