Flying the Amazing A-37!

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Ron Rogers

Ron Rogers

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 90
@geofslagle410
@geofslagle410 7 ай бұрын
Good morning Ron, another great video! When I got to UPT in 1981, I had zero flying experience. I could not hit my ass with either hand at first. Then one day, some sort of divine inspiration struck me, and I began to learn how to fly the tweet. Didn’t mean the screaming, and the threats and intimidation from the instructors stopped, but I was progressing. As much as I loved the 38, I fondly remember the Tweet. It’s a great way to start the day with another video from Ron Rogers!
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Thanks! I appreciate that!
@maxsmodels
@maxsmodels 7 ай бұрын
Now I want to build that A-37 model kit that I have.
@fred1barb
@fred1barb 7 ай бұрын
In 1970 I was flying my OH-6 back from Cambodia when I spotted activity at a road intersection through which we would be moving salvaged armor. The column had already encountered ambushes and large mines. The AF and Navy were sometimes on call for ad hoc missions, so I made the call and an F-100 responded. The target area, a stand of big trees, was quite small, and we did not need craters in the road. He made a slow shallow approach, under fire and put two in the trees. It looked to me as if they detonated in the tree canopy and in any case, he took more fire when he came around for a look, before heading for the barn. Then a pair of VNAF A-37s showed up and asked if they could give it try. They literally dive bombed the target, then looped back over the target inverted for a second run. It was quite something to watch, though I wondered if those pilots weren't a little bit crazy. They had a full loadout and dropped it all. Ground fire stopped and the woods were burning as the A-37s made an inverted low pass just to show off. This story takes nothing from the AF jock, he dropped exactly on the target, and he did it under fire. He was the guy you would want if the call was "danger close." But those A-37 guys did it with style.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Great story!
@matiascamou
@matiascamou 7 ай бұрын
Thank you for the Uruguayan Air Force A37 photo you put in your presentation! Made me remember my old man who flew them. Great presentation and great stories!!
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
I am glad that bought you happiness!
@allensanders5535
@allensanders5535 7 ай бұрын
its nice to learn about the A-37 there was a squadron of them that replaced the B-58s at grissom air base where i live about 8 mi. from, they were the (434 SOW) A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet but they were only there a few years before being replaced by the A-10. it was a big change after watching KC-135s and B-58s flying around and then the little bitty tweet compared to those.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
All things considered, I would have rather flown the B-58!!
@allensanders5535
@allensanders5535 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers ya they were cool but let me tell ya I know they say the tweet was loud but it didn't compare to a 58 flying at 2000ft. over your house every single day all day even the 135s were quiet with the 4 J57 turbojet engine.
@USAFUser
@USAFUser 7 ай бұрын
​@@ronrogersYou gotta be John Denvers dad or something like that to fly the hustler ..
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
I remembering them flying out of Offset AFB and getting "boomed" regularly at my home in Iowa City. Kind of enjoyed it! People would be complaining to high heaven these days!
@warped-sliderule
@warped-sliderule 7 ай бұрын
Ron, Awesome photo of "second best fighter pilot", A-37, on TPS ramp with 1600 and tower in background - classic! Thanks for lore/stories about fighter pilots in bars and how avoid getting your personal bits ingested by those conveniently placed intakes. Fondly remembering the A-37 "Converter" - Excels at converting JP-4 to NOISE!!!!
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@521-n3y
@521-n3y 7 ай бұрын
the picture at 10:54 brings a lot of memories with the M&M hanger on the left with the control tower and fire department in the back ground. Where the F111 is setting is where out C-130's were parked along with the B58. I was at EAFB 1967-68 worked of the JC-130 airal recovery program.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Yes, we had 4 F-111s, Only 2 at any time operational!
@giancarlogarlaschi4388
@giancarlogarlaschi4388 7 ай бұрын
" Where do you want the bombs ...Windows or Doors " Vietnamese A 37 Pilots to American Forward Air Controller. As told by my B 777 Instructor at Qatar Airways years ago. He was a former OV 10 Bronco Pilot . Kindest Regards
@bobcfi1306
@bobcfi1306 7 ай бұрын
Also. I would like to hear you and your son discuss the very different paths you guys took to the airlines. Thanks
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Yes that would be interesting! If I could only pin him down!
@renetheresin562
@renetheresin562 2 ай бұрын
Great description. Flew them in our air force, FAH. Honduras.
@danawalkerley1395
@danawalkerley1395 7 ай бұрын
I know you did a video on the DO-328 turbo prop. When you mentioned the thrust to weight ratio of the A-37 the Do-328 jet came to mind. If I remember correctly an empty jet was only like 25,000lbs but you had about 12,000lbs of thrust.
