Been eating popcorn on the sidelines on this one, but josephfeatherweight has a valid point.

Seems many are questioning the capability and readiness of the new incumbent, who some admirers are giving sycophantantic support, as the argument to dismiss of the question of readiness or capability

I have no dog in this fight, and have friends on both sides of thisfence, but seriously, is there any employer out there that deserves the support some here are giving this one, to the point of almost gleefully saying some guys were not up to the task of getting onboard.

Never ever seen the perfect employer, nor seen the perfect aircraft for a task....that is once a bean counter has got involved in what the aircraft is tasked to do.

Hopefully there is some sort of trolling going on, otherwise the conversation (IMHO) seems a little lower than normal banter/arguement that occurs here.

Not affected or bothered, however I am seriously concerned by the lack of SAR coverage in large areas of the country due to a delay in contract startup. Cairns will also be delayed.

I hope I am proven wrong but Search and Rescue (SAR) is about peoples lives and the longer this goes on the closer we will get to the loss of life, who knows lives might already have been lost due to this.

Im sure someone clinging to an overturned vessel in the Indian Ocean would share your lack of concern

Eclan, if you contracted a builder to build a house for a certain price so you can move in on a certain day and it wasn't ready would you feel ripped off? How about if you find that the contractor couldn't get enough bricklayers, or if the doors werent big enough for entry as per your agreement, is this now your problem, you did have an agreement in writing with a reputable contractor and they assured you this wouldn't happen. But hang on, half the appliances you contracted for were not fitted or didn't work in the fashion agreed, and the roof leaks. Do you just accept this standard.
Wouldnt you rather tear up the contract and start the process again making sure you learnt from your mistake and end up with a product on time that fits your specification after all a deal is a deal,If you don't do that you have no option but to live in that dodgy house.
The point is this is a SAR contract for the best part of a billion dollars, how many " professional " aviators out there have seen such a high profile, important, complex aviation solution run so late without a compliant solution in sight and without any repercussions , a couple of complete clusters in the military come to mind but very uncommon.
People need to be held to account, that's what is expected of Pilots, Engineers and SAR crew.
Seems to me that you want to make this personal, just stick to the facts and be nice:-D

So... Anyone putting in for the Cairns FO slot advertised...?! :E

"Your (sic) welcome Trevor."


Good comeback mate. Answered the questions beautifully.


My dog's out of this fight now.

Your indeed correct about the delay after MH370, however they still had 2 years to get their **** in order.

Cobham Cairns SAR base starts contract at midnight
 

Moot point here, but out of curiosity are the Dorniers that are bumped off contract still being paid on standby by AMSA under a short term gap coverage agreement or have they packed up the machines and are no longer available?

For clarification I don't consider a machine as available unless it's contracted to be on standby with crew on-site/re-call etc, call when needed doesn't count.

No Sar jets
 

This is a joke,
The Aerorescue cairns base has now closed.
There is no longer SAR coverage in WA or FNQ, there are NO jets, let alone something that can drop. Clearly Cobham are in breach of contract. Why is this acceptable, the mind boggles.

Why not ask AMSA, or take it to the media, or your local parliamentary rep? If you really cared you'd do more than just yabber about it on PPRuNe, surely.

RAAF is currently available for use by AMSA on an as required basis

Interestly a second Dornier landed in Cairns today, I wonder why??

As they've always been.

It appears there's still a major gap in capability from what has been in place and what is contracted to currently BE in place.

Re post 100, and for all you aviators, let me put this in perspective, whether you fly a 172 or a 737, if you ditch, or have a forced landing, or of you activate an Elt for any reason up until recently an aircraft would be airborne within 30 mins by day and 60 mins by night. Depending on the circumstances your position would be isolated by DF then if you needed a raft, a satphone, water, first aid, or survival equipment that would be dropped to you, generally landing a few meters away at worst.this has been the case for ten years. Today, no.

Yes, so if you are so concerned, why aren't you doing something useful?

I flew into Cairns a few days ago & seen the 328 still there, I thought the base was closing, have they decided to keep something there?

The base is closed. Cobham not ready yet, still not ready in Perth.

What do mean not ready? I seen AMSA on the news last week saying all systems are go with the 604, thought they must of got everything sorted last minute.....

Because nobody lies to the news!

Are you saying reporters are not actually doing there job? Sounds like another company around here.....

The cairns base is officially closed and it's aircraft is being marketed. Due to the frequency of SARs in FNQ and Torres straits the Brisbane aircraft is on an extended deployment until a jet turns up. Nothing in Perth, but no one cares.

So when will the Cairns jet be in town & available for tasking?

That's the million dollar question.

If Perth is the example sometime in January

This sort of press is commonly known in political circles as deflection.

When you dont want the real news to get out you promote it with a positive vibe.

Perth now been closed 12 weeks. Cairns 3 weeks, Essendon due to shut in 6 weeks.

