Carlos - thanks for the information - there is no doubt that the extra speed and range of the EH101 make it a good long-range overwater SAR machine but in UK only a small percentage of our rescues fall into that category.
Much of our work is coastline/cliff work and inland rescues (mountains etc) and this is where the downwash of the 101 would be a problem.
You mention the positioning of the hoist - I know this has been an issue but we make do on the Sea King and the winch is 16 feet behind the pilot - I would prefer a hoist much closer (back to the Wessex again
)
We already have the day/night/all weather capability on the Sea King (FLIR, Radar, auto transition and hover) what we need is a helicopter that does all of that but with speed and without the penalty of horrendous downwash.
Your story of poor spares and support seems to be a common one when mentioning the 101 but I'm sure SARREMF has some excuses about that