@DaleShipsIt
@DaleShipsIt 7 ай бұрын
Saw one of the ex-VAF A-37 in a hangar in Darwin in the late 1990s, being worked over to become a civilian warbird. The thing that struck me was how little it really was. Remember thinking, "Oh boy, it's no bigger than a C-172".
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
But much more powerful and fast!
@hesimplywillnotdie
@hesimplywillnotdie 7 ай бұрын
One of my favorite aircraft. Thank you, Ron!
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Very welcome
@dirtydave2691
@dirtydave2691 7 ай бұрын
There were A-37s at Howard AFB in Panama during my time there in the Army. (Fort Clayton 88-89). Really cool seeing them flying low over the Empire Range training area.
@Bobm-kz5gp
@Bobm-kz5gp 7 ай бұрын
We had South Vietnamese pilots come into Cam Ranh Bay with tweety birds and at DaNang they were based there in 69 and 70. Nosiest jet ever, skull splitting shriek. I wished I could have flown them!
@USAFUser
@USAFUser 7 ай бұрын
It indeed has a very annoying high pitch screech at idle power.
@craigcowan2971
@craigcowan2971 7 ай бұрын
I’ve always wondered, carrying six external fuel tanks had to increase drag. At a certain point, isn’t it just diminished returns?
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Yes. The F-4 had the same issue
@Jeff-tb9kp
@Jeff-tb9kp 7 ай бұрын
Didn’t think this video would be interesting……but nope!…..it was great. Loved it.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@PetesGuide
@PetesGuide 7 ай бұрын
Did the A-37 not have the thrust attenuators the T-37 did, to keep the engine spooled up during landings?
@cjc1103
@cjc1103 7 ай бұрын
No. The thrust attenuators were a band-aid fix to keep the J69 engines "spooled up" as you say during landing, because otherwise it took too long to increase thrust, and up to 18 sec to go to full thrust for a go-around. I remember you were in and out of the thrust attenuators during landing, they acting like little speed brakes. The J85s had a lot more thrust and were quicker to spool up.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
No thrust attenuators on the A-37. The J-85 had a much faster spool up time, 8 secs vs 18 secs. Also, the A-37 had much more drag with all the external tanks so the approach power was higher.
@PetesGuide
@PetesGuide 7 ай бұрын
About your “shack” story at 16:00 . My first time firing a pistol on the range, up in Marin at a facility owned by an employee of a certain CAD company I was familiar with but which shall remain nameless (and his wife), somewhat near San Quentin, I was going through a safety course with some excellent instructors. This might have been the third class. Set up with a Ruger 22 on a leather bean bag. Took a few minutes to steady my breath an index finger, align the sight, and squeeze. I was sure I had missed, because I couldn’t see any holes. So flipped the target motor switch and brought the paper back to my station. Couldn’t see the hole from 25 yards because it was dead-center on the 🎯! I have a similar story about my first time playing miniature golf, on the last hole with a tapered ramp without edges that ran up to a hole like a bird’s nest. Got me a free submarine sandwich out of that! But you already know how the next shots at both locations went…
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
First time my wife shot a pistol, a 38, she hit dead center (screamed, dropped the revolver and stepped back). In the end, you cold have put a dime over her pattern. The instructor told me never to piss her off!🤣🤣🤣
@johnmorykwas2343
@johnmorykwas2343 2 ай бұрын
I had the lowest CE of the wing, but never had a shack
@kristensorensen2219
@kristensorensen2219 7 ай бұрын
You make listening fun!!👍😤💛
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoy it!
@my-yt-inputs2580
@my-yt-inputs2580 7 ай бұрын
I had an 0-6 boss many years ago who flew the A-37 as chase during the early testing days of the F-117. This was back before it was acknowledged. Flying out of you know where in Nevada.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Name of Ruth?
@my-yt-inputs2580
@my-yt-inputs2580 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers Yep...Ruthmo
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Interesting. He was my boss at the command post. For 6 month he talked about how he was going to Stan/Eval at EDW as T-38 senior flight examiner. One day the Chief of Stan/Eval asked to fly the T-38 with me. We had a nice flight and as we were siging in he said, "How would you like to come to Stan/Eval and be the T-38 senior flight examiner." I said, but my boss has been talking about how he was going to be the SFE. The Col looked at me and repeated.."How... I said I would be honored. He turned and walked away. I was in a bit of shock. Ruth was very unhappy and wrote me a very bad OER. Wing commander changed the bad items and made very nice comments but I figured my AF career had taken a big hit. Didn't matter once I got out. Not a fan of Ruth.
