Bristow and the WG30
Savoia writes:
"Regarding Bristow; Alan, for the most part, seems to have been a pragmatist and his comments revealing his intention to 'kill' the WG30 programme would seem to confirm this. One can only speculate as to his intentions with Westlands but my guess is that he was not interested in pioneering some newfangled product (unless the returns were guaranteed) and even less interested in restoring Britain's ailing aviation legacy. More than likely he wanted to streamline the performance of Westland's military contracts and get the firm running (with a healthy buffer) in the black."
No, there's no need to speculate. Bristow was entirely open about his intentions. For a generation he had been Westland's biggest civil customer and he was well aware of their shortcomings. He preferred to buy British and had attempted to purchase Sea Kings, but had been forced to opt for S61s because Westland couldn't fill his order. He believed that the future of the company rested with the EH101, which unlike the WG30 could be a genuine contender in the civil market. It was well designed and incorporated revolutionary technology, not least in its rotor head. Above all, Bristow believed Westland should be part of a European helicopter consortium which would include Aerospatiale, Bolkow, Agusta and smaller Spanish and Dutch companies, in order to compete with the Americans. In 1986 he voiced his fear that because of Westland's sclerotic procedures the EH101 would remain a military product and would take decades to bring to market, by which time it would be near-obsolete.