Sea King

[will]

Rabby I definetly typed that in but it has not shown up as you said.
Oh well
Will

[rabby]

Ha! Why don't I believe you?

Also, what about those Augusta 109's that were captured during the Falklands, what are they doing these days?

[voodoo sprout]

I believe the Army Air Corps still operate A109's in the special forces support role; basically ferrying SAS blokes from one place to another when they can't be bothered to get themselvs there like everyone else. I'm not sure whether they're from the Falklands or anything though.

"You expect ME to drive? Do you know who I am? I'm SAS, now fetch me my personal helicopter or I'll have you fired by breakfast, peasant!"

[Darren]

last I saw the sea king HC4 was operating really well in Iraq funny isn't it that in Bosnia and Iraq the helecopter left behing was the HC4 of the Royal Navy and not Puma.
BTW can anyone confirm wether the AAC has goten bell 212's for Belize I kno they have been operating them in Brunei since the 1990's.

[df2inaus]

In the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), they've had Sea Kings since 1963. Lately several have crashed, notably the one that broke in half after a bad landing aboard HMCS Iroquois, forcing the ship to turn back to port while heading to the Persian Gulf in 2003. They are referred to by their pilots as "10,000 nuts and bolts flying in loose formation."

The Canadian PM cancelled the purchase of EH-101's in 1993 to appease the left and keep the military weak. He's been under attack by the opposition and the military ever since. A typical statistic reported is that the RCN Sea Kings spend 30 hrs being maintained for every hour in the air. A civvy I know who does helicopter maintenance said that cannot be true and that they should be able to fly forever. The problem with that is that the Canadian military is so short of money and personnel that they can't be properly maintained, hence the demand for the EH-101's.

I have no love for the Canadian PM and will celebrate his departure from office on 12 December, as will every member of the Canadian military.

But I have some questions as a matter of interest. The Royal Navy maintains Sea Kings-what is their record? Can they fly forever? Do they require 30 hours maintenance for every hour in the air? Will the EH-101 suffer the same fate as the Sea King if the personnel aren't there?