A7 Corsair II *Finally* Retired

scooter · October 28, 2014, 05:28:25 PM

sandiego89 · October 28, 2014, 06:10:27 PM

A good run, 49 years from first flight. A capable, perhaps undersung, warbird.

Captain Canada · October 28, 2014, 06:25:52 PM

Sad, really. One of my favourite aeroplanes.....especially the two-seater. Great selection of photos in that articles too. Not sure which handler I like better...the pirate or the cute girl !

PR19_Kit · October 29, 2014, 02:03:45 AM

Oh no! Pre-shading's reached the full size aviation world!

Pic 'borrowed' from that superb article.

The Rat · October 29, 2014, 05:48:49 AM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on October 29, 2014, 02:03:45 AM
Oh no! Pre-shading's reached the full size aviation world!

Pic 'borrowed' from that superb article.

Would be nice to make a model just like that and take it to a show. When some JMN complains about it looking ridiculous, whip out that picture.

Captain Canada · October 29, 2014, 07:05:36 AM

That's what I loved about the Greek birds. Dirt, oil, paint chips, grease, rusty oleo.....that's why the one they painted for the flypasts looks funny, way too clean ! The paint colours don't look right either, but that could be from sun fade.

Librarian · October 29, 2014, 08:48:15 AM

I'd call that fading and post-shading

. Fantastic.

kitnut617 · October 29, 2014, 09:05:47 AM

That's pretty bad when an airforce can't keep their aircraft clean and tidy ---

Librarian · October 29, 2014, 09:43:13 AM

Quote from: kitnut617 on October 29, 2014, 09:05:47 AM
That's pretty bad when an airforce can't keep their aircraft clean and tidy ---

...and yet even on the smallest backwater Greek Island the taxis are all spotless high-end Mercedes!?

Jesse220 · October 29, 2014, 11:24:46 AM

Then I guess that's it then. Nobody is going to use the A-7 Corsair II anymore.

scooter · October 29, 2014, 11:43:11 AM

Quote from: Jesse220 on October 29, 2014, 11:24:46 AM
Then I guess that's it then. Nobody is going to use the A-7 Corsair II anymore.

Nope, especially since its not a sleek, slippery, or stealthy

Jesse220 · October 29, 2014, 12:36:47 PM

Quote from: scooter on October 29, 2014, 11:43:11 AM
Quote from: Jesse220 on October 29, 2014, 11:24:46 AM
Then I guess that's it then. Nobody is going to use the A-7 Corsair II anymore.

Nope, especially since its not a sleek, slippery, or stealthy

I know

Leading Observer · October 29, 2014, 03:42:21 PM

We probably won't get one on the Jet Warbird circuits like Hunters or Gnats

kerick · October 29, 2014, 05:30:59 PM

An airshow display would be awesome! I was at Barry Goldwater range in Arizona back in the day and saw AZ Air National Guard pilots flying CAS missions in A-7Ds. They flew so low there were cactus bits stuck to the bottom of the planes! They could drop a dumb bomb from low level in a turn and hit the target.

scooter · October 29, 2014, 05:41:10 PM

Quote from: kerick on October 29, 2014, 05:30:59 PM
An airshow display would be awesome! I was at Barry Goldwater range in Arizona back in the day and saw AZ Air National Guard pilots flying CAS missions in A-7Ds. They flew so low there were cactus bits stuck to the bottom of the planes! They could drop a dumb bomb from low level in a turn and hit the target.

And I'll bet dollars to donuts that if you threw some other scenarios at them, including Show of Force and dry runs, they were willing to play if they had the gas. Heck, I remember one control that our TACPs did with Baltimore's A-10s at Adirondack Range was an escort flight over the convoy. You could almost hear what the flight lead was thinking when he said "Say Again".