AFSOC boss Lt. Gen. Jim Slife said, “We’re going to have to pay a lot of attention to training on this. We haven’t operated, at scale, a taildragger aircraft in quite some time.”
The chapter on the art and wisdom of landing and taking off with a tailwheel was deleted from military training manuals.
“What this means is that during taxi, takeoff and landing operations, pilots need to be more cognizant of aircraft alignment and crosswinds,” said AFSOC spokesperson Lt. Col. Becky Heyse. “Tailwheel aircraft are more prone to rotational forces around their center of gravity, due to [their] location in relation to [the] main gear.”
Not sure any of these are better than an A-1 Spad. I know there's something probably
wrong with me, but I really regret not flying the A-1 or A-10. Not much glory and even
fewer promotions, but great flying nonetheless.
mcrit wrote: Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:07 pm
Just bring back the OV-10
Boeing proposed it a couple years ago but I guess the military didn’t want to pay for two engines. Piper proposed the Enforcer at the time too, which would have had my vote.
mcrit wrote: Fri Nov 25, 2022 1:07 pm
Just bring back the OV-10
Boeing proposed it a couple years ago but I guess the military didn’t want to pay for two engines. Piper proposed the Enforcer at the time too, which would have had my vote.
Procurement is 90% based on politics and 10% on operational needs.
