Airliners.net

smithbs

Re: Would US Military Ever Sell C-5 to the Civilian Cargo Market?

For commercial use: C-5: Was never offered, and I bet no one would have taken it. C-17: Was offered, no takers. C-130 as L100: Did have some takers, but it's a thin market when you divide L100 sales out over the years. An-124: A few takers, although as mentioned above the commercial vs government st...

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smithbs

Re: Drones Of Unknown Origin Swarm US Destroyers At Sea

It's the stuff of conspiracy theories!

I think the Navy's lack of energy to address this is a big hint. They don't seem worked up about it. I would go so far as to suggest they are Navy drones, or at least DoD, and they are classified enough that we the public only get reports that don't make sense.

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smithbs

Re: Why doesn't Boeing build regional jet?

As mentioned above, the RJ space had been hard enough to even survive in, let alone turn a profit. There are too many head stones in that graveyard, and today we are left praying for the survival of Embraer and Mitsubishi (who has yet to actually produce!). For good reason, Boeing doesn't play in th...

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smithbs

Re: UK Defence Command Paper: RAF to Axe C-130 Fleet by 2023

RJMAZ wrote:
What would the members here pick if the costs were equal?

The British have an industrial stake in the A400M. That answers the question for me. If they have a capacity shortfall in 3 years, then by all means they should top up on the A400M.

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smithbs

Re: UK Defence Command Paper: RAF to Axe C-130 Fleet by 2023

The British budget axe swings again. Oh, how much damage it has done over the decades. Complete overreaction. I guess you're right. The British government doesn't go around defunding aging platforms before their planned drawdown and retirement, thereby resulting in a capability gap. Except for Nimr...

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smithbs

Re: UK Defence Command Paper: RAF to Axe C-130 Fleet by 2023

The British budget axe swings again. Oh, how much damage it has done over the decades. But on the other hand, the British have a deeper stake in the A400M, and despite being more expensive it is money spent somewhat closer to home. Maybe that is the line of thinking if they come to find a transporta...

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smithbs

Re: KC-135 boom info required please

I like the manual that was on the britmodeller website. Good info, except missing that inner tube diameter. It might be tough to model. The outer tube would be 59 mils in 1/144. You might be limited to what brass rod selection you can get to find something that is close. It's also not a true cylinde...

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smithbs

Re: A350F. Airbus looking to launch: Looking for customers

I think this is a good step in Airbus product line planning. For anyone with a widebody program, it is highly recommended to have a freighter variant and freighter conversion plan waiting in the file cabinet for when the time calls. It may take a long time to come about, but it's an additional reven...

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smithbs

Re: Could SLC be a focus city or hub for a second airline?

PatrickZ80 wrote:
What about a low-cost airline? I'm surprised Salt Lake City has neither Spirit, nor Allegiant, and only very little Frontier. it seems to be full service airlines only. I can totally see Spirit or Frontier make Salt Lake City work for them.

Those go out of Provo, or Allegiant at least.

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smithbs

Re: TWA 800 wreckage to be destroyed before 25th anniversary

https://www.theonion.com/twa-flight-800 ... 1819564607

smithbs

Re: Official: LAS to be renamed for Harry Reid

I think it is a wise policy to wait until the person has passed and some time has gone by before making major naming decisions. Nothing wise about it. George Bush Intercontinental Airport has been that way since 1997. Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has been that way since 2000. Norman ...

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smithbs

Re: Official: LAS to be renamed for Harry Reid

I think it is a wise policy to wait until the person has passed and some time has gone by before making major naming decisions. In semi-related news, singer Dolly Parton declined having a statue of her likeness from being put up at the Tennessee capitol. Her reasoning included that, after more time ...

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smithbs

Re: Delta vs. Alaska During Seattle Snow

AS always melts down at SEA or PDX in the snow. Always. Seattle just melts down when it snows. The region invests as little as it can in dealing with snow. They figure that it happens rarely, and can just eat the disaster when it does happen rather than spend money to deal with it. As such, assets ...

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smithbs

Re: Possible successor for F-16 to be built?

texl1649 wrote:
This really sounds like wishcasting to me.

It seems to be. Every once in a while Generals look up at the ceiling and muse out loud, thereby sparking vigorous debate on a.net.

The armed T-7 theories seem plausible. We shall see what happens.

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smithbs

Re: Why are aerial refueling aircraft build new?

One delivery to Colombia in 2010 and three outstanding "orders" from Brazil. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2019-12-19/israel-seeks-new-us-military-aircraft The Brazilian order was supposedly placed in 2013 but no deliveries ever happened to my knowledge. Thanks. That's l...

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smithbs

Re: Possible Israeli Air Force Order

Does Israel have a history of airborne assault? I'm not aware of Israeli operations that actually used such helicopters, but am interested in being educated. Yes, quite a bit actually. A lot of major landings when fighting the Egyptians, taking the passes in Sinai, etc. They used helicopters to re-...

