Posted on 10/16/2018 3:16:15 PM PDT by llevrok
I am no military vet, so this is perhaps a naive question -
A number of planes at Tindall were left on base and suffered partial or full damage. Some were F22's, no small loss.
Why were not all planes flown out the day before when it was obvious this was going to be ground zero for Hurricane Michael or near it?
Were they hanger queens and not flight ready? Or were there not the crews ready to fly them out?
It seems strange to me so many flying assets were left back.
Glad you liked them.
My son and I took an Aviation Tour of SoCal a couple years ago and stopped there. It was a great place to visit. The coolest thing was chatting with a couple of FA-18 Growler pilots at the Mojave Spaceport and getting to sit in their cockpit, then watching them take off a few minutes later. They were getting hours and flying to Colorado Springs to have lunch with one of their Dads.
As I understand it, this is part of Obunga’s legacy. He left the military run down and wear out, and did nothing to maintain what we had, let alone order anything new.
The military - all branches - has only been allotted finite funds for rebuilding after the obama years.
Trump is making great strides in bringing them all up to combat readiness, but there are many branches. The Navy is way-low on ships, and planes. The Air Force, on planes; and I’m sure the other branches have their dire needs as well.
So, it comes down to PRIORITIES.
Any “parts” needed to make those planes flyable, are probably NOT made on the Florida coast. If the USAF hasn’t received said parts from said manufacturer, then said mechanics can’t put the said parts on the said planes to make them flyable.
Meanwhile, the aircraft that ARE airworthy were hustled out of there with all available pilots.
Aircraft mechanics don’t just sit around awaiting the parts...or the hurricane. They’ve got a lot more equipment to tend to, GPU Units, test gear, tools, tie downs, etc. I imaging for at least five days before Michael hit, the place was a bee hive of activity in getting ready.
The building and testing of the f-22 is supervised at Wright-Patterson AFB, in Wisconsin, so they need to share the “lack of parts” blame? They’re not in a hurricane zone.
There are 183 Raptors in the USAF inventory. Many of these storm-damaged one can probably be repaired, and they’re now bringing on the f-35.
We’re upgrading the Atlantic fleet, building new aircraft carriers, and giving the troops a well-deserved raise.
Now, exactly WHO do you want to blame for these damaged aircraft? What do you expect to be done that that person? Drawn and quartered? Life in prison? Shot at dawn?
I don’t know if you were in the military, or not...I was. Many factors determine their priorities, and at the operational level, the cost probably comes last, right after life and limb.
So, let’s all just cool our jets and wait on an official determination before we start pointing fingers.
In my days on the flight lines in the 70s, most maintenance was done on the flight line. A plane was pulled into the hanger only for phased maintenance or a serious problem.
In civil aviation it is called a 100 hour inspection. Were you to look at one, you would wonder if it will ever fly again.
I've often wished that people, especially liberals, could see a plane in the hanger for one of the major phased maintenance periods. No engines, no radar, no seats, no instruments, numerous cables and hoses hanging everywhere, many, many panels (called doors) removed and the equipment inside removed. They would stop dead in their tracks and ask, "Who the hell is going to put this thing back together?" And the answer is: mostly 20-25 years old young men and women.
I would like to add that I put the blame for the lack of spare parts on Obama and the republicans that went along with the sequester. Even though President Trump has increase military funding, some of the spares have long lead times, up to 2 or 3 years. And as you have so eloquently stated:
If the USAF hasn’t received said parts from said manufacturer, then said mechanics can’t put the said parts on the said planes to make them flyable.
I would also like to give a shout out to the military wives... most of the pilots that flew a plane to Wright-Patt left a wife and kids to deal with the hurricane on their own. I cannot imagine the stress they are under now.
When I was in the AF we evacuated the aircraft unless they couldn’t fly. Seems they need some new commanders.
Couple that with the New Air Force personnel restrictions, that dependent families have to be evacuated, trannies have to have their meds, flight crews have maximum flight hours, union civil service civilians have to be coddled...
I'm surprised the AF got as many out as they did. Thanks, Obama...
Pretty sure that is the normal percentage of aircraft that are airworthy in today’s military - thanks to our former POTUS.......the situation has been severe for many years.......
Because new F-22s are moneymakers for politicians and contractors .... reinforced concrete hangars are pocket change with a large amount of the expenses handed out to locals.
You would think they could fit an F-22 on a flatbed.
I would also like to know why costly aircraft under maintenance are maintained in such vulnerable parts of the country, as well as why they were not kept in weather-proof underground hangars.
The Air Force should be required by the DOD to build Concrete and steel Aircraft shelters like we have in Saudi and in Europe.
As far as putting them underground. That's not going to happen, especially in at bases on the coast of Florida.
If you dig down 6 feet your likely to hit water.
The question isn't naïve but the idea that someone here might be close enough to whoever made those decisions to know the answer to it is.
I once flew a CH-53D to Pensacola for overhaul. Our squadron was so short on some spare parts that we had to remove 5 of the 6 main rotor blades from the helo we flew down and install them on the helo we were picking up from overhaul to fly it back to North Carolina.
We had several cannibalized hangar queens. 1977
Sounds like the entire program has been poorly run. It is a relatively new plane, and we have no spare parts? Ten percent of the aircraft lost in one event. If it was ten or twenty aircraft losing one or two is understandable. Is this strategic incompetence to get rid of this aircraft as quickly as possible?
What do you expect to be done that that person? Drawn and quartered? Life in prison? Shot at dawn?
Spare everyone the melodrama.
Just looking for a reasonable explanation, not state secrets, Paal. Not to worry.
Less than 2 years with Trump in office so much of what he is doing hasn't been fully realized at the operational/supply-line levels.
Would have loved to see your night AR photo, but alas, it doesn’t want to be seen. Even copying the link doesn’t work as it indicates it isn’t on the server.
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