A-7s at the boneyard....

[Navy Chief]

I don't know when this picture was taken. But it always saddens me in a way to see pictures of aircraft at the boneyard, Davis-Monthan AFB.

A-7 Corsairs.......

Navy Chief

[Panther_99FS]

Chief,
I spent 9 yrs @ Davis-Monthan....one of the most 'striking' memories I have of the "boneyard" is the shear amount of "A models" of the F-14/15/16 that were stored there...

[Toastmaker]

I don't know when this picture was taken. But it always saddens me in a way to see pictures of aircraft at the boneyard, Davis-Monthan AFB.

A-7 Corsairs.......

Navy Chief




Me too Chief - what an incredible waste of prime real estate ! What the hell are we saving 200-300 A-7's for ? We probably don't have many Navy jocks that are qualified anymore in them and NOBODY'S going to buy them.

Is there some other residual value that I'm unaware of that justifies the expense and use of space ?

[djscoo]

I'll take one of them off their hands...just saying.:running:

[kilo delta]

Perhaps they could be donated/sold to aviation museums or to technical colleges?

[CG_1976]

In case WW3 beaks out and draft is brought back.

[OBIO]

I have fond memories of watching the A-7s of the Ohio Air National Guard flying maneuvers over my home county...my childhood home was right smack dab in the middle of their flight zone. Of all the military jets that I have installed, which isn't all that many, the Iris freeware A-7 is the one I fly the most often.

I agree that it is a waste of those beautiful aircraft, of land usage, and tax payer money storing them. Donate some to museums, sell some to private pilots, give one or two to me, then melt down the rest and replant that land with some trees and grass.

OBIO

[paiken]

Just "across the street" from the boneyard is the Pima Air & Space Museum, one of this area's hidden treasures. The number of planes on display is impressive, and the ones being worked on "in back" are pretty impressive too. When I was there last year I saw a B58 and a B36 in the process of being restored. That radial in my avatar was taken there too. Unfortunately it was a rainy day, so most of my outdoor pics are pretty muddy.

[Navy Chief]

I always wanted to buy an old A-7 cockpit simulator. Years ago, I corresponded with a guy who had a USAF A-7D cockpit he was restoring. Lucky b......d.

NC

[safn1949]

Here is the info I found.

By 1981, with the exception of the A-7Ds used in the F-117A program, the last active-duty Corsairs were reassigned to ANG squadrons by the 23d Tactical Fighter Wing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23d_Wing) at England Air Force Base (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_Air_Force_Base), Louisiana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana). Many active duty pilots missed the performance and sophistication of the Corsair. The A-7Ds used by the 4450th Tactical Group in Nevada were either retired or sent to ANG units in 1989.
F-16s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-16_Fighting_Falcon) began replacing the Air National Guard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_National_Guard) Corsairs beginning in the late 1980s and the last were retired in 1993 by the ANG units at Rickenbacker ANGB (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickenbacker_Air_National_Guard_Base), (Ohio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio)); Des Moines International Airport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Moines_International_Airport)/ANGB, (Iowa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iowa)); Tulsa International Airport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_International_Airport)/ANGB, (Oklahoma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma)); and Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield-Beckley_Municipal_Airport)/ANGB, (Ohio).
U.S. Navy A-7 Corsairs began being phased out of the fleet during the mid-1980s with the arrival of the McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F/A-18_Hornet). The last Navy A-7s were retired by the last fleet operational squadrons (VA-46 and VA-72) in May 1991 shortly after their return from Operation Desert Storm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Storm).
Some of these surplus aircraft were passed to Greece (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece), Thailand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand) and Portugal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal); however by the end of 1998, with the exception of some airframes used as static displays, all US A-7s were disposed of by the AMARC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_Maintenance_and_Regeneration_Center) at Davis-Monthan AFB (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis-Monthan_AFB), Arizona.
The Hellenic Air Force purchased new A-7H aircraft in moderate numbers. The last two squadrons that used the aircraft were the 335th (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/335th_Bomber_Squadron_%28HAF%29) and 336th (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/336th_Bomber_Squadron_%28HAF%29). The A-7 remains still in limited operational use by the latter, as the type is gradually being retired, to be replaced by newly purchased F-16s.
The Portuguese Air Force selected the A-7P (modified A-7A/B models) and flew them extensively from 1981 onward. The reliability and exceptional range allowing unrefueled routine flights to the Madera Islands and Lajes AB (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lajes_AB) in the Azores.

[3/7charlie]

A few years back,at Victoria Air Maintenance, in Victoria, B.C, One of the Early T-28 customers there, Rich Sugden, I think, Was having an A-7 restored to airworthy status.Don't know what the status of the project is these days. How'd ya like to have that kind of cash. We had started a T-2 for the same bloke, I think, back when I was a sprog there in the early '90's.
3/7charlie

[Navy Chief]

Thank you, Safn1949, for your post!

A friend of mine, Fred Sanders, had sent me the A-7 picture. Fred is an ex USN A-7 pilot, and I correspond with him almost daily. I have previously posted cartoons that Fred drew.

NC

[PRB]

Wouldn't it be great if somebody made an A-7 for FSX? :bump:

[3/7charlie]

Wouldn't it be great if somebody made an A-7 for FSX? :bump:
IRIS, free ware. works perfectly in FSX, really, really nice!
3/7charlie

[djscoo]

Wouldn't it be great if somebody made an A-7 for FSX? :bump:
Razbam is...:kilroy:

[Navy Chief]

Razbam is...:kilroy:

Oh yes. RAZBAM is most definitely working on the SLUF!

