U.S Customs and Border Protection Aircraft

[Ztex]

Saw this one at Meacham Field (Ft. Worth, TX) yesterday!



http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/N805MR.html

[Florida Metal]

I'm actually kind of surprised that they are marked

[Doug Robertson]

Daniel, take a look at my photo of N241CB, especially the enlarged photo. It was taken the day before AirVenture 2008 officially opened-hence clear access with no crowd, and not everything set up yet.

The Eurocopter EC120B Colibri (Hummingbird) chopper is an asset of the Department of Homeland Security-Customs and Border Protection, well marked with same logo, and no camouflage.

I dropped back later in the week to talk with the pilot in flight uniform. He was very open about their missions and the detection features of the aircraft. Huge crowd then so no more photos taken of it. The aircraft was in the large Government Aircraft tent. Extremely big Government aircraft were just outside.

In order to acquire a foreign made aircraft, a US Government agency must prepare and get approved a "Buy American Waiver." They must state no American-made aircraft can meet the mission requirements-which of course are tightly prepared. That is how the US Coast Guard started flying French Dassault-Breguet Falcon 50s on marine patrol and SAR missions in the late 1970s, rather than, say, a Cessna Citation.

[Ztex]

This is the second one that I have seen in DHS paint. The other one was a Pilatus, N541PB

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/112828.html

Others are not so well marked...
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/248808.html

[Glenn E. Chatfield]

You know it's bogus when they say there is no American airplane to do the same mission. It's all politics instead. Just like what happened for the new Marine One they are building. Sikorsky's bird was/is a fine machine and will do the mission well. Sikorsky has always had the presidential chopper (except for that little H-13). But we had to appease the foreigners for helping us in Iraq - throw them a bone. There's no way our president should be flying around in a foreign machine.

Don't tell me Hughes, Bell or Sikorsky didn't have something equal to the HH-65 either!

[Doug Robertson]

Glenn,

I think in the case of the Falcon 50 procurement, it was the first smaller three jet engine bizjet, and the USCG wanted three engines for range and reliability-shut down center engine-no one else had that then.

On the new Presidential chopper ride procurement; quite a few news services have questioned that as you have.

[Glenn E. Chatfield]

I didn't know the USCG got the Falcon 50, too! What do they call it?

I was referring to the HU-25 Falcon 20. They got that a long time ago and the Learjet was a good option.

[Florida Metal]

I think it is actually more of a trade agreement. Italy buys our KC-767 tankers, we buy their Agusta A109 Stingray choppers, England buys our C-130s, we buy their Harriers etc

I am not aware of any Dassault Falcon jets in the U.S. military other than the HU-25, which is based on the Falcon 20.

[Glenn E. Chatfield]

But what do they call the Falcon 50? I've never even seen a photo of a USCG Falcon 50.

[Ztex]

I have shots of a Falcon 20 in Fort Worth @ 1981
Kinda curious about it since it had an N-number.

http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/130164.html

[Doug Robertson]

Guys-Mea Culpa! The tri-engine Falcon 50 procurement plan may never have commenced to fruition. My recollection at the time in the late 1970s was they wanted to procure the Falcon 50. Perhaps they had to settle for the cheaper, shorter range Falcon 20. Congress gets involved with these major buys. The important point is that the USCG did in fact get around the Buy American Waiver and justify procurement of a foreign made jet aircraft rather than domestic. I did some work with USCG Barber's Point on Oahu earlier in the late 1960s and got to know some of the USCG pilots at work and during Happy Hour in the USN Barber's Point O Club. A tough bunch in a dangerous job with very specific ideas about what works for them.

[lnc2bldr]

The Coast Guard liked the low and slow capabilities of the HU25. Easier to open the bomb hatch to drop equipment and hit their mark.
The Coast Guard went from a DOD entity to being a part of Homeland Security, I believe this is the reason for the registration numbers being added.
Robert

[Glenn E. Chatfield]

The N-numbers on the HU-25s were during their tests with the USCG before they received official numbers. Here is Baugher's list of the original N-numbers, but I think his first one is in error and is possibly N1045F as the photo, since there are no other aircraft with that Registry in his list. I'm taking the N1945F as a typo for N1045F:

2101/2141 Dassault-Breguet HU-25A Guardian. Coast Guard version of Mystere 20 business jet marketed in USA as Falcon 20

2101 (c/n 374) had test registration of N1945F. To HU-25B. Scrapped hulk at Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center, Elizabeth City, NC. Report dated Feb 2009 suggest that fuselage may be at Aviation Technical Training Center, Elizabeth City, NC

