[jerry]

LiveLeak.com - US Soldiers call in an A-10 strike to take out a Taliban position in the mountains of Afghanistan.

[DWARREN123]

I love Wart Hogs! Nothing like a slow run by one on the bad guys.

[samuel]

I hunt varmints along the railroad.There is one place where A10,s from the National Guard practices attacking the railroad.They dont fire anything or I wouldnt be here.They just make low passes and take off.I am hard of hearing and sometimes dont hear them coming but when they kick the AB,s in and start climbing they are loud and clear.They have served in Iraq and Afganistan.Watching them playing cowboy,s and indian,s makes me feel so proud of our men in uniform and realise how lucky I am to have these brave and highly skilled men guarding me and this great country. sam.

[just_a_car]

Quote:       Originally Posted by samuel

I hunt varmints along the railroad.There is one place where A10,s from the National Guard practices attacking the railroad.They dont fire anything or I wouldnt be here.They just make low passes and take off.I am hard of hearing and sometimes dont hear them coming but when they kick the AB,s in and start climbing they are loud and clear.They have served in Iraq and Afganistan.Watching them playing cowboy,s and indian,s makes me feel so proud of our men in uniform and realise how lucky I am to have these brave and highly skilled men guarding me and this great country. sam.

AB's?!... Thunderbolt II's (Warthogs) don't have afterburners. They fly "low and slow" and are not capable of trans-sonic speeds.

I, too, love the sound of the 'Hog. Got a chance to hear a few live at Davis-Monthan down in Tuscon, AZ when I was down there for business. Soooo preeetty! It's my favorite fixed-wing aircraft.

[jerry]

True, no burners. TF34 is an old Navy powerplant (Turbo Fan).

I worked the A-10 as a maintainer for 7 years at Davis Monthan. Went to war with them in 91 & would do it again.

[samuel]

Quote:       Originally Posted by just_a_car

AB's?!... Thunderbolt II's (Warthogs) don't have afterburners. They fly "low and slow" and are not capable of trans-sonic speeds. I, too, love the sound of the 'Hog. Got a chance to hear a few live at Davis-Monthan down in Tuscon, AZ when I was down there for business. Soooo preeetty! It's my favorite fixed-wing aircraft.

I assumed they did.They make a lot of noise.All I know about aircraft is they beat walking and come in handy for air support. Thanks for the correction. sam.

[A-10]

Thing of beauty, isn't she?
Fairchild Republic's finest. The pilot is protected by a titanium tub able to stop direct hits from a 27 mm round, a canopy which can stop 7.62's, and a frontal plate which can stop a 20 mm round direct hit.

[Dallas]

The Warthog is a thing of beauty. Had a chance to see them make some runs up close, in training back in the early 80's.

[DWARREN123]

They are indeed pretty things. I got to see some do runs in Desert Storm/Shield. They AF was considering replacing them at the time as they did not have combat time but their work in the desert changed a lot of minds about their usefulness.
Love them HOGS!

[A-10]

The projected service length keeps extending. Last I heard we're looking at a sad retirement to come in 2025.

[jerry]

Amazing considering I worked on 1975 models.

[just_a_car]

Quote:       Originally Posted by jerry

Amazing considering I worked on 1975 models.

Yup, I personally believe they are a timeless weapons platform like the B52. Everyone is trying to go faster, pull more G's and do it while "stealthed". The A-10 Hog is none of these things and has been mothballed, then pulled back into service no less than 3 times due to being "obsolete", but yet it continues to fill the vital role of close-in air support for ground troops and has the oomph with the 30mm cannon to take care of any threat it encounters. The slowness is actually one of its advantages, as the pilot can take the time to look down and actually get a visual on a target or scan the battlefield, which is rather difficult at Mach 1+. Then there's the triple redundancy in the flight controls (electronic, cable, and hydraulic) that can continue functioning on only one of the three and the general survivability of the entire aircraft with the wing able to function with large chunks blown out of it and engines able to ingest large chunks of FOD (remember that wing?) and continue working.


Unless they develop another "low and slow" aircraft, which congress would never approve, the A-10 will easily be around longer than anyone expects... and I, for one, am relieved to know that gorgeous bird is in the sky with our boys behind the stick.

[meatloaf]

If I win the lotto I'm going to buy one. They are ugly but I here there easy and the most fun to fly. I heard a rumor that they might be retired anyone else here about this?

[just_a_car]

Quote:       Originally Posted by meatloaf

If I win the lotto I'm going to buy one. They are ugly but I here there easy and the most fun to fly. I heard a rumor that they might be retired anyone else here about this?

They've mothballed and pulled-back the A-10 a bunch of times. Upper-level brass keeps trying to fix something that's not broken.