View allAll Photos Tagged multimode
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
A combination of low radar, IR and visual signatures, along with the long range PS05 multimode radar and sensor fusion, including world leading new generation weapon integration, ensure a high hit-ratio in long range engagements.
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
Just fitted a brand new set of 9 German quality Ansmann rechargeable 4500mAh Ni-MH Batteries to my Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHf All mode portable 144Mhz transceiver
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
This Intruder, Bureau Number 151782, was originally built as an A-6A, and joined the Fleet in 1965, starting with VA-65 ("Black Panthers") aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63); it would see combat over Vietnam with VA-65. In 1969, it was transferred to VA-145 ("Swordsmen") aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), then to VA-115 ("Arabs") aboard the USS Midway (CV-41). During this time period, 151782 was upgraded to an A-6E. After a short stint with VA-95 ("Green Lizards") aboard the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), it was back to VA-115 and the Midway--though by this time VA-115 had become the more politically-correct "Eagles." 151782 was retired in 1980.
But that was not the end for 151782. In 1990, it was returned to duty as an attrition replacement, then went to VA-34 ("Blue Blasters") aboard the USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69). 151782's second lease on life didn't last long, and it was back in storage in 1995 at AMARG in Arizona. In 2004, however, it was saved from being scrapped by being donated to the USS Midway Museum, where 151782 had spent more time than any other point in its career.
Like many of the aircraft aboard the Midway, 151782 carries different squadron markings on either side of the aircraft. On the left side, it carries the markings of VMA(AW)-224 ("Bengals") from its service aboard the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), while on the right it carries VA-115's colors from its time aboard the Midway. It is displayed on the starboard bow catapult, loaded with no less than 30 Mk 81 500-pound Snakeye bombs.
Just on the other side of this aircraft is a mannequin of a catapult officer on one knee, giving the "shoot" signal to launch aircraft. You can bet I made sure to get a picture of myself right with him!
One of the lessons of the Six-Day War of 1967 was that the long runways needed by contemporary fighters were vulnerable targets and could be destroyed, pinning surviving aircraft to a base they could not operate from nor escape. With this in mind, Hawker-Siddeley began research into a vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) aircraft, the P.1127 Kestrel, which would use a revolutionary new engine—the Rolls-Royce Pegasus, which used vectored thrust, in which nozzles were turned for regular flight or hovering. The Kestrel was proven in a series of tests, and the British Royal Air Force accepted a modified Kestrel as the Harrier GR.1.
Involved in the test process of the Kestrel and the Harrier had been the US Marine Corps, who saw potential in the idea: in cases where the Marines had to land on beaches, often airfields were hard to get to or were so badly damaged by fighting as to be useless for a time. The Harrier would allow the Marines to have air support over the beach, as Harriers could operate from small ships or from shore. The Marines would subsequently adopt the Harrier as the AV-8A. This concept of small-ship operation also led to the development of the Sea Harrier for the British Fleet Air Arm, as the United Kingdom wanted to retire its large carriers in favor of smaller “through-deck cruisers”—light carriers with Harriers aboard.
While the Harrier’s V/STOL capability was impressive and touted by some British aviation enthusiasts as the wave of the future, the early AV-8As and Harrier GR.1/3s were limited by their size and engine power: despite being the same size as the A-4 Skyhawk, the latter could carry more bombs faster and further than the AV-8A. The Harrier was notoriously unforgiving and difficult to fly; the FAA learned that the best Sea Harrier pilots were actually those who had been helicopter pilots. It was also a maintenance nightmare: to change the engine, the wings had to be removed. In an attempt to cure or mitigate these problems, British Aerospace and McDonnell Douglas embarked on a joint project to improve the Harrier, mainly with a new, larger wing and uprated engine. Defense cuts in the UK led to British Aerospace withdrawing from the project, but despite pressure from the US Navy to cancel the “Advanced Harrier” project, McDonnell Douglas persisted, converting two Harriers to YAV-8B standard, with new wings and redesigned nozzles and intakes. While performance was still not up to par, it still had increased range and more bombload.
