# 177702 (CA-2) Preparations



## Globesmasher (19 Sep 2007)

Our second aircraft is off the assembly line and out of the paint shop.
Here is a quick snapshot of it undergoing some final preparation before it begins the acceptance test flight protocols.

Delivery is still scheduled for Oct 11th.


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## GAP (19 Sep 2007)

2/4


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## IN HOC SIGNO (19 Sep 2007)

Excellent news....and she's looking good. Will they be posting more folks into the Squadron or is everyone in place and ready to go?


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## geo (19 Sep 2007)

Excellent news.
This resource will permit the rapid deployment of replacement resources.
Ain't nothing wrong with that!


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## BernDawg (19 Sep 2007)

I laid eyes on 701 for the first time yesterday (it was in Comox) and I am proud to say that it sent a chill up my spine.  It's awesome to see the proof that we are moving in the right direction.
 :cdnsalute:


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## Globesmasher (20 Sep 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> Excellent news....and she's looking good. Will they be posting more folks into the Squadron or is everyone in place and ready to go?



IHS:

We'll be "receiving" more people with this second aircraft.  The folks currently in the USA on the second phase of embedded seasoing with the USAF will be returning (repatriating) at the end of Oct to be additional crews for the second aircraft - this is for both aircrew and maintainer.  We should have about 6 qualified crews by the end of Oct to operate the 2 jets.  We should have 8 but 6 will do.

In the meantime we now have a steady stream of aircrew heading south for their Initial Qual course down in Altus AFB in Oklahoma.  The postings into the squadron are now entirely at the hands of the D Mil C folks as the CC177 is now a regular "posting" and the initial cadre selection process is over and done with.

We'll see a bit of a sruge with repect to training crews in the late fall and early spring as we get enough people ready for the delivery of CA-3 and CA-4 in Mar and Apr of 2008 respectively.  The Sqn should be more or less "on strength" by May 2008 - or at least that is the grand plan at any rate!!


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## Bandit1 (20 Sep 2007)

With all this new traffic (which I'm stoked about!) is there any chance the new runway and extra room at Trenton will be ready earlier than expected?


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## Colin Parkinson (20 Sep 2007)

Morale must be humming! Congrats to all and thanks for the hard work.


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## C1302C17 TECH (23 Sep 2007)

Oh I think this will be the new one for me, well we get home on the 10th of November, so it will be a month old.  Will still have that new plane smell.


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## Globesmasher (6 Oct 2007)

Things may be a little delayed with CA-2.
The aircraft itself is fine.
The issue is the fact that fuselage 179, right in front of us that is destined for Dover AFB, was delayed coming off the production line by two weeks.  This has had an obvious downstream impact on our aircraft, fuselage 180.

That being said, Boeing is doing their damndest to get us our aircraft as quickly as possible.
CA-2 flew it's first airborne, production test flight yesterday, Friday 5th Oct.
We're a few days behind schedule, but no cause for alarm just yet.
We had a minor snag shortly after takeoff, returned, fixed and then went airborne again.

Right now looks as if we'll slide a day or two to the right and be a little late for delivery.
In the big scheme of things - it's still "all good".
Even if we're a day or two late, by letter of the contract Boeing is still early with its delivery and providing us with excellent customer service.


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## observor 69 (6 Oct 2007)

Repeat after me "it's all good."   ;D 

Edit spelling.


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## Colin Parkinson (6 Oct 2007)

Globesmasher said:
			
		

> Things may be a little delayed with CA-2.
> The aircraft itself is fine.
> The issue is the fact that fuselage 179, right in front of us that is destined for Dover AFB, was delayed coming off the production line by two weeks.  This has had an obvious downstream impact on our aircraft, fuselage 180.
> 
> ...



Of course good news will not make the evening news.....

Glad to see the contract working well.


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## R933ex (6 Oct 2007)

Again absolutely wonderfull to see. This is definitely a step in the right direction!


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## Globesmasher (19 Oct 2007)

177702

CA-2 landed in Trenton at 1825 local last night.
The CC177 fleet size has now doubled.

CA-3 is due March 2008 (third week).
CA-4 is right behind it and due April 2008 (first week).

The project is progressing well.


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## Colin Parkinson (19 Oct 2007)

No mention in the news I notice.


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## Jammer (19 Oct 2007)

What's newsworthy about it?


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## vonGarvin (19 Oct 2007)

Jammer said:
			
		

> What's newsworthy about it?


Nothing


Except that this delivery represents MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars that are going leaps and bounds to provide the Canadian Armed Forces with a strategic enabler for the very first time EVER.  

That's all, nothing important.

Having said that, I did note that Justin Trudeau's wife gave birth yesterday (or the day before).  Now THAT'S news.  And the latest OJ gossip, and the latest Britney Spears gossip.  Need I say more?


