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When is a warbird no longer a threat?

Posted by Mike Henniger on Wed Jan 09, 2002 09:10:23 AM

The discussion regarding the B-52 aircraft on display has prompted me to think about something. I doubt the Russian government would be very happy about considering the various B-52 on static around the U.S. as grounded military aircraft. Despite the age and design, the current B-52s are a viable weapons. You might think grounded military aircraft could be considered refurbishable military aircraft including the B-52s which might violate a treaty or two.

Then you consider the recent bill (or portion of one) in the U.S. that threatened the existance of warbirds. As much as it was a potent weapon in WWII it would be silly to think of a P-51 as a serious military threat to any government today.

My question is... When is a warbird (former military aircraft) no longer a real threat when it still has the potential to be used in it's originally designed roll? Or in other words... When can it be considered safe from a capability point of view to hand over a former military aircraft to civilian operators? Has any kind of civilian operation of warbirds ruffled any government feathers foreign or not?

Regards,

Mike

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