Several P-3s grounded

[statesman]

interesting article from Fox. Short and sweet.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317154,00.html

Hopefully not a repost... checked the forum and didnt find anything.

 

[Uncle Fester]

That's gonna be a fun trip home for the deployed guys. "Your wings may fall off in flight, so just go ahead and fly back across the Atlantic".

 

[fudog50]

Great News! As I am transferring from one of the carriers to go be the MMCO in a VP squadron next month, talk about walking into a quagmire.

I suspect the next 3 years will hold nothing but the same grim prospects for the P-3.

Good thing is there is always a huge "fudgefactor" bulit into the formulas the guys with 20 pound heads use in PAX to guarantee the safety of our men and women flying these old birds.

 

[Flash]

Great News! As I am transferring from one of the carriers to go be the MMCO in a VP squadron next month, talk about walking into a quagmire.

I suspect the next 3 years will hold nothing but the same grim prospects for the P-3.

Good thing is there is always a huge "fudgefactor" bulit into the formulas the guys with 20 pound heads use in PAX to guarantee the safety of our men and women flying these old birds.

Oh, it is going to be real painful, I imagine for flight crews too.........I wonder if they should just retire 2 or 3 of the Brunswick squadrons......

 

[WheelsUpHeelsUp]

Can we assume they're finding cracks? Where are they finding them, taper bolt bosses, skin, spars or what? The basic airframe has been around since the 50's, were the wings modified that much or the low level flying taking a toll? I figured those stubby fu**** were almost indestructible.

 

[PropStop]

VP Navy - proceed with jumping-through-ass procedures to maintain readiness.

I'm sure we'll still find a way to come in EVERY weekend on home cycle.

 

[IRfly]

Can we assume they're finding cracks? Where are they finding them, taper bolt bosses, skin, spars or what? The basic airframe has been around since the 50's, were the wings modified that much or the low level flying taking a toll? I figured those stubby fu**** were almost indestructible.

The 50's? Not any plane that I've ever flown in. They've all been early 1970's.

 

[WheelsUpHeelsUp]

The 50's? Not any plane that I've ever flown in. They've all been early 1970's.

I said the basic airframe, the design has been around since the 50's with the L-188 Electra. That's what I meant.

 

[Uncle Fester]

Well, problems from design and problems from fatigue are two different animals. The basic design of the Hummer has been around since the mid-1950's, since it was the W2F, but there are brand-new ones still coming off the production line. The problems the P-3s (and the F-15s, for that matter) are seeing are due to fatigue, not a design flaw. Airplanes are only made to last so long. You can strech that with SLEP programs and the like, but eventually metal just wears out.

 

[FLYTPAY]

Good thing is there is always a huge "fudgefactor" bulit into the formulas the guys with 20 pound heads use in PAX to guarantee the safety of our men and women flying these old birds.

I was in a NWC class with a depot level engineer and she said that the P-3 "fudgefactor" was skewed because someone misplaced a decimal place in that stupid equation....they apparently found the error in 2004ish.

 

[scoober78]

I was in a NWC class with a depot level engineer and she said that the P-3 "fudgefactor" was skewed because someone misplaced a decimal place in that stupid equation....they apparently found the error in 2004ish.

So they "fixed" the glitch...

Seems to me there has never been a better time to fly VQ!

 

[Flugelman]

... said that the P-3 "fudgefactor" was skewed because someone misplaced a decimal place in that stupid equation....they apparently found the error in 2004ish.

Not too unusual a scenario. My stepdad worked for LTV as an aeronautical engineer for 30+ years. He was doing a workup on the A7 planned for the Greek AF and discovered that some of the restrictions on the USN version (I'm not clear exactly what, something about airspeeds and loading) weren't really required because of some misplaced decimal points. He reported his findings and upper management buried it.

 

[WheelsUpHeelsUp]

Well, problems from design and problems from fatigue are two different animals. The basic design of the Hummer has been around since the mid-1950's, since it was the W2F, but there are brand-new ones still coming off the production line. The problems the P-3s (and the F-15s, for that matter) are seeing are due to fatigue, not a design flaw. Airplanes are only made to last so long. You can strech that with SLEP programs and the like, but eventually metal just wears out.

What kind of hours and how many cycles do they have, any idea? (the P-3's)