Scooters Forever (A-4 Skyhawk Tribute Thread)

[zipmartin]

Thanks for the great information, guys. Much appreciated! Zipmartin, does the Navair ops manual have any drawings or diagrams showing where the pouch was located that you might be able to scan and either post or e-mail me? Let me know and I will provide you with my e-mail address. Or, does anyone have any cockpit pictures showing the strap or pouch?

Thanks again.

I checked all of my books and manuals......sorry, no pics.

 

[rondebmar]

Flew the A1, A4, & A7 ...IIRC, stepped on the seat going in, getting out of all of them...very few options for a guy measuring 5½' ! :-(

No canopy strap on A4B/C in 1966.

 

[Catmando]

...

No canopy strap on A4B/C in 1966.

Maybe that is why I couldn't remember messing with it in my A-C.

 

[brownshoe]

Flew the A1, A4, & A7 ...IIRC, stepped on the seat going in, getting out of all of them...very few options for a guy measuring 5½' ! :-(

No canopy strap on A4B/C in 1966.

Nor the E model.

While crawling in and out of an A4, I always stepped on the seat. I never saw anyone who didn’t, just really wasn’t any easy way to get in and out of that tight cockpit. Oh yeah… and to check the oil I/we always hopped up on a drop tank fin, where “NO STEP” was stenciled, to get onto the wing.

 

[Ronl]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great responses to my question regarding whether you stepped on the seat when getting in and out of the A-4 cockpit. It sure sounds like it was a cozy cockpit. Regarding the canopy restraint strap, thanks again to zipmartin for the great information regarding AFC 339 which covers the installation of the canopy restraint strap. I contacted the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola and they sent me a Navair document that indicated that the canopy restraint strap was introduced on the A-4E effective June 30, 1966. I presume it was retrofittd to older aircraft from that date on.

I am attaching a link that has some great A-4 pictures. In some of them, you can the canopy restraint strap being used. I have also seen some pictures of A-4M's with the canopy strap in use. I will keep looking for some cockpit pictures showing the strap and storage pouch and will try to post a picture or provide a link if I find some.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/a-4-pics.htm

Regards,

Ron

 

[brownshoe]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the great responses to my question regarding whether you stepped on the seat when getting in and out of the A-4 cockpit. It sure sounds like it was a cozy cockpit. Regarding the canopy restraint strap, thanks again to zipmartin for the great information regarding AFC 339 which covers the installation of the canopy restraint strap. I contacted the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola and they sent me a Navair document that indicated that the canopy restraint strap was introduced on the A-4E effective June 30, 1966. I presume it was retrofittd to older aircraft from that date on.

I am attaching a link that has some great A-4 pictures. In some of them, you can the canopy restraint strap being used. I have also seen some pictures of A-4M's with the canopy strap in use. I will keep looking for some cockpit pictures showing the strap and storage pouch and will try to post a picture or provide a link if I find some.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/a-4-pics.htm

Regards,

Ron

Just to let you know, Ron, my squadron was the east coast A4 RAG, it wasn’t unusual for 44 to have 70 or 80 aircraft, B’s, C’s and E’s. I can promise you (at least until December of 67) no E’s in our squadron had the straps you’re talking about.

 

[Ronl]

Hi Brownshoe,

Thanks for the information. I can only surmise that the modifications started in 1966 and took a while to be implemented. I have found a couple of interesting pictures. Here is a cockpit shot from a New Zealand A-4. The strap and pouch can be seen on the right side of the cockpit. Hope this uploads ok.

Ron

 

[Ronl]

Here are two Marine A-4Ms taxing in. The canopy strap is visible on both aircraft.

Ron

 

[Ronl]

Here's a nice picture of an A-4F with the stap visible.

 

[Ronl]

Nice picture of two A-4Fs. Canopy strap visible on both.

 

[Ronl]

One more nice picture.

 

[Ronl]

Hi Guys,

Boy, this thread has been quite for quite a while. I sure didn't mean to stop it.

One more question regarding the canopy restraining strap. Does anyone know why the strap wasn't used much on the A-4M? The A-4M canopy was modified with a different front piece and a larger canopy than the E and F. I'm thinking maybe the hinges were stronger and it was decided that the strap wasn't necessary. I have communicated with a few A-4M pilots and they remember the strap being used when the A-4M was initially introduced (early 70's), but then the strap was not used much after that. Neither can recall for sure the reason why it wasn't used. Maybe the fact the A-4M wasn't used on a carrier (wind over deck, jet blast, etc) had something to do with it. If anyone has any ideas or answers, I would be interested in any information that could be provided.

Thanks in advance.

Ron

One more nice picture.

 

[BusyBee604]

Does anyone know why the strap wasn't used much on the A-4M?

Well Ron, gotta say I flew the Scooter for 16 years...A-4B/C/E/Fs and we always used the strap after it was incorporated in the early '60s. I haven't a clue as to why they wouldn't/didn't utilize them. Even the Marine A-4M dudes couldn't say why. BTW, the TA-4F/Js had a hydraulic canopy, hence no strap required.

Actually, the A-4 had many interesting, innovative & unique systems/features for its time. The canopy strap was NOT one of them!
BzB

 

[blackbart22]

We had a NA-4E at China Lake that we used to chase BQM-34s. It had an E fuselage sitting on C wings. It had no C/B panels in the cockpit. Guess they didn't want the drivers using them as switches as we did in F-9s.

 

[BusyBee604]

It had no C/B panels in the cockpit.

If C/B panels means (circuit breakers??), I don't remember any circuit breakers in the Scooters I flew. I may be getting senile, however!
BzB,
lacking 'total recall'