RAF Rivet Joint
I daresay that you are right, EAP86. The issue isn't that an RTS is still to be granted, but rather on what basis it will be if it is granted. In short can the airworthiness of this aircraft, or for that matter any other aircraft, be assured by the MAA, and if so how? The regulations and procedures have been lost together with the people who knew about both.
If you set out to subvert and suborn, all the above must be lost or they can be produced as evidence of your illegal acts. Once lost they can only be regained by a long and arduous process of reform, outside of your malevolent control. The MAA (and the MAAIB) as presently constituted cannot do that. The present default of rewriting those regulations and procedures from a new Year Zero is a nonsense, just as it would be if any other Regulator tried to do it.
Grounding fleets, or refusing and delaying the RTS of new ones, does not signify competent regulation. Only the continuous uninterrupted maintenance and enforcement of gradually evolving Regulations and Procedures does that... but they weren't.
If you set out to subvert and suborn, all the above must be lost or they can be produced as evidence of your illegal acts. Once lost they can only be regained by a long and arduous process of reform, outside of your malevolent control. The MAA (and the MAAIB) as presently constituted cannot do that. The present default of rewriting those regulations and procedures from a new Year Zero is a nonsense, just as it would be if any other Regulator tried to do it.
Grounding fleets, or refusing and delaying the RTS of new ones, does not signify competent regulation. Only the continuous uninterrupted maintenance and enforcement of gradually evolving Regulations and Procedures does that... but they weren't.
You forget process, especially "safety case" process rules all.
A simple chain, and break any link or fail to demonstrate each is intact, and the RTS cannot be issued. That is the systemic and organisational failure that led to the Nimrod Review and cancellation of MRA4.
In the case of Rivet Joint, the mandated regulations imposed on DEC and procurers would require them to confirm the robustness of this audit trail before even seeking approval to proceed. The scrutineers must verify it before granting approval. And, throughout the entire procurement and in-service phases, it must be the subject of continuous assessment.
What can go wrong if you follow the regs? We know what goes wrong if you don't. ZD576. XV230. XV179. ZG710. MoD/MAA are on record as agreeing with the instructions not to.
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"I suppose Coningsby is the obvious choice. It means the crews can be dic..., err, shuttled around as required"
..to say nothing of the T&S Budget savings.
..to say nothing of the T&S Budget savings.
Why not Scampton for everyday use and somewhere else for major servicing. How long will it take to resurface the runway, is the other question, could it be done on a 24 hour a day basis?
RJ, send them to Mildenhall, if that's an option if they cannot use Scampton or another station.
RJ, send them to Mildenhall, if that's an option if they cannot use Scampton or another station.
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Runway resurfacing is not an excessively long process, a crew did Schipol airport a few years back at night, over a period of a couple of weeks I seem to remember and, the airport remained operational at all other times...
Surely Mildenahll would be the obvious bolthole? All the engineering and ground support is already in place, it would just need the RAF air/ground crews to complete the picture?
-RP
Surely Mildenahll would be the obvious bolthole? All the engineering and ground support is already in place, it would just need the RAF air/ground crews to complete the picture?
-RP
The important thing for the RJ isn't the resurfaced existing runway, its how much longer they are going to make it, so that the first thing an RJ doesn't have to do once airborn is go look for a boom equipped tanker.
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My reading of the scenario is that it is a complete rebuild (and extension) which involves creating multiple layers of a new deep substrate. Resurfacing is a different, and relatively simple, task ...
... unless, as happened at Scampton in the 80s, the contractors didn't bother with the friction course as they were running out of time/money. Day One of ops on the new surface, on a rainy day, revealed a skating rink. "Stand down Scampton Wing."
... unless, as happened at Scampton in the 80s, the contractors didn't bother with the friction course as they were running out of time/money. Day One of ops on the new surface, on a rainy day, revealed a skating rink. "Stand down Scampton Wing."
The important thing for the RJ isn't the resurfaced existing runway, its how much longer they are going to make it, so that the first thing an RJ doesn't have to do once airborn is go look for a boom equipped tanker.
Lets hope things changed...
BTW; the R1 used Conningsby during the big dig of 2004.