Another Ancient Military Plane Grounded

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
...

What? You are complaining about the military being frugal with your
tax dollars? I suspect that the P-3 has had one of the best returns
on initial investment of the various airplane programs out there...


Agreed, it's been a good aircraft. But the time has come -- and gone
-- to replace it.

Military spending is one of the very few legitimate purposes for
having a Federal government. I have no quarrel with spending tax
money to keep our Air Force modern.

As it is, the Air Force has been reduced to such a tiny size that
there are legitimate arguments being made to roll it back into the
Army. With so few planes and bases, there is little rationale for
having an independent Air Force, with all the dead-weight bureacracy
that comes with it.


Agreed, but the Air Force operates no P-3s.

ahhh the day that a P3 shows up at Blakesburg....
They frown on bonanzas... I can't imagine what the impression of a
turboprop would be.
At least the engine is round....

Mike
Jay Honeck wrote:
More metal fatigue. Our military might as well be a chapter of the
Antique Aircraft Association in Blakesburg, Iowa...
************************************************** ************************************************** *****
Washington, USA - "Structural fatigue"
(WAPA) - The US Navy decided to ground 39 of its 161 P-3C Orion
reconnaissance planes, because according to data resulting from
examinations they show signs of "Structural fatigue on the lower
section of the wing". The aircraft will now undergo maintenance
interventions, which are expected to take from 18 to 24 months.

The P-3C Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft, produced in its first
model in the late 1950s by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, which
played an important role in the Cold War and are presently employed
among other in reconnaissance operations in the Iraq conflict. These
four-engine turboprops are expected to be gradually replaced by
Boeing's P-8A Poseidons, but the Navy counts to continue using the
P-3s until 2019. Therefore careful and periodical maintenance
activities will be needed.

Another model of aircraft of the US armed forces to have recently
showed signs of fatigue has been the F-15 jet fighter (see AVIONEWS).
(Avionews)
************************************************** ************************************************** *****
How long can our guys be expected to hold the line with these ancient
airplanes?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

ahhh the day that a P3 shows up at Blakesburg....
They frown on bonanzas... I can't imagine what the impression of a
turboprop would be.

Hey, who would have ever thought that we'd see a B-25 Mitchell bomber
at Blakesburg?

Strange things happen, over time...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
ahhh the day that a P3 shows up at Blakesburg....
They frown on bonanzas... I can't imagine what the impression of a
turboprop would be.

Hey, who would have ever thought that we'd see a B-25 Mitchell bomber
at Blakesburg?

Strange things happen, over time...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"
ya got to drop your pumpkins somehow. I can't think of a better way.

Mike

On Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:55:09 -0800 (PST), Jay Honeck
wrote:

More metal fatigue. Our military might as well be a chapter of the
Antique Aircraft Association in Blakesburg, Iowa...
************************************************* ************************************************** ******
Washington, USA - "Structural fatigue"
(WAPA) - The US Navy decided to ground 39 of its 161 P-3C Orion
reconnaissance planes, because according to data resulting from
examinations they show signs of "Structural fatigue on the lower
section of the wing". The aircraft will now undergo maintenance
interventions, which are expected to take from 18 to 24 months.

The P-3C Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft, produced in its first
model in the late 1950s by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, which
played an important role in the Cold War and are presently employed
among other in reconnaissance operations in the Iraq conflict. These
four-engine turboprops are expected to be gradually replaced by
Boeing's P-8A Poseidons, but the Navy counts to continue using the
P-3s until 2019. Therefore careful and periodical maintenance
activities will be needed.

Another model of aircraft of the US armed forces to have recently
showed signs of fatigue has been the F-15 jet fighter (see AVIONEWS).
(Avionews)
************************************************* ************************************************** ******
How long can our guys be expected to hold the line with these ancient
airplanes?

Although it's a bit long in the tooth I think the P-3 is very well
suited for it's mission for distance, duration, and wide range of
altitude and speed of operation. http://www.rogerhalstead.com/p3s.htm
Roger (K8RI)

On 2007-12-18, Jay Honeck wrote:
How long can our guys be expected to hold the line with these ancient
airplanes?

Well, our guys still fly the Nimrod, which is a converted Comet. Yes,
the world's first commercial jet airliner is still flying in the form of the
Nimrod (although not the version of the Comet that had a tendency to
'dynamically disassemble' in-flight due to fatigue cracking around
square windows).

We occasionally get visits from Nimrods. With the engines concealed
in the wings, it looks very sleek without too much stuff hanging off it.
A number of them were also significantly refurbished in the 90s (new,
larger wings and new larger engines) essentially to new conditions.

--
From the sunny Isle of Man.
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.

Not only that, but the FAA has issued a NPRM requiring a special issue of
medical certificate for pilots of the Lockheed Constellation because ...


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not many pilots these days can take three pieces of tail in a row.