Personally I think that the Spitfire is overrated. I prefer the P-51D and the F-4U. Although I really like the Mossie, I believe that the Beaufighter is very much underrated and overlooked. It could do a tremendous amount of damage with 4 x 20 mm cannon and 6 x. 303 mg, plus 8 x 60 lb rocket projectiles or a 21 in torpedo.
I always had a soft spot for the de Havilland Mosquito ... sleek looking, performance... multi-purpose... and well made from mostly wood... "Wooden Wonder"
Yep, well P-40 / P51 / F-4U / Mosquito doing ground attack against Daesh would be impressive. 6 x 50 cal on the first three would be enough to get their attention.
When you talk about things that won WW2 you should never forget the Rolls Royce Merlin Engine. The list of Famous Aircraft that used the Merlin is truly impressive, including the.
Did you know of John Smith's collection at Mapua? He had an ex RNZAF Mosquito and another that is pretty well rotten, the P-40 Gloria Lyon III, and many other pieces of aviation history and parts. He died a few months back and a group of people have been given the job by the family of cataloguing and sorting his collection. The Mosquito and and a 20 ft box of Mosquito parts etc., have gone to Avspecs at Ardmore for restoration. They are the people who have restored and rebuilt the three flying Mosquitoes in the world today. They are supposed to be working on a fourth as well. Pioneer Aero, also at Ardmore, have a DH Sea Hornet to restore to flying condition as well. That's suppose to start soon.
772ER's are cheap, they aren't valuable aircraft anymore, quite a number have already been scrapped, the recently grounded SIA and Delta 200ER fleets are looking like they will also be scrapped. The only company offering a 777P2F conversion is IAI/GEGAS, they're only converting 777-300ER GE90 powered aircraft, a 300ER conversion offers a whole lot more than a 200-ER conversion would give you.
Compared to the old Manawanui anything would look plush, if old Muzz went on board some of the newer offshore vessels he'd be blown away.
And your problem is?
Well so what? The government is the ones who pay the bills and they bought the Manawanui IV. You and I didn't get a say in it and whinging about it isn't going to change anything. I don't see why you're continuing to push this negative line about both topics.
The merlin was a great engine. that was essential for the allies war effort, it's only real downside was that like all pom engines of the time they were a flying oil leak. a problem that was not controlled until late in the war. The ones built by Packard were better in this respect, but they all sound great.
I don't think the Spitfire was overrated when taking into account what it was designed for but your other picks where top of the line aircraft too. I certainly agree that the Beaufighter was very much underrated
Which proves three salient points.1. That they are of significant value for money. 2. There will be no shortage of good parts. 3. The affordability of getting a third flyable airframe in the strategic role for the RNZAF, is eminently more possible.
I am pleased that you are now recognising that IAI/GEGAS are converting B777's after telling us incorrectly just 2 days ago that no one was. Your next step on the learning curve will be to go off now and find out the other global firms also capable of P2F converting B777's. Not that it completely matters, because the B772 and A332 both can airlift the current 30 year old B757-K2's pax loading and cargo loading at the same time and fly twice as far.
Nor any other commercial passenger aircraft type in operation as Covid 19 has collapsed the sector with 16000 airframes under current storage and only 9000 kept in operational status. The second hand market is in a different context when comparing a commercial operator to a military airlift asset.
An interesting point mentioned to me is that a B772-ER with max fuel load and a reduced PM's delegation of around 70-80 with standard baggage and a onboard flight crew rotation of 6 pilots and 12 stewards, a B772-ER technically though safely can manage a direct flight to DC.
@MrConservative is better at answering the political processes than I, but if a good business case was put forward to the Minister by the Ministry of Defence Future Air Mobility Capability Project team and they convinced the Minister that such an undertaking was very advantageous, plus Treasury backed it then it may have a chance. The Ministry of Defence / NZDF Capability Delivery Division has gained a good reputation for good business cases and delivering sound recommendations to both the Minister and Cabinet backed by solid research, data, and analysis. Treasury are involved with the business cases and so they have really good numbers when they go to the Minister and Cabinet. Treasury uses the Ministry of Defence / NZDF Capability Delivery Division as an exemplar for other govt departments, organisations, Regional & Local Authorities, SOEs etc., to use for their procurement systems, so that says a lot.
Well if it was an aircraft related problem, they'd most likely be orbiting anywhere but over a built up area. So I would hazard a guess that could be a tasking.
That would be my guess as well... I very much doubt it would be flying over built up area's if it was fuel burning because an aircraft related problem...