Is it not true that in general the military provide what they happen to have available where as the civvies provide what the contract tells them to provide....? In ten years time there'll be some chap aptly named FAB@SAAAVN who will be telling us why the Merlin is the only way to go in terms of SAR and why the S98 is a load of ****e!!! I would not like to see the military back in SAR in Ireland but only because I want to keep my job and not coz they wouldnt do an excellent job. They did so in the past.
The service we provide in Ireland is the one requested by the Dept as deemed required by the Dept and its band of advisors. We'll give them what they want provided they're willing to pay for it. The constraints put on us by the authorities.. IAA, EASA PHECC etc are done so in the public interest and so our response is measured correctly. IMHO our manuals are very sensibly written and in reality forgiveness is far easier to get than permission.
As far as servicability goes, rates are extremely high but we'll not rest on our laurels.... That servicability record is down to many factors including a great aircraft and excellent engineers....and those servicability rates are transparent.
Crab you're drawing continuous fire not because of the merits or otherwise of the RAF service but because of the arrogant tone of your posts. I would love to do a year stint at an RAF or RN or USCG base...I'm sure I would learn tons and be a more rounded pilot as a result. There have been lots of ex service personell who have come thru the civvie SAR bases in Ireland...some were (and still are) excellent pilots and crew.But the best ones were always the ones who came with the right attitude, confident of their abilities and an open mind that they might learn something new!!!
Safe flying to all and if I need picking up you can fly whatever colour or type of aircraft your taxpayer has provided...!!!
