[Ragtime Cowgirl]

 

 Cool link by 68-69tonkingulfyachtclub!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Their goal is to drive us out of Iraq before our work is done. They are mistaken, and they will fail. We will do what is necessary to win this victory in the war on terror. ~ Pres. Bush radio address, 9/13

Jeb Babbin putting the troops first, ping!

john_mccain@mccain.senate.gov

senator@warner.senate.gov

senator@levin.senate.gov

 

If you want on or off my pro-Coalition ping list, please Freepmail me. Warning: it is a high volume ping list on good days (most days are good days).

[SAMWolf]

Military budget cuts coming back to haunt us agian.

[Prof Engineer]

Aim High ping

[LibKill]

Can't do diddly without fuel. This problem needs fixin'.

[Utah Girl]

Ping

[Mr. Silverback]

A few thoughts:
As an old tanker toad, I have to say I've been wondering for years when we were going to get a follow-on. We didn't buy enough KC-10s in the first place, and I've never been a big fan of that model, though some of the crews I've spoken with liked her fine. The KC-135 is a great bird (especially the R models, the CFM56 engine is just outstanding), but I am not at all suprised that there may be some major problems coming up. The one I crewed at Plattsburgh is now 40 years old, and it was one of the last ones made. I'm also not surprised that the E models are becoming hangar queens, I never worked them but I came away with the impression from old tanker heads that the E was little improvement over the original A model.

I was talking to an airline pilot one time and he commented that he still had nightmares about his days in SAC flying that "ground-loving pig," the KC-135. I'd like to say I said, "Well, when it's been 40 years since you started flying, we'll see how often you get into the air," but I didn't think of it until much later.

Even if it had been accurate, a report saying we were good to go until 2040 never should have left the Pentagon. There's no bloody reason on Earth to expect crews to fly 85 year-old jets just to save some money.

We need to replace these birds soon, by phasing in just as many replacement 767s or similar/next generation birds.

Buying a relatively few wide-bodies (instead of relatively many wide-bodies, narrow bodies or wide bodies with short fuselages) would be a grave error in my estimation. I have no doubt that if we replace 600 tankers with 600 tankers, it will be worth every penny, even if every one of them is a lease-to-own 767.

Global Reach is a necessity. Tankers make it happen. Call your congresscritters and get them on the stick. This one is super-important.