Dont know who that Colonel Jessep is and i dont really need to know ,but even in war the people would stand there post and pick up a gun ,like they did in ww2 ww1 and many other wars ,Very patriotic
As for the blanket we live under in NZ , we have nothing to defend ourselves and there are weapons/vehicles we buy and never use wasting away in boxes bunkers , 40 odd LAVS plus $250.000each stingers we cant even sell back to the USA ,not to mention our fleet of 1960 skyhawks sitting on the tarmac plus 60 year airframe UH1
We are like a big radar system waiting to find trouble but cant do anything about it ,we are sitting ducks but the most peaceful nation on earth ,that makes me feel so safe .
QUOTE
Yeah sounds like our helicopter trust has been denied an exemption to fly to it's helipad/hangar at Taranaki Base Hospital, according to the news this morning the trust is now looking into sale & purchase or lease options[/quote]
thats the real sad fact that one can have a buget to waste and fly under there own rules and one has donations and has trouble saving lives on a daily bases i would think the fire and ambo services are right up there with police and military, whos job is there to pick up the pieces ...
Posted:
Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:14 amby ZKIWI
creator2003 wrote:Dont know who that Colonel Jessep is and i dont really need to know ,but even in war the people would stand there post and pick up a gun ,like they did in ww2 ww1 and many other wars ,Very patriotic
As for the blanket we live under in NZ , we have nothing to defend ourselves and there are weapons/vehicles we buy and never use wasting away in boxes bunkers , 40 odd LAVS plus $250.000each stingers we cant even sell back to the USA ,not to mention our fleet of 1960 skyhawks sitting on the tarmac plus 60 year airframe UH1
We are like a big radar system waiting to find trouble but cant do anything about it ,we are sitting ducks but the most peaceful nation on earth ,that makes me feel so safe .
thats the real sad fact that one can have a buget to waste and fly under there own rules and one has donations and has trouble saving lives on a daily bases i would think the fire and ambo services are right up there with police and military, whos job is there to pick up the pieces ...
I think your maths may be slightly wrong Creator. Unsure where the 60 year old Hueys you see come from but the RNZAF ones are not 60 years old. The original design was penned 62 years ago but the RNZAF Hueys are only a maximum of 44 years old and better maintained than any civilian chopper in NZ i would argue. As for one of your earlier post about 4 year old rescue choppers in NZ, i would be very surprised if you can find an outfit flying such a new machine but i am willing to be proved wrong on this.
Posted:
Wed Jun 30, 2010 10:53 amby Naki
The Naki's A119 (the helicopter that cant land at its base) is only about year or two old...most of the other Rescue Choppers would be well over 4 years old though.
The Hueys arrived for the RNZAF in two batches - one lot in 1966 and the other in 1970 so that would make them either 44 or 40 years old...still pretty old but rather academic now as the replacements are arriving over the next year (and all are twin engine)
Edit: Just checked - the Taranaki Rescue chopper is 3 years old
Posted:
Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:03 pmby creator2003
The point is still the same, the age gap is huge ,i may be wrong with the exact age because i really dont care ,even the 60 year old thing was just a guess , but rules are rules and if one services is aloud to fly a" 44 year" single turbine chopper in dangerous repelling over CBD buildings and over civilian housing anytime they please you would think a rescue service would be able to do the same , plus the airforce have a huge budget to replace there fleet , to jump back within caa regulations ..
QUOTE
In the letter, CAA says that at issue is the performance required of helicopters to enable them to operate safely to and from helipads in congested areas.
In the event of a power failure the helicopter must be able to either land or safely continue on to another landing area - and this means all single-engined helicopters cannot comply with the rules.[/quote]
QUOTE
The letter claims that since January 1999 there have been 17 incidents in which helicopters either needed to shut down engines due to warnings, or made precautionary landings because of mechanical failures or warnings. All these incidents were during air ambulance operations.[/quote]
Rescue helicopters are used on a daily bases so they get problems like anything else ,maybe the Airforce dont have to record there incidents /problems as maybe they are governed only by themselves, again a floor in the system ,who was there when the Airforce crashed into the side of the hill and saved one crew ,lucky the wellington twin bk117, still a chopper that relies on funding grants and donations ,some areas aren't so lucky and don't have the cash to replace there helicopters but still have to fly daily on rescue missions .
this is just opinion and not all thats said is 100% correct fact ,though close enough to have a opinion on airforce ops and rescue ops and the way rules are enforced on one and not the other ...BS
end of venting
Posted:
Wed Jun 30, 2010 9:09 pmby andrewb
Yep, the Taranaki chopper was purchased brand new in 2007 for $4.5 million - funded by donations from local organisations and the community themselves. It'd be a huge loss to lose the service, we just received a call from them tonight as part of their annual fundraising drive and gave what we could - but I suspect they will have a difficult road ahead to gather up enough cash for a replacement.
Link:
Stats on the current helicopter.
