Tag Archives: vought

Technology

Cold War Aggressor: EA-7L the ‘electric’ TA-7C Corsair-2

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At least six U.S. Navy TA-7C Corsair-2 training aircraft were sent to Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron VAQ-34 and converted to EA-7L electronic ‘aggressor’ aircraft.  Apparently they were still marked as TA-7Cs?

In this photo you can see that these VAQ-34 EA-7Ls(?) are still marked as TA-7Cs on the fuselage sides. VAQ-34 also flew ‘pure’ TA-7Cs, but both these aircraft are carrying black nosed Radar Signal Simulator (RSS) pods.

VAQ-34 was created in 1983, and based at Point Magu in California.  Point Magu is also the home of the Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC).

A view of a TA-7C ‘pre-EA-7L’ Corsair II aircraft fitted with a pod carrying a Radar Signal Simulator (RSS), parked in front of Building 351 at the Pacific Missile Test Center, California. USN photo by M. Washington, 27JUN1982.

The EA-7L was the result of Radar Signal Simulator (RSS) testing, also at the PMTC, in 1982.

Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, EA-7L/TA-7C fitted with Radar Signal Simulator (RSS) pod. USN photo by M. Washington, 27JUN1982.

Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, EA-7L/TA-7C fitted with a red RSS pod. USN photo by M. Washington, 27JUN1982.

Pacific Missile Test Center, Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, TA-7C/EA-7L fitted with a red Radar Signal Simulator (RSS) pod. USN photo by M. Washington, 27JUN1982.

Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California, EA-7L/TA-7C fitted with a white RSS pod. USN photo by M. Washington, 27JUN1982.

EA-7L Aggressor during the U.S. 3rd Fleet North Pacific Exercise at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. U.S. Air Force photo by Sergeant W. Thornton, 08NOV1987.

Carrying a black nosed RSS pod. U.S. Air Force photo by Sergeant W. Thornton, 08NOV1987.

U.S. Air Force photo by Sergeant W. Thornton, 08NOV1987.

About to be retired, EA-7L Corsair II of the Pacific Missile Test Center, 30DEC1991. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Bruce Trombecky.

Photo by Aeroprints.

One EA-7L crashed in 1990, another EA-7L was sold to Greece, two appear to be missing and the rest of the EA-7Ls were retired in 1991, apparently now rotting away at The Bone Yard that is Davis Monthan Air Force Base.

Photo by Aeroprints.

VAQ-34 was disbanded by the end of 1993, due to ‘aggressor’ duties being transferred to U.S. Naval Reserve units.

USAF A-7D: COLD WAR MAINTENANCE WALK AROUND

Kit Bashing, Technology

A-7D Corsair-2, Cold War maintenance walk around

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Photos recorded during the last decade of the unofficial/undeclared Cold War:

An Airman with the 355th Aircraft Generation Squadron inspects avionics equipment on a A-7D Corsair II, Hurlburt Field, Florida. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Frank J. Garzelnick Junior, 11FEB1979.

Inspecting an A-7D Corsair II during Gunsmoke ’81, Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Paul Hayashi.

Puerto Rico Air National Guard A-7D, during exercise Bold Eagle. Puerto Rico National Guard photo by Ernest H. Sealing, 19OCT1981.

A ground crewman inspects the fuselage of an A-7D Corsair II during Exercise Gallant Eagle, on the U.S. Navy’s China Lake, California. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Bob Marshall, 01APR1982.

An A-7D Corsair II aircraft pilot reads maintenance forms during Exercise Gallant Eagle. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Bob Marshall, 01APR1982.

180th Tactical Fighter Group A-7D during Exercise Kindle Liberty, Howard AFB, Panama. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant R. Bandy, 01DEC1982.

Two A-7D Corsair II aircraft inside the maintenance hangar during Exercise Checkered Flag/Coronet Castle, RAF Sculthorpe, United Kingdom. U.S. Air force photo by Technical Sergeant Jose Lopez, 31MAR1983.

U.S. Air force photo by Technical Sergeant Jose Lopez, 31MAR1983.

156th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron performs maintenance on an A-7D Corsair II during Operation Ocean Venture. Puerto Rico Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Ken Hammond, 20APR1984.

Puerto Rico Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Ken Hammond, 20APR1984.

Loading an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile on an A-7D Corsair II during Operation Ocean Venture. Puerto Rico Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Ken Hammond, 20APR1984.

An A-7D Corsair II of the 124th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Iowa Air National Guard, being prepped for deployment to Japan, for Exercise Cope North. Iowa Air National Guard photo by Airman First Class Jeffrey J. Aubin, 24MAY1988.

Inspecting the cooling system of an Iowa National Guard A-7D. Iowa Air National Guard photo by Airman First Class Jeffrey J. Aubin, 24MAY1988.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Airman First Class Jeffrey J. Aubin, 24MAY1988.

Changing the tail light bulb. Iowa Air National Guard photo by Airman First Class Jeffrey J. Aubin, 24MAY1988.

Adjusting weapons pylon screws on a New Mexico Air National Guard A-7D, taking part in Amalgam Warrior, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. USAF photo by Sergeant Rose Gruben, 31MAY1988.

