WIX Archives
Re: Just to set the record straight...
Posted by Nicolai Musante on Mon Jun 16, 2003 01:48:16 PM
In reply top Just to set the record straight... posted by Jason Pence on Sun Jun 15, 2003 08:54:05 PM
Yes, we are all allowed to have our own opinion. However I never said the Tucson and Moses Lake birds should be saved in airworthy condition...just saved!
Just for the record, I will personally be very pleased to see another KC-97 fly (once it flies).
Nicolai
: Yes, the KC-97 at Moses Lake was used as a parts source fo
: r N117GA. However, it is important (to me at least) to no
: te that this was done by Grace Aire Medical Foundation whi
: le they owned N117GA, in order to keep it flying on revenu
: e flights. BAHF did NOT salvage parts from that airplane.
: N117GA was the airplane that, among other things, hauled
: fish in Alaska for a number of years. The KC-97 at Moses
: Lake has been a pigeon nest for YEARS and has MAJOR corros
: ion issues, not to mention the fact that it stinks so badl
: y inside as a result of literally 6 inches of pigeon poop,
: you will be nauseated after two minutes or so.
:
: Regarding the Tucson KC-97: There was NO WAY that that air
: plane could have been made ferriable in the 60 days left b
: efore the Airport Authority would scrap it. And yes, I kno
: w what the Trade-A-Plane ad said...
:
: To start with, the two QEC engines inside the plane were F
: AILED engines, NOT in-the-can fresh ones. Also, one of th
: e engines on the wing was failed, which is why XA-PII was
: brought to Tucson in the first place.
:
: Let's think for a second about the STAGGERINGLY huge costs
: associated with running a KC-97. 4 R-4360's that ONE over
: haul shop in the country will deal with, at about $85K a p
: op not counting consumables. Props are $10K each to overh
: aul. To fly it, you need a KC-97 type rated pilot. You al
: so, and here is the real rub, need a FAA-certificated Reci
: p Flight Engineer. Folks, there ain't many of them around
: , and even fewer of them are RATED on the KC-97. Fuel Flow
: ? I think 300 gph is the planning number...
:
: The bottom line here is that I KNOW for a fact that the BA
: HF did not want to scrap XA-PII, but considering that it t
: ook 6 years to get 117GA from Moses Lake to Brooklyn, not
: to mention multi-thousands of dollars, and an engine failu
: re on the way, and you can see where the economics just do
: not work.
:
: Here's a harsh reality, that hurts me just as much as anyo
: ne else on this board. Most of the old propliners that st
: ill survive were used in revenue service until it became e
: conomically unviable to keep them flying. For 90% of them
: , their last few years were NOT pampered, and the maintena
: nce was NOT preventative or proactive, and lots of stuff g
: ot ignored. When they were parked, they weren't pickled p
: roperly, thus needing LOTS of work to assure relaible serv
: ice if they ever fly again. Anyone that doubts me, have a
: read of Maurice Roundy's ferry flight of his Starliner L1
: 649 to Fantasy of Flight.
:
: For what it's worth, I bow to no one in my love of radial-
: engined airplanes, and I back that up with a heckuva lot o
: f donated volunteer time at airshows working, hauling a PX
: trailer to and from airshows, and working on the planes b
: efore, after, and sometimes during airshows and appearance
: s. I also have pumped multi-thousands of dollars into the
: se airplanes. It is easy for people to talk about about w
: anting to preserve and operate the big props, but it's inc
: redibly challenging and often frustrating for those of us
: that are actively doing it.
:
: The above is my personal opinion, and is not the official
: "party line" of any organisation I belong to.
:
: Regards
:
: Jason Pence
: Falls Church VA
:
:
:
:
:
:
: : Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the Moses Lake ex
: am
: : ple had many of its "good" parts exchanged with some "no
: t
: : so good" parts from the BAHF plane. In other words, the
: ai
: : rcraft at Moses Lake is worth absolutely nothing! I mean
: ,
: : how many KC-97 shall let their lives so one plane can be
: s
: : aved??