After being grounded for about a decade, the Thai navy's only operational flying boat has returned to action.
The navy decided to bring its Canadair CL-215 twin-engined aircraft back into service to take part in a maritime exercise which began yesterday after engineers confirmed its air worthiness.
The navy obtained two of the planes in 1978, but grounded both more than 10 years ago because of a lack of spare parts.
The navy lacks the budget to buy the new version of the aircraft, the CL-415 (later renamed the Bombardier 415 Superscooper), which has a price tag of 10 billion baht.
Instead, the navy decided to keep one of its CL-215s flying and use the other for spare parts, navy chief Adm Surasak Rounroengrom said while observing the drill at the naval base in Chon Buri's Sattahip district.
The CL-215 is taking part in a two-month exercise as a search and rescue plane, he said.
The naval exercise this year involves more than 3,000 navy servicemen, and 15 warships led by HMTS Ang Thong.
The navy decided to bring its Canadair CL-215 twin-engined aircraft back into service to take part in a maritime exercise which began yesterday after engineers confirmed its air worthiness.
The navy obtained two of the planes in 1978, but grounded both more than 10 years ago because of a lack of spare parts.
The navy lacks the budget to buy the new version of the aircraft, the CL-415 (later renamed the Bombardier 415 Superscooper), which has a price tag of 10 billion baht.
Instead, the navy decided to keep one of its CL-215s flying and use the other for spare parts, navy chief Adm Surasak Rounroengrom said while observing the drill at the naval base in Chon Buri's Sattahip district.
The CL-215 is taking part in a two-month exercise as a search and rescue plane, he said.
The naval exercise this year involves more than 3,000 navy servicemen, and 15 warships led by HMTS Ang Thong.
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