2102 (c/n 386) had test registratin of N149F. To HU-25D. TO AMARC as 410010
May 1, 1995. Retored to active service May 5, 1999.
2103 (c/n 394) had test registration of N178F. To HU-25B. WFU. Used for support
of testing at Sandia Labs, NM. Reported Feb 2009 stored at Alberquerque IAP.
2104 (c/n 390) had test registration of N173F. To HU-25C
2105 (c/n 398) had test registration of N183F. To HU-25D. To AMARC as 410011 Jul 1, 1995,
restored to active service Jul 7, 1999
2106 (c/n 402) had test registration of N187F. To AMARC as 410007 Apr 7, 1995.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2107 (c/n 409) had test registration of N497F. To AMARC as 410018 Sep 4, 2001.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2108 (c/n 405) had test registration of N405F. To AMARC as 410015 May 27, 1997,
returned to service Nov 3, 1999, back to AMARC as 410016 Aug 10, 2001.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2109 (c/n 407) had test registration of N406F. To AMARC as 410012 Jul 11, 1995,
to Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Center, Elizabeth City, NC Jan 4, 2000.
Strapped hulk still there.
2110 (c/n 411) had test registration of N408F.
2111 (c/n 413) had test registration of N410F. To HU-25B. Hulk sunk as artificial
reef off North Carolina May 3, 2006
2112 (c/n 415) had test registration of N413F. To HU-25C+, later to HU-25D
2113 (c/n 417) had test registration of N416FJ. To HU-25D. To AMARC Apr 6, 1995 as 410006.
Restored to active service Feb 18, 1999.
2114 (c/n 418) had test registration of N417F. To HU-25D. To AMARC as 410014 Jul 25, 1995.
Restored to active service Mar 31, 1999
2115 (c/n 419) had test registration of N419F. To AMARC as 410017 Sep 4, 2001.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2116 (c/n 420) had test registration of N420F. Converted to HU-25D.
To AMARC as 410005 Apr 25, 1994. Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2117 (c/n 421) had test registration of N422F. To HU-25D
2118 (c/n 423) had test registration of N423F. To HU-25B
2119 (c/n 424) had test registration of N424F. To AMARC Jan 19, 1994 as 410002. Scrapped 2002.
2120 (c/n 425) had test registration of N425F.
2121 (c/n 431) had test registration of N429F
2122 (c/n 433) had test registration of N432F. To HU-25B. To AMARC as 410020 Sep 7, 2001.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2123 (c/n 435) had test registration of N433F. To AMARC as 410003 Jan 19, 1994.
Scrapped 2002.
2124 (c/n 437) had test registration of N435F. To AMARC Sep 26, 2001 as AC410022.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2125 (c/n 439) had test registration of N443F. To AMARC as 410023 Jan 24, 2002.
To HU-25B. To NASA as N523NA May 28, 2004. Reassigned to USAF Electronics
Systems Command Mar 2006. To civil registry as N448TB
2126 (c/n 441) had test registration of N445F. To HU-25B. To AMARC Sep 26, 2001 as AC410021.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2127 (c/n 443) had test registration of N447F. To HU-25D. To AMARC Jul 15, 1991 as AC410001.
Restored to service Sep 3, 1999
2128 (c/n 445) had test registration of N449F. To AMARC Jul 20, 1995
as 410013. Returned to service Sep 3, 1999
2129 (c/n 447) had test registration of N455F. To HU-25C+, later to HU-25D
2130 (c/n 450) had test registration of N458F. To AMARC Apr 25, 1994 as 410004.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2131 (c/n 452) had test registration of N459F. To HU-25C, later to HU-25D
2132 (c/n 454) had test registration of N461F. To AMARC as 410019 Sep 6, 2001.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2133 (c/n 454?) had test registration of N462F. To HU-25C+, later to HU-25D
2134 (c/n 458) had test registration of N465F.
2135 (c/n 459) had test registration of N466F. To HU-25C, later to HU-25D
2136 (c/n 460) had test registration of N467F.
2137 (c/n 462) had test registration of N470F. To AMARC Apr 10, 1995 as 410008.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2138 (c/n 464) had test registration of N472F. To AMARC Apr 13, 1995 as 410009.
Still on AMARC inventory Jul 1, 2008
2139 (c/n 466) had test registration of N473F. To HU-25C+, later to HU-25D
2140 (c/n 467) had test registration of N474F. to HU-25C+
2141 (c/n 371) had test registration of N1039F. To HU-25C+, later to HU-25D

[Timothy Aanerud]

Here's another Customs and Border Protection aircraft: