Free Republic

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 fate of Brazil’s only aircraft carrier, the French-built Foch, which has carried the name NAe São Paulo since first flying the Brazilian flag in 2000, has been in limbo for over a decade. Now it has finally been announced that the Brazilian Navy has decided to decommission the vessel instead of refitting it for extended service as they had promised on and off over the last decade. The 55-year-old ship is in need of massive repairs—especially to its boilers and catapults—to accommodate Brazil's handful of recently upgraded A-4 (local designation: AF-1) Skyhawks operationally again. You can read all about...

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...

Beginning this weekend, aircraft buffs will be able to stroll up to and touch about half dozen historic aircraft at the city's newest public facility, the Heritage Airpark. The airpark, at 25th Street East and Avenue P, is a memorial to the aircraft designed, built and tested at U.S. Air Force Plant 42 since the facility was established in 1951. The airpark is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays beginning Jan. 17. A formal ceremony marking the opening of the facility will be held in March, noted Mayor Jim Ledford. Meanwhile, volunteers will continue to prepare...

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...