New administrations—Margaret Thatcher’s in England and Ronald Reagan in the US—led to the British rejoining the project and more momentum, and finally, in 1981, the first AV-8B Harrier II flew. This had all of the improvements of the YAV-8B, with a new forward fuselage with a raised cockpit for better visibility, an uprated engine, heavy use of composites to lighten the weight, and leading-edge extensions of the wings. These solved the Harrier’s range and speed problems, and the AV-8B went into full production in January 1984 in the US, quickly followed by the Harrier GR.4 in the UK. Almost immediately, according to Marine requirements, work began on a dedicated night attack Harrier with FLIR infrared guidance and provision for night-vision goggles. These aircraft—unofficially referred to as “Night Attack” Harriers but retaining the basic AV-8B designation—became the baseline version, with earlier “Day Fighter” AV-8Bs converted to this standard.
Though the Sea Harrier had blooded the type in the 1982 Falklands War with phenomenal success, the first war fought by Marine AV-8Bs was the First Gulf War of 1991. Marine Harriers, operating from offshore amphibious assault ships, regular airfields, and forward operating locations, were instrumental in the Marines’ liberation of Kuwait, sustaining a 90 percent operational rate; five Harriers were shot down during the war. One complaint was that the AV-8B lacked a radar and had no long-range capability: should a Harrier get into a dogfight, it would have to rely on short-range AIM-9 Sidewinders. Subsequently, McDonnell Douglas began a long modification and update program, the so-called AV-8B+, which redesigned the nose to accept the same radar as the F-18 Hornet. This allowed the Harrier to fire the AIM-120 AMRAAM and the AGM-84 Harpoon attack missile. These updated Harriers began entering service in 1993.
Since then, AV-8Bs have served in American service in Kosovo, Afghanistan (where they were among the first aircraft in action there), and Iraq, where they were used heavily to cover the Marine assault into Baghdad. The design was also updated for British service as the Harrier GR.9, and also used in Kosovo and Afghanistan; budget cuts saw the premature retirement of the GR.9s, which have been subsequently taken up by the US Marines, though the GR.9 lacks the multimode radar of the AV-8B+. Spain and Italy have also adopted the AV-8B for use off of their light carriers—Spain’s Principe de Asturias and Italy’s Garibaldi-class; these aircraft are identical to the Marine AV-8B+. Two concerns of the original Harrier—its high accident rate and high maintenance requirements—still exist, and figured into the British retirement of their GR.9s. Nonetheless, the Harrier is scheduled to service for at least another decade, until it is replaced by the F-35C Lightning II. 323 were built and most remain in service.
AV-8B+ BuNo 164533's service history is a bit elusive. It is known that it served with VMA-211 ("Wake Island Avengers"), VMA-311 ("Tomcats"), and--weirdly enough--HMM-365 ("Blue Knights"), which was normally equipped with CH-46E Seaknights, but apparently had a small number of AV-8Bs assigned for a short time. When, exactly, it served with these units is not known. It more than likely was retired in 2016 when VMFA-211 reequipped with F-35B Lightnings, and went on display at the MCAS Yuma airpark in 2021, making it the newest addition there.
164553 carries the overall gunship gray color scheme used by Marine AV-8s at the end of their career; VMA-211's squadron badge is carried on the nose. The camouflage has been slightly marred by the birds targeting this aircraft in particular. It is displayed with two Mk 82 bombs and two LAU-10 rocket pods. For a picture taken through the fence, this turned out rather nice.
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
This picture shows off the entire Thunderbirds team, all six aircraft in the delta formation in a team pass in front of the crowd. This picture was taken at the Wings Over the Falls airshow in Great Falls, MT in July 2017.
What about what happened to me last week? I went to Gedling on the edge of Nottingham (UK) to do a filmed interview - for research into the working relationships of scrutiny members and officers in local government. My camera and kit were in my bike’s pannier. I’d checked my route – cycle, train, cycle, bus – on the website Transport Direct which works out an A to B route that includes walking, even calculating a journey's CO2 use. In Upper Parliament Street where I’d cycled from the station, I found a number 7 bus parked, and started to fold my bicycle to board it, when the driver, in a harsh voice - so it sounded to me - said “You can’t put that bike on my bus". The bus contained two people and had spaces for baby buggies and a wheelchair. I continued folding, hoping he’d see my Brompton’s portability. The driver must have read this as evidence of my intention to bypass his prohibition. He continued to repeat himself in the most hortatory tone. This sort of thing is so rare in my experience. I suggested he phone his company. He got out his mobile and after a moment's chat on the phone I saw him nod and heard him mutter "at driver’s discretion". He turned to me and, with what I perhaps imagined was a gleam of satisfaction, said “Right! I’m exercising my discretion and you aren't putting that bike on my bus”.
