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Messages - Taj

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31
Irish Air Corps / Cessna Replacement - Type or Role?
« on: April 13, 2007, 03:04:01 pm »
The reason it's a crap trainer is and this is not just my opinion, that it develops a much lower skill level than other twins that are available. But that is neither here nor there because we are not discussing training aircraft.
On the point of non-directional beacons, I would put it that all forms of radio navigation(with the exception of ILS/MLS) will be superseded by satellite based navigation. GPS approaches are already in place in the United States for the last few years and is being trialled in the UK at the moment for widespread introduction. The only issue holding it back at the moment is that the system is ultimately controlled by the US military, who shut it down in the aftermath of 9/11. This will be overcome by the European controlled Galileo system in development/deployment. The point being that any aircraft can be easily fitted with a GPS system.NDB's are more numerous than any other navigational aid in this country and as such will be around for a couple of decades yet.
Single engine VFR IS allowed inside controlled airspace under an SVFR clearance. It cannot be conducted outside controlled airspace.This law is pretty much unique to Ireland.Single engine VFR is allowed outside controlloed airspace once the operator holds a night rating on his/her licence in most other countries.Multi engine aircraft can leave the control zone here, but only if they switch to IFR operations. The exceptions being military aircraft. You only re-iterated a point I made earlier.
As regards the Diamonds engines, can you point out to me where in my previous postings did I advocate the use of avgas powered aircraft over Jet A1 guzzlers?The Caravan is powered by the PT-6A...which uses what fuel??
The disesl engine is great development for GA but in terms of the Air Corps would just add another engine type for Air Corps engineers to worry about. In terms of GA these engines will not for the mid to long term supersede standard piston engine aircraft. There is a weight penalty and as such they are not yet suited to powering aircraft in the lighter end of the market, which is it's biggest growth area.Larger airfields no longer stock AVGAS to merely discourage GA from interrupting their day.
As regards your simplified mass and balance calculations, your calculations are slightly inaccurate in that the Irish military use a specific comms package that would also need to be fitted to the aircraft. And on that point, have you seen a twin star instrument panel? Where would it go?
I agree that the target towing duties should be passed to the PC-9, thats pretty much a no brainer.
However, I do think that the Diamond represents a reduction in possible roles and would require the introduction of an additional aircraft type to fulfill the roles it cannot do. From a support point of view, introducing two types to replace one is simply unacceptable and wont happen. The ideal Cessna replacement will be able to do all the roles the current aircraft do and more. We're not a poor country so looking for the poor man's option, which is what the Twin Star is, is simply not acceptable.No amount of Diamond sales pitch will change that.
30 million for six aircraft and a support package and  30 years of service is value for money in my books any day.





32
Irish Air Corps / Cessna Replacement - Type or Role?
« on: April 12, 2007, 07:02:36 pm »
Just a few points.

ADF and GPS are perfectly acceptable for night time ops in other countries for civilian operations, and Im talking piston engine I cant see the trouble having six Cessna available for night flying here. Military aircraft are not subject to the same rules as civilian aircraft. It is my understanding that Air Corps Cessnas do fly at night, whether that is inside or outside controlled airspace would need clarification. Remember in certain more aviation friendly countries, that have much larger population centres than here, night time VFR is allowed. The United States is one in particular, where I have myself logged more than 50 hours night VFR in a Cessna 150, no GPS and I never used the ADF or ILS. Visual approach using PAPIs.
As for the Irish Cessnas, the lack of an ILS and VOR does not preclude them from instrument flight. Every regional airport in the country is NDB equipped, and ICAO regulations list the MDH(minimum descent height) for an NDB approach as 300 feet. The remainder of the approach being flown visually. If the cloudbase is below 300 feet then on that rare occasion dont fly. Simple as that.
I also have time on the Twin Star, and the only good thing I can say about it is it's bloody easy to fly. But in that respect it's a crap multi engine trainer. It's too easy. Two engine controls instead of six on the an older twin, like the Seminole on which I got my rating. It's a different skill level completely. The low versus high wing argument is a no contest. An aircraft whose wing conceals a high percentage of the ground in straight and level flight is not an ideal observation aircraft. Direct overflight of a possible area or incident of interest would have a big possibility of being missed. Also the need to offset while circling to keep an area of the ground in view would also require steep angles of bank to stop the wing blocking the lateral view. Other problems I have with the Twin Star are its non existant payload and it's "diesel" engines, which would Im sure need a lot of engineer training.
The Quest Kodiak looks like a really useful aircraft alright and I would put it in a close second place behind the Caravan, the only two reasons being Quest's survival in the market is not yet assured and Cessna have previous experience with Caravans sold to military customers. I cannot see the PC6 being the aircraft of choice not least because of it's tail dragger design. Learning to fly tail draggers on an aircraft where such t.d. symptoms as assymetric blade thrust would be magnified just doesnt seem realistic to me. Until a set of design requirements are known and roles specified we wont know. This will have to go to tender. Then we'll see what players step up to the plate.





33
Irish Air Corps / Cessna Replacement - Type or Role?
« on: April 09, 2007, 10:16:41 pm »
ST,

Dont confuse the bog standard club 172 with the Reims Rockets flown by the Air Corps. Different bird completely. 210HP engine is the major difference. They are fully IFR/Airways equipped and as military machines they are not limited by the ridiculous rules in this country that dont allow civilian single engine night flight outside controlled airspace.
The DA42 is totally unsuited to Cessna replacement, not least because of its low wing configuration. The Cessna is not a training aircraft-the Diamond's primary role, instead it is primarily an observation aircraft. Hence, high wing is a must.  
The DHC-6 is as stated out of production and anyway is overkill for the roles envisaged. Expect either the Caravan or the Turbo Porter.Engine commonality with the rest of the fleet and flexibility of roles are the major advantage.
The King Air is currently in afive seat configuration and believe me would never fit 13 without standing them in the aisles. What would be the economic sense in upgrading a 25 year old aircraft in any case?

