48 years for a jet is pretty impressive. Darn cute little plane. Seeing it fully loaded with bombs was really something - one cannot believe it would take off with so much loaded under its tiny wings and pushed forward by an engine without an afterburner.
A most spartan design that made use of as little as possible to get the job done. This made it the most remarkable unremarkable-plane in history, and the reason it stayed in service for so long - it was easy to maintain, cheap, and simple to upgrade and modify. It did not break any speed records, or included ground-breaking technology, or could carry anything unique, yet it outlasted in service all the remarkable planes of its era. It was the first American jet in the IAF (and first combat plane since the P-51) and ushered the transition from a French arsenal to an American one. Fought in the 1970 war of attrition, 1973 Yom Kipur war, 1982 Lebanon war, and continued in operations as a porter (carrying guided munitions for someone else to guide), electronic warfare, and the advanced trainer of the IAF. It registered two kills of Mig-17s by a single A-4 - one with cannons shooting by dead reconing since it was not equipped with an A2A sight, the other by a salvo of HVAR rockets into the mig in a tail chase.
In my eyes it is one of the greatest unsang heroes of aviation, much like the Beaufighter (also served in the IAF) that are nearly forgotten. I will not forget it gracing our skies for 48 years. :salute :cry
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: FLS on December 13, 2015, 10:54:41 PM
My buddy CAS who used to play AH had his stick jam on a catapult launch in an A4. No pitch control just roll. It made him a bit late with the gear so he got yelled at on the radio. He flew by trimming the stabilator and landed on a shore base. :joystick:
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: BoilerDown on December 13, 2015, 11:15:14 PM
Are they going to sell them once stripped of weapons and secret systems? Seems like a good jet for the near-billionaire who is into flying.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: WaffenVW on December 14, 2015, 05:39:19 AM
Great plane.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: FLOOB on December 14, 2015, 09:18:10 AM
About time they got rid of that piece of crap. What are they replacing it with? Another turd no doubt.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: ghi on December 14, 2015, 10:57:02 AM
like the saudi king said, If they were oppressed in germany why not give them a piece of germany?
then roosevelt dies and... we've got plans to put them in the middle east. :rolleyes:
:noid
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: FLOOB on December 16, 2015, 01:26:40 AM
Awesome non sequitur natecigg.
Zach yes Israel is near France, same side of the continent and everything. Jesus I thought foriegners were supposed to be obsessed with geography and toejam.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: zack1234 on December 16, 2015, 01:43:41 AM
Fatty!
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: zack1234 on December 16, 2015, 01:51:17 AM
like the saudi king said, If they were oppressed in germany why not give them a piece of germany?
then roosevelt dies and... we've got plans to put them in the middle east. :rolleyes:
Yes please! Who in his right mind would CHOOSE to have his home land in the middle East?
We have a contingency plan though. Once the Syrian-African rift finally cracks and the Jordan valley turns into the Jordan sea, cutting us from Asia, we will dig a channel from the Bay of Aqaba to the Med cutting ourselves from Africa. Then we all pull out oars and row till we hit Europe. The problem is that this still leaves the west bank attached to us. We'll have to devise a way to divert the rift to go through the Jerusalem mountains instead of the Jordan valley, but this is what we have techlonogy for.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: zack1234 on December 16, 2015, 02:26:05 AM
Where you from Bozon!!!!!!!
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: bozon on December 16, 2015, 02:52:04 AM
Is that a miss-punctuated question or a dramatically incorrect statement? I thought that from my stupid accent and occasinally incorrect grammer on the Loose-Deuce team-speak channel it was clear by now. :D :p
I am Canadian of course, just like Pipz :banana:
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: zack1234 on December 16, 2015, 03:22:13 AM
My word !
Your that bloke who lives in pipz,s basement
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: FLOOB on December 16, 2015, 04:23:34 AM
Zach I demand that you edit your post and fix that atrocious punctuation!
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: zack1234 on December 16, 2015, 04:24:40 AM
My butler writes my emails.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: bozon on December 16, 2015, 12:09:53 PM
Not exactly. My real name is Winston. You may have heard of me.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: zack1234 on December 16, 2015, 12:14:52 PM
Your the moose?
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: DaveBB on December 16, 2015, 05:02:24 PM
Slightly interesting note about Vietnam era A-4s. Due to slow engine spool up times, A-4s would land at higher thrust levels but with air brakes deployed in case of a missed wire. Much faster to just retract the air brake rather than wait for the non-afterburning J52 to spool back up.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: icepac on December 17, 2015, 09:25:52 PM
Dad had 1000 hours in one.
Nuke squadrons got gold visors or canopy.
Unloaded and clean, tough fighter to beat.
Title: Re: IAF retires Skyhawk after 48 years in service
Post by: FLOOB on December 18, 2015, 12:06:51 PM