Aircraft In 2000

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Purely from the point of view of creating scenarios, having a handful of aircraft flying opens up some opportunities. I'm not thinking so much of PCs getting to use said aircraft (at least, not straight away) but more along the lines of missions in support of aircraft such as the PCs being sent out to: - collect parts/fuel/ammo, locate pilots/crew/mechanics/technicians, rescue downed aircrew, destroy threats to the operation of the aircraft (e.g. AAA, other aircraft), provide early warning of enemy aircraft and so on.

I'm also thinking of the fear factor of both allied and enemy forces who would have to keep an eye on the sky and the potential for worry while they try to identify an approaching aircraft.
Even with the prevalence of ManPADS, SAMs & AAA before the war, they will be, like everything, reduced in overall numbers or be less effective due to lack of ammo, transport or trained personnel or they might be concentrated around important locations (and perhaps the PCs are tasked with plotting the locations of enemy air defences). So rather than having umbrella type coverage, there will be AA coverage in certain areas with the potential for AA being located in areas thought safe - should make any flight into the area a long and twisting flight, probably at low level with the added fear that maybe they'll run into something!

[Olefin]

FYI ethanol has been used for aircraft fuel -

Alcohol, alcohol mixtures, and other alternative fuels may be used experimentally, but alcohol is not permitted in any certified aviation fuel specification.

In Brazil, the Embraer Ipanema EMB-202A is a version of the Ipanema agricultural aircraft with a modified Lycoming IO-540-K1J5 engine so as to be able to run on ethanol.

Other aircraft engines that were modified to run on 100% ethanol were several other types of Lycoming engines (including the Lycoming 235N2C, and Lycoming IO-320 and certain Rotax engines

Thus it can be done - its not as good as jet fuel or avgas but it can be done

[Olefin]

FYI if you are looking for some interesting aircraft for a scenario in the US keep in mind a couple of places

Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation - home based - Winston Salem NC

Both aircraft are fully operational

C-97G
C-54

National Warplane Museum - Geneseo, NY

Multiple aircraft, many of which are operational, including a C-45, a C-47, an Aeronca L-16 and a Ryan Navion.

[Vespers War]

Originally Posted by Olefin

FYI if you are looking for some interesting aircraft for a scenario in the US keep in mind a couple of places

Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation - home based - Winston Salem NC

Both aircraft are fully operational

C-97G
C-54

National Warplane Museum - Geneseo, NY

Multiple aircraft, many of which are operational, including a C-45, a C-47, an Aeronca L-16 and a Ryan Navion.

There are a lot of oddball museums that have numerous flyable aircraft. In Red Hook, NY, there's the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, which has flyable aircraft including a Bleriot XI, repro Curtiss Model D, repro 1910 Hanriot, repro Albatros D.Va, repro Caudron G.III, Curtiss Jenny, repro Fokker D.VII, repro Fokker Dr.I, Curtiss Wright Junior CW-1, DeHavilland DH.82 Tiger Moth, New Standard D-25, and repro Ryan NYP (Spirit of St. Louis).

Down in Polk City, FL, Kermit Weeks' collection of aircraft at Fantasy of Flight includes one of two remaining high-wing Stinson Tri-Motors, a B-25J, and a Short Sunderland, all of which are generally in flying condition, as well as a bunch of fighters and a ton of spare parts (last time I was there, he had a dozen or so P-38 engines even though he doesn't own a P-38). I know this one has been mentioned in the past when discussing Central Florida.

Florida also has Valiant Air Command at the TiCo (Titusville-Cocoa) Airport. Right now, their flyable aircraft include a repro Dr.I, a C-47 Skytrain, a B-25J Mitchell, a Twin Mustang, and an OV-10D Bronco.

In Bealeton, VA, there's the Flying Circus Aerodrome, which has at least a half-dozen Stearmans, a couple Waco F trainers, four Piper Cubs, and some aerobatic planes. This might be a bit better for maintainability, since there's commonality of aircraft to allow cannibalizing.

Also in Virginia, but over on the coast at Virginia Beach, is the Military Aviation Museum, with a pair of Fokker D.VII, a bunch of other Fokkers, Halberstadt CL.IV, a repro ME-262, P-40, FG-1D Corsair, P-51D, Bf-109, Hurricane, the only airworthy MiG-3, Spitfire, Yak-3M, repro Fw 190A-8, original Fw 190A-8, the only remaining Polikarpov I-15bis, a 1939 Polikarpov I-16, and a Lend-Lease P-63 Kingcobra. For larger planes, there's a Tante Ju, a B-25, and a PBY Catalina. Almost everything is flyable.

The Air Heritage Museum of Beaver Falls, PA, started out by repairing a damaged B-17G and has a small collection of mostly airworthy planes, with the big ones being a C-123K and a C-47B. They also have a T-28, a T-34, a Cub, and a Funk B-75-L.

[cawest]

just google "warbird for sale", or "fly a warbird". that will give a you an idea of what might be out their.

[Raellus]

It's unlikely that any of these would still be in the air in 2000 (T2k timeline), but it seems likely that this program would have been revived as the US entered WWIII as a relatively quick and inexpensive supplement to the sexier but more pricey F-16.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ycling-program

I'll definitely be including the A-7F in my T2kU.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

That was an interesting piece that I think particularly highlights the creativity and abilities of the people involved (I'm thinking particularly of the situation with the horizontal tail units). Thanks for posting the link.
The A-7F was an aircraft that should have been in the inventory (in my not really relevant opinion haha!)
That the F-16 was constantly suggested for certain roles over better candidates (e.g. the proposal to replace the A-10 with a variant of the F-16...), the rejection of the A-7F appears to be another example that shows just how deeply politics and fashion are ingrained in military equipment purchasing.