lestweforget wrote:
Are modern aircraft too complex, expensive and potent to ever be future warbirds?
Yes, to all three of those.
Ask the Collings guys how challenging and expensive it is to maintain and operate their A-4 Skyhawk and F-4 Phantom II, which are literally 1950s technology. Our current front-line fighters, such as the F-15, F-16, and F-18, were designed in the 1970s. Look at how complex they are (and how dangerous!). Our resident F-15 driver, Randy Haskin, can probably give us an idea of how many man-hours of ground labor are required for each hour of flight. The number will shock you. There are a small number of 1950s-era American high performance jets flying in private hands, such as A-4, F-5/T-38, F-100, F-104, etc, but their operating and maintenance costs have got to be staggering, and you can't just run down to the local airplane parts dealer and buy spares for jets like those.
Here in the US, because of the increased concerns over homeland security, there's no way you'd be allowed to operate a modern warplane because it could be used as an effective weapon if it got into the wrong hands. The Collings Foundation has the ONLY civilian (display category) Phantom II, and it literally took a special act of Congress to make that happen. You can be sure that it won't happen again. Look at the fuss that was made over the de-militarization of F-14 Tomcats because the government was worried that their parts would somehow end up in Iran. Two older Tomcats were confiscated from legitimate museums because they had not been properly demilitarized. The government is even taking a long look at vintage warplanes because they could be armed and used as a weapon again.
Eventually, we might see a few more Century-series fighters restored to flying condition, such as an F-105 or perhaps even an F-106, but you can bet that it won't be easy to license anything that isn't already. A couple of years ago, there was an ex-Blue Angels F-18A offered for purchase on eBay. Its Blue Angels heritage was documented. The selling dealer bought it legitimately through a Navy surplus sale, and it somehow got out without being de-mil'd. The airplane was complete with engines and basic avionics, but nothing sensitive or classified. The FBI and FAA investigated and found no wrong-doing, much to the Navy's dismay. The FAA even issued an N-number (experimental category, obviously). To the best of my knowledge, it never did find a buyer (if I'm wrong, someone please chime in and correct me on that). I'm not surprised. It would take a small army (or Navy!) of mechanics to get it flyable and keep it that way, and can you imagine how much it would cost to keep it fueled? It might be difficult to get an F-18 type rating, too, unless you flew them in the military.
It is very hard these days to import a foreign-made warplane. Before the US government clamped down, MiG fighters and various jet trainers were being imported from China, Poland, the Czech republic, et al, in fairly large numbers. They were cheap to buy and offered the advantage of having huge stocks of spare parts available. Some of those MiGs are flying, along with plenty of L-29s and L-39s, but I don't think you'll see any more coming into the US.
In addition to the potential security threat (real or perceived), there is also the safety aspect. Many people feel that high-performance jet fighters are very risky to operate, and one little mechanical problem or one little lapse in judgement by the pilot could send one crashing down into a schoolyard full of little ones or a busy shopping mall. Of course, the same thing could happen with a Cessna 150, but that's beside the point. The public views light planes as much safer than fighter jets.
Sad state of affairs, eh?
Cheers,
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