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Modern jet fighters continue to grow ever more complicated and more fantastically expensive. But some of the most influential aircraft in history succeeded instead because they could do their job pretty well at a very reasonable cost. Such was the case of the agile A-4 Skyhawk, a small but heavy-lifting attack jet that would carve out a major place for itself in American history—and also that of Israel and Argentina. In 1952, Douglas aviation engineer Ed Heinemann sought to create a replacement for the Navy’s AD1 Skyraider attack planes. He proposed to replace one of the largest single-engine fighter-bombers ever...

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Sunday 13 December said good bye to the McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk after 48 years of service. A formation flight flew over all IAF bases on Sunday morning. The Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master takes over the A-4’s training duties. The Skyhawks flew for the final time from Hatzerim airbase, witnessed by many active and former IAF-personnel. Virtually every pilot in the IAF flew the A-4 at one time or another, as the type was reponsible for pilot training over the last decades. It was applauded for its reliability during the farewell ceremony. The first...

Officials from Embraer and the Brazilian Navy line up in front of the first modernized A-4 Skyhawk during delivery ceremony. In a ceremony at Gavião Peixoto on May 26, Embraer Defense and Security delivered the first of 12 A-4 Skyhawk combat jets that it is modernizing for the Brazilian Navy. Originally built by McDonnell Douglas, and nicknamed ‘the Scooter,’ the Skyhawk is designated AF-1 by the Brazilians. Embraer will upgrade nine AF-1 single-seaters and three AF-1A two-seaters to the AF-1B configuration for service on the Navy’s aircraft carrier, the NAe Sao Paulo. “This is the first contract for systems integration...

When the F-15 was created, it was created to be a pure air-to-air fighter, with the philosophy of “not a pound for air-to-ground” guiding designers. So how did Israel end up turning their F-15s into deadly long-range multi-role strike aircraft well before the F-15E Strike Eagle became a reality? Here’s how. In Need Of A Game Changing Fighter Israel’s love affair with the F-15 began out of the need to procure a fighter that could trump the increasingly complex fighters that surrounding Arab states were amassing from Russian and French sources. Both the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle were...

Any air arm able to field 30 operational MiG-21s, 11 Douglas A-4K Skyhawks and which ordered up to 28 light combat jets would be placed well up the rankings in Flight International’s annual World Air Forces directory. It may come as a surprise, therefore, to learn that the aircraft listed above belong to a commercial company. Welcome to Draken International, the world’s largest private air force. Lakeland, Florida-based Draken formed in 2011, and has grown rapidly since then. Currently the company undertakes a range of training activities for the US military, but is also actively looking at opening a European...

Falklands’ conflict gunner meets Skyhawk pilot he shot down, at his home in Argentina A Royal Navy veteran from the Falklands War has completed an extraordinary journey to meet the Argentine pilot he thought he had shot down and killed during the 1982 conflict. Neil Wilkinson met his former enemy Mariano Velasco at his home in Argentina - and was welcomed inside with open arms. The emotional meeting - just weeks before the 30th anniversary of the moment they clashed in battle - was filmed for a BBC Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire documentary to be screened this week. Mr...

New Zealand seeks fresh bids for stored Skyhawks By Peter Clark New Zealand's defence ministry has put eight of its stored Douglas A/TA-4K Skyhawk ground-attack and training aircraft up for sale, with bids sought by 16 May. Part of a 17-strong fleet that was mothballed by the nation's Labour government after a 2001 decision, the package includes five single-seat A-4Ks and three two-seat TA-4Ks, plus up to 20 spare Pratt & Whitney J52 engines, ground support equipment and tooling. Auckland, which has failed to sell its fleet despite conducting a worldwide marketing programme over the past decade, says the eight...

Funding woes hamper Israeli air upgrades Published: Sept. 13, 2010 at 1:40 PM TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Budgetary constraints and the planned purchase of 20 Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for $2.75 billion are making it difficult for the Israeli air force to upgrade its older aircraft, although an unusual solution has been proposed. In particular, these concerns are hampering plans to phase out Israel's venerable A-4 Skyhawks acquired in 1967 and which were flown in several wars. The small jet's agility and versatility, along with its ability to take heavy damage in combat made it a...

...when Obama was running around Indonesia in diapers, McCain was mastering this slightly technical piece of machinery...

PALMDALE - Many students spend spring break partying at the beach or on the slopes. However, a handful of Antelope Valley College airframe and powerplant students spent two days of their spring break restoring airplanes for display at Palmdale Plant 42 Heritage Airpark on Avenue P between 20th and 25th streets west. Jerry Shatzer, 46, and Betsy Luahiwa, 45, kept busy manufacturing a panel to cover an access panel near the tail end of a 1960s-era Navy A-4 Skyhawk, while Stephen Lopez, 39, Tim Gaines and James Dillard, 21, worked on the top of plane. "We're covering access panels no...