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Why the Future Air Force One needs to be a 747
Despite the fact four-engine passenger jets are not the most economical to operate anymore, the United States Air Force requirements for presidential transport dictates that it needs to be a four-engine jet mainly for redundancy and to be able to carry the necessary amount of people and personnel. (www.popularmechanics.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Still think C-17, it can land where a 747 could never consider. It would also cut these expensive short hops. The POTUS does not need a palace.
Wow be careful, you might actually reduce our taxes!
It is still the finest passenger jet in the sky. I cannot help womdering in current technological times why supersonic transport is not available to Air Force One? Withnthe regular trips to Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, South America, cutting jet lag and time in the air would seem to make sense. So for now same speed as 1969/70.
Can't believe an Air Force general would refer to ENGINES as MOTORS!!!
I don't have any problem with them requiring a 747. The need to have conference room(s), medical facilities, comm gear & personnel and of course VIP comfort virtually requires an airframe like the 747.
What I would like to know is if replacement of these 2 airframes is really necessary at this time. Yes, they are 'old' but I would think that even accounting for pure training flights the hours & cycles on both of these airframes is probably quite low..
Does anyone have these figures? Without them it's difficult to judge if it is 'time' for a replacement.
What I would like to know is if replacement of these 2 airframes is really necessary at this time. Yes, they are 'old' but I would think that even accounting for pure training flights the hours & cycles on both of these airframes is probably quite low..
Does anyone have these figures? Without them it's difficult to judge if it is 'time' for a replacement.
The problem is not hours or cycles, it's parts. This is a 747-400, there are virtually zero of them flying now, and nobody makes parts for them any more. And it's millions and millions of $$ to restart production for a single part. Tooling is gone, components are obsolete, corporate knowledge has retired, etc. So you have to redesign the part with new components, build new tooling, functionally test it with other obsolete parts to make sure they play nice together, qual test it all for environmental, vib, temperature, etc. It's years of work. For each part. So you very quickly get more expensive to try to maintain the old platform rather than buy a new one.
Lots of B747 200/300/400 models "stored" in the desert. New & used parts ARE available
Used -200 Parts are available for a standard 747 in the boneyards, yes. But that plane is not a standard 747. It's EMP hardened. A standard 747-200 is not. You can't take a non-hardened part and drop it in the middle of an otherwise EMP aircraft - that's just like putting a screen door on a submarine and expecting it to still submerge.
That is going to depend greatly upon what part you're planning to replace. EMP isn't some magical force that destroys all that it touches that isn't "hardened". A hatch, a window, or other non-electronic or electric part isn't going to suddenly fail when exposed to an electromagnetic pulse. Electrical and electronic parts that are susceptible to damage from EMP can often be hardened against such effects, and that could be done during an overhaul of such a part.