S-92/CF purchase?

[Armymedic]

From Tuesday's Globe and Mail

April 7, 2009 at 4:36 AM EDT

A major helicopter manufacturer acknowledged yesterday it is scrambling to find a way to equip Canada's next fleet of military helicopters to deal with a potentially catastrophic oil leak in the gearbox.

The design work continues even though Sikorsky International Operations Inc. should have already started delivering 28 Cyclone MH-92 helicopters to replace the aging Sea Kings under a 2004 contract with Ottawa.

The first fully equipped helicopter is now scheduled to land in Canada in 2012, but critics and experts expressed fears that issues such as the gearbox design will hold up the completion of the $5-billion contract.

more on link:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090407.wcopter07/BNStory/National/home

 

[Cdn Blackshirt]

For those in the know, knowing what we know now, what helicopter would you have selected for the role and why?  I'm quite curious if the gearbox issue is now trumping the tail rotor issues that plagued the Cormorant.


Matthew. 

 

[Loachman]

Probably won't as Military Specs and Civy Specs would be different.

Only so much, or it becomes a completely different machine.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

Last updated at 3:12 PM on 17/04/09 

MacKay says DND won’t accept helicopter if it doesn’t meet specifications 
The Canadian Press—Halifax

Defence Minister Peter MacKay says Ottawa will not accept a helicopter contracted for the military unless it meets specifications set out by the Defence Department.
MacKay says the Cyclone MH-92 helicopters being manufactured by Sikorsky will have to have a so-called run-dry capability as spelled out in the contract specifications.
He says the requirements for the military aircraft are set by Defence technicians and there will be “rigorous testing and examination” of the aircraft before Ottawa takes possession.
Questions arose over the technology after a similar helicopter crashed off Newfoundland last month, killing 17 people.
The Sikorsky S-92, which did not have the run-dry capability, experienced an oil leak in the gearbox and went down after a mounting stud broke in flight.
MacKay says they will consider findings from an investigation into the crash that affect the design of the helicopter, but the specifications won’t change.