Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Don't Mess with NASA (afterburners)
Message-ID: <1989Jul20.184051.19979@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <8907201027.AA07833@osteocyber.ortho.hmc.psu.edu>
Date: Thu, 20 Jul 89 18:40:51 GMT

In article <8907201027.AA07833@osteocyber.ortho.hmc.psu.edu> dsc@OSTEOCYBER.ORTHO.HMC.PSU.EDU (david s. channin) writes:
> ... What are the laws, regulations, etc (if any) that prevent you from
> doing the following:
>     1. Walk into the Northrop offices in wherever.
>     2. Pull out a bank check for x million dollars.
>     3. Say,``I'd would like that nice T-38 that's in the showroom''.
>     4. Fly away with same after filling the tank...
>     
>     Why wouldn't this scenario work?? (or would it?).

The answer to item 3 will be "sorry, that is a USAF aircraft that is not
for sale to civilians without government approval".  This is partly
because the USAF paid for development and "owns the rights" to some
degree, and partly because practically all of the military-aircraft
manufacturers are utterly dependent on US government business and
are desperately anxious not to annoy their big customer.  And the US
government feels that private citizens should not be allowed to own jet
fighters.
-- 
$10 million equals 18 PM       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
(Pentagon-Minutes). -Tom Neff  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu