The contract states as I was told is this is what we won't and this is what we will pay. How you do it is up to you.
No don't work for AR btw. Completely independent of anyone. All I've done is up dating what I'm told. And yes a jet is more than capable of performing the operations required. Lots of other country's use them.

What's got to be considered is that the funds available andante a short time loose for someone may end up as a long time gain. Then the politics involved with people that don't won't certain players involved ( Seen that with other government contracts ).

See what happens

Hhhhmmmmmmmmm, what are we betting ow. I believed you were of the opinion, TP no jets however now you are saying 604 or 146. Which one is it?

Me I'm not betting just relaying what I've been told. 146 I would say to exxxxxy to run. 135 145 per flight hour I would imagine maybe even less than a 328 or dash.

I would hope they wouldn't bid with a 146 (no one in SM with any experience on them, have to find a B146 management team for SM when they're already short of B146 experience in Regional), an Ejet on the other hand...

DN NOTAM
 

There's a Darwin NOTAM for SAR dropping training for CUSTOMS DASH 8 Aircraft, however this may have something to do with the DN AR base contract finishing up at the end of this year. Certainly looking better for Cobham though.

Nothing new there. Cobham have been doing drop training for a couple of years now.

Customs charters the dornier from time to time too

Pearl told today they no longer have the contract. Unknown at the moment who got it

Cobham got it.

Nothing about it online. Me thinks you're drunk Drunk Pilot.

Cobham got it!!

What with??

You forget that the contract that Cobham have was commenced in 1994/5 by NJS, then an Australian company owned by Warren Seymour & Adelle Lloyd. Should all the Aussies employed, subject now to foreign ownership they had no say in, be retrenched just because of a buy-out?

Who says they were undercut?

You may buy the cheapest of everything you see, I suspect its a better product that has been offered. Not a 146, not a 135, and not DHC8 and certainly not Dorniers.

There was nothing wrong with the 328 airframes. Supporting systems let it down.

So what aircraft is doing it?

Only heard rumours and nothing official as yet but dash 8. I'm fussing 300 series at this stage.

-300 branded coastwatch on one side and rescue on the other than hey?

Perhaps they will go with the CN-235/HC-144 like the US Coast Guard use.

This would just about be curtains for Pearl Aviation then? No more PTTEP to Truscott, no more Dorniers. Some King Airs but that's about it. Sad, I like them.

Maybe not. Talk about convert them back to pax. They have narrow gear which makes the suitable under the rules for some strips in the NT

Best guess is CL-604 (cns mel per) & DHC8 (drw?)

When the cargo door was modded for dropping ops on ze dornier it spelt the end for rpt ops. They are limited now to air work only.

They will more than likely be parked up awaiting a suitable use somewhere else.

Nah the 328 can be mod back for normal use.

Good guess. 4 x CL604 spread over Melbourne, Perth, and Cairns. No mention of Darwin or additional Dash 8s though so I guess they will use CW Dash 8s on an ad hoc basis where necessary.

I guess yr right's "hot tip" on Jetgo wasn't so hot after all.

Yep like engines, hydraulics, avionics and all the stuff in the back.:}

I would wager most of the CL604 crew will be ex raaf.

RAAF to you, bloggs! :* :=

You're holding on too tight.

Cobham wins the AMSA Contract
 

Cobham SAR Services have won the AMSA Contract operating Challenger 604 Aircraft. 1st aircraft into service in 2016. Contract goes for 12 Years with an option to extend for another 3 years:cool::D

721 Squadron RDAF
 

Link below about 721 Squadron Royal Danish Airforce and their CL604 MPA. Includes interior photos and and one photo showing drop capability from the rear cargo door.

721 Squadron ? Danish transport squadron | FLYMAG

From the article;

The search is done typically by a rapid descent to a lower altitude, typically 500-800 feet at a speed of about 200 knots, in the area where the missing person or ship is believed to be.

