(Longtailedlizard) wrote in message ...
Also, I'd like to add, the 767 has alot of airtime under the wings, and is
"the whore of the north atlantic". (mechanics lingo)
She'll take everyone, anywhere and do anything.

Sure its been a money maker for the airlines, but the 767 is no
warplane. New operational concepts are taking these big airframes
OVER the battlefield now. This is a significant fundamental change
from the way such aircraft have operated for the last 50 years and one
that is being ignored.

I've been a 767 heavy check mechanic since 92, I pushed over 200 767's
through, heavy "C" check, and last year was the first time we had ever pulled
off a engine pylon. (Boeing calls them engine struts)

Then you know the 767 is not built to withstand even minor battle
damage. Its folly to assume they could operate as they have in OEF and
OIF in an opposed battlespace....and if they won't be able to it may
mean the difference between winning and losing. The last few conflicts
have built up a bad case of hubris and false security that will
eventually bite somebody in the ass-Hard.

Its a well used and abused airplane, and will make the airlines money for
years to come.Its big enough to haul money making cargo in its belly, and pax
on top, on long trips, yet small enough not to need all the "attention" that a
4 engined 747, or the temparametal 777 with its 12ft dia. fan engines

In a battle situation the redundancies of a 4 engine aircraft-along
with the increased redundancies of other systems-are an obvious
advantage.
And its been my experience that the 777-200 isn't any more
"temperamental" than the 767-200 or -400 while beating the 76 in
payload and range dramatically... of course the 777 isn't an aircraft
I'd want to go into Harm's Way in either.

If Boeing were smart they would get out of this bean-counter drivien
box they are in and show some real innovation by feilding a next
generation large military aircraft design much as they did with the
Dash 80 a half century ago. Indeed the seeds of such an aircraft
already exist in the abortive Sonic Cruiser and 7E7.





The Air Force will just be replacing one workhorse with another.


J