armrdsoul77
Full Member
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What's that?
OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
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Yean crayon eaters are inquisitive too.
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TCR= Tactical Control Radar.
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Tx CP, yeah, autocorrect tried to correct Alenia’s dumb-ass move…
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To be accurate - the Buffalo was providing SAR across all of Canada long before we used the Herc. The Buff school was in Trenton. Summerside had Buffs.
The Herc is a great dump truck. It’s not a great SAR machine.
Cabin height is a misnomer as the -295 enjoys the same cabin height as the -149. Somehow the Corm still is effective for STs.
My comments remain - anyone truly involved in the actual flying of the plane and conducting the OT&E have expressed positive thoughts about the future of FWSAR.
We're talking about a situation that is further away than many of today's crewmembers have been on the planet. And with changes in geographic posture come different requirements for distance, speed and endurance.
When we we're working on the specs we had two planting scenarios driving a lot of our math:
1) Departure from Winnipeg to the pole.
2) Departure from Greenwood to 30° W.
Arriving on site at the absolute edge of the AOR with the payload and endurance to execute a search, drop payload and/or techs, provide top cover for reasonable period of time (possibly intervals by going off-station to refuel). These were our driving concerns. You know what aircraft can do that today? The H-model.
Sure the Herc is a dump truck. But that has a certain value in this scenario. The Kingfisher will always be tight at the edge of the AOR in comparison to a Herc. But for the majority of cases (which aren't that far from an MOB), it's perfectly fine. I'll concede that.
We had taller techs try The cabin with helmets and NVGs on. They were bumping up at the ceiling. And found it awkward to work around the SAR bundle. But demanding 98th percentile male as mandatory basically reduced the competition to the Herc and Spartan so the team relented and reduced that to 95th percentile male. Is this a huge problem? As you note, it's the same height as the 149. I would suggest this is not ideal.
I think for me, I know all the tradeoffs and compromises made in that time period. We fought really hard to get something better. And going through that process we know how much better the alternatives were. So it's going to be hard to forget that. The Maj pilot we had on the team, really didn't like the process. He quit towards the end of writing the high level requirements and went to Transport Canada. Didn't want to his name on this.
I'm glad crews are okay with it now. That honestly does offer some comfort. But I'll always think of what could have been.
Looks like the radar on the Kingfisher (https://www.iai.co.il/p/elm-2022) has been superseded by an improved version:
www.navalnews.com
I'm not sure how much better the new radar is, but hopefully the RCAF doesn't start to run into obsolescence issues with the current radar, which we haven't even really had a chance to use yet!
IAI Announces First Delivery of New Multi-Mode, Multi-Role Airborne Surveillance Radar - Naval News
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has delivered its new C-catcher Multi-Mode, Multi-Role Airborne Surveillance Radar to a strategic customer.
www.navalnews.com
I'm not sure how much better the new radar is, but hopefully the RCAF doesn't start to run into obsolescence issues with the current radar, which we haven't even really had a chance to use yet!
a risk for sure but considering this contract goes back to early 2005 it is likely that more than just the radar unit is approaching obsolescence. We should probably be actively pursuing a replacement aircraft. Zoomie made a comment way back on page one regarding a/c selection that is probably still applicable. " The Dash series by Bombardier are very much like our Spanish friends and their CASA. Civilian airliner converted to a role that it is not quite suited for." SadLooks like the radar on the Kingfisher (https://www.iai.co.il/p/elm-2022) has been superseded by an improved version:
IAI Announces First Delivery of New Multi-Mode, Multi-Role Airborne Surveillance Radar - Naval News
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has delivered its new C-catcher Multi-Mode, Multi-Role Airborne Surveillance Radar to a strategic customer.
I'm not sure how much better the new radar is, but hopefully the RCAF doesn't start to run into obsolescence issues with the current radar, which we haven't even really had a chance to use yet!
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what other product would we get from Airbus?
Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Relic
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Airbus really does not have a product that is designed for this type of work. We are shoehorning a platform into a role that is not really designed for. Hence the long and tortuous path to get it into service. The other aircraft was more fit for service, but frankly the company's rep and previous actions left a lot to be desired. The main benefit of the Airbus platform is their aftermarket support.
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ok ive been confused on this for awhile as i couldnt see a better offering
I may be in a minority on this but I would have voted for the C390 from Embraer for the speed or, failing that more C130s, gaining the benefits of commonality.
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did we dump the C390 because it wasnt in production?
didnt LM pull out earlier over disagreement about simulator use/provision?
never heard the real reason although production was an issue. I have suspicions that the fact it was the competition for Bombardier and Bombardier didn't come up with the idea first but that is only my thinking
The C390 was still in prototype form and not full production at the time the FWSAR choice was finally made.
Yes. Bid required ability to deliver certified aircraft by a date which excluded the 390. This was considered developmental risk after MHP experience.
Colin Parkinson
Army.ca Relic
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Not good at all. Plus trying to saying, "It's fine, Winnipeg is the same distance to the arctic", does not account for the far greater population on the West Coast, I certainly hope the PAO did not actually say that and it was a misquote.
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this is pretty insane. Big risk of turning ugly. Theres what 6 aircraft in Comox? The rest in Europe including 3 that went back?
OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
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What strategic genius thought this was a good idea? Facepalm
