Merlin latest
 

wots the latest rumour on Merlin, folks? Gags still in place?.. or is it really now a huge success in the south west?

Though it was flying again?

Meanwhile, it had now got a new sensor - according to this.

See this earlier thread too.

Good piece of fishing here!

Obviously Fagin has caught some buzz or another or he wouldn't be asking would he?

Well I am half way through my ground tour a looking forward to going back SW.

Meanwhile I'll recruit them, everyone one else can train 'em.

Lots of looking - no talking!

Must be a real secret.:mad:

We'd love to tell you how good Merlin is at the moment.

but we won't - it's our little secret....:mad:

Oh OK then, we'll tell you (a little bit)

1. When it works it's bl@@dy fantastic
2. problem is, previous point isn't happening quite as often as we'd like - Although this week's Welsh landaway is going swimmingly, apparently.

(..definitely :mad: now)

Well i saw 6 Mk3s flying all at once a few weeks ago so there!

Stateside Sales
 

Guess main drive is to secure the US101 as 'W' next presidential taxi - as Boyzone would say 'No matter what'!

I was at my Mum's in west Oxfordshire and saw 4 of the mighty 101s doing a CAD into a field about 1 km away. It looked pretty good except:

They were flying about as slow as the could, no blade slapping or punchy quick stops!

They almost looked like they were doing a circuit to the field in more airspace then a Vulcan.

They did not sound as good as the mighty wokka, trust me everyone in my Mum's village knows what a CH47 sounds liek.

Before I get a million replies, this is a light hearted bit of banter only!

I don't know if they are actually flying, but I do know plans are in the air for them to lose their place aboard the CVS as these become re-roled in the strikie role. They won't fit the T42s and that leaves T23s and RFAs. If yoiu are talking about the green ones I have no idea.

Any sign of grey ones in the sky over cornwall?? Or, perhaps it is off on early extended christmas leave for the boys in dark blue?

28 managed to get one airborne to do a flypast over Wallingford at 1102 last Sunday.

Well done lads, but could you track about 75 m to the left/West next time, and perhaps reduce the altitude a bit.

I'm very impressed with your "under the HV power cables" trick though that you practice just S of the railway line in Cholsey.

AFCS ???
 

Has anyone heard of the recent incident when a Merlin attempted to fly the aircrew into the ground..?????

My word Fagin is really trying to create a stir that's not there.

There are some detached, there are some flying and there are some doing maintenance check flights (oh and there's one in Canada getting very cold). Sounds familiar in any fleet in the UK Armed Forces.

I don't recall an AFCS on Merlin ever trying to fly anyone into the ground.

Would someone from Culdrose please get the goat out of the weeds.

Is "goat" a journo out there a'fishin'?

Good job he was talking south west and not south east.....;)
As for the flypast, that was a Puma led affair at 1000ft and was pretty pants although I am sure non aviators on remembrance sunday appreciated it.
The green ones are airborne every day....

SB

Check your PMs.

AA

There is a 'grey' one flying from Prestwick, it was involved in the SAR of the Canadian Sub.
Also a few operating from the Type 23s and RFA's lately during FOST i think.

The 'Green' ones are flying every day over the SPTA on what looks like CSAR training.

Razor

CSAR Training?
Thats a bit of a strong term to describe their JPR capabilities!

A "few" on Type 23's..... you'd be ;ucky to find 1 servicable.

also....CSAR over SPTA....WHY ? Not the best of paces to practice CSAR....

The MK 1 LIVES
 

the DIP DADDY lives and flies well in the SW bringing death and destruction to the soap dodging community!..... for exercise of course. THE KING IS DEAD, LONG LIVE THE WIZARD!

To take over from 'The King' one actually has to get airborne, and then into the dip - even in the dark!!!. Have yet to see 'The Wizard' manage that. Still, you can't stop progress:confused: :confused:

The Wizard
 

Flypro

I believe that, despite CURRENTLY not being able to ping in the dark, the Merlin HAS taken over from the King (except the SAR Heros and bag freaks of course).

Duncan,
Best we don't mention the Junglie Mk4 and all it does then. Especially as I hear the Merlin has about the same capability as a Wessex V (though to give it its due, it is maybe a little faster):zzz: :zzz:

My mistake..
 

Sorry - thought we were talking about night dipping. Didn't realise the Junglies did that as well. If they do, they are welcome to it.

Duncan,
Thought we were talking about what 'The King' can do and the (RN) 'Wizard' can't. Still, we must not stand in the way of progress:ok:

... and the junglies as previously mentioned. So basically it has taken over from the Mk6 ASW SK ie in the role of CCD - Combat Cabbage Delivery. Very worthwhile! (although L11 does make the fisheads happy. Shame L11 is about as useful as a chocolate fireguard in a network centric environment. Never mind.)

And why do you class the ASaC operators as freaks? Sounds like a newbie with no appreciation of tactical proficiency.

Oggin.

Oggin

We have nabbed a few of the replaced Mk 6 and gutted them, locked the gear and painted them green - we can now fill all the seats and still stay aloft for 4 and a half hours. Fab! The King lives on, so boo sucks to your wizard!:p

BTW, I can't think why anyone would think of ASaC guys as freaks...;)

Willy-waving about what Link you have doesn't spin my props.
But didn't mean to cause offence by:

a. The "freaks" comment (term of endearment I must have picked up somewhere, me being a newbie and all)

b. Missing out the Mk4 lot - didn't think Merlin was procured to replace them anyway. Yet! (cue maniacal laughter)

Now, about my tactical proficiency - what does "network centric" mean again??

