Skyhawks Left To Languish In The Elements

ACT New Zealand National Security Spokesman Heather Roy today revealed that - just two months after being wheeled outside - the white latex coatings on the Air Combat Force Skyhawks are already weathered, torn, ripped or peeled.

"The fact is that the Labour-led Government continues to maintain that the Skyhawk sale will go ahead. But December saw the jets wheeled outside - to make room for the RNZAF C-130 Hercules aircraft upgrade programme - and covered in a latex coating to protect them from the elements," Mrs Roy said.

"Just two months later, however, growing chunks of white latex are peeling and ripping off the jets - which are publicly visible from the road. This deterioration of the latex appears to be occurring near the jets' tail - the most vulnerable part of the aircraft in terms of corrosion. Moisture is getting in between the layers of latex and bubbling, leaving the jets vulnerable to damage.

"The Minister's answers in Parliament today just raise more questions. Were the guidelines set out in the RNZAF manual NZAP 137, regarding latex thickness, followed? Why is only the top half of the jets covered? Why is one jet's coating visibly thinner than the rest? And why are three jets still located in the hangar with no coating whatsoever?

"The $94,000 spent on the latex coating has simply added to the financial burden borne by the Air Force's operational funding - to date, at least $12 million the Air Force should have been able to spend on core daily functions rather than de-commissioned stock that will never be sold.

"I have previously proposed a serious programme of distributing the Skyhawks to places that will care for them appropriately. The Minister, however, seems too proud to take sensible suggestions seriously - and the jets will instead be left to weather, deteriorate and devalue in the Blenheim sun, wind and rain," Mrs Roy said.

ENDS