Originally published at: Canadian Helicopter Industry Slams Exemptions For Border Patrol Black Hawks - AVweb
Helicopter Association Canada has protested the “special airworthiness certificates” granted contractors for Black Hawks flying border patrol missions.
Boo-hoo boo-hoo… one does what one has to do. It’s about time. It has been long overdue and everyone knows that.
By the way, in case you haven’t noticed, the United States just lit up Iran in a big way utilizing an array of aviation hardware. Where’s the article?
From Russ:
Not much we can add yet to the blanket coverage in the mainstream media but there will be aviation angles for us to cover. Stay tuned.
You’ve all heard about the me-too movement? This is the industrial version in Canada. One contractor gets picked, the others are all p-o’d they didn’t get picked. In the past this “industry” was ok with using nasty old ex-soviet helos.
The military (in this case para-military) get all sorts of certification exemptions. It’s not as if they’re giving little kids rides at the county fair.
The real discussion should be about how stupid it is to use two big helos to monitor 4000 km of border (that’s 2500 sm to all y’all) day & night.
How much armament is needed in the border patrol mission?
Special avionics such as border patrol route capability in one popular brand of FMS? (Noting that the border is not straight in much of Canada.)
(I read that intoxicants from Communist China are now coming into the US via Canada since the southern border with Mexico is patrolled more, a reversal from recent history of them coming via the US.)
Blackhawks have served long and well with the US military and I don’t see the big “safety” hoopla, but, to quote from the article: “Why do some have to follow the rules and some don’t?” he said to the Post . Can’t argue with that question.
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