Career highlight

[Eagle]

I have a few career highlights over 44 yrs in Aviation. One,,, was working Flight test on the A-10. Learned to love this aircraft for it's simplicity and reliability. One of our responsibilities was to take the aircraft down to the gun range to bore sight the Cannon at 1000 yards. The gun used so much hydraulic power both engines had to be running to power the engine driven pumps. The A-10 is not a high thrust aircraft ..The engines only produce 18,0000 lbs of thrust but when you pull the trigger of the GAU8 the resulting recoil is 10,000 lbs. In the cockpit all instruments would go crazy.. and your feet would bounce on the rudder pedals.. Watch the Whiskey compass on the right when he fires the gun.  You know when he fires it,,,yo can hear the BRRRRRRTTTTT... Also another feature is the flight controls..Watch the ailerons during maneuvering ...look a little different don't they ? That's because they are Decelerons ..If you watch close you can see them open like a clamshell.. They work as ailerons and Speed brakes..Fantastic airplane,,just ask any ground troops that are pinned down in a combat situation..Enjoy the video..If you like that one we will go to Wales to the Mach loop. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Andyman]

I've always had a fondness for the A-10. The fish eye lens in the cockpit threw me there for a bit seeing "angled" wings. Did you actually handle any of the depleted uranium rounds?

[Morbius]

Wonderful Mark!  Thanks for posting this.

 

[RoboDerby]

Awesome Mark! Very cool aircraft. I believe they had quite a number of these at Davis Monthan AFB. I used to see them daily growing up in Tucson,AZ.