Happy Hour

"IF A LIFETIME CAN BE LIKENED TO A DAY, THEN THIS IS HAPPY HOUR!"
BUCK PENNINGTON

Mother, Mother Ocean

Mother, Mother Ocean, I've heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You've seen it all, you've seen it all
Watched the men who rode you, switch from sails to steam
In your belly you hold the treasures, few have ever seen
Most of 'em dream, most of 'em dream
Yes, I am a pirate, two hundred year's too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothin' to plunder
I'm an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

Yoda

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is."
―Yoda, to Luke Skywalker

Counted the Stars

Counted the stars on the 4th of July
Wishing we were rockets bursting in the sky
Talking about redemption and leaving things behind
I have these pictures and I keep these photographs
To remind me of a time
These pictures and these photographs
Let me know I'm doin' fine
We used to be so happy once upon a time
Once upon a time
But the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line
And the sun sank west of the Mendocino County Line


""SOME SEE A GLASS AS HALF FULL, SOME SEE IT AS HALF EMPTY, I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHO’S DRINKING MY RUM."
Rumbear

Friday, December 30, 2011

A-29 Super Tucano Wins Air Force Bid for Light Air Support Mission (Updated at 1100-31December2011)

The Brazilians got the deal. Hawker Beechcraft is going to court and all to stop this as they got left out of the process. Hard to believe since most of the IAM&AW rank and file there voted overwhelmingly for the current administration. I was working there at the time.

And Hawker Beechcraft is in some trouble, two of the small jet lines are not shut down but not building anythng. The King Air is at half the rate it was when I was there.

That being said, I think the Super Tucano is a better platform for what is needed. The AT-6 is a trainer with hard points. The Super Tucano is a derived from the original trainer but is a larger, more powerful aircraft. I am trying to be objective here, folks. Combat Airplanes have made up a significant part of my adult life. Even now, I am a crew chief on F-16's at Edwards AFB.

The final assembly for these A-29s will be in Jacksonville FL on the old NAS Cecil Field.
Now for the caveat as it were. Seems that some time back I read an article on Air Attack, I do believe that had Brazil buying a fair number of McDonnell Douglas F/A-18E & F aircraft for their Air Force. This is good for the folks in Saint Louis should it come to fruition.

But here is the article from MSN Money on it. There are all kinds of articles on the net about this and I am sure we haven't heard the last of it by any stretch.
http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=PR&Date=20111230&ID=14656335

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embraer_EMB_314_Super_Tucano#Specifications_.28EMB_314.29

http://www.hawkerbeechcraft.com/military_and_special_mission/light_attack.aspx This link has no specifications on the AT-6.
I also have an ex son in law at Hawker Beechcraft. He pays support for my eldest grand daughter. I understand the ramifications of the situation all to well.
AT-6 Artist's Conception


EMB-314(A-29) Super Tucano.
I think the Army would have liked to have a hand in this. I think there are infantry company commanders who would like to have such aircraft at their disposal in combat situations. The fast movers do have all that neat techno blasting stuff. I see the test munitions and the systems engineers every day. But the favorite close support aircraft of the grunts tends to be the A-10. It does it very well, kill the bad guy that is.
I hope I have maintained some objectivity on this. I always remind myself that the F4 went into service over the F8U-3 for having two guys and two engines even though the Crusader out flew it.

This link has some new info at Aero News. I saw it a while ago. Figured it was appropriate to add it in as I am trying to be objective in this fracas.

1 comment:

Buck said...

I'm normally of the "Buy American" mentality but I don't know enough about this particular acquisition to have an opinion.

I will not go down and tell my children I didn't have the courage, the conviction, the commitment or the character to fight for this country...Don't go home and let your children down~~ LTC Allen West

Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus

‎"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.("Therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war")" from "Epitoma Rei Militaris," by Vegetius (Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus)