Any rich philanthropists out there ??

[freewheeler]

If a naive, idealistic amoeba on the food chain of aviation might make so bold as to venture an observation.... given situations such as the disaster in Greece , the earthquake in Pakistan, floods etc etc.... What about a multi-national helicopter emergency force with big tough stuff like Mi-8's and better (eg see those monsters in another thread!) to save lives when it hits the fan? I remember out of interest phoning aid agencies when winter was approaching after the Pakistan earthquake and being told that political considerations precluded the military forces of neighbouring countries from helping. No surprise there, but surely such ops would be good training, even if one placed zero value on the lives saved? (too naive?) Does a co-ordinated UN disaster relief helicopter force exist? Do the Russians have firebomber variants of their big stuff? Is the moon made of green cheese? Any billionaires out there getting bored?!

[scooter boy]

I think the biggest problem with the rich philanthropist line is that most billionaires probably enjoy their status and would like to stay billionaires. A multinational helicopter team would run the risk of making them mere multi-millionaires pretty fast - their accountants would never allow it!

Having said that if Philip Green (Arcadia Group boss) actually paid tax in the UK our government would probably be able to fund it unilaterally.

SB

[psyan]

The UN could not run a P*** U* in a brewery with any degree of effectiveness. That much has been shown to be true over the last decade. Private enterprise? Naw.......no anthropologically minded fool is rich enough and corporations.....well money before lives and personal interests might be a hindrance.

Best wishes