S-92 to deliver UK SAR-H service
 

As expected, the CHC/Thales team has been named preferred bidder for SAR-H. Contract completion expected later this year - if the Strategic Defence Review doesn't get involved presumably!

Team Soteria wins UK's SAR-H deal with proven S-92

no no NO..., we want a unproven airframe, preferably not yet flown or even on a drawing board,
a 10+ year development overrun with a 3x cost overspend.

THEN cancel and buy S92.

have the fools learned nothing:(

More detail on the Rotorheads forum. :ok:

I wonder why they've ditched Prestwick and went for Glasgow. I would have thought Prestwick would have offered them better operational space and lower prices.

Is it going to Glasgow Prestwick or Glasgow International?

Maybe because Glasgow Prestwick is owned by a New Zealand Company where as Glasgow international is owned by BAA (Which is owned by some Spanish Bloke and his Canadian Mate)

It's going to Glasgow International (BBC News - HMS Gannet to lose search and rescue operations), they get to do pretty much whatever they want to at Prestwick so I'm slightly gob smacked that they've decided to ditch it.

What Navy Base? Gannet SAR flight is a conglomerate of about 6 portakabins glued together. Hardly a Navy base.






Sikorsky S92 Helicopter. The S92A is providing reliable service internationally in the oil and gas industry and Search and Rescue with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on Shetland and the Isle of Lewis in Northern Scotland. The helicopter has a cruising speed of 145 knots, with a radius of operation in excess of 260 nautical miles. In comparison with the current SAR Sea King helicopters, the new aircraft is approximately 30 per cent faster and has approximately 70 nautical miles greater radius of operation. The cabin that is over 1.7 metres high,has a large door on the starboard side and a ramp at the rear which will allow easy access for casualties and hospital care equipment such as incubators. The SAR-H S92A has a fully equipped purpose built paramedic station including piped mains oxygen and an electrical power circuit within the cabin that allows immediate life-saving care to be administered day and night.


Only midgets need apply

Won't they struggle to see over the coaming; or will they have yellow booster cushions?

CG

Surely the booster cushions will be orange, to match the new corporate livery:E

Lets not start having mixed equipment already.
Plus, think of the benefits.......We could also have a fleet of midget submarines to help in the rescues, with no need for extra crews!
And, maybe we could re engine the choppers with midget gems.:E

Still, that's enough small talk for now, must get back to work.

I don't understand the move from Prestwick to Glasgow either.
I presume that the majority of call-outs are to the west of Prestwick.
True,the airports are only 30 miles apart but in bad weather it could seriously affect response times.

SAR-H
 

Its not about the lives of people any more, Its all about short term cost cutting! They will use the excuse that the S-92 is faster, just like their excuse for sending Boulmer and Chivenor day only! Its a faster aircraft! Or might it be because they realise that they cant possibly provide the same quality service they get now for the price of the contract. Remember Soteria has to make a profit out of this too, otherwise its a pointless exercise for them!!

having tried to get from Glasgow Intnl to Prestwick in bad weather, it is not for the faint-hearted...

But wait... who's to say they need to go west from Prestwick at all? With CHC in the running for winning the Irish SAR contract, due to be announced v. soon, maybe there's been a deal....

It will be interesting to see how it performs in the mountains. Where I live in south of France, the Securité Civile were given EC-145s to replace their old Ecureils. The speed of the EC-145 is great for maritime rescue, but in the mountains the high disk-loading is a real handicap in the snow because of the snowstorm it kicks up and avalanches it sets off.

S92
 

Ref the ramp giving access to the cabin, the last S92 I saw had a bulkhead between the baggage bay, which was what the ramp accessed,and the main cabin. Are the SAR ones different?

I suspect that once Chivenor & Boulmer have been down-graded to 12 hour status in 2012 ,then there will be no aircraft based at either location ,instead I think that one cab will be flown in daily from another location . As in Chivenors case , the powers that be say that during night-time rescues the area can be easily reached from either Valley , Culdrose or Portland ! Tell that to the relatives of anyone who has only minutes to survive in the cold waters of the Bristol Channel .

:hmm::hmm::mad:

Isn't portland day only too? I think it is and will remain that way!

On BBC Radio Devon today it said that Portland was one of the 3 bases that would cover the Chivenor area at night , that's the BEEB for you .:ugh:

Im sure that when the ministers statement cane out, the three twelve hour flights were going to be Portland, Chiv and Boulmer! I may be wrong but if it is true that leaves a massive hole in the south west! How they can justify that, i do not know but obviously the money saving is more important than a robust SAR coverage. Another question to ask is weather or not the aircraft will be available for the essential med transfers they currently spend a good amount of time performing? With the reduced night time coverage, will they be able to allow an aircraft out of the area to take a time critical patient who is in need of specialist care?

I can't see that the new contractor will be available for medivac flights as I assume they will be purely SAR dedicated unless some additional agreement or contract is taken out with individual NHS Ambulance services. However , if the medivac or casevac flight involves a road traffic accident then I would assume that payment for the flight might have to be claimed from an individuals Motor Insurance Policy , this is of course my own personal view .
:hmm:

As a comparason, hospital transfer flights by HEMS are chargeable by the operator to the hospital requesting the transfer