[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by zoombini

Yet it still does not say exactly what prevents them from flying in cloudy weather?

Here you go:

The Chinook Mark 3s were bought for their extended range, night-vision sensors and navigation capability. However, as work progressed, †œit became evident that displays for the weather radar and other systems . . . would not fit inside the existing (Chinook) cockpitââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚ÂÂ�.

One solution, the NAO said, was to have a totally digitised cockpit, the option chosen by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. But the MoD could not afford it, so a †œhybrid solutionââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ� was chosen: putting some digital equipment into the cockpit, while keeping other older analogue systems.

However, the decision for a mix-and-match of old and new proved unworkable, because the hybrid version failed to meet UK defence standards for safe flying. The NAO said the Chinook Mark 3 †œis currently restricted to day/night flying above 500ft in weather clear of cloudââ‚ƚ¬Ã‚ÂÂÂ�.

Pilots also have to fly the aircraft by looking out of the cockpit window for †œexternal reference pointsââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ� and cannot rely on flight displays.

†œThese restrictions mean that the helicopters cannot be used other than for limited flight trials,ââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚ÂÂ� the NAO said. To achieve the level of capability envisaged when the MoD bought the eight aircraft, the MoD now needed to spend an extra £127 million.

(taken from yesterdays Times)