Mary Shafer wrote:
On 24 Oct 2004 14:33:05 GMT, (Pechs1) wrote:
It is an old design, never modified to it's full capabilities with
available technology. Analog, push rod type flight controls, tube
type avionics, ****poor engines in the majority of the A/C(TF-30).

What really did it in was LRUs, Line-Replaceable Units. These greatly
reduce the amount of plane-side maintenance by moving it to depots.
Instead of repairing or replacing components, the entire defective
unit is pulled out and a new working unit is plugged in. This is
quick and easy.

The LRUs were the result of the military emphasizing ease of
maintenance. With LRUs they increased up time, reduced maintenance
time, and reduced crew size.

We saw a huge improvement in all three at Dryden when we switched from
F-104s to F-18s. The USN saw something similar going from A-7s to
F/A-18s, according to a couple of captains I talked to back in 1990.

Which does raise the question ogf what might have happened to Tomcat
availability, etc, if it had been redeisgned from the ground up in the early
1990s like the Super Hornet. (Actually, unlike the Hornet, the base
structural design could probably have been retained, even if a wing and
inlet redesign was desirable.)

I'm sure it would still have been more maintenance-intensive than the SH
(bigger engines, second seat, etc.). But it seems to me that switching the
electronics over to LRUs, going to modern flight controls, and installing
new-technology engines would have done wonders for servicability rates and
maintenance costs.

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"Our country, right or wrong. When right, to be kept right, when
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