Chitose Air Base, Japan, an Iowa A-7D driver signals his satisfaction. Iowa Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant J. Ferguson, 17JUN1988.

Post Cold War: USAF A-7 CORSAIRS, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO?

1/72 REVISED COMPARISON A-7 CORSAIR-2: FUJIMI, ESCI, AIRFIX, HASEGAWA, MATCHBOX, REVELL & HOBBY BOSS. MORE REASON NOT TO TRUST SCALE DRAWINGS?

Technology

Vehicle I-D: F-8 Super-Critical-Crusader, father of modern airliner wing design

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“This thing is so different from anything that we’ve ever done before that nobody’s going to touch it with a ten foot pole without somebody going out and flying it.”-Larry Loftin, NASA’s Langley Research Center

NASA photo, 1971.

F-8A Bureau Number 141353/NASA tail number 810 with SuperCritical Wing (SCW) flies in its original paint-job in 1971.  On its first flight, on 09MAR1971 the SCW marking on the fin was made from tape.  Also notice the F-8 SCW lacks the bulges on the sides of the forward fuselage, as seen on the later pretty paint-job.

The F-8A Crusader was built by Vought (which has been known by several other names before and since, such as LTV), the SCW was built by North American Aviation (which became Rockwell International).  The wing itself cost U.S. taxpayers $1.8-million.

Richard Whitcomb with a F-8 wind tunnel model equipped with the Supercritical Wing. NASA photo, 19JAN1970.

The SuperCritical Wing creates higher lift-to-drag ratios, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) boasted that it could save a silly-vilian (civilian) airline company with 280 airliners $78-million (1974 dollars) in fuel per year.   Look closely at airliners developed since the mid-1970s, you’ll see some SuperCritical Wing in them.  Thank the designer of the SCW, Richard Whitcomb.

NASA photo, 1973.

The SCW flying with the DFBW, over the San Bernardino Mountains in California, 1973.  F-8A SCW’s last flight was 23MAY1973.

NASA photo, 1973

VEHICLE I-D: F-8 DFBW, OR ANOTHER REASON WHY TODAY’S TECHIE GENERATION OWES THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX!

NASA photo, 1995.

On 27MAY(the day I was born, not the year)1992, both SCW and DFBW were put on ‘gate guard duty’ at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Build your own:

By 1980, the SuperCritical Wing became know as the Aeroelastic Research Wing. NASA photo, 12JUN1980.

Can you recognize the SuperCritical Wing (renamed Aeroelastic Research Wing) on this BQM-34 Firebee II drone?

Technology

Salvaging F4U Corsairs

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NACA photo.

This F4U-1 ‘Birdcage’ served with NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), for 1:1 scale wind tunnel testing, before being transferred to the U.S. Navy.

NACA photo, 18JUL1951.

Photograph from July 1951, F4U-4B with NACA tail band.  The retired Corsair was put to use by NACA to research ‘control rates’.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class Chris Fahey, 10NOV2009.

In 2009, this F4U-4 was barged from Naval Air Station North Island, California, to the USS Midway Museum in downtown San Diego.

Photo via A and T Recovery, November 2010.

In 2010, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago District, approved the recovery of a F4U-1, with birdcage style canopy, from Lake Michigan.

Photo via A and T Recovery, November 2010.

As normal, the government red tape caused the permitting process to take several years, but in this case the reviewers of the permit admitted they enjoyed the process: “It was the most entertaining and historically interesting application review and permit issuance project I’ve had the pleasure to work on. My father delves into the world of warbirds – vintage military aircraft now mostly operated by civilian organizations and individuals – so I had some background knowledge of single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft flown during World War Two.”-Kathleen Chernich, East Section of Regulatory Branch’s Permits and Enforcement Section, and eventually the recovery project manager

Photo via A and T Recovery, November 2010.

Video montage of news reports about A & T Recovery’s efforts to recover not just the F4U, but F4F, F6F and a Dauntless, and the Red Tape nightmare A&T Recovery had to go through to get them done:

See what happened to the Lake Michigan Corsair by clicking here.

Video from 2012, Honduran air force personnel volunteer to wash one of their F4U ‘gate guards’:

Video from 2012, F4U Corsair flies with AV8B Harrier, MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina:

USMC photo by Lance Corporal Christopher Johns, 26APR2014.

Korean conflict era F4U on display during the 70th anniversary celebration of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462 aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, April 2014.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Eric Lockwood, 22MAR2016.

In 2016, the remains of a F4U Corsair were presented to the Naval History and Heritage Command, in Washington DC.  It was one of two Corsairs that failed to return from a ground attack mission on a Japanese military base on northern Kyushu.  The wreckage was discovered by a fisherman.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class David R. Krigbaum, 06MAR2016.

Officials with Saiki City, and Oita Prefecture, gave the remains a respectful ceremony before handing them over to the U.S. Navy.

USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist First Class David R. Krigbaum, 06MAR2016.

Video, F4U Corsair arrives at Edwards AFB Air Show, September 2017, unfortunately no audio:

Michigan Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Dan Heaton, 07JUN2019.

