Come on Bootneck, do not exaggerate. Bristow engineers used to work 24 hour shifts, back to back, changing over at midday for eight weeks on, four weeks off. Over a twelve week period you will get 672 hours availability out of him as opposed to 480 on a 40 hour week. I cannot see anybody working like that in the UK.
I agree, though, that civilian operaters need less numbers because they are more specialised and continuous on the same operation than the military.
for the 7.5 hours of training and SAROPs we did
As a matter of interest for the evacuation of offshore installations on track of Typhoon Fengshen four 332L1s and two 225s evacuated some 1400 personnel over three days in 81 sorties averaging 2hr 45mins each. That's 12hrs 20mins each, each day. The only snag was a radio stuck on transmit on a 225.
They were serviced by Chinese engineers but every aircraft was flown at some time by a UK licenced captain and we don't take second best.
Tomorrow it will start all over again. It's called a reman.