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Post by madmac on Feb 6, 2011 8:35:24 GMT 12
PAL is just trying to generate sales of the 750XL ag conversion. They do have a tendency to have a somewhat feral view of the world when it comes to 3rd party mod's to their airframes. There are a few grey bits about some of the turbine conversions, but if the aircraft were operated in accordance to the AFM they wouldn't have shed their fins due to exceeding Vne or stalled & crashed due to being aft of cg limits.
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Post by madmac on Jan 29, 2011 20:18:26 GMT 12
Is the fin strake on ZK-EGK part of wanganui's new fin.
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Post by madmac on Jan 25, 2011 19:13:06 GMT 12
I understand they have a staff of 10 or so, and they are building new aircraft
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Post by madmac on Dec 29, 2010 17:56:09 GMT 12
The Adour is a turbofan with a BP rate of .8 thus the airflow rate is about 1.8 x the viper & the Adour is 500 lb more in weight. The General Electric J85 is probably the only other engine in the class.
The 339's are basically free (no one is going to buy them), that allows a lot of scope for supporting them by manufacturing the required parts, etc. So we trade capital cost for an increase in operational costs but at the same time increase the aerospace ability of the country, for less than the cost of buy new airframes.
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Post by madmac on Dec 18, 2010 14:24:05 GMT 12
One can make the following observations about Wikileaks: there is a sight chance this (the leak) maybe a counter intelligence operation or the like. The best way to sell a lie is to use 95% truth. The effect on the US position is neutral, a lot of the information released is beneficial to them.
No electronic data is truly secure. This data is believed to have been carried out on a portable hard-drive you can't call that a secure system.
It is absolutely nothing compared to the PRC's thief of data from the US DOD (I believe its averaging an attack a week).
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Post by madmac on Nov 9, 2010 20:12:28 GMT 12
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Post by madmac on Jul 17, 2010 22:48:57 GMT 12
750XL is still the name on the type certificate.
The 750XL has a higher empty weight due to things like the cargo floor, large cargo door, etc. So the Ag version ended up with a payload verse operating cost is worse than cresco (the operators want new crescos). There isn't anything else available in terms of performance & robustness even before you get to cost.
I think little airplanes in airforces suffer the view from they arn't really aircraft problem (they too much look like something from the aeroclub). Basically they would free up the helo's to do what they are really good at, vertical lands in tight spots, not carting ass & kit between airfields. We could operate probably at least 6 airframes for the cost of 2 109's.
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Post by madmac on Jun 20, 2010 5:05:32 GMT 12
I understand that with the kingair they have cooked something like 20 - 30 engines primarily due to the training techniques used, not really sure bigger engines are going be any more robust, just more costly.
There are some interesting bits of kit going cheaply or with manufactures desperate to sell. With some lateral thinking we could well ahead in terms of capability, some examples
Given the RAF is looking likely to lose the the Nimrods as a cost cutting exercise we might be able to get them aircraft, tooling and design for a couple of hundred mil. Then use the orions as inshore partrol, nav trainer and transport hacks (would solve some of the upgrade program issues). (might still want the first few hours of twin training to be on a normal twin)
Or Flog the NH90's buy 10x MV22 use them for inshore patrol, medium lift, etc. (I really like this one if you discount cost although really needs to be 20 to get a suitably stable skill pool)
Or Israel is offering good deals on SAR X band satellites, a couple could give us a sweep of our neck of the woods every 6 hours, which would allow the orions to spend less time looking at empty ocean picking inshore work & use 1900D for training & VIP (the PM's mob can't fit in 19 seats they really need a head count reduction).
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Post by madmac on May 3, 2010 10:02:18 GMT 12
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Post by madmac on May 3, 2010 6:18:16 GMT 12
So are there lead correcting sights for MAG58M or they still going to make do with iron sights.
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Post by madmac on Oct 9, 2009 22:23:34 GMT 12
thats little more than a beatup. I think the cost has more to do with how the MOD functions than a reflection on the airframe. rebuilting an airframe by throwing away 80% isn't cheaper than a production line restart, wasn't there was a story that the wing pickups veried by 18 inches between airframes
I think it is the lowest RCS patrol aircraft around & has a greater range than a P3 or P8 plus we know the P8 isn't going to cost the quoted price.
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Post by madmac on Jul 25, 2009 9:34:04 GMT 12
The tender I think requires the the aircraft to have glass cockpits & be twins as well. There will be no single engine aircraft or helo in the force other than a CT4 shortly. I suspect that it is highly likely that it will be 1900D's as in terms of cost they offer the most capablity for less cost than a B350 plus there is a good number alreadly in country.
