We found an abandoned fighter jet in a field, Vought A7 Corsair II..
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2021
- On our roadtrip, we tend to explore aviation related places, such as in the middle of no where airports etc. During our trip through New Mexico, we stopped at a little empty airfield. To my findings in the middle of a field, I came across an A7 Corsair. Its been sitting in this field for many decades. However being in the presence of this bird and hanging under its wings was special.
#sirdrifto#aviation#abandonedaircraft
I flew the A-7E out of NAS Cecil Field with VA-83 Rampagers. I flew them from 1985-1987 until our squadron transitioned to the F/A-18C Hornet and then we were redesignated as VFA-83. I flew off of the USS Saratoga (CV-60) and had carrier landings on 10 other aircraft carriers. I accumulated over 1600 hours in the Corsair and Hornet and I had 467 carrier landings. I did get to fly the F-14A Tomcat in 1988 as a benefit of being an LSO. I loved my Navy flying days; extremely rewarding and got to learn and be with the cream of the crop in Naval Aviation.
I used to fly this jet. when she was assigned to the NMANG. I flew for the Tacos from 1984 to 2001. she was a good bird.
My dad Cspt. Kenneth Lynn Blankenship was the first A-7D Air Force fatality. He was stationed at Myrtle Beach AFB and training in the Corsair at Luke AFB. His jet flipped over during a PLP maneuver at Gila Bend Auxiliary Field on November 24, 1970. He flew 430 combat missions in Vietnam and the Air Force concluded it was pilot error. I’ve talked to a few of the pilots who knew my dad and they all said my dad was a.better pilot than that. I wish he could still be here.
That Aircraft started my 30 plus year career as a Aviation Maintenance Technician.
Serial # 72-0245 (AF72-245) is an LTV A-7D Corsair II that was with the 188th Tactical Fighter Squadron / New Mexico Air National Guard.
This aircraft flew with the New Mexico Air National Guard's 150th Tactical Fighter Group. Negative on afterburner, affirmative on the guns. It was used for ground attack. Originally this type of aircraft flew for the Navy but it did such a good job that the Air Force started flying them too.
I was a crew Chief for 4 years on the A7D. I was stationed at Davis Monthan in Tucson Az. I was TDY in Korat Thailand in 73-74 to the 354th TFW out of Myrtle Beach SC. We did a lot of traveling with the A7's to other bases for fire power demos etc.The gun on the A7 was a 20mm cannon. It carried several different types of bombs and missles while in the Viet Nam war. The TF-41 engine did not have an afterburner. Thanks for the video!!
I was a crew chief on those from '78 to '89 with the AZANG. All of your questions about seem to have been answered but I will add; despite it's unusual appearance it was a very capable aircraft in the ground attack mode. It could even hold it's own in mock air to air dog fights. It had the capability to carry two AIM-9 sidewinder missiles as well as the Vulcan cannon. There was a later two seat version called the A-7K. I was fortunate to get a backseat ride in one.
This one never went to storage at AMARG, but was used for Battle Damage Repair training once grounded for good. I've noted the same "emergency" repairs carried out on retired B-57s, F-101s, and other retired types. This was meant to train for regenerating damaged aircraft during extended fighting when replacements would not be available. Was maybe driven by the accounts of beer cans being used to fix F-105s in Vietnam to make do until something better could be done.
My dad worked on those for 30 years.. Said it proved if you put enough thrust behind a brick, it would fly.
I wish I had an A-7 just sitting in my field.
The incident of the sailor being sucked into the intake was probably the February 20, 1991 incident where Petty Officer Bridget, was checking the launch mechanism on a Grumman A-6 Intruder during night flight operations on board the USS Eisenhower. He accidentally stepped in front of jets air intake and got sucked inside. Luckily, his headgear went into the engine first and the quick response by a fellow crewman and the pilot saved his life.
A-7 Corsair II. Light attack bomber originally designed to replace the A-4 Skyhawk for the US Navy in the middle of the 1960s and started flying operationally in 1967-68 if I recall.
It's an A7D. No afterburner. Had the M61 20mm gatling gun. I worked SLUFF's as a crew chief in the 23rd TFW/76thAMU/ AGS 1978 to 1982. Loved that bird! You get up top on the stabilator.
The A-7 Corsair was derived from the F-8 Crusader. A lot of confusion between the two because they looked very much alike, but the A-7 was much shorter and a subsonic attack aircraft while the F-8, which was known as "The Last Gunfighter" was a supersonic fighter.
Very interesting find. The plane had obviously been put in the field with at least a little care since there are accurately-placed concrete pads under the wheels. Brings back memories. In 1969/1970 I worked in the aerodynamics department of the Vought Aeronautics Division of LTV in Grand Prairie, TX outside of Dallas, at the Navy Dallas Naval Air Station. At that time the A7 production line was active there. It was a tough old bird and could carry a boat-load of external stores, i.e. bombs & missiles, etc. I had a number of walkthroughs of the assembly line, which is always interesting to see for any aircraft. We did wind tunnel tunnel testing of external store separation using dynamically-scaled models. There was a big net downstream of the model to catch the ordnance after separation. Thanks for posting.
That brings back some damn good memories! I’m sitting here watching the video and going through launch sequence in my head lol. What a sight! My first love!!!!
As a child my older brother took myself and my younger brother fishing at the alameda naval base in the early 80’s. As he drove his black camaro across the end of the runway to get to the fishing spot I noticed a sign that said “ DO NOT CROSS WHEN THE RED LIGHT IS FLASHING “ . I told my brother what it said and asked “ was it flashing?” I told him yes. We looked over our left shoulders and saw 2 A7’s coming our way. They purposely kept it low on the deck and flew over us. The rumble and shaking scared the fire out of us... but how I loved it... I still walk around the retired naval base from time to time. Thank you for stirring my memories of this great aircraft
The incident of getting sucked into an intake was on an A-6 Intruder. This is an A-7D variant. The other plane you were referring to at the end of the video would have been the F-8 Crusader. The F-8 was flown by the Navy until F-4's phased them out. I would love to see a Corsair restored to flyable condition.
I worked A-7D's as an air traffic controller at England AFB back in 1976-77. We got to go over to Peason Ridge range once and watch a flight of 4 do a daisy chain over a static target. They would fly in a circular pattern just above treetop level, and then as each aircraft would ingress on the target (an old truck), it would do a pop-up, roll inverted, pull over into a steep dive onto the target, roll back upright and let go a Mk-82 practice bomb. They were pretty good with those bombs - wasn't unusual for one of the aircraft to "shack" the target. Great memories!!