Embarrassing or inventive?

[ktcanuck]

Seen on the Beeb this morning:

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from ... e-29224170

[CFR]

[zulutime]

BOTH

Inventive for the mechanics.........Embarrassing for our Government (or at least it should be)!

[TG]

I don't really see the difference between doing that or fishing the same part(s) out of an old USAF C-130 sitting in the desert for years at Davis Monthan.

Assuming it could be found there.

[iflyforpie]

Welcome to the real world. I've got tons of parts on my planes that have been pulled out of bone yards. At least this means we aren't sitting on millions more dollars of spares.

What I don't understand is why these components weren't stripped off in the first place? It's not as though an INU is going to be a very critical piece to keep the aircraft in display condition.....

[Taiser]

Not embarrassing, fact of life. NASA was getting computer hardware for the shuttle on e-bay not too long ago as well... just the way it is with tech now-a-days!

[Crusty]

I don't think that's really embarrassing.

I read the book "Vulcan 607" a little while ago and discovered that the Vulcan that bombed the Falklands navigated there with An INU strapped to the floor in a wooden box that had been cannibalized out of a junked BA airliner.

They also found a key aerial refuelling valve in a back room at some airbase being used as an ashtray by mechanics. The ones on the plane had been glued shut with resin decades before as part of some treaty.

Oh, and the conventional bomb rack that delivered the iron bombs was literally found sitting in a scrap heap.

Not to hijack the thread but it was a very interesting book...

Anyway, they got the job done.

[imarai]

Just an old NAV system. Not like it was a landing gear strut or an empennage. No big deal. Yawn. Hate the media. Blah, blah, blah...