Recently, an A-7 came up for sale in the civilian market. And I missed it.
It's just as well as I don't think I could have flown it smoothly with only one arm and leg. But I would have tried. Yes, indeed, I would have tried.
Though the airplane bore the name "Corsair II" in honor of her great uncle, the F4U Corsair, the nickname the A-7 took in practice was "SLUF." Short for, Short Little Ugly...Feller. Yet, I distinctly remember seeing A-7s in service and to me, there was nothing ugly about them. The thick-set, high-winged machine was an unmistakable shape that said, "I'm in for the fight." Of all the SDANG jets, the A-7 is my favorite.
In practice, the A-7 was not a fast aircraft. In fact, the most widely used versions were subsonic. As a dogfighter, it didn't particularly excel either. Though maneuverable enough, her high-wing is designed to bring the airplane the stability necessary for weaponry. In this role, SLUF did her job admirably. With 8 hardpoints (6 under the wings, 2 on the fuselage) the little beast could shoulder over seven tons of weaponry into the air. Iron bombs, laser-guided weaponry, air-to-air missiles and even nukes.
For the SDANG, the F-16 replaced the A-7. That had to be a strange moment for the pilots - to go from thick & muddy to sleek & clean. As a role-airplane, there's no doubt the F-16 is a leap ahead. Yet for me, the prospect of sitting out there in front, with a burner in the back...like I wrote in the intro, if another comes up for sale, I'll be the happy guy hobbling on the ramp in crutches.
You know what's next...
