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| Great White North |
| Canada restricts Cormorant helicopter fleet after crash in Britain |
| 2004-04-01 |
| Hope we kept the bills... Canada’s newly purchased Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters have been developing cracks in their tail rotor hubs, the air force admitted Thursday. What to you expect for $800 mil That combined with the crash of a similar aircraft this week in Britain has forced Canadian military officials to restrict the operations of the 15 helicopters for the second time this year. Restrict?...how about stop The Cormorants, which cost taxpayers $798 million, will only be allowed to fly in emergencies until the tail rotors of each of the aircraft can be inspected. Question: when one of these crashes, who rescues it? A Sea-King? Lt.-Col. Charles Cue, commander of 413 Squadron in Greenwood, N.S., said the restrictions come following the crash of a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter on Tuesday. Five people were injured in the crash in Britain. It is believed the cause of the accident involved cracks in the aircraft’s tail rotor. The preliminary finding raised concern among Canadian military officials. "We have had cracking in the tail rotor hub, but we check the hub on a daily basis," Cue said. "If we find a problem, we take the part off and put a new one on. So far, it hasn’t been an issue." Say what? If it cracks when in flight? He said the rotors on both the Cormorant and the Merlin are roughly the same. In February, concerns were raised about potential fuel leaks. Two of the choppers - one in Comox, B.C., the other in Gander, Nfld. - developed fuel line leaks near the engines. Mechanics had to develop a rubber sleeve to slip over the lines to redirect the leaks away from the hot motors. The Italian-built helicopters have also had problems with cracking windscreens and console brackets. This is NOT good!! How about going back to the Flintstone Flyer... Despite the growing list of glitches, Cue said the pilots in his squadron have no fear of flying the aircraft. "We are a little frustrated with the teething pains of this machine," he said. "(But) from our perspective, we feel much safer in this machine than the Labrador (helicopter). This machine has all of the automatic safety devices. We are very satisfied with this machine and don’t want to go back the other way." A former military pilot said the intense vibration of helicopter engines is notorious for causing cracks in the airframe. "It’s been said the definition of a helicopter is 50,000 parts flying in close formation," said Col. John Orr, a retired Sea King pilot with over 20 years experience. "You’re dealing with much more vibration than you would in a fixed-wing aircraft." Even still, Orr said he found it "surprising and disappointing" that faults have already started to develop in the Cormorants, some of which are only a year old. "There have been lots of advances to reduce the amount of vibration and to track it when it occurs," he said. "We don’t send aircraft into the air that are not serviceable and I’m confident our mechanics will get to the bottom of the problem." As a Canadian, it’s very frustrating to see highly motived men and woman having to defend this country with sling-shots and can openers... |
| Posted by:steve d. |
| #6 Yes, they were scrappers bought from the Brits, and heads should be rolling - in the submarine case they should be rolling both at the ministry and the department. I would accuse our entire nation except for the fact that if you're going to be a skinflint to your own self, if it was a rational choice then you'd actually go with the best deal available to yourself, rather than these debacles. |
| Posted by: Mark O 2004-04-01 10:44:56 PM |
| #5 I suppose they make a matching set with the goddamned submarines we bought that can't dive over 50 feet because of hull problems... I believe they were scrapped diesel subs we bought from the Brits...I mean, heads in the Cdn military should be rolling for shit like this, don't you think? For what I know, no one has even had there hand slapped over this... |
| Posted by: steve d. 2004-04-01 8:49:16 PM |
| #4 Actually, we should be able to defend our borders if we could muster the effort. Unfortunately, our politicians know full-well that the US will defend our ass should anything happen so we don't spend the money we should. Paul Martin is certainly more warm to the American view of the world. Unfortunately, Chretien left him armpit-deep in scandal, so don't expect Cdn troops in Baghdad soon. |
| Posted by: steve d. 2004-04-01 8:42:41 PM |
| #3 As a Canadian, I'm reminded of a purchase of new helicopters over a decade ago, that was cancelled by the Liberal government when it came to power... What an utter travesty... we've persisted for years with a fleet of helicopters that has killed servicemen, and now we've got duds to replace the old fleet. I suppose they make a matching set with the goddamned submarines we bought that can't dive over 50 feet because of hull problems... |
| Posted by: Mark O 2004-04-01 8:42:32 PM |
| #2 Steve D.,I think you got hosed on puchase of Comorants.The price tag for 15 helicopters seems too high to me,probably high because part of helo was built in Canada-undoubtably by friends of Chretian govt.For comparison,in 2000 Taiwan bought 9 Chinook helos(better range,payload)for $300million US.In 2004 Congress approved 17 Blackhawk helos for $210million US.Looks like Comorant was chosen because it wasn't US product. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-04-01 8:37:19 PM |
| #1 no pun intended but the size of the Canadian armed forces, on their own, would be very taxed defending Canada. what is the situation in Canada now in regards to the US? i haven't heard much in the news lately and am assumming the new leadership is taking a more pragmatic approach to the US. Cretian (not sure of the spelling - my apologies) did great harm for Canada in the US. |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-04-01 7:22:53 PM |