This afternoon, an army of journos, a few mountain rescuers and a Coastguard flash mob gathered at the new Bristow hangar at Dalcross (INV) for the Bristow Inverness launch event.
http://hmcoastguard.********.co.uk/2...elicopter.html [LINK FAILS!! Pprune filters out the word b10gsp0t, so add it in manually with o instead of 0!]
STV news item
(Glenelg and Kintail MRTs working hard in the background to spoil some of the shots. Sorry Sam
)
I spent three hours there. For some of those present, it may have been a case of 'ooh look at the new toy'. However, like other NW MR folks, I think I may have seen an Sikorsky S-92 somewhere before, so I attended to other matters.
I spent most of that time talking to Inverness SAR pilots and pilots who form part of the management team at Bristow SAR. My main concern was the regulatory framework. In 2012, my conversations with the CAA led me to believe that there was commitment within government and CAA to delivering a regulatory framework for life-saving flight that was workable for UK SAR in a service equivalent to previous providers. Today, I wanted to know whether the CAA has delivered the goods on those SAR flying rules. After conversations with several highly experienced flyers, I believe that the answer is that they have delivered.
I also spoke to people about previous civilian SAR contracts, about NVG, and about the AW189, incuding AFCS SAR modes, icing protection systems and NVG.
36 pilots and 42 rear crew are moving to Bristow on Managed Transition. (So statistical estimate of 70 to 80 spot on.)
Bristow Inverness will operate with a really impressive proportion of former RAF Lossiemouth SAR aircrew both through Managed Transition and other routes. These guys know about mountains. Same faces, same service? Not quite. Several of them seem to be smiling a lot more now that they have seen the kit they will be working with.
Less abandoning broken helicopters on mountains
, less fire-fighting
, less online gaming (due to aircraft offline!). So same faces, smiling more, four or five thousand shaft horsepower and the lots of super 21st century role equipment. Unlike a Sea King SAR hangar, the most sophisticated piece of equipment in the Bristow SAR hangar is NOT the entertainment system in the crew room.
The DfT and MCA are already thinking about how they will run the competition to replace this contract is 2023/26. Joined-up thinking and long-term planning in British public procurement: today's scoop! Remember where you heard it first folks.
