former Combat Wing status

[turboNZ]

There’s an article in today’s Dominion Post regarding the Combat Wing.

Says potential buyers have visited NZ looking at the Wing but delays with the government approval has held up any deals going through.

To date it has cost $7.1 million on storing the 17 A-4K’s and 17 MB-339’s since they werw taken out of service in July 2001. This is on top of more than $1 million paid to financial consultants to arrange the sale.

The Malaysian Government has it’s eye on the trainers and private US firm Advanced Training Systems International is interested in the A-4K’s.

What do you peoples think of this?

TNZ

[Dave Homewood]

I heard recently that the Macchis had recently gone to Malaysia. So, they are STILL still here then?? Hmm, rumours eh?

The Government had apparently already said no to that US firm ages ago because there was suspicion they were going to sell them on to some undesirable nation like Israel or somewhere like that. That was from an RNZAF mate so is probably closer to truth than rumour.

I also have heard recently that the aircraft (both types) cannot be sold without US Government approval - why? They don't own us!! They don't own the planes. Why do they stick their noses in? This is strange, and you know they will piss us about if they can because Labour pissed them off royally by cancelling the very sweet F16 deal.

How can it cost that much to store them? The RNZAF owns the hangars they're in, and they are inhibited. Where is the money going?? Helen's back pocket?

Ron Marks has said in Parliament that he wants the Skyhawks turned into playground slides like the Harvard at Pahiatua!! Hmm.

[turboNZ]

How about we turn Ron Marks into a slide....a gravel rash slide !!!!

How could he say that

I think it probably costs the governemnt because the RNZAF still kick the tyres and light the fires ocassionally (unofficially of course ).

The Malaysians would look after the Macchis I'm sure, but I agree with what you say about the A-4K's. Sounds very dubious.
And it serves the government right to get the US's back up. That F-16 deal they made would have been the bees knees.

TNZ

[Bruce]

The scuttlebutt I heard about the A4Ks was that they couldnt sell them as Noone was left who could certify the Kahu Avionics fit - and they cant fly without it. All the appropriately skilled engineers have left to follow careers with a future....

[Dave Homewood]

That's probably right Bruce, but I'd be surprised if Safe Air couldn't do that - they fitted the Kahu gear.

Chris, the aircraft have not flown for a very long time as I understand it - they were officially grounded full stop about midway through last year, and the one combat pilot left was pensioned off, according to a Teletext report. The (the beancounters) felt he'd done all he could for demonstrating the aircraft to potential buyers and was no longer required, and it was felt too costly to fly them for maintenance purposes, the Skyhawks are officially now museum pieces.


This was when the idea from Helen's mob came up to scrap the fleet because they cannot sell them. Ron Marks, being a very defence minded person, was livid and he then suggested making them into slides as a quip at the Government's stupid idea. A plane in a park remembering the days of when we had a decent Air Force is a better idea than making sauce-pans I guess.

I hope that the RNZAF Museum gets a genuine RNZAF example to displat. They could stick the mocked up one (A4L?) on a pole outside.

[turboNZ]

Ah okay, thanks Dave, didn't quite have the full story then.

All I can say is...this is very sad. Even talking about it makes me feel angry.
Dave, you must feel the same having been in the Force once before.

I'll give you guys a hypothetical scenario.
Say by a fluke chance the Defence-minded National Government gets re-elected (stranger things have happened !!).
Do you think they would resurrect the Combat Wing?

Cheers
Chris

[Bruce]

Nice though it would be, now the deed is done I Cant see the air combat wing being reactivated. Getting the A4s and such out of storage would be the easy bit, but training aircrew and groundcrew, getting the specialist tooling and the likes would be monumental and extremely expensive. Buying new aircraft would be out of the question.
We should however think of some form of air support for the Army's LAV 3's (to protect them from small arms fire that they are vulnereable to ). My pick would be MD530 NOTAR Defender helicopters. you can transport 2 in a Herk, skilled engineers and parts are available on the civil market and they are useful multirole close air support machines.
...Yeah I know, ugly helicopters when we could have fast jets.....