Sorry if I missed it, are they going to merlin?

One of my most memorable experiences as a Sea Cadet was having the opportunity to fly in and subsequently fly a Sea King of 771 Squadron when visiting RNAS Culdrose in the early 90s.

Replaced with Sikorsky S92 and Westland something’s.

I have no doubt that the ‘new’ crew and choppers will be as dedicated to rescues. I also expect new kit to improve things in some areas.

My concern is the day after one of them damages itself on mission, and some Bristow bean counter starts being conservative on when they can go out in poor or marginal conditions.

I think the point about practicing SAR for RN and RAF is a good one – they still need to be out there doing this, and real rescues were best way of ‘practising’.

In my eyes they’re the only reason to have an air force now. Nervous about the privatisation bit of it but not too worried about new aircraft- the seaking isn’t the most technologically advanced bit of kit and something newer may well save more lives.

Hopefully I’ll never see inside one outside a museum, but I do have friends who have been in them, and have seen them working and it’s very impressive. The speed of some of the rescues is phenomenal.

Jambalaya,

Apparently the sea kings were equipped to carry either 10 or 17 pax, depending on if they were navy or raf rigged. The s92 (larger of the replacements) is kitted for 3 stretchers plus ten walking, and the smaller aircraft is set up for two stretchers and six walking. One assumes that in speaking their needs they considered how often they have ever needed to evacuate those numbers without some other assets around – pretty rarely I’d imagine.

Everything in life is of course a compromise.

Oh, and the cg helos have also been willing to do practise hi-line rescues with volunteer vessels so one assumes that will continue.

My concern is the day after one of them damages itself on mission, and some Bristow bean counter starts being conservative on when they can go out in poor or marginal conditions.

Well, there may be some indicators already from the North Sea operations. Genuine query.

r RN and RAF is a good one – they still need to be out there doing this, and real rescues were best way of ‘practising

Useful, but not necessarily “best”

Best would be picking up a bunch of Marines in a combat simulation?

To be clear, I’m not for privatisation. But I’m not convinced it will be bad either, at least as far the actual rescue call-outs are concerned.

MattOAA

I think your concerns about the contractor getting scared are sensible but probably I’ll founded. They’ve been running the same contract for CG helos for something like ten years, there has never been a suggestion that they pick and choose the work or leave the dodgy jobs to the military.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/aEbTNg]IMG_0171.jpg[/url] by Ewan Panter, on Flickr

Me as a younger man with my cab.

I hadn’t realised the kit cutbacks were so hard that they didn’t provide shirts anymore.

Hahahahaha

Had a fly in one once as a schoolkid – amazing experience. Experienced looking at the ground through an open side door whilst banking and zero gravity when stood behind the pilot

Mates wedding last year, a raf Chinook crew member had arranged a sea king fly by. Incredible watching a wedding with bass rock in the back ground and a sea king buzzing the wedding party.

The last one I went to that wasn’t my own, had Tornado’s buzzing the party on full afterburner. I was pretty jealous.

I was lucky enough to be on Kinloss MRT at the same time as Heavy and learned a HUGE amount about mountaineering from him. I was also lucky to climb with him in the Falkland Islands during their winter. He’d been before with another Kinloss troop, Stampy, and put up some routes which he needed pics of.
He’s a fantastic after dinner speaker if you are ever looking for one. One of life’s genuine nice guys and very modest about all he’s been involved with. Some of his photos of the seakings in action are awesome.

There was a dit going around 771 squadron at Culdrose that on a SAR shout at Mullion Cove (i think), a young lad on a lilo wasn’t really paying attention and the tide had taken him a fair way out. So the duty SAR cab arrived and duly rescued the youngster and gave him back to his folks. A few days later the squadron C/O received a letter from the boys mother. The C/O might have imagined it would be a lovely letter of thanks to him and his men. No. The mother was demanding the Navy reimburse her for the lilo they left behind. So the C/O sent her a bill totalling around £8k or so for the cost of the shout.

She never replied.

Today, 1st April, we had R137 doing it’s last shout looking for a missing walker on Ben Nevis, it departed around 10.30 and was replaced by the civilian SAR from Inverness R951, I believe that is the end for the Lossiemouth Seakings.

Wee-al, or should i say Big Al, I heard a similar story to that up at 819 except it was a rescue from a sail boat, the woman got upset because they never rescued her personal belongings from the sinking boat.

Loving the phots by the way, wish i’d gone on that detachment.