I had a map and set out to cycle the three miles or so to Gedling. As I climbed the hill out of the city, on the Mansfield Road, I encountered the same unhelpful driver in his red bus halted at a red light at a T-junction. While 'his' bus was stopped I took out my camera and filmed the driver through his windscreen. He got on his mobile phone and called the police. “I'm being harassed by a passenger” he said. ‘Passenger? I wish I was' I thought. The police soon arrived in a little car with a twirling blue light. One officer spoke to me; the other to the driver. They conferred, took details and said it was a 'civil matter' and nothing to do with them. We parted.
Later I phoned the bus company and spoke to a genial person who apologised on behalf of the company with a remark about how some drivers in their concern for passengers could become 'proprietorial about their vehicles'. I was pacified. While the altercation had been going on that morning a delayed woman passenger had decided to walk. As she alighted I apologised. She shrugged encompassingly and said "men!'
This is the Yaesu FT-817ND Portable hf vhf uhf Transceiver
Nice quality unit, Made in Japan
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The age and vulnerability of the RF-101C Voodoo was apparent by the Vietnam War. As losses rose among the Voodoo community, the USAF sought a faster and newer replacement. The solution turned out to be yet another variant of the eminently adaptable F-4C Phantom II. The basic airframe was retained with a new nose, with three cameras placed inside. As the RF-4C was meant to be unarmed, it was not necessary to retain the multimode interception radar of the F-4C, and the RF-4C used the smaller AN/APQ-99 navigation radar. Lighter and more aerodynamic than the F-4C, the RF-4C proved to be the perfect replacement for the RF-101 and remaining RF-84F Thunderstreaks in USAF service. It entered service in 1965.
The RF-4C would be the last dedicated manned tactical reconnaissance aircraft in USAF service. They were used extensively over Vietnam, and in active-duty USAF squadrons until the late 1980s, when they were relegated to Air National Guard units. The last two squadrons of ANG RF-4Cs saw service during the First Gulf War, after which they were retired completely. A number were supplied to foreign air forces afterwards, but the RF-4E (built off of the early F-4E variant) remains the primary foreign RF-4 version.
65-0886 was delivered to the USAF's 363rd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Shaw AFB, South Carolina in 1967. It remained stateside and didn't see action during Vietnam, and in 1971, was transferred to the 117th TRW (Alabama ANG) at Birmingham. After a short stint in Illinois, 65-0886 was sent to the 152nd TRW (Nevada ANG) at Reno in 1978, where it would serve for the rest of its career.
It was among the aircraft deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield, and then flew combat during Desert Storm--the First Gulf War. Despite extensive use, the 152nd lost no aircraft during the war. (Supposedly, one of the wing's RF-4s dropped its wing tanks after it came under attack from Iraqi MiGs, and the tank promptly hit the MiG and destroyed it. This is not corraborated by any USAF official MiG kill records, and likely is just a wing legend...but stranger things have happened.) In 1994, when the 192nd switched over to the airlift mission, 65-0886 was retired and was preserved as a gate guard at the Nevada ANG's base at Reno International Airport.
Having seen this aircraft on Google Earth, I made it a point to see it during my May 2021 trip to California and Nevada. It is in excellent shape, one of the finest gate guards I've seen, wearing its "war paint" of Egypt One camouflage adopted by RF-4C units towards the end of its career. Though it is displayed "clean" with only wing pylons, it should be noted that the 152nd's RF-4Cs did carry Sidewinders operationally; the wing was a little reluctant to completely embrace the motto of "Alone, Unarmed, Unafraid." The wing's distinctive "High Rollers" emblem is carried on the tail--very appropriate for a unit based in Reno!
The 152nd has a RF-101 on display as well, but that one is on display inside the base itself, and sadly is off-limits to civvies such as myself.
While the F-16A had proven a success, its lack of long-range missile and true all-weather capability hampered it, especially in projected combat against the Warsaw Pact over Central Europe. General Dynamics began work on the upgraded F-16C/D version, with the first Block 25 F-16C flying in June 1984 and entering USAF service that September.