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## Colin Parkinson (19 Oct 2007)

Gee I don't know, Canada receives a second strategic airlift aircraft in record time, increasing our ability to support our missions and to support humanitarian causes around the world. Reporting such would make the current government look efficient, compared to the sorry record of the previous one.


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## Jammer (19 Oct 2007)

I think the Harper Govt has already shown that it has the will, the backbone, and the foresight to continue the re-birth og the CF.
I don't see anyone clamouring in the mainstream media over the fact that Senator Colin Kenny has advocated sending the Griffon to Kandahar instead of aquiring the infinitly more capable....anything.
Time to re-focus out collective efforts.
For the record though...nice to see the C-17 wearing a Cdn roundel.


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## vonGarvin (19 Oct 2007)

Jammer said:
			
		

> I don't see anyone clamouring in the mainstream media over the fact that Senator Colin Kenny has advocated sending the Griffon to Kandahar instead of aquiring the infinitly more capable....anything.


The Griffon is more capable of "stuff" and "roles" than you attribute to it.  No, it cannot troop lift, but there are lots of other roles it could carry out "in the sandbox"...


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## IN HOC SIGNO (19 Oct 2007)

I think the delivery of the first one was newsworthy (nationally) but not the delivery of the second. We are receiving twenty tanks in AFK but really only the delivery of the first one was newsworthy, unless there is a delay or a problem with the performance of the tank in theatre. It will likely be newsworthy when the fourth and final aircraft is delivered because it will signify the end of the project and the realization of the intended outcome.
I don't imagine that they will report every new C130J that we receive or every Chinook (I forget the model #), but maybe the first and last or any problems in between.
Sounds like this was business as planned.


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## Jammer (19 Oct 2007)

"In the sandbox"????


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## Haletown (19 Oct 2007)

Colin P said:
			
		

> Gee I don't know, Canada receives a second strategic airlift aircraft in record time, increasing our ability to support our missions and to support humanitarian causes around the world. Reporting such would make the current government look efficient, compared to the sorry record of the previous one.



and you won't see this news either - seeing how all the media pundits et al were cheering on the Euro - pseudo airplane instead of the 17's.  We'll have all four on the ramp /in Ops before this sucker gets certified, let alone proven.

Friday October 19, 2007

Reuters

Airbus Confirms A400m Deliveries Will Be Late
October 17, 2007

Deliveries of the Airbus military A400M airlifter will be delayed by at least six months, Airbus parent EADS said on Wednesday.

"A400M deliveries are now expected to start six months later than initially planned with a risk of a further slippage of up to a half year," the statement said.

The original scheduled date for first deliveries was October 2009.

EADS said it would give details about the financial impact of the delay alongside its nine month earnings.

(Reuters)


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## Jammer (19 Oct 2007)

Given the fact that the Govt has not yet signed a firm contract with Lockheed Martin, perhaps they are hedging thier bets with  the A-400M?
True, it hasn't yet flown, however the C-130J has had some teething troubles and the A-400M is touting the fact that it can carry a more substantial payload than the C-130J, yet deliver the same short-field performance.


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## observor 69 (19 Oct 2007)

Mortarman Rockpainter said:
			
		

> Nothing
> 
> 
> Except that this delivery represents MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars that are going leaps and bounds to provide the Canadian Armed Forces with a strategic enabler for the very first time EVER.
> ...



No, I think that pretty well covers it.  ;D


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## Jammer (19 Oct 2007)

CNN is reporting that OJ took back the C-17, claiming it was his all along, gave it to Britney who promptly ran it into K-Feds car and walked away............


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## Haletown (19 Oct 2007)

Jammer said:
			
		

> Given the fact that the Govt has not yet signed a firm contract with Lockheed Martin, perhaps they are hedging thier bets with  the A-400M?
> True, it hasn't yet flown, however the C-130J has had some teething troubles and the A-400M is touting the fact that it can carry a more substantial payload than the C-130J, yet deliver the same short-field performance.



not a chance.  The Jercs teething problems are past tense, the A400 will have its share of cavities and it makes no sense for the CF to overlap it's lift capacity on the strategic side.  It is an "in between" sized aircraft that doesn't fit anywhere in CF needs. 

We can expect Al Gore to recant his GHG schpeel before we ever, ever buy A400M's for the CF.


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## Jammer (19 Oct 2007)

Really?
Speaking to RAF types who were in Kandahar the same time I was (2007), they haven't deployed thier Js yet due to still unresolved cargo handling issues as well as recommendations from the OEM that they refrain from STOL mission in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Unexpected excess wear on the Dowty props are  a bit of a problem as well.


