wrote:

On Thu, 01 Sep 2005 01:11:57 GMT, Gord Beaman
wrote:

Jim Carriere wrote:
snip

I'm not sure buying an ex training command aircraft would be such a
great deal. Although the maintenance is great and keeps them going
in government service, they lead a hard life. Think of it like
getting a car at a police auction.

I gotta agree...aircraft used to train sprog crews have a hard
life...it's nothing that great maintenance can change either, the
basic airframe is often subjected to much greater stresses than
they are with more experienced handling...in my somewhat
experienced opinion at least...

A "B" would not be too much of a machine to operate for most folks,
but the "C" (with that fuel-swilling turboprop and all the t-prop
maintenance needs) would be a rich man's toy. This is assuming no
serious airframe issues! :-)

Didn't they ground all civil registered T-34s a couple of years back
when the wings started falling off of them again? IIRC, at least one
of the T-34s that crashed had already had the wing spar mods that
were supposed to fix the problem. That's not good.

It would be fun, but for that kind of money you could probably run a
T-28 and have more fun. And get lot's more "style points." ;-)

A T-28 is more like a jet than a recip inside. The electric and
hydraulic systems are Learjet complex. They're great airplanes, but
they're expensive to maintain.

--
Pete Stickney
Java Man knew nothing about coffee.