And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Neighbor claims there is nothing better for putting bombs on target than the A-7. First tour in Viet Nam was in A-7s. Second tour, four years later, was in the F-4. Retired after several years in F-16.
I was stationed at Gila Bend AFAF (now the Barry Goldwater Gunnery Range) between 1979-1981 and we regularly had A-7s from the Tucson ANG fly training missions on our bombing/gunnery ranges. I can testify that their computer for targeting was spot-on! And this was all analog technology.
Some of you guys with A-7 knowledge, please weigh in. A guy on my floor in summer school (after my fish year) had been a reactor tech on Enterprise. He said that the A-7 had an auto-land feature (possibly a side benefit of the ordnance-delivery system?) and that SOP eventually called for that system to be turned off, except for emergencies. He told me that the system was so precise and repeatable that A-7 tail hooks were banging a dent into the flight deck. True?
Built a Revell model of the A-7, was my favorite of all, hung it over my bed in place of honor. Got to see them in the BoyScouts, the pilots gave us a tour even, climbed up to look in the cockpit, open engine panels, look up in the landing gear wells, never forget that, after lunch at the chow hall, we went back out, they fired two up A-7's, and let us stand by the run way taking off, did a few acrobatics, then came down the runway about 20 ft up wheels up, then went straight up a ways, it sure was a thrill for us little kids, something to remember all your life. Everyone at the base treated us like princes, even got to see three P51's they still had, they even had a MIG 21, which was something itself, Russian's built that thing tough as nails, had screws and rivets sticking out, joints out of wack, lot of it made out of steel instead of aluminum, looked like painted with silver roof coating using a broom, but they told us it went wicked fast and handled very well. It just looked so different than American planes.
Russian built: they briefed us many years ago that the wings of the same type fighters were not really interchangeable. Even at the factory when the wings went on, they would be crooked, so the airplane would have to be “tuned” by slightly bending the wings, one way or another, until it flew more or less straight. if you had to replace the wing you had to “retune” it.
Here's an A-7 story, told to me (1500hrs in the A7E) in the bar at NAS Fallon one night. Vietnam; close air support, and the FAC had only handled the A4 before. So that day an A-7E shows up, and the FAC talks him onto the target, which was a bunch of trucks on a road. FAC says, "Can you hit the lead truck?" Corsair driver replies, "Which window?" From initial concept to operational deployment in Vietnam, the Corsair took 11 months...yes, MONTHS, not years. That's 11 months from a clean sheet of paper to an aircraft putting bombs on target. After the A4 in the Training Command (the pilot essentially "wore" the A4, the cockpit was so tight), the A-7 was like getting into a Cadillac. Great airplane.
1971 January, set foot on NAS, Lemoore. Was a nice and Tuley fog day. Couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of me, this was also during the day. What it looked like then and what it looks like now is VERY different. First time ever saw a SPAD and an a-4, along with Lier jets in the same squadron. A-4 being phased out by the A-7 and the SPADS being phased out by the A-4's. The Lier jets were used to train A-7 pilots in working the APQ-126 FLR (forward looking radar). Used only two tubes, one for the scope, and one for the thyratron tube to make up to 5,000 volts at 40 amps to make the RADR waves. Each plane had six or eight radar indicators installed i them. The A-7E was based off the f-8 fighter also used in Nam. It used an IMS inertial measurement set, coupled to an ASN-91 computer system. When everything was going well it could drop bombs within 10 feet of impact point. This A-7 belong to the VA-113 squadron, the Stingers. It sister squadron is VA-25 Fist of the Fleet back in 1971. Might not be paired up like that now. Twenty years in the Navy and saw Lemoore. Heltau
I watched one land (at an airfield) with the dive brake fully deployed one time. He did several tower "fly by's" then they rolled the equipment and he brought it in. What makes that so exciting is that the bottom of the dive brake is lower that the landing gear. It sparked a few times when it hit the pavement and then went up in a huge ball of flame of the brightness you get from burning metal. It went out, he stopped the plane and opened the cockpit. I thought he was going to punch out but he didn't. Cool hand for sure.
This shot makes the A-7 look like a VTOL aircraft, sort of.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Cubi Point days.
ReplyDeleteSLUF
ReplyDeleteNeighbor claims there is nothing better for putting bombs on target than the A-7. First tour in Viet Nam was in A-7s. Second tour, four years later, was in the F-4. Retired after several years in F-16.