Externally, the only ways to tell apart the F-16C from the F-16A is the slightly enlarged base of the tail and a UHF radio antenna at the base of the tail. The intake is also slightly larger, though later marks of the F-16A also have this feature. Internally, however, the F-16C is a significantly different aircraft. The earlier APG-66 radar was replaced by the APG-68 multimode radar used by the F/A-18, which gave the F-16C the same capability to switch between ground-attack and dogfight mode and vastly improved all-weather capability. Cockpit layout was also changed in response to pilots’ requests, with a larger Heads-Up Display and movement of the radar display to eye level rather than between the pilot’s legs on the F-16A. The F-16C would also have the capability to carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM, though it would not be until 1992 that the missile entered service. Other small upgrades were made throughout the design, including the engine.
The Block 25 initial production was superseded by the Block 30 F-16C in 1987, which gave it better navigation systems, and the capability to carry the either the General Electric F110 or the Pratt and Whitney F100 turbofan. The Block 40/42 “Night Falcon” followed in 1988, equipped with LANTIRN night attack pods, followed by the Block 50/52, which was a dedicated Wild Weasel variant. In USAF service, the latter are semi-officially known as F-16CG and F-16CJ variants.
The F-16C had replaced the F-16A in nearly all overseas USAF units by the First Gulf War in 1991, and as a result, the aircraft was among the first deployed to the theater in August 1990. During the war, the F-16C was used mainly in ground attack and strike sorties, due to delays in the AIM-120, but it performed superbly in this role. USAF F-16s finally scored kills in the F-16C, beginning in 1992, when an Iraqi MiG-23 was shot down over the southern no-fly zone; the victory was also the first with the AMRAAM. Four Serbian G-4 Super Galebs were shot down over Bosnia in 1994. F-16Cs had replaced the F-16A entirely in regular and Reserve USAF service by 1997, and further service was seen over Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya by 2012. Subsequent upgrades to USAF F-16Cs with GPS allow them to carry advanced precision weapons such as JSOW and JDAM.
Whatever the variant, the F-16 is today the most prolific combat aircraft in existence, with 28 nations operating the type (17 of which operate F-16Cs). Over 4450 have been built, with more in production; the F-16C is also license-produced by Turkey and South Korea. It also forms the basis for the Mitsubishi F-2 fighter for Japan, though the F-2 is significantly different, with a longer nose and larger wing. Though the USAF projects that the F-16C will be replaced by the F-35 beginning in 2020, it will likely remain in service for a very long time.
Since I had taken so many pictures of the Thunderbirds when they came to Great Falls, Montana in 2017, I contented myself with just one picture of their lineup this time around in 2022. This view shows all six of the team's F-16Cs, from Thunderbird One to the left to Six on the right.
I may not have gotten much of the Thunderbirds this time around, but that is not to say I was bored in the least with their show. As always, the Thunderbirds put on a great performance--even if this year, the sneak pass with the four-ship diamond, in full afterburner, left me with some sore eardrums!
The "Auto Notch" unit is the inverted board on the right.
This could be bought as a separate item allowing an FL2 to be upgrade to an FL3.
All achieved with analogue electronics, no DSP back then, of course!
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
Bureau Number 155644 was built as an A-6A, and started its career with VA-128 ("Golden Intruders"), serving as a trainer for new A-6 crews at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. It went to the Fleet in 1969, flying with VA-165 ("Boomers") aboard the USS Independence (CV-62); 155644 saw combat over Vietnam during Operation Freedom Train and Linebacker I. After the end of American involvement in Vietnam, 155644 returned to VA-128, then was upgraded to an A-6E in 1977.
155644 would go on to serve with both Navy and Marine squadrons: VA-34 ("Blue Blasters") aboard the USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69) from 1977-1981; VMA(AW)-242 ("Bats") and VMA(AW)-121 ("Green Knights") at MCAS El Toro, California from 1981-1991; and finally VA-115 ("Eagles"), back aboard the Independence. It was retired in 1994, and donated to the Yanks Air Museum a few years later. (Serving with so many squadrons is not unusual for Navy or Marine squadrons.)
One of two A-6s in Yanks' boneyard, 155644 is little more than a wreck: it is missing its wings, canopy, TRAM turret, and significant parts of the airframe. As a Vietnam veteran, it would be nice to see it restored, and it may be, or it may be used as a parts source for the other A-6, 160995. I saw it in May 2021.
