Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/08/27/who-doesnt-need-a-squadron-o.html
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I really feel like this would put you on someone’s radar (pun intended), like perhaps the CIA, FBI, or NSA?
sure, what could go wrong
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And then rent it out short-term.
Uber Air?
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It is mah Gawd Given Right to own any damn armaments I please! Any one o u gungrabbin libtards wanna take away mah sweet sweet F-16 (her name is MarySueEllen), you’ll have to pry the flight stick from my cold dead hands. Next up is gettin ahold of a few M1A1 Abrahms tanks so I can declare mah own sovereign citizen fiefdumb. A brace of - purely defensive! - tactical nookular weapons will defend mah wimins and chilluns against the dark hordes (IF u know what ah mean).
/s
(this satire brought to you by the 2nd Amendment: it’s about militias, dummy)
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You’d need a substantial bank roll after purchase:
"The direct operating cost , also known as the cost-per-flight-hour of the General Dynamics/ Lockheed Martin F-16C Viper is about $22,514.00
This includes maintenance costs, fuel, armament/weapons and the crew/pilot’s salary. " via Quora comments
Oh yeah, and insurance.
And a suitable runway.
And FAA clearance.
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I use these for hunting.
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If you’re including ground crew/pilot salary in the calculation then that may be a bit inflated for the hobbyist who buys one of these to show up his buds with their pansy bizjets.
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Wow if you folks had a good chuckle at idiot millionaire crashes his Lamborghini, just wait for what we’ll be served next decade.
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You’re not going to be able to get any armaments for this.
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You know, there was a time in the early 90s when you could get Mig -15s and 17s for REAL CHEAP.
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Well it’s no F-15 squadron, my favorite plane. But the F-16 is pretty cool.
Ok, I’ll take them! Do you finance?
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THIS. IS. AMERICA!!! If I want a medium range radar guided air-to-air missile that is my second amendment right!
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All kinds of fun aircraft for sale out there:
https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/67871587/1989-mikoyan-mig-29
https://www.controller.com/listings/aircraft/for-sale/list/category/10072/turbine-military-aircraft
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Sure, but the hobbyist who buys one of these to show up his buds is unlikely to ever get an hour of flight time, instead crashing either trying to take off or immediately after, so the numbers are going to be skewed that way as well.
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Larry Ellison owns one, or used to.
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I seriously doubt that a civilian would be able to re-import these to the US under current ITAR regulations. The aircraft themselves are considered weapons. To re-import them, you’d likely have to cut the airframes in such a way as to render them irreparable.
The Collings foundation had to actually have Congress pass a law so that they could legally own the F-4 Phantom that they use as a flying teaching tool, which is 1950’s tech.
Most likely to purchase these in the US would be a company providing dis-similar air combat training to the US military or a DOD contractor who needs early F-16 air frames to test avionics upgrades.
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Coincidentally Taiwan is looking to buy a bunch of F-16’s
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You could even find P-51 Mustangs as well. They are about the only WWII fighters still around and airworthy
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The Second Amendment just talks about “arms.” Well, these are arms. So are nukes. I guess we should all be able to have our own private cold wars with our neighbors.
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