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A-4 Skyhawk in Action (Repost)

Posted By: lout
A-4 Skyhawk in Action (Repost)

A-4 Skyhawk in Action (Aircraft in Action 11) By Lou Drendel
Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications 1973 | 52 Pages | ISBN: 0897470109 | PDF | 20 MB


"Hot Rod", "Scooter", "Ford", and "Tinkertoy" are all sobriquets for one of the most ubiquitous attack airplanes in the world today. They refer both to the diminutive size and exceptional manueverability of the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. In June of 1952, the Navy awarded Douglas a contract for development of a light weight attack aircraft. In addition to light weight, the contract stipulated the requirement that the aircraft be capable of delivering conventional or "special" weapons. (Pentagonese for nuclear bombs.) The aircraft was also to be able to defend itself in a hostile air environment, where air superiority had not been achieved. The Douglas design team, led by Ed Heinemann, went to work on the project, and by that Fall had come up with a design and built a mock-up. Their efforts were approved by the Navy and on June 22, 1954, Test Pilot Bob Rahn made the first flight of the Skyhawk. Two years of test flights followed. In the course of these tests, the Skyhawk became the first attack aircraft to hold the 500 kilometer closed course speed record, flashing around the course at an average speed of 695 mph, 300 feet above the ground. The two basic features of the Skyhawk design which contributed to the setting of this record, quick control response and structural integrity, would enable the A-4 to hold on to the record for years to come. (Many of the sophisticated mach 2 airplanes that were designed subsequently are limited to sub-sonic speeds at low level because of "Q" factor, which is the measure of an airplane's tolerance to friction and "G" loading in the thicker air close to the ground.)

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