The Ship Model Forum

Farewell to the CH-124 Sea King - Canadian Forces fleet has flown more than 550,000 hours
David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen
Updated: December 1, 2018
The Canadian Forces held a farewell for the CH-124 Sea King maritime helicopter marking its more than five decades of service, in a parade held Saturday in British Columbia.
The retirement parade was held at 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron at Patricia Bay, BC, near Victoria. The Sea King will officially retire from service by December 31 as the RCAF completes its transition to the new CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter.
The CH-124 Sea King is a ship-borne maritime helicopter and, according to the Canadian military, the longest-serving aircraft in the RCAF fleet. It was bought in 1963 mainly for anti-submarine warfare but various roles were added over the decades.
The RCAF Sea King fleet has flown in excess of 550,000 hours – which at a cruising speed of 162 km/h is roughly equivalent to flying 7,200 times around the Earth, or the equivalent of the distance from Earth to Mars, the Canadian military noted in a news release.
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It was a very emotional event for me as I've had 3 operational tours on the Beast plus one instructional tour! They have a couple of the new Cyclones on strength now and more are showing up as the training progresses. It will be sad to see the Sea King go but it is inevitable that newer technology will introduce greater capabilities for the fleet.

A proud but sad day!!

Paul O'Reilly