Thanks, Mike. Arizona is a lot closer.

Reading about Wiley Post and Winnie Mae was among the earliest of events that sparked my interest in aviation.

I’ve got to visit the next time I visit my brother in Iowa.

But he added two non-existent Bay class to the RN.

And forgot the listing for Australia (2xJCI, 1xBay, & 1xLSH [Tobruk]).

They could have modernized Kiev,Minsk, and/or Novorossiysk if they wanted the smaller carriers… but instead they sold them – Kiev to China (1996), Minsk (1995) & Novorossiysk (1995) to South Korea (Minsk was then resold to China).
Kiev & Minsk still exist as theme parks in China, while Novorossiysk was scrapped in 1997.

I think the Russian Navy would have been perfectly happy with two Kuznetsov-class carriers.

Pioneer has raised a sensible point, compared to Comanche the A129 is hardly overkill but then it brings up the issue of Kiowa. Compared to the Kiowa the Comanche was an absurd overkill. If they wanted a tandem seat attack scout helicopter why not the Cobra? They could of even used re-engineered Army Cobra airframes as a basis with some stealth features.

The Comanche programme began in 1991, with the award of a development contract. So, was the AH-1 a geriatric programme that nobody in their right mind would buy, 22 years ago?

Fedaykin, Comanche was to replace the US Army’s AH-1 Cobra light attack helos as well as the Kiowas… when it was canceled the US Army replaced its Cobras with more AH-64 heavy attack helos and more Kiowa Warriors (OH-58D, the fully-armed Kiowa variant with the mast-mounted sensor ball).

Now they need/want to replace the Kiowa Warriors, but do not need to replace any light-attack helos… therefore they don’t need an actual attack helo like the A-129.

Fighter-Bomber was the USAF’s way to avoid designating an aircraft as an “attack” aircraft (“A” prefix). This was very important for the USAF in the 1950s, as they wanted to be seen as operating fighters and strategic bombers. Thus you had aircraft designed as primarily ground-attack aircraft (both close-support and long-range tactical strike) with only secondary fighter capabilities (F-100, F-105, F-111) being designated as fighters.

Multirole Fighter was the new fad in the 1970s & 80s for an aircraft designed to perform several different mission roles with equal emphasis… not favoring any one role over any other.

Strike Fighter is the new term for Fighter-Bomber, but indicates that the fighter capability is more emphasized than with the F/B.

I’d rate them as follows:
Fighter-Bomber = >66% strike/attack & <34% fighter
Strike Fighter = ~55% strike/attack & ~45% fighter
Multirole Fighter = 50% strike/attack & 50% fighter

See post #20. Had nothing to do with sandblower, sandstorm, sandman, sanding paper, belt sander, the Earl of Sandwich or sand dunes.

And when we’re bored with the AD-1 = SPAD discussion, we can start on A4D = Ford.

That would be a very short discussion, so I’ll just get it out of the way now.

The A4D was NOT called “Ford… it was called “Scooter”, “Kiddiecar”, “Bantam Bomber”, “Tinker Toy Bomber”, and, on account of its nimble performance, “Heinemann’s Hot-Rod”.

The Douglas Aircraft Co. product that was nicknamed “Ford” was the F4D Skyray!

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?13824-The-F4D-Skyray-set-records-but-was-%91bizarre-%92-pilots-say

The F4D Skyray set records but was ‘bizarre,’ pilots say

Issue Date: April 12, 2004

The Lore of the Corps
The F4D Skyray set records but was ‘bizarre,’ pilots say

By Robert F. Dorr
Special to the Times

Maj. Edward N. LeFaivre, a Marine test pilot, used an F4D-1 Skyray fighter to climb faster than any plane or pilot had ever climbed before.
With a climb to a height of 15,000 meters — 49,213 feet — in just 2 minutes, 36.05 seconds, LeFaivre on May 23, 1958, established an official record.

The Skyray was a kind of paradox in the history of the Cold War. Dubbed by pilots the “Ford” because of its F4D military designation, the plane was noted for rapid acceleration on takeoff and high performance in flight. But it also was difficult to handle, especially during the moments after takeoff, when it tended to yaw as the wheels came up.

According to Col. Jacques Naviaux, the flying qualities of the Skyray “ordered on the bizarre.”

Source: U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1996.253.7325

An early F4D-1 Skyray pictured in flight. On October 3, 1953, an F4D in full combat configuration set a new world speed record of 752.953 mph, the first carrier capable aircraft to do so and the first Navy/Marine fighter capable of exceeding Mach 1 in level flight. THe Skyray, called the “Ford” by its pilots, was accepted for operational use July 1956.