{"id":358808,"date":"2024-10-01T09:13:38","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T13:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/?post_type=news&p=358808"},"modified":"2024-10-10T13:06:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T17:06:47","slug":"james-bond-skyfall-helicopter-finds-second-life-as-ch-149-cormorant-testbed","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/news\/james-bond-skyfall-helicopter-finds-second-life-as-ch-149-cormorant-testbed\/","title":{"rendered":"James Bond \u2018Skyfall\u2019 helicopter finds second life as CH-149 Cormorant testbed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the climax of the movie Skyfall, <\/em>James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) trades simulated bullets in the dark with villains aboard a hovering Leonardo AW101 helicopter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After some back-and-forth, the villains lay waste to the spy character\u2019s beloved Aston Martin sports car with a high-powered machine gun.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bond is miffed, but undeterred. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Civ1 features prominently in the climactic scenes of ‘Skyfall.’ Ian Harding Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He answers by sparking a bomb so big the explosion hits the helicopter and knocks it out of the sky, creating an even bigger ball of flames.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bond escapes and saves the day, seemingly without breaking a sweat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in a day\u2019s work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That helicopter, though? It was a real AW101, owned by Leonardo and known within the company as the \u201cCiv1.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Bond, the aircraft lived to die … er, be decommissioned, another day.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in a sprawling Leonardo hangar in Yeovil, U.K., the Civ1 has found a second life as a testbed for the Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade (CMLU) for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The ‘Skyfall’ helicopter has been converted to a testbed for Canada’s CH-149 Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade. Leonardo Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The RCAF has used specialized AW101s, known as CH-149 Cormorants, for search-and-rescue (SAR), since 2001.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2022, it awarded Leonardo a C$1.168 billion contract to modernize its fleet of 13 existing Cormorants, plus three new aircraft, and ensure they continue flying for decades into the future.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a mock-up, we are using the [Civ1] helicopter to assist with design and develop the CMLU rear cabin and interior layout before this goes onto the customer\u2019s production aircraft,\u201d a Leonardo spokesperson told Vertical. <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t join the [RCAF] fleet.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three new Cormorant airframes will be produced in Yeovil and sent to IMP Aerospace in Nova Scotia for completion and final assembly in 2025.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s expected these will be delivered to the RCAF in 2026 and sent to 19 Wing Comox, British Columbia.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In aviation, as in prestige sky movies, sometimes you only live twice. Leonardo Photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The remaining 13 upgraded aircraft are set for deliveries starting in 2027 (to 14 Wing Greenwood, Nova Scotia; 9 Wing Gander, Newfoundland, and 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If all goes according to plan, the fleet will be fully operational by 2029, and will continue operating into the 2040s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the Civ1, both its Hollywood tenure and its service life are firmly in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat specific helicopter has been fully decommissioned and will not fly again,\u201d per the spokesperson. \u201cIt has always been used for our developmental activities on the AW101 program over years.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In aviation, as in prestige spy movies, it turns out you only live twice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– With files from Chris Thatcher <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Leonardo AW101 from ‘Skyfall’ is now an integral part of the Royal Canadian Air Force Cormorant Mid-Life Upgrade program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":358813,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-358808","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/358808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/289"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}