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Post by madmac on Feb 28, 2009 13:26:58 GMT 12
It could be 10 million plus engines (some of Airworks 737's were 1 million plus engines)
ANZ could convert it to a water bomber like the Evergreen one and go after Ozzie fire fighting contracts as I don't that they are going to have much of a turn down in bush fires over there alas.
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Post by madmac on Feb 24, 2009 20:00:07 GMT 12
I think a CT4E is in the region of 1/2 million with the CT4F a lot closer to 1 million.
I am not sure PAC has made a much of a profit from building CT4's in the last 25 years, parts might be a different matter.
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Post by madmac on Feb 2, 2009 20:22:40 GMT 12
I think it is one of lakelands UH1H that was used for the in the X men movie that was filmed in queenstown last year (can't remember its reg), it was mounted with a 5.56mm chain gun and a pair of pair of 2.75" folding fin rocket launchers. They also used a hulk that was blown up during filming.
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Post by madmac on Dec 20, 2008 14:53:00 GMT 12
Its both sides as seen here www.mcconnellproperty.co.nz/uploads/pdfs/Titanium_Park/locationmap.pdfThe plan doesn't appear to leave a clear way for the grass cross runaway. It isn't in the long term interests of the operation of the airport. It seems that the airport company has to pay of the pointless terminal somehow so off with the gooses head (as reflected by the rent war that's been going on in the last couple of years). Think use or sale of sections on the airport dirt was restricted to airport users but now its only the dirt on air side of the fence and the rest can go to the whining hordes. 5000 jobs that's got the same probability as winning lotto
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Post by madmac on Dec 3, 2008 21:37:22 GMT 12
Given the vast size of the NZDF assets I would have thought the week brief ( or what ever it was) to the defense ministers staff would have listed where assist that big where.
Another possible reason for the hoopla could be a reflection of the PM previous employment in an industry where yelling at people tends to be favorite problem solving method (there was a company we are all familiar that went under because the managing director wouldn't giving any one the power to change things but yelled at them about the lack of improvement).
Its probably just the result of the reality of the job sinking in (resources verse the country's problems).
It could possibly be an issue with the insurance on ANZ's leased aircraft as to why they can't fly into Thailand.
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Post by madmac on Nov 12, 2008 18:20:52 GMT 12
It is unlikely that the japs will maintain an export ban for too many more years, given the power dynamic in the pacific is moving eastward rapidly and as such alliances not dependent on US force support are more likely to develop in the next 10 years. The enemy of 60 years ago is not as scary as China looking for mineral resources. So P1's are not completely out of the question.
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Post by madmac on Nov 11, 2008 20:36:28 GMT 12
Contracting out tasks like operating Maachis coastal patrol might cost a little less (in reality it won't, because that is their profit margin) is a waste of dollars as you still spend the money but don't get an increase in core skills (hence can't up scale to a really strike aircraft, or give a bigger personal base to be resistant to continuous deployments etc) and can't use them in an actual warzone if the need exists. a TAF could help restore a lot of skills quickly, but it would need to better organized than the army TF groups they sound more like dads army some days. The P3 and C130 would do a lot better with new engines and props (its not a hard to fit change new engines at least) less smoke and a drop in fuel burn. For a biz jet/ medium transport we don't need a 737 (the press core and his ego doesn't need to be flown by the tax payer), a couple of Hawker bizjets with freight doors would do wonders for the usual medvacs from the islands etc, plus they are little brick out house (the slightly older ones are any way) so extra holes for interesting kit is easy. Ditching the NH90 and get MV22's would kill 3 birds with one stone (heavy lift heilo, medium airlift and the lack of composite experience issue as every one would realize we in over our head ) probability not. For a P3 replacement P1's could be a good fit, the jap airframes I have come across seem to be always well designed, plus its not a rehash of an old airframe and if you believe the whispers the avionics could leave the American stuff for dead (the political implications though would be interesting) R44's for pilot training as given there seems to be that a bell 47 is bent every 4 years or so by a heavy landing, the cost of repeating the same mistake in a 10 million dollar helicopter, just suggests that they decided we need 3 types and the only way to do that was to wait until a 109 was bent and then point at the repair cost.
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Post by madmac on Oct 30, 2008 18:23:34 GMT 12
Wasn't there something a few years ago about some subs (kilo's etc) getting medium SAM's. That could make anti-sub work very interesting. Well if they are only interested in shooting fishing boats, etc they could fit a GAU-8/A (the 30mm cannon out of an A10). It should fit in the bomb bay and only weighs 3800 lb loaded, though the 12000 lb recoil cold make it buck.
For an other approach to a anti shipping ability, for 35 million we could get 1900 kgs lifted to a satellite orbit, 50 to 100 kg's of tungsten dropped from that high will have be far more damaging than a maverick (it is considered one of the biggest threats against USN carrier groups) it also highly illegal bugger!
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