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smithbs

Re: TRUMP'S PARKED 757 N757AF

Trump did not need his private jet since he had AF one So he just keep it parking Thank you.. I had no idea he had access to Air Force Once. that explains why it has been parked...You learn a lot here.. He has no access to Air Force One unless he is on a mission for the sitting president. I think t...

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smithbs

Re: Possible Israeli Air Force Order

Israel is geographically very small and not an island chain. Not obvious why a heavy lift helicopter would be more useful than other things Israel might buy. Would a Chinook really be more useful than an extra Apache or F-35? The Israelis like their heavy helicopters. Given four machines on one mis...

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smithbs

Re: Why are aerial refueling aircraft build new?

Question: does anybody know how many tanker conversions IAI has done? One delivery to Colombia in 2010 and three outstanding "orders" from Brazil. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2019-12-19/israel-seeks-new-us-military-aircraft The Brazilian order was supposedly placed in ...

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smithbs

Re: Why are aerial refueling aircraft build new?

Question: does anybody know how many tanker conversions IAI has done?

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smithbs

Re: Why are aerial refueling aircraft build new?

For tanker feed stock, A330 is as big as we've seen the market go. The A330 has capacious fuel, which is great, but it is still just one refueling point in the sky, and so there is an issue in that you could get a long conga line forming up behind the A330. A 777 would suffer similarly - the gas sta...

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smithbs

Re: This F-16 picture got my attention

Drinking two monsters while tightly strapped into a confined space sounds like a unique form of torture.

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smithbs

Re: “Confirm Wheels Down”

https://www.amc.af.mil/News/Article-Dis ... -complete/

smithbs

Re: Sriwijaya Air 737-500 (SJ182 CGK-PNK) crashes shortly after takeoff

Sad news.

A good aspect of this, if you can call it that, is that I was impressed with the Indonesians with their Lion Air accident report last year. They have a professional group that will be investigating this and figuring it out. I look forward to reading their report.

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smithbs

Re: A380 for military charters?

When I was in uniform and traveling, if it was within the states I was often just a regular ticketed passenger (usually with DL), but also I was moving with only a couple people. Going abroad, it was a dedicated charter - at that time, it was an Omni 762ER. In the end it's a charter operation - get ...

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smithbs

Re: Future of India indigenous AEW&CS program

The main problem with using older A320s would be poor endurance. FH and FC shouldn't be a problem since AEW use will cause those to accumulate at a much slower rate than when in commercial service. So as long as there is some headroom, it should be manageable. But then again, if they are already use...

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smithbs

Re: Rocket engine service life

It could only restart only once. One reason for that was that it had small solid fuel rocket engines to create artificial "gravity" to move the fuel and oxygen to the bottom of the tanks so the turbopumps could work on it. The name for that procedure is "ullage." Ullage is just ...

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smithbs

Re: Rocket engine service life

prebennorholm wrote:
It could only restart only once. One reason for that was that it had small solid fuel rocket engines to create artificial "gravity" to move the fuel and oxygen to the bottom of the tanks so the turbopumps could work on it.

The name for that procedure is "ullage."

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smithbs

Re: Kawasaki C-2 Export Prospects: What If

RJMAZ wrote:
The C-2 has a very flat payload range curve so it gets a big range boost from a minor MTOW increase. In the Pacific theatre this will be very useful.

Were you able to find a graph for that curve?

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smithbs

Re: Kawasaki C-2 Export Prospects: What If

The C-2 design has huge export potential. Japan needs to start bribing customers like the rest of the industry. :lol: The C-2 can fly the same payload 25% further than the A400M. It is the best light strategic airlifter available and it can fly at normal airliner speeds unlike the C-17. The C-2 als...

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smithbs

Re: Kawasaki C-2 Export Prospects: What If

I could see this happening. The first thing to "Americanize" it would inevitably be to throw some ancient Pratt engine on it (perhaps another P4000?). Then, I suspect the cargo floor would be changed, and some of the cockpit suite. I've never seen a clear explanation; does it use a Honeyw...

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smithbs

Re: Person jumps fence at LAS, jumps on AS 737

Wow, as stupid as this stunt was, that fall was horrible. Hope the guy is OK. I don't think he was OK even before he got up on the wing. But fortunately for him he landed (approximately) on his feet. No, I think he landed somewhat on his side and that set him up for bouncing his melon off the concr...

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smithbs

Re: Kawasaki C-2 Export Prospects: What If

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1385967&p=22514777&hilit=kawasaki#p22514777

smithbs

Re: Kawasaki C-2 Export Prospects: What If

The C-130J-30 fly-away cost for the USAF (in 2020) is approx. $65M, with a total system unit cost of $81M. Foreign sales include additional items that drive up the price but the basic airframe cost is the same. I think the USAF pricing is not useful for estimating international sales. Pricing on th...

