Rick Piper wrote:
Where is a civvie going to learn it all?
Regards
Rick
They will probably reduce the requirement for MOD crews, make them redundant, then re-employ them as civvies, on simiar pay, but no housing, medical support, clothing etc.
andy wrote:The British Forces are not allowed to charge for their services, so all costs are down to the taxpayer...........................but a civillian rescue service would be a different matter.
Better upgrade your personal insurance before you go sailing, or mountain climbing.
Come to think of it, if some dilbert decides to go up a mountain in bad weather..............why shouldn't he pay to be rescued.
It should be simple enough to change the rules so that the military can charge for civilian rescue, provided of course the rescued has the ability to pay.
I think that one of the end results of this decision, will be a requirement for all hill-walkers, skiers, climbers etc., to take out some form of insurance against cost of rescue (pretty much as on the continent).
No idea of current costs, but I used to Police highland Perthshire (kinda Hamish MacBeth style on my own) and in 1988 the hourly costs were £1,800 for a Wessex and £3,000 for a Seaking.
Given inflation over the last 16 years, I shudder to think what insurance premiums will be.
I seriously think that in, say, 30 years time, the RAF will only be about 30% the size of what it is now; i.e it will only operate the front line. All Training, Transport, etc, will be contracted out. We're half way there now, what with RN Hawks operated in a part civil/military way, and 'Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd' at Scampton performing Threat Simulation, etc...And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the next generation of AAR going to be partly like that???
Rick Piper wrote:I have seen what can & can't be done with SAR and there is no civvie unit with half the skills of the current crews.
And those civvy units that do generally employ ex serving pilots!
I can't see the RAF being considerably smaller than it is now in 15 years time (the Tornado GR4 would have just had an extension of service of course!), but in 30, maybe we'll all be in the Army Air Corps. Maybe we'll all be in Vegas flying UAVs (now there's a suggestion!) I'll be ok - I'll be a year or so off retirement!
Stewart Pearson wrote:
No idea of current costs, but I used to Police highland Perthshire (kinda Hamish MacBeth style on my own) and in 1988 the hourly costs were £1,800 for a Wessex and £3,000 for a Seaking.
Stewart
I'm not gonna be quoted on this but i've heard talk of it being £3000ph to keep our EC-135 in the air in todays money.
As far as I know all of the pilots are ex-military, my favourite one is an ex-navy lynx pilot, always seems to look that bit more exciting from the ground when he's flying.
Complete loon doesn't go near describing that character.
They've already been using civilian owned bell griffons in cyprus since they retired the wessex a couple of years ago, they are still crewed by raf personnel but owned registered and maintained privately. Apparently its been quite "successful", but then again blair thinks invading iraq was
