DiNapoli rejects Cuomo's request for helicopter

[WNYresident]

ALBANY – The state’s chief fiscal watchdog has rejected the no-bid purchase of a $12.5 million helicopter intended for the State Police but also to ferry Gov. Andrew Cuomo around the state.
Cuomo administration officials, however, insisted that the purchase effort for the Sikorsky S76-D is still underway and that they are in the process of answering Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s questions.
The situation, though, can be expected to further heighten tensions between Cuomo and DiNapoli, whose office last week turned down the plan to use a non-competitive bidding process to purchase a new state helicopter. Cuomo and DiNapoli have had chilly relations for years, and the comptroller has issued several scathing audits and reports pertaining to Cuomo administration agencies.

http://buffalonews.com/2016/12/06/co...ime=1481045310

[WNYresident]

Flying Cuomo among uses for new, faster State Police helicopter

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo soon may be flying above the skies of New York in a state-of-the art helicopter that is faster, larger and quieter than his current State Police-supplied helicopter.

The State Police is working on a final contract to purchase a slightly used Sikorsky S76-D for $12.5 million, which also includes training for five agency pilots.

The new helicopter will not be exclusively for Cuomo’s use.

http://buffalonews.com/2016/10/22/st...rry-gov-cuomo/


12 mil plus ongoing maintenance cost would buy Andrew Cuomo quite a few business class airline tickets.

[WNYresident]

"This helicopter is the first to be purchased by State Police in nearly 15 years, will be done so at a significant savings to taxpayers, and be able to fulfill a ‎greater range of missions, as well as have a greater capacity than the aircraft it's replacing.

I wonder what "missions" are really needed to justify this type of helicopter.

But DiNapoli’s office declined to approve the purchase partly because it said the State Police failed to explain how the aircraft’s interior could be modified from its present “deluxe VIP interior group” configuration to an interior for specific law enforcement or rescue missions.

“It is unclear how this helicopter could be efficiently used for these other missions,’’ the state comptroller’s office wrote to the State Police in a letter dated Nov. 29.

Well at lease there is someone with some common sense watching what is going on. $12,000,000 to buy this then millions to "upgrade the interior" afterwards.

Sikorsky’s New S-76D Evaluated by Former North Sea Helicopter Pilot – AINtv

[WNYresident]

The S-76D™ helicopter is equipped with modern technology and builds upon the safety, reliability and efficiency established by a long legacy of the S-76® family of aircraft. Sikorsky has delivered more than 850 S-76 helicopters to customers globally since 1979 contributing daily to nearly seven million flight hours.

The S-76D features Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines, the TopDeck® cockpit developed by Thales and new composite main and tail rotor blades. These technologies, along with the aircraft’s performance, give the operator the best-in-class option in today’s under-12,500 pound helicopter class.

http://lockheedmartin.com/us/product...elicopter.html

[WNYresident]

Sikorsky S-76D

Fuel Cost (per Nautical Mile)

$4.03

Assume $6 per gallon of fuel. This normalized figure, which is calculated using max range and useable fuel capacity, is relative and should only be referred to for comparison purposes. Note that this is NOT normalized for passenger capacity, meaning that the largest helicopters can still be very efficient if they are used to their full potential.


This is the approximate cost of the helicopter when new.

$9.9 Million

The S-76D is classified as a large helicopter, and can be used for the following missions: Corporate, Medical, Oil & Gas, and Parapublic. The approximate base price of this rotorcraft is $9.9 million, which is roughly as expensive as the average for its class. It can transport up to 13 passengers, 6 fewer than competitors of a similar size. The S-76D can fly as far as 441 nautical miles on a tank of fuel, a range that's 14 mi farther than other similarly sized rotorcraft. Its maximum altitude ceiling (HOGE) is 5000 feet, which is 1,010 ft lower than average for its class. Top speed comes in at 155 knots, or 5.4% faster than the average large helicopter.

http://helicopters.axlegeeks.com/l/7/Sikorsky-S-76D


So let us say Andrew calls Jeremy and says I need some donations.

Mind if I fly to Buffalo and we setup a fund raiser?

Google Maps

4 hours and 30 minutes at 293 miles.

293 Miles X $4.03 = $1,180.79 with the S-76D

Or

A bus ticket about $50 each way.

https://www.wanderu.com/en/bus-ticke...us-ny/buffalo/

Or

A train ticket about round-trip about $51 bucks

https://www.amtrak.com/empire-service-train

Or he just drives and we reimburse him .25 cents a mile. $73.25 each way.

[WNYresident]

Moreover, they said the Sikorsky, unlike the 13 other helicopters in the State Police fleet, has the capacity – with a range of 378 statute miles – to cross the state without re-fueling. And that will permit pilots on search missions to remain in the air for longer amounts of time than the current fleet, they said.

S-76D 441 Nautical miles versus 387 for a range difference of 54 miles or really 27 miles if the copter returns to the same airport it left.


Cruise speed 155 knots. For us normal people a knot = 1.15 MPH = 178.25 miles per hour.

I took 178.25 / 60 minutes = 2.97 miles per minute.

So with a 54 extra miles they could get just over 18 minutes of extra fly time in total. Or 9 minutes extra if returning to the same air field.

With only 54 extra miles they would still have to refuel. Are they literally 54 miles short to where they are going currently?

Correct?

http://helicopters.axlegeeks.com/l/7/Sikorsky-S-76D

[WNYresident]

Cuomo now uses one of the State Police’s Bell 430 helicopters. Four were purchased during the Pataki Administration in 2001 and 2002 for $5 million each.

The Bell 430 is a twin-engine light-medium helicopter built by Bell Helicopter. It is a stretched and more powerful development of the Bell 230, which, in turn, was based on the earlier Bell 222.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_430

[WNYresident]

The governor uses the helicopter for shorter flights, such as between Albany and an airport near his home in Westchester County or from a helipad in Manhattan to events on Long Island. On longer flights, Cuomo has a State Police turboprop airplane at his disposal, which he used to attend events in Hornell and Rochester earlier this week.

Why can't he drive home?


VIP interiors on Google images.



Inside Donald Trump's $7 million private chopper

Along with his giant Boeing 757, Trump also has an array of personal helicopters. He recently upgraded one of his personal choppers to a Sikorsky S-76, the manufacturer's top-of-the-line for private aviation. To make the interior Trump-worthy, he hired Eric Roth, the famed aircraft interior-designer based in New York's Long Island.

Pre-owned Sikorsky S-76's usually sell for $5 million to $7 million. To redo the interior, Trump probably spent at least another $750,000—though Roth won't say how much exactly.

http://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/17/insid...e-chopper.html

I wonder where Albany is buying this "used" helicopter from. $5 to $7 million but the one Albany wants is $12 million.