I used to spend a lot of time playing flight simulators on my computer. I even went so far as to spend a total of $400 on absolute top-of-the-line Thrustmaster joysticks modelled on the Block 50 version of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. I even mounted them on a chair purchased for a failed excavator simulator project I worked on for several years.
However, these fancy joysticks have become outmoded over time, using now-obsolete connections that aren't even supported by Windows Vista or 7. I haven't flown a flight sim in years as a result.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered Thrustmaster will soon release a new, modern version of top-notch joysticks. These are modelled on the A-10C Warthog tank-killer attack aircraft. The joystick and matching throttle are to be launched with a new advanced A10C flight simulator in short order.
That's odd, I thought. Why on earth would they spend years of development on emulating an aircraft due for retirement any day now?
Indeed, one of the purposes behind development of the F-35 Lightning II which Canada is buying was to replace the Warthog, in addition to the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-18 Hornet, and AV-8 Harrier fighters of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.
It turns out that the Warthog is not going to be replaced. It's expected to fly for another 18 years or more. It's too good at what it does, namely support troops in the thick of things, like Afghanistan, at extremely close range.
Consider that the Warthog first flew in 1972, and was introduced into service in 1977. According to Wikipedia, it's unit cost was $11.8 million in 1994 dollars, an absolute steal considering what we're spending the F-35, albeit for a much different aircraft. This ugly attack aircraft (they aren't called Warthogs for nothing), were bought and paid for a long time ago.
In recent years the airframes have been updated to the C-model, with new avionics, modernized targeting and navigation systems, and even new wings. Soon they will even have a helmet-mounted integrated targeting system. That's quite impressive for an old bird.
Yet the Warthog is just a babe in the woods compared to the B-52, which has been the backbone of the U.S. bomber fleet since my mother was born. It first flew in 1952, and was introduced into service in 1955. That plane is anticipated to keep flying until 2040, 78 years after the last B-52H rolled off the production line.
Amazingly enough, Canada is still flying its early 1960s vintage Sea King helicopters, which should have been retired in the mid-1990s when soon-to-be Prime Minister Jean Chretien said, "I will take my pen, I write zero helicopters, Chretien." Its replacement just began arriving this year, and it won't be fully phased out for several more years, by which time the Sea Kings will be 50 years old.
There's even a show on History Television called Ice Pilots NWT about a Yellowknife-based airline that still flies 1940s era aircraft. Not surprisingly, a lot of the show focuses on reliability of the aircraft.
I have a 1968 Buick LeSabre, currently sitting on my mom's acreage. I haven't driven it much recently, and the last time I did, the radiator overheated. It doesn't get driven much these days, and indeed, the only real purpose it has is to cruise to the ice cream stand in August. It needs some serious care and attention to bring it fully up to snuff, but even so, I would never rely on it as my main set of wheels.
The Buick doesn't get the same maintenance a high performance aircraft does, with a ground crew pouring over it before and after each flight. But the principle is the same. Old birds wear out, or so you would think. I sure wouldn't want to fly in it.
I guess with enough maintenance and tender loving care, a good airplane will fly forever. Too bad they don't make cars, or anything else for that matter, like that.
- Brian Zinchuk is editor of Pipeline News. He can be reached at [email protected].
