A-10 Warthog Week Ends On Memorial Day

 

 It's Memorial Day, and this special week of looking at the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) is coming to an end.  It's quite fitting actually because fighting tools like the A-10 are built and operated to preserve freedom... and freedom is what those who have lost their life in U.S. Military service were fighting for.  War is ugly, war is painful, but war is a constant in the human experience.  Since the beginning of time, man has fought against man.  And while the hope for peace is a wonderful thing, we must always be prepared to fight to protect what is good.  Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember those who were prepared, and sacrificed their life.  May we all live like everyday is Memorial Day. 

'A-10 Warthog week' comes to an end

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th and 13th

   The pic above shows an A-10 in the green camo paint that was used in the late 70's and thru the 80's.  It also gives a great overview of the design elements that make the Warthog so much different than all other modern military aircraft.  Two turbofan engines mounted high and outside the fuselage give excellent protection against foreign object damage from poor runway conditions.  The turbofan engines blow a lot of cool air around the hot exhaust gases which helps to reduce the infrared signature, and the twin vertical tails provide additional infrared shielding, while also providing a redundancy that can be very important in an aircraft likely to be hit by ground fire.

 The offset nose gear is easy to see in this picture, along with the fact that the 30mm cannon is mounted on the aircraft centerline.  The main landing gear retracts forward into the pods that hang just below the wing.  This keeps the wing structure from being interrupted by the gear legs making it much easier to build a strong wing.  The main gear tires even remain partially exposed when fully retracted for greater simplicity and to provide reduced damage to the airframe in the event of having to land with the wheels up.  The excellent visibility from the forward mounted cockpit is easy to see, but the titanium 'bathtub' that surrounds the pilot isn't.  This protective armor is designed to provide the pilot protection from 23mm cannon fire.

 This view shows vast array of locations for mounting missiles and bombs on the underside of the wing.  You can also see the substantial trailing edge flaps along with the split ailerons (decelerons) that also act as dive brakes.  A false canopy is painted on the fuselage bottom to make it harder to tell which side is up when the airplane is in combat.

 An excellent view of the decelerons in the fully deployed position is seen here.  With that much deflection, they must be extremely effective in providing aerodynamic braking!  The relatively slender aft fuselage is visible here as well.

 The A-10 Warthog has proven itself to be a very effective military aircraft, and with a program that's just getting underway to replace the wings with upgraded ones that are even stronger, the A-10 is expected to continue to be serviceable until at least 2028.

 The odd looking airplane that dared to be very different is now considered an extremely successful military aircraft.

 Only one 2 seat A-10 was built in 1979 and it wasn't as a trainer.  The Warthog proved to be easy enough to fly that no trainer version was needed.  This airplane was built to demonstrate the capabilities of the A-10 to be used in Night Adverse Weather (NAW) conditions.  The addition of a second crew member and an additional radar pod and FLIR pod were thought to make the airplane well suited to the task.  It may have been, but the USAF wasn't interested in buying the aircraft.

 There will certainly be more A-10 posts yet to come as this amazing airplane continues to fly for many years to come.  There are also many additional interesting features of it that weren't cover in 'A-10 Warthog Week', so we'll just have to get to them later.  I also hope to get some great pix and additional info on June 12th and 13th at the Indy Air Show... you can expect a few great A-10 posts to come out of that : )

  (click pic for hi-res)

Video: More Amazing Turbine Powered A-10 Warthog RC Models

 'A-10 Warthog Week' is gonna continue until Memorial Day when we will honor those who have lost their lives serving in the U.S. Military.  It's also a great time to remember and honor those who have served and are serving now. THANK YOU.

 For a little bit of fun, here's a couple more A-10 RC model videos to check out.  The first one above has a fantastically detailed model with turbine engines, and even some sort of dummy fans (that look like they even spin?) just inside the nacelles to make it look that much more real.  This model also has decelerons, ailerons that split to also act as dive brakes, just like the real A-10!  It's also built pretty stinkin' tough, just like a real Warthog... if you watch it all, you'll see it lose several parts and experience some serious inflight flutter, but no catastrophic failure!  What an airplane : )

 This video isn't quite as exciting since the airplane doesn't seem to lose any parts inflight,(!) but it's very cool because it looks so real in flight.  The twin turbines even sound very scale.  I'm beginning to think the Warthog is just about the best aircraft to build to create the most realistic appearnce in flight.   These guys have done some amazing work!

