Buffed up?

A nice idea, but I doubt it will fly with the Air Force (via Spotlight on Military News and International Affairs):

Viking Proposes Resurrection Of DHC-5 Buffalo

Earlier this year Viking Air, of Victoria, B.C. Canada resumed production of the de Havilland Twin Otter [more here] and now it has its sights set on an even more ambitious project. The company, which owns the type certificate to seven de Havilland models, is proposing to start building the DHC-5 Buffalo, a large twin-engine utility aircraft with ultra short takeoff and landing capability and a rear cargo door that accommodated bulky cargo. The aircraft has been the backbone of the Canadian Forces' fixed wing search and rescue fleet for decades [only at CFB Comox, B.C., for the last 11 years] but the military is now looking for replacements for the 40-year-old aircraft. Viking President Dave Curtis says the most affordable answer is an updated Buff. "The requirement to replace the present fleet is not based on a lack of ability for the Buffalo to do the job, but simply due to the aging of the aircraft," Curtis said.

Curtis said other countries have expressed interest in a modernized Buffalo, which would include more efficient, more powerful Pratt and Whitney Canada PW150 engines, glass cockpit with enhanced vision and NVG capability. There are at least two Buffaloes in commercial service in Canada's north and Viking says there is a potential market for civilian versions of the aircraft. Viking is proposing to phase in the new Buffaloes by upgrading existing aircraft first. New aircraft would be built at Viking's facilities in Victoria and Calgary.

As I wrote in May when Viking Air first floated the idea:

I can't see the Air Force going for this. They want one plane for fixed-wing SAR across the country (instead of now the six Buffalos in B.C. and our remaining C-130Es in the rest of the country--I'm pretty sure nineteen are not still flying). I think they also want a plane that can double effectively as a tactical transport within Canada [and maybe the hemisphere] to supplement our C-130Js when the C-130Hs are retired. And I don't think the Buffalo, old or new-build, fits that role.

It looks like the Air Force wants the C-27J, a much larger aircraft, to fit that role--see the end of this post.

Here's a letter from Viking Air with more details of their proposal.

Update: A relevant comment by Zoomie at Milnet.ca:

As it stands - unless Viking dramatically changes the design of the original DHC-5 Buffalo - nothing they make will be sufficient.

a) too slow;

b) not pressurized;

c) insufficient range; and

d) design is outdated.

The Buff was designed to be an intra-theatre tactical lift aircraft. If Viking wishes to pitch that role to the CF, I am all for it. It does not meet the needs of our frugal Airforce and its FWSAR replacement program.

Sorry Viking, too little too late.

Upperdate: An interesting editorial in the Victoria Times Colonist (via David Pugliese):

Consider options for rescue plane

Defence Minister Peter MacKay and the federal government should welcome a proposal from Victoria-based Viking Air to replace the air force's aging CC-115 Buffalo search-and-rescue planes.

It's not that Viking Air is asking for special consideration because it is a Canadian company. The firm's president, Dave Curtis, says Viking has a solution that would be cheaper by about $1.5 billion than what it would cost to buy and service a fleet of Italian-designed Alenia C-271Js.

While Viking's proposal to modernize the Buffalos would also create 350 jobs, its primary appeal is that the company is willing to compete with the world for this work. In that way, it differs dramatically from the arguments supporting construction of B.C.'s new ferries in Canada as opposed to in Germany, where they were eventually built. B.C.'s shipbuilding industry simply couldn't match the Germans on price and value.

If the military is going to consider Viking's proposal, then it might also have to take another look at Bombardier's proposal to replace the Buffalos with the Q200, which had already been rejected for lack of a rear ramp. As much as any Canadian company, Bombardier has survived and thrived on the fat of federal government pork.

Unfortunately, one perverse good reason for buying outside the country is that it would avoid the regional battles over these kinds of contracts. Witness the challenge from Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax last year after B.C. shipyards were awarded $1.5 billion in contracts to maintain Canada's four submarines.

Of course, Viking will have to prove it can produce planes that meet air force specifications for search and rescue. One of the more attractive features of the C-271J is its cruising speed of 600 kilometres an hour, nearly twice that of the Buffalo. That means the C-271J can zip from airbases in southern Canada to the Arctic much more quickly. On the other hand, the Buffalo is far superior at short takeoffs and landings, which is also valuable in Arctic and other extreme conditions.

Another asset of the Alenia C-271J is its pressurized cabin, although an unpressurized cabin also has advantages. Such a plane has a lighter airframe and the doors can be removed to facilitate cargo drops, according to a posting on the website of the Canadian American Strategic Review [not sure which one of these is referred to].

The review argues that the military's fixed-wing search-and-rescue project has become an air force catch-all, encompassing "tactical transport, spares delivery and Arctic utility" on top of SAR. The review also notes that most of Canada's allies are privatizing that function.

More significantly, the review says the Alenia C-271J can't match the Buffalo's performance as a search-and-rescue plane.

That raises the question of whether or not the federal government should re-evaluate what it wants of the Buffalo replacements.

If it wants a versatile, high-speed aircraft, then the Alenia C-271J makes sense. If the government wants a superior search-and-rescue plane, then Viking might have the best answer.

Viking demonstrated earlier this year that it can modernize a classic flying workhorse, the Twin Otter. The company announced in November that it already had orders for 40 of the $4-million aircraft.

So Viking doesn't need the federal government's help to build a vibrant business. The government, though, might benefit from Viking's help in developing the search-and-rescue aircraft best suited for this country.

Just remember that for most of the country a regular military transport, the C-130E, has been performing the fixed-wing SAR role for over a decade--while doubling in the transport role. As I wrote in a post mentioned above:

As for that secondary transport capability, take a look at these squadrons:

435 Squadron, Winnipeg
424 Squadron, Trenton
413 Squadron, Greenwood

Uppestdate: From one who flies with Buffs, at Army.ca:

As someone who works in the Buff and loves it, I can say, that the only reason I would prefer a new "tatonka" would be nostalgia. The old "she's good in the mountains" only rings true when we are working down low in them. Any time we are trying to get over them in a hurry, to render aid to anywhere other than Coastal BC, it can be a royal pain to be tethered to an oxygen mask. the buff is box shaped in cross section, and basic geometry states that rectangles aren't stong enough to be pressurized. (maybe its physics, or some other science, but for sure you can't pressurize the buff.) SAR will be different when we get the new plane. I hope it is the C27, for the reasons I have stated way back pages ago when i first started to think we might someday get a new plane. This Viking/ Bombadeer conglomeration is not going to help us find the right plane. it is only going to hurt, and no doubt contribute to muddying and lengthening the procurement process. My planes are worn out. Totally worn out.