WT Forums

Hi All,
Recently read the latest publication by the Flight Journal folks: Modern Air Power
http://www.rcstore.com/RS/general/detai ... &catego=BO

Had a good article and some nice pics of A-10s. Much of the text is very flattering towards A-10s and it's obvious that the A-10s have proven their worth over the past couple desert wars.

Have a few newbie questions for y'all:
Is anyone aware of any future upgrades/improvements for the existing A-10s?
Are there any special refurbishments required to keep the A-10s flying for another 10 years?
Are funds really being diverted from A-10s into F/A-22 squadrons???

Thanks and regards,
Mike

P.S. Maybe these are stupid questions since it seems funds are tight. Wishful thinking?





Edited by - TheFlash on Nov 18 2005 4:16 PM

From my military experience, aircraft of any kind have a life-cycle to where they are no longer structurely sound to fly anymore. The A-10 has been around since 1975, so it's going on 30yrs old.

How much longer can the A-10 fly strongly depends on how structurely sound the aircraft is.

From personal experience, they actually x-ray certain areas of the aircraft to ensure that there are no defects detectable. As long as they are still sound, they will continue to fly until the USAF determines that it needs a brand new close air support aircraft.

My hopes is that they will continue to fly this aircraft another 30 years because of how well it continues to perform.

The A-10 may include new upgrades and improvements just like any other military aircraft.

Being a civilian pilot, I definitely understand airframe hours and life left in an airframe.
Just figured (hoped?) that the Hogs don't have THAT much time yet despite the years gone by...

Also was hoping that there might be budgetary funds to help keep the squadrons going well into the future.

Maybe upgrades to an all-glass instrument panel???

Thanks,
Mike

1st off, welcome aboard. <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Are you aware of the recent upgrade to the A10C? I believe there is a significant $ amount put into this, therefore extending the life of the hog actively.
There have been several threads about this in this forum, if you do a search on the A-10C

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8A at your side, kid...--Hawg Solo

_________________
\"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8/A at your side, kid.\"--Hawg Solo

Thank you, HogDog!<img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

I saw the A-10C topic, but initially thought it was a joke. A "C" model A-10???

Thanks for setting me straight on that one and I look forward to chatting with all the A-10 folks here!

Best regards,
Mike

The A-10 is scheduled to fly until 2028.

Fender
"A woman drove me to drink
and I hadn't even the courtesy to thank her".
W.C. Fields

Flash, first welcome aboard! The A-10 was designed to fly 6,000 flight hours which was later amended to 8,000 hours, There are aircraft in the fleet today with over 10,000 hours. There is a Servive Life Extension Program (SLEP1) onging which will extend the Hawg's servive life to 16,000 flight hours. This program is called "SLEP1" today but was known as "Hog-up" a couple of years ago. Do a Google search using these two terms and you should be able to find a few items on the web which will give you a good background on the program.

The Precision Engagement (PE) program, which will change the A-10A into an A-10C, is an upgrade to the avionics/weapons and should not be confushed with the SLEP1/Hog-up program. Here's a little background on this program from my A-10 website....

http://www.warthogpen.com/a-10c_files/A-10C.html



Ugly But Well Hung

Yeah, I guess I chose my words poorly. I meant the C version extending the life of the hog in terms of how long the gov't would consider it "up-to-date" enough to continue using it, not extending the actual service life capability.
I hope that sounds a little more accurate...

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8A at your side, kid...--Hawg Solo

_________________
\"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8/A at your side, kid.\"--Hawg Solo

Didn't meant to sound like I was correcting you HogDog but on re-reading my post I guess I did sound that way. Sorry, just wanted to clarify the differance between SLEP1 and PE.

Ugly But Well Hung

No sweat, it is always good to clarify if something could be taken differently, as it was with my post.
No harm done!! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8A at your side, kid...--Hawg Solo

_________________
\"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8/A at your side, kid.\"--Hawg Solo

Cool <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

Ugly But Well Hung