SAROwl
Thanks for that.
That implies that Bristows run with 2 engineers on a shift + 1 on days.
This is the big difference - A mil SAR Flt has engineer shifts of 6 +/-, and has two SNCOs on days / on call for oversight, plus 3 x SE fitters, plus 3 x Ops staff, plus 2 x MT / Suppliers, plus fire crews at the non-airfield bases.
I can remember when a Mil SAR Flt ran with 4 crews (16 aircrew), 3 shifts of 7 engineers, 1 SNCO eng boss, and nobody else.
Still far more engineers than the civvies use.
There are some reasons for this - I will guess that Bristows contract out their SE support 100%, and lease their vehicle(s) off some company that does that stuff, and get Jeppesen or some such to provide their documentation, and take the risk on fire crews (there's probably a good quality extinguisher and the engineers know how to make it go).
Also the RAF take people off the street, put them through a course, then work them up under supervision in the job. I suspect Bristow's engineers arrive fully qualified and with considerable experience. That still doesn't explain the differing levels of supervision / oversight (Licensed engineers don't need oversight if I understand the priveliges of a civil licence correctly).
So do the mil over-engineer, the civvies under-engineer, the civvies have a simpler machine, or some combo? Plus, how do we get the military contractors to contract in a sensible way?