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P3 Orion


Kaneoheboy
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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 deliveredpost-50804-0-87251200-1352409193.jpg

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

post-10825-0-87689900-1352769389.jpg

 

Haha..nice! Like I mentioned, they are still around, just flying C-130's now.

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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.

WGTransUSN_08.JPG

 

WGTransUSN_04.JPGWGTransUSN_05.JPG

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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

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  • 2 weeks later...
VP_Association

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 deliveredpost-50804-0-87251200-1352409193.jpg

 

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.

 

post-16247-0-62045500-1353679416.jpg

 

VP-92 "The Minutemen", 1970 - 2007, Forever Vigilant...

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  • 10 months later...

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.

 

attachicon.gifK_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.

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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.

 

attachicon.gifK_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

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