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IT’S SUNDAY AFTERNOON and this Irish Coast Guard helicopter crew are getting ready to take to the sky for a training exercise.
After a quick cup of tea and a full briefing on flight conditions, the crew of four hopped on board the Sikorsky S92 helicopter and, on this particular Sunday, they were kind enough to let us on tag along too.
The Dublin S92 was officially launched in January this year, completing the overhaul of the Coast Guard fleet with state-of-the-art aircraft.
The new technology in this chopper far exceeds its predecessor, with a long range heat seeking camera on the front to locate people in the water and a light for searches that we were told was so strong that it would start to melt the tarmac on the runway almost instantly. It can also fly in temperatures as low as minus 40.
Inside, there is enough space for 22 people – and of course all of the necessary medical equipment to assist the crew when they have a casualty on board.
In the cockpit, there are lots of very appealing buttons and levers that we were told politely not to touch or fall on top of. The screens you can see in the cockpit provide the pilots with detailed information, helping them decide, among other things where it’s safe to land.
The equipment in the cabin, operated by one of the winchmen, allows the crew to search for people in the water from a great distance and the pilots can toggle between these different screens which show heat sources, colour images and live night vision footage.
We flew along the coast, passing Howth and Bray and then over the Wicklow Mountains – some of the main areas where this crew would be called in to assist people.
It’s hard not to be envious of their daily access to incredibly stunning views of the Irish landscape. Here are just a few we captured:
After the training exercise was complete, it was back to the base at Dublin Airport where the crew agreed to winch this TheJournal.ie reporter out of the helicopter.
They take safety very seriously in the Coast Guard so, unfortunately, this is the only shot we got of it but you can use your imagination:
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I have been lost in penneys for days now, I have surrounded myself with ‘stuff’ bras and lady garments mostly creating a home. I have been sucking the moisture from the floor boards to stay hydrated and feeding on dull hypocritical conversations about the referendum..it’s the night I fear..
Best of luck wait till you go to county Tesco
Ive been Ikea for 6 months now…. I love it here
Surely if you just walk for half an hour, you’d find a Spar or Centra!
Yhea read somewhere
In Ireland the furthest you can ever be from a road is 3 miles
Not sure how true it is
Think if I was lost in Siberia or Utah or the Everglades I’d prefer “that eejit” Bear Grylls to be with me a thousand times more than this tv critic.
You would be wrong.
Bear Grylls is not an eejit!
If you’re lost on any mountain in Ireland, just walk until you find a stream and follow it downhill. It will eventually pass a house or village. You can try this in the safety of your own home with any OS map.
Makes sense if your in Everglades or something to call in to a random house and say your lost..knock on an Irish door and say your lost “f*ck off ye eegit how could ye be lost” haha
Following a stream downhill in fog is a risky occupation, you never know if there is a cliff ahead so beware! Slowly slowly is the way to go.
Walk 1 mile in any direction and order a pint!
Great advice For my trip to west cork Ireland’s answer to the middle of no where
Ha! Classic
Good advice, but if you think of going on a long hike into no mans land you would be a silly person not to bring some essentials.
Found myself on top of benbulben in Sligo after realising I forgot my water and had to drink from squeezing moss which grew out of the cliff face! twas nice :)
Drink your own p!ss !
Did you know a baked hedgehog is actually tasty? Just put it straight on the fire!
How bout just bringing your phone with you?
Phones aren’t guaranteed to work in many remote places.
Basically, this article is nothing but government PR designed to condition the Irish proletariat on what to expect their living conditions are going to be now that the Fiscal Treaty has been passed. We will see families up and down the land evicted from their homes and they will need these survival skills to eke out a basic existence in the hillsides and valleys. “Just collect a giant pile of stuff, and get in the middle of it”, the expert says. Boy, are we ever in the middle of a giant pile of “stuff” as it is and it will only become worse.
Oh FFS! Can we not talk about something else? There’s always one eejit banging on about politics when the subject is nothing to do with politics.
Bear Grylls, climbed everest, was in special forces, published a book, fittest, strongest most courageous guy we know…….
O’KELLY…… Em ….,who…..
Aebhric O’Kelly spent 10 years as a member of united states army special forces as opposed to grylls 3 years in the special forces Reserve. O’Kelly was an instructor in the tom brown school of survival(one of the top survival schools in the united states) while grylls goes on “survival expeditions” with a 5 star hotel to stay in at night. i think the difference may be fact and what makes good tv.
He parascended over Everest too! Think I would go with Bear every time!
What a silly article unless this is some joke. Yeah sure happens to me quite often to wakup next to dead seal which I could skin and put on as my wet gear then jump into freezing cold water and swim ahead maybe some vessel would pass by and see me… Thanks for tip!
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