A-10 gear fairing

(Kirk Stant) wrote in message . com...
Cub Driver wrote in message news).

Kirk, you must read Campbell's book The Warthog and the Close Air
Support Support, from Naval Institute Press. He was an A-10 pilot (and
A-7s for the Navy before that!) and he certainly lays out the case
that only the power of the U.S. Congress forced the A-10 down the
throat of the Air Force brass, and that the brass spent the next 20
years trying to get rid of it.

I'll have to get his book and read it. However, that position is not
reflected in the actual operational use of the A-10, which has been in
the limelight of every conflict we have faught since we got it - not a
good way to make a plane look bad!

Not quite. It missed Grenada, where the only CAS missions were flown
by the USN and USAF AC-130's, and it was also not used in Panama,
where IIRC the only fixed wing CAS missions were flown by the ANG
A-7's that were down there on rotation (and that strange F-117
mission...).

Brooks
snip

(Kevin Brooks) wrote in message news

Not quite. It missed Grenada, where the only CAS missions were flown
by the USN and USAF AC-130's, and it was also not used in Panama,
where IIRC the only fixed wing CAS missions were flown by the ANG
A-7's that were down there on rotation (and that strange F-117
mission...).

Well, when you cruise at 250 knots, the war is sometimes going to be
over before you get there!

Just joking of course - and it is a bit odd that the planners didn't
include A-10s in those actions. Anyone know why?

As far as F-15 colors - remember they originally came out in "Air
Superiority Blue" - absolutely the dumbest color ever painted on a
fighter plane! That didn't last long. Not sure if the change to gray
came before or after the F-16 came out - and there have apparently
been several iterations of F-15A/B/C/D gray paint jobs with various
countershadings.

Re 15000' over Kosovo: Where were the troops in contact? Why go lower
(and they did, when necessary) when all you are doing is plinking
tanks? Getting shot down doesn't help the troops in contact - it
isn't like a russian airshow! The idea that you should be eyeball to
eyeball with the enemy doesn't hold up if you have the right weapons,
or if the enemy has the wrong weapons (SA-16/18s).

Kirk

On 26 Sep 2003 08:04:04 -0700, Kirk Stant wrote:

As far as F-15 colors - remember they originally came out in "Air
Superiority Blue" - absolutely the dumbest color ever painted on a
fighter plane!

I remember reading an article about USAF Eagles from Kadena flying up to
Chitose to for a little slap-n-tickle with JASDF F-15s.

The Air Force, regarding the whole thing as the goodwill mission it was,
made sure all their people conformed to 35-10 and all their aircraft were
polished and gleaming.

When they got to Chitose they noticed with some amusement that the JASDF
birds were all rather greasy and dirty. They felt sure they would have
many things to teach their Japanese compatriots... until they got into the
air and had trouble seeing the JASDF Eagles against the gray overcast.

Their robin's-egg blue F-15s were easy to spot, though.

-Jeff B.
yeff at erols dot com

On 26 Sep 2003 08:04:04 -0700, (Kirk Stant)
wrote:

As far as F-15 colors - remember they originally came out in "Air
Superiority Blue" -

I like this!

The A-10 was painted "**** It!-- Leave 'em to the Air Force Green".

The Cub is painted "NORDO Yellow".

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

Cub Driver wrote:

The A-10 was painted "**** It!-- Leave 'em to the Air Force Green".

The Cub is painted "NORDO Yellow".

Dan, most every day you tempt me to put a filter on you.
all the best -- Mike Marron
http://www.marronair.com/