Re: [TML] Off-topic but incredible! Phil Pugliese 21 Apr 2016 17:30 UTC
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Actually there is a gigantic 'AXE' that is used to chop the a/c into pieces. First the a/c is positioned out in the open so Soviet/Russian spysats can see them. Then the a/c are chopped into pieces by the 'axe' & the pieces are left in the open for a while before they sent off to the salvage yards nearby. I'm sure the 'carcasses' are pretty well stripped down before all this though. It appears that the destruction of the airframe is what is important treaty-wise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On Wed, 4/20/16, Greg Chalik <mrg3105@gmail.com> wrote: Subject: Re: [TML] Off-topic but incredible! To: "xxxxxx@simplelists.com" <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2016, 10:02 PM Despite a common belief, the aircraft in storage at the AMARC are not "broken up", even those there as a result of the SALT II are not "broken up" either. All are disassembled to render them inoperable, or to use the military jargon, deweaponized. Although rendered not useful as designed, they are perfectly useful for scavanging parts off them, which is what the USAF techs have been doing for decades. This by the way brings me to a somewhat comical start of the latest Star Wars sequel I watched the other day. One of the main characters is shown scavanging a part off a crashed Imperial Stardestroyer ship, and the question I asked is...how the hell does a woman in early teens, with no apparent technical knowledge or supporting schematic documentation, locate a fist-size part in the body of a vessel several miles long? :-) And, the parts trader then, without so much as referencing a screen, tells her it is of minimal value! One assumes the trader's extraordinary knowledge of presumably classified Imperial Stardestoryer systems and sub-systems down to small components...and if he has THIS level of knowledge, why is he just a scavenged parts trader on Tatooine and not a senior design engineer with the Evil Empire? :-) It got worse from there :-) The film was underwhealming On 21 April 2016 at 07:42, Bruce Johnson <xxxxxx@pharmacy.arizona.edu> wrote: > On Apr 20, 2016, at 1:37 PM, Greg Chalik <mrg3105@gmail.com> wrote: > > Some parts of aircraft experience more stress and wear than others of course, and its not like airframe components present manufacturing challenges. Greatest challenge was converting analog flight controls to digital. Most of the fleet was retired due to cost of that even if the airframes were still good. This was in the post-Vietnam budget cuts. Nothing to do with technology or capability. > Most of that fleet is still in the 'graveyard'. > Greg Yeah, I live about 5 miles away from the AMARC Boneyard. There’s a lot of them there that were broken up per one or the other SALT treaties, <http://www.aerialarchives.com/stock/img/AHLB3543R.jpg> but they have a lot more as parts stores. <http://www.frommers.com/system/media_items/attachments/000/853/411/s500/Chesley-Airplanes-Aerial.jpg?1397400763> You have to wonder if they went through the fleet and picked the most beat-up ones for the treaty… -- Bruce Johnson University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Information Technology Group Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs ----- The Traveller Mailing List Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com To unsubscribe from this list please goto http://archives.simplelists.com ----- The Traveller Mailing List Archives at http://archives.simplelists.com/tml Report problems to xxxxxx@simplelists.com To unsubscribe from this list please goto http://www.simplelists.com/confirm.php?u=EwREIRgLK8vaUEhNlnoNdSGKwnjoID8a