Kaneoheboy Posted November 8, 2012 Share #1 Posted November 8, 2012 Approaching Marion Carl Field, MCAS Kaneohe Bay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdeye Posted November 8, 2012 Share #2 Posted November 8, 2012 That p-3 Aircraft is all but obsolete, Boeing is building the P-8A, a 737 with a bomb-bay and weapons pylons on the wing, to replace it the navy has ordered over 100 so far,,and about 5 have been delivered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaneoheboy Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share #3 Posted November 8, 2012 Hawaii is on the list for some P-8As, there was some discussion as to whether a fully loaded P-8A would be able to take off from Marion Carl Field, MCAS Kaneohe Bay, home of the P-3 squadrons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northcoastaero Posted November 10, 2012 Share #4 Posted November 10, 2012 vpnavy.org is a great website on patrol and other squadron information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaneoheboy Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted November 10, 2012 Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdeye Posted November 11, 2012 Share #6 Posted November 11, 2012 Hawaii is on the list for some P-8As, there was some discussion as to whether a fully loaded P-8A would be able to take off from Marion Carl Field, MCAS Kaneohe Bay, home of the P-3 squadrons. It could take off,,but it would have to refuel in the air,,something it can do well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaneoheboy Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share #7 Posted November 11, 2012 Truly a beautiful aircraft! Internet photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aef1917 Posted November 11, 2012 Share #8 Posted November 11, 2012 The house where I grew up and my elementary school were directly under the flight path for Moffett Field. P3s flew over us several times every day. In 5th grade, we got to tour one on a field trip to Moffett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaneoheboy Posted November 11, 2012 Author Share #9 Posted November 11, 2012 This one was three miles away from my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted November 12, 2012 Share #10 Posted November 12, 2012 Good old Willow Grove here was a base for two squadrons, VP-64 and VP-66 for many years here. VP-64 is now VR-64 and flies C-130T's from Joint Base McGuire-Lakehurst-Dix. There's still a VP-66 P-3 on display on Horsham road side of the now rotting base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hink441 Posted November 13, 2012 Share #11 Posted November 13, 2012 It is funny you mention VP-64. I just found a VP-64 squadron patch the other day. This one is velcro backed and in a nice used condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted November 13, 2012 Share #12 Posted November 13, 2012 It is funny you mention VP-64. I just found a VP-64 squadron patch the other day. This one is velcro backed and in a nice used condition. Haha..nice! Like I mentioned, they are still around, just flying C-130's now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted November 13, 2012 Share #13 Posted November 13, 2012 Here's a few shots of P-3's from Willow Grove. These were all transient aircraft though, none of the regulars that were based there...by the time I moved close to the base those guys were gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted November 13, 2012 Share #14 Posted November 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waltz41 Posted November 13, 2012 Share #15 Posted November 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaneoheboy Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share #16 Posted November 13, 2012 Really neat photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1canpara Posted November 13, 2012 Share #17 Posted November 13, 2012 My brother-in-law flew P-3's for years in the US Navy, and he was a Navy Test Pilot and did extensive flight trials and tolerance tests in P-3s as I recall. He flew lots of aircraft but the P-3 was one of his faves! I have all his flight gear on display in my war room, his name is William Halsey (really!) so of course his squadron mates nicknamed him "Bull"....and rightly so seeing that he is related to Admiral Halsey! When I was was in air cadets here in Canada back in the late 70's I got to fly on a training flight on the newest ASW aircraft in our Canadian Airforce at the time, it was the Aurora (our version of the Orion) and it was an amazing experience! Sadly I never followed through on an Airforce career and instead became a cop....sigh.... By the way, those are some great photos Kaneoheboy! Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VP_Association Posted November 23, 2012 Share #18 Posted November 23, 2012 That p-3 Aircraft is all but obsolete, Boeing is building the P-8A, a 737 with a bomb-bay and weapons pylons on the wing, to replace it the navy has ordered over 100 so far,,and about 5 have been delivered The P-3 is hardly obsolete. I should know, I have several thousand hours in them. A lot of us P-3 vets who have remained close to the Navy are very skeptical of the P-8. ASW and maritime patrol missions are generally flown at low altitudes. This modified 737 is designed for high-altitude flight. It burns fuel like a pig at low altitudes. Boeing, who has no previous experience with ASW aircraft, didn't even put a MAD boom on it and MAD (which has to be used at low altitude) is the primary ASW localization sensor. We're also very skeptical of the "high tech" sensor devices that they've put on this thing. Supposedly they are so sophisticated that if something goes wrong with them there's nothing that can be done about it in flight so you have to return to base. They didn't even plan on putting an in-flight technician on board as part of the crew, though I've been told that the Navy is rethinking this. VP-92 "The Minutemen", 1970 - 2007, Forever Vigilant... