Coastguard Heli-exercise in London this week
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Coastguard exercise in London this week
Maritime and Coastguard Agency report 
On the 9th April London Coastguard are planning to run an Exercise entitled ‘London Glitz’. The Exercise is not based around an actual search and rescue scenario, but the use of a civilian search and rescue helicopter within the London area.
The Exercise will be a run-through from west to east, down river along the civil helicopter lane from Kew to the lower reaches, relaying from emergency service boat to emergency service boat.
Such an exercise will require good communication and co-operation between the various participating services, and the Exercise will familiarise all those `playing’, with the requirements, advantages and limitations of helicopter operations in the event of a major civil incident.
One of our Coastguard helicopters will lift from Lee-on-Solent on the south coast and on board will be a marine support officer from the Metropolitan Police, as a local knowledge ‘spotter’ for external search and rescue helicopters within the London conurbation. The exercise will resemble a relay race in general format.
The aircraft will enter the London civilian helicopter lane at Kew Bridge about 3.0 p.m, picking up the River Thames and heading east, downstream, encountering each player in turn as it progresses. The first unit encountered will be Chiswick in shore lifeboat.(ILB)
The aircrew will winch one crew-member from the ILB on-board the aircraft, before proceeding to the next unit, London Fire Brigade Fire Launch `Fire Dart’ or ‘Fire Flash’.
There, the air crew will lower to deck one creman from the Chiswick ILB, and winch-up one Fire-fighter for relaying to the next unit, and so-on.
Thus, each launch will have one stranger lowered to her deck, and one crewman taken from her to the next boat; a ‘relay’ of persons down the river.
The information room at New Scotland Yard will be asked by London Coastguard to patch various communications with the lifeboat service and with the pilot at the outset of the `incident’ This will help to develop familiarisation of operating within the London environment for the flight crew of Coastguard helicopter 'India Juliet’, and to help local knowledge for the air crew.
During the exercise various winching operations will take place with lifeboat crews which will familiarise the RNLI E-Class in shore lifeboat crews from Chiswick and Tower Pier with helicopter operations, this being the first such instance since their formation. It will also create awareness within the air traffic community of the possible deployment within the London area of the Coastguard aircraft.
The Exercise will be a run-through from west to east, down river along the civil helicopter lane from Kew to the lower reaches, relaying from emergency service boat to emergency service boat.
Such an exercise will require good communication and co-operation between the various participating services, and the Exercise will familiarise all those `playing’, with the requirements, advantages and limitations of helicopter operations in the event of a major civil incident.
One of our Coastguard helicopters will lift from Lee-on-Solent on the south coast and on board will be a marine support officer from the Metropolitan Police, as a local knowledge ‘spotter’ for external search and rescue helicopters within the London conurbation. The exercise will resemble a relay race in general format.
The aircraft will enter the London civilian helicopter lane at Kew Bridge about 3.0 p.m, picking up the River Thames and heading east, downstream, encountering each player in turn as it progresses. The first unit encountered will be Chiswick in shore lifeboat.(ILB)
The aircrew will winch one crew-member from the ILB on-board the aircraft, before proceeding to the next unit, London Fire Brigade Fire Launch `Fire Dart’ or ‘Fire Flash’.
There, the air crew will lower to deck one creman from the Chiswick ILB, and winch-up one Fire-fighter for relaying to the next unit, and so-on.
Thus, each launch will have one stranger lowered to her deck, and one crewman taken from her to the next boat; a ‘relay’ of persons down the river.
The information room at New Scotland Yard will be asked by London Coastguard to patch various communications with the lifeboat service and with the pilot at the outset of the `incident’ This will help to develop familiarisation of operating within the London environment for the flight crew of Coastguard helicopter 'India Juliet’, and to help local knowledge for the air crew.
During the exercise various winching operations will take place with lifeboat crews which will familiarise the RNLI E-Class in shore lifeboat crews from Chiswick and Tower Pier with helicopter operations, this being the first such instance since their formation. It will also create awareness within the air traffic community of the possible deployment within the London area of the Coastguard aircraft.
Last edited by Heliport; 7th Apr 2003 at 18:32.
They could have just asked the RAF SAR flight at Wattisham to do it as it is in their patch! Who is touting for business, Mr Bristow or the MCA? Who's is covering India Juliet's patch while they are away? Don't get into trouble in the Solent on the 9th as the Portland cab will take longer to get there!
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Whilst in at the London Heliport yesterday I saw a large number of Rib's zooming up and down the murky old river, all doing strange things but no sign of the big lifter after its very sedate flypast at about 1515 hrs, but possibly because of this we had some very good overviews of the capital when we had to route out via Crystal Palace!
