All right cannot resist any longer. Many of the problems we have with the shag (slang for a certain ugly seabird) are due to not getting enough of them in the first place. Even with all the issues, they are over 1000 hours each already, some over 2000. Other problems stem from not being privy to the "specs". I am not a maintainer so I do not know the terms, but basically AWIL decides and approves every aspect of our chopper. IMP cannot make mods without approval, nor come up with fixes on their own. Spare parts are extremely slow to arrive, choppers often sit awaiting parts for weeks for fixes that take hours. Our morning briefs almost always have the phrase "awaiting parts/approval/advice from AWIL" (Augusta westland). we still have several ops restrictions attached to our aircraft related to early problems, but many are not lifted because the supplier does not have time/interest in doing the work to get them lifted. I think the windshield speed limit (140? kts) is still in place, although the torque that caused the cracks has been solved for years. The tail rotor half hub issue that caused me so much distress a year or more ago, seems to be well past, yet in prudent risk management, ops restrictions remain, hopefully for not too much longer, mandating a rigid inspection schedule which greatly impacts training (requirements waived during ops). It is embarrassing to me that we have had to replace the cormorant fleet in Trenton with Griffons, an extremely limited SAR platform, in order to maintain our fleet elsewhere. Unfortunately, we can't just buy off the shelf eh101 because Canada has designed the Cormorant as a distinct airframe, with much in common with but enough differences to make our planes unique. Are Cormorants Lemons? They are yellow... I hate working under it, you cannot talk to anyone with the crappy radios, and there are espresso cup holders beside the spotters seats. We in the back got overlooked when the thing was designed, for sure, and we cannot mod it the way we would like due the the restrictive nature of airworthiness certification. The plane flies rock solid, though, it flies in weather that no one should go out in, and it can work at fairly high altitudes. I feel safe (finally) inside it. There is lots of redundancy, and our chauffeurs are generally happy, which makes me happy. They are SARTech lemons, and maintenance lemons, until we get the supply chain sorted out. Overall they are probably a C+. definitely a Canadian Military acceptable grade.
(edited for spell check)
