Recent content by spadguy

In Japan all the taxi drivers needed to hear was "43 boat". It worked

The Skyraider never had any form of prop reversing. That is a scary thought. In a high angle dive, steeper than 30 degrees, usually up around a 60 degree dive angle one would set the power to a nominal setting and the prop to around 2100 rpm. In the dive an automatic manifold pressure regulator...

The AD-5 did not always have the three panels for the dive brakes. Usually the bottom one was not installed due to the radome ( AD-5W) or due to mods for center station weapons or pods. The AD-6/7 had all three panels and you DID NOT want to use them in level flight because they could blank...

In the movie "the longest day" those were Skyraiders (AD-6 or 7's)from Attack Squadron 85 that were flown by US Navy pilots deployed to the Med on a large carrier. I was not there but knew some who flew that mission.

I flew the Skyraider for a few years including the AD-4, 4NL, 5, 5Q, 5N, 6,and 7 models. Those were dive brakes.

It was developed to carry one 1000 pound bomb 1,000 miles from an aircraft carrier of the 2nd world war size. It did that and so much more. It was a flying dump truck