Would you rather see old war planes re-used (scrapped), mothballed, or used like this?

2015-04-08T10:20:48-04:00

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2010/jun/28/fiona-banner-tate-britain

Fiona Banner at Tate Britain: Harrier and Jaguar

Harrier and Jaguar, Tate Britain's 2010 Duveens commission, is an ambitious new work by the artist Fiona Banner that challenges the aesthetic and physical expectations of the neoclassical Duveen galleries

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Apr 8 at 2015 10:23 AM

2015-04-08T10:23:00-04:00

Air Force bases are full of "Jetsicles"
I think every city should get at least two.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 10:28 AM

2015-04-08T10:28:38-04:00

I'm kind of conflicted, we should definitely make the best of our resources and reuse what we can, when the over all airframe/fleet is retired to never be used again if there are creative uses for them by all means, if the are all well used and would require extensive repair/or other modifications for a display scrap them for recycling and let that aluminum become the next great enemy deterrence!

Response by CW2 John Brookins made Apr 8 at 2015 10:39 AM

2015-04-08T10:39:43-04:00

I'm also a bit conflicted. While I love the idea of using old planes as art I also see value in recycling.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Apr 8 at 2015 10:53 AM

2015-04-08T10:53:11-04:00

I for one think that at least one aircraft from the fleet should be kept preserved at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum so that we have an archive of all the advancements that have been made in military aircraft over time. Further more, I was born in 1974, well after World War II, but to this day my favorite military aircraft is the F4U Corsair. I just think that with its gull wing design and the large engine, it is just a beautiful plane. Had nobody preserved the planes, I would never have even heard of it, nevermind my love of the aircraft.

I think that a mix of preservation and recycling would be the best course of action. I don't think that saving for later is relevant. My brother was stationed at Davis-Monthan (I hope I spelled that right) in Arizona. They have planes in the boneyard there that are never going to be used again. The military is hording them pure and simple. They are the crazy cat lady for airplanes. They need to recycle a lot of those planes.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 11:00 AM

2015-04-08T11:00:17-04:00

There's A LOT of governmental 'fraud, waste, and abuse'. Though I'm not against this form of art, I believe more energy should be channelled towards recycling MILLIONS OF TONS of used and defective military gear.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 11:02 AM

2015-04-08T11:02:14-04:00

I think once there is no hope for an aircraft to be refurbished and utilized again it should be used in the manner like the picture above. Personally, I love looking at our history-machines we used in the past. Being on Fort Bragg with aircrafts everywhere it's touching and gives me more pride serving in the 82nd and the US Army. I think putting them in a "boneyard" is a waste especially if we know it will never be gutted or utilized again.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 11:07 AM

2015-04-08T11:07:18-04:00

I am of two minds on this.

1st: My father was an F4 RIO in the Navy. He thought it was a great end to the Phantom to go down in a ball of fire as a target drone.

2nd: So many fine aircraft were lost in the draw down after WWII. I would love to see more flying P38s, P51s, F4Us, BF109s, FW190s, Spitfires, A6Ms, and all those beautiful BUFFs. There are so few flying today. It is a shame more were not preserved.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Apr 8 at 2015 11:09 AM

2015-04-08T11:09:08-04:00

There is something else, I didn't think of when I first saw this. Every plane, tank, and ship that has ever been produced for the military has a story. People have fought, bled, died, loved, beaten, hated, nurtured, and slaved over these pieces of equipment.

Turning it into art gives it another chance at life in the form it is in now.
Turning it into a museum celebrates the stories that come with the plane, ship, tank, etc.
Recycling it lets it be re-incarnated into something useful again
Mothballing it is an insult to all who have been attached to that item. It says we don't care about your blood sweat and tears, we are going to hang onto this Vietnam Era attack plane in the event that we decide we are going to bring it back for the sequel.

Outside of transport planes, I highly doubt that any plane in the boneyard is ever going to see the skies ever again.

When I grew up on Kwajalein we always had the military PSA's on AFRTS. One of them was the Fraud Waste and Abuse hotline. I fully agree with PO1 Private RallyPoint Member keeping these boneyards is a huge instance of FWA

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 11:16 AM

2015-04-08T11:16:16-04:00

I enjoy static air parks, as well as seeing older aircraft flying at air shows. We also have an "Airplane Restaurant" in our community, and I love the idea of being able to visit it with my daughter and enjoy the history and articles shared on the walls within. My vote would be to use whatever we can to enhance the beauty of our communities and boost morale. If an aircraft is not salvageable in this manner, I vote for recycling.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Apr 8 at 2015 12:36 PM

2015-04-08T12:36:42-04:00

I really like the idea! Sure we can't do it EVERY single plane, boat, tank, etc; but to take one from a class is a cool idea and still allows people to honor and remember all those that were involved with the project. And this concept shown in the article gives people a different way to enjoy the piece rather than just in some hanger.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 8 at 2015 1:46 PM

2015-04-08T13:46:57-04:00

I think this is a classy use. I wouldn't mind seeing uses like this. That being said, I also think it should be sparingly because saturation causes it to lose it's meaning.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Apr 8 at 2015 5:18 PM

2015-04-08T17:18:43-04:00

All three are good depending on the situation.

Art and static displays are awesome and give people a chance to enjoy that piece of history.

Recycling is also cool. I am all for selling certain aircraft to the civilian sector. Some old fighters are great for airshow aircraft. Larger planes like old C-5s and C-130s could be used by civilian companies for general cargo movement.

Mothballing is also good as it keeps aircraft and parts ready incase we need them again.