AOTW, All,
Further to the grounding of the Caribou fleet, the main driver for that was the one that had a structural failure due fatigue at Efogi in PNG in 2008.
With respect to the above, I generally only bite when I am fairly confident something posted is incorrect. Hence I must mention that while Aus Aviation is a reputable source of info on aviation matters, in this instance it is not accurately reporting the cause of the Efogi Accident.
Sections of the wing spar were sent to DSTO for analysis and there was no actual findings (from my understanding) of fatigue as such. The cause (again from my understanding) is still an unknown failure mode.
It may be more than coincident that the same aircraft spent extended periods in deep maintenenace getting repairs for an engine fire that damaged the wing spar and surrounding area.
I am not a Turbo Caribou spruiker as i think the output that the Caribou genrated in it's final years (2006-2008) was minimal with most of my hours coming from Continuation Training and Pilot deveopment or PNG trainers. The odd occasion when you need to land on a 1500ft, 12.5% upslope runway are so few and far between that the cost of maintaining it outways the benefits.
C27J is good for RAAF and good for Aus. Will be deployable to all AO's where Aus is likely to operate, will supplement Herc strategic lift when required and complement rotary assests in tactical airlift. SF will be well looke after with a relaiable and capable aircraft for work up and deployment.
Just need to get in contact with DP to secure my place.......