Miragedriver
Brigadier
My friend Kwaigonegin recommended that we begin a thread dedicated to well-built aircraft (fixed and rotary wing) that continue to fly today with just avionic and some airframe reconstruction
In praise of the cheap and cheerful.
Imagine a military combat aircraft that first flew in 1954 and is still flying today. No, it's not the . This aircraft has played major roles in the air over Vietnam, the Falklands, and the Yom Kippur War. It replaced the F-4 Phantom as the jet of choice for the USN'sBlue Angels demonstration team. This aircraft even played a .
Now... What if I told you that the first 500 examples of this aircraft cost $7.5 million each, adjusted for inflation?
The Douglas (soon to be McDonnell Douglas, then Boeing) A-4 Skyhawk was designed from the outset to be a small, light, simple, inexpensive attack aircraft that could be operated from the USN's aircraft carrier fleet. It's chief designer, , really knocked it out of the park. The A-4 weighed about half of the USN's desired specs. Unlike most carrier based aircraft, the A-4 doesn't need folding wings. The Skyhawk earned a reputation for being rugged, simple to maintain, and cheap to operate. It became a favorite of its pilots, earning nicknames like "Scooter" and "Heinemann's Hot-Rod". The A-4 was at one time , but the CF-5 Freedom Fighter was selected instead.
The A-4 Skyhawk was operated by the USMC and USN from 1956 until 1993. Besides playing a major role over Vietnam, the A-4 was used as a training platform. When the F-4's lackluster win:loss ratio against older MiGs was discovered, the A-4 was introduced a "surrogate" for the MiG-17 in the USN's TOPGUN combat school.
More than 60 years after its first flight, the A-4 is still used in military operations. Argentina, Israel, and Singapore still use list the A-4 in active service. Brazil not only still uses the A-4, but operates it from its sole aircraft carrier, the Sao Paulo. There are even a f, if you have the resources.
The A-4 has flown so long, that its intended replacement, the F/A-18, is now in need of replacement.
Why has the A-4 survived so long? It's not so much what is is, but what it isn't.
The A-4 is a simple attack aircraft intended to engage ground targets using bombs, rockets, or guided missiles. It carries AIM-9 Sidewinders for self defense, but lacks a sophisticated radar or fire control system. It is incapable of supersonic speeds. I can only carry half the ordinance of modern multirole aircraft like the Super Hornet. All of this decreased capability does pay off when it comes to operating costs, however. A smaller, single engine aircraft uses less fuel, and its simple design makes maintenance far easier.
The A-4 still has enough to get the job done however. While it may not have the payload capacity of a Super Hornet or F-35, it can still carry over 4 tons worth of bombs and missiles. When equipped with external tanks, its combat radius is within spitting distance of newer multirole fighters. While not capable of supersonic speeds, the A-4 comparable, if not superior to the bigger, newer fighters at subsonic speeds.
In missions over uncontested air space, like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya, the A-4 likely would have been more than enough to handle most close air support, (CAS) and counter insurgency (COIN) duties. All at a fraction of the cost of Super Hornets, Strike Eagles, even F-16s.
So where is the spiritual successor to the A-4? A quick look at the fighter landscape these days reveals very few low-cost options. Everything out there seems to be expensive, multi-role fighters like the Super Hornet and Rafale.
Back to bottling my Grenache
That's another ancient beast from the 1950s. But all these 60/70 yr old aircraft still flying today (inspite of technological leap) just proves the sound design and engineering of those days. Avionics gets updated but the basic hull is essentially the same as first rolled of the factory floor.
Back then those engineers designed everything with slide rules and pencils. No advance CAD, no hundred million line codes and certainly no computational algorithm to tell simulate any sort of testing not even a very basic electronic calculator! It was all done by hand or mechanical contraption.
In praise of the cheap and cheerful.
Imagine a military combat aircraft that first flew in 1954 and is still flying today. No, it's not the . This aircraft has played major roles in the air over Vietnam, the Falklands, and the Yom Kippur War. It replaced the F-4 Phantom as the jet of choice for the USN'sBlue Angels demonstration team. This aircraft even played a .
The Douglas (soon to be McDonnell Douglas, then Boeing) A-4 Skyhawk was designed from the outset to be a small, light, simple, inexpensive attack aircraft that could be operated from the USN's aircraft carrier fleet. It's chief designer, , really knocked it out of the park. The A-4 weighed about half of the USN's desired specs. Unlike most carrier based aircraft, the A-4 doesn't need folding wings. The Skyhawk earned a reputation for being rugged, simple to maintain, and cheap to operate. It became a favorite of its pilots, earning nicknames like "Scooter" and "Heinemann's Hot-Rod". The A-4 was at one time , but the CF-5 Freedom Fighter was selected instead.
The A-4 Skyhawk was operated by the USMC and USN from 1956 until 1993. Besides playing a major role over Vietnam, the A-4 was used as a training platform. When the F-4's lackluster win:loss ratio against older MiGs was discovered, the A-4 was introduced a "surrogate" for the MiG-17 in the USN's TOPGUN combat school.
More than 60 years after its first flight, the A-4 is still used in military operations. Argentina, Israel, and Singapore still use list the A-4 in active service. Brazil not only still uses the A-4, but operates it from its sole aircraft carrier, the Sao Paulo. There are even a f, if you have the resources.
The A-4 has flown so long, that its intended replacement, the F/A-18, is now in need of replacement.
Why has the A-4 survived so long? It's not so much what is is, but what it isn't.
The A-4 is a simple attack aircraft intended to engage ground targets using bombs, rockets, or guided missiles. It carries AIM-9 Sidewinders for self defense, but lacks a sophisticated radar or fire control system. It is incapable of supersonic speeds. I can only carry half the ordinance of modern multirole aircraft like the Super Hornet. All of this decreased capability does pay off when it comes to operating costs, however. A smaller, single engine aircraft uses less fuel, and its simple design makes maintenance far easier.
The A-4 still has enough to get the job done however. While it may not have the payload capacity of a Super Hornet or F-35, it can still carry over 4 tons worth of bombs and missiles. When equipped with external tanks, its combat radius is within spitting distance of newer multirole fighters. While not capable of supersonic speeds, the A-4 comparable, if not superior to the bigger, newer fighters at subsonic speeds.
In missions over uncontested air space, like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya, the A-4 likely would have been more than enough to handle most close air support, (CAS) and counter insurgency (COIN) duties. All at a fraction of the cost of Super Hornets, Strike Eagles, even F-16s.
So where is the spiritual successor to the A-4? A quick look at the fighter landscape these days reveals very few low-cost options. Everything out there seems to be expensive, multi-role fighters like the Super Hornet and Rafale.
Back to bottling my Grenache