Aircraft that would have been good for CAP?

[bosshawk]

Chambliss had my favorite: the OV-1 Mohawk, which I flew in Korea.  The downside to that is that the ejections seat carts are no longer made and the big, ugly beast uses 150 gallons of Jet A per hour and there are no replacement parts still in the pipeline.  There are about 15 Mohawks still flying, but only in the experimental category: the Army retired them in 1996.

Pretty much the same story with the Bronco.  CAL Fire has 12 of them, but spent about a yearly CAP budget to recondition them a number of years back.

[NIN]

Not to mention that a poorly recognized engine-out on takeoff would have you on your back before you could do anything.

IIRC, they used the T-53 out of a Huey on each side.

[Flying Pig]

Chambliss had my favorite: the OV-1 Mohawk, which I flew in Korea.  The downside to that is that the ejections seat carts are no longer made and the big, ugly beast uses 150 gallons of Jet A per hour and there are no replacement parts still in the pipeline.  There are about 15 Mohawks still flying, but only in the experimental category: the Army retired them in 1996.

Pretty much the same story with the Bronco.  CAL Fire has 12 of them, but spent about a yearly CAP budget to recondition them a number of years back.

Actually......the OV-10s flown by CAL-Fire are owned by DynCorp, flown by DynCorp pilots and maintained by DynCorp mechanics.  The only thing CAL-Fire owns is the paint scheme, the Jet A that goes into them and the Firefighter carried in the back seat.  The engines have been changed out and updated and the ejection seats disabled.  Crazy huh??

[blackrain]

Read a intersting article on Patty Wagstaff flying the Bronco for CAL Fire now that I think about it

I think Boeing has looked at a more modern version of the Bronco for a new production COIN A/C. Beautiful Machine for sure. Of course anything with 2 engines costs too much in operational expenses and would take money away overall from our missions in the long run

C-12 (King Air) in the Guardrail configuration. Way better than Becker for DF. But I'll defer to Bosshawk for a definitve answer


Seriously though I have to agree that the 182/206 maybe with Turbo is best for our missions. I think we fall short however not with the airframe but in having to rely too much on hand held cameras and the Mark 1 eyeball on those platforms. IMHO

[bosshawk]

Some of you guys know more about the CAL Fire Broncos than I: I only see them around when they are flying or gathering dust at airports.  They may have put T-53s on them: there are plenty of those engines around.  The Mohawk had T-53s, but not the version from the Huey.  Ours were free turbines, while the Huey had a turboshaft version.  We had an air clutch on the front of the engine that drove the prop: our propeller blades were moved by an electric motor(another story).

Rob: didn't know that Dynacorp owned the Broncos, but not too surprised.  Those thirteen aircraft came from the Marines via the Bone Yard.  One of their jockeys burned one into the ground, inverted, the first year they had them in service.

Cliff hit a tender spot in my heart: the Mohawk.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I thought of the OV-10 and O-2/337, but was trying to stay with a single-engine bird.

My pick would be the Dornier 27.

First of all, it's German, and they have a long history of robust, reliable aircraft.

Second of all, it's purpose-designed for the Mark I Eyeball to be effective.

Third, it is supposed to have unbelievable STOL attributes...probably a big reason why the Swiss AF picked it.

There are quite a few ex-Luftwaffe/Heeresflieger Do 27's on the civil register in Germany...some still in their German "splinter" camouflage.

[SarDragon]

Not to mention that a poorly recognized engine-out on takeoff would have you on your back before you could do anything.

IIRC, they used the T-53 out of a Huey on each side.

Nope. T-76 from Garrett-AiResearch. A little newer, lighter, and more reliable. The same basic engine as the Aero Commander, and the Turbo S-2F3AT conversions for CalFire.

[bosshawk]

Dave: I didn't think that the CALfire OV-10s sounded like they had T-53s on them, but who knows.  I have heard enough T-53s in my life to likely never forget them.  Three Mohawks or 50 Hueys in formation leave a pretty indelible spot in your memory.

[NIN]

Not to mention that a poorly recognized engine-out on takeoff would have you on your back before you could do anything.

IIRC, they used the T-53 out of a Huey on each side.

Nope. T-76 from Garrett-AiResearch. A little newer, lighter, and more reliable. The same basic engine as the Aero Commander, and the Turbo S-2F3AT conversions for CalFire.

I meant the OV-1, but Paul is right: its not the same engine as the Huey. I misspoke.

[Capination]

http://www.britten-norman.com/brochures/defender.pdf

[SarDragon]

http://www.britten-norman.com/brochures/defender.pdf

At $2 million+ each. 

[Varga Guy]

.....imma leave this right here....

http://www.tecnam.com/it-it/flotta/mma/mma.aspx

...& if the FLIR is a bit much, just mount one of these (like was done on the CTLE)

http://www.cloudcaptech.com/gimbal_tase200.shtm