Jim671: presumably u r ARCC? Doing what you suggest by sending reps from ground teams to size the operation up is totally unworkable: Irish parliament comes to mind! RNLI??? Give me a break guvnor - we'll end up with hot water dispensers in them all cor blimey! MRT's: since when did they get a look in? Volunteers mainly! Leave airborne SAR to the world of aviation.
PS: There will be 2 types of aircraft: long haul and short haul [S92 and AW189] Trust me - look into my eyes
Crab: You're being facetious now! All S92 fleet??? Massive overkill. Just like the military EH101. Too big to do the small jobs and too damn expensive. In addition what happens if they experience the 225 effect or closer to home perhaps, one of them has a dicky fit with its OSTG?? Fleet grounded because they are all the same?? Best bit of common sense that Son of SARH allowed for was two types.
And you are clutching at straws when you think corporate clients want to be driven around in white vans! Compact, slippery, cheap to run and sleek is what the elite require, not a bread van.
Give the helicopter designers some credibility, they are quite clever chappies after all: They do sit down and design the most optimised airframe that they think the market is after, you know.......or they'd be outta business. The problem for them is that SAR aint sexy
