Cherskiy
Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 3701
Location: near Amble, Northumberland
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 Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 5:00 pm Post subject: Back to the Cold War.... |
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....well, as long as the oil money pays for the fuel and spares, I suppose.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6950986.stm
The main reason Dalnaya Aviatsiya (DA, or Long-Range Aviation) gave up recon flights back in 1992 was lack of money for fuel (as stated) and spares (not mentioned). Most of the Tu-95 "Bear" maritime recon aircraft were grounded due to lack of essential maintenance and a similar fate had befallen the Tu-26 "Backfire" fleet. The Russians didn't give up as some grand gesture - it was forced upon them.
One of the ex-DA engineers I spoke to back in '92 when I was out there told me the entire AEW fleet had shrunk to just two Il-76 "Mainstays" in mid-1990, two aircraft for the whole of Russia - they were even apparently thinking of bringing an old Tu-126 "Moss" out of mothballs to supplement the 'fleet'!
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Author: “To the Ends of the Earth: A Snapshot of Aviation in North-Eastern Siberia, Summer 1992”
(Free to read via Kindle Unlimited) |
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