Posted on 02/12/2020 9:34:59 AM PST by hattend
Despite multiple efforts to push the iconic A-10 Warthog's retirement date further into the future, the U.S. Air Force is now slated to shelve dozens of the Cold War-era ground-attack planes in the upcoming fiscal year, according to the service's budget request.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Thanks! I did not know all of the history, but I certainly agree with your conclusions. The mission of the Air Force (should be) to support the Army - boots on the ground still occupies territory - Air Force occupies air . . .
Or the government can donate them to FreeRepublic.
A-10 ping
And Sen. Martha McSally jumps into action! That stupid b**ch is going to lose to Gabby’s idiot husband Kelly. It takes a bigger idiot to lose to an already big idiot. She has got to be the most inept candidate I’ve ever seen and she won’t support Trump. She’s just one step behind Romney. ugh.
Build new ones and let the army operate them.
Transfer all close air support back to the army and revive the Army Air Corps.
Are they going to refloat the F-16 as a replacement for the CAS role the A-10 fills again?
Train ARMY to fly it, let them use it.
Grew up flying, 2 sons are pilots, 1 in Navy, and seems to me the A-10 could easily be adapted to be carrier-based..........it’s a low-speed aircraft after all.
Will check its VsubR airspeed........
It’s possible, I suppose.
I would be curious how well the A-10 does at landing/stall speed with speed. I would think it it pretty low and has terrible characteristics at landing — being buffeted badly by crosswinds. It’s one thing to jitter all over a runway and another to jitter off the edge of a carrier.
I actually have an aeronautical engineering degree; I suppose I could go figure this out. Ha.
I dunno, I mean it does fly slow, but its limitation is the challenge to mount the tail hook on backwards.
No clock in the cockpit, they have a calendar. . .
That are also the only jet we have that takes bird-strikes from the rear. . .
I miss my days flying the last of the cowboy manly jets. . .
Yes, it is the go-to jet for the air-to-ground mission. . .that and the AC-130.
The A-10 wings can’t be folded. The wingspan is way too wide. The nose wheel would get ripped off on a CAT launch. No afterburner on the engines, so likely not enough thrust to power the bomb-laden aircraft after the launch. JMHO.
LOL!
That would be a good story to share...
That’s why God created JATO bottles...
*ping*
The airframe is mostly titanium, and heavy pieces at that. I helped repurpose the machines that made the frame parts after the line was shut down and the machines were sold to mcdonell douglas canada. The spindles were heavy bearing lower rpm for machining titanium. We replaced them with higher rpm spindles to machine aluminium. We regeared the axis drives to be able to feed faster for Alumnium as well. The machines were in great shape. We also upgraded the controllers and drive systems for better accuracy. .001 inches over 100 feet. Think of the A10 as something like the avenger of ww2. A stiff airframe with good hauling and low takeoff and landing speeds. The F/A18 has a fully loaded stall speed of 135 knots, and the A-10 is 138 knots so the cats should be able to accelerate it to takeoff. I’m sure the deck crew would appreciate the engines not scorching the deck while taxiing. So a bridle and a hook and bob’s your uncle. True a super hornet can carry a 10% greater payload fully loaded, but they cost just a bit more per plane to operate and purchase.
It’s 2020, so let’s revise the 1948 agreement. The world changes, just look at Space Force.
“I love the Warthog, they saved my life many years ago.
That would be a good story to share...”
It could be but I’d rather not. A few years ago, I told the story for a school report. It was for the daughter of one of guys that we brought out safely.
Ah! Then you did share! Good for you!
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