Posted on 07/25/2006 9:03:05 AM PDT by KeyLargo
Warbird of the Day: Grumman Mohawk RV-1D
Tue, 25 Jul '06 by ANN Correspondent John Dorcey
The warbird area is a "must see" for most AirVenture participants. Veterans, history buffs, dads with kids in tow, and the curious all gravitate to the north end of the AirVenture grounds. This area, like most of the facility, has changed over the years. Today, visitors will find a greater variety of aircraft and more displays that are educational.
Ed Finnegan, American Wings Air Museum, provided the history on this aircraft. Grumman built serial number 64-14262 in 1964 as an OV-1B. The aircraft was later modified into a relatively rare RV-1D; 36 RV-1Ds were created. The mission of the RV-1 was tactical electronic reconnaissance or ELectronic INTelligence (ELINT). The aircraft's systems could detect emitters in day, night, and all weather conditions. The aircraft also carried Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) sensor pods.
While not known for its clean, aerodynamic lines, Ed said, "The aircraft's performance is hidden by its appearance." Fully aerobatic, the airplane has a max speed of 305 knots and a stall speed of 80 knots. The aircraft is powered by two Lycoming T-53 turboprop engines each putting out 1,400 horsepower.
The aircraft has a wingspan of 48 feet and a length of just over 44 feet. The aircraft's empty weight is 11,757 pounds, and a max gross of 18,500 pounds. Two drop tanks of 150 gallons each and internal capacity of 297 gallons provides a range of just over 1100 miles. A crew of two flew the aircraft and operated its myriad of systems.
Finnegan has 1500 hours in the Mohawk as both an Army aviator and flying for American Wings Air Museum. When not flying the Mohawk, Ed flies the Boeing 757 and 767 for American Airlines. "Education is what we are about, Vietnam is ancient history for kids today," Finnegan said. "This is not a show plane, it is a combat aircraft."
The first Mohawk, the YAO-1AF, first flew on April 14, 1959. Deliveries of the OV-1A began in February 1961; total production run included 380 aircraft. The US Army flew its last Mohawk mission in September 1996. FMI: www.ov1mohawk.org, www.americanwings.com
http://www.midwaysailor.com/photos/mohawk-airshow.html
Remains of Warbird Hawker Hunter jet fighter that crashed into residential area in Hillsboro, Oregon - during air show on July16, 2006. Pilot killed, 4 houses destroyed, just missed destroying Intel's largest manufacturing facility.
bttt
Thanks for the post, and for your service to the country.
Despite a lack of weapons, this aircraft seemed to me to be an oddly attractive aircraft when I first saw it years ago, with its bulbous well-glassed cockpit, twin turboprop engines, triple vertical stabilizers and large wing control surfaces, long sensor pod, and external fuel tanks. My teen age mind asked why, and the answers fell into place: good visual and electronic observation abilities; large add-on fuel capacity; and powerful engines with lots of control surfaces for maneuver and survivability against battle damage. Such an aircraft suggested at a glance the potency and sophistication of US military aviation -- and hope for the survival of the free world. And so it is still today when I look at the extraordinary range and power of American military assets.
Customs flew the Mohawks for drug and border surveillance back in the 1970s.
CIVILIAN MOHAWKS
* In the post-Vietnam era, the Mohawk generally operated with the US Army in Germany and South Korea, though it did see limited service in Central America as well.
It was also employed by civilian organizations. Army Mohawks were flown in missions to support the US Forest Service to spot forest fires and obtain survey data on the spread of tree diseases. In 1980, Oregon Army National Guard Mohawks flew surveillance missions to monitor the eruption of Mount Saint Helens in southwestern Washington state. Army Mohawks also assisted the US Coast Guard, the Civil Air Patrol, and state and local public-safety organizations in search and rescue operations, with the SLAR and IR sensors proving particularly useful in hunting for crashed aircraft in mountainous terrain.
In the early 1970s, the US Geological Survey (USGS) performed large-area mapping missions with an OV-1B fitted with a modified SLAR. The flights were part of a study to determine state water resources, and the aircraft was later used to perform survey missions in Alaska. During the Alaska missions, the aircraft carried emergency floatation gear on the underwing pylons to allow the flightcrew to ditch at sea in an emergency, since ejecting into the frigid Arctic environment would have given little chance of survival. The primary pilots for the USGS OV-1B were a pair of grandmothers who had tired of being secretaries, taken flight lessons, and became topnotch pilots.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) used a specially modified OV-1C on loan from the Army to perform environmental surveys of the areas around nuclear power plants in the early 1970s, and a civilian engineering firm working for the Atomic Energy Commission also obtained an OV-1C to monitor underground atomic tests during 1972. The US National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) used a few Mohawks for aviation technology experiments, including one that was fitted with a small turbojet engine for noise tests.
In a particularly interesting application, in 1971 the US Customs Service received four Army surplus OV-1C Mohawks, along with two ex-Navy Grumman S-2 Tracker ocean patrol aircraft, to hunt for drug trafficers. The Mohawks were fitted with a Texas Instruments forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera in a turret under an extended nose.
As the Customs OV-1Cs were sometimes fired on by drug runners, there was some thought of arming the Mohawks so they could shoot back, but despite the fact that Customs officers often carry some impressive personal firepower arming a Customs aircraft was judged against the rules. The Mohawks were phased out in favor of more modern aircraft in 1986.
At least three Mohawks ended up in private hands, and occasionally starred in TV series such as "AIRWOLF", with their unusual looks making them well suited to playing the "bad guy.
The last Mohawks in US Army service were withdrawn in the mid-1990s. These aircraft were used to observe North Korean military activities along the demilitarized zone, and were replaced by De Havilland Canada DASH-7 / Airborne Reconnaissance Low aircraft, the subject of the next chapter. 34 US Army surplus Mohawks were provided to Argentina in the early 1990s, and at last report these aircraft were still in service.
http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/avbtsv1.html
ACTION VIDEO LINK DOWNLOAD AT:
http://www.combatreform.com/airmobileOV1MOHAWKSnscouthelicopters.wmv
RE: Post #6
Ya, what was with that?
"Ya, what was with that?"
Beats me. This was about the time of Ruby Ridge I think. I've never been inclined to trust the BATF anyway.
"The first Mohawks in foreign service were actually two OV-1Ds were transferred to Israel in 1974 to support monitoring of the Yom Kippur War cease-fire, to be returned to the US in 1984 and refurbished." "Its final combat service was in 1991 during OPERATION DESERT STORM, the campaign to evict the Iraqis from Kuwait." http://www.vectorsite.net/avbtsv1.html I think that the Mohawks would be an asset now for surveillance on the Israel-Lebanon border.
http://www.airandspacemagazine.com/ASM/Mag/Index/1997/FM/lotm.html
Guardrail bump!
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