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
BuNo 160995, an A-6E, was delivered in 1978 to VA-65 ("Tigers"), spending most of its time with that squadron aboard the USS Dwight Eisenhower (CVN-69). In 1986, it was transferred to VA-42 ("Green Pawns"). When VA-65 was disestabilished in 1994, 160995 was transferred to VA-196 ("Main Battery"), and retired in 1997 when VA-196 was also disestablished. During its time with the squadron aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), 160955 may have participated in Operation Desert Fox, the 1996 airstrike on Iraq. It was donated to the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California soon after retirement.
160995 is one of two A-6s at Yanks, both in the museum boneyard. It is not in good shape, missing its canopy and wings, but VA-196's ace of spades emblem is still visible. For movie and book buffs, VA-196 was the squadron from "Flight of the Intruder."
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
This F-104C is...not actually a F-104C! It is more or less a replica, built as a nonflying testbed out of the parts of several F-104s, and never assigned a tail number. After the USAF was done with it, it was donated to the March Air Museum. As March already had a real F-104 on display, in 2013 the aircraft was handed over to Yanks Air Museum in nearby Chino, California for display.
Despite being essentially a replica, it's a rather good one; it's somewhat unusual to see a F-104 in Southeast Asia camouflage. It is painted as "Smokey II," F-104C 57-0925, an aircraft assigned to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Da Nang during the Vietnam War. The real 57-0925 was shot down in 1966.
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set the bombs off prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
This A-6A represents an Intruder from VA-75 (“Sunday Punchers”), off USS Independence (CV-62) during the A-6’s first deployment to Vietnam. It is configured for a strike mission with 12 750-pound Mk 82 bombs, and is painted in standard US Navy Vietnam-era camouflage of gray over white. The real 151193 joined the fleet in 1964, survived its time in Vietnam, and was later upgraded to an A-6E and retired to AMARC in 1995.
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
FX82 was license-built by SABCA for the Belgian Air Force in 1965, and served with 350 Squadron at Beauvechain until 1983, when it was retired in favor of the F-16. Planes of Fame acquired the F-104 by 1993, and it has been there since, though as of this writing (June 2021), it may have been sold to another museum.
Since foriegn fighters are not common in American museums, FX82 was a bit of a shock. Its BAF camouflage is faded some, but still shows the colors used by Belgian F-104s, which was very similar to USAF Southeast Asia camouflage. Belgian F-104s were frequent visitors to Ramstein when I lived in Germany, so I wonder if I've seen the aircraft before.
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar. In 1979, the A-6E was further modified with the installation of Target Recognition Attack Multisensor (TRAM), consisting of a turret in the nose containing FLIR linked to the radar and a new bomb computer. Besides making the already accurate A-6 even more deadly, it also allowed the Intruder to drop laser-guided bombs, hit moving targets with bombs, and also use passive radar to attack a target.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
This Intruder is Bureau Number 154162, built as an A-6A and entering service with VMA(AW)-533 ("Hawks") at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. 154162 would just miss service in Vietnam, as VMA(AW)-533 was sent back to Southeast Asia in 1972, but by that time it was serving with VA-176 ("Thunderbolts") aboard the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) in the Atlantic. It was upgraded to an A-6E in 1974 and would spend the next decade as a test aircraft, first with the Naval Air Weapons Center at NAS China Lake, California and then with the Pacific Missile Test Range at NAS Point Mugu. 154162 would see its only combat while assigned to VA-145 ("Swordsmen") aboard the USS Ranger (CV-61), supporting the US effort in Somalia, though no airstrikes were flown. Badly damaged in a landing accident at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma in 1995, it was repaired to static condition and eventually donated to the Palm Springs Air Museum.
Today, 154162 is preserved in the colors of VA-36 ("Roadrunners"), during its time aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), though it does not appear 154162 ever flew with that squadron. It still looks good, though, and like the Hornet next to it, is displayed on a simulated carrier deck.
