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A-10 love

Rogue Hawk

Rogue Hawk

Active member
The A-10 is definitely the Dick Butkus\Terminator of aviation. It's so ugly it's a work of art:ohyea: So the AF Brass hates it and have for years tried to retire it. I don't know if this is true, but I heard during on of those efforts to get rid of it the Army protested and said they would take them over themselves if the AF abandoned it. It has some major advantages over attack helicopters being an attack helicopter is about as fast as a WWI biplane. But it does need more runway.

 
I had gotten three of spent casings a number of years ago and made the " bullets" out of aluminum. My son has friends in Tuscon air Base where A-10 are stationed. Gave one to my son, still have one, and one got stolen from the locked display case at school. We also got to sit in the cockpit and load an Aim 9x ( sidewinder wingtip rocket). The "gun/cannon" with it's magizine takes up much of the fusalage.

Lew L

PS: The sound of freedom-------
 
My friend works on A-10s at Nellis AFB. The A-10 has a heavily armored cockpit, so the pilot can afford to fly low and slow and therefore use that cannon with deadly accuracy. Also, the engines are at the rear for a reason - one engine can be knocked out or even off the plane and it can still fly. Best and most practical plane ever flown by the Air Force. No wonder the Army loves them.
 
By far my favorite plane. There used to be an A-10 squadron at Myrtle Beach AFB. I would watch the fly-overs while I was on the beach. Pretty cool.
 
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "It is better to give than receive". Never want to be on the receiving side of one of these. Very cool..... Jim
 
Bob Denman said:
I wonder how much "crap", those big engines can chew through; before they start getting into trouble? :dontknow:
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Their placement helps alleviate that issue. The primary problem in early-on testing were flameouts from the oxygen-void gases coming from the gun! They had to add "self sustaining combustion sections" to the engines with auto igniters to stop flameouts during the guns' operation!
 
FUGLY is beautiful ….. all hail the " Warthog " ….the King of the close air to ground support plane :clap:...…….. Mike :ohyea:
 
Here’s a pretty famous video from the Iraq war of a A10 with a huge hole in its wing bringing its pilot home and vice versa
https://youtu.be/o7JM82fa5ZY

Grumman’s were famous in WWII for their armor and ability to give the pilot a fighting chance to come home.
 
The A-10 is a much loved (Army/Marines) / hated (Air Force) combat aircraft. I'm a big fan.

An interesting fact:

When I first started at Lockheed Skunk Works in 1985, I took a class in 'Survivability.' After all, Lockheed was still building the F-17 and supporting the SR-71. They should know something about survivability and 'STEALTH.'

The A-10 entered service in 1976. The A-10 was a first generation STEATH aircraft.

Wait?!?!?!? How can a aircraft as ugly and as obviously non-stealthy as the A-10 be considered a first gen stealth airplane?


STEALTH is a function of threat environment. For most aircraft (high flyers) the primary threat is RADAR. Hence, the development of "RADAR" stealth, if you will.


The A-10 is quite capable of 'taking a beating and still ticking,' as long as it is from small arms fire, etc. The cockpit is fully covered with heavy armor, critical systems are protected, too. But what about the engines?


The primary A-10 threat is infrared guided missiles. The most common, with respect to the A-10 that are threats, are called MANPADS. See the link.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-portable_air-defense_system


The A-10 engine placement is what makes the A-10 'STEALTHY.' The exhaust of the engine is very hot and also parts of the engine are very hot. The front compressor is also a heat source, but in a different IR frequency band.

If you look, the engine front face is hidden from ground view by the wing. The even more critical engine exhaust area is hidden by the tail plane and verticals of the A-10.

This is how the A-10 defeats MANPADS, its primary threat.
 
I was a crewchif on A-10s in Alaska and the aircraft is so impessive that you cant replace as easy as it sounds. Kinda wierd the company that built them went out of business not long after finishing the project.
 
kamper said:
I was a crewchif on A-10s in Alaska and the aircraft is so impessive that you cant replace as easy as it sounds. Kinda wierd the company that built them went out of business not long after finishing the project.
Click to expand...

What I find Amazing is, the last Warthog's made by Republic were in …...1984 :b2b:.................Mike :ohyea:
 
wyliec said:
Senator McSally was the first female fighter pilot to fly in combat. She did fly an A-10.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks for that. She is a very impressive person. She went to the AF Academy and Harvard. Also was a combat pilot. I wish I could have had such a stellar career.
 
Thanks for the fond memories, I used to patrol the Flightline at Edwards and the A10's had a pad for testing out on the ramp with a huge bullet trap to fire into. Loved the sound when they chained down the A10 and let that rip.
 
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