When observing military aircraft in flight–be it at an airshow or during the flyover of a sporting event–most of us, most of the time, think nothing of the immense costs and effort required to get those aircraft flying. From routine servicing and upkeep to the repair or replacement of major aircraft components, the required resources can often reach dozens of man-hours and tens of thousands of dollars per flight hour, especially as technologically-advanced military aircraft age.

On this episode, Major Dave “Chucky” Chown of the Royal Canadian Air Force shares details on the RCAF and some of its missions before diving into a thorough discussion on aircraft maintenance, with the F/A-18 Hornet as the main reference. Prepare to be amazed at the resources you never knew were required, and forever change the way you observe military aircraft in flight.

During the listener question segment, we discuss the difference between parachutes used in skydiving and ejection seats, the handling differences between the Hornet and Super Hornet, why aircrew change squadrons, what “All Weather” means, and more.

Bumper music by Incompetech.

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