It just shows the lack of understanding of aviation on this thread? Full of uneducated posts methinks!
The AW139 has a very high wheel pressure. Runways have a maximum wheel pressure figure for each runway. It will probably be able to land at Bankstown (I haven't bothered to check) but it may not be able to land at other regional airports?
The AW139 has a high downwash, this could cause serious issues with light aircraft parked or maneouvering at airports close to the landing / take off area of the AW139
Hospital pads in NSW, the ones that are made of concrete, elevated or not, have been designed to B412EP weights, not the weight of an AW139. Lets not forget that the all up weight of the AW139 seems to be ever expanding!
Elevated helipads require G-force loading in case the helicopter lands hard. If this cannot be achieved then a number of floors below the helipad need to be evacuated prior to landing and taking off. Remember, these pads were designed for B412EP's weights, just ask the man who designed them, health assumed that nothing would ever replace the B412
Then there are the hospital pads and unprepared landing sites (don't forget roadways as the AW139 may just leave a calling card each time they land on our underfunded roadways) etc. The AW139 is likely to leave an imprint in a lot of place. Hope there is not too much rain ahead. Soggy ground could add other issues like dynamic rollover!
RAIDBEC makes an interesting comment about the availability of the EC145.
Remember when the health department was using their spin doctors (no pun intended) to deceive the mums and dads about the new supplier. In case you have forgotten, here's a link:
http://amwac.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/...service_fs.pdf
Well, apart from a load of lies, predominantly written by a small doctor with axes to grind, they also supplied a timeline of the new aircraft. That's right, the new aircraft that could only be supplied by the new provider, no one else could supposedly match or better there supply rates.
Well, it states that the EC145 should be here by now!
I have nothing against replacing providers, what is criminal is when you hoodwink the public, through spin doctors, into thinking they are getting a better system, when in reality they are not. This comes down to many reason and all players concerned are to blame in some ways.
Sorry to rant on, going back to the big plasma
