Regarding the issue of planning to fail: As I'm sure most of us know, the aircrew are allocated a number of flying hrs per year to achieve high operational standards (trg sorties) and contribute to operational tasking. Within that allocation is a minimum flying rate, per individual, to maintain basic currency. In recent times we have struggled to maintain currency in some skills, at home, due to a lack of available aircraft (for the reasons I have outlined elsewhere). It is not acceptable for the planners to look out of the window and assume that the few serviceable jets they see are not sufficient to meet our needs. If they don't plan and we don't fly, we will not produce the evidence of imbalance between resources and needs. The planners must continue to schedule the crews to fly, as they always have, knowing that there is a likelihood of failure. We then have the evidence that we are out of balance and we can then get the ears and eyes of the air staff. If we didn't plan to fail, we would not have augmented NLS with civilian tradesmen, nor would we have been given some respite from some of the op tasking.
DV, I am not a planner. I simply fly, with confidence, on whatever jet I'm given. I do like to think that I have a balanced view of the bigger picture, when I arrive in Ops, at oh god almighty hrs, to find out that the flight has been scrubbed due to a lack of airframes. This routine situation is almost certainly due to a lack of resources to repair a number of routine faults that many years ago would have been fixed within hours, rather than the days that it takes now. Engineering resources make up the pinch point at Kinloss, not airworthiness. Fortunately, in recent months we have recognised this problem and we have brought some balance back to resources and needs.
If you want to discuss Nimrod airworthiness issues you should concentrate on pre Sep 06, where there is plenty of material. However, the BOI has covered that ground with a fine tooth comb, so there is nothing left to discuss anyway....
Regards
Ed Sett