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  • Eurocopter EC135

    Ireland Seeks Helo Training for Air Corps

    The Irish Air Corps is seeking helicopter simulator time to provide initial and recurrent training for its Eurocopter EC135 twin-engine light helicopters.

    The service has issued a solicitation for proposals for a two-year contract involving 92 hours of simulator training per year. The sim must also be certified for night-vision goggles or the contractor should provide NVG stimulation in the live environment.

    In recent years the IAC has used EC135 simulators in Germany and the U.K., notably at the German Army School of Aviation in Bückeberg and with U.K. civilian contractor Bond Helicopters. There are currently no EC135 simulators in Ireland, although locating one there would be an option for bidding organizations.

    The deadline for responses to the solicitation is Nov. 23, with the contract due to come into operation in January.

    The EC135 is used as the main ab initio rotary-wing training aircraft. The IAC will provide its own instructors for the training.

    Ireland has a small air arm largely devoted to domestic patrol duties, which has nevertheless undergone considerable modernization in recent years. Ageing Fouga Magister jets have been replaced by Pilatus PC-9M turboprops, and equally elderly Alouette III helicopters have been supplanted by six AgustaWestland AW139 medium-lift transport machines plus two EC135s for pilot training and utility transport.

  • #2
    Whats the story with the pranged 135, theyre saying 2 135's but realistically will that one be brought back online again at all?
    "He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
    "No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

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    • #3
      opps, not in public domaine

      The aircraft in question is at Eurocopter awaiting a slot in the production run so it can be placed in the assembly jigs for rebuilding....
      "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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      • #4
        So it CAN be fixed. f**king good stuff, thanks Turkey was worried it would be a write off and eventually go the way of the crashed PC9 (RIP) and the cessna (RIP) and have no attrition replacements purchased.
        "He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
        "No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

        Comment


        • #5
          Don't forget 2x GASU EC135s

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          • #6
            No hadnt forgotten them and I know the AC flies those, but those 2 aircraft are on the DOJ's books and it would be a shame if the air corps own fleet was reduced to one example.
            "He is an enemy officer taken in battle and entitled to fair treatment."
            "No, sir. He's a sergeant, and they don't deserve no respect at all, sir. I should know. They're cunning and artful, if they're any good. I wouldn't mind if he was an officer, sir. But sergeants are clever."

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Turkey View Post
              The aircraft in question is at Eurocopter awaiting a slot in the production run so it can be placed in the assembly jigs for rebuilding....


              Thats great news, glad that the machine is being rebuilt rather than take the easy option and write it off!!.

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              • #8
                Well, that depends on how much a total rebuild is going to cost, because if it means new engines, gearbox and rotors, you may as well build a new one. it might not be that much of a bargain.

                regards
                GttC

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                • #9
                  If it is going back on the production line then it will be going back for a full rebuild and will come out as good as new at about the same cost as new. Lucky it was only a 'hard landing'

                  As for the sim there isnt a hope that a 135 sim will be located in Ireland to service the small numbers of hours that would be required by the AC. Good move though, more sim training will release the current airframe and the second when it returns for more operational use.

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                  • #10
                    I'd say there are more than 3/4 EC135s being operated in the State, depending on how often the AC want them it may be cheaper than flying to the UK (or further).

                    Also nothing to stop people from other countries using a EC135 sun in Ireland.

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                    • #11
                      Bond use a 135 to bring workers to the Kinsale Gas rig.


                      Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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                      • #12
                        The 135 sims are 'relatively' low cost compared to larger commercial level D sims and are therefore fairly common throughout Europe. This means that there would be little or no interest in European operators travelling to Ireland for sim training. Therefore the main source of customer for an Irish sim would need to come from Ireland. Bond in Cork have their own sim in the UK, Irish Helis might use it but would have a small requirement, corporate operators probably don't do any sim training. That leaves the IAC 135 pilots as the primary source (GASU and IAC).

                        Allowing for a 20hr basic course (Prob about all you can do on a sim) for 5 students and say 10 hrs recurrent training for 20 pilots thats a total of approx. 300hrs per year. Round it up to 400 to allow for extras such as basic NVG training etc.

                        To be commercially viable an operator is likely to want about 2000hrs per year so there is a 1600hr shortfall. If the IAC wanted to fund the purchase and then sell the hours it might work but a commercial operator wont fund a move into Ireland based on the IAC requirement alone, its just too small.

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                        • #13
                          Can a T2 sim also train P2 pilots?


                          Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

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                          • #14
                            I don't know the 2 types well enough to say definitively but the major differences in the T2 / P2 are mostly FADEC related and some small performance differences. From a piloting perspective it all gets run through the avionics which present the info in similar format so I would imagine it would be fine. Maybe just a differences course afterwards may be needed.

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                            • #15
                              Oopps, just read the link above. Apparently the IAC are only looking for 92hrs per year for 2 years. That would be a no to a sim in Ireland so.

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