Just read in the North Devon local rag the 12 hour cover will be 9am to 9pm .
:ok:

Is that regardless of the time of year? Seems a bit odd.

Perzakly what I was thinking , perhaps what hours can't be used in the winter months can be credited to the summer :ok::ok:

That would make sense to me.... Doesn't make sense to be on watch at 9pm in the winter and even less sense to pitch up at 9am in the summer....

Portland has been 0900-2100hrs, except for the first few months 0800=2000, since Bristow took over from the Navy in 1995. All year round!! Civvy duty hours, you'd better get used to it! The finer points escape me but something to do with not being able to do 12hrs if starting before 0800, I think.:confused: Also more time to get the make up sorted for the T.V. :E
3D

granfer, just for info the Devon Air Ambulance trust currently runs two EC135s, the original machine was retired some years ago after sterling service. One of them is leased however so the Radio Devon appeal is to purchase a second helicopter to replace the leased one.

As a Devonian living near Chivenor the 'yellow helicopters' will be sorely missed. They are part of North Devon and it won't be the same not seeing them overhead.

Is it me or are the stats 'skewed' towards the S-92, and only compared against the Navy Sea King variants. Surely the MK 3/3a has a greater radius of action than the S-92, and does the 92's radius include at least 20 mins on task for winching etc (or even longer for searches now that top cover MPA is no longer available). There also seem to be other anomalies when looking on Sikorsky's own website.

I have nothing against the new aircraft (in fact I would quite like to fly it) but comparing it with the oldest and heaviest aircraft makes the arguments a little strange - but no doubt ideal to 'sell' it to the politicians, press and public who do not ask 'searching' questions.

Thanks for putting me straight on the Devon AA current fleet "arandcee" , thought I saw a Bo105 going in to the NDDH recently - the recent cold weather must have got to my brain . I'll also miss the Big Yellows skimming over my roof heading out to the Bristol Channel area - it's reassurring to know that they are there looking after peoples safety , not always over the sea .
:ok:

Why is it that folks persist in saying GANNET mainly does medtxfrs? Last year the boys did 447 jobs and the majority were rescues, although they led in every other stat as well.

Tasking is mainly north (Lochaber/Glencoe) or south (Galloways/N Lakes) - mainly mountain jobs, and east/west is quite a bit less but we're also doing more work in the Cairngorms and SE Borders with snags at Lossie/Boulmer. 45% of all jobs are at night and almost always on NVG but the Sea Searcher radar is still doing us proud for those night/IMC transits. Not sure how you get across the Crinan Canal area with an S92 in IMC? That might be cutting off a major transit route when the weather's grim. Presumably the FIKI clearance is good?

I'm afraid that there's the same no of secondary duties at Gannet as any other RN sqn (such is life). It's not true to say it's the only RN unit with a Lt Cdr WAFU as CO (what about 705, 750, 771, 849, 854, 857?)

PWK is mighty expensive though, beyond what you might expect for a regional airport and I'm sure GLA is cheaper in the long-run. The RN is looking at options for FOB's for Merlin/whoever.

Agree with disc-loading comments. My MRT contacts tell me they're never keen to work with the S92's due to downwash and a few other reasons.

It's not you. The ROA is just the most glaring example of how the press release is economical with the truth. And to achieve the stated 260nm ROA for the S-92, the aux tanks need to be fitted, which wasn't the case when the S-92 debuted at Stornoway - resulting in the very perverse situation where, at least once, a Sea King from Lossie staged through Stornoway en route to 15 West because the S-92 couldn't go as far out!

Grandfer
Last time I visited the guys at their base at Eaglescott, they were using a Bolkow so I suspect that what you saw a relief aircraft.

Heads down, look out for the flack

Do those at HMS Gannet have to do the Duty Leading Hand duties? Duty Petty Officer? How about Officer of the Day? Air Officer of the Day? DLC(F) ?

705, 750 etc, etc are all Squadrons. The Boss of GSF is unique (in the FAA) in so much as he is the Commanding Officer of HMS Gannet.

Had a chat with the boys at Lee and Portland over the past couple of days and they can't wait to get the 92... they dont like the AW aircraft they currently fly.

Vec

Quite right about the Boss being CO of HMS Gannet as well as the squadron - it does bring a broader range of responsibilities, even for a small outfit like Prestwick. There's an OOD requirement but the DLC(F) is incorporated into one of the all-flights authorisers being contactable.

Although there's no DPO etc, those duties are provided for by a much bigger pool of manpower at say Culdrose or Yeovs than Gannet has, so I think it's a simlar workload ratio. I'm referring to the usual stuff like DO, Visits, Ops, DOps, blah blah.

RoA
 

Typical RoA of Stornoway S92 is 250nm with 30 mins on scene and fuel to carry out instrument approach on return - at least equivalent to Mk3 Sea King.

The S92 has many good points and a few things that need to be worked around. Despite comments on high disc loading, all tasked mountain jobs have been successfully completed and there are benefits to being able to lift more MRT troops in one go. Initial scepticism (sp?) from the MRT has largely been removed by training and liaison, though perhaps Glencoe/Lochaber teams have not had as much exposure to the 92 as the more northern teams.

Increased speed (140kts) is of course a great improvement, as is the ability to hop over the top of the mountains in airframe icing conditions (still making 135kts TAS). NVG will increase capability massively, and that will come (the sooner, the better).

Everyone seems very suspicious of the 92, but I would not swap back to the Sea King in a million years. It would probably be tedious of me to go into all the increased safety features of the 92, so I won't.

Absolutely - what a shame, then, that the press release has chosen to 'sex up' its abilities, which is totally counterproductive when trying to win over the SARasauruses (who, no doubt, were equally truculent when someone suggested replacing the Wessex with the Sea King...).

