Peter Gristwood wrote:kanga wrote:..
<Devil's Advocate >
Genuine emergency deliveries as well as S&R, eg (in rural Devon) of medicines or even food if roads are impassable through floods or snow or moorland fire ?
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If it is that much an emergency they'd use military helicopters, not a drone. How much food (or fodder for sheep) could be carried by a drone ..,
<Devil still Advocating
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There are far fewer military helicopters available than there used to be (eg during 2007 Gloucestershire floods) since civilian S&R was outsourced to HMCG. And in those sorts of widespread local emergencies, military helicopters might be too busy dealing with the 'big picture' (eg, ferrying firefighters) to be able to accept 'isolated individual in trouble' tasks.
ISTR that even before that outsourcing, change of Treasury policy imposed on MoD in early '80s was that military helicopters not engaged in 'safety of
human life' tasks (eg, shifting fodder after heavy snowfall) must charge the user at commercial rates. I don't know if HMCG are required to levy similar reimbursement. Medevac might qualify for HMCG, but delivery of a small packet of essential drugs to a locally-based first responder .. ?
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[but, obviously, in rural Devon there is the advantage of relative proximity of bases of some of those few military helicopters, at Culdrose and maybe Yeovilton
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