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  • #31
    Another snag?

    Martin flight delayed by hydraulic leak
    Friday, 21 November 2008 19:50

    Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has had his return trip from Georgia delayed due to a technical problem on the Government jet.

    The jet, which has recently been refurbished, is being checked for a hydraulic leak.

    The Government delegation had been due to leave before lunchtime today but the leak delayed their departure and they are now scheduled to leave for Ireland later tonight.

    The Minister had been holding talks with the Georgian government.

    Minister Martin met Irish members of the EU military monitoring mission around the disputed boundary area between Georgia and the two break-away enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

    He has also met ethnic Georgian refugees who are still unable to return to their villages following alleged ethnic cleansing by pro-Russian South Ossetian militia.


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

    Comment


    • #32


      What is the writers point?

      This is normal maintainance that the AC doesn't have the capability to complete.

      Thought IMHO they should consider leasing giving the ecomonic pressure we are under.

      Comment


      • #33
        Somebody wants these stories to be in the media, so as the prepare/influence public opinion and/or put pressure on decision-makers. Either the Air Corps, the Taoiseach and/or Govt. Ministers, or companies that fancy their chances of selling us an aircraft.

        Journalists are basically lazy and tend to hunt in packs. PR companies know this - many of them are ex-journalists - so they create stories and often do the actual writing, or else they arrange 'leaks' or 'exclusives'.

        So treat what you read/see/hear in the media with a great deal of cynicism. Bottom-line is "whose interests are served by this story?"

        Comment


        • #34
          Buy a QC. Takes Cargo, Troops or VIPs dependent on what you fit.

          Current completed cost is about €13.5m or 1.3 per yr over a standard 10 years.
          That leaves €3.7 mil to operate the aircraft and dosent even include the saving made by not having to charter troop rotations and cargo flights to hot sunny spots. Surely even the Air Corps could stay within that budget

          Comment


          • #35
            I am shocked and appalled at the work they are putting into keeping this heap of junk in the air - sure it was only a year ago that it underwent annual maintenance....
            "Attack your attic with a Steyr....as seen on the Late Late Show..."

            Comment


            • #36
              Never let facts get in the way of a sensationalist headline.



              Title: GIV Annual Maintenance, Engine Mid-Life Maintenance & Repaint
              Published by: Air Corps Contracts Section
              Publication Date: 20/01/2009
              Application Deadline: 20/02/2009
              Notice Deadline Date: 02/03/2009
              Notice Deadline Time: 12:00
              Notice Type: Contract Notice
              Has Documents: Yes
              Abstract: Gulfstream IV Annual Maintenance to be completed by July 2009.The completion of engine mid-life maintenance on one Gulfstream IV Tay Engine, with an option for a second engine.Full repaint on the Gulfstream IV aircraft, to be completed during August 2009.
              CPV: 50211000.
              Aircraft undergo maintenance... Big deal!


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

              Comment


              • #37
                I think easyrider has a point. Somebody is buttering up the public for a new plane and the papers are lapping it up.

                Comment


                • #38






                  258 on a recent trip to Madrid
                  Last edited by Fireplace; 15 May 2009, 22:29.
                  You will never have a quiet world until you knock the patriotism out of the human race

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    Originally posted by Fireplace View Post






                    258 on a visit to Madrid
                    Fireplace, those images are blocked, can you upload them to another server and relink?

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      258 likes to get around, it was parked on the ramp outside the airport fire station in Cork airport this evening after making a flawless landing, have to admit it did look well on the app to 35, no pictures as the camera died on me earlier
                      Only the dead have seen the end of war - Plato

                      "Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory" Proverbs 11-14
                      http://munsterfireandrescue.com

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        Sounds to me like spin..

                        Government jet doubles as air ambulance six times in year
                        Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - 01:41 PM



                        A Government jet has been transformed into an air ambulance six times this year for critical medical missions, it emerged today.

                        The Defence Forces revealed its Air Corps has been involved in 44 urgent cases in recent months.

                        In the last week alone a sick child was flown from England to Our Lady’s Hospital Crumlin while lifesaving organs have also been transported between hospitals.

                        The Defence Forces said the Health Service Executive (HSE) requests a crew when time and speed is critical for saving a life.

                        “The Air Corps gives the HSE an option that can save lives,” said Captain Pat O’Connor, Defence Forces spokesman.

                        “In these operations, most of the time, the critical factor is time.

                        “They can move people fast, safely and without the need for these patients to move through commercial flights and airports.”

                        Aircraft are quickly fitted with full life support equipment and a medic brought on board.
                        Records show the Air Corps, which is on standby 24 hours a day, completed: 133 flying hours on medical cases so far this year.

                        Missions included eight neo-natal cases, 11 organ retrievals and 25 inter hospital transfers.

                        The Government Learjet was used six times, the maritime patrol Casa plane in nine cases, and the AW139 helicopter 24 times.

                        Last year more than 250 hours of flying time were completed in 87 air ambulance missions, which included removing two injured people from islands.

                        While this civil community support has been ongoing for years, a formal agreement signed with the Department of Health and Children in November 2007 covers the emergency transfer of patients between hospitals in Ireland and the UK.

                        Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London is a frequent destination.

                        The Air Corps said it covers a wide range of roles including Presidential and ministerial transport, Garda air support, and military transport.

                        Elsewhere, it is on standby for major incidents, like the Navan bus crash a couple of years ago where a number of helicopters were offered but were not subsequently needed.

                        The Learjet can also be used for strategic evacuations on military missions abroad.



                        Read more: http://www.examiner.ie/breakingnews/...#ixzz0OdPrqU8f
                        They say "the government jet" as if there is only one. In effect there is 2(previously 3) dedicated Government fixed wing aircraft. They seem to be trying hard to turn the Casa into one too, if the figures for use are anything to go by.

                        Not surprising that this would be allowed, given the GOC AC is ex MATS pilot.
                        Last edited by Goldie fish; 19 August 2009, 15:27.


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

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          In fairness there are alot of air ambulance flights out of the don!

                          The casa's and lear are usually used and ive also saw the 139s at it aswell!

                          Comment


                          • #43
                            The CASA was being used for MATS missions.

                            Comment


                            • #44
                              I didn't know the CASA could take passengers. Isn't it full of surveillance equipment?

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                There is a small rest area for crew (I think it has airline type seats).

                                They were used to bring civil servants to Belfast just after the GFA.

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