Dashunder hi,

So, if I take the Haynes out passed the CNS outer reef and my trusty boat sinks, are you saying there is no SAR aircraft deliver what I need to survive.

..or is what AerobatS2A suggesting that all is OK, I should not be concerned and I will receive what I need to not perish?

May I suggest that Dashunder is not the best person to answer that question.. I suspect he/she may be a little biased in opinion, light on facts and lacking common sense.

Hysterical

wasathangi

I shall therefore, for the time being at least, stay within range of Rescue 500...and might I add, an extremely professional, competent and brave bunch of guys (gender neutral meant).

And when Cobham does get to speed I shall reach further than the fling wing rescuers can go :).

And that they are a professional competent bunch of people.

It is now 4 weeks since the Cairns based Dornier ceased operations, and another great bunch of people are filling the hole in Cairns along with the crew of Rescue 500, whilst awaiting for that other mob get the act together and its not looking likely that the Brisbane crew will be leaving any time soon.

Its starting to become a bit of a farce. Remember Perth closed their doors in August, its now November and I highly suspect that the jet wont be operating out of Perth in an online capacity prior to the new year.

One has to wonder where that leaves Essendon!! Hmm

What does it take to acknowledge that the contract has not been honoured. 3 months overdue and nothing. Do we wait for 4,5 or 6 months before someone calls it.
Unprecedented cock up

where is the issue?

Cobham? CASA? AMSA?

Aircraft? Equipment? Crew?

A little bit of all CA737, but predominantly Cobham.

The contract was awarded 2 years ago, the first aircraft arrived in country on our around Boxing day last year and nothing is ready.

CASA have only certified the CL604 in experimental category which has restricted them to only a few airports for training purposes of which one isn't Cairns, the Cairns Port Authority wont approve the landing of the Challenger in Cairns whilst in experimental category.

They are severely restricted in what they can drop.

The troops are now starting to get a little frustrated and are starting to speak out.

Its all becoming a farce.

I'm guessing that missing diver off Townsville during the week was glad there was a asset to provide on scene coordination to help rotary wing assets search and locate him......

I rest my case

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busi...b17-1478824387

Requires a subscription to see it. What does it say?

A $640 million government contract to use four Cobham *Aviation-operated Bombardier Challenger jets for search-and-rescue operations around Australia is running more than three months behind schedule as the aircraft struggle to gain the regulatory approvals needed to fly.

The 12-year deal between the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Cobham was supposed to begin in August when the first of four custom-fitted Challenger 604s was to begin operating from Perth.

Western Australian has been left without the long-range search-and-rescue aircraft for more than three months after problems gaining Civil Aviation Safety Authority approvals delayed their lift-off.

Sources close to AMSA say regulatory delays plaguing the 604s have been brought on by a raft of problems with the new jet, including the aircraft’s drop door being too small to allow necessary supply items to be dispatched from the plane.

Other critics have pointed to the jet’s requirement to burn off four hours of fuel before landing as a serious problem that undermines its ability to operate as a time-critical search-and-rescue aircraft.

The aircraft has also run into serious issues during testing by Cobham, including two incidents where supplies dropped from the plane struck its fuselage and tail.

AMSA said it was aware of the two incidents, which were reported to CASA as required.

“The trials informed incremental changes in design of the delivery system and drop procedures. Cobham has advised AMSA that CASA has now *approved the system, inclusive of aircraft modifications and crew procedures, for delivery of the full range of stores,” an AMSA spokesman said.

AMSA confirmed that the regulatory approvals were holding back the launch of the aircraft but could not provide a firm date when the jets could fly.

“Cobham has experienced a number of delays in modification, integration and certification of the aircraft,” the spokesman said.

“Until the aircraft is certified and approved by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to deliver the full range of search and rescue services, AMSA will not accept the service.”

AMSA said the first Cobham aircraft was booked to undertake proving flights for its CASA Air Operator’s Certificate in coming weeks, after which it would be able to enter service.

“Safety of the operation is paramount and when the rigorous process being followed by CASA is complete, AMSA will have the necessary assurances that this will be a safe operation which will *deliver all the capabilities required,” the AMSA spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for Cobham said the company was “fully focused” on delivering the aircraft to AMSA and that it continued to work closely with CASA to pass its regulatory hurdles.

The Cobham aircraft were set to progressively replace a fleet of AeroRescue Dornier aircraft based in Perth, Cairns and *Essendon.

While two of the Dorniers — one based in Cairns and one in Melbourne — are still in operation under the AeroRescue contract, they are about six hours away from Perth should an emergency unfold there.

AMSA said it did not rely on any single asset to deliver search-and-rescue services and there were sufficient alternative assets available for West Australian search-and-rescue services during the transition period.

AMSA said it also held contracts with a number of commercial aircraft operators who would provide response aircraft when *required.

I wonder how much they're paying in penalties?

What's the story here?

http://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gsTw9eSIQ6w

A little embarrassing!!

But then again probably not that embarrassing when you consider they are now 3 months behind in Perth.