Re: UK Coastguard SAR - Bristow out??
I have some questions....
Is there a fuel dump on the S92?
Are the vibration problems affecting the S92 worsened by higher weights or only affected by speed?
Is there anyone winching using a S92 and have they had trouble getting a stretcher in and out of the door (noting the position of the sponson) or the wire rubbing against the sponson in high wind conditions?
Does it offer SE hover performance at MTOW in nil wind conditions (UK temps)?
Is it true you can only use the windscreen wipers below 40kts airspeed? And when is any helicopter manufacturer ever going to produce a decent set of wipers for an aircraft... my car has better wipers for F#%ks sake!!!!
Just questions.... I am not contributing to the 'my helicopter is better than yours' debate although I would say that Nick and Helicomparator are equally biased although in different directions.
I think de-icing is a very good thing for SAR aircraft and I'd rather have it than not, particulary as you get it with the basic model.
The S92 has a more suitable cabin for SAR and even with the great payload debate going on at the moment the weights offered by the 92 for SAR seem suitable and certainly considerably better than the S61.
The S92 is coming anyway, it is better than the S61, it's going to have teething problems, unfortunately those problems will probably only become apparent once it is operating as a SAR aircraft and the crew will have to deal with them on the job. Let's hope we can. Frontline SAR is not a place to be testing an aircraft's suitability for the role.
And the AB139.... well the silence is deafening! Does anyone know anything about this aircraft and its suitability for SAR??