Stationary machines like hollow chisel mortises and slot mortises occupy large amount of floor space in your shop, are expensive to purchase, require a lot of setup and maintenance, and force you to bring the material to the tool. Festool has taken the revolutionary concept of the Domino joiner and made it larger, the Domino XL Joiner. The Domino XL offers a more elegant solution to the challenge of large scale joinery. Amazingly simple to use, fast and accurate. The Domino XL now complements the capabilities of the original Domino DF 500, with a maximum tenon size of about five and a half -Inch in length (140 mm). No job is too big for the Domino XL. With an expanded range of thicker, longer tenons, you will quickly and precisely join massive slabs, doors and gates, or construct the most durable of tables and beds. With the Domino XL, you’ve got a system light enough and nimble enough for use anywhere in the shop or the jobsite. When the work piece is too large to come to the machine, this makes all the difference. Precision placement of solid hardwood tenons guarantees not only a perfect fit, but a finished product that will last for generations. What's in the box? XL D12 cutter, Plug-it Power Cord, Support Bracket, Wrench and T Loc Systainer Sys 5.
This is the Yaesu FT-290R MK2 VHF 144MHz all mode two meter Transceiver,
Nice Quality made in Japan
With the 9 Type C cell rechargeable batteries in the matching FBA-8 case
And the optional FL-2025 Clip on 25 watt matching amplifier
All in very nice condition and working order, The set whilst running on its battery box
Produces 2.5 watts or 500 mw low setting
Modes FM USB & CW
Ideal radio for portable, Mobile or base
73, de Dave.....2W0DAA
This is a photo of the Yaesu FT-817ND Qrp HF VHF UHF Portable Transceiver, Top main
unit board
Nice Quality, Made in Japan
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
The A-6 Intruder was designed to serve two roles: one, to replace the aging A-1 Skyraider and supplement the A-4 Skyhawk in the carrier-based strike role, and two, to give the US Navy a genuine all-weather strike aircraft. The requirement was issued in 1957, and Grumman’s A2F-1 design selected, with the first flight in 1960. In 1962, just before fleet entry in 1963, the Intruder was redesignated A-6A.
The A-6 was designed to hit targets with pinpoint accuracy in adverse weather, day or night, similar to what the USAF would later require for the F-111 Aardvark. For this reason, it was built around the Digital Integrated Attack/Navigation Equipment (DIANE), which used three radar systems to constantly update the INS and provide attack data to the bombardier/navigator sitting in the right seat. The system proved very complicated and it would be some years before it was perfected. Since the weather and night would be the Intruder’s primary defense, no internal armament equipped the aircraft, though it could carry an impressive 18,000 pound warload.
The Intruder was committed early to the Vietnam War, which showed up the flaws in the DIANE system and a more lethal one in the bomb delivery system, which had a tendency to set off the bombs prematurely, destroying the aircraft. Gradually improvements were made, and despite the loss of 84 Intruders over Vietnam, it proved to be extremely effective: until the bugs were ironed out of the F-111A in 1971, the A-6 remained the only American aircraft that could attack during the monsoon season.
Specialized A-6Bs were also produced specifically for Iron Hand defense suppression missions, and A-6Cs for anti-truck operations on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. All three variants were replaced by the A-6E beginning in 1971: this replaced DIANE with a more advanced solid-state computer and the three radars with a single AN/APQ-148 multimode radar.
A-6s would find themselves once more heavily employed during the First Gulf War, flying 4700 sorties for the loss of four aircraft; its final roles would find it supporting Marines in Somalia in 1991 and UN forces in Bosnia in 1995. By that time, surviving A-6Es had been partially upgraded to allow them to fire all newer guided weapons in the inventory (namely the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65 Maverick, and AGM-88 HARM), while most of the fleet also received composite wings.
Grumman further proposed an updated version designated A-6F, with new avionics and engines, but the US Navy rejected this in favor of replacing the Intruder with first the cancelled stealthy A-12A Avenger II, then the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The last A-6E left US Navy service by Feburary 1997; the US Marine Corps had retired theirs in 1993. Older, non-modified aircraft were sunk as an artificial reef off Florida; others remain at AMARC for scrapping.
As the Navy's carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft began to age, namely the EA-1F Skyraider and the EKA-3B Skywarrior, a replacement needed to be found. Initially, the ALQ-99 electronics suite was installed in a standard A-6 Intruder airframe as the EA-6A, but the aircraft was somewhat limited and workload was heavier for a two-man crew, especially in combat. EA-6As did see combat in Vietnam with the US Marine Corps, but something better was clearly needed. The result was the lengthened EA-6B Prowler, which upgraded the electronics suite considerably and also added two more crewmembers to reduce workload and increase effectiveness. The EA-6B first flew in May 1968, and entered US Navy and Marine service in 1971. This relegated the EA-6As to mostly Reserve units until it was retired in 1993. Only 28 A models were built, and at least four are known to survive in museums.
