US Presidential Marine One Helicopters on Stop..

[GreenKnight121]

I think that 9 would make a perfect "Royal Flight".

[Hilife]

Thankfully our Head of State manages to get by with just the one helicopter.

[NURSE]

wonder if the EU could be persuaded to take them for VIP transport as I think new health and safety & enviromental rules stop them burning the money!

[Metman]

Sorry to dredge this one up from the dead, but...

I thought the VH-71 was dead due to presedential decree, but on reading a very autoritative article on MSN () (pages 7 and 8) it suggests that whilst Obama tried to cancel the programme, the house appropriations committee over-ruled him?

VH-71 Kestrel - Top 10: most expensive aircraft

A high-tech replacement for the big green presidential 'Marine One' we often see lifting off from the White House South Lawn, the $241 million Kestrel was scrapped by Obama when he discovered it was running 50% over budget.

The US House Appropriations Committee thought otherwise, however, and he was unanimously overruled. The most powerful man in the world? Not when it comes to cancelling his own helicopter.

So is this programme as dead as it appears everyone seems to think?

[ORAC]

The programme isn't dead, but the VH-71 is. A new competition is being held, expect Sikorsky to win it, and the total bill including spent costs and cancellation fees for the VH-71 to be way in excess of carrying on.

Politics and protectionism at it's best. Roll-on the KC-X where the RFP is made public today.

[Roadster280]

$13bn, 800 workers in the US alone, 14 helicopters all to carry one (two if the VP is counted) from the WH to Andrews.

It would be cheaper to put a runway on Pennsylvania Avenue for AF1!