July 4, 200719 yr It seems like a waste, but I work in this business and it is necessary. The only place that most of these parts are good for is on these planes. The secondary market is huge and these parts even if sold to someone in a friendly governement can eventually wind up anywhere. We have very strict licensing for the sale of any of these parts from bolts to bearings to windshields. This activity is monitored very closely by the feds...
July 6, 200719 yr Like I read the whole story. How old are you going to feel when they start replacing the F-16 (Falcon), F-18 (Hornet), A-10 (Thunderbolt) and A-6 (Harrier) with the F-35 Lightning II? I'll feel real old. You're right. The Harrier is the AV-8B. And dang is it loud when it transitions from horizontal to vertical and all that thrust is pointed downward. The first day I reported for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, one flew over right near us low and slow, and I "jumped" while in formation. My Gunny lit me up like a firecracker. I didn't care. They are way cool jets and it was the first time I saw one up close; real close. And those FA-18s are sweet. My base was the last group to transition from the Phantoms to the Hornets. The pilots were grumbling, but I thought the Hornets were so much better than the 4s (the pilots biggest complaint really, in my opinion, came from the back that the RIO's were out of work as the 18s were singles). Within a year, the pilots were no longer grumbling. Unfortunately I had to investigate a couple of 18 fatalities. Pilot/crew error. The machine was flawless.
July 6, 200719 yr A-10's were almost phased out once 1996 or 1997, then brought back for Kosovo. I have been to the factory that refurbishes them....
July 6, 200719 yr A-10's were almost phased out once 1996 or 1997, then brought back for Kosovo. I have been to the factory that refurbishes them.... The Air Force has always hated them. They're not special, they're not flashy. Close in air support is not their preference. They prefer to keep their distance.
July 6, 200719 yr I'll feel real old. You're right. The Harrier is the AV-8B. And dang is it loud when it transitions from horizontal to vertical and all that thrust is pointed downward. The first day I reported for Officer Candidate School at Quantico, one flew over right near us low and slow, and I "jumped" while in formation. My Gunny lit me up like a firecracker. I didn't care. They are way cool jets and it was the first time I saw one up close; real close. And those FA-18s are sweet. My base was the last group to transition from the Phantoms to the Hornets. The pilots were grumbling, but I thought the Hornets were so much better than the 4s (the pilots biggest complaint really, in my opinion, came from the back that the RIO's were out of work as the 18s were singles). Within a year, the pilots were no longer grumbling. Unfortunately I had to investigate a couple of 18 fatalities. Pilot/crew error. The machine was flawless. I can't believe that I called the Harrier an A-6, but then again, I was an MCAS(H) guy. The only fixed wing birds we had were OV-10s. My cousin was a test pilot on the F/A-18. He also taught the Iraninans how to fly the F-14 (under the Shah). He said that the more manueverable these modern planes become, the less air-worthy they become without power and computers. Fighters today have so many control surfaces that are managed by microcircuits, that its like flying a rock when your systems start crashing.
July 6, 200719 yr I can't believe that I called the Harrier an A-6, but then again, I was an MCAS(H) guy. The only fixed wing birds we had were OV-10s. My cousin was a test pilot on the F/A-18. He also taught the Iraninans how to fly the F-14 (under the Shah). He said that the more manueverable these modern planes become, the less air-worthy they become without power and computers. Fighters today have so many control surfaces that are managed by microcircuits, that its like flying a rock when your systems start crashing. That is one of the things that you have to take into account with modern aircraft. The better a fighter plane is, i.e. the more manuverable it is, the more aerodynamically unstable it is. That is what allows it to make such tight manuvers. The fly by wire systems that are in modern aircraft are what keeps them in the air. The F-117, B-2, F-16 and the newest version of the F/A-18 the "Super Hornet" couldn't stay in the air without them.
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