OP Ed piece on expanding SAR capability using ex-Presidential choppers

[Lumber]

Isn't that pretty much what the Cyclone is now??    :stirpot:

Nooooooo those ones are grey! Not the same.  :stirpot:

 

[dimsum]

Nooooooo those ones are grey! Not the same.  :stirpot:

SAR Hercs aren't painted school-bus yellow, neither are the Auroras when it's a long weekend and the Buffs break they hold SAR Standby  :stirpot:

 

[Good2Golf]

Yellow is the SAR world's "buttons and bows"... 

"Fight in, pick-up and GTFO SAR" (a.k.a. CSAR) is usually grey.  :nod:

Regards

G2G

 

[Colin Parkinson]

SAR world, kit that is painted orange is 20% more than the non-orange version. Frankly well we are at it, change the Crashboats back to Black and yellow. That ugly grey and puke yellow sucks.

 

[dimsum]

SAR world, kit that is painted orange is 20% more than the non-orange version. Frankly well we are at it, change the Crashboats back to Black and yellow. That ugly grey and puke yellow sucks.

Well, that's to save on washing it down when they (invariably) get puked on.  :nod:

 

[Colin Parkinson]

You got to admit this looks better (dsclaimer, I painted her and was driving at the time)  [

 

[Eye In The Sky]

SAR Hercs aren't painted school-bus yellow, neither are the Auroras when it's a long weekend and the Buffs break they hold SAR Standby  :stirpot:

GFTT!

Buff's your coast, Herc's my coast but the rest is the same.  :nod:

 

[Spencer100]

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/205299/canada-to-buy-additional-ch_149-helos%2C-upgrade-fleet.html

Buying new

 

[Cloud Cover]

Must be an election coming, but it’s a good move nevertheless.

 

[brihard]

1000 SAR flights a year? Damn. I know some missions will involve multiple flights, but still... Wow.

 

[dapaterson]

1000 SAR flights a year? Damn. I know some missions will involve multiple flights, but still... Wow.

Given the size of Canada, three a day across the country isn't that many.

 

[brihard]

Given the size of Canada, three a day across the country isn't that many.

True enough.

At least some of our pilots are getting good hours...

 

[suffolkowner]

It is interesting to compare to previous suggestions that for a greater expansion in fleet numbers

https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/leonard-welcomes-ch-149-cormorant-mid-life-upgrade-fleet-augmentation/

also a brief examination of the purposed upgrade

https://www.skiesmag.com/features/an-investment-in-capability/

 

[Eye In The Sky]

3 calls a day might not seem like much, but it is if you consider not all "calls" are single sortie and/or "flying day" missions and can pull more than a single airframe and crew into the fold.

Then the actual resources used on "a call" increases quickly...the last SAR I was called out on was the helo that went down last winter IVO Sudbury.  That was a multi-day, multi-aircraft "call".   

https://wawa-news.com/index.php/2019/03/12/search-continues-for-missing-couple-and-helicopter/

The helicopter was initially reported missing Wednesday, March 6...Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton began the search with RCAF aircraft and Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) personnel on Wednesday, March 6, and the mission was upgraded to a major SAR operation on Saturday, March 9..and ended with the discovery of their aircraft on March 11, 2019.

At its height, the search involved seven RCAF aircraft, a Canadian Coast Guard helicopter, and three  Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) aircraft. RCAF personnel and aircraft came from 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron from 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario; 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron from 17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba; 439 Combat Support Squadron from 3 Wing Bagotville, Quebec; 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron from 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia. RCAF aircraft included three CC-130 Hercules aircraft, three CH-146 Griffon helicopters and a CP-140 Aurora long-range patrol aircraft.

Some SAR Sqns are actually Transport and Rescue Sqns...the crews are likely not short on hours very often.

442 Transport and Rescue Squadron

The primary role of 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron is the provision of aviation resources in support of the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Victoria.  This region consists of approximately 920,000 square kilometers of mainly mountainous terrain of Yukon and British Columbia and 560,000 square kilometers of the Pacific Ocean extending to approximately 600 nautical miles offshore, including over 27,000 kilometers of rugged British Columbia coastline.

424 Transport and Rescue Sqn

424 (Tiger) Squadron is a Transport and Rescue Squadron based at 8 Wing Trenton. To fulfil its roles, 424 Squadron operates the CH-146 Griffon helicopter and the CC-130H Hercules.

424 Squadron and 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, operating from 17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba, provide primary search and rescue response for the Trenton Search and Rescue Region (SRR), the largest in Canada. The Trenton SRR extends from Quebec to the British Columbia/Alberta border, and from the Canada/United States border to the North Pole.

The Squadron crews one aircraft of each type on standby response posture in order to respond to distress cases as tasked by Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton.

435 Transport and Rescue Squadron

435 Transport and Rescue (T&S) Squadron at 17 Wing Winnipeg; and 424 T&R Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, provide primary search and rescue response for the Trenton Search and Rescue Region, the largest in Canada, which extends from Quebec City to the British Columbia/Alberta border, and from the Canada/United States border to the North Pole.

413 Transport and Rescue Squadron

413 Transport and Rescue Squadron (TRS) conducts search and rescue and airlift throughout an 1,800,000 square mile area in eastern Canada.

As the primary air search and rescue unit on Canada's East Coast, 413 Squadron crews cover an area extending from the south of Nova Scotia , north to Iqaluit on Baffin Island as far west as Quebec City and east out to the middle of the Atlantic.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

It would be interesting to see how many searches have taken place in the last 10 years vs rescues. with the advent of more GPS capable alert systems, searching hopefully will become less common.

 

[kev994]

It would be interesting to see how many searches have taken place in the last 10 years vs rescues. with the advent of more GPS capable alert systems, searching hopefully will become less common.

The number of major searches has dropped a lot in the past ~10-20 years, almost everyone is right on track and has a cellphone that pings. There were talks a few years ago of getting rid of CSAD2, it’s a wider search area, nobody has been found in it in a very long time.

 

[daftandbarmy]

The number of major searches has dropped a lot in the past ~10-20 years, almost everyone is right on track and has a cellphone that pings. There were talks a few years ago of getting rid of CSAD2, it’s a wider search area, nobody has been found in it in a very long time.

I always carry a SPOT, and most of the people I know who go into the backcountry carry similar devices these days.

Mostly, I carry mine so I can let people know I'm OK if I'll be back later than planned. I haven't had to use it yet (props to CAF map and compass training ).

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Spots are great, I got them for my work and then my program adopted them across the country. A very cheap way to provide emergency comms and locations.

This report talks about the evolving changes in SAR https://www.cfc.forces.gc.ca/259/290/301/286/mowbray.pdf