• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Death of Marine Hornet Reserves

bluto

Registered User
Does anyone have any information regarding the imminent demise of most, if not all, of the reserve Hornet squadrons? I've seen many different plans calling for closing all three, or at least two of them, starting with one this year. It seems like a very short sighted way to simply save some cash and free up some airframes for the fleet. Any thoughts?
 

USMCBebop

SergeantLieutenant
I think it's dumb. Why don't just decommission all of Marine Forces Reserve if we're going to decomm all three remaining VMFA squadrons.

I guess we're just going to push all the active forces thin with no real relief or reinforcement from the reserves. I heard VMFA-134 was flying into the sunset last year, but they postponed that. I know 321 left us last year.

I can understand a few disestablishments here and there, but getting rid of entire assets is assinine. What will the AD force have to relieve them?
 

Banjo33

AV-8 Type
pilot
How familiar are you two with the status of the current fleet of Hornets on the active side? I was under the impression that it's a VERY serious problem right now (airframe hours/g limitations on the hornet side of the house). Hopefully a bubba with some solid knowledge will chime in here...I'm not taking shots at those guys either, we're hurting for jets as well.
 

USMCBebop

SergeantLieutenant
jboomer said:
I was under the impression that it's a VERY serious problem right now (airframe hours/g limitations on the hornet side of the house).
I say uh oh, then!
 

brd2881

Bon Scott Lives
pilot
How familiar are you two with the status of the current fleet of Hornets on the active side? I was under the impression that it's a VERY serious problem right now (airframe hours/g limitations on the hornet side of the house). Hopefully a bubba with some solid knowledge will chime in here...I'm not taking shots at those guys either, we're hurting for jets as well.

I am pretty green behind the ears...but my take on the issue is that the legacy hornets are not getting any newer (we all know this, they ain't making any more) The Marine gun squadrons actually, for the most part, have the newest lot hornets and that is why you will see more and more Marine sqaudrons in Carrier Air Wings as the slightly older jets nearing their trap life on the Navy side are going back to the shore side flying so to speak. Fleet swap or transition or whatever it is called. Haven't seen any G-limited airframes yet, but that will probably come with age like the Prowler. The RAGs have hornets that are 20 years old....probably older than most harriers....
 

FA-18 Mousse

Reserve Hornet Bubba
pilot
Hey Gents-

Let me jump in here and let you know that it's really not about "G-limited airframes" but ALL about trap count. And while you would think that the older the airframe, the higher the trap count, most A model Hornets spent lesser time deployed overall. Frankly, the Navy was replacing A model aircraft pretty quickly with C's as they had more capability at that time. FYI- All Hornets have approximately 3000 traps in their lifeblood. The simple fact is that most of the reserve Hornets (Navy and Marines) all have LOW trap count airframes and are therefore needed back in the fleet.

My two cents....
 

A4sForever

BTDT OLD GUY
pilot
Contributor
FA-18 Mousse said:
Hey Gents-

Let me jump in here and let you know that it's really not about "G-limited airframes" but ALL about trap count. And while you would think that the older the airframe, the higher the trap count, most A model Hornets spent lesser time deployed overall. Frankly, the Navy was replacing A model aircraft pretty quickly with C's as they had more capability at that time. FYI- All Hornets have approximately 3000 traps in their lifeblood. The simple fact is that most of the reserve Hornets (Navy and Marines) all have LOW trap count airframes and are therefore needed back in the fleet.

My two cents....

And you are correct ... BTW, got any sim time for an old A4/747 driver next time I'm in Dallas ???
 

xmid

Registered User
pilot
Contributor
Wouldn't most of the marine hornets have less traps on them since they were going to the boat irregulary until recent times?
 

HeyJoe

Fly Navy! ...or USMC
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
FA-18 Mousse said:
Hey Gents-

Let me jump in here and let you know that it's really not about "G-limited airframes" but ALL about trap count.
My two cents....


Clarification: Hornet community in USN and USMC are facing more issues than just the trap counts. FLE (Fatigue life expended regardless of traps) is an issue as is the Center Barrel Replacement. There has been an effort to move the aircraft around to get Hornets with relatively lower trap counts into fleet squadrons. The OPSTEMPO associated with OEF and OIF has accelerated the FLE issue as well as Hornets are flying more and flying with daily ordnance loads that also wear out aircraft quicker than was originally planned for. Lots of people looking at the issues and addressing solutions!

As Hornets age or use up their traps, there is a Lot configuration challenge as well hence the effort a few years back to want to go to a "Common Configuration". Each Lot has typically has had incremental improvements to radar, computers and engines (major items) and other minor design features such as layout of switches or displays.
 

bluto

Registered User
All of these Hornet considerations (FLE, cats/traps) are driving our leaders to scrap a much valued asset, reserve Tacair, in order to obtain some additional airframes to attempt to bridge the gap to the JSF. There also is a large budget issue of additional underfunded programs, such as the heavy lift replacement, cost overrun programs like the follow on Huey/Cobra and the large ticket JSF, V-22, AAAV, etc. That's why we also are hearing about the possible closure of fleet squadrons along with our reserves and fleet squadrons having to submit flight time waivers for lack of mins due to jet lack of availability. No matter how you look at it, the future of "legacy" Hornet aviation does not look very promising.
 
Top