Here volunteers work on an F4U wing at the Selfridge Military Air Museum at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, June 2019.

Video interview with volunteer at Selfridge Military Air Museum, explains why it’s his dream job:

RETIRED USN CRAFTSMAN RECALLS DAYS OF BEING PAID TO BUILD GIANT MODEL PLANES!

VEHICLE I-D: NASA CANBERRAS, B-57B ‘HUSH KIT’ & WB-57F RIVET CHIP/SLICE

B-25 ¡Panchito!

PAINTING A P-51 MUSTANG WITH VINYL DECALS?

Technology

USAF A-7 Corsairs, whatever happened to?

Video

Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, George W. Bush Air Park video history tour of the A-7D, 21JUN2020:

Ling-Tempco-Vaught A-7D Corsair-2, April 1982, Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. Photo via Tinker Air Force Base History Office.

LTV A-7D Corsair II, isochronical maintenance at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, April 1982.

Apparently the USAF version of the A-7 Corsair-2 is one of the most loved ground attack aircraft, especially by the folks in Oklahoma; from November 1966, when Tinker AFB’s Oklahoma City Air Materiel Area was assigned all logistics management responsibility for the A-7D, to its final days with the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1993 (to be replaced by the F-16).

125th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 138th Tactical Fighter Group, Oklahoma Air National Guard in 1992. Photo via Greg L. Davis.

Oklahoma ANG A-7D ‘Tulsa’, during training in 1992.

Oklahoma Air National Guard A-7D on display in the Charles B. Hall Memorial Air Park, 2017. U.S. Air Force photo by Greg L. Davis.

Oklahoma isn’t the only National Guard unit to fly the A-7 during its official last days, and even some National Guard units are still using their A-7s for other training.

198th Fighter Squadron, 156th Fighter Group, Puerto Rico Air National Guard, 1992. Photo via Greg L. Davis.

Four A-7D Corsair IIs of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, over the Caribbean in 1992. Puerto Rico’s Air National Guard used A-7Ds up-till 1993.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot.

Three happy Iowa National Guard pilots pose in front of an A-7D ‘gate guard’, 17MAR2017.  Mike Maier, Jim Walker and Larry Christensen were the last of Iowa’s A-7 pilots that, as of 2017, were still serving with Iowa Air National Guard.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 17MAR2017.

Freshly painted gate guard, A-7D ‘Sioux City’ of the Iowa Air National Guard.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot.

In 2013 the Iowa Air and Army National Guard decided to sling-load a two seat A-7 gate guard with a CH-47F Chinook.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot.

At the beginning of the video is a boring press conference, then the sling load, and then somehow some old film of an A-7 (BAT 12) strafing a tank on a USAF bombing range:

Wisconsin Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Meghan Skrepenski, 13JUN2017.

The Wisconsin Air National Guard used this ‘gate guard’ to practice ‘downed aircraft recovery’ in June 2017.  Note that the recovery vehicle is an old John Deere 4020 that (according to the press info) is three years older than the 1969 issue A-7.  Apparently the scenario involved a military aircraft that crashed in Wausau: “Planning this movement took approximately two years from initial concept to movement completion. This movement provided a chance to deal with something that we wouldn’t normally be able to do…”-Master Sergeant Michael J. Schmidt, 115th Fighter Wing

Wisconsin Air National Guard photo by Technical Sergeant Meghan Skrepenski, 13JUN2017.

Note the U.S. Navy refuel probe on the nose of the A-7 painted in USAF/National Guard colors.  Apparently the only USAF A-7 that had the USN refueling probe was the prototype YA-7D, which served at Edwards Air Force Base until retired to AMARC in 1992.  So is this a USN A-7 acquired for Air National Guard gate guard duty, or is it one of two YA-7D prototypes?    

New Jersey Army National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Nicholas Young.

In March 2017, New Jersey Air National Guard TACPs (Tactical Air Control Party )used a shot-up A-7 during a training event with Maryland Air Guard’s A-10 Thunderbolt-2s, at Warren Grove Gunnery Range.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Charles Delano.

In May 2017, Wyoming Air National Guard conducted aircraft recovery training with this shot-up A-7D that was literally ‘down in the mud’.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Charles Delano, 11MAY2017.

They had to use airbags to raise the SLUF and use PSP/Martson Mat style steel plank to get it rolling out of the mud: “This was the first time for me doing recovery training. My job was to help set up air bags and operate the manifold. My normal job always has some sort of data and you are going to follow the book. When a plane crashes or runs off the runway into mud, you don’t always respond in the same way.”-Senior Airman Dakota Difrancesco, 153rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Charles Delano, 11MAY2017.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Charles Delano, 11MAY2017.

I believe the U.S. taxpayers got their money’s worth out of the A-7.

1/48 SCALE COMPARISON A-7 CORSAIR-2: AURORA, REVELL-MONOGRAM, ESCI, HASEGAWA & HOBBY BOSS.

1/72 REVISED COMPARISON A-7 CORSAIR-2: FUJIMI, ESCI, AIRFIX, HASEGAWA, MATCHBOX, REVELL & HOBBY BOSS. MORE REASON NOT TO TRUST SCALE DRAWINGS?