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyRabbit Posted October 14, 2013 Share #19 Posted October 14, 2013 The P-3 is hardly obsolete. I should know, I have several thousand hours in them. A lot of us P-3 vets who have remained close to the Navy are very skeptical of the P-8. ASW and maritime patrol missions are generally flown at low altitudes. This modified 737 is designed for high-altitude flight. It burns fuel like a pig at low altitudes. Boeing, who has no previous experience with ASW aircraft, didn't even put a MAD boom on it and MAD (which has to be used at low altitude) is the primary ASW localization sensor. We're also very skeptical of the "high tech" sensor devices that they've put on this thing. Supposedly they are so sophisticated that if something goes wrong with them there's nothing that can be done about it in flight so you have to return to base. They didn't even plan on putting an in-flight technician on board as part of the crew, though I've been told that the Navy is rethinking this. K_VP-92_P-3C-sm2.jpg VP-92 "The Minutemen", 1970 - 2007, Forever Vigilant... While I share in your sediment that the P-3 is hardly obsolete I wouldn't go as far as thinking the Navy is skeptical of P-8. I have my own worries when it comes to P-8 they're far from being serious enough to lose sleep over or the Navy not to continue buying the Boeing P-8. MAD is far from being the primary ASW localization sensor...maybe during the Cold War but not in the last decade. IFT's have been officially cut and the test bed for keeping them is done. Many fleet IFT's still plead their case but it's on deaf eyes as CPRG as decided to go through other avenues. Really, shouldn't be shocking as in today's electronic era most fault isolation is done by the devices themselves and if its serious enough to need a tech then its something that you won't be able to change or fix in flight. VP-16 will deploy later this year and be the first squadron to deploy with P-8 and VP-5 is currently following suit and will deploy sometime in the middle of next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdeye Posted October 21, 2013 Share #20 Posted October 21, 2013 The P-3 is hardly obsolete. I should know, I have several thousand hours in them. A lot of us P-3 vets who have remained close to the Navy are very skeptical of the P-8. ASW and maritime patrol missions are generally flown at low altitudes. This modified 737 is designed for high-altitude flight. It burns fuel like a pig at low altitudes. Boeing, who has no previous experience with ASW aircraft, didn't even put a MAD boom on it and MAD (which has to be used at low altitude) is the primary ASW localization sensor. We're also very skeptical of the "high tech" sensor devices that they've put on this thing. Supposedly they are so sophisticated that if something goes wrong with them there's nothing that can be done about it in flight so you have to return to base. They didn't even plan on putting an in-flight technician on board as part of the crew, though I've been told that the Navy is rethinking this. K_VP-92_P-3C-sm2.jpg VP-92 "The Minutemen", 1970 - 2007, Forever Vigilant... wow,,,spoken like someone who has nothing but internet and geedunk info on this aircraft,,,, I worked on the P-8,,,I repeat..."I worked on the P-8" so maybe ,,just maybe I have a little knowledge about the subject,,, you know nothing of the secret items that are on board or in the works,,,nor do you know anything about how the weapons systems operate,,,, I do,,and I can tell you the P-3 is obsolete,,,,so put on your brown shoes and go find a P-8 squadron,,,cuz soon you'll be out of job,,,,assuming your even still active duty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fstop61 Posted October 26, 2013 Share #21 Posted October 26, 2013 Great shots Waltz41! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vahe Demirjian Posted Friday at 11:59 PM Share #22 Posted Friday at 11:59 PM The US Navy retired the P-3 Orion from active duty in May 2020 after 58 years of service due to the P-8 Poseidon replacing the P-3 in service: https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2020/06/04/fair-winds-and-following-seas-to-the-navys-p-3c/ The US Navy might have retired the P-3 Orion 20 or 25 years ago if the Lockheed P-7 that won the 1980s LRAACA (Long-Range Air ASW-Capable Aircraft) competition had reached the hardware phase, although the P-7 was cancelled in 1990 due to a tight budget and design problems. Although Lockheed Martin submitted the Orion 21 proposal for a new-build P-3 with newer turboprops to the Multimission Maritime Aircraft (MMA) competition in 2000 along with a derivative of the Boeing 737-800 and the Nimrod MRA.4 (the latter which was withdrawn from the MMA contest by BAE Systems in October 2002), the Navy ended up declaring the Boeing submission the winner of the MMA competition, and the smooth sailing of development and deployment of the P-8 Poseidon shows that a patrol derivative of the 737-800 was sure to be better than a new-build version of the P-3. Many US Navy aviators, especially those who helped enforce the US naval blockade of Cuba during the October 1962 missile crisis and took part in the skies over the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Vietnam, and Somalia, will miss flying in the P-3, but most of them do admit that with the P-8 coming into service in the 2010s, the time had already come for the P-3's retirement to be accelerated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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