It then searches the area both visually and using the FLIR camera, flying a search pattern which is slowly expanded in the direction the missing persons or ship would have drifted with the wind and currents known to be in the area. This is a situation where the Challengers five man crew comes into good use. Everybody keeps a lookout for the missing persons and if needed, the flight engineer can drop a life raft and/or a marker in the vicinity of those in need.

When the missing persons are found, the aircraft descends to about 100 feet and make a fly-by to confirm that it is in fact the people they were looking for and to assess their situation. At the same time, the aircraft position is plotted and sent to the relevant authorities, who then dispatch either a rescue helicopter or rescue boat.

Okay, the title of this thread is COAST WATCH CONTRACT RENEWAL.

Today it was announced that Cobham has won the SEARCH and RESCUE CONTRACT.

Cobham wins $640m AMSA search and rescue contract | Australian Aviation

Now did the original poster, Soup Nazi mean the SAR contract or the Coastwatch contract?

They are two distinctly different contracts, fulfilling different roles with different aircraft. It just so happens that Cobham will have both from 2016.

Er, no it doesn't. It may look like that to someone who does not understand the roles and culture of the two organisations (Customs & AMSA)

Again, no they don't. Perhaps you could list three or four?

Well good on Cobham.

I lament their corporate success in being able to provide a much needed capability upgrade for AMSA services.

It is however a damming indictment of the process, there are several FACTS that seem to have been glossed over in the awarding of the contract. That for all its visibility seem to be massaging the ego of big business and once again canberra has elected to provide less for more cost.

The two other final contenders for the Jet component should rightly be spitting pills right about now.

Fact is the other tenderers submitted similar or bids that meet the $32.5M p/a operating cost...... Cobham has not (640/12=53), you work out where the extra money is going. Especially when one operator tendered exactly the same airframe.

Fact, it was a requirement of the tender that the bidder had the aircraft on the AOC, once again, two did, one did not........ and of course the one that did not got the nod.

So once again, although there is a capability increase and back slapping all round the reality is, canberra lobbyists have extracted their value, a foreign owned big business, has been remarkably successful in a competitive bid process that once again shows that the real loser is the Australian Tax Payer.

It is great that there is a capability increase, yet the process is rotten. A non conforming bid appears to have won the day....... again. Yet for all the cost involved in government process to be fair and transparent the machine has once again steam rolled democratic process and what is good for the end user..... the Australian public.

With a nearly a Quarter of a billion $ difference where one competitor bid with identical equipment.

The process and outcome stinks, the other bidders have very good reason to cry foul on this one.

FACTS

Competition......no, you now have a monopoly.
Price..... no, you now have more expense.
Capability.... no, identical equipment tendered.
Process ...... no, a non conforming bid has succeed.

Whats wrong with this picture.

Twotbags

you forgot:

VIABILITY..................ala AMMAN aviation.

Anyway, I am guessing equal amount of pilot jobs, so if business has issues (and who knows, may even be justifiable so) maybe they should lament/vent on an Business Bulletin Board....or refuse to pay their Lobbyists bill.

Could you copy and paste the provision from the Approach To Market to support that assertion? The ATM is a public document.

I think you'll find that your 'fact' is, in fact, fiction. :=

aerocats2a
All I said was that jet go had put in for it with jets. Then I was told you can't use jets but weight the winner is useing what ?????

Anyone with any idea knew who won months ago. Chob was the clear choice with back up behind them. The real only surprise is the 604. I think everyone will agree to that we'll expect Clinton aka creamie.

Now we hear While you didn't outright state Jetgo had it, you certainly sounded confident. Do you believe your own mumblings?
You certainly need better informants, the ones you have been relying on are not in the "Know".
The reality is that line pilots or middle management pilots probably know 3/4 of 5/8 of f$%^^all. its all wishful thinking.

yr right, I read your JetGo comment as being a hot tip that they got the contract, not that were tendering with a particular aircraft type.

I believe that.

As I said jet go where in with a chance. Up to that point no one had even mention them.
One would think that for the contract to be held up so long that it must have been close thing for all. Just saying