Messages

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UK Air Shows / Re: RIAT 2012

« on: July 12, 2012, 11:14:15 pm »

Great photo Vulcan 

The best RIAT so far for me  I Realy need to do Sat & Sun cos there's so much to do in one day!  it chuked down constanty at around 6pm Sat so my  planned static run was cut short 

seen the IAC PC-9  Sadly it rained fairly heavy so no crew around to have a banter

Was the weather better Sunday ?

the weather was a lot better sunday, but there was no one around the PC-9 at all, and i checked3-4 times both days

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UK Air Shows / Re: RIAT 2012

« on: June 24, 2012, 02:55:20 pm »

I have it on good authority that the Vulcan will not be there, but, do not be surprised if a B-2 Spirit turns up

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UK Air Shows / Re: RIAT 2012

« on: May 04, 2012, 07:35:11 pm »

So looking forward to RIAT  the flying programme is filling up  DBH have Realy pulled out the stops and dipped into the kitty to stage a great RIAT

Do you think this years show could be up there along the best RIAT ? Vulcan???

Sorry lads. altho it would be lovely, i cant see RIAT ever coming up to the standards of the old shows. 1991, the gulf was salute was awesome, and some  of the later 1990s shows had a fantastic selection of eat european types. One year, maybe 95 or 96, there was a Bulgarian Mig 23 in the flying display. Hard to match that .

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Aviation Waffle / Re: red arrows on google earth

« on: August 22, 2011, 08:02:15 pm »

and it look to me like the Reds are landing. they normally take off in Vics

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Aviation Waffle / Re: How we nearly joined NATO

« on: January 02, 2011, 04:03:32 pm »

I tend to be dismissive of those people because they choose to protest at a system, 'the West' which tolerated their protests by offering a defense against the Warsaw pact, where there protests would have resulted in a one way trip to a re-education camp . The irish people have always had a very ambiguous relationship with NATO and the Allies . Does anyone really think, we would have had a better country if the Nazis, or the USSR had won the second world war or the Cold War ? We are happy to mock Nato, the Brits and the Yanks, while sheltering in the umbrella that they provided . We have never really had to spend on defense, because other countries were willing to spend on theirs for us. They provided a serious defense, so we didnt need to . Think of all the protests we have had, including when Royal Navy vessels have visited the republic in recent years? yet as recently as 1993, when a trawler ran aground on the rocks, outside Howth harbour, we had to call a RAF wessex from Valley, thats what 71 years of neutrality and independence brought us to

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Aviation Waffle / Re: How we nearly joined NATO

« on: January 01, 2011, 04:42:21 pm »

I see where you are coming from, but if the location was worthwhile, strategically speaking, then the yanks seemed to be willing to spend the money . Look at the level of forces deployed to Iceland, during the early 80s, it usually included an F-15 sqn, a KC-135 det, an E-3 det, and a P-3sqn, and that to a country , in the Atlantic, with a population of 250,000 . In my original scenario, i tried to be realistic about what i thought might have happened, if i had let my imagination really run, i would dream of the 48th FW moving to Baldonnel . Now there would be an excuse to go on the dole if ever i heard one !!!

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Aviation Waffle / Re: How we nearly joined NATO

« on: December 31, 2010, 09:07:04 pm »

I think if we had had such aircraft we would have been supported financially . Think about it, how did countrirs like Greece etc manage to operate aircraft like these?

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Aviation Waffle / Re: How we nearly joined NATO

« on: December 31, 2010, 07:14:48 pm »

Everyone to their own, but it would have been something else to have Fast Jets based in the country  . I think i would have set up a camp like the hippy lezzies at greenham Common, only i would have been supporting NATO not opposing them .

