.....now there you go - both of you managed to provide reasoned points for discussion and (almost) without lowering yourselves to the increasingly common my willy is bigger / size isn't everything debate that every other SAR thread seems to have fallen into in recent months.
If we are able to keep this thread away from the above style of rants may I be permitted to ask you, Epiphany, assuming you are in a position to know;
How are your civilian SAR/EMS network of winch equipped helos funded? Govt? charity? private finance?
How/by whom are the civilian crews trained in winch ops and what percentage if any of them are ex military?
and how do they respond to a major incident offshore or would they expect the military to assist?
Simialrly crab a few questions for you;
In your opinion have the 2 SAR flights in the UK at present using smaller helos struggled to match the capability of the larger aircraft significantly due to their size alone or has it been due to the multitude of teething problems that that particular version of the 139 has sufferred from? I appreciate the MIRG response is a size issue but even that is surmountable and not often utilised in any case.
On another thread recently, and occasionally in the media, it has been suggested that the RAF SAR helos are suffering from a lack of manpower in certain areas and therefore less able to provide the cover expected. Whilst we all could (UK MPs apart
) do with a bit more cash in these difficult times, is the lack of manpower a funding issue or are numbers of your brethen jumping ship (another nautical phrase for you!) due to problems closer to home/better opportunities elsewhere?
I look forward to reasoned and adult debate....maybe
