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Originally Posted by Rupert
That's quite a lot of transport assets, though most are small and they're very dispersed. I'm not saying it's too much or anything, and a lot of those if run by charter and freight companies could at least cover their costs, but he's got a decent sized private air fleet there.
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Yeah, it's a lot.
Mind you, the four Grumman Gooses that used to belong to Antilles Air Boats are actually and legitimately kept as sort of functioning museum pieces, dedicated to the aviation history of the Antilles islands (and kept on islands they used to fly to). They aren't kept at any sort of mission-ready profile and don't have a full-time salaried pilot assigned to them or anything, although all of them have a pilot available that can be warned to prepare them and remain on alert
if the Night Riders are carrying out a mission nearby.
The Sandringham is a similar deal. It's function is to provide a way to fly the people of Kessler's network who live on Dominica and St. Lucia somewhere, but as they are mostly
retired Night Riders, the Sandringham has been called upon maybe twice in the past decade. Otherwise, it's a museum piece lovingly maintained as the treasured relic of an Antilles Air Boats non-profit.
These five aircraft are included among the logistical fleet as they could be used that way in an emrgency, but they are really kept because Kessler
is actually an enthusiast of seaplanes, Caribbean aviation and the Golden Age of Travel. There are tours. Air shows. Annual fancy balls where the guests are flown there in old Antilles Air Boats seaplanes with dressed-up crew emulating an idealized old-school Caribbean travel experience. Maureen O'Hara is always invited and came several times in the 90s. Kessler flirted outrageously with her.
As for the numbers otherwise, I added a bunch of more economical smaller planes anywhere I could see actual savings in total yearly costs by supplementing less efficient types that cost a lot per hour with more mundane planes for more mundane work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rupert
One way to curry favour with local authorities would be volunteering the smaller planes for SAR work, and using both the smaller and larger ones for relief work after hurricanes.
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For any where it makes sense for the model, that's a good idea. Also good cover, because SAR is what they would probably be doing if called upon to respond immediately and go into a dangerous situation.