XPost: alt.usage.english   
   From: vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid   
      
   Le 24/07/2025 à 12:00, J. J. Lodder a écrit :   
   > Hibou wrote:   
   >>   
   >> Canadair flying boats are being used as water bombers in France and   
   >> elsewhere.   
   >>   
   >>  28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-I-DPCN_at_work_03_%28cropped%29.jpg>   
   >   
   > Certainly, seen them in action.   
   > Also, quite by accident, I have seen a flight of them,   
   > six in formation, going west. (the ancient model, with piston engines)   
   > I guess on their way from Marseilles to the Landes,   
   > to do their thing there. They make a lot of heavy noise,   
   > and they are surprisingly slow, so impossible to miss.   
   >   
   > By a recent newspaper article they are having problems.   
   > Put bluntly, the planes are falling apart, (also the newer turbo-props)   
   > and the French cannot keep them airworthy in sufficient numbers.   
   > They need to be replaced, but there is no money for that.   
      
      
   In short, you saw them going west, and there's a risk they'll go west.   
      
   > The original design was for taking in fresh water.   
   > Lacking that nowadays they must use sea water,   
   > which results in more corrosion.   
   >   
   > France seems to be unable these days to reach rational decisions   
   > in things like this.   
   > Surely the investment in water bombers must pay for itself   
   > in terms of things not burned?   
      
   Macron promised two or three years ago to buy more, but that hasn't   
   happened. They're pricey - 60M euros a pop - and Europe is said not to   
   be a priority:   
      
   « Fabriqué au Canada par De Havilland, un Canadair coûte une soixantaine   
   de millions d’euros et une commande aujourd’hui ne sera livrée qu’en   
   2032. "De Havilland dit 'avec les commandes que j'ai et les besoins sur   
   le continent nord-américain qui ne vont faire que s'accentuer, l'Europe   
   ne sera pas la priorité de cette entreprise'", explique Sophie Pantel,   
   députée socialiste de Lozère, co-autrice d’un rapport sur la flotte de   
   la sécurité civile » -   
      
      
   But then, governing the French makes herding cats look easy (three prime   
   ministers in the last year). And I don't know whether such water bombers   
   are cost effective. Sixty million euros is a lot of hoses and pumps.   
      
   Tiens !  They could buy pumps from us - Godiva fire   
   pumps, born out of Coventry Climax. Good for raising people's   
   temperatures with innuendo, and then dampening their ardour.    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)