JEAN‘S LEGACY FOR THE CF? ( PART 1)

[Danjanou]

http://www.canada.com/components/printstory/printstory4.aspx?id=27fa21e0-7c30-4429-a35d-

PM‘s jets first to get safety device
Cockpit systems not ordered for military

Glen Mcgregor
CanWest News Service

Tuesday December 23, 2003

OTTAWA - The Prime Minister‘s fleet of Challenger executive jets are the only Canadian Forces aircraft scheduled to receive a US$143,000 safety upgrade designed to prevent Swissair-type aviation disasters.

The government announced last week it will equip the six VIP jets with equipment that helps pilots see in the event their cockpit suddenly fills with smoke. The Emergency Vision Assurance Systems (EVAS) provide pilots with inflatable plastic shields that keep smoke out of their line of vision to the flight controls.

So far, the government has not ordered the units for any type of aircraft other than the Challengers, which are used to transport the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers, the Governor-General and visiting members of the royal family.
Jay Hill, the Canadian Alliance defence critic, said that if the equipment is good enough for the Prime Minister‘s plane, it should also be used to protect Canadian Forces members travelling on other aircraft. ‘‘If it‘s warranted for the Challengers, they should consider it for all of our aircraft,‘‘ Mr. Hill said. ‘‘It should be in the Airbuses, it should be in the Auroras, to provide an increased level of security for the crews.‘‘

The Department of Public Works and Government Services is also seeking suppliers to provide six new cabin seats for the Challengers. The contract offer specifies seats that can rotate 360 degrees and recline fully. They must also have retractable armrests and recline-style footrests, the contract offer says.

The untendered contract for the smoke equipment was issued to New Jersey-based EVASWorldwide, the only company that makes units certified for use in the Challenger. The contract was published three days after the federal Cabinet announced an across-the-board freeze of all capital spending projects of more than $5-million, pending a review.

The company will supply 12 EVAS units for installation on the six jets currently flown by the Canadian Forces, including the two new models that former prime minister Jean Chretien‘s government bought for $101-million on the last day of the 2002 fiscal year.

Craig Randolph, the company‘s sales manager for North America, said the units could be used in virtually any military aircraft, including transport planes and tankers and even Canada‘s CF-18 fighter jets. ‘‘They can literally be used in any aircraft, strategic or tactical,‘‘ he said. The company is working with the U.S. Air National Guard to equip their KC135 tanker fleet with EVAS units, he said.
The new equipment will give Paul Martin, the Prime Minister, and Canada‘s other VIP travellers a degree of safety not available to travellers on most commercial airlines. So far, only U.S.-based discount airline JetBlue has installed the units on passenger jets.

Swissair had considered buying the equipment as early as 1993, but declined because of budget concerns, said Mr. Randolph. Five years later, Swissair Flight 111 crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia after the cockpit filled with smoke believed to be from a wiring fire.

The fleet of Challenger and Gulfstream executive jets used by the Royal Australian Air Force to transport the Prime Minister have also been fitted with the units, Mr. Randolph said.

A National Defence department spokesman said no one was available to comment on the purchase of new Challenger equipment.

(Ottawa Citizen)

 

[Michael Dorosh]

I don‘t see the point of broadcasting this, either. Every military organization puts a value on the usefulness of its members. You issue all the infantrymen with flak jackets and helmets, but if you don‘t have enough helmets, guess what? The company cook doesn‘t get one.

We live in a society where the Governor-General, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence rate more highly than the military, as they are further up the chain of command. It is not a huge insult to expend more money on their personal safety and security than we would on the military, that‘s just the way it is. If you‘re in the middle of a shooting war, and your head of state dies unexpectedly, or as a result of sabotage, you can imagine that there would be a certain morale effect as well as a disruption of communication.

Look at Berlin on 20 July 1944. They overcame their difficulties because they had a totalitarian state. We don‘t have that "luxury".

When President Roosevelt died in 1945, it was expected and there was a transition of power such that the war effort wasn‘t immediately effected.

As cold as it is to say, a president or prime minister‘s life is "worth more"; it if wasn‘t, they wouldn‘t have a secret service, now would they. Not that I want to directly compare Jean Chretien‘s personal worth against any of our servicemen, but in the coldly logical world in which the military operates, it is a fact that the PM is worth more than anyone below him. Hence the increased security, and attendant dollars that are spent on his protection.

And besides - if this device is only useful in the event of a wiring fire - do we not believe that military aircraft are maintained to sufficiently high standards to prevent electrical fires in the first place? I stand to be corrected on that; perhaps they are as common as dirt. But could this device even be used on tactical or combat aircraft without hampering the pilot?