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They also managed to smuggle in a PAC 750, made in New Zealand, last year (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750_XSTOL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750
by toomanybeersies 9y ago
They also managed to smuggle in a PAC 750, made in New Zealand, last year (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750_XSTOL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAC_P-750_XSTOL). They're designed to be used to drop parachutists, as well as fly low level for crop dusting, and have an extremely short take-off distance of 220 m.
It turns out that PAC was aware that the plane (or planes) were going to North Korea and provided training to pilots in China. (https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/96724372/pacific-aerospace-guilty-of-unlawful-exports-to-north-korea https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/96724372/pacific-aerospace-...)
- gaius 9y agoThey're designed to be used to drop parachutists Recreational skydivers are a world away from airborne troops, I was expecting something like a Hercules when I clicked the link! With all their gear you could probably put a single section in one of those, a Hercules can comfortably handle two whole platoons!
- toomanybeersies 9y agoIt would be a lot easier to sneak one of these across the border and insert a special forces team, than to try and fly a Hercules across the border. This is why North Korea is such a fan of the AN-2, a seemingly deprecated piston powered biplane. But it has STOL capabilities, and no effective stall speed. It can be flown low and slow, perfect for evading hostile air defense.
- jacquesm 9y agoHe's not kidding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3tpV9vUTPo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3tpV9vUTPo