[STARMAN 352ND]

Even better make one with this Tigershark nose art.
JP

[mustangdriver]

That is cool.

[Shawn 507]

It doesn't look right to me. Its like trying to put the wrong decal on the wrong plane. Surely the 60's era airmen could've come up with thier own version of a sharks mouth for the A-1.
- Shawn

[STARMAN 352ND]

After searching i found that belly looking thing on the skyraider....
I don't like that belly very much.
JP

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

After searching i found that belly looking thing on the skyraider....
I don't like that belly very much.
JP

That would be an 'understatement'!

[Shawn 507]

Some goober out there does. Unfortunately I see these being shelf queens forever. I would only take one if it were free and I could pop that belly device off and do a repaint. This could be a bad move for GA. But what do I know?
- Shawn

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by Shawn 507

It doesn't look right to me. Its like trying to put the wrong decal on the wrong plane. Surely the 60's era airmen could've come up with thier own version of a sharks mouth for the A-1.

Totally agree..I don't think the Spad really lends itself all that well to the shark'smouth scheme anyway.(nothing could pull it off like the P-40,of course)...but that just looks downright awkward.

[Hoverbug]

Originally Posted by STARMAN 352ND

After searching i found that belly looking thing on the skyraider....
I don't like that belly very much.
JP

Ugly perhaps, but it marks an important mainstreaming of AEW technology within the fleet. The E-2C of today owes much to the experience of these ungainly, but highly important aircraft. Bring them on!

See http://www.geocities.com/lucktam/awacs/early.htm for more.

[Tundra04]

Originally Posted by Hoverbug

Ugly perhaps, but it marks an important mainstreaming of AEW technology within the fleet. The E-2C of today owes much to the experience of these ungainly, but highly important aircraft. Bring them on!

See http://www.geocities.com/lucktam/awacs/early.htm for more.

Plus it had other unintended uses!:

"The AD-3W did not ease into fleet service without operational problems. The large ventral radome created some aerodynamic situations which Douglas engineers found difficult to recreate in a wind tunnel. This led to some surprises during flight testing of the radar Skyraiders. On 14 October 1948, an AD-3W test aircraft was going through scheduled maneuvers at Patuxent River. Early indications were routine, with minor changes being made to the plane to enhance stability.

This Skyraider was aloft the following day when a fuel tank which should have been nearly full registered empty on the gauge as the R-3350 engine wheezed and manifested all the symptoms of fuel starvation. The test pilot, Lieutenant Commander Weems, brought the stricken AD-3W down for a water landing on the Patuxent River's surface. The broad radome planed over the water like a boat hull, and Lieutenant Commander weems was able to prolong this action until the AD-3W slid up on the shallow riverbank...The accident board concluded that the shape of the large radome had altered the airflow over fuel vents, causing the udder tank to collapse as its gas siphoned overboard. The condition causing this fluke was corrected." from Douglas A-1 Skyraider "A Photo Chronicle" by Frederick A. Johnsen

[Celtic]

Once GA opens the door on the AD many more variations will come pouring out (as we all know). Imagine they wanted to get the "ugly duckling" version out of the way right off. I was on the USS Firedrake (AE-14) during 1965-1966 off Vietnam and we used to unrep (underway replenish) the various carriers. The AD (A-1, Skyraider), A-4, F-4 (mostly), and F-8 were taking off and landing even as we sailed 50 yards alongside passing bombs (and sometimes fuel oil and water for the catapults). Loved watching the action, and since I'm a big prop fan (no pun intended) I especially appreciated the AD. (By the way, the only loses I ever witnessed were F-8's, one at Cubi Point when the pilot tried a turn at the end of the runway, clipped a wing in the water, and flipped in; another returning with battle damage from action over Vietnam, and the pilot ejected--exciting to watch, with the plane flying a safe distance from the carrier, the pilot being blown out, the F-8 taking a swan dive into the ocean, and the helicopter picking up the pilot almost before he got wet. Earlier at Atsugi, Japan, we had a pilot guide his flaming F-8 (engine problem) away from populated areas before he ejected; later, we met him when he passed through the headquarters building at COMFAIRWESTPAC.)