ReplyDeleteI was stationed at Gila Bend AFAF (now the Barry Goldwater Gunnery Range) between 1979-1981 and we regularly had A-7s from the Tucson ANG fly training missions on our bombing/gunnery ranges. I can testify that their computer for targeting was spot-on! And this was all analog technology.
DeleteBayouwulf
Prior to the F-16, the A-7 seemed to always win "Gunsmoke".
DeleteSecond what Wylie1 said!
ReplyDeleteyep, with super tough landing gear
Deleteand mean lookin with the Nam camo + P40 shark teeth
I had 800+ hours in the SLUF before transition to F/A-18. I loved that aircraft. It was THE bomber, but not a fighter.
ReplyDeleteSome of you guys with A-7 knowledge, please weigh in. A guy on my floor in summer school (after my fish year) had been a reactor tech on Enterprise. He said that the A-7 had an auto-land feature (possibly a side benefit of the ordnance-delivery system?) and that SOP eventually called for that system to be turned off, except for emergencies. He told me that the system was so precise and repeatable that A-7 tail hooks were banging a dent into the flight deck. True?
ReplyDeleteMy dad was an engine mechanic in the USAF on the A-7.
ReplyDeleteBuilt a Revell model of the A-7, was my favorite of all, hung it over my bed in place of honor. Got to see them in the BoyScouts, the pilots gave us a tour even, climbed up to look in the cockpit, open engine panels, look up in the landing gear wells, never forget that, after lunch at the chow hall, we went back out, they fired two up A-7's, and let us stand by the run way taking off, did a few acrobatics, then came down the runway about 20 ft up wheels up, then went straight up a ways, it sure was a thrill for us little kids, something to remember all your life. Everyone at the base treated us like princes, even got to see three P51's they still had, they even had a MIG 21, which was something itself, Russian's built that thing tough as nails, had screws and rivets sticking out, joints out of wack, lot of it made out of steel instead of aluminum, looked like painted with silver roof coating using a broom, but they told us it went wicked fast and handled very well. It just looked so different than American planes.
ReplyDeleteRussian built: they briefed us many years ago that the wings of the same type fighters were not really interchangeable. Even at the factory when the wings went on, they would be crooked, so the airplane would have to be “tuned” by slightly bending the wings, one way or another, until it flew more or less straight. if you had to replace the wing you had to “retune” it.
DeleteHere's an A-7 story, told to me (1500hrs in the A7E) in the bar at NAS Fallon one night. Vietnam; close air support, and the FAC had only handled the A4 before. So that day an A-7E shows up, and the FAC talks him onto the target, which was a bunch of trucks on a road. FAC says, "Can you hit the lead truck?" Corsair driver replies, "Which window?" From initial concept to operational deployment in Vietnam, the Corsair took 11 months...yes, MONTHS, not years. That's 11 months from a clean sheet of paper to an aircraft putting bombs on target. After the A4 in the Training Command (the pilot essentially "wore" the A4, the cockpit was so tight), the A-7 was like getting into a Cadillac. Great airplane.
ReplyDelete1971 January, set foot on NAS, Lemoore. Was a nice and Tuley fog day. Couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of me, this was also during the day. What it looked like then and what it looks like now is VERY different. First time ever saw a SPAD and an a-4, along with Lier jets in the same squadron. A-4 being phased out by the A-7 and the SPADS being phased out by the A-4's. The Lier jets were used to train A-7 pilots in working the APQ-126 FLR (forward looking radar). Used only two tubes, one for the scope, and one for the thyratron tube to make up to 5,000 volts at 40 amps to make the RADR waves. Each plane had six or eight radar indicators installed i them. The A-7E was based off the f-8 fighter also used in Nam. It used an IMS inertial measurement set, coupled to an ASN-91 computer system. When everything was going well it could drop bombs within 10 feet of impact point.
ReplyDeleteThis A-7 belong to the VA-113 squadron, the Stingers. It sister squadron is VA-25 Fist of the Fleet back in 1971. Might not be paired up like that now.
Twenty years in the Navy and saw Lemoore.
Heltau
I watched one land (at an airfield) with the dive brake fully deployed one time. He did several tower "fly by's" then they rolled the equipment and he brought it in. What makes that so exciting is that the bottom of the dive brake is lower that the landing gear. It sparked a few times when it hit the pavement and then went up in a huge ball of flame of the brightness you get from burning metal. It went out, he stopped the plane and opened the cockpit. I thought he was going to punch out but he didn't. Cool hand for sure.
ReplyDelete