slotted trailing edge ap with a 9.2ft (2.8m)
span, de ecting down to 40° for landing.
Conventional ailerons, spoilers and slot
de ectors are also tted on the wing forward
of the aps.
A 25.4sq ft (2.4m ) speed brake is mounted
on the fuselage belly and, when fully deployed,
de ects through to a maximum angle of 60°.
Main landing gear is of tripod design with
two different high-energy braking systems
for the USAF’s A-7Ds and US Navy versions.
The cockpit layout on all versions of the
Corsair II is generally similar with only slight
differences between Air Force and Navy
variants. The A-7 was the rst military aircraft
to have a head-up display (HUD), it used the
Marconi-Elliott Automation AN/AVQ-7(V) unit
slaved to a Computer Devices of CanadaAN/ASU-99 projected map display and the
Texas Instruments APQ-126 radar system. A
Douglas ESCAPAC I-C2 ejection seat was
provided for the pilot.
The Corsair II could carry up to 15,000lb
(6,804kg) of mixed ordnance including
missiles, bombs and other stores on six wing
pylons and two fuselage side mounts. On
internal fuel alone the A-7 had an unrefuelled
range of 2,920nm (5,408km), with external
tanks this could be raised to 3,560nm
(6,593km). A less noticeable enhancement
was the tting of polyurethane foam-lined fuel
tanks, self-sealing fuel lines and extensive
steel and boron carbide armour plating. The
pilot was provided with steel armour plate
against frontal re and aluminium armour
from below.The rst ight took place when an A-7A
took to the air on September 27, 1965 at
Hensley Field, Dallas, Texas.
Naval Air Test Center Patuxent River,
Maryland, served as the base for initial US
Navy evaluations with the rst eet squadron
VA-174 standing up at NAS Cecil Field,
Florida on October 14, 1966. After a year of
preparation VA-147 was declared combat ready
on November 4, 1967 and embarked on board
USS Ranger for a cruise in South East Asia.
The A-7B was tted with upgraded Pratt &
Whitney TF30-P-8 engine offering 12,200lb of
thrust as well as improved, yet lighter, aps.
The rst of 196 A-7Bs for the US Navy ew on
February 6, 1968.
The 67 A-7Cs produced were tted with
the TF30-P-408 engine with 13,400lb of50 Aviation News incorporating Classic Aircraft February 2016Old meets new as the World War
Two era F4U Corsair performs
a yby over its namesake, the
A-7A Corsair II. via authorThis US Navy A-7A is carrying a mix of 250lb and 500lb inert bombs. via author48-55_a7DC.mfDC.mfDC.mfDCDC.mf.indd 50 07/01/2016 16:18