Mark Gregory Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 This seems to be on going all over the World. In Toronto they designed new subway cars that can derail on tight curves and are too high for the boarding platforms. When I hear these stories I really Appreciate how smart people were in WW 2 without all the University education and Computers. Belgium’s army is forced to use drivers no taller than 5ft 7in for its armoured vehicles after refit reduced the size of the interior (and the typical Belgian is 5ft 10in!) An expensive upgrade to a fleet of armoured vehicles in Belgium will disqualify most soldiers from using it because the modifications have drastically reduced the size of the interior. With some of the tallest people in the world, an average Belgian man measures 5ft 10in but the internal cabin will hold no one above 5ft 7in. In a drive to improve safety of their fleet of 44 Pandur armoured cars, the Belgian military spent £26 million but made them too small. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Looks like a typical "Government Procurement job". Common sense is probably the scarcest commodity in the world today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 How tall was the genius that designed this? Inches not millimeters. Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Yes, because the military vehicles have always been wonders of ergonomic comfort for their drivers: (that's a Sherman tank) And have you driven, say, a Model A roadster pickup if you're taller than, say, 5-foot, 8-inches? I bet if you asked the troops which they'd rather have, a comfortable seat or armor, I bet they'd choose the armor every time. I know I would even if it meant a cramped back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
46 woodie Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Mark, you don't have to go to Belgium to see incompetence. The Long Island Railroad did three things. They purchased all new railroad cars, they rebuilt all the station platforms and they replaced all the track ties in the stations with cement ties. After all the alterations were finished, they discovered that there was a huge gap between the railroad car and the platform. The gap was so wide that over time, dozens of people fell thru it onto the track. But low and behold the L.I.R.R. can't figure what went wrong! They then came out with a "Watch the Gap" campaign and had decals attached to all the doors and also added 3" to every platform! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 fleet of 44................ who cares. sure they have plenty of folks that are short. 44................................ not everyone can fit in a submarine either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Or an SLK. Or a Crossfire. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Carl Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Mercer', I fully agree. Plenty of short folk around. The more serious problem is letting the bean counters call the shots. We all know what happened to the auto industry when the b.c.'s took over and surrendered to the Japanese engineers. And Boeing. As I have said before, Boeing used to be a Seattle company run by engineers with highly experienced pilots. Now a Chicago "Bean Bag" with highly experienced computer jockeys. - Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zepher Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 I don't think was so much bean counters as blatant corruption and giving a company the contract they had business getting. Same with the Long Island Railway. You have backroom deals being made with no forethought about the outcome, other than lining someone's pockets. But hey, it was on time and under budget. Maybe. No, not really. It was months late and change orders more than doubled the original contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike6024 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Belgium has an army? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer09 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 a small one at that. my understanding is that most everyone must serve upon completion of hS and the service is only 1-2 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 A roundabout way of promoting more women in the military? I know it sounds far fetched, but so many of the things I see today are far fetched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 (edited) 31 minutes ago, mike6024 said: Belgium has an army? A very short army Edited December 20, 2019 by John348 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Somewhere along the line a "committee" must have been involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 Reminds me of the hook and ladder procured by my home town, pride of the FD, except no one checked if it would fit in any of our 5 or 6 firehouses. Nope! 🤔😁😁😁 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 20, 2019 Share Posted December 20, 2019 11 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said: Reminds me of the hook and ladder procured by my home town, pride of the FD, except no one checked if it would fit in any of our 5 or 6 firehouses. Nope! 🤔😁😁😁 Got me on that one, I thought you were going to say nobody in full gear could fit in the bucket. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_Mack_CT Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) West Hartford Bob! Town then built a new firehouse to house said truck. Our taxes one town over are 40% less than they would be in WeHa. 🤔 Edited December 21, 2019 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1939_Buick Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) Military around the world are know for bad purchasing Air Force squadron spends $56,000 on metal coffee cups https://www.foxnews.com/us/air-force-squadron-spends-56000-on-metal-coffee-cups But later The Air Force Spent Over $300,000 on 391 Special Coffee Mugs https://reason.com/2018/10/24/air-force-wastes-326785-on-hot-coffee/ Air Force paid about $10G for toilet seat cover https://www.foxnews.com/us/air-force-paid-about-10g-for-toilet-seat-cover-report NAVY PAYS $660 APIECE FOR TWO ASHTRAYS https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/29/us/navy-pays-660-apiece-for-two-ashtrays.html Australia https://www.sbs.com.au/news/seasprite-the-billion-dollar-blunder https://www.news.com.au/news/bn-wasted-on-cancelled-seasprite/news-story/ff8a1c3ea5061fe39240795119a36cc2?sv=bc088187eca141afcf6387633a7ea19e https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/29/buyers-remorse-australias-sorry-record-on-defence-hardware Quote Helicopters The US Seasprite naval helicopter was first flown in the 1950s and saw action in Vietnam. By the early 1990s the US had started to phase them out and even gave some away to countries such as Greece, Turkey and Thailand. But that didn’t stop the Howard government signing a $746m contract to buy 11 of them in 1997. The project, which ended up costing closer to $1.4bn by the time it was scrapped by the Rudd government in 2008, involved transforming the antique helicopters into modern military hardware. It didn’t really work. In 2009, a report by the Australian National Audit Office found the Seasprite had a potential failure rate 20,000 times greater than the US aviation standard, and had a bad habit of making potentially “catastrophic” flight movements known has “hard overs”. Edited December 21, 2019 by 1939_Buick (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 That is known in the trade as "oops". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) In Florida, there is a thing with tiny plumbers - need them to go under the houses - mom was always quite clear when calling (and all neighbors too) - "send a tiny plumber" Edited December 21, 2019 by John_Mereness (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.H.Boland Posted December 21, 2019 Share Posted December 21, 2019 (edited) There have been examples of government overriding engineers for years. In the late 1930's the British government began considering designs for a four-engine heavy bomber. The Short brothers submitted the "Stirling" for approval. It was a powerful ,good handling aircraft but it had a very limited ceiling, due to the demand of the government that the wingspan be no more than 100 feet.This was so that it would fit into existing service hangers. To it's credit, it made a great glider tug and paratroop transport. My father once told me about being out on a night training mission in a Stirling when the navigator got hopelessly lost.Running low on fuel, they were directed to land at the nearest base available. The next morning, they were surprised to find the huge beast surrounded by US service personnel and pilots.. They had landed at a US fighter squadron base ! Edited December 21, 2019 by J.H.Boland (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Luddy Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 On 12/20/2019 at 2:26 PM, padgett said: Or an SLK. Or a Crossfire. Crossfire. I hate 'em. Cannot got into them without contortions. Fine when I'm finally in, but all I can think of is getting out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 23, 2019 Share Posted December 23, 2019 Fiero, SLK, Crossfire: cars you wear. ps I really liked my Crossfire Coupe with 6 speed manual. Since I prefer a reclining driving position did spend time with a Sawzall and a die grinder reshaping the crossmember behind the seats (was not structural, SLK tonneau hinged there & Chrysler did not bother to remove). Once modified could drive for hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now