Military Aircraft

Status
Not open for further replies.
C

civic09

Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
401
Location
PA
Hello and can anyone tell me how long does the U.S. NAVY and U.S. AIR FORCE keep fighter aircraft and bomber and transport aircraft. Also, my stepfather flew the P-3 ORION (Lockheed Electra) sub hunter while he was in the U.S. NAVY. He now flies for U.S. AIRWAYS.


Thank you all in advance. I always loved watching F-14's taking off at air shows. I am looking forward to hearing from our older members and veterans on this topic.

adam v
 
Yes it is, and Crinkles do you folks have any A-10 Fairchild Republic "WARTHOGS"?

adam
 
Bombers and transports can be in service for decades depending upon the role they fulfill and the validity of their purpose.
Fighter aircraft generally are required to be at the top in terms of avionics and performance and have a much shorter lifespan. With them, air superiority is the goal. Eventually they become replaced by more proficient aircraft (sometimes even the same type aircraft but a different model). Others have a complete overhaul basically and get newer engines and weapons systems to keep them current. Time span varies. Some are only semi-retired to the Air National Guard to serve for several more years.
It's a good question though and I'd also like to know how old some of the F-16, F-15, and F/A-18 airframes are that are still in service.
 
Well, from what I just read, the P-3 Orion is getting replaced, and I honestly forgot when. My stepfather said it is gonna be replaced by a turbofan powered plane. Thanks Andrew G for that info.
 
Originally Posted By: civic09
Yes it is, and Crinkles do you folks have any A-10 Fairchild Republic "WARTHOGS"?

adam


No, the RAAF does not have warthogs. We only recently retired the F111. Their farewell sortie flew up the coast near where I am as a bit of an exhibition flight last year, pity that I missed it.

Otherwise we fly the F18 Hornet.
 
Originally Posted By: civic09
Well, from what I just read, the P-3 Orion is getting replaced, and I honestly forgot when. My stepfather said it is gonna be replaced by a turbofan powered plane. Thanks Andrew G for that info.


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

The 8 P3 Orion's used by Aero Union Corporation for aerial firefighting are no longer serviceable, so I'm guessing the remaining ones the Navy has are at the end of their serviceable lives (at least the airframes).
 
Thanks Drew99GT, for that info. Yeah my stepdad told me the plane that was replacing the P-3, I didnt catch the name.
 
Originally Posted By: crinkles
Well... Isn't the B52 in service for more than 50 years now?


The B-52H has been in service for just over 50 years, there were other versions 5 or 6 years before that but AFAIK, only the H models are still in service. I recently read they plan to keep the H model in service until 2040. The last B-52 left the factory in 1962 so the newest ones will be 50 years old in 2012.

The C-130 has been around since the mid 1950s. The US is still flying some C-130E models that may have been built as early as 1962.

Those aircraft are the exception rather than the rule.
 
Drew, I think you are mistaken about the KC-135'S, as they have a full fleet of them and KC-10's here at the 171st Aerial Refueling Wing where I am. They arent slowing down here at all and are very active.

adam
 
I worked on the A10s for 15 years in the CT ANG. Perfect maintenance aircraft for someone who is 6'3"

I remember going on deployment in a C130 built in 1957....
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I think the oldest planes in the US military are KC-135s built in 1955. That is old!


Could be, I think the USAF KC135s are all R models now, but some R models were rebuilt updated A models. A minor point, they didn't enter service until 1957 and weren't widespread throughout SAC until a couple of years after that.
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Oops, the KC135s were retired.

http://www.tinker.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123169457



Drew, the was just the KC-135E model, the R models are still in service.

It's difficult to figure out what is what. Sometimes the earlier models get retired, like the B-52 and sometimes the earlier models get rebuilt and upgraded like some KC-135s.

There are also rebuilds and their are REBUILDS. It would be interesting to see how much of the metal in a 50 year old B-52 was in the aircraft the day it was originally built.
 
I used to work on some of the oldest C-130Es in the USAF ANG. They were built in 1963 and 1964. I'm not sure if any "E" models are still in service but there are a lot of "H" and "J" models in service.

The U-2 and K-135 have been in service for 55+ years.

The F-15 and F-16 have the some of the longest service records of any fighter aircraft with the F-15 in service for 35 years and the F-16 for 33 years. The F-111 was in USAF service for 29 years and the F-14 was 32 years of service. The F-18 has been around for 29 years.

In contrast the F-104 was in service for 17 years, the B-58 10 years.

The F-16, F-15, F-18, and C-130 are still in production. The C-130 is the longest running production vehicle, beating the VW beetle.
 
What about US Army and Marine Corps aircraft?

The Army's aircraft are fairly new, but as far as I know, the Marines are still using the AV-8B Harrier until they get their F-35 STOVL Lightning IIs. Marines also still use the AH-1 Cobra although the current AH-1Z is pretty far removed from the original AH-1G Cobra that the Army began using in the late '60s.

Allegedly, there was a problem some decades ago with Army and Marine Aviators being a little too successful in "escaping and evading" a few decades ago at the Air Force Survival training at Fairchild AFB.
 
Originally Posted By: civic09
Hello and can anyone tell me how long does the U.S. NAVY and U.S. AIR FORCE keep fighter aircraft and bomber and transport aircraft. Also, my stepfather flew the P-3 ORION (Lockheed Electra) sub hunter while he was in the U.S. NAVY. He now flies for U.S. AIRWAYS.


Thank you all in advance. I always loved watching F-14's taking off at air shows. I am looking forward to hearing from our older members and veterans on this topic.

adam v


What squadron was he in? I flew in the P2V Neptune as a mechanic with VP11 from 64-67 out of Brunswich, Me. In early 67 we started changing over to the P3. Some of the P2s are still being used in fire fighting.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

5
  • Locked
Sad day for stepfather and I
2
Replies
23
Views
5K
sleddriver
D
  • Locked
U.S. Military Charter Plane Forced To Land In Iran
2
Replies
29
Views
5K
dave1251
MolaKule
  • Locked
JSF Program
Replies
3
Views
732
Jimbo
B
  • Locked
F-15 Grounding
2
Replies
27
Views
8K
MarkC
supton
F9F vs MiG-15s
Replies
8
Views
3K
Hohn
Back
Top Bottom