Calli - for 'at least the equivalent of the Sea King' read 'exactly the same capability as a 50 year old helicopter' - very impressive for a new generation helo :rolleyes: except that in order to get that RoA, you have to have the aux tanks fitted which reduces the cabin capacity. Can you get 17 pax seated in an S-92 with the aux tank fitted?

The safety features of the 92 were extensively lauded when the aircraft was pushed as a SAR machine and they traded heavily on its heritage, being based on the Blackhawk drive train etc. Unfortunatley the 'meeting new airworthiness and certification standards' sales pitch didn't mention that the 30 min run dry capability required under FAA pt 29 had been dodged by Sikorsky rather than complied with as highlighted by the Newfoundland crash.

Now to be fair, most are expecting the Soteria aircraft to be a B model with a better designed aux tank, new oil filter housing with 6 fixing points and possibly even a whole new MRGB to cope with the MRGB foot cracking issue but there is no guarantee this will be the case, especially since they will need to be in service next year for the transition to start in 2012.

It is about time Soteria did start to put their plan into the public domain if they want to avoid speculation and scuttlebutt.

No S-92B in the pipeline from what I understand but there will be some changes to the aircraft such as a new extended range fuel tank in the cabin, and a higher MTOW from 26,500 pounds to above 27,000 pounds.

Crab

To comply with FAA/JAR 29.927, the OEM doesn’t require a 30-minute run-dry gearbox.

I stand to be corrected, but I do not believe either the AS332 Series (like the S-92, has a cooler bypass option) or EC225 has a Normal Use 30-Minute Run-Dry certification/capability. I accept the 225 does have an emergency glycol lubrication system, but this is not a Normal Use system.

The only helicopter I know of with a true 30-minute Run-Dry gearbox is the Sikorsky UH-60M, but I stand to be educated if others exist.

As for the Cougar incident, you might do well to await the final report before blame is apportioned for this incident.

Hilife, you have to excuse CrabSAAvn for his inaccuracies. He has no working knowledge of anything civilian especially when it comes to regs.

Crab: How do you expect the 'preferred bidder' to share its secrets to all when the contract isn't signed? :ugh:

Sikorsky's CH-148 (H-92) contract with Canadian Forces delayed - again.

So what happens now with the "Team Soteria" (or whatever it's called) bid for the SAR-H contract now that "Equity Partner" (whatever that means thesedays) RBS has posted losses of £3.6 billion ?
I expect this will get conveniently brushed aside by the Broon one , surely this has to have some effect on the 2012 start of the transition to privatising the UK SAR business ?

:mad::mad:

Soteria reveals new look for rescue helicopters | Shephard Group


Very smart

SAR
 

May I make a point as an aerial photographer with some time over the coasts, and also a qualified yachtie...

For a start, I was horrified by the steps taking out lighthouse lookouts, and coastguard huts - separate issues.

As a yachtie on the south coast, Portland Bill / Race is our personal Cape Horn, fine on a good day, but a killer if the forecast and one's judgement is slightly out.

Yes, talking from experience a long time ago, took years off my life but no fatalities & no SAR involved, but people have often called out for less, and to be honest if my crew ( novice but unphased girlfriend ) or boat had an injury or something nasty, which we were offered the opportunity of more than once, we would have been in deep s****.

As I understand it, there's a helo / SAR base at Portland or nearby ( brainfade, I forget the name, HMS Osprey ? ); believe me it's essential for SAR, for anything venturing on the seas around.

I may add, I'm sure most will have seen the film ' The Cruel Sea ' - the shots of the corvettes & other warships pitching half out of the water were filmed in Portland Race, and the Ships Pilot instructions say even big ships should avoid it; then on a calm day when one has calculated the tides right, one might say ' what's the fuss ' !

Lookout coastguards, a true 1st line and lifesavers, has passed on to amateurs who do it when they can, a move which I and other seagoing types consider nothing short of criminal; surely this country can afford a few people to keep a manual 24/7 lookout...

For both life saving and anti-smuggling purposes, I despair that we can't deploy a few proper forces people ( NVG's etc ) to man these places - relative luxury to most service people though as the lookout positions - even if now mainly defunct - are well known a roving patrol is called for.

Back to SAR, we need & appreciate what you do, as present things stand, though I'm very pro-defence and am ex-Harrier worker, I have only wondered why the hell ALL hospitals don't have helicopters, not funded by charity, let alone the forces needs which are obviously great.

At my sailing club we're currently being hassled by a ' little empire ' connected to the local council who want to build a cyle path among our beloved & hard paid for boats, while literally a few feet away is a wide footpath; gits are making well paying lifestyles out of such daft things ( on OUR money ) meanwhile hospitals and schools are closing down...

If SAR goes private, I and a lot of others - fishermen, yachties, oil rig types etc, are presuming - and hoping desparately in more ways than one - that ex-services people will be at the controls.

S-92 to deliver UK SAR-H service
 

MCA News Podcast

View the latest podcast from the MCA featuring the S92.

Double zero....With respect I think your a bit behind the loop. SAR is going private in 2012 using civil and military crews. HMS Osprey closed some years ago and the flight you see there now is a civilian outfit operated by CHC Ltd. on behalf of the Maritme and Coastguard Agency. The civilian crews along with their ex-service colleagues are equally capable SAR operators and operate out of bases in Stornoway, Shetland and Lee-on-Solent as well as Portland.

As ex-military aircrew I can assure you that the Civilian folks I work with now are top notch and you wouldnt know the difference between a civil or military crew as you were dragged from the sea (though there is a clue in the colur of the helicopter at the moment).

Anyway, back to the thread

Regards and safe sailing