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The Corsair II
The A-7 Corsair II was initially developed in response to a 1963 US Navy requirement for an aircraft to replace the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Since the Navy wanted the aircraft to be in service by 1967, the speed of development was essential. The Vought company based their contract-winning design on their F-8 Crusader which was already in Navy service. The prototype flew in 1965 and the first A-7 squadron entered combat in Vietnam in December 1967. The plane proved to be wildly successful as a close air support and strike aircraft.
In 1968, the A-7D version of the Corsair II went into production for the US Air Force. Changes included a more powerful engine, improved avionics, and an internal gun. The Navy was impressed with the improved performance of the new version and it was adopted for Navy use as the A-7E. They entered service in 1970 and remained in front line use until 1991 where they saw combat for the last time over Iraq and Kuwait.
Taking the A-7E as high as possible during Post Maintenance Check Flights
David Tussey, former US Navy Corsair II pilot, flew the A-7E for much of his career as recalls on Quora;
‘I flew the A-7E for much of my Navy career. The published Service Ceiling in 42,000 feet. Later in my career I did a lot of Post Maintenance Check Flights (PMCF) to verify the aircraft was operating properly following major maintenance, e.g. engine change, major structural inspection, etc.
‘On those PMCFs I used to take the aircraft as high as possible. I was darn lucky if I could reach 42,000 feet. The engine just runs out of thrust at that altitude. There’s simply not enough air. You could indeed fly at 42,000 feet, and maybe you could actually climb a few hundred feet higher if you were lightly loaded. But for all practical reasons, that’s as high as you can go.
‘(Note: I do realize that many of today’s aircraft have much higher (50K+) service ceilings, especially some of the latest bizjets.)
Engine just running out of thrust
‘Nothing dramatic happens at 42,000 feet. No changes to the airplane’s handling…the engine just runs out of thrust. Control responsiveness diminishes for the same reason. But it’s perfectly flyable.
‘Recommended or not? Not really recommended. Not really necessary. It’s challenging to control the aircraft at that altitude; it just gets “squirrely”. About the only reason to go that high that I can think of is to clear a thunderstorm, but honestly…it’s easier to just steer around it.
‘There’s no tactical reason I know of to get as “high as you can go”. And for the airplane I flew, it just wasn’t very useful. Nothing you can do at 42,000 feet that you can’t do at 41,000 or 40,000 feet…or even in the high 30’s.’
Tussey concludes;
‘BTW, when you are flying cross country in the US, if you’re flying up in the high 30k’s, you’re pretty much alone. Not much traffic up there. Great visibility though.’
Photo credit: Cdr. John R. Leenhouts / US Navy
