CH-146 Griffon

Griffon Image Gallery

417 Combat Support Squadron is equipped with three CH-146 Griffon helicopters.

The Squadron is charged with flying search and rescue (SAR), medevacs and Cold Lake Air Weapons Range maintenance. Griffon crews provide search and rescue for an area covering the 1.17 million hectares straddling the Alberta/Saskatchewan border that makes up the range.

417 Squadron's Griffons have been deployed more often to participate in national SAR operations since the integration in 1994 of four Search and Rescue technicians. One full crew and helicopter are on standby 24 hours a day. Their primary mission is to provide rapid response to local emergencies during flight operations.

The CH-146 Griffon has an advanced avionics suite, three-axis autopilot and a (NVG) night vision goggle compatible cockpit. It can also be fitted with FLIR (Forward Looking Infra Red), a powerful winch for search and rescue missions and a Searchlight for nighttime visibility.

CH-146 Quick Facts

Length: 17.1 m
Rotorspan: 14 m
Height: 4.6 m
Weight: 5,355 kg
Power: : Pratt & Whitney's PT6T-3D engine
Speed: 220 km/h (cruise) up to 260 km/h (maximum speed)
Range: 656 km (with full tanks)
Passengers: 13 (including crew)
Crew: Two pilots, one flight engineer (plus 1 or 2 search and rescue technician(s) as is the case at Cold Lake)
Year(s) procured: 1995 to 1997
Quantity at 4 Wing: 3