 More 'A-10 Warthog Week' yet to come!

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th and 13th 

Sink Your Teeth Into The Many Faces Of The USAF A-10 Warthog!

 

'A-10 Warthog Week' at AirPigz

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th and 13th 

 Nose art has made a bit of a comeback in the last 20 years, and the A-10 Warthog is perfectly suited to putting a mouth on the front end to accentuate that massive 30mm GAU-8 cannon.  The simple shark teeth design like shown above is one of the most common seen on A-10's.  I think these kind of teeth looked great on the P-40 and other aircraft from WWII, but it's hard to argue with the way it's taken to the extreme here on the Warthog with the ability to spit serious firepower out of that mouth!

 This mouth design is also a common one seen on many A-10's, and it picks up on the teeth and tusk concept from the real live Warthog.  It's simple, bold, and effective... and again, any mouth that can spit 30mm bullets is a mouth you need to respect.

 I'm not sure how common this design is, but I really like the intensity that it projects.  Far more stylized than the designs above, this one really has a personality.  The general lack of contrast in the colors tho certainly reduces it's visibility, especially if you were seeing this from the ground as the Hawg is chasing you down.

 Another early design with a Warthog theme to it.  This one even includes some ears, but I think it lacks a little in the overall 'bite' department. 

 The red, white, and black shark teeth as seen in the top pic don't go whole hog (hehe) with the proper animal theme, but for overall scary attack factor, coupled with that massive cannon, I think it's the best mouth an A-10 Warthog can have!

WarthogNews.blogspot.com - Chronicle Of The USAF A-10 Culture

Warthog News is a fabulous resource about the US Air Force A-10 culture

 'A-10 Warthog Week' at Airpigz

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th & 13th

 My research for info on the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Warthog in these last several days has lead me many times to the really comprehensive website called Warthog News.  This site has a huge amount of great photos plus loads of info related to the active deployment of the USAF A-10's around the world.  But even more than that, you get a real feel for the human culture that surrounds these military operations.

 If you have any genuine interest in the Warthog, I highly recommend you spend some time following the extensive daily postings at this blog.

 And, hang in there with me as I hope to crank out several more A-10 posts as 'A-10 Warthog Week' moves on toward the Memorial Day weekend.

The unique externally mounted twin engines of the A-10 Warthog

A-10 Deception Canopy Painted On The Aircraft Underside

More of 'A-10 Warthog Week'

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th & 13th

 Here's a really simple way to confuse the enemy and potentially save your life for about a dollars worth of paint... put a false canopy on the bottom of the airplane to keep 'em guessing which side is up.  As this photo shows, it's pretty easy from certain angles to be deceived into thinking that you're looking at the top of the airplane.  

 Whether you're dealing with air to air combat or a ground based attack, any means you have to keep the enemy confused is a good idea.  You can just imagine in a tense situation with fast moving airplanes that this dandy little deception could be all the more effective.

 The shape of the A-10 seems to make this simple tactic work extremely well.  This is a pretty common sight on Warthogs these days and has been made viable by the fact that the airplanes have moved away from the early dark green camo paint schemes used back in the 80's to this light, 2-tone gray treatment.  The first Gulf War showed that the dark airplanes were a little too easy to spot against the light backgrounds.  The green camo paint was primarily designed to be effective when viewed from above over wooded areas, while the current threat is far greater from the ground.

 I think it's pretty amazing how a simple application of just a little bit of paint can make such a big impact.  

 Lots more A-10 uniqueness details coming soon.

