Jurassic presidential aircraft
The Philippine President flew to Vietnam on a $3-million refurbished Marcos era F28 short range jet which the Philippine Air Force bought more than 35 years ago. The aircraft was eventually used extensively by P-Noy’s mother, Mrs. Aquino. FVR contemplated on the idea of purchasing a presidential aircraft when Boeing came out with a reasonable offer for an executive jet with very convenient terms. But the idea was quickly shelved when it later became clear that he was not going to stay longer than six years as president. The Philippines may not exactly be a rich country but there are many practical people who believe that it would be wise for the chief executive of this country to have a new aircraft considering we have 7,100 islands. Besides, the Fokker F28 has already reached its shelf life and is “way past its bedtime.” The aircraft has too many safety issues plus the fact that it is expensive to maintain with limited landing and takeoff capability for short runways. It’s the classic “penny wise, pound foolish.”
SPY BITS By Babe Romualdez (The Philippine Star) Updated October 28, 2010 12:00
No comments:
Post a Comment