Aviation BS and Photo Thread

It's def a great hobby.

Where I work they are screaming pilot & mechanic shortage. The industry has had some wild ups & downs but, I'm encouraged by the more recent discipline the majors have shown...keeping load factors high and growth in check.

I remember in the 2000s several airline CEOs & industry experts/enthusiast saying the industry, in all its years of existence, hadn't earned a dime.

 

Hiya Mayor

 

Howdy

 

Oh man....Those are so sweet! When are you going to take me for a ride?

 

I've had more than 1 day where I replace six figures plus of parts on a brand new plane because they were bad before they even got installed. Sometimes it's funny to see how something you think would be very expensive isn't or how ridiculously expensive other stupid little things can be.

 

It's probably the bypass line

http://youtu.be/ZY_uGAx3rxE

 

The part is never that expensive, the TSO stamp is the expensive part.

A 12v PAR36 lamp that is used for landscape lighting is $9 at Home Depot. That same lamp with a TSO stamp is used on some classic Cessnas as a landing light, it goes for about $30. Even has the same GE part number.

 

Come to Tucson! Although I think we're flying out to AFW in a couple months or so

 

For your general entertainment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwXWa0YNBlU

 

That's right next door!

 

This is a little airport I pass going to & from work, KPMU.

This aircraft, or one of her sister ships, visit monthly...kinda like clock work.

I know who Netjets is picking up and dropping off but, don't know him (or why the "regular" flights).

It's a newer Challenger & reeeaally nice inside & out compared to what I'm used to working on.



The dudes on road ride is also cool. AMG G63...blacked out.

 

Airshow info so far http://www.claremoreairport.com/air-show.html

 

I'm still going through my old photos and found this from Fleet Week in San Francisco, 2012.

 

When you getting to ATX?

 

Tomorrow at 8pm.

KAUS.

 

... ^^^ .... Cross Winds ...

 

... ^^^ ... True and crazy story and thoughts coming ... I kinda saw aircraft parts being made for various aircraft (including some small private vendors) and it was a very different way of doing business. Back in late 1970's and 1980's and 1990's and some later ... saw parts for C-5, C-130, C-141, C-17, F-22, L-1011 & JetStar, 14's, 15 & 18s & etc.

Take parts for a C-130 (saw a lot of these) ... a bid would come in to a "manufacturing vendor" or a "sales vendor" for 75 electrical buss bar assemblies and the order would be filled in 3-6 months for 75 units. But vendor would make 150 buss bar assemblies and put 75 on shelf for stock and not tell anybody.

A year later, aircraft manufacturer would call vendor and want a super rush job for 10 units fast. Vendor would stall aircraft manufacturer and say it would have to do a special setup at 10 times the cost and take 2 weeks of 24/7 work to do this job. Vendor would make aircraft manufacturer wait 2 weeks and take buss bars off shelf and delivery and say how tight & difficult it was to meet delivery and be a hero for ripping off US govt.

I watched this over and over and over with everybody ripping off aircraft manufacturers. And aircraft manufacturers being ripped off by employees inside was unbelievable. Truck loads of expensive product stolen from everybody in supply food chain and VERY expensive things too. And aircraft manufactures ripping off tax payers.

I tried to tell people, but US aircraft manufacturers didn't seem to care, because of cost overrun clauses. This kind of wasteful spending will eventually sink the US in the end ... when China builds a copy with stolen & their limited R&D costs and much less build costs at maybe 25% total of our costs and maybe with a 90% efficiency & kill factor. Our warfare manufacturing costs are not symmetrical with other countries in relation to cost, R&D and quality and efficiency & kill factors. They steal our secrets and make it a lot cheaper and 90% as good, in larger numbers (like we did in WW2 with tanks).

China will kill us with their "asymmetrical war costs" in equipment (R&D & manufacturing costs), and men and their medical & disability costs after combat and interest on all of those debts.

Hope I didn't make too many typos ... but you can kinda get my rambling point on aircraft costs (especially to DoD).

PS .. I could never prove this but everyone knew it ... Aircraft manufactures would do a small change (ECP or VECP) requested by DoD (actually encouraged by manufacturer) and cost to change maybe is 1% and 8-10% is billed to DoD. You have Generals in DoD talking to retired Generals at aircraft manufacturer (John McCain wanted this stopped, i.e. General to General negotiations).

.

 

That's how Reagan beat Russia - made 'em spend money on shit they didn't need.

 

... ^^^ ... Yep ... that and Afghanistan did USSR in financially. I spent some time in the middle east in 1970's and 1980's.

Before my time ... but Eisenhower was smartest at getting most out of manufacturers and DoD and he built our infrastructure too... IMO.

 

Costs are way high in the civil sector too...

The 777F has a camera mounted on the left horizontal that views the main cargo door. It's about like one of the old eyeball cameras people would buy to chat on line with. Replaced one a while back...$30,000. Of course it was on order and was even given an extension because there were none to be had. Too many black boxes to count are $250k+. And IIRC the last ECU I changed was $360k.