CoolPix - Modern Military: Getting To Know The GAU-8 (The A-10 Nose Cannon)

(click pic for hi-res)

‘A-10 Warthog Week’ continues with a CoolPix 4-pack…

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th & 13th

 To understand the history of the Farchild-Republic A-10’s design, you really need to start with General Electric GAU-8 Avenger gatling-gun weapon, as the airplane was really designed and built around this huge 30mm cannon.  Interestingly, the GAU-8 wasn’t completed and operational when both the prototype YA-10A and the Northrop YA-9A first flew in 1972.  The gun was being developed in parallel to these two contenders for the ’Attack Experimental’ competition being held by the Air Force in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  Both prototype aircraft flew originally with the GE M61 Vulcan gun, a 20mm cannon similar to the upcoming GAU-8 but nowhere near as powerful.

  The complete GAU-8 system with full load of ammunition weighs in at just over 4,000 pounds which is about 16% of the A-10’s empty weight.  This gun and its bullets really are a significant part of the airplane.  The gun can unload those 30mm projectiles very quickly as well, at a rate of 3,900 rounds per minute, which means you could empty the entire load (1,174 rounds max) very fast if you don’t go easy on the trigger finger!  Warthog pilots say they never get tired of pulling that trigger, as the thrill of unleashing that kind of firepower never gets old.

 (click pic for hi-res)

 The rather amazing picture above really puts the size of the GAU-8 system into perspective… it’s pretty honkin’ huge!  The 7 rotating barrels measure 90.5 inches long, and the entire system from muzzle to the back end of the ammunition system is 19 feet 5.5 inches overall.  The large cylinder at the rear is the magazine where the ammunition is stored - typically 1,150 rounds.

 The gun is mounted on the airplane centerline to enhance accuracy, which also means that the nose wheel is offset to the side - one of many A-10 trademark features.  The  muzzle velocity is 3,500 feet per second and the gun is known for being extremely accurate.  One major innovation in the system was in using aluminum for the shell cases which allowed for significant weight reduction, a big advantage when dealing with systems for aircraft.  Many large challenges related to firing so many large bullets out the nose of a flying airplane had to be overcome, including an early problem of the firing gases causing engine flameouts, but in the end, a fantastically functional, reliable and accurate system was developed.

 (click pic for hi-res)

The GAU-8 is an amazing piece of firepower that has been very happily married to the A-10 airframe to create one of the most impressive and effective military aircraft ever.  It’s a very capable and dangerous combination that puts anything on the ground, especially tanks, in great peril.

 I highly recommend you read the wikipedia entry for the GUA-8 as it’s filled with many interesting technical details about the cannon.  And, watch for more of ’A-10 Warthog Week’!

 (click pic for hi-res)  The A-10's amazing GAU-8 gatling gun cannon

Video: 'A-10 Warthog Week' Begins With A Smokin' Airshow Demo

Catch the Air Combat Command A-10 East Demo Team
at the Indy Air Show June 12th & 13th

AirPigz 'A-10 Warthog Week' Begins! 

 This excellent video was shot just last month at the Bluebonnet Airshow northwest of Austin, Texas.  It features a fab aerial demonstration of the Fairchild A-10 Warthog (officially the Thunderbolt ll) put on by the Air Combat Command's West Demo Team.  This is all especially relevant since the East Demo Team will be putting on a similar demo at the Indianapolis Air Show in just a few weeks on June 12th and 13th.  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing the A-10 put on a show like this : )

 This video also officially kicks off 'A-10 Warthog Week' where in addition to regular posts, you'll find a post on this unique anti-tank airplane each day this week.  This ferocious A-10 CoolPix from a couple weeks back kinda got this all started... that's when I realized that this airplane had so many interesting features to it that it really deserves a week of attention.  

 One feature to catch in this video are the decelerons, ailerons that are split so they can also be deployed up and down at the same time to act as air brakes, in addition to providing roll control.  Toward the end of the video this can be seen as the airplane pulls up sharply after a fast pass and the decelerons are deployed.  The scene immediately after of the landing also gives a good view of them, especially at touchdown when they are fully deployed.

 Lots more to come as 'A-10 Warthog Week' is just getting started!