Sikorsky Wins

[helicopper]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentSe...ol=968793972154

 

[MagSeal]

reading some other stories on it, there seems to be a split on the popularity if this choice. :blink:

 

[frenchwrench]

hence the expression never fly the A model of anything..........what jobs will come out of this deal I wonder????

 

[Zazu]

One could argue that there are alot of things wrong with this choice, but in the end it doesn't really matter as long as it is DONE! PLEASE! NEXT!

Zazu

 

[Ryan]

I'll believe this is all over when the first new Sikorsky arrives. Surely our gov't has plenty of monkey wrenches left. 😉

 

[widgeon]

Industrial benefits are 4.2 billion with 1 billion going to the maritimes so i expect Mssrs Rowe and Dobbin will get some of the work. Sikorsky were overdue to win one having come second in Scandinavia and Portugal. Wonder how this affects the US Presidential helicopter bid.

 

[Elvis]

When do the Bloc & the the PQ start complaining that not enough work is going to the "la Belle province" ?



:elvis: :blur:

 

[MagSeal]

it shouldn't be long, here's an excerpt from an article...




Sikorsky said Friday it will partner with 170 Canadian firms, with most regions of Canada being "home to significant portions of project activity," including $1 billion in subcontracts to Atlantic Canada firms and $37 million to aboriginal businesses. Small firms will receive in total about $685 million in industrial activity.

"They'll be looking to place work with Canadian companies at all levels within the supply chain, from the larger, more known companies to the part manufactures and specialized service firms in coatings and materials," Kane said.

Aerospace companies in Ontario and Quebec, home to Canada's traditional major aerospace centres, will get $2 billion and $955 million in work respectively. Western Canadian companies are to receive $390 million in contracts.

Quebec stands to gain fewer benefits from the Sikorsky contract than it would have reaped with the competition's Cormorant EH-101 aircraft. The Cormorant proposal would have included assembly, testing and delivery of aircraft at Bell Helicopter's facility in Mirabel, Que. CAE would have provided simulators and trained pilots.

 

[abc]

Congrats to Sikorsky. let's get on with it & give our guys the long overdue a/c they were waiting for. Having twisted wrenches on a few Sikorskys over the years, I hope they find them as user friendly as I did. Service them properly & they will be bullet proof, in my experience of course 🙄

 

[Bladestrike]

Has Sikorsky even started on the folding head yet? They have quite abit of experience with folding tails and blades so I doubt it will take long. A fine bird to be sure, I'd be proud to fly it, but I thought there were some problems for the military folk, like aerial refueling from the ships wasn't possible in it's present configuration. Did they sort that one out?

 

[Vortex Ring]

You are bang on B/strike....the folding head has yet to be designed, the aircraft is extremely top heavy and as is, it cannot take a rolling deck, the hot refuelling probe is on the wrong side, the cargo door is too small ......... just to name a few of the yet to be figured out things.

The other challenge will be torpedoes. This machine has large winglets that instal outboard of those big ole sponsons. This means we cannot mount the winglets and torps in the hangar, only out on the flight deck. Lovely thought at night in sea state 5 or more. You can only hold 30 minute or 5 minute alerts with the machine on the deck now cuz you'll never have time to load your torps. Makes for very limited operations as the aircraft would now be much more exposed to the elements as it sits outside in the spray.

Many things to work out. Bottom line though, any new ride is better than our tired old SK. And remember, it ain't so much the body and motors but all the obsolete equipment in back and on the pilots panels.

I wish my buddies all the best since I'm out of there now. Look forward to seeing the first one at some airshow in oh probaly not before 2012.

 

[Bruised Armpit]

There is one thing I can say for sure....the 'opposition', who are criticizing the choice of S92 with press releases so soon after the descision, also had press releases prepared criticizing the 101, had it been picked....it is just politics. Their job is only to heckle the choice....any choice.

I haven't a clue which one would have been a better value....I try to have some faith that the beurocrats who made the descision have good intentions, at the very least.

 

[Vortex Ring]

Politics for sure meddle the whole thing. As far as operators are concerned they really don't care after decades of waiting which machine ends up on the line. The concerns I mention with the S92 by no way means the machine won't be able to do the job but rather that I really really hope the we won't get ripped off and have to settle for as we approach delivery date. Not so much from the manufacturers fault by any means but from those bureaucrats who see glitches as ways to cut more $$$ off the top thus limiting the end product even more.

Sikorsky has assured DND they can provide and are aware of our requirements so it's refreshing to hear but every change, upgrade, delay is an excuse for bean counters to muck about with it and nearly 100% of the time that means we end up with less stuff. Like an aircraft "fitted for but not with" etc etc etc....

The 92 will indeed be a great machine, all three contenders had merits and shortcomings, now it's done so let's just let Sikorsky's team and the Air Force do their thing. Any way you slice it, it will be about friggin time to see the last Sea King taxi out.

If you boys want them for logging then knock yourselves out.

 

[MagSeal]

for the guys flying them....

are they even worth rebuilding and continuing their flying careers?

 

[N1]

I don't think they are eligible to go logging!

But I'm sure there will be a buyer for them.