An Cosantóir September 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie
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Other Air Corps types included the CASA CN235 maritime
patrol aircraft, which itself is in service since 1994, but re-
mains a very appropriate, not to say spritely, performer over
the sea. Also on location from Baldonnel was Eagle Section,
a foursome of Swiss-made PC-9s whose formation flying
was second to none and from whom the singleton ap-
peared and gave the finest Air Corps aerobatic performance
for many years. It is no wonder that this type, or advanced
versions of it are in widespread military service in all parts
of the globe.
Helicopters had not been neglected on the pro-
gramme, as the EC135 from Baldonnel was impressive,
display semi-aerobatic manoeuvres that would have
defeated older rotary-winged machines, not to mention
their pilots! Turns in excess of 110 degrees angle of bank
seemed to be the norm, while nose-over "bunts" posed
no problems at all, not mention flying backwards at
high speed.
An "under the radar" arrival was the Irish Coast
Guard's S-92 search and rescue helicopter based at Dub-
lin Airport. It literally popped up at sea level and almost
caught the commentary team unawares. This new high
performance type replaced the stalwart S-61 in service
and is capable of conducting searches for a full four
hours at a distance of 275 nautical miles from base in
order to rescue four survivors and then return home
with a 30-minute fuel reserve. By way of illustrating its
capabilities, a demonstration winching exercise took
The Cessna 172s of the Irish Air Corps were naturally
sedate in display terms but have given sterling service
over the decades as they first arrived in 1972.
The capable S-92 of the Irish Coastguard has become
a common sight around the entire coastline as four
examples are in service for 24 hours SAR work.
