Crab,
Why do you think the military is better for the UK SAR coverage without any knowledge of the civilian side? To be specific, the pilot's skills are the same with the possibility that the civilian pilots have a few more hours having been probably trained by the military before crossing the fence. It goes without saying that the civil winch operators and crewmen have the same bravery and skills as the military. The dedication of the crews will therefore be the same. So, it comes down to the aircraft as the SAR control is from the same site. Before the recent change in the SAR contract are you saying that the Sea King is superior to the S61N? Or, are you saying that because the RAF has a few more bases from which SAR aircraft can be deployed when, say Stornaway, is clagged in they can supply an aircraft from another base? The profit you mention will all depend on the agreed contract, no business will knowingly operate at a loss so it will come down to the difference between what the MoD now spends on SAR and what a civilian company can do the same job for. I think that the difference in the costs of both sides will be shown by the less engineers required by the civil side, thus saving a lot of money.
Last edited by Oldlae; 3rd Jul 2008 at 08:16.