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2003-10-31 Great White North

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Posted by Steve 2003-10-31 1:48:13 PM|| || Front Page|| [4 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Flying Yesterdayâs Aircraft Tomorrow.
Well, there are still some two hundred B-52's flying, and IIRC, the last one off the assembly line was accepted by the Air Force in 1962. Most of those still flying have crewmembers, sometimes whole crews, that are younger than the aircraft. I don't have the figures, but there's supposedly still some 2000 DC-3's and C-47's being used around the globe, including a pair at the airport in Omaha, Nebraska, flying under the name "Stagecoach Airlines". They're all getting old, and require special care. Sea King helicopters fall into that same category. If you build it right the first time, and take care of it when it needs it, it'll last. An early nickname for the F-16 was "Air Force Lawn Dart", because so many of them plowed into the ground. That was more due to pilot familiarization than faulty design, but not entirely. It doesn't matter whether it's state-of-the-art technology or something older than I am, if it's not manufactured well, if it's not maintained well, and if the people using it aren't trained well, it's a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-10-31 2:13:05 PM|| [http://users.codenet.net/mweather/default.htm] 2003-10-31 2:13:05 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 ...Sadly, M. Chretien has absolutely no regard for the Canadian Armed Forces - and it's a shame, because I've worked with those guys time and time again, and it's awful to see them dying the death of a thousand cuts up there.
A prediction, because it's my understanding that M. Chretien is as obsessed with his 'legacy' as Someone Else was - he will attempt todisband what's left before he leaves office in order to get himself a Nobel. Imagine the screams of admiration from the left after the leader of a first-world Western nation becomes the first one to actually eliminate his nation's military.
(And yes, I know, Canada has treaty commitments. My feeling there is that nations have commitments; politicians only have constituencies.)

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2003-10-31 2:18:16 PM|| 2003-10-31 2:18:16 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 Maybe it's better that dar-al-Canada no longer has any military capacity worth mentioning. Consider this: right after the Prime Minister of Malaysia gave that speach which would have brought a tear to Hitler's eye, M. Chretien walked up and shook his hand. I kid you not.

Posted by Secret Master 2003-10-31 3:49:30 PM|| [www.budgetwarrior.com] 2003-10-31 3:49:30 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Some equipment can last forever. There are Fram destroyers from the US WWII fleet still in service around the world. When properly lubricated a low speed reduction gear will last forever.
An airframe is an entirely different matter. The services need to get together and compromise on a replacement for the Sea King.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-10-31 5:25:14 PM|| 2003-10-31 5:25:14 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 still some 2000 DC-3's and C-47's being used around the globe

OP I have an Uncle that used to work on C-47s in SE Asia in the late '50s (Flyin Tiger!) noted engines that had been rebuilt so many times it was difficult to find a place to stamp his mark on the block.

Posted by Shipman 2003-10-31 5:48:54 PM|| 2003-10-31 5:48:54 PM|| Front Page Top

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