Need for a Light Heli?

[hedgehog]

I read in one of the papers this weekend that

because of the credit crunch a lot of our super millionaires etc are being forced to sell there

choppers at a vast discount

would it be an idea if the Aer Corps bought a few of these helicopters at the knock down price

I am talking about ones compatable (ish) with the ones we already have

but why not also the little 2 and 4 seater ones as well

[Goldie fish]

Sadly most of the upwardly mobile here went and bought useless robinson piston engine helis. Those who operate our types can still afford to do so.
If you can't afford to buy it, you can't afford to run it, happily. But if there was a few cheap surplus EC135T2 or P2 floating around......

[hedgehog]

why not get a couple of the robinsons and use them for the mundane stuff like

bringing the COS to the glen and such like

save the hours on the real things

and there is bigger lads for sale as well

[Goldie fish]

I don't think the robinsons would be able to carry his entourage....

[johnny no stars]

why not get a couple of the robinsons and use them for the mundane stuff like

bringing the COS to the glen and such like

save the hours on the real things

and there is bigger lads for sale as well

Because that would be vaguely like making sense. Who on earth wants to do that. Sure why not just pay top price for them and waste yet more money. In fact, why not just buy ten more gulfstreams, sure they'll get a discount then

[warthog]

i don't think the Don would buy single engine choppers again

[hedgehog]

i don't think the Don would buy single engine choppers again

Why not

they are going for a song

and they would save flying hours (is that the correct term) on the good choppers


and my sugggestion is not just restricted to single engine chopper types

we could also get some more planes as well

[DeV]

Safety !

[hedgehog]

Wow if only we had people

who were good at looking at helicopters and aeroplanes

we might even call them aeronautical engineers


and if these fictious people kicked the tyres and had a look at the engine and

wouldnt it be great if every air craft had a book that recoreded how often it flew and when it had a service last

wouldnt it be a blast to call this a log book

and if these fictious engineers had a look at the make beleive log book


you know where I am going with this

[Jetjock]

The likes of a Robinson 22 or 44 are tiny tiny lightweight helicopters that are very limited in what they can do and when they can do it. Because of their controls layout, in training terms they are not really suited to anything other than PPL training for pilots who are going to end up buying one of their own. They are piston engine Avgas drinking machines. They are very weather limited. They are civilian pleasure boys toys only with very little ruggedness when you talk about military flying or even every day commercial flight. The airframes need to be sent back to manufacturer for complete rebuild every 2000 hours or 12 years! Still want them now?
If there were one or two EC120's on the market I'd say jump at it because they could be used for a number of taskings including basic training and VIP transport with the benefit of freeing up the EC-135's for more purely military tasks. There are a few in the country and they are a whole lot more helicopter than the toy from California!

[hedgehog]

If there were one or two EC120's on the market I'd say jump at it because they could be used for a number of taskings including basic training and VIP transport with the benefit of freeing up the EC-135's for more purely military tasks. There are a few in the country and they are a whole lot more helicopter than the toy from California!

Your right the Govt should be looking out for them and snap them up

the Air Corps lads who are in the know and read the magazzines should inform the authorities

[easyrider]

This is one of the EC-120s on the Irish register:



Much more helicopter than a Robinson, but a lot cheaper than an EC-135. The Air Corps used to have a Gazelle for training purposes, and the EC-120 is Eurocopter's Gazelle replacement.

Makes a lot of sense.

[Turkey]

Ehh, 'don't know about this, another type , another series of training courses, another spares inventory.
To be honest, another EC-135 might work out cheaper.

[Jetjock]

Training maybe, but as it is a pretty straight forward type not much. As for maintenance, just like the other helicopters try and get a "power by the hour" arrangement in place. If that fails, have them maintained by a civilian contractor. They wouldn't be operating any missions not considered civilian. Training and MATS. Executive helicopters in Galway have a very impressive set up with at least 2-3 of this type among the twenty or so helicopters in their hangar. They carry out their own maintenance, so if a civilian operation can do it, it's a well within the capabilities of the Air Corps.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi JJ,
The R44, as you know well, is not that light and is quite suitable as a primary flight screener, which is what it is effectively used for in civvy street. Given that the US Army used hundreds of Hughes 369s for years to screen heli pilots, who went on to fly much bigger iron, then the use of a piston helicopter for initial training is a no-brainer. It's modern equivalent is a very,very good and tough helicopter.The R44 is also used for police work in the USA so is perfecrlty capable of semi-military duties.
The Gazelle was lovely but had a very patchy history in the Air Corps.It's nearest equivalent, the Squirrel, once used by the GASU, is now idle at the back of the hangar instead of being used.
I'd exercise the civvie primary flight screening option myself, but the Don pilots would not allow that to happen on pain of death, despite the fact that it works very well in other countries.
regards
GttC