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New paint for VIP Voyager


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59 minutes ago, canberraman said:

The RAF have too many tankers? Not sure where you get that idea from. The Air Tanker/RAF partnership provides for 9 x Voyagers to be available to service all the RAF Tanker and strategic requirements. Don't forget that one Voyager is permanently detached to the Falklands Islands, 1 on QRA alert, 1 on ops in Al Udeid etc. ZZ336, the subject of the repaint, is not permanently assigned to VIP carriage. When not doing that specific role she earns her keep as a tanker just like the rest of the fleet. Not too long ago the RAF AAR/AT fleet comprised 20 or so VC10s and 9 Tristars 😀

 

Mark

Mark re-read my post, " it's not like they (BA) don't have enough (aircraft) going spare at the moment and (that) the RAF have too many tankers!" I was trying to say that Ba have plenty of spare aircraft while the RAF don't have enough tanker capacity. Sorry if it didn't come over that way.

 

Duncan B

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4 hours ago, Duncan B said:

I don't understand why we can't just charter a dedicated BA machine though, it's not like they don't have enough going spare at the moment

Good idea Duncan, however unlike a British Airways standard people carrier the RAF's Voyager is fitted with a self-protection suite. 

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2 minutes ago, Richard E said:

Good idea Duncan, however unlike a British Airways standard people carrier the RAF's Voyager is fitted with an self-protection suite. 

What happens to that gear (is it removed?) when the Voyagers go on their "summer holidays" back to the airline charter work or do they not do that now? 

 

Duncan B

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8 minutes ago, Duncan B said:

What happens to that gear (is it removed?) when the Voyagers go on their "summer holidays" back to the airline charter work or do they not do that now? 

 

Duncan B

 

The charter aircraft are those that the RAF has no requirement for at present, but may need in certain circumstances.(The surge fleet). At the moment, one of the surge fleet is in permanent use by the RAF (and has been since delivered) The others were de-militarised at BN after delivery and have been variously chartered by Thomas Cook or Jet2. They would only have the countermeasures fit re-fitted if they are needed.(AirTanker use one of the surge fleet themselves for the Falklands air bridge and other MOD charter work)

 

The core-fleet of 9 aircraft (including ZZ336, the VIP jet) is, and has always been, RAF only.

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3 hours ago, andyf117 said:

 

Three - and they're Airseekers, not Rivet Joints! :ner:

Not quite. The programme is known as Project Airseeker, superceding the earlier Project Helix for a Nimrod R.1 life extension/replacement. It became Airseeker when the RC-135 option was selected. The aircraft are known to the RAF as RC-135W Rivet Joints.

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8 minutes ago, Blimpyboy said:


Does anybody have enough? Or transport, for that matter?

Well according to the secretary of state for defence on BFBS the other day he said  quote 'do we need 3 types of transport aircraft ,do we nèed 3 types of support helicopter do we need 8 new frigates.....etc ' ....that worries me.

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14 minutes ago, junglierating said:

according to the secretary of state for defence on BFBS the other day he said  quote 'do we need 3 types of transport aircraft ,do we nèed 3 types of support helicopter do we need 8 new frigates.....etc '


Sigh.

😒

 

Has the esteemed secretary found a single aircraft type can do all tasks then?

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23 minutes ago, junglierating said:

Well according to the secretary of state for defence on BFBS the other day he said  quote 'do we need 3 types of transport aircraft ,do we nèed 3 types of support helicopter do we need 8 new frigates.....etc ' ....that worries me.

 

That was the policy of a previous CAS (We only need two of each) Unfortunately for him, they found the A400 couldn't do all the tasks the C130 did.

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1 minute ago, Dave Fleming said:

 

That was the policy of a previous CAS (We only need two of each) Unfortunately for him, they found the A400 couldn't do all the tasks the C130 did.

Exactly what I thought and the SF like C130 so um a cut in A400....hmm political football nuff said

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21 hours ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

Nah, they'll take their cue from Vlad:

 

They're not real............

 

They are ILLUSIONS... :whistle:

 

... and when used for Open Skies work .......... they are.... wait for it...........

 

OPTICAL Illyushins........

 

Sorry... I'll get my coat

 

Ken

 

 

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1 hour ago, JagRigger said:

Am I the only one thinking 'was it due a respray anyway' ? If so, no big deal on the fact it's coming out in a different scheme

Highly unlikely I would have thought. None of the Voyagers are more than eight years old, and according to what I have seen written elsewhere twenty years is the expected time between complete repaints.

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17 hours ago, tonyot said:

It would be nice if they just applied the old RAF Transport scheme of grey and white with a blue cheatline and full colour reasonably sized roundels,...... retro is all the rage these days and it would look excellent,....... even all white with the blue cheatline as per the Tristar would look good. Don`t like the idea of a Union Flag tail,...... one on the nose above the door would be fine. 

Totally agree. What's wrong with good old British understatement? 

 

On the other hand we haven't seen the result yet. It might not be that bad. We all know the tendency of the tabloids to exaggerate.

 

Time will tell.

 

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1 hour ago, Truro Model Builder said:

Highly unlikely I would have thought. None of the Voyagers are more than eight years old, and according to what I have seen written elsewhere twenty years is the expected time between complete repaints.

ZZ336 was delivered to Brize Norton in Nov 2012, 11 months after the first. In the civilian world the paint is normally stripped off when the aircraft has a D Check. That happens every 6-12 years and is a complete strip down of the aircraft. 

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5 hours ago, Truro Model Builder said:

Assuming that ZZ336 is having a D-check. There hasn't been any suggestion of it, but with a £900k price tag I hope it isn't just a paint job.

 

 

I've seen mention it is in for a C or D check (Sources vary) 

 

Either way i don't have an issue with the UK's VIP aircraft being painted in an appropriate scheme. It always puzzles me the negative attitude in the UK to having a proper VIP fleet for Head of State/Head of Govt. 

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The only surprising thing to me is that this wasn’t factored in at the start, then no one would have blinked an eyelid. 
 

My vote goes for the classic Transport Command white and Light Aircraft Grey with the blue cheatline.

 

Trevor

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