Gents, having flown both the Mk 3 and 3a I can say that they are great helicopters and the addition of FLIR has greatly improved our capabilities. However; the Mk 3 fleet is over 25 years old and the Mk 3a is almost 10, both being based on a design that is almost 50 years old. We have the slowest Vmax of any UK military helicopter in service and even if we get the Carson blades we will still have the slowest Vmax of any helicopter in UK military service. We are unable to get hoist cables that last more than 50 lifts and in some cases unable to get whole helicopters working. If the government is unable or unwilling to spend the money then let a Canadian company spend theirs and give us the kit and support we need to carry out our job of saving life. We all do a difficult job in very difficult conditions and we need to view this change in a positive light. We get better kit to do our job and in the end the we are better placed to help the casualty. The question of who fles them, thats for the government beancounters to decide.
Last edited by cpmafia; 22nd Apr 2006 at 15:01.