New Chopper For Polair (NSW Police Force)
Nothing has 'legs' once all the kit is on board.
Unless miniaturisation saves the day the amount of kit police machines want to carry will result in them having to upgrade to a Puma just to undertake the base role.
That is partly why the nominally 6/8 seat favourites in the base police patrol role [902/109/135] end up being three seat machines with room for an occasional passenger [but then only by removing some fuel load].
The police customer took many years to learn that fact of life... never take the sales brochure at its word ..... I think they largely got there in the end with only a few dozen horror stories.
Unless miniaturisation saves the day the amount of kit police machines want to carry will result in them having to upgrade to a Puma just to undertake the base role.
That is partly why the nominally 6/8 seat favourites in the base police patrol role [902/109/135] end up being three seat machines with room for an occasional passenger [but then only by removing some fuel load].
The police customer took many years to learn that fact of life... never take the sales brochure at its word ..... I think they largely got there in the end with only a few dozen horror stories.
They flogged off the old B206s a few years back, tired old 25,000 hr machines, some had been for swims in the oggin. Rebuild by Helitech, still out there.
Join Date: May 2005
Location: The South Coast
Age: 55
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I hear the 135 will have about an hours endurance once all the kit is onboard. I think also they are replacing their 355N so no 350's to hit the market at this stage.
FBD
FBD
Chief Bottle Washer
NSW Polair 4 is now out and about
Chief Bottle Washer
An interesting and all too common point in that other thread - about the BK117 replacement - effectively dissing the EC135 for not being able to fly for more than 90 minutes after all the role equipment is fitted.
It is amazing the number of times that this comes to light in police circles. The expectation that any helicopter [or fixed wing for that matter] will fly its max passengers, max fuel and max load forever!
It is sort of understandable that historically 'mere policeman' might have been mislead on this front by sales staff in the industry who certainly do know better. The industry certainly has been guilty of distortion of capability in the past, and hopefully you might have expected that those days had passed and realism had returned..... Not so it seems.
How many times have the police been caught with the wrong airframe for the job?
Roll on the first ASU with a Chinook.
It is amazing the number of times that this comes to light in police circles. The expectation that any helicopter [or fixed wing for that matter] will fly its max passengers, max fuel and max load forever!
It is sort of understandable that historically 'mere policeman' might have been mislead on this front by sales staff in the industry who certainly do know better. The industry certainly has been guilty of distortion of capability in the past, and hopefully you might have expected that those days had passed and realism had returned..... Not so it seems.
How many times have the police been caught with the wrong airframe for the job?
Roll on the first ASU with a Chinook.
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 1,957
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
'mere policeman'
I think you will find that the 20-stone squashers of yore are not the lads who go in the Pork Chopper these days. They must pass a fitness test - or is that a fatness test ? Don't remember... damned Alzheimers...
