AWACS went AWONK

mikea

Touchdown! Greaser!
Gone West
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iWin
Nellis AFB

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Duct tape, can of spray paint and a tire patch kit will have that puppy good as new...
 
And it will still cost us 50K+ to fix.


It'll cost more than that to get the proposal to fix it, unless the repairs are done organically. :-/
 
The Air Farce, couldn't get it off the run way for that
 
Those are F16's in the background. The Thundersbirds are stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada. In many bases, the military linecrew are being replaced by civilian workers. I was stationed at Nellis and was watch supervisor qualified while in the Air Force. I served, did you?
 
Those are F16's in the background. The Thundersbirds are stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada. In many bases, the military linecrew are being replaced by civilian workers. I was stationed at Nellis and was watch supervisor qualified while in the Air Force. I served, did you?

Thanks for clearing that up- for some reason I thought they were Super Sabers which would have made the picture old if that's what they were. The trucks looked too modern for F-100s.

I didn't serve, but thank you for your service.
 
Those are F16's in the background. The Thundersbirds are stationed at Nellis AFB, Nevada. In many bases, the military linecrew are being replaced by civilian workers. I was stationed at Nellis and was watch supervisor qualified while in the Air Force. I served, did you?

I surely did not, but I thank you for yours, very much.

TD, on the other hand, may be showing his Navy inclinations, in which branch he did serve.
 
That one has TF-33 engine's, a few have been converted to CFM-56's.
I had heard that the CFM56's were only going to be used on the KC135s? The E3's, EC135s, and RC135 were going to stay with the TF-33's.

Granted that info is old, so I am asking when this changed?
 
The Air Farce, couldn't get it off the run way for that
Well, you see Tom, the Air Force has such a great flying history this type of thig doesn't happen too often. The Navy on the other hand, is so accustomed to having cracked up aircraft on the deck or the airfield that it is accepted to just shove 'em over the side. That's the difference between professional aviators (the Air Force, for those keeping track at home) and puddle pirates dabbling in airplaneish type activities (the navy, of course).:D

With all that said, from what I have heard around these parts is everyone is ok, maybe a few minor injuries from the egress. The investigation will tell the rest. With that said, I hope they send that particular tail number to the boneyard. I have never had an emergency-free flight on that airplane.
 
I had heard that the CFM56's were only going to be used on the KC135s? The E3's, EC135s, and RC135 were going to stay with the TF-33's.

Granted that info is old, so I am asking when this changed?

Don't know when it changed or how many they are doing. Maybe Bill knows?
 
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The Brits, French, and Saudis have CFM-56's. The USAF and NATO still have TF-33's and it will stay that way 'till they hit the boneyard.

The RC-135 series all are CFM's now also. The EC's are still TF-33's as well as the few KC-135E's still in the inventory.
 
Silly question

How come I don't see any deployed steps, ladder, ramps, or rafts? Did the crew have to jump several feet down risking ankle injuries?
 
This picture was taken a while after the incident. The slides had already been removed from the jet.
 
Well, you see Tom, the Air Force has such a great flying history this type of thig doesn't happen too often. The Navy on the other hand, is so accustomed to having cracked up aircraft on the deck or the airfield that it is accepted to just shove 'em over the side. That's the difference between professional aviators (the Air Force, for those keeping track at home) and puddle pirates dabbling in airplaneish type activities (the navy, of course).:D

With all that said, from what I have heard around these parts is everyone is ok, maybe a few minor injuries from the egress. The investigation will tell the rest. With that said, I hope they send that particular tail number to the boneyard. I have never had an emergency-free flight on that airplane.

I once asked an airforce pilot what these words meant, he gave me a blank look "OK 3 Wire"

I also asked what is the last act a pilot does before a high G load, He shook his head, I told him, salute.
 
We're all chuckling, but daggone that is a spitload of $$$$$$$$$$ down the toilet.:nonod:
 
We're all chuckling, but daggone that is a spitload of $$$$$$$$$$ down the toilet.:nonod:

All the electronics can be pulled for use as spare parts on other aircraft.
The aircraft can be repaired. The questions will they or won't they.
Apparent nose gear collapse resulting in hydraulic / rubber fire around the nose. It looks worse than it is.

I'm not sure of the model year of this particular bird, a closer zoom in on the tail will tell for sure. But they are getting old and go through rehab and upgrades to keep them flyable.

And congress says no to the next generation AWACS.

