Post by 727sky on Feb 14, 2016 7:00:56 GMT -6
I posted these figures at you know where.. Of course industry and the rah rah "it is never to much to insure our security" fan boys came out of the wood work.. Think about the cost per hour of operating this stuff and what we actually get out of cost over runs and the military industrial egg heads..
It is true the cost of some of this stuff will come down as more sorties are added to the fleet.. However the numbers being quoted in this article are way above and beyond any $750 dollar hammer we as tax payers are supposed to pay for and not ask questions..They should probably get a major airline to run the airforce and I can guarantee the cost per hour of operation would come more in line with actual cost.. The money certainly is not going to crew cost.... Must be all those very expensive black boxes that control important stuff that have to get changed out every mission/hour because they no longer work !
I remember the Ash trays in the seat arms of a B-727 used to cost 75$ for the 20 cents worth of thin shaped aluminum... I thought that was stupidly expensive...but since it had an aircraft serial number you just grew to expect getting ripped off for stupid stuff. The defense establishment has taken the whole, "getting ripped off" to a new level, IMO.
These figures are HOURLY COST
The B-1 makes up sixty percent of the Air Force’s bomber fleet and runs $61,027 per flying hour.
The USAF’s special operations tiltrotor will run you $63,792 per hour.
Despite its ballooning development costs, the F-35 isn’t as expensive to fly as one might think, at only $67,550 an hour. (And that fact is one of the airplane’s selling points.)
Squeaking in just under the JSTARS cost, The B-52 BUFF (look it up) runs $70,388 per flying hour.
The airborne battle platform costs $70,780 to keep flying. The E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or Joint STARS, is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform.
OC-135 At $99,722 an hour, it’s one expensive overwatch.
C-5 heavy hauler $100,941 an hour
2. B-2 Spirit
US Air Force
The B-2 literally costs more than its weight in gold. The Air Force’s 20 B-2 bombers run along a similar price tag: $130,159 per hour.
A Boeing E-4B which is a converted B-747 cost $159,529 per hour to fly.
The A-10 which still gives a big bang for the buck; $19,051.
www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-air-forces-10-most-expensive-planes-to-operate-2016-2
The direct operating cost of the fuel guzzling B-727 was 5000$ the first hour and 3750$ the second hour.... third hour was around 3200$ .. That is fuel, maintenance, crew cost and lease payments on the aircraft. Those are airline charter figures that airlines used and could make a profit... So lets double that figure and trick the bird out with a super duper interior (actually less weight than stand seating configuration) and call it 10,000$ direct operating cost X4 and you get just about the cost of two hours of A-10 on station..
Geez think about the numbers.. Captains make around $186.00 per every hour of flight time way back in the late 90s or early 2000 year frame..You have a first officer, a flight engineer, and usually 3 or four flight attendants for an additional cost per hour of around (depends on seniority) $240,000 is definitely the high side... I think the latest figures for say a B-737 (including everything is less than $6000 an hour in todays figures)
Military aircraft such as the modified B-747 command and control E-4B takes off and does not do anything to spill the coffee in the back; It has pressurization cycles, just like a real airplane.. Most of the sneaky Pete aircraft I ever flew were so modified with add ons and holes in the airfarme that today in my old age I would tell TPTB you fix it or you fly it. ...
Operating cost of a Boeing 747-400 is between $24,000 and $27,000 per hour according to most sources and that includes everything.. Yet according to the Congressional Research Service report, Air Force One, a 747-200B (VC-25A) costs $179,750 per hour to operate. Great gig if you can get it, No ?
I will say this about the Airforce they are actually pretty darn smart. The Marines and Army go build their runways first... The airforce builds their BOQs (living quarters) Officer clubs and play grounds and end up 6000 feet short of enough money to complete their runway.. They get the money to finish the runway and the Marines and Army are told to build bunkers and live in tents..
Navy guys are a hoot and they have the best food a guy could beg for ! But none can compare to the Airforce... Pretty darn smart fellows who know how to work the system.. IMO
