One Million Tonka!
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One Million Tonka!
Hi,
A glider pilot friend of mine who has relocated near Newtonmore in Scotland has asked me about a Tonka that has been seen recently with '1,000,000' painted in white on the fin.
I presume that it relates to one million flying hours, but any one able to add any more details please? I'm guessing it's in RAF service rather than this particular cab or even squadron!
Cheers,
Paul.
A glider pilot friend of mine who has relocated near Newtonmore in Scotland has asked me about a Tonka that has been seen recently with '1,000,000' painted in white on the fin.
I presume that it relates to one million flying hours, but any one able to add any more details please? I'm guessing it's in RAF service rather than this particular cab or even squadron!
Cheers,
Paul.
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its the price they had to pay when they bought the spare fin back from the scrapyard. They needed it in such a hurry they didn't have time to wash the price mark off
the owners of the scrap yards around Lossie must be killing themselves laughing
the owners of the scrap yards around Lossie must be killing themselves laughing
1,000,000?
...I am led to believe it is actually a second hand sale price - an extension of the governments recent "Used Jet sale". Look closely & you will see the remaining air tax and MOT detail and the words "Buy now - very few left......" 
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I read it in one of the UK newspapers today with a picture of the plane.
Google one million tornado and it will come up.
Just saw this on the google list.
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Equipment and Logistics | Tornado ground attack jets clock up one million flying hours
Google one million tornado and it will come up.
Just saw this on the google list.
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Equipment and Logistics | Tornado ground attack jets clock up one million flying hours
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So assuming all 228 GR1 Tornados were in use for all that time, it averages out as 4386 hours per airframe. But as we know only 142 became GR4, so the average of the surviving aircraft must be higher, perhaps double
So what the fatigue life of a Tornado?
What was the average airframe hours of the Harrier?
So what the fatigue life of a Tornado?
What was the average airframe hours of the Harrier?
Last edited by jamesdevice; 20th Dec 2011 at 14:00.
JD,
I have no idea about Harrier, but I think I recall that Tornado strarted out with an airframe life of 4,000 flying hours and an estimated 20-25 years. Obviously that could be changed in-life by fatigue testing and monitoring - it's possible to burn fatigue quicker or slower depending on how you fly it, how much kit you hang on it, etc.
Now, I was an F3 man rather than GR, but IIRC they did some work to extend it initially to 5,000 hours and then to 8,000, so a way to go yet. FI in the F3 was a very different and rather tragic story.
Typhoon is lifed at 6,000 hours so they were looking at getting that extended.
Courtney
I have no idea about Harrier, but I think I recall that Tornado strarted out with an airframe life of 4,000 flying hours and an estimated 20-25 years. Obviously that could be changed in-life by fatigue testing and monitoring - it's possible to burn fatigue quicker or slower depending on how you fly it, how much kit you hang on it, etc.
Now, I was an F3 man rather than GR, but IIRC they did some work to extend it initially to 5,000 hours and then to 8,000, so a way to go yet. FI in the F3 was a very different and rather tragic story.
Typhoon is lifed at 6,000 hours so they were looking at getting that extended.
Courtney
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
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Harriers (i guess you mean the plastic ones) varied wildly - some were written off with only 100's of hours on them (some even less) and others were over 4000 odd IIRC by the end,
Whoopie do Tornado! Now this is impressive IMHO...
In less than 4 years one of our MQ-9s has beaten the Tornado fleet leader and has probably delivered more ordinance on operations.
LJ
PS And I say this as a Tornado mate with the best part of 1800 hours.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Apr 06, 2010
Predator- Series UAS Family Achieves One Million Flight Hours
GA-ASI Continues to Lead the Industry in Delivering Unmatched Soldier Support
SAN DIEGO, CA — General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), tactical reconnaissance radars, and surveillance systems, today announced that its Predator®-series UAS has reached a historic industry milestone, with combat missions over the past weekend pushing its proven aircraft family over the one million flight hours mark. The milestone encompasses just under 80,000 total missions, with over 85-percent of all missions flown in combat.
“The business of GA-ASI is the development of transformational systems which deliver paradigm changing results,” said J. Neal Blue, Chairman and CEO, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. “The achievement of this historic milestone is a testament to the success enjoyed by Predator-series unmanned aircraft systems – clearly one of the game changers and life savers of the day.”
The identification of the specific aircraft and customer that achieved the milestone will not be known until mid-May due to delayed flight hours reporting from the field. Predator-series UAS are in constant daily operations supporting the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Italian Air Force, the U.K.’s Royal Air Force, and other customers. Over 400 aircraft have been produced since the first Predator UAS took flight in 1994, including Predator A, I-GNAT® ER/Sky Warrior® Alpha, Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, Sky Warrior, and Predator C Avenger®, among others.
“This combined customer accomplishment reflects the high demand that in-theater commanders have for the Predator product, as well as the exceptional contributions of our employees, suppliers, and partners,” said Frank Pace, newly appointed president of GA-ASI’s Aircraft Systems Group.