USAF (Ret)
 
We're all chuckling, but daggone that is a spitload of $$$$$$$$$$ down the toilet.:nonod:

Sometimes as aircraft owners, laughing is the only alternative to crying. And as taxpayers, we are all owners of this jet. This one is a '83 vintage, so middle aged as far as E-3's go. Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 20k hours on the airframe.

Expensive, yes. Repairable, yes. Will it be done? I'd bet a paycheck on it. I would be very supprised if this didn't end up as a Class A ($1MIL+ in damages). Could only be a Class B ($250K-$999,999 in damages) depending on how much the fire affected the airframe and other components. There have been many aircraft land with a nose gear up or collapsed the fought again. The thing is, the E-3 is a low density/high demand asset. Translated to every combatant commander wants them, but there just aren't enough to go around. A depot team will probably get it flyable for a one time flight back to Tinker, then finish the repairs there. Gonna be a long time before this one is back on the line, but it will return.

And if you ever have a mishap in your shiny new Matrix, I hope you see it for what it is, not "a spitload of money down the toilet". This stuff happens. Want to talk about a waste of money? Take a look at your instrument panel the next time you get in your airplane.;)
 
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And congress says no to the next generation AWACS.

USAF (Ret)

Poseidon (P8-A) is the next gen AWACS. and we just bough a bunch of them.

we don't need no stinking raydome :)
 
I thought that was a replacement for the Orion?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-8_Poseidon

It's a multi mission aircraft equipped to do many jobs at once, including TACAMO and AWACS, ECM is a new world these days, Spookey may be listing to your cell calls to see who you are, and what you are talking about.

That's what the ECMP-3Charley was doing when it had the mid air with the mig, and the P-8A is beter at the job.
 
It's a multi mission aircraft equipped to do many jobs at once, including TACAMO and AWACS, ECM is a new world these days, Spookey may be listing to your cell calls to see who you are, and what you are talking about.

That's what the ECMP-3Charley was doing when it had the mid air with the mig, and the P-8A is beter at the job.

Although, would a P8-A survive what the ECMP-3 survived in Hainan?

Cheers,

-Andrew
 
It's broke alright. Rumor mill is saying the airplane is a total loss. Time will tell, though. It may very well be possible to fix, but not economicaly feasable. Guess I shouldn't have bet a pay check that it would fly again. :(
 
And I was mistaken on it being middle aged. It was one of the last jets to come off the line. It was only a baby. 1 year younger than me.
 
It's broke alright. Rumor mill is saying the airplane is a total loss. Time will tell, though. It may very well be possible to fix, but not economicaly feasable. Guess I shouldn't have bet a pay check that it would fly again. :(
Don't worry. We'll let you make payments to Jesse's restitution fund on an time plan.:thumbsup:
 
I was just going to donate it to my "Pad the logbook Fund" :D
 
I love the smell of irony in the morning... This one's @ Tom-D, who apparently was a member of that American armed service which operates aircraft as a hobby. I guess I just couldn't resist when I read his comment and a comment from another pilot who said he was in the Navy. This is a photo of an S-3 that almost completed it's takeoff roll at Tinker AFB (coincidentally the home base of the mighty E-3). This was in 2003, and I was AWACS mission crew at the time. Now, having spent most of my hours aloft hurtling backwards through the sky in a dark compartment with no windows my visual recognition skills might be somewhat suspect, but that sure looks to me like a Navy jet. Too bad you can't see the gouges it left in the runway. Funny, it seems to me that a pilot trained to fling an aircraft off a carrier deck would be able handle a little ol' 10,000 foot runway. At least the 965th had their mishap AFTER their mission was complete.
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Navy-plane-crash.jpg
 
Funny, it seems to me that a pilot trained to fling an aircraft off a carrier deck would be able handle a little ol' 10,000 foot runway. At least the 965th had their mishap AFTER their mission was complete.
Maybe that is why those 'navel' aviators have to have the automated take off capability with a catapult launch. They have an inability or may be lack of skills ;) to do it themselves?


:D:D:D
 
Since both of these pictured accidents happened on Air Force bases, it appears that the bases are the problem, not the service branch of the aircraft...:D
 
Maybe that is why those 'navel' aviators have to have the automated take off capability with a catapult launch. They have an inability or may be lack of skills ;) to do it themselves?


:D:D:D

Wow coastie on swabbie hating.... what is this world coming to :D
 
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