34
Irish Air Corps / Airfield Id's
« on: January 05, 2005, 08:52:11 pm »
EIWT not to be confused with Waterford EIWF!

35
Irish Air Corps / Marchetti's and Dauphins
« on: January 05, 2005, 08:48:01 pm »
My info came from a source who was involved in the cancellation of the work being done by outside contractors.I assume they were brought in while the corps techs concentrated on PC-9 training. It was his opinion that the aircraft would not be reassembled.Was the work completed by Air Corps Techs?

The Marchetti going to the museum has been decided-according the curator the excellent Airman Michael Whealan. What hasn't been decided is whether it will be kept for the museum long term or sold off.

Fantastic news re the third Dauphin! It's a major turn around from the interview with the GOC back in April. Two were going in the summer and the last on was due to be retired last month. There must have been a gaping hole in the operational capability when the fleet was reduced.

36
Irish Air Corps / Air Corps Fire & Rescue vehicle pictures request
« on: January 05, 2005, 08:27:42 pm »
This one is now in the museum Notice the damaged bull bar caused by crashing through a gate when coming to the aid of a downed Marchetti in Clondalkin.




Feel free to use,

Tadhghttp://wingsireland.com/webgall....Timoney

37
Irish Air Corps / Airfield Id's
« on: January 05, 2005, 08:20:44 pm »
For some reason I think I remember EIDW being referred to as Dublin West on the old irishaviation.net forum. It's more like Dublin North and slightly west!

38
Irish Air Corps / Armed PC-9 pictures
« on: January 04, 2005, 12:17:12 am »
You would think so Silver but it would all boil down to compatibility and whether a certain type of pod has been certified for use on PC-9. Sourcing one or two pods would be possible but for a four aircraft aerobatic team eight secondhand pods of the same type plus a spare would be a nightmare to find. The total cost to purchase new pods for a four ship team would be a minimum of €1m which does in fairness seem excessive for an item that has none other than aesthetic use and would only get a few outings a year. For an already cash starved force it would be quite downright stupid to look for that money when it would buy a Cessna Caravan plus spares.

39
Irish Air Corps / Marchetti's and Dauphins
« on: January 02, 2005, 03:37:17 pm »
I stand corrected Bigwillie-I thought that without overhaul one aircraft was to be withdrawn in December leaving only the Norway Dauphin that was overhauled??

40
Irish Air Corps / Armed PC-9 pictures
« on: January 02, 2005, 03:33:52 pm »
All you have to do is take a look in a PC-9 cockpit(not just an Irish PC-9) to know that they are plumbed for smoke pods. That is not relevant.Due to the cost involved in actually purchasing the equipment(250k per aircraft-spot on Silver) it was deemed that they were unnecessary. Maybe when more pressing matters have been funded, but for now(medium to long term) Bigwillie-definitely a big no-no.

41
Irish Air Corps / Marchetti's and Dauphins
« on: December 30, 2004, 06:59:06 pm »
Apparantly the overhaul was being done by outside contractors and it was decided that it would be more cost effective to pull the plug rather than continue with an overhaul on an aircraft that would never be flying again in IAC service.

42
Irish Air Corps / Armed PC-9 pictures
« on: December 29, 2004, 06:36:39 pm »
Smoke pods are a no no due to the high cost of purchase.
There are no current plans for additional armament types although there may be a time when a little experimentation with the weapons load takes place, ie four gun pods or four rocket pods instead of a mix of both.

Taj

43
Irish Air Corps / Marchetti's and Dauphins
« on: December 29, 2004, 06:30:50 pm »
The Marchettis have been placed in storage pending a decision on their future. When the PC-9's were successfully fired at the start of the month the plug was pulled. They were being flown every few weeks to keep them operational but not anymore. No 230 is destined for the museum and another aircraft which was undergoing a major overhaul/rebuild is being left in it's current state(completely dismantled). I dont know what the plans are for them in the long term.
One Dauphin currently in the air and flying very actively.
Haven't heard anything re the sim.

Taj

44
Irish Air Corps / Magazine
« on: December 27, 2004, 05:05:37 pm »
Hi Guys,

Hope you liked the December mag.

January Issue of Wings Ireland:

Icebird, From the Jumpseat by Mark Dwyer

Flight Test Tecnam P-2003. M. Bevan

Coonagh Airfield

Air Corps-AB-139 and EC-145 The Next Generation.

Air Corps Museum Update-Latest Photographs

Memory Lane, Damien Smyth

Product Reviews-Latest Flight Sim Hardware and Software, by Derek Clarke.

Trim Airfeild

News Update

Register Update

Aircraft Movements

AAIU Reports

The Christmas €40 Annual Subscription Special Offer is available until the 31st of December only. Thanks to all who have availed so far. If anyone would like to subscribe for the low price visit https://www.wingsireland.com/sub/order.php
Just fill out the Secure form to avail.

Many thanks to all who have supported the magazine in 2004. Looking forward with your help and suggestions to taking the magazine to new heights in 2005.

Tadhg

45
Irish Air Corps / Magazine
« on: December 08, 2004, 09:25:50 pm »
Hi all!


Check out www.wingsireland.com" target="_blank">www.wingsireland.com for the Wings Ireland Christmas 2004 special offer. Well worth the look!
Annual sub €40/Ireland and £28/Northern Ireland.

All Dec subs in the post(strike or no strike!)

Thanks to all who supported the magazine during 2004!

Tadhg

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