Chopper delay means more strain on aging Sea Kings
Posted Jun 10, 2010 06:35:15 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A delay in the delivery date for the Navy’s new helicopters will put a strain on the aging fleet of Sea Kings now in service.
Delivery of the new Cyclone helicopters won’t begin until June 2012, nearly
three-and-a-half years behind schedule – forcing the military to continue to fly the nearly 50-year-old Sea Kings.
The first of the new Sikorski CH-148 Cyclones were supposed to be handed over to the Navy in November 2008, with all 28 in the military’s hands by June 2012.
That’s now the new date for the delivery of the first of the choppers.
Lee Myerhaugen is a former Sea King pilot. Despite their age, he says they’re still quite safe, though it’s not an easy chore to keep them in top shape.
“Much more cost and I think the operators are going to have to be that much more diligent in trying to stretch this rubber band that much further,” said Myerhaugen.
NDP MP Peter Stoffer agrees.
“I’m not concerned about the airworthiness of the Sea King,” he said. “I’m just concerned about the frustration that the men and women have at Shearwater because they’ve been promised certain deadlines for so many years now.”
The$5 billion contract will see the military get 28 new choppers.