Duncan
 

I cant tell if you are taking the p*ss or not, however being a "freak", I'm obviously stupid as well but extremely well natured, so I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt.

As the Bag HWI I did some work with 814 when they brought the Merlin to sea a few years ago. Their use of L11 was a massive SA builder for the fisheads over the Mk6 and they did some good work during ASUW (or should that now be SUW?) serials. The squadron was extremely well motivated and exceptionally well led by their CO and SP/SOBS and therefore were a happy bunch. The pilots loved flying the aircraft and getting involved in the tactics, which is a real improvement over the SK6. Had the Merlin come into service as planned, ie years ago, the addition of L11 to the Pinger repertoire would have been awesome at that time. I just think that with the MOD trying to move towards Network Centricity, L11 will become dated.
Me neither. We were lucky to get L16. You guys should get it as well. What the Merlin needs is JTIDS or CEC added at its upgrade (IMHO). Money, as always, will probably become an issue.

jockspice

Is this arrangement just in place until SABR sorted? Good to see the old airframes not being put to pasture at Sultan and actually being used. Now why couldnt us freaks get some of those low houred airframes ? :(

Oggin
The Mk6s were grabbed to fill the gap while the Mk4 gets a comms and RWR update, which takes a bit of time to fit etc. That way we can maintain same strength on the squadrons while the cabs are away getting the update.
Bloody good idea, this recycling!

Well 'Praise the lord'. Thank your lucky stars that no foreign Johnny bought all those MkV & VI airframes (left in the rain for a year or two) before common sense prevailed.
Merlin/Wizard - don't make me laugh:* :*







Apologies in advance
Written with beer goggles firmly in place!!

The mighty 'Wizard' is a common sight in the skies of Cornwall these days!

Now how many did I see airborne or on the line this week,

1?2?3?4?5?6? probably more

Grounded NO

Flying YES

Better than a Sea King ..... Ask Merlin aircrew if they would like to go back and the universal answer is NO?

When one has flown it and used it you will realise how really good it is.

Still that won't stop the snipes will it. Meanwhile if shaking yourself (and your nose) is what you want... carry on.

Happy days!

The Green Wizzard is having some major serviceability snags....and they've to be ready to sandy side up in the near future...will they end up as Yellow King replacements?

Hurrah
 

Well said Jungly AEO...... the grey merlin is a fantastic and most capable platform for conducting ASW. End of dit...thats it...nothing more.... what else does it bring to the party except for pain and grief?

It is surely the grandest white elephant we have ever had the misfortune to purchase.

"Or is the Merlin simply a good ASW etc platform and not so good as an SH?"

Well, lest you forget, the mighty AAC Lynx was the best Anti-Tank version of an Anti-Submarine Helicopter that Wastelands ever built
:p

Can anyone tell me, how many years the Merlin has NOT been able to dip in the dark?

How much has the Fleet Air Arm rotary wing training pipeline been 'delayed' due to the reliability of the Merlin?

How much does a 'Merlin' Mk4 replacement cost?

Just curious...............................

You really shouldn't go there TC:oh:
Just guessing, but:
1....Has it EVER dipped in the dark - and if so, did the Sonar work?

2....Years

3....Try a Large Squadron of SeaKings. Any Mark will do - they are all capable of carrying out many & varied tasks:ok: :ok:

Guys

No point in willy measuring over the relative merits of Sea King and Merlin. The former was, and remains, a superb aeroplane, and I'm sure Merlin will prove a good replacement in the ASW role. Whether ASW is needed or not is another debate. I recall the argument for buying "only" 103 Merlin ASW (some reduction over the years, eh?) was that 5 would do the job of eight SK2s (at the time). Now there's the real problem - time. Having last worked on Merlin in 1987 (customer side!!) I assume the avionics fit (the heart of the platform) is somewhat dated. Certainly, some common elements of the SKW are a quite deliberate upgrade from Merlin, and if they'd get round to fitting modifications which have been sat on the shelf for at least 3 years, so would the SK4's.

As for Sonics, an old observer colleague once offered to fly a Wx 3 (Sonar 195) against AQS902G-DS (SK) to prove that it was the man / experience that made the difference. No one doubted him. Todays quiz. What system has been PROVEN to give 70+% increase in sonar detection range for £800 (eight hundred), whereas millions (millions) are spent on getting 2%????? And if you had that improvement, would it weaken the case for Merlin's "new" sonics system. Even if it didn't, it would set a hell of a benchmark. One assumes getting inside the enemy's decision cycle by a factor of 70% is what it's all about?

I agree that 'willy-waving' will get us nowhere, it's just that this pig has been thrust on the FAA (I have no interest and little knowledge of the Crab version). It has cost a truly incredible amount of money to produce something that is less capable than that which it replaces.

It bears very little likeness to the original military specification and is years and years late in service and billions over budget.

I understand the political ramifications of retaining the UK ability to produce helicopters at Wastelands - lets just hope it's new FOREIGN owners don't pull the plug!

However, a Sea King airframe equiped with uprated engines/ rotor's/transmission/electronic suite is what the RN really needs. We have over 30 years experience of the airframe, and we know all its fault's - warts and all - to the extent we can probably predict where the next crack will appear!. It fits almost all the ships, and is very flexible in it's role (unlike Merlin). The ASW SeaKing 2, 5 & 6 was only ever rarely used in its primary role. Usually it flew HDS, loadlift, Surface search, SAR - need I continue?. Will the SeaNoff ever do that?

As for cost per airframe/maintenance/spares/servicing etc, well, the facts speak for themselves.



Rant Over

Finge et Fuge (bodge it and scarper)