One for the SAR boys and girls.
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One for the SAR boys and girls.
What aircraft will provide top cover for you guys on the long range stuff now that the mighty hunters life is at an end? Does this also mean than ARCC duties will finish at Kinloss in the near future when it closes as an RAF base?
I wonder what topcover if any was sent to the 2 recent incidents off the SW?
What sort of air droppable dinghies to these a/c carry? It was always comforting to have the SAR equipped Nimrod overhead when we were 200mls out into the Atlantic on a stormy dark night.
HF
HF
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Lets be more inquistive then......what is the offical SAR platform replacement for the Nimrod....is there a C130 on standby these days or what?
As for the RCC..anyone got any input re its future...my guess is it stays at Kinloss.....I assume the Army is going to move in at some stage to keep them company?
As for the RCC..anyone got any input re its future...my guess is it stays at Kinloss.....I assume the Army is going to move in at some stage to keep them company?
Pas
The airdroppable dinghy was not just a back up for us. It was used for survivors in the water who we couldn't pick up. The recent factory ship that caught fire in the SW approaches had 100+ on board - fortunately the sea was calm enough for them to launch their own rafts.
This is one example of reduction in capability which SAR-H might also be guilty of in the future.
HF
The airdroppable dinghy was not just a back up for us. It was used for survivors in the water who we couldn't pick up. The recent factory ship that caught fire in the SW approaches had 100+ on board - fortunately the sea was calm enough for them to launch their own rafts.
This is one example of reduction in capability which SAR-H might also be guilty of in the future.
HF
The mighty hunter has not actually been available for SAR for a good few months now - I did the first long-ranger 250nm W of Ireland with the Cessna as top cover earlier this year. It doesn't have the loiter capability of the Nimrod and its radar is nowhere near as good but it is still nice to have someone there to call for help if it all goes pete tong.
It was the Cessna crew's first SAR job but the weather was very nice and the tanker was very easy to find and winch off - no great dramas and pretty much any airborne asset could have acted as a comms relay.
The real loss of the Nimrod will be shown in a multi-asset rescue where top cover and co-ordination are required - having several comms operators on board takes a lot of the heartache out of managing such a situation and lets the rescuers get on with their jobs.
As for the Scillies job last week - it was well within the range of the Chivenor aircraft which sat at St Mary's with the 771 cab but neither were used.
It was the Cessna crew's first SAR job but the weather was very nice and the tanker was very easy to find and winch off - no great dramas and pretty much any airborne asset could have acted as a comms relay.
The real loss of the Nimrod will be shown in a multi-asset rescue where top cover and co-ordination are required - having several comms operators on board takes a lot of the heartache out of managing such a situation and lets the rescuers get on with their jobs.
As for the Scillies job last week - it was well within the range of the Chivenor aircraft which sat at St Mary's with the 771 cab but neither were used.
Crab
When did that change? Back in my days on the Nimorod, (early 80's), we only had one. Although I guess we could have used one of the other stations to break up the workload.
Like you say, the real loss will be felt on the multi-mission large scale search and rescue. I was on the Air India incident back in 85 and stayed on-station for about 8 hours---I think we provided 48 hours of coverage on that one.
having several comms operators on board
Like you say, the real loss will be felt on the multi-mission large scale search and rescue. I was on the Air India incident back in 85 and stayed on-station for about 8 hours---I think we provided 48 hours of coverage on that one.
Gordy
May have spoken to you on Air India - I was on the 1st crew out there - we lived at Cork airport for about 36 hrs and flew several missions along with 2 other cabs from Brawdy, 2 other RAF Seakings, the RN, at least one Chinook and a CH53. Without a Nimrod co-ordinating the search patterns both by helio and boat it would have been chaos.
The Nimrod on scene commander for Piper Alpha was even more impressive as he successfully organised a very complex SAR task comprising Mil SAR helicopters along with civil oil rig helicopters, supply boats, standby boats, and the Emergency Response vessel the IOLAIR. He did so well that I had at least 3 breakfasts that night/morning - the best being off the SF 135 while refuelling
Not sure how the present Cessna would cope giving an ATC/radar service to approx 12 Helicopters some needing search areas and refuel decks while others slot times to land on the THAROS to take off injured workers.
While shutdown on the IOLAIR little did I know that in a later life I would spend several years living on her
HF
May have spoken to you on Air India - I was on the 1st crew out there - we lived at Cork airport for about 36 hrs and flew several missions along with 2 other cabs from Brawdy, 2 other RAF Seakings, the RN, at least one Chinook and a CH53. Without a Nimrod co-ordinating the search patterns both by helio and boat it would have been chaos.
The Nimrod on scene commander for Piper Alpha was even more impressive as he successfully organised a very complex SAR task comprising Mil SAR helicopters along with civil oil rig helicopters, supply boats, standby boats, and the Emergency Response vessel the IOLAIR. He did so well that I had at least 3 breakfasts that night/morning - the best being off the SF 135 while refuelling
Not sure how the present Cessna would cope giving an ATC/radar service to approx 12 Helicopters some needing search areas and refuel decks while others slot times to land on the THAROS to take off injured workers.
While shutdown on the IOLAIR little did I know that in a later life I would spend several years living on her
HF
HF
I am almost certain we did....I was on the second Nimrod out there from what I remember, (I do not have my old logbook with me as I am "on the road" right now). I was one of the three search-water operators on that flight, co-ordinating the helicopters.
Little did I know then that I would soon switch careers and be flying helicopters full time.
May have spoken to you on Air India
Little did I know then that I would soon switch careers and be flying helicopters full time.
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100+ on board - fortunately the sea was calm enough for them to launch their own rafts.
well within the range of the Chivenor aircraft which sat at St Mary's with the 771 cab but neither were used
As for Nimrod, unfortunately, like the CG Tugs, as they have not been used for the role in which they were procured then they are for the cut. Only when you really need it for that once in a decade situation then you will realise that you shouldn't have got rid of it.
Pasptoo
Your profile doesn't enlighten us as to your long range SAR experience - which by the tone of your posts is either limited or non existant - there are many reasons why a ships crew may not be able to use their own safety equipment which if you have SAR experience you will know of.
While the MR4 had its problems the lack of a suitable a/c for maritime patrol/SAR coverage, for an island nation, is deplorable.
AS Crab has said many times this downgrading of our capabilities does not bode well for SAR as a whole.
HF
Your profile doesn't enlighten us as to your long range SAR experience - which by the tone of your posts is either limited or non existant - there are many reasons why a ships crew may not be able to use their own safety equipment which if you have SAR experience you will know of.
While the MR4 had its problems the lack of a suitable a/c for maritime patrol/SAR coverage, for an island nation, is deplorable.
AS Crab has said many times this downgrading of our capabilities does not bode well for SAR as a whole.
HF
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Pasptoo
So that wasn't the CG tug pulling a RN sub off the shingle the other day then? Get some time in laddie!
like the CG Tugs, as they have not been used for the role in which they were procured then they are for the cut