Chiv
 

Chiv seems to be thought of as the crowning jewel of SAR in the UK, indeed they have generally great stats and good engineers but lets not forget the other sites out there that also get good serviceability and consistently provide cabs i.e. Wattisham for one.:ok:

My View is go AirKnight, VT have slowly proved their worth more so it may be said than AW in this current endeavour.
I for one don’t like the fact that Soteria or CHC have cashed in their SAR operations on the other side of the pond as soon as their profit margins started tailing off.:=

Sadly many ex-mil heli engineers have worked on large RN squadrons?!
 

Crab, I have to call you out on the comment above. Any squadron is at the whim of the aircrew/engineer interface - I've served on 2 "big" ASW squadrons and while there's always a few lazy aircrew - the driver/fixer relationship was excellent.

You may have a done a stint at 771 I suppose but even if that was a frosty relationship, it's not necessarily indicative of other RN squadrons. GANNET's (civvy) engineers are top of the line BTW.

I'm afraid me oldo, that you don't know what you're talking about there. Stick to what you do know, or at least have the decency to admit when you're speculating, good lad.

i dont think it matters who is running it. Everyone involved, AirKnight, Soteria, MOD, all have their good points and bad.

As Long as the get the best from their aircraft and people, and remember it is an important service they are providing, not a cash cow. then it matters not who does it!

ScottishBeefer - I say as I find - at MPA there are 3 shifts and they have naturally polarised to ex-RAF and ex-RN. At the moment we are sharing a crewroom due to works services - the ex-RAF shift sit there and drink coffee with us chewing the fat and putting the world to rights - the ex-RN shift squeeze themselves into a tiny office because they can't bring themselves to share with aircrew and have never experienced shared crewroom facilities.

Personally I believe that shared aircrew groundcrew crewrooms are the way forward (although we don't have one at Chiv because of lack of space) - it goes a long way to preventing the 'them and us' mindset.

Crab: Ahhh the smell of burning bridges again :ugh:
When will you ever learn. You have spent your ENTIRE working life in ONE job, you know nothing of the real aviation world, and guess what...................................
I suspect you never will after those engineering comments, tut tut tut. You should be ashamed.

This is all very interesting, but there is a deafening silence regarding any further speculation on announcement timetable....

anyone...

Bueller.....Bueller...!

Seniortrooper - just to put you straight - I may have been employed by the RAF for 28 years but I have worked in many different units, including another Service with many different engineering setups, military and civ, so I am afraid your simplistic condemnation is, as ever, unwarranted.

However, I may have overstepped the mark in my criticism of Valley engineering and put some noses out of joint so I apologise for that but my remarks should be read in context and not sensationalised by those wishing to take offence.

My comments were also referring to a fairly well documented difficult period shortly after transition to SKIOS and I know that there are plenty of people working hard to improve the situation there and it is certainly better now than it was a year ago.

Crab,

Ever thought of joining the Labour party, their u-turns are just as impressive!

Detgnome- hold your breath just a lttle longer and all will be told.

I thought that I had conceded in my "cherry" post, the fact that the transitional stage for SKIOS at Valley was, as my quote shows "at the very least lacking". Still struggling could not be any further from the current, true engineering picture at C Flt. This is truly my unbiased opinion. If I truly believed anything to the contrary about my team, I would be the first person to bring my concerns to the fore, rose tinted glasses or not. Flight Safety is at the end of the day, paramount.

So in a final underlining, I would like to state, that in no way is Valley's SKIOS engineering department "still struggling". Comp washes are carried out regularly and I still love my mum :O

For what it's worth and at the risk of stating the obvious I think that the quality of engineering service provided at any given SAR base (or any aviation base come to that) depends on the ATTITUDE of the individuals concerned particularly the engineering boss.
I can remember being at Chivenor and the engineering was superb, (still is I understand) whilst at Leconfield it was poor for a long time and that was due in large part to a militant FS Eng. Successive Flt Cdrs tried to remove him but it proved impossible for years and the Flt suffered as a consequence.

Good attitude comes from good leadership at all levels, I am sure that will be provided when the right team wins SARH.

Scottishbeefer....In my opinion the whole of the Gannet setup both aircrew and ground crew are the tops!!..:ok::ok::ok::ok::ok:

Just popped in here to read the same sort of drivel from "Crab" that I got on my recent post regarding a missing person in Fife.......How can you fly SAR duties with your head up your arse?? :cool::cool::cool:

fisbangwollop

I thought " head up arse" was a naval tradition not an RAF habit?;)

HF

Apparently, if you're under way it's ok.. (original phrase modified to be slightly more PC!)

Preferred bidder to be announced in early February.;) No announcement on which year :E

When, when, oh when?
 

9th Feb is what I hear.

about time - what's the hold up?

They're waiting for me to get back in the country:E

ref ex RN Engineers MPA
 

Crab have you ever considered that due to your obvious contempt for civ engineers they may be just avoiding you ?

How tedious - my posts don't contain any obvious contempt for anyone, least of all the guys and girls who keep me and my colleagues up in the air:ugh:

Maybe its just everyone else!?