Tornado question.

[Al R]

Are there still any in stock with zero miles on the clock? Are there any plans to keep any airworthy as they start fading off the scene (for whatever reason, including using them as test mule and heritage)?

[LateArmLive]

What a complete ar$e you are AIDU. :mad: Is that reply really warranted?


Al,

I hope you get a sensible answer from someone that is older than 12.......

[c130jbloke]

Errrrrrrrr, does that mean a post has been deleted ?

(See above)

As for an answer, I would have though there is no zero hour frames, as they would look to manage fatigue across all the fleet and the issue of the required numbers of aircraft for ops/trg vs whatever is in for deep maintenance.

One for an eng type I think :uhoh:

[Al R]

lol..

.. AIDU is on my ignore list, but if it was that bad to warrant being binned, it may have been worth a look.

Cheers for the answers. It was a spotter question I know, but I was chatting with someone who was talking about the 'good old days' when Tornado came to Cottesmore. And I was just wondering, thats all. The second part was more about whether they're too complicated to maintain as 'historic' aircraft, or will they dissapear completely or go to South Africa.. or are they too potent for that?

Incidentally, well done to the PRO at Cottesmore for telling all in the local villages about the forthcoming night flying programme. Its good to be included. The overwelming consensus (and I've chatted to well over 2 people about it), is that you can fly for as long and as often as you need to. :ok:

[Chris Kebab]

To the best of my knowledge there are no "zero miles" Tornado aircraft anywhere.

As to the second part of your question you only have to look at how many Jags made it as "test mules and heritage" to get an idea that the Tornado, once gone, will probably be gone for good. Even QinetiQ have binned their last Jag now.

Unlike the Vulcan, Bucc, Hunter, Lightning and, dare I say it Jag, I don't think the Tornado has and probably ever will reach that level of a "loved" aircraft that the heritage (flying) community look at.

Personally, I never thought the Tornado had much character, and that includes when it comes to flying the thing.

Now the F-4........

[engoal]

No zero hrs but a few lower than average - ETPS, QinetiQ, RSAF, BAE Systems?

[taxydual]

Even the later built F3's (built later than GR1's) are 'appearing' in scrapyards now.

As well as the odd plinth in Saudi, but that's a different story.

[NutLoose]

Oddly enough the Germans had some low houred Phantoms, I think there were two that were delivered and went straight to a Maintenance school with less than 100 hrs on the clock

[Al R]

Cheers all/Chris,

I agree about the affection that the thing is held in, it never really hit the spot did it? But what a shame to see them all gone - I suppose many once thought the same of the Valiant, but what would we give to see one of those..

Muses; surely some could be saved..

[MAINJAFAD]

I think you will find that the chances of a Tornado flying in the UK with a serial like G-TORN will be less than a big fat zero, same for the Jaguar and the Lightning. BAe will not support it and CAA will not give it a permit.

[Toddington Ted]

Apologies if this is already very well known but 2 tornado aircraft (static only of course) are preserved at the Yorkshire Air Museum. The latter, Tornado XZ631, which arrived at Elvington on 22 March 2005, according to the official website, first flew on 24 November 1978 as pre-series aircraft P15 and was the prototype for the conversion work to GR.4 standard carried out by British Aerospace at Warton, Lancashire. The Yorkshire Air Museum is the first independent museum in the United Kingdom to acquire a Tornado, and is the first museum in the country to display the current front-line GR.4 version. Of course, if you want a brand new, really low hours, still in its grey undercoat tornado which is currently undergoing testing (60 mph so far) then this is the one for you.
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust (http://www.a1steam.com/)

Oh yes! Topcoat and nameplates with RAF Leeming badge still to be applied.

[False Capture]

Just thinking about taxydual's "F3s that are 'appearing' in scrapyards" - does anyone know how many airframe hours they had on them?

Sorry for asking such a sad question.:8

[rousseau]

according to files I read, that was 15000 h

[Shaft109]

As a follow on question but on thread I'm curious as to how the hours are averaged over the life of the aircraft, as in what happens when a new type is introduced to service - delivery rates.

e.g. Tornado F3 at definitive standard start rolling of production line at a rate of 2 per month (total guess obviously) - then what? first 10 to OCU's then next 10 to storage until enough for 1 squadron then next 10 to storage?

Or in the case of Chinook HC3 spend Sh!t loads on unagreed standard, leave to rot. cost more to get flying, then scrap anyway?

[Riskman]

Rousseau said
according to files I read, that was 15000 h

Was that a typo? 5000h I can believe but 15000 would mean going through the maintenance cycle (Primary to Major) every 4 years if it was in service from the early 80's!

[Jobza Guddun]

The average GR4 is between 4800 - 5500 currently, going by what I've seen. I'd think that most of the F3's would have been around 4000 - 4500, the ZG and ZH serialled ones a fair bit less.

Returns to Magners head bowed....

[glad rag]

The first Tornado that I "alone" fixed at TTTE was German, but they don't count...... Sooo

In the corner of ASF Laarbruch we cordoned off two pristine GR1's with around 15 hour apiece (for quite some time I remember. )

The batch 13's (F3) we got on 43 (F) Sqn were also pretty pristine, we got all the niggly build faults out of them then Saddam jumped into Kuate and all our babes left and we got everyone elses POS to play with!!

:cool: