[QUOTE=Bengo;11529163]
Originally Posted by
212man
I think the question was why didn’t they fly from Brize Norton to Wattisham (after reassembly), rather than move by road?
If road movement was essential, I’d have thought Stansted would be a more convenient arrival point.[/QUOTE
The first because Brize is the wrong place to reassemble and flight test a new cab. There is no support there and the operational tempo of the station is built around heavy fixed wing.
The second because it generates an unnecessary airframe cycle for the C17 in going empty from STN to BZN. Additionally, Stansted will not want a non-essential military movement, any more than LHR would, so they would charge like a wounded rhinoceros if pressurized.
N
Well, these may be valid but I find them slightly incredulous.
1. A few years ago my organisation imported three Sikorsky S-92s into Brunei, in an AN124. We used the Royal Brunei Air Force hangar facilities to reassemble them - main rotor blades, two tail rotor blades each plus re-pressurise the undercarriage. Then a day or two of track and balance and we flew them down the coast to our operating base, 20 min away. How much more than this is involved with these 64s?
2. Stansted is a major air cargo hub (3rd largest in UK with plans to expand). One C-17 is hardly impacting the airline traffic.
3. One airframe cycle? Seriously?