@my-yt-inputs2580
@my-yt-inputs2580 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers Sorry to hear that about him. He was probably the best boss I ever had. I worked with him at 9 AF Stan/Eval at Shaw. After the 1st Gulf War. He had been a SQ/CC at Seymore prior flying the F-4 then transitioned to F-15E. He ended up retiring at AFMC Stan/Eval down in Florida.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Well, maybe he changed. He was my across the street neighbor and when he left for his next assignment in '78, all the neighbors (all pilots) had a party on his yard (this was on base) and essentially trashed it. I actually have pictures. You be the judge of the meaning of that. He was upset he never got invited to the pilot parties, so we had one on his yard when he left.
@briancooper2112
@briancooper2112 7 ай бұрын
Underrated airplane.
@ShadesOClarity
@ShadesOClarity 7 ай бұрын
Just got off work and didn't see the premiere. F-16 pilots call their aircraft "The Viper" as you know. "Fighting Falcon" just doesn't match the meanness of it's capability. The Supertweet looks like a fun aircraft to fly. The Wild Weasel mission took brass cajones.
@patrickflohe7427
@patrickflohe7427 7 ай бұрын
I never heard the F-16 called the viper, when I was in. Never understood why people had to change names of jets, just because they think it’s cooler.
@ShadesOClarity
@ShadesOClarity 7 ай бұрын
@@patrickflohe7427 It's same reason Ron described the aircraft in this video. Nobody changed the name, it's just what the pilots call the F-16 and its variants.
@bobcfi1306
@bobcfi1306 7 ай бұрын
Very interesting to a 50 year civilian pilot. Thanks
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it
@CAPEjkg
@CAPEjkg 7 ай бұрын
It may be a tweet, but you had a gun at least, haha. Great story as usual.
@FlyingGentile
@FlyingGentile 2 ай бұрын
18:44 😂 thats one of the birds I work on in Baltimore
@richardgreen7811
@richardgreen7811 2 ай бұрын
I've heard several comments on the A-37 from acquaintances in the Air Force during Vietnam who elected not to fly the plane due to safety concerns. Their comments were while making a comparison of the A-37 to the A-1 in terms of load and performance characteristics. While the A-1 could and did (as I witnessed) carry extremely heavy ordinance loads across the entire breadth of the wing while performing attack maneuvers, it was reported that the A-37 had a very limited ordinance load capability and also was highly susceptible to developing spar cracks ... and further had instances where the pilot may (or may not have) pulled excessive G's resulting in wing failure at the root thereby collapsing the wings and making each wing slam together below the fuselage ... causing the nickname "the clapper". Truth or War-Stories ???
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 2 ай бұрын
The A-37 definitely had a limited load carrying capability. Had not heard of some o f the other issues you mention but like any military aircraft, it certainly had a number of issues.
@richardgreen7811
@richardgreen7811 2 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers And like many Bar Pilots ... "they" have a number of issues.
@derekschroeder9992
@derekschroeder9992 7 ай бұрын
Believe it or not, there is a A37 currently being restored back to flying condition at my home airport (KLNK).
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Cool!
@bigdaddie40
@bigdaddie40 7 ай бұрын
Mr. Digress, are you going to be at OSH this year? I'd love to buy you a beer or 2 or 3.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Yes I will. Getting in Sunday night and staying until Thursday.
@bigdaddie40
@bigdaddie40 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers I'll get your contact info later. We usually get in on Sunday and leave the following Sunday.
@johnmorykwas2343
@johnmorykwas2343 2 ай бұрын
It's called a "peter pockit". On non G-suit.
@kiwidiesel
@kiwidiesel 4 ай бұрын
I love how we have progressed to digressing from a digression 😂
@PetesGuide
@PetesGuide 7 ай бұрын
The plane at 31:28 doesn’t have the refueling probe. Which model was that?
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Not sure, but there was a period where the A-37s were undergoing a modification to add the refueling probes.
@jcheck6
@jcheck6 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers Great vid Ron! Flew it active duty at DMAFB '82-'85 (IP/SEFE 800+ hrs). Regularly AAR'd with KC-135's and KC-10's. We and all the Guard units (Battle Creek/Peoria etc) flew it in a FAC role. Shot hundreds of WP rockets but no bombs. The gun was removed. Don't recall any of the issues you mentioned. We had one accident (hit a cable) where both ejected successfully. Fun a/c to fly even after coming from the RF-4C. When and where did you fly it?
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Flew it out of Youngstown. We still had the fighter configuration.
@brianmee5398
@brianmee5398 7 ай бұрын
The only Cessna with more fuel tanks than a 310.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
You got that right!
@giancarlogarlaschi4388
@giancarlogarlaschi4388 7 ай бұрын
1976 T 37 Cross Country flight , Williams AFB ... We were entering the Officers Club , I heard a bell , my Instructor pulls me down to the floor. Then he asked me : " Sorry ...but would you like to buy a drink to All these guys ? ". I was barely 20 years old , SATP , Chilean Air Force. My Instructor was First Lieutenant Mr. Kennett Nelson , a True Officer and Gentleman . At the time Willy AFB was Full of Canadian and European Fighter Pilots. Fantastic Memories ! Kindest Regards Ps. Went straigth back to Chile to fly the A 37B " Dragonfly " !
