Owner of Air USA Buys an entire Air Force

Cold war, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm - up to and including for example the A-10, F-15, Mirage 200, MiG-29, and F-18.
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by mixelflick » 10 Apr 2020, 13:27

This guy just bought 46! ex RAAF F-18 Hornets, and has upgraded them to include helmet mounted cueing systems, the best defensive EW $ can buy, etc. etc. His 46 jets handily outnumber Canada's entire "interim" purchase of 25 ex RAAF's F-18's!!! LOL

But wait, there's more: He also owns 4 Mig-29's, several L-39's, L-39ZA's, upgraded Hawks with AESA radars, F-5's with integrated infra-red sensors and several PC-9s, but also the fleet of 17 highly modified Cessna T337 Turbo Skymasters that Air USA just acquired from Airscan Inc. These aircraft were totally reworked for overhead surveillance and counter-insurgency missions in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They come equipped with the hugely capable MX-15 infrared/electro-optical sensor turret and an operator's station in the back.

In short, this guy bought an air force Canada can only dream about, LOL. More at the jump...

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/3 ... 18-hornets


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by nastle » 10 Apr 2020, 16:53

sounds like a great story for a mercenary airforce novel


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by jetblast16 » 10 Apr 2020, 19:53

Canada should hire him out for the air defense of the nation :roll:
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by F16VIPER » 13 Apr 2020, 08:35

He has not upgraded anything. The planes were upgraded for the RAAF over a number of years to the highest possible standard.


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by sferrin » 13 Apr 2020, 14:11

F16VIPER wrote:He has not upgraded anything. The planes were upgraded for the RAAF over a number of years to the highest possible standard.


Are they 9G rated like the Swiss F/A-18s?
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by eagle3000 » 13 Apr 2020, 18:38

sferrin wrote:Are they 9G rated like the Swiss F/A-18s?


No they are not.
Because Swiss Hornets are not 9G rated, they're 7.5G rated like all Hornets. They have some bulkheads changed to titanium instead of aluminium (?) to allow them to reach 5000 flight hours even with pure air/air flying.
9G rating is just an option but would decrease service life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think actually all Hornet models could be flown to 9Gs.
So even if there was a retrofit program, which there isn't, Hornets upgraded that way would still be 7.5G airplanes. Unless they would want to run out of hours really quickly. :wink:


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by mixelflick » 13 Apr 2020, 21:29

Either way, he has quite an air force on his hands! Rather more impressive than Canada's IMO.

I like the idea of Canada hiring him. Wonder what the boy wonder Trudeau would think of that? Probably not going to happen, makes too much sense. Ego, Ego, Ego.

These big shots don't know when to quit. It's all ego!


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by 35_aoa » 14 Apr 2020, 07:24

eagle3000 wrote:
No they are not.
Because Swiss Hornets are not 9G rated, they're 7.5G rated like all Hornets. They have some bulkheads changed to titanium instead of aluminium (?) to allow them to reach 5000 flight hours even with pure air/air flying.
9G rating is just an option but would decrease service life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think actually all Hornet models could be flown to 9Gs.
So even if there was a retrofit program, which there isn't, Hornets upgraded that way would still be 7.5G airplanes. Unless they would want to run out of hours really quickly. :wink:


The rumor I think sferrin is referring to is that the Swiss jets had the wing folds welded closed thus increasing the load limit to 9. I don't know if that is true, but who knows. Agreed that if true, it would reduce life and most likely speed up center barrel replacement timeline.



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