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If you saw the willingness of some military individuals to prostrate themselves before even the lowest of Government officials, then you could be fooled into thinking that the sole reason for the Don to exist was to move Ministers on allegedly vital tasks like opening off-licenses. The worst thing about internal MATS flights is that a Merc will always be dispatched from Dublin to carry the Minister from the landing point to his tape-cutting and back again.
regards
GttC
dick spring was famous for this, rumoured to have blown his top if only a fixed wing was available to fly him home as he would have to wait for his car to arrive from Dublin to bring him the rest of the trip.
The helicopter could of course land at his house, the driver would still have to make the trip, in case he could not be flown back again....
"We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
Radio transmission, siege of Jadotville DR Congo. September 1961.
Illegitimi non carborundum
dick spring was famous for this, rumoured to have blown his top if only a fixed wing was available to fly him home as he would have to wait for his car to arrive from Dublin to bring him the rest of the trip.
The helicopter could of course land at his house, the driver would still have to make the trip, in case he could not be flown back again....
Ya could'ent make it up.
He was also famous for cribbing about being served steak all the time on the Govt Jet
socalist spring my arse
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere***
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Short trips to Dublin airport and back will continue until the Don is brought up to full Cat III status, which is highly unlikely.
They should do three things, to my mind, to achieve proper utility: shift GASU entirely to the Gardai, totally(there is no good mental, legal or logistical reason not to); shift MATS entirely to DFA; replace the Cessnas with a pair of basic Defenders.
regards
GttC
Of coursel he never flew in the luxury of the Gulfstream, as it came into use after he moved on. He does however suffer with severe back trouble, and I'm sure the short hop in a cramped aircraft would exaggerate things.
P.S. His Brother was a Great Rugby Player.
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.
OK, before it gets any dafter, it might suprise people to know that the Cessanas replaced the De Havilland Dove[see March in the 2009 Air Corps calender]
So a Casa or 4 replaceing the Cessanas, and 3 pretty much useless aircrafts is not so silly after all is it?
"We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
Radio transmission, siege of Jadotville DR Congo. September 1961.
Illegitimi non carborundum
OK, before it gets any dafter, it might suprise people to know that the Cessanas replaced the De Havilland Dove[see March in the 2009 Air Corps calender]
So a Casa or 4 replaceing the Cessanas, and 3 pretty much useless aircrafts is not so silly after all is it?
What exactly are the jobs that need to be done? For example, a CASA is hardly going to be used for top cover on a cash escort. Does no Cessnas mean an end to that task? And as far as I can recall, the current White Paper on Defence says that we don't need military transport aircraft for on-island work - because the army is distributed around the country and the roads are ok and the island's not that big anyway - so CASAs would only be required for international transport and/or deployment overseas. So who, when, where, how often? Would a secondhand midsize airliner be more useful, for example, for deploying/rotating troops overseas, and bringing people to EU battlegroup exercises? (The New Zealanders bought a couple of secondhand Boeing 757s.)
To be honest I am not sure where to take this , but I would see replaceing a batch of aircrafts, some which serve no real purpose like the GIV and the Lear jet, and some of the Cessana functions with an aircraft that can have a bigger role, the rest of the Cessana functions I would replace with more Helicopters , possable the EC135.
The end result would be more capablity with less types, [a step to Eden for the bean counters].
"We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
Radio transmission, siege of Jadotville DR Congo. September 1961.
Illegitimi non carborundum
True, They also increase the hours on the log books for when the pilots leave, Which is the stated aim of the OC according to a interview he give in a issue of Fly Ireland. So whats right for the Air Corps may not suite the C.Vs of fellow gentlemen moving on to better things.
That'd do......give the Rangers one for jumping out of.Cheap as chips(comparatively), land anywhere, easy to ferry to foreign hotspots,etc,etc...........the Doves were replaced because they were so knackered, people were refusing to fly in them, especially over the sea........I remember telling a life-long Labour supporter, who adored Spring, Dick, that he was a frequent user of the Govt jet,etc,etc. Guy practically had a coronary, to hear that his idol had feet of clay
regards
GttC
OK, before it gets any dafter, it might suprise people to know that the Cessanas replaced the De Havilland Dove[see March in the 2009 Air Corps calender]:confused:
Tony, have you a story about this please , 'cause I would really like the definitive version.
"We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey"
Radio transmission, siege of Jadotville DR Congo. September 1961.
Illegitimi non carborundum
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