Hercules On Display At National Air Force Museum Of Canada Keeping SAR Airplanes Flying

When you're trying to keep older airplanes flying and find replacement parts hard to come by ... what can you do?

Well, most of us would pull out the credit card and prepare to be pinched. But if you're the Royal Canadian Air Force ... you find a similar airplane at one of your museums and start scavenging parts from the unairworthy airplane.

That's what's happening with the RCAF's C-130 Hercules SAR airplanes, according to a report appearing in the National Post. One of the planes still in service was in need of two replacement inertial navigation units, and they turned to a Herc on display at the National Air Force Museum of Canada that had entered service in 1965, and had been given to the museum in 2011.

Critics say that the incident points to the problems faced by the RCAF to keep aging SAR airplanes flying more than 10 years after the government said they would be replaced. But through a spokesperson, Defense Minister Rob Nicholson praised the ingenuity of the RCAF. "The RCAF took the initiative to remove these functional, perfectly good parts and use them effectively," spokeswoman Johanna Quinney said in an email. "It was a sound decision, helping to ensure the long-term viability of the aircraft."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/