So you remember Spad's

[Tom-ADC]

This is a A1H, I flew in A1E's great airplane.
http://www.clipwings.com/index.php?c...o&video_id=971

[Kraschenbirn]

Yep...ugly ol' sucker but it could could sure lay down some serious hurt. For a couple weeks not long after '68 Tet, we shared a parking ramp at Da Nang with the "Sandys"; the guys who flew close cover for the "Jolly Green Giants" (HH-53 search and rescue birds). Seemed like every one of their pilots had been booted out of somewhere else for...either for flight safety violations or "conduct unbecoming...".

Bill

(Tom, your threads have almost got me ready to open a box or two that have been gathering dust for over almost 40 years. I carried a mini-35mm Canon (half-frame) everywhere and must have a thousand or so pics...mostly Kodacolor slides...sitting on a closet shelf.)

[Boz330]

Outstanding and it is a tail dragger as well. Ain't no sound like a big radial engine.

Bob

[Gun-adian]

Ain't that the truth. Back in September (I think) we were in Bellingham, Washington for our weekly Costco run when an A-1 flew over with a P-51 on his tail. We were on the I-5, just passing the airport. The air around us was rumbling. Awesome sound!!!!

I wanted to pull into the airport to watch them land, but we were short on time that day. Too bad. It would've been a great photo-op.

[Tom-ADC]

I recall being a plane captain back in 63-64 those radial engines had to be started and run at least every three days if they hadn't flown, I was turned qual'd on everything we had but the Spad's were the most fun, you had to be on guard when the engine first started that it wouldn't try to rev up real hard a problem caused by moving the throttle forward when the mixture was moved to off, the map regulator would stick and zoom went the engine until oil pressure came up, one of the reasons the tail was tied down.

Kraschenbirn I know what you mean I shot loads of black and white back then, got the film for free.

[flhroy]

18 years old right out of high school and attending aviation fundamentals school in Millington, TN. My knees were knocking big time as I was directing a Spad on a flight line. That was my first time directing an aircraft and that big @ss prop had my attention. I've had a special place in my heart for the Able Dog ever since.

Go here => http://mofak.com/tins_tales.htm for a few wild stories involving the venerable AD-1

Take Care

[TCLouis]

Kraschenbirn

They were "rejects" from the dignified jet jockey world, but I bet they knew how to get down where the action was and mix it up with problematic enemy ground troops.

I love it when one of the old fighters go by on their way to BNA or MQY, there is NOTHING that sounds like one of the old warbirds.

I forgot where I read it yesterday but there was a good story of a pilot with what training they got shot down in his 51, going to a German airfield, figuring out how to start a Folk wulf and learn to fly is as things came along, he made it back to his base in England.

The story had to be repeated many ties in Clubs over the years

[Frank46]

Send in the sandy's. Flight of the intruder Frank

[casterofboolits]

Didn't a Spad score on a Mig 17?

[Kraschenbirn]

Didn't a Spad score on a Mig 17?

Yep! Don't recall all the details but the SPAD was somewhere north of the DMZ escorting a Jolly Green when a pair of Migs showed up. As the Migs rolled in on their first firing pass, the SPAD driver turned into them...head on...and salvo'd all of his 2.75" air-to-ground rockets (28 or 56 tubes, depending upon his ordanance load-out) into the Mig's flight path. One Mig down with the other departing the area, post haste.

Bill

[Tom-ADC]

Didn't a Spad score on a Mig 17?

Two US Navy Propeller driven A1 Skyraiders shared an aerial kill of a NVAF MiG17 on 20 June 1965. This air action was recently depicted on televison's "dog-fight" series under the caption of "Vietnam Gun Kills." As shown on the TV program, a NVAF MiG17 closed head on into two USN Skyraiders...all three aircraft firing all of their guns. The two A1's were wing tip to wing tip and the MiG17 burst into flames, and flew just between the two oncoming A1's, barely missing either plane. The MiG continued on, impacting into a hillside. Both A1 pilot's recieved a "shared kill."

The only solo aerial victory by an A1 Skyraider was flown by USN Ltjg William T. Patton. He shot down his MiG 17 jet aircraft on 09 October 1966 using his 20mm cannons. Patton entered a cloud, and upon exiting it, he observed the NVAF pilot floating to earth in his parachute. That was enough to confirm his kill, as he didn't actually see the MiG crash nor burn.

Patton's A1, cowling #409, was released as a Radio Controlled flying model in 2008 by Kondor. The model airplane uses a 4-stroke glow fuel powered internal combustion engine, and has a 70 inch wingspan.

[Bad Water Bill]

IIRC one took off from Japan with the wings folded. Reached 150 feet before anyone noticed. He landed safely.

In Korea they dropped everything but THE KITCHEN SINK.You guessed it someone rigged up a sink and they dropped it on the N Koreans.

I watched them land day and night on the USS Randolph. Almost hovered over the deck before they touched down. Memories Memories

[onondaga]

I fly some RC planes and love the S.P.A.D.S. Check out all the free plans at this site. I have flown a few of the novelty and 3D models:

http://spadtothebone.com/freeplans.htm

Gary

[Maven]

I walked around one of those up (in Navy blue paint) at the EAA show in Oshkosh in the mid '90's. It was an impressively large aircraft!

[Bad Water Bill]

Tom Was the E the model that was set up for 5 crew members to play with stuff ??? behind the cockpit?

[Pavogrande]

Thanks for the memories chief - they were just AD's in my time. When I was in CAG19, vf-195 had them and we (vf191) had FJ-3's. We also had a wierd one (vf192 ) called a cutlass.
Fasron had a AD5 - 6placec- which we used for small transport to fallon or knights landing.
My other ride was the R7V while in vr-7 (MATS}. The connie replaced our r5d's and used 4 r3350's though not the same dash numberas the AD.
gb -- ad2 --

[wallenba]

The Sandy, one of the great ones. My dad always said, "real airplanes have round engines and props son".

[wallenba]

The only solo aerial victory by an A1 Skyraider was flown by USN Ltjg William T. Patton. He shot down his MiG 17 jet aircraft on 09 October 1966 using his 20mm cannons. Patton entered a cloud, and upon exiting it, he observed the NVAF pilot floating to earth in his parachute. That was enough to confirm his kill, as he didn't actually see the MiG crash nor burn.

Patton's A1, cowling #409, was released as a Radio Controlled flying model in 2008 by Kondor. The model airplane uses a 4-stroke glow fuel powered internal combustion engine, and has a 70 inch wingspan.

I remember that, somehow I always thought his name was Crosley. I'll have to remember. Patton...Patton...Patton.

[fecmech]

What engine did they have in that, a 3350 or 4360??

[AZ-Stew]

When you wrote "Spad" the first thing that came to mind was this:



Never heard one of those aluminum contraptions called a "Spad".

Regards,

Stew