Structural and aerodynamic testings were often followed by trips to carriers to confirm land based results
Taken in mid-70’s the interesting photo in this post features a U.S. Navy A-7 Corsair II performing Carrier Suitability SR&R (Shake, Rattle & Roll) testing at land-based C-7 catapult and Mk 7 Mod 3 Arrested Landing Gear.
As explained to The Aviation Geek Club by Pat O’Brien, a civilian test engineer/project manager who worked for the U.S. Navy, structural and aerodynamic testings were often followed by trips to carriers to confirm land based results. Noteworthy during this kind of sorties there were cameras stationed at various locations around the test site and the planes had lines painted on them so that aircraft position could be visually determined, O’Brien said.
Built by LTV Aerospace Corporation (the same company that produced the iconic F-8 Crusader), the A-7 Corsair II replaced the A-4 Skyhawk as Naval Aviation’s front line light attack aircraft. The aircraft performed its maiden flight in Sep. 1965 and resembled the F-8 Crusader especially in the single jet intake gaping beneath the nose.
However the short and stubby silhouette of the Corsair II embodied ruggedness and left little question that it was designed to carry bombs. In fact the A-7’s operational career began and ended under fire, the first squadron equipped with the aircraft logging missions over Vietnam in 1967 and the final two A-7-equipped units ending the aircraft’s flying days in the skies over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. All told, seven production versions of the aircraft operated with the Navy, including the two-seat TA-7C and the EA-7L for electronic countermeasures work. Another version of the Corsair II flew operationally with the U.S. Air Force.
Photo credit: U.S. Navy
Artwork courtesy of AircraftProfilePrints.com
Source: National Naval Aviation Museum