I sent Ron every book, magazine, and document I had on the aircraft.

I can guarantee a LOT of work, and then some, is going into this one.

Go NAVAIR

Navy Chief

[Matt Wynn]

yay! SLUF.... but yeah saddens me to see them like this, think of the A-7 as your favourite dog, years of being loyal and always there, then the next day it's run away.... i'll always have fond memories of the A-7, back in Greece these were always one of my favourites to hear about, 335 'Tigers' used them, hope Razbam include a greek paint :jump:

[cheezyflier]

Wouldn't it be great if somebody made an A-7 for FSX? :bump:

one thing i never understood is why these boneyards haven't been modeled for fsx (or fs9 either)

[Terry]

one thing i never understood is why these boneyards haven't been modeled for fsx (or fs9 either)

There are one or two for FS9, search for boneyard, Tucson, Marana.
The scenery is on a smaller scale but they exist.

[GT182]

Chief, weren't they cut up for scrap like all the others there at Davis-Monthan AFB, or is it just storeage?

[safn1949]

I found a cool link showing the aircraft that were in storage as of 1995,the date of most of the photos.This appears to be were the above photo of the A-7's came from.

http://oldaircraftthroughouttheyears.fotopic.net/c860389.html

[Navy Chief]

Chief, weren't they cut up for scrap like all the others there at Davis-Monthan AFB, or is it just storeage?

I don't know if the remaining Corsair IIs have been cut up or not. I'd rather not know, to be honest!

Thank God for all the designers (both Freeware and Payware). Without their wonderful creations, we wouldn't be able to "relive" the days of working, and just being around these aircraft.

NC

[Wittpilot]

I have fond memories of watching the A-7s of the Ohio Air National Guard flying maneuvers over my home county...my childhood home was right smack dab in the middle of their flight zone. Of all the military jets that I have installed, which isn't all that many, the Iris freeware A-7 is the one I fly the most often.


OBIO


Was that up around Mansfield? There is a guard base here in Springfield, and my grandparents lived real close to it... I used to ride my bike out there and watch them to touch & goes.... they had a real big 'Open House' at the base when the A-7's left... can't imagine they would let that amount of people on the base nowadays......

[Odie]

Me too Chief - what an incredible waste of prime real estate ! What the hell are we saving 200-300 A-7's for ? We probably don't have many Navy jocks that are qualified anymore in them and NOBODY'S going to buy them.

Is there some other residual value that I'm unaware of that justifies the expense and use of space ?


If memory serves, I believe they actually reactivated several aircraft out of there that participated in the Iraq war.

[GT182]

I don't know if the remaining Corsair IIs have been cut up or not. I'd rather not know, to be honest!

Thank God for all the designers (both Freeware and Payware). Without their wonderful creations, we wouldn't be able to "relive" the days of working, and just being around these aircraft.

NC

Same here NC.... I'd like to think they're still around too.

And yes, thanks to them they are still around in our virtual flying world. :applause: And I have one. :d

[Toastmaker]

If memory serves, I believe they actually reactivated several aircraft out of there that participated in the Iraq war.


That would REALLY surprise me if you're talking about A-7's, given the wide range of mission capabilities ascribed to the F/A-18's and F-16's (and a few others).

[Navy Chief]

That would REALLY surprise me if you're talking about A-7's, given the wide range of mission capabilities ascribed to the F/A-18's and F-16's (and a few others).

Who knows why older aircraft are still utilized in some cases. Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River maintains (or used to maintain) some very old aircraft for test purposes.....

NC

[PRB]

Oh yes. RAZBAM is most definitely working on the SLUF!

I sent Ron every book, magazine, and document I had on the aircraft.

I can guarantee a LOT of work, and then some, is going into this one.

Go NAVAIR

Navy Chief

I know RAZBAM is. I was just trying to stir up trouble, since we haven't seen a WIP teaser pic in a while... :d

[OBIO]

Was that up around Mansfield? There is a guard base here in Springfield, and my grandparents lived real close to it... I used to ride my bike out there and watch them to touch & goes.... they had a real big 'Open House' at the base when the A-7's left... can't imagine they would let that amount of people on the base nowadays......

Witt,

This was back in my childhood days in South Central Ohio...Pike County. The Ohio ANG planes that flew over my house were based at Rickenbacker near Columbus. They were one of the last units to fly the A-7s in the US. Went to F-16s...nice plane, but no match for the A-7 in terms of style and beauty.

OBIO

[Sascha66]

Me too Chief - what an incredible waste of prime real estate ! What the hell are we saving 200-300 A-7's for ? We probably don't have many Navy jocks that are qualified anymore in them and NOBODY'S going to buy them.

Is there some other residual value that I'm unaware of that justifies the expense and use of space ?

I thought you had space to spare in the states!:bump:

However, that is an impressive demonstration of military might !

Sascha

[Toastmaker]

Well, yeah, I guess we've got the space. It just seems wasteful -


:running:

[Railrunner130]

http://www.amarcexperience.com/

[AckAck]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone call desert Arizona prime real estate before! :d

Although it does have the characteristics desirable for mothballing aircraft - hardly any moisture chief among them.

Brian

[Navy Chief]

I know RAZBAM is. I was just trying to stir up trouble, since we haven't seen a WIP teaser pic in a while... :d

Although I haven't stayed in contact with Ron lately, I do ping him about the Sluf's progress. He has a lot of irons in the fire.

NC