anthony604266
Joined: 12 May 2008
Location: Exeter
Posts: 90
 
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| Coastguard bought a Ferrari should have bought a Land Rover |
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Just come back from a trip at the weekend as part of my duties as a Coastguard to see the New coastgaurd Helicoper Agusta Westland 139 callsign Coastguard 106 (portland) the new Whiskey Bravo.
Well what did I find out the first comment from the crew was "we need a landrover of the sky and we got a Ferrari"
I good points
1. Its very fast 157 knots (and that is quick)
Thats it for the good points I am sorry to say
The BAD points.
1. It can only carry one casulty on a strecher + 2 walking wounded
2. It has two winches in case one breaks but the second is mounted too far back and cant be used anyway
3. It has been taken off night ops as the lights are not suitable (oh great)
4. It cant land on any soft ground as it is fitted with wheel barrow wheels and it sinks into the ground
5. It cant land on a beach as the power is so great it would blow the pebals and pebal dash the botton of the aircaft
6. When in the hover for any length of time it melts the bodywork (see yellow section in photo 3rd replacement)
7. The night light searchlight is fitted to the wrong side of the aircraft making it useless
8. The night light must be used for at least 20 mins else the bulb will distort.
9. All the controlls and mapping is Digital (but the software is crap so half of it does not work)
10. At the moment thet cant bring up maps so they have to maually add waypoints while in flight
11. The storage of rescue eqipment is bad they cant easliy get to what they need.
12. The auto hover software which allows the winch operator to adjust the position of the aircraft to the casulty (as the pilot cannot see then) has not been installed yet.
13. To operate the FLIR camera you have to sit i a seat that after 2 minites makes you feel like you have driven a defender for 10 hours.
So there you have it a great bit of kit NOT.
I have uploaded some photos but have many more if anyone is interested.
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Now this is what i call a dashboard.
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High Tech storage
Winch
In Flight
Night Light
 You can never have too many toys...
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 Mon Oct 13 2008 9:31am |
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countrywide
Joined: 16 Sep 2007
Location: Sunny South Coast
Posts: 1835
 
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Surely there must have a been a spec they had to meet when it was chosen, can't they send it back. Is it me or does it look very small compared to old helicopter.
I have heard from various people that it wasn't the best choice.
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 9:36am |
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SJR
Joined: 09 Aug 2006
Location: about 1 mile west of M1 J31
Posts: 366
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Remind me NOT to go out in a boat off the south coast around portland again 
That helicopter has the look of the little yellow aeroplanes that fly between the channel islands. no doubt it is very fuel efficient (for a helicopter) and green (probably what drove the spec!  ). I hope someone now has a severe case of the  'cos i think that they  up big time!
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 10:40am |
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DiscoDunc
Joined: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 2912
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sounds to me it was bought by someone who had had a technical wet dream
what a shame. Loads of good useful kit but not designed for the job 
Looks  though.
How will its defeciences effect the service it provides. Duncan
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 10:42am |
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tanters
Joined: 24 Oct 2007
Location: Up The Deise!
Posts: 1007
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| Re: Coastguard bought a Ferrari should have bought a Land Ro |
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anthony604266 wrote:Now this is what i call a dashboard.
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All I want to know is does it have an i-pod kit  Every time you see a beautiful woman, just remember, somebody got tired of her
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 10:50am |
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DiscoDunc
Joined: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 2912
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I'm sure Wiggs could install one  Duncan
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 10:51am |
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anthony604266
Joined: 12 May 2008
Location: Exeter
Posts: 90
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Dont think we just bought one of these we bought loads of them and its not just portland its the whole south coast! (but they have put back the old 61 at lee on solant cus it works in the dark)
Dont need an ipod connector cus you cant here a thing once the motor starts anyway.
Oh I forgot it vibrates like hell as well.
This is a classic case of men behind desks ordering kit. Ticks all the boxes but for the job.
How many landy's in our team and what are they ?
 You can never have too many toys...
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 11:32am |
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NoDo$h
Joined: 02 May 2006
Location: wear the fox hat?
Posts: 6596
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Watched Whiskey Bravo landing at Dorchester A&E back at the tail end of June. Wind was gusting a little and boy did it make a meal of take-off. Much, much smaller than the old ship, there were countless grumbles from the crew member who'd come in with the casualty about how the new one just isn't up to the job.
On the flip-side, it looks a bit AirWolf compared with the old tug
The Dorset Police MD900 is based about a mile from my place and we're only a couple of miles Bovington so get to see all sorts of military rotary stuff at all time of day and night. There was a noisy-boys exercise about month back that had various helis coming in at low level until well into the night as well as a couple of fast movers buzzing in from time to time. Seriously to sit in the garden and watch them roar over against the starlit sky Carbon footprint? I neither know nor give a damn
DISCLAIMER: If you find a posting or message from me offensive, inappropriate, or disruptive, please ignore it. If you don't know how to ignore a posting, complain to me and I will be only too happy to demonstrate.
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 11:36am |
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anthony604266
Joined: 12 May 2008
Location: Exeter
Posts: 90
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Hey dont get me wrong it works it can do the job but should have got one on trial first ironed all the bugs out got the feedback from the end user and then evaulate if it is the right tool for the job.
I would not think twice about calling for one and the guys who operate them are fantastic! You can never have too many toys...
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 1:17pm |
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MrH
Joined: 08 Aug 2007
Location: In a world of my own...
Posts: 1187
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Hey that sounds a little like the Disco 3's EPB  Click here to Sponsor AndrewS and Crew in the Santa Challenge...
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 1:32pm |
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Pelyma
Joined: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Clymping, Sussex
Posts: 4792
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No I thought it was funny I had just read this then looked at the news and one was mentioned DS3 TDV6 HSE
Silver with Alpacca (old one)
DS3 TDV6 HSE
Silver with Alpacca (new one)
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| Mon Oct 13 2008 1:51pm |
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