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Aviation Waffle / How we nearly joined NATO

« on: December 30, 2010, 07:50:47 pm »

According to the 1980 government papers revealed today , as part of the negotiations between Thatcher and Haughey, we seriously discussed possible/probable NATO membership for ROI . I was just wondering, considering the times that were in it, if we had joined, what do people think might have happened the Defense Forces, particularly the Aer Corp . In my opinion, the most likely scenario, was to see US foces based here . Most likely to include the following , a P-3 squadron, probably based in Shannon or Knock, and also an air defense squadron, F-15A s probably .Also we might have had part of the country used for low level training, and the likely regular naval visits to Cork etc, possibly including Carriers .
The other scenario is that the Aer Corp might have been expanded . If  similar requirements to the above were included, we might have seen the supply of surplus F-4E s which were readily available from US stocks at the time, and also possibly the supply of C-130s  . Im not sure we would have bought or being supplied with MR aircraft, as the US seemed to have had adequate numbers of aircraft, the baseing rights for a permanent deployment would have been more valuable  i think . Perhaps we might have been supplied with surplus F-4 s in exchange for the baseing rights ? I ventured Knock as a possible base, because i do remember chat amongst the spotters in Dublin around that time, that the runway was of a lenght to accomodate B-52s and other US military aircraft, that Monsignour Horan, was hedging his bets regarding the viability of the airport ,. Also of course the yanks would have been interested in having fighter aircraft which could help to cover the UK-Iceland gap , i seem to recall there was a plan to deploy fighter to Macrahinish in the Hebridies to partly close this gap . Anyway, just wonder what the rest of ye think of this scenario?

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Aviation Waffle / Re: 747 departing Dublin, 27th November 2010.

« on: November 29, 2010, 09:26:27 pm »

a ha. so im not going blind . cheers mate, thanks

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Aviation Waffle / 747 departing Dublin, 27th November 2010.

« on: November 28, 2010, 05:37:46 pm »

I was coming north on the M50 yesterday, about 15.00hrs when I saw a 747 taking off on 28. I thought it was Air France Cargo, can anyone confirm my eyesight is still not too bad, or not, as the case may be. Cheers.

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Site Information / Re: Video Suggestions

« on: October 17, 2010, 12:57:05 pm »

Here are a few
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsA4xQyiDT4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVjMaJAtY5w

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Aviation Waffle / Re: What is the point of the RAF?

« on: August 20, 2010, 09:27:28 pm »

I listened to this programme last night . It made very depressing listening .The truth is, that despite our much vaunted neutrality, it was the UK armed forces who provided our actual defense .How many times have we heard on the radio etc , over the years, that RAF or RN sea kings are passing trough ireland , heading to a rescue in the atlantic, usually with nimrod top cover . Anyone who knows current or recently retired RAF personnel will know  the dire state of the UK armed forces . The way things are looking, there may soon be no RAF at all

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Aviation Waffle / Re: Waterford SAR to go to 12 hrs in new contract

« on: March 22, 2010, 07:47:33 pm »

i wasn't suggesting that the AW139 was what we should have had, i just thought that it made sense to have a single fleet . Most of the aircraft utilised for Medium Lift are also suitable for SAR. The truth is, i believe we bought too small an aircraft, Super puma/Merlin was the size of aircraft we should have selected . Do you all remember when the fishing boat was wrecked on the rocks outside Howth  harbour, about 1993 , i think, and there was no 24hr Dauphin available and opne of the seamen drowned . The story was, that it took 45 mins to get a Wessex from Valley . There was a discussion on the radio the next day and John DeCoucey said we had been offered Seaking HAR3s from the end of the RAFs production run, but had turned the offer down .
My main point was that a combined force of Medium lift and sar choppers, has to be cheaper to acquire and to operate . I know they are different jobs but it must have synergies .

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Aviation Waffle / Re: Waterford SAR to go to 12 hrs in new contract

« on: March 20, 2010, 05:33:53 pm »

I don't know all the in's and out's of why the Aer Corp pulled out of SAR, but at a cost of €500 for 10 years i'm just wondering? if we bought another 5 AW139sand the running costs for 10n years, and we would have a training programme set up already, i'm reckoning it would have to be cheaper overall and much better value . Probably end up with a pool of 12 aircraft , fulfilling the troop transport role and also the SAR role, the way most other countries do, eg Denmark or Portugal