Bureau Number 156984 was a purpose-built EA-6A rather than a conversion, and joined the Navy in 1969. Details about its service are sparse, other than it served for a time in the 1970s with VAQ-209 ("Star Warriors") at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, was the first EA-6A to be upgraded to near EA-6B standard in the mid-1980s, and retired with VAQ-33 ("Firebirds") at NAS Key West, Florida in 1992. Apparently there was some consideration of expending it as a range target, but instead it was saved for preservation, and by 2002 it had been donated to the Mid-America Museum of Aviation and Transportation at Sioux City, Iowa.
156984 could use some restoration, as the markings have faded and rust has broken out on the airframe. It is positioned at the entrance of the Mid-America Museum. When my friend and I visited in June 2020, the museum was closed due to coronavirus, but we were able to photograph through the fence. My friend's picture is better than mine, so he allowed me to use his...
Stationary machines like hollow chisel mortises and slot mortises occupy large amount of floor space in your shop, are expensive to purchase, require a lot of setup and maintenance, and force you to bring the material to the tool. Festool has taken the revolutionary concept of the Domino joiner and made it larger, the Domino XL Joiner. The Domino XL offers a more elegant solution to the challenge of large scale joinery. Amazingly simple to use, fast and accurate. The Domino XL now complements the capabilities of the original Domino DF 500, with a maximum tenon size of about five and a half -Inch in length (140 mm). No job is too big for the Domino XL. With an expanded range of thicker, longer tenons, you will quickly and precisely join massive slabs, doors and gates, or construct the most durable of tables and beds. With the Domino XL, you’ve got a system light enough and nimble enough for use anywhere in the shop or the jobsite. When the work piece is too large to come to the machine, this makes all the difference. Precision placement of solid hardwood tenons guarantees not only a perfect fit, but a finished product that will last for generations. What's in the box? XL D12 cutter, Plug-it Power Cord, Support Bracket, Wrench and T Loc Systainer Sys 5.
This photo shows the very small Final RF PA Board mounted on the main pa unit board
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
fc to sc custom black fiber optic cable Ethernet patch cord available in single-mode 9/125 and multi-mode 62.5/125
The fourth of the 1950s era “Century Series,” the F-104 Starfighter was designed around one single element: speed. Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, head of Lockheed’s famous “Skunk Works” factory, had interviewed US Air Force pilots during the Korean War, seeking their input on any new fighter. Since the pilots reported that they wanted high performance more than anything else, Johnson returned to the United States determined to deliver exactly that: a simple, point-defense interceptor marrying the lightest airframe to the most powerful engine then available, the superb General Electric J79.
When Johnson offered the L-098 design to the USAF in 1952, the service was so impressed that they created an entire competition for the aircraft to be accepted, ostensibly as a F-100 Super Sabre replacement. The Lockheed design had the clear edge, though both North American’s and Northrop’s design went on to be built themselves—the North American F-107A Ultra Sabre and the Northrop T-38 Talon. The USAF purchased the L-098 as the F-104A Starfighter. The design changed very little from initial design to prototype to operational aircraft, which was done in the astonishing time of two years.
When the first F-104As reached the USAF in 1958, pilots quickly found that it was indeed a hot fighter—too hot. The Starfighter’s design philosophy of speed above all else resulted in an aircraft with a long fuselage, T-tail for stability, and small wings, which were so thin that special guards had to be put on the leading edges to avoid injuring ground personnel. Because of its small wing, the F-104 required a lot of runway, and blown flaps (which vents airflow from the engine over the flaps to increase lift) were a necessity; unfortunately, the airflow system often failed, which meant that the F-104 pilot would be coming in at a dangerous rate of speed. Because it was feared that a pilot who ejected from a F-104 would never clear the tail, a downward-ejection seat was fitted, but after killing over 20 pilots, the seat was retrofitted with a more reliable, upward-firing type. The design also was not very maneuverable in the horizontal, though it was difficult to match in the vertical. Its shape earned it the moniker “Missile With a Man In It” and “Zipper.”
