Possible replacement for the dauphins?....

[Pink Panther]

sea lion with all due respect i think you are being unfair with your last post. we know there was more to it than just the aircraft. the dauphin in itself is a good aircraft but probably not suited for the job it was carrying out. we all know from previous threads, that the range of the aer corps dauphins was severely curtailed becuase of all the aftermarket and SAR equipment it had to carry.
in relation to the tender in all probability it will go to eurocopter, if i am wrong i will stand corrected. the reason for this in my opinion  is eurocopter are obviously going to give the aer corps the best trade in price on the current fleet.
the bean counters will be looking for the best possible deal and if it means buying civie instead of the military version because it saves money, it'll probably be the route they will go.
dont be surprised if you see a combination of EC135's 145's and 155's. if these are the type of aircraft they go for, lets hope they dont make the same mistakes and start adding unnecessary extras that become obsolete and only add to the aircraft weight meaning less payload.
really all they require is an IFR package, stabilisation system and NVG compatability.

[sealion]

The Dauphin was feted as an allweather SAR heli.

With all respect to the Families of the late crew members,when did all weather not include fog?

Yes I agree that the aircraft was not the only issue,AC Practices had a lot to do with it also! If we can learn anything from this disaster is not to make the same mistakes. Get something suitible for ALL the tasks you intend to use it for,not just good at some,fair at others and lets modify it for this one also.

We want to carry troops,lets get a Proven troop carrying heli,Like the Puma/Cougar. Thats the only eurocopter aircraft capable of doing that job well.

[pilatus]

sealion the dauphin is a great machine it went down in tramore unfortunatley because the crew(RIP)were simply low on fuel and had no choice but to attempt a landing between two sand dunnes or try and make it back to waterford regional and risk the engines cutting out.if the corps bought the panther it would be a better investment than the ec145!