First armed AW-139
 

http://www.flyinginirelandmagazine.c...al_AW274-3.jpg
http://www.flyinginirelandmagazine.c...W274and275.jpg


http://www.flyinginirelandmagazine.c...Irish274-2.jpg


more pics http://www.flyinginirelandmagazine.c...s.php?album=11

Not without incident, no doubt lazy media hype over nothing.

Irish Independant

Hmm, I dont htink this is the first armed 139. I was at Bell in 02 for some training and they had a 139 in USCG colors that was set up to be fully armed. It was pretty impressive. I liked the seats, oh what I would give for the seats!

RB

Leprechaun Recruitment
 

The last time I worked with the Irish Rangers they were all normal sized human beings, obviously they have changed their selection criteria. The only way you will fit "32 Rangers" inside an AW139 is if they are little bearded men carrying a black thorn stick and are from the rarely seen breed of Leprechaun's. :bored:

Stated that the fleet would be capable of carrying 32, not one airframe... That's eight a piece - which sounds about right for equipped combat troops in a 139.

AB139 engineer
 

It has a wee gun, doesn't look too threating to me. Looks like need a weapons consultant.

That has to be a joke ? low cloud so they made an emergency landing at cannes? I know they are relatively low time pilots in the Irish Aer Corps but with that aircraft surely a little low cloud wouldnt get in there way.
Also looks like they were taking the long way home going from Italy down to Cannes instead of up through Switzerland then into France.

Don't forget that as Military aircraft, they may not have had Diplomatic Clearance to overfly Switzerland. And if you are not instrument rated............

The pilots that flew the 139 to Irland are all high standard trained pilots with 1000's of hours on various types from S-61's and Dauphins and Gazalee and A111,EC-135 type helicopters. The route choosen was best for the crew.

It's simply not smart to try and overfly the Alps if not trained to do so, especially in a helicopter. So there's nothing strange about it at all.

CVR I had a laugh at Sean H's post also more like a couple of hundred hours and I dont think you should mention the S61 flying a little bit of a fiasco for the Aer Corps lads, again down to a lack of experience

I cant see whats so funny?
The crew i spoke with were all experienced heli pilots with alot more than just a couple hundred hours!

Hey Guys,

Lets give Sean H a break here, the 139's are a big thing in his local. Just like your outfits first offshore 332's or whatever. Everything is relative - we can all be cynics...

They are by all accounts a fine machine and with regard to the comments about being lightly armed, you've obviously never been got out of a hole due to the covering fire of a GPMP...:E

GPMP surley a GPMG?

I'm with Sean H, the Aer Corps guys had tens of hours, they told me so....:)

Considering the lack of kit they have had for years and the lack of funding, I would be very surprised if there are more than one or two Aer Corps pilots with more than a thousand hours heli time.

Does anyone have more info on the Emergency landing? Is this another inadvertent entry to IMC, like that time following Mrs. Clinton?

Having said that, it is great that they are finally getting the kit they need to do the job.

Lunar

Many of the people who are slagging off the Air Corps don’t know what they are talking about. Look at some facts:

1.The Irish Air Corps first started flying choppers back in the early 1960s. Up to the 1999 Dauphin crash in Waterford they never had a fatal crash (including all SAR operations). Name one other military organisation who can boast over 30 years of rotary flying without a fatality (I guess the answer is none).
2.Not only that, but up to that date they still operated every helicopter they ever bought (says something for the maintenance as well as the flying).
3.I’m sure some of you will be quick to point out the fact that the initial SAR was with a VFR Aloutte (onshore only). But you never heard of the two pilots who got distinguished flying medals : one winched a casualty off a cliff face (at night) while another Aloutte hovered close by using his landing light to assist operations. Over the years they completed 1000’s of SAR missions, and you can bet that not all were in summer conditions. So give them some credit.
4.The safety statistics have taken a bit of a hit in the last few years, I believe they have lost an Aloutte and Gazelle (each due to engine failure). But 3 aircraft lost, with one fatal accident, in combined military and SAR operations, is not bad.
5.The Air Corps have always been seen as a training establishment for Aer Lingus and Ryanair. This is why they had to put a 10 year ‘signing on’ period for qualified pilots. With the current boom in aviation you will find a mass exodus of pilots who have done the 10 years service. So I’m not surprised if there is a shortage of pilots with 1000’s of hours.
6.They’re not perfect, but a I’m sure that an unbiased analysis of the Air Corps helicopter pilots (and their fixed wing counterparts) would find they compare favourably with any other military establishment worldwide.

Sorry for you CVR. You haven't actually contributed anything to the debate, just mention of a rumour. There will always be 'spotters' like you around, we just have to ignore you.

Routing via South of France would be pretty sensible from North Italy to Ireland. The direct route across Switzerland is high and jagged and very weather dependent.

..and why would you press on IFR, while you have the option of a night-stop in Cannes instead? Good decision, well made!:)

Thanks CVR, I've finally managed to figure out where you're coming from. To answer your question : YES, I have worked with them. I know several of them working in Aer Lingus, Ryanair, British Airways, City Jet, CHC, AAIU, etc. You’ll find them at the top level in several aviation organisations, so they must be doing something right. They never claim to be Top Gun material (if fact they are all flying civilian aircraft in military colours). But something never changes; you’ll always get someone on the other side of the fence who thinks he knows it all and believes he could do a better job. By the way : what is your gripe with the Air Corps?. Did you fail the aptitude test?.

http://eu.airliners.net/photos/photos/1/9/3/1150391.jpg
nice looking moving map.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1150391/L/

:ok: