Marchetti's - what now ?

[Silver]

What will (or should !) happen with the Marchetti's now ?

- One retained for museum and the rest sold ?
- Be Scrapped ?
- Be donated to another (poor) country ?
(Switzerland donated helis a few years ago).
- Other suggestion ?

BTW, how many of them are fully airworthy at present ? ...5/6 ?

[futurepilot]

They should form a Air Corps Reserve with them and let people like me play with them '>
Seriously, I think they should retain one or two for use in the museum and as a gate gaurdian etc. The rest should be sold to either another air force or be demilitarized and sold on the civilian market.

[Frank]

I don't know about what will happen to the bulk of the fleet but 229 (I think) is in the museum already, (correct me if I'm wrong here) the engine siezed up after a training flight and was never repaired seeing as the retirement of the fleet was imminent.

[Fouga23]

Donate one to me '>  pretty please?

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi all
it would take about a day to demilitarise a Marchetti and about a light year to get it approved to fly in this country,so forget that.See Geoffrey Boot in "Flyer", operating an ex-Burkina Faso example on a Permit to Fly in the UK.It can be done, if you throw time and money at it.Incidentally, the WE was/is a modified M.If Mr.Boot can do it...
regards
GttC

[Fouga23]

What about getting them registered on the US register?

[FMolloy]

Keep the one that needs the most work for the museum & sell the rest now while they're still worth something, then put the proceeds of the sale back into the AC budget.

[Fouga]

that would work

[Claudel Hopson]

229's engine did not seize, there was a problem with no 3 cylinder on the engine. No further resourses were put into the SF260 fleet once the the PC-9's arrived.

It won't take much to make five of the fleet airworthy. Two are due IRAN's and one of them (231 is proposed) is destined for the museum.

[GoneToTheCanner]

Hi,Claudel et al
Two IRANs due? Bloody expensive things to do so they might not have much residual sale value without the inspections completed.They'd make a few quid if they sold them to active users like the Belgians.There wouldn't be any legal issues because it would be a straight government to government transfer.They could keep one in flyable storage for small money as a core for a Historic Flight.
regards
GttC