Happy Monday!

We had a good time at the Fly in Breakfast yesterday held at the Dubuque Regional Airport.  We met Angie, Ben, and the Grand kids there for breakfast and to look at all the planes.  We didn’t get there until a little after 10 a.m. so some of the experimental planes were gone.

The highlight for me (plane wise) was this amazing Douglas A-1 Skyraider from the Vietnam War era. This is the Navy’s version of the aircraft.

Vietnam War 

• Top speed: 322 mph
• Wingspan: 50′
• Weight: 10,470 lbs
• Length: 39′
• Introduced: 1950
• Engine type: Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone
• Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company

As American involvement in the Vietnam War began, the A-1 Skyraider was still the medium attack aircraft in many carrier air wings, although it was planned to be replaced by the A-6A Intruder as part of the general switch to jet aircraft. Skyraiders from Constellation and Ticonderoga participated in the first U.S. Navy strikes against North Vietnam on 5 August 1964 as part of Operation Pierce Arrow in response to the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, striking against fuel depots at Vinh, with one Skyraider from Ticonderoga damaged by anti-aircraft fire, and a second from Constellation shot down, killing its pilot.

During the war, U.S. Navy Skyraiders shot down two North Vietnamese Air Force (NVAF) Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 jet fighters: one on 20 June 1965, a victory shared by Lieutenant Clinton B. Johnson and Lieutenant, junior grade Charles W. Hartman III of VA-25;^[17] and one on 9 October 1966 by LTJG William T. Patton of VA-176.^[12] Using their cannons, this was the first gun kill of Vietnam. While on his very first mission, Navy pilot LTJG Dieter Dengler took damage to his A-1H over Vietnam on 1 February 1966, and crash-landed in Laos.^[18]

As they were released from U.S. Navy service, Skyraiders were introduced into the South Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF). They were also used by the USAF to perform one of the Skyraider’s most famous roles: the “Sandy” helicopter escort on combat rescues.^[19] USAF Major Bernard F. Fisher piloted an A-1E on 10 March 1966 mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing Major “Jump” Myers at A Shau Special Forces Camp.^[20] USAF Colonel William A. Jones, III piloted an A-1H on 1 September 1968 mission for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In that mission, despite damage to his aircraft and suffering serious burns, he returned to his base and reported the position of a downed U.S. airman. (source Wikipedia.)

I was standing within the allowed area when he started up that big radial engine.  The prop wash actually blew me backwards even though I was ready for it.  It is unbelievable how much air that big engine and those 4 blades create.

A few more images to show you later in the week but that’s it for today.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  Enjoy your day (it looks like another great day weather wise) and be careful.