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smithbs

Re: Rocket engine service life

I once worked at a company that had a division that designed/built tie rods. They got a contract for tie rods on a launch vehicle. Design flight cycles: 0.5.

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smithbs

Kawasaki C-2 Export Prospects: What If

Greetings; I was recently reading over the Kawasaki C-2 program. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_C-2 The aircraft itself seems very capable - good range and a nice-size cargo bay. It seems more appropriate for this day and age over a C-130 because average vehicle weights have only increased -...

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smithbs

Re: Boeing P-8 Poseidon Production and Delivery Thread

In a recent fighter pilot podcast they had an interview with the P-3/P-8 pilot. One of the specific things she mentioned was getting back to their core business of maritime patrol and ASW. While it was handy to have P-3s conducting overland ISR over Iraq and Afghanistan the amount of missions and t...

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smithbs

Re: Boeing P-8 Poseidon Production and Delivery Thread

bikerthai wrote:
A bomb truck will also not fly over contested airspace.

Out of curiosity, would you have considered Iraqi and Afghani airspace to be contested in, say, 2006?

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smithbs

Re: Boeing P-8 Poseidon Production and Delivery Thread

A bomber P-8 doesn't sound so far fetched. Qualify the quad-SDB rack on the wings and in the bay and you could be delivering all day long. It wouldn't be a hot war choice, but for counter-insurgency work it could be useful to allow the USN to support their Marines. Think of how many F-18 or 35 sorti...

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smithbs

Re: Pan Am shuts down 29 years ago today [04DEC].

Merger scenarios are great what-if's, but in most cases don't work out in practice. Sometimes it's just one company getting its hands into another company's cash register, and they don't change for the better. Marketing a merger based on "synergies" is a cause for suspicion, since it's har...

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smithbs

Re: Pilot pulls off amazing emergency landing on freeway

https://youtu.be/99DomTe9JY4

I like the argument of landing with traffic instead of against: the closure rate is much less.

smithbs

Re: FCTM: A CN-235 & C-130H successor to be designed by Airbus?

JMR-Ultra - planned for 2025 Yes, but JMR-Ultra was given over to Joint Future Theater Lift (JFTL), of which I'm having hard time finding any activity of it in recent years. This is probably the best I could find: http://www.iceaaonline.com/ready/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/MMT214_Presentation_EstAl...

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smithbs

Re: FCTM: A CN-235 & C-130H successor to be designed by Airbus?

I don't get the fascination here of a giant quad tilt-rotor. Can someone please highlight which official studies this shows up in? Or this just an a.net wish? For the vertical lift capability, we have the helicopter - a well known piece of machinery that operationally has topped out at the Chinook /...

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smithbs

Re: C27J news ?

It would seem that acquisition costs are the biggest hindrance to its further success..... Isn't it always... Potential operators may be put-off by what they perceive as "half the C-130J 's capabilities for a lot more than half its price" I like the C-27. But the price-to-capability ratio...

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smithbs

Re: FCTM: A CN-235 & C-130H successor to be designed by Airbus?

Finally, taking five to six billion Euros from Europe to develop this aircraft is an utter waste of European Recovery Fund. At the moment 13.2 Billion Euro is set aside for security and defence, I would be stunned that this project could take half of that planned funding. I agree, but I don't blame...

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smithbs

Re: Embraer KC-390 News and Discussion Thread

Since: 1: The Embraer-Boeing JV to market the KC-390 seems to be dead on arrival (never say never...). 2: Two NATO countries (Portugal and Hungary) have chosen the KC-390 as their primary transport-refuelling aircraft. 3: Embraer is probably looking for other partners to boost their customer's base...

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smithbs

Re: A380 vs. 748 revisited

The 748's also have a resale value due to P2F. That may tip some scales as well. It is very unlikely there will be a passenger to freighter conversion. There are not enough frames to justify the expense of developing the STC. I wouldn't discount it. This is something that will take over a decade to...

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smithbs

Re: A380 vs. 748 revisited

The 748's also have a resale value due to P2F. That may tip some scales as well. There is no P2F conversion for the 748 and with the very limited numbers produced I would be willing to bet a lot of money there never will be one. There is none today, but many years from now, it may be a different st...

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smithbs

Re: A380 vs. 748 revisited

The 748's also have a resale value due to P2F. That may tip some scales as well.

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smithbs

Re: Whats missing from airshows

And sadly the Vulcan project has been parked for good. I would also throw in my complaint that even the airshows themselves are getting rare. I remember going to lots at my local AF and navy bases in the 90s. Most don't do them anymore. It's getting very expensive to run air shows these days, from ...

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