Predator-series flight hours have seen tremendous growth in recent years, with annual totals increasing from 80,000 hours in 2006, to 130,000 hours in 2007, 235,000 hours in 2008, and 295,000 hours in 2009. The one million flight hours milestone also comes at a time of great synergy for GA-ASI and its major customers, with the U.S. Air Force announcing on March 12 that it has surpassed 700,000 flight hours for the MQ-1B Predator UAS and the U.S. Army revealing that it is on track to mark one million flight hours for its UAS inventory this month.
“As Col. Greg Gonzalez and Maj. Gen. James Myles noted in announcing the Army’s upcoming UAS flight hours milestone, the real achievement is what one million represents – one million hours of operating a technology that keeps our soldiers safer and enables them and their commanders to see the enemy and themselves in ways they never could before,” added Pace.
Predator-series aircraft are currently logging nearly 30,000 flight hours a month supporting U.S. coalition forces in combat and with homeland security requirements. Every second of every day, 40 aircraft are airborne worldwide providing persistent surveillance and precision strike support in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other world hot spots; protecting the nation’s borders; and conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support following wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. These aircraft continue to maintain the highest operational availability rates not only in U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army aviation, but also in the U.K. inventory. GA-ASI is currently building eight Predator-series UAS and seven ground control stations (GCS) per month, with the capacity to double production.
Apr 06, 2010
Predator- Series UAS Family Achieves One Million Flight Hours
GA-ASI Continues to Lead the Industry in Delivering Unmatched Soldier Support
SAN DIEGO, CA — General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), tactical reconnaissance radars, and surveillance systems, today announced that its Predator®-series UAS has reached a historic industry milestone, with combat missions over the past weekend pushing its proven aircraft family over the one million flight hours mark. The milestone encompasses just under 80,000 total missions, with over 85-percent of all missions flown in combat.
“The business of GA-ASI is the development of transformational systems which deliver paradigm changing results,” said J. Neal Blue, Chairman and CEO, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. “The achievement of this historic milestone is a testament to the success enjoyed by Predator-series unmanned aircraft systems – clearly one of the game changers and life savers of the day.”
The identification of the specific aircraft and customer that achieved the milestone will not be known until mid-May due to delayed flight hours reporting from the field. Predator-series UAS are in constant daily operations supporting the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Italian Air Force, the U.K.’s Royal Air Force, and other customers. Over 400 aircraft have been produced since the first Predator UAS took flight in 1994, including Predator A, I-GNAT® ER/Sky Warrior® Alpha, Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, Sky Warrior, and Predator C Avenger®, among others.
“This combined customer accomplishment reflects the high demand that in-theater commanders have for the Predator product, as well as the exceptional contributions of our employees, suppliers, and partners,” said Frank Pace, newly appointed president of GA-ASI’s Aircraft Systems Group.
Predator-series flight hours have seen tremendous growth in recent years, with annual totals increasing from 80,000 hours in 2006, to 130,000 hours in 2007, 235,000 hours in 2008, and 295,000 hours in 2009. The one million flight hours milestone also comes at a time of great synergy for GA-ASI and its major customers, with the U.S. Air Force announcing on March 12 that it has surpassed 700,000 flight hours for the MQ-1B Predator UAS and the U.S. Army revealing that it is on track to mark one million flight hours for its UAS inventory this month.
“As Col. Greg Gonzalez and Maj. Gen. James Myles noted in announcing the Army’s upcoming UAS flight hours milestone, the real achievement is what one million represents – one million hours of operating a technology that keeps our soldiers safer and enables them and their commanders to see the enemy and themselves in ways they never could before,” added Pace.
Predator-series aircraft are currently logging nearly 30,000 flight hours a month supporting U.S. coalition forces in combat and with homeland security requirements. Every second of every day, 40 aircraft are airborne worldwide providing persistent surveillance and precision strike support in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other world hot spots; protecting the nation’s borders; and conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support following wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes. These aircraft continue to maintain the highest operational availability rates not only in U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army aviation, but also in the U.K. inventory. GA-ASI is currently building eight Predator-series UAS and seven ground control stations (GCS) per month, with the capacity to double production.
LJ
PS And I say this as a Tornado mate with the best part of 1800 hours.
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I believe the 1,000,000 refers to the attempts tp get the decal on level and they still failed...
LJ I think the GR fleet leader still has more hours on it than the Reaper fleet leader and the max life of Reaper has not changed since you left. The MQ-9 fleet is not immortal and needs investment just like any other fleet to keep it going, otherwise they will become rather tired.
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Whenever we scrap a type, we always end up throwing away countless FI/FH. Some of the old F4s, I'm told, had a lot left, as did Harrier and F3. At least the Harrier's remaining life is going somewhere and some of the F3's parts were recyclable to the GR. It's always sad to see airframes scrapped when there's so much life in them.