Posted on 11/10/2010 7:17:02 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Can nothing kill the P-3C Orion?
By Stephen Trimble on November 10, 2010
I am reporting in next week's magazine that a subset of the P-3C Orion fleet will outlive its planned retirement by the Boeing 737-based P-8A Poseidon. I'll post the link to the article here when it's available.
I consider the story a testament to the P-3C's record of freakish survival skills.
Adapted from the doomed, 1950s-era Lockheed L-188 Electra airliner, the Orion first survived its predecessor's untimely demise in the regional airliner market. It should have been replaced by the Lockheed P-7 in the early 1990s, but the P-7's setbacks and budget cuts kept the P-3C alive for at least another 30 years. Then, a series of inspections starting about 10 years ago nearly forced the navy to ground the entire fleet due to surprise revelations of fatigue damage. A rushed repair job called the special structural inspection kit (SSIK) kept about half the P-3C fleet in the air. But even that proved insufficient. During the last five years, wing inspections revealed shocking damage caused by corrosion and fatigue. By September 2009, all but 49 of the 120 combat-coded P-3C fleet was grounded. Only a furious effort by Naval Air Systems Command, led by P-3 sustainment lead Bob Holmes, allowed the navy to restore 33 Orions to flying status as of late October. Meanwhile, the navy is quietly investing to rewing at least 29 P-3Cs, allowing a subset of the Orion fleet to remain airworthy long after it is scheduled to be replaced by the P-8A.
Reports of the P-3C fleets demise, despite averaging 16,500 flying hours on an airframe designed to survive 7,500, are truly exaggerated.
Ahhhh, but the P2V Neptune..... Now THAT was an ASW patrol plane!
ping
Just watched one take-off and do a couple touch-and-gos this morning. Beautiful bird in the air with a great range, long flight time, and adaptability.
When as they come up with a better replacement for the P-3, the P-3 is toast.
This is not apt to happen any time soon.
Well I live on flight path over NAS Jacksonville...and I don’t know which number of Orion the Navy flies out of there, but I sure enjoy watching them. I guess it’s kind of the trhow back to another era.
Freegards,
Lex
Don’t forget the Hoover (S-3 Viking)!
Oh, I wonder if the new 737 can lope along on one engine the way the P-3 loiters on 2 props, at low altitude, in the salty sea air ...
Time will tell.
They do touch and goes here in SE Georgia too. I work very close to the flightline and they are an awesome sight!
Lest we forget the "Stoof", here's a photo:
Apparently there is a Neptune in the bottom of a freshwater lake in the Seattle Area and the Navy will not let aviation buffs pull it up and restore it.
Used to watch these take off and land up at Brunswick NAS!
Before the Navy left Moffett Field (Mountain View, CA), squadrons of P-3Bs would take off and fly right over our house on their way to ASW duty in the Pacific. The whole house would shake, vibrate and buzz. Maintenance on the planes would require they sit on the runway with engines at full throttle for what seemed like hours on end, blanketing the entire south bay in noise.
Great bird, but it is nice not having to listen to them anymore.
I am not an expert but a quick look at the spects shows that the ‘737’ has a longer range by 350 miles and can stay on station an hour longer than the P-3.
Mike
Except for that whole "wings about to fall off" thing.
I believe the specs, to a point ...
Turboprops are inherently more efficient at low altitudes. Perhaps the P-8 can carry a LOT more fuel, and thus has a longer patrol/loiter radius.
Perhaps new equipment and sensors will permit the P-8 to putz around at a nice fuel efficient 25,000 ft.
And perhaps the days of flying below the scud, in the rain and snow, actually LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW are over.
dunno.
Paint me anachronistic ;-)
Composite, so corrosion would be much less of a problem.
STOL, so with folding wings you could even get in on/off a flat top.
Burt Rutan's ATTT
The Model 133-4.62 ATTT proof-of-concept demonstrator is a 62% scaled version of an airplane designed to challenging STOL and long range requirements. The ATTT was developed and test flown by Scaled under contract to DARPA.
http://www.scaled.com/projects/advanced_technology_tactical_transport_attt
I grew up in the South Bay, and P3s flying over every five minutes was part of the daily routine.
Not ASW, but neat, nonetheless!
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