Sea King

[Angry Canuck]

When was the last time we heard about a sea king crash. Seems to me it‘s been some time. Not to say we don‘t need new choppers out in the open waves, but lets face it, there are too many fingers in a very small pie. If we were ever to get new choppers I only hope that we can make them in house, last thing we made in house was a bit of a hit. LAV 3 Anyone?

 

[Zoomie]

Fellow Ranger, the last chopper that we made "in-house" was the Griffon. Made by Bell Helicopters in Mirabel, PQ... It has been compared as being the Air Force‘s equivalent of the LSVW - ie underpowered and not suitable for its role.
If the CF/DND/Gov‘t of Canada were smart, it would do what the Air Force has been asking for the last 10-15 years and purchase the EH-101 variant (Cormorant) for use in all three arms of the CF.

 

[Paul Gagnon]

When was the last time we heard about a sea king crash. Seems to me it‘s been some time. Not to say we don‘t need new choppers out in the open waves, but lets face it, there are too many fingers in a very small pie.

The last time a Sea King crashed was two weeks before you posted this thread. Do you watch the news much? The fingers were "in the pie" for the Sea Kings 40 years ago. It is well past time that they were taken out of service. By your logic the Air Force should still be flying 707s.

 

[McG]

Document claims Sea Kings missing important piece of equipment
Updated Tue, 18 Mar 2003 20:02:01
CBC

CFB SHEARWATER, N.S. - A Canadian air force document obtained by CBC News says that the Sea King helicopters are missing a key piece of equipment, and that has cost lives.

It says the failure to provide new electronic night vision gear has forced missions to be scrapped, and makes Sea Kings unwelcome as participants in missions with allied forces. The air force says the document in question is a low level draft document that was inadvertently approved and sent up the chain of command.

. . .

 

[McG]

Freighter to haul Sea King to Gulf
Canadian Press
POSTED on Globe & Mail AT 5:12 PM EST Tuesday, Mar. 18, 2003

Halifax — The Defence Department will spend $180,000 to ship a Sea King to the Persian Gulf from Halifax after one of the aging helicopters slammed on to the deck of HMCS Iroquois last month, a federal official confirmed Tuesday.

Ottawa has hired a commercial vessel to carry the aircraft to the region where it will be transferred to the Iroquois, a Canadian destroyer that will be the command-and-control ship for a multinational task force involved in the fight against terrorism.

The commercial vessel, a tanker, is expected to leave Halifax on Monday for a trip that will take about three weeks, said the official, who asked not to be named.

The helicopter crew will likely be sent from Halifax, he added.

. . .

 

[Zoomie]

Even more reason why the CF should have a real Strategic airlifter. Our own boys could have flown that Sea King in the back of a 4 engine behemoth. it would only have taken 2 days too.

 

[Brad Sallows]

I was told in the mid/late ‘80s that a Herc cost about $10K per hour to operate. Is that true?

If it is, $180K = 18 hours of flight time. What would a larger aircraft cost per hour today, and how long is the round-trip to the Gulf?

$180K might be a real bargain.

 

[Michael OLeary]

US Defense Business Operations Fund - Transportation (DBOF-T) Cost per Hour to Charter:

C-130 Hercules - $3,381 US ($4,736 Cdn)

C-141B Starlifter - $4,553 US ($6,374 Cdn)

C-5 Galaxy - $10,729 US ($15,020 Cdn)

C-17 Globemaster - $5,979 US ($8,370 Cdn)

Ref: http://wizard.ucr.edu/~bkaplan/alcf/acftdata.html

Anyone know which ones could carry a Seaking?

Mike

 

[Zoomie]

Globemaster and Galaxy can both carry a Seaking. Not too sure about the Starlifter...
Those quotes most likely also include the labour required, ie. wages for pilots, loadies, etc.. If this transport were done "in-house" (ie our Air Force) then the cost would be transparent. The Air Force is only allocated so many hours of flight time per year. Therefore if the big-wigs in 1CAD decided to send a Strat-Lifter to the GOO (Gulf of Oman) then it would cost nothing extra.

 

[NavyGirl280]

    This is my 1st time coming online to view most of these topics since becoming a new member. I just wanted to say that I, as a spouce of a serving member, was terrified to find out that the seaking had crashed on my husbands ship. There are so many emotions running through your mind, that you dont really have time to take it all in at once and even after all these years, when I think about what happened that day, it still brings a tear to my eye. I thank those of you who helped that day, those of you who serve and those who pray for our troops.


Go Navy!