@PetesGuide
@PetesGuide 7 ай бұрын
We’re you allowed to wear BDUs while carrying BDUs under the wings?
@stevetobe4494
@stevetobe4494 7 ай бұрын
THE USAF didn't wear BDUs until 1987. The Olive Drab fatigues were worn before then. Concerning BDU practice bombs, we assembled thousands of them.
@michaeldolch9126
@michaeldolch9126 7 ай бұрын
I’m amazed a centrifugal jet engine was being used in Vietnam! I thought those were all but extinct after the early 50s!!
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
The A-37 used the axial flow J-85. The trainer the T-37 used be centrifugal flow j-69.
@michaeldolch9126
@michaeldolch9126 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers thanks for the clarification! I thought I might have missed something when I’m the later portion of the video I saw the axial engine.
@softwaresignals
@softwaresignals 7 ай бұрын
Ron, a lot of cool details, excellent! I hope you do a video on what fighter pilots and you thought of Mugs McKeown flipping or tumbling (a lot of pitch axis I think) an F-4 Phantom in 1972 combat, and also in the 1960's in tests. Reference: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWrCpIiko9iprposi=wdLuBjNYB8QuuahR&t=55
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
I have heard about using the "departure from controlled flight" maneuver as a tactical maneuver but only second hand. So, as I understand it, it can be done, but no direct experience.
@softwaresignals
@softwaresignals 7 ай бұрын
@ronrogers I'm a flight controls aero engineer, and departed flight is interesting. Mugs McKeown was said to have perfected an F-4 move that flipped it, and he actually crashed one in the 1960's trying it (bailed out). Then the famous Mig dogfight happened, and, to this day, after hearing audio recordings of Mugs talking about it in the Navy Archives, I'm not sure if he meant to flip it in combat !!! He did it though, as his RIO Ensch attests to this day. History favors the bold I guess. Or the Lucky maybe? Seems he might have ripped the tail off if speed was high enough.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Interesting. Out at Edwards AFB, thru Cal Sate Fresno, I almost completed my Masters in Aero and it was coupled with an EE Masters. I was ONE course short and regret I did not complete the dual degrees, but I was getting out of the AF and pursuing an ATP so ran out of time. My understanding was that to get the high AOA required a low speed and by adding in aileron, the aircraft would depart. This was noticeable when maneuvering the F-4 at high AOA and applying aileron which was becoming ineffective. You had to keep the roll going by applying rudder and neutralizing the ailerons, or you would depart. Got into the high AOA situation, but never departed an F-4.
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Actually, I do now remember a pilot at the bar telling me how he used the departure maneuver (in training) to evade and get behind an aggressor. It may have been the beer talking however!
@jcheck6
@jcheck6 7 ай бұрын
@@ronrogers I think you are correct Ron. After departure you get one chance to recover and that is with the drag chute.
@PetesGuide
@PetesGuide 7 ай бұрын
Did you ever lose that wiggling bug game and have to buy a round?
@ronrogers
@ronrogers 7 ай бұрын
Never did!🤣🤣🤣
@ralphleslie1811
@ralphleslie1811 7 ай бұрын
After flying the F-100 in Vietnam and being a T-38 instructor, I went to grad school and found myself in an academic assignment with a mix of rated and non-rated officers. One of several political currents in the unit was the tension between those who saw this as a temporary diversion from a flying career and those who saw academia as a more enlightened career path. Eventually I decided it was time to leave active duty but before actually separating, there was a dining-in to attend. I was not the only unhappy camper at the time and was dared to call "Dead bug" during the dinner. I wasn't planning to do it but a particularly jerkish non-rated leader gave a toast speech disparaging pilots that was the perfect setup. So, I rose to respond and spoke of how fighter pilots and pilots in general, were sometimes perceived to be juvenile in their behavior. Those who knew what was coming had started scooting their chairs back from the formal table. When I offered my response to the accusation of juvenile behavior in the form of "Dead bug!" and half the attendees hit the floor with chairs and utensils flying it was quite a scene and the dumfounded looks on the faces of those who didn't see it coming was priceless.
@PetesGuide
@PetesGuide 7 ай бұрын
@@ralphleslie1811 Please tell me the fearless leader was the last one standing? I never served but my late uncle was a Lt on the Maddox (left before the thing), and I practically grew up sitting in Bob Stirm’s La-Z-Boy ogling all the fighter jets on his fireplace mantle. That’s where I caught the flying bug. Pun intended. Than you for your sacrifices!
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