One thing pilots did not complain about was its speed—the listed top speed of the F-104 was Mach 2.2, but this was because above that the fuselage would melt. The J79 was a near flawless engine that gave the Starfighter an excellent thrust-to-weight ratio; uniquely, the intake design of the Starfighter gave the engine a bansheelike wail. So superb was the F-104 at level speed and climbing that NASA leased several as trainers for the X-15 program, and in setting a number of speed and time-to-climb records.
If the F-104 had gotten a mixed reception at best in the USAF, Lockheed felt that it had potential as an export aircraft. Beating out several excellent British and other American designs in a 1961 competition, every NATO nation except France and Great Britain bought F-104s and manufactured their own as the F-104G; Japan also license-built Starfighters as F-104Js, while still more were supplied to Pakistan and Taiwan. Just as in USAF service, accident rates were incredibly high, particularly in West German and Canadian service—Germany lost 30 percent of its initial batch, and the Canadians over half. Worries that the F-104 was too “hot” for pilots usually transitioning from the F-86 were ignored, and later it was learned why: German, Dutch, and Japanese politicians later admitted to being bribed by Lockheed into buying the Starfighter.
Its high accident rate earned such nicknames as “Widowmaker,” “Flying Coffin,” and “Ground Nail.” Pakistani pilots simply called it Badmash (“Criminal”) and the Japanese Eiko (“Glory,” inferring that it was the easiest way to reach it). German pilots joked that the quickest way to obtain a F-104 was to buy a patch of land and wait.
Nonetheless, once pilots learned how to tame the beast, the accident rates eased somewhat, and NATO pilots discovered that the Starfighter excelled as a low-level attack aircraft: fitted with bomb racks, the F-104 was remarkably stable at low altitude and high speed, and Luftwaffe pilots in particular found that they could sneak up on a target, launch a simulated attack, and be gone before ground defenses could react. The Italians in particular loved the F-104, building their own as the F-104S: these aircraft were equipped with multimode radar and armed with AIM-7 Sparrow and Aspide radar-guided missiles, making them a superb interceptor. Though most NATO nations reequipped their F-104 units with F-16s, F-18s, or Tornados beginning in 1980, the Italian F-104S fleet was continually upgraded and soldiered on until final retirement in 2004. 2578 F-104s were built, mostly F-104Gs; today over 150 survive in museums, with at least ten flyable examples, making it one of the best preserved of the Century Series.
Dad snapped this picture of five Canadian Air Force CF-104Gs making a low pass over the 1978 Ramstein airshow. These aircraft were from 2 Canadian Wing based at Baden-Sollingen AB, West Germany, possibly with 421 Squadron. Given the dark coloration of these aircraft, they are either in the two-tone dark gray camouflage used by CAF aircraft by this time, or in the overall dark green that was used by the CF-104 community as well.
This was actually their second low pass. The first was done about a minute earlier: the airshow announcer asked the crowd to face west to see a low pass from the Canadian Air Force. It was a sucker play, as the CF-104s came in from the east, at about a thousand feet directly over the crowd in a "bubble check" with the F-104's distinctive wail. I've never forgotten that moment...because it caused me to literally wet my pants.
lc to sc custom grey fiber optic cable Ethernet patch cord available in single-mode 9/125 and multi-mode 62.5/125
This is a shot of the Kenwood TS-830S HF Transceiver, Nice radio, Made in Japan
73, de Dave 2W0DAA / GW4JKR
Stationary machines like hollow chisel mortises and slot mortises occupy large amount of floor space in your shop, are expensive to purchase, require a lot of setup and maintenance, and force you to bring the material to the tool. Festool has taken the revolutionary concept of the Domino joiner and made it larger, the Domino XL Joiner. The Domino XL offers a more elegant solution to the challenge of large scale joinery. Amazingly simple to use, fast and accurate. The Domino XL now complements the capabilities of the original Domino DF 500, with a maximum tenon size of about five and a half -Inch in length (140 mm). No job is too big for the Domino XL. With an expanded range of thicker, longer tenons, you will quickly and precisely join massive slabs, doors and gates, or construct the most durable of tables and beds. With the Domino XL, you’ve got a system light enough and nimble enough for use anywhere in the shop or the jobsite. When the work piece is too large to come to the machine, this makes all the difference. Precision placement of solid hardwood tenons guarantees not only a perfect fit, but a finished product that will last for generations. What's in the box? XL D12 cutter, Plug-it Power Cord, Support Bracket, Wrench and T Loc Systainer Sys 5.