Irish Military Online is in no way affiliated with the Irish Defence Forces. It is in no way sponsored or endorsed by the Irish Defence Forces or the Irish Government. Opinions expressed by the authors and contributors of this site are not necessarily those of the Defence Forces. If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
What are Air Corps Aircraft used for on day to day basis?
The infrastucture & personnel are already in the Don for maritime patrol.
I do take your point about basing the CASAs at one of the south/west airports (or Finner). Basing them there would mean patrols are spent more time in their AO (having said that the radar can detect targets once it takes of from the Don.
Well,using the same logic, the AC will never leave Baldonnel.........what does the NS have that is unobtainable elsewhere? Apc, the AC does not operate like an airline in the sense that the only scheduled flights it operates are the daily Maritime patrols and they will be flown unlss the aircraft are unavailable or the weather in the patrol zone is unsuitable. When they are training, they operate a nominal daily schedule which is frequently subject to change. The only fixed rule is that there are no fixed rules.
regards
GttC
The NS already train in firefighting. But as you would be operating from a civilian airfield,(as I suggested in the rest of my post which you did not quote)
which already has the assets you speak of, this would not be an issue. As for line maintenance, those AC people currently engaged in maintenance of the CASA either transfer to NS, (and operate NS working hours) or the NS DE suitably qualified people.
sailors are not aviation firefighters. Its a totally different kettle of fish than what they are trained for!
I really cant see many techies being pleased about transferring to Haulbowline.
So the guys wearing the silver suits, manning the monitors, on Eithnes helideck on the 3 or four times the Air Corpse landed on its deck... what were they waiting for ??
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.
The casa is a cat5 aircraft which means when it lands at an airport it must have at least cat5 level fire cover. This means that there must be at least 5 aviation fire fighter (75% of fire fighters on station must be properly certified) There must also be a fire tender which can cover cat5 aircraft or above (so it can carry enough media on it). All air corps firefighters are aviation certified.
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.
I I think at present the aer corps is not being utilised enough. We do not need training aircraft, they seem only to train pilots for civil aviation. Our anti aircraft assets ( bofors, RBS) arent deployed with our ground troops on UN duty which is about the only place they would be used.
The Maritime patrol aircraft should be increased.
SAR should never have been taken from the Aer Corps.
Aer Corp should operate the air ambulance service and the Garda Fleet, its better use of skills and gives the Aer Corps greater usefulness.
We have aeroplanes and helicopters that will never ever be used in anger, maybe the Aer Corps can put them to better use serving the public.
We do not need training aircraft, they seem only to train pilots for civil aviation.
So maybe they could just read the manual and away they go?? If you contracted in a civilian organisation to train pilots, the taxpayer would still foot the bill. Would there be anything different to stop a pilot running off to an airline?? I'm a civilian pilot, for an Irish airline. People have this crazy impression that the Air Corps is a training centre for Irish airlines..BULLSHIT! Do you know how many pilots work for my airline: over 1000. How many ex Air Corps pilots have I met? ONE!!! How many pilots do you think the Air Corps has?? It's a miniscule number. No airline depends on the Air Corps for pilots. They dont have enough.
Our anti aircraft assets ( bofors, RBS) arent deployed with our ground troops on UN duty which is about the only place they would be used.
The Air Corps does not operate these assets.
SAR should never have been taken from the Aer Corps.
Wrong. Outsource. It can be done cheaper by a civilian contractor, without the outlay required to buy the right machines for the job-therby safeguarding the Defence budget for military equipment.
Aer Corp should operate the air ambulance service and the Garda Fleet, its better use of skills and gives the Aer Corps greater usefulness.
Wrong again I'm afraid, both are a drain on Air Corps manpower and resources. The Gardai should be responsible for the operation of theur own fleet. Internationally Air Ambulance services are civilian operated-there is absolutely no need for the military to be ivolved.
Hi JJ,
You've only met one Donner, so far? It's early days yet. You got in after the early waves of Donners, then.I assure you, they are out there, especially in Cityjet and EI and will always be there and will always have an influence, just like the exRAF people do in the UK. The Brown Boot network was there before you and will outlive you.
regards
Gttc
The numbers are very low here Mick. I have met one. I know of a couple more. I have flown with none. Their numbers in the overall scheme of things here are not high enough to be noticed. With around 200 aircraft, well in excess of 1000 pilots and 33 bases across Europe, they are the proverbial needle in a haystack. Of that fleet of 200 aircraft - there are 30 based in Ireland. The majority of the pilot body is not Irish anymore. Maybe in the days of a 20 aircraft fleet-but not anymore.
Cityjet is/was a known destination for ex-Donners alright.
Not so much here-anymore that is. You will find that a lot of the early waves of Donners have simply moved on I'd imagine. There definitely isn't a flow or even a trickle at the moment. I'm guessing that they maybe account for 5% of Irish pilots-max. I'm also going to hazard an educated guess that Irish pilots account for maybe 10-15% of overall flight crew. (Will be keeping an eye open for you in DUB from next month..)
It usually takes 4 flight crews to operate an aircraft in airline service. That is 8 pilots per aircraft. The following are actual fleet numbers, with pilot numbers calculated on that basis. They are not the official numbers, but the basic required numbers.
Aer Lingus: 44 Aircraft, 352 pilots
City Jet: 27 Aircraft, 216 Pilots
Aer Arann 11 Aircraft, 88 Pilots
Ryanair 199 Aircraft/30 Irish based, 1592 Pilots, 240 Irish based Pilots
Total: 281 Aircraft 2248 Pilots
896 Irish based pilots. At any one time.
How many pilot's have the Air Corps trained in the past 20 years? I would guess that it is below 100. Spread over 20 years.
Look at the pilot requirements above to keep the Irish airlines flying. To suggest that the Air Corps is an important feeder to Irish airlines is a myth that should be put to bed once and for all.
The casa is a cat5 aircraft which means when it lands at an airport it must have at least cat5 level fire cover. This means that there must be at least 5 aviation fire fighter (75% of fire fighters on station must be properly certified) There must also be a fire tender which can cover cat5 aircraft or above (so it can carry enough media on it). All air corps firefighters are aviation certified.
Which is why Cork Airport would be an ideal location to base it then.
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Comment