Re: RAAF F-111s buried... sad way to dispose of a plane
Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:28 am
There is a thread on Key that has more information.
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showth ... 380&page=2
Six F-111 preserved on RAAF bases, up to 7 available for museums etc with conditions ($) attached.
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showth ... 380&page=2
Six F-111 preserved on RAAF bases, up to 7 available for museums etc with conditions ($) attached.
Re: RAAF F-111s buried... sad way to dispose of a plane
Sat Nov 26, 2011 6:47 pm
The series Tank Overhaul that runs occasionally on Military Channel has an episode where two Sherman hulks from a range somewhere in the U.K. are spliced together to make one good hull, after using 6 kilometers of welding wire 
Re: RAAF F-111s buried... sad way to dispose of a plane
Sat Nov 26, 2011 7:05 pm
I used to make fun of the people who swear that there are perfect Lancasters/Stilings/Spitfires/cases of new Merlins (see the connection?) buried somewhere.
I never could understand why someone would bury stuff instead of getting scrap value for it...and then this comes along.
I never could understand why someone would bury stuff instead of getting scrap value for it...and then this comes along.
Re: RAAF F-111s buried... sad way to dispose of a plane
Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:03 am
RickH wrote:Criminal. At least they should have been recycled.
Farken disgraceful!
Re: RAAF F-111s buried... sad way to dispose of a plane
Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:31 pm
It is very sad, but a good portion of them have been earmarked for display. 13 out of 40 will be saved - that's a pretty good percentage. How many late model F-111s have been pulled out of Tucson for display? Ooops ... most of them have been shredded already.
If the Aussie birds hand't been buried, they'd have been shredded for scrap - after undergoing a costly de-asbestos process. One way or another they'd be gone.
As badly as we wished it wasn't the case, most old airplanes have to be gotten rid of one way or another. They're like cars, only much more expensive - they wear out, they get junked, a few are kept around as 'momentos'. As much as I'd like to see fields full of WWII airplanes kept in pristine condition, (or now even F-14s!) it just isn't feasible. Remember those beautiful, heart wrenching photos of Kingman and other storage fields, with rows of both combat veteran and factory new aircraft? What would those fields look like now, if the airplanes had just been left there? If they had been kept up instead of being abandoned, how many billions of dollars would have been spent on maintenance? What would we do with them, except for a small number - if for no other reason than the expense of operating and maintaining them? (Just ask one of the few B-17 operators what the per-hour flight cost is.)
Don't get me wrong - I wish there were fields of old airplanes in pristine condition, just waiting to be flown around or put on display. However, I sure wouldn't be wanting to foot the bill for it!
If the Aussie birds hand't been buried, they'd have been shredded for scrap - after undergoing a costly de-asbestos process. One way or another they'd be gone.
As badly as we wished it wasn't the case, most old airplanes have to be gotten rid of one way or another. They're like cars, only much more expensive - they wear out, they get junked, a few are kept around as 'momentos'. As much as I'd like to see fields full of WWII airplanes kept in pristine condition, (or now even F-14s!) it just isn't feasible. Remember those beautiful, heart wrenching photos of Kingman and other storage fields, with rows of both combat veteran and factory new aircraft? What would those fields look like now, if the airplanes had just been left there? If they had been kept up instead of being abandoned, how many billions of dollars would have been spent on maintenance? What would we do with them, except for a small number - if for no other reason than the expense of operating and maintaining them? (Just ask one of the few B-17 operators what the per-hour flight cost is.)
Don't get me wrong - I wish there were fields of old airplanes in pristine condition, just waiting to be flown around or put on display. However, I sure wouldn't be wanting to foot the bill for it!