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## DavidAkin (19 Oct 2007)

I don't know about other reporters, but I've had a keen interest in the development of our new strategic airlift fleet and here's a couple of comments to the discussion here:

As to newsworthiness of the arrival of number two:
- As CFB Trenton PA staff will attest, I've been calling about the arrival of number two for more than a week now. [Blogged about it: http://davidakin.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/10/17/3297087.html ] I'd hoped to be at Trenton with a camera crew but, unfortunately, other news events on Thursday prevented our attendance (It's a two-hour plus drive to Trenton) and, no, it wasn't Britney or Justin. We had this little thing called the Throne Speech which has kept those of us in Ottawa kind of busy this week and then, on Thursday, the government unveiled its omnibus crime bill. So without the pictures of the new plane and with some other serious public policy news, doing any story on the arrival of number two is, for  us, kinda difficult.
You should also know that no official release came out of DND HQ, Air Force HQ, or the MND's office about the delivery of this plane. So, officially anyhow, the CF/DND did not think it an event of enough significance to issue a press release. [A release was issued, on the other hand, yesterday about a speech the MND gave to a Chamber of Commerce in Quebec: http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/news_e.asp?cat=&y=&m=&page=1  so you can assume DND/CF thought that speech was more significant. ]

But I do know that I and other reporters who watch this space are grateful to folks like Globesmasher for their terrifically helpful information about the program's development and for keeping us up-to-speed on some key program milestones.

The delivery dates of numbers three and four may be more newsworthy particularly if we are into an election campaign. Should the Liberals form a government between now and next spring, there are legitimate questions to ask of the Liberals whether they would cancel delivery of those planes and spend the money elsewhere -- some Liberals, for example, believe FWSAR is a higher priority for capital purchases than buying our own strategic airlift. No Liberal I know -- on or off the record -- is ready to cut military spending. They would just like to spend it on some different things. (And what's going on, anyhow, with purchase of new trucks, anyhow?) To be fair, it was Liberal defence minister Graham who got the spending ball rolling with his $13-billion acquisition plan. The Conservatives added $4-billion to that when they arrived in office.

As to the A400M--
So far as I know,  the A400M was never a serious candidate for the strategic airlift project. The strategic airlift debate was never really one about Boeing vs Airbus or anyone else -- though there was a little smoke on the sole-source thing - but there was a significant debate in Ottawa about whether owning our own strategic airlift was even required. Liberals make the claim that renting-a-ride was perfectly suitable. (You can argue with them, not with me about that  ..)
And, so far as the tactical program goes, Airbus has long been officially out of the running for that contract and though Airbus is trying to find a way back in to that project, for all practical purposes, the focus has shifted to Lockheed and some of these teething problems with the Js. Again -- this forum is a tremendous resource for reporters covering the development of the J. There is much info here that Lockheed and its lobbyists would rather we didn't pay too much attention to.  But, yes, by all means, I did stories about Airbus vs Lockheed when that contract was still in play. But now that Lockheed has been selected as the preferred supplier, news about Airbus' problems are kind of moot so far as Canada is concerned -- at least until or unless, Lockheed screws up and/or the government makes some different decisions.

As always - -keen to hear your feedback, suggestions, and, above all, secrets   either here or to me directly by phone or e-mail.

Cheers!


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## vonGarvin (19 Oct 2007)

DavidAkin said:
			
		

> As to newsworthiness of the arrival of number two:
> - As CFB Trenton PA staff will attest, I've been calling about the arrival of number two for more than a week now. [Blogged about it: http://davidakin.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2007/10/17/3297087.html ] I'd hoped to be at Trenton with a camera crew but, unfortunately, other news events on Thursday prevented our attendance (It's a two-hour plus drive to Trenton) and, no, it wasn't Britney or Justin. We had this little thing called *the Throne Speech * which has kept those of us in Ottawa kind of busy this week and then, on Thursday, the government unveiled its omnibus crime bill. So without the pictures of the new plane and with some other serious public policy news, doing any story on the arrival of number two is, for  us, kinda difficult.



Good point about the Throne Speech: How soon we all forget (and yes, how soon we forget that Mr. Graham spent all that money on the CF).  I guess my cynicism was more directed to the Canadian Public.  I do the weekly news test on ctv on Fridays, and I note that more people knew that Justin Trudeau is now a father, vice the fact that a think tank of accountants announced that Canadians are in debt hell (personal debt, anyway)

Cheers!


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## Colin Parkinson (19 Oct 2007)

Thanks for responding David, I don't doubt that some reporters are quite keen and take an interest in certain stories, however they work for their editors and the editors dictate what space is used where. I found the same problem when I was in the CCG, I saw what was submitted by the reporter and could barely recognize the article written.


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## IN HOC SIGNO (19 Oct 2007)

Mortarman Rockpainter said:
			
		

> Good point about the Throne Speech: How soon we all forget (and yes, how soon we forget that Mr. Graham spent all that money on the CF).  I guess my cynicism was more directed to the Canadian Public.  I do the weekly news test on ctv on Fridays, and I note that more people knew that Justin Trudeau is now a father, vice the fact that a think tank of accountants announced that Canadians are in debt hell (personal debt, anyway)
> 
> Cheers!



Well if it makes you feel any better I didn't know that J Trudeau was now a father, but mind you I don't care about that so I guess i didn't pay attention.


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