A-5 Vigilante

[Mumbles]

This is a link to the Tailhook Daily Briefing "Flight Deck Fridays"....
a very nice write up on the Vigi... The first time I saw one up close was behing the old NMONA hangar at Pcola and since then I've seen them on a stick at Millington and Pax River. Very sexy aeroplane.

http://tailhookdaily.typepad.com/tailhook_daily_briefing/2008/10/flightdeck-frid.html#more

 

[MIDNJAC]

One of the coolest aircraft to serve off a flight deck IMO. IIRC from reading about it, the thing had one of the first operational analog fly-by-wire systems....

 

[stalk]

Agreed. When I was a young pup that or the Phantom was what I wanted to fly. By the time I got to boat school the Vigi was already on the way out. I was told that the A-5 was originally designed for "tactical nuclear attack" from the tube between the engines but had problems with the weapons "following" them during supersonic delivery. Due to the problems they were converted into Recce birds. Don't know if it's true but I'm sure somebody here knows the real story.

 

[A4sForever]

.... Don't know if it's true but I'm sure somebody here knows the real story.

Oh ... it's true. It takes some of the "fun" out of NUKING someone when you do a perfect LABS delivery and while you're goin' straight up you look out the side and see your supposed dear, departed Mk-28 flyin' form on you ....

A GREAT show was when the VIGI would do a low high-speed pass by the flight deck while dumping fuel, tap burner .... result: a 300-400 foot Roman Candle trail that you would not believe ...

 

[Mumbles]

Oh ... it's true. It takes some of the "fun" out of NUKING someone when you do a perfect LABS delivery and while you're goin' straight up you look out the side and see your supposed dear, departed Mk-28 flyin' form on you ....

A GREAT show was when the VIGI would do a low high-speed pass by the flight deck while dumping fuel, tap burner .... result: a 300-400 foot Roman Candle trail that you would not believe ...

Kind of like the "world's largest zippo lighter"?? BTW... I know the USN already had the mighty Intruder, but why not turn at least a few A-5s into high speed, penetrator-interdictor type platform ala the F-111, the Brit TSR2 that was canceled, or the Tornado??

 

[stalk]

Oh ... it's true. It takes some of the "fun" out of NUKING someone when you do a perfect LABS delivery and while you're goin' straight up you look out the side and see your supposed dear, departed Mk-28 flyin' form on you ....

I hate it when that happens...

A GREAT show was when the VIGI would do a low high-speed pass by the flight deck while dumping fuel, tap burner .... result: a 300-400 foot Roman Candle trail that you would not believe ...

Saw a hornet do that in the mid 80's followed by a 7G pullup...burnt the tail and helped add to some NATOPS restrictions.

 

[phrogdriver]

Can you imagine the media uproar today? "The US Navy purchased a fleet of A-5 Vigilante aircraft for tactical nuclear strikes, but found out they couldn't drop bombs, so they turned it into a reconaissance plane... The Navy had no comment."

There were a lot of cool birds back then, but even some of cool ones didn't work out so well. Most of the aircraft didn't seem to have that long a service life. The few that did succeed are the ones we remember.

 

[Redux]

The Vigi was BIG and fast on the roof. Almost as big as a Whale but it breathed a lot of fire so anywhere near the JBD's was nowhere to be because the air got HOT aft of the cat.

Should the "bomb bay can" decide to pop out, it was like playing dodgeball with a 4 foot sphere of fire! That might sound like bullshit story but it ain't. The cans sometimes decided to leave on their own.

At any rate when it was "clean" it was a purdy somebitch in flight and fast too. If memory serves me right the vertical stab (one solid pivoting piece) folded over about midway in order to clear the hangar deck.

A4 is right about the fuel dump with AB, they did "simulated" shoot downs during "dependents day cruises". Looked pretty neat and the Phantom always won. .

 

[Blutonski816]

I know the USN already had the mighty Intruder, but why not turn at least a few A-5s into high speed, penetrator-interdictor type platform ala the F-111, the Brit TSR2 that was canceled, or the Tornado??

Prolly not cost effective. Remember, this was around the McNamara era...
I read that the Vigi only had to wing pylons for drop tanks. I'm sure with structural work it could have had some nice conventional attack capability. I figure that at that time the A-6 and A-7 were already in full production and the Navy prolly wouldn't want to spend the $$ to give a third role to an airplane that wasn't particularly good at its originally-designed one.
If the navy wanted an F-111-esque airplane, I'm sure McNamara woulda just said "How 'bout an F-111?"

At any rate when it was "clean" it was a purdy somebitch in flight and fast too. If memory serves me right the vertical stab (one solid pivoting piece) folded over about midway in order to clear the hangar deck.

North American's original design had two shorter stabs (ala Tomcat). But the Navy wasn't too keen on it and told them to make it one big folding job.



All that aside it looks like a beautiful machine and fits in that odd category of pointy-nose, Afterburning jets that aren't fighters.
:icon_smil

 

[JIMC5499]

If the navy wanted an F-111-esque airplane, I'm sure McNamara woulda just said "How 'bout an F-111?"

Uhhh! The F-111 was originally meant for the Navy.

 

[Blutonski816]

^ that's sorta what I meant...

After the FADF version being totally shitcanned, it woulda been odd to ask for a plane that did the same job as the AF version of the F-111...


and let's be fair here... to say the F-111 was meant for the navy is like saying a spork was meant for eating Tomato soup...

 

[CWJones411]

...but to be fair some tomato soups have little chunks of tomato in them so a spork would perform admirably when it came to consuming that part.

 

[Uncle Fester]

The Viggie was the sexiest airplane the Navy ever flew, hands-down. Sumbitch looked fast just sitting on deck.

Driving past the Viggie-on-a-stick in Fallon, one of the FNGs says, "What's that plane? Some kinda one-tail prototype Tomcat?"

Kids today.

 

[scoolbubba]

The Viggie was the sexiest airplane the Navy ever flew, hands-down. Sumbitch looked fast just sitting on deck.

Driving past the Viggie-on-a-stick in Fallon, one of the FNGs says, "What's that plane? Some kinda one-tail prototype Tomcat?"

Kids today.

I do like the Viggie, but I'm a prop kid and Vought Corsairs take me from six to midnight anytime I'm lucky enough to see one fly.

What do I know though? Pretty plane, me likey.

 

[A4sForever]

The only really "bad" thing about the VIG (rhymes w/ "bridge") was this little window on the left behind the canopy and the guy who's entire airborne world was unfortunately defined by it:

Oh yeah ... and having to make a photo-pass over the target after the strike package had done its work; you know -- when all the Gomers were REALLY stirred up ... now, that was "bad", too .... and landing on the BOAT, that was "bad" ... and/or landing at night on the BOAT ... or having to make a manual approach to the BOAT day OR night when the autothrottles went out (frequent occurrence) ... and that silly little nosewheel steering module that liked to crap out after arrestment .... and ... and ... and ....

But still ... a great bird.