A7D CORSAIR II 1:48 - build diary

[hyair]

Dear jeanma - first I would like to thank you for your encouraging words.
For some 50 years since the age of 7 I am into paper models build . In the 60's
there was a magazine of the IAF that was released every 3 months with
a paper model included. Today my fleet is about 50 paper models in 1:48 scale
and 50 plastic models in 1:72 scale - all are jet fighters of the 1950-1970 era.
As this is my exclusive nishe I read a lot on the related subjects\topics
and share my knowlege in this wonderful forum !!!

Thanks - Yair

[hyair]

The F-8 Crusader first flew in 1955 and broke the sound barrier in his first flight.
9 years later the A7 Corsair made the first flight. The resemblance
between the two is striking . The A7 is shorter and the fuselage was
strenghed as it was designed to carry up to 7 tones of ammunition.
In Vietnam the A7 had the lowest attrition rate of jet fighters as "only" 54 lost.
The type was retired only last year in 2014 by the Hellenic airforce after 50 years
of service - this is a testimony for the excellent basic design. The Hellenic airforce
service will be described in the next chapter.

The F-8 E is hobby model and A7D is GPM both in 1:48 scale.

Yair

[hyair]

Here is a link that describes the service of A 7 D with the last user -
the Hellenic air force where it served till 2014.

Aviation Feature – Hellenic Air Force A-7 Corsair II Retirement

Yair

[hyair]

The Vought jet family photos - F7U-3M Cutlass , F-8E Crusader
and A-7D Corsair II. One jet of Vought - the F-6 Pirat is missing but it never went into service with the NAVY and only 30 were built. As far as I know no paper model of
it was ever released.
All in 1:48 scale for comparetion purpose next to each other.

Yair

[hyair]

The A-7E was participated in the first Gulf war. The type was the NAVY version of the USAF A-7D. It was replaced by the F-18 Hornet shorty after the war in 1991."
Attached is a link that described the "SLUF" ( SHORT LITTLE UGLY FELLOW)
activity in the first Gulf war.

Gulf War 20th: Desert Storm Was an Heroic Moment for A-7E Corsair II | Defense Media Network

Yair

[hyair]

The A-7F was the only supersonic A-7 ever to evolve.
Basically it was A-7D with longer fuselage and F-15 F100-220 engine with a thrust of 26000 lb in after burner vs the normal TF-41 with 14500 lb.
This engine allowed the A-7F a dash speed of 1.6 mach while the A-7D was subsonic with only mach 0.92 top speed.
Below is a nice article link for the A-7F " STRIKEFIGHTER ".

Can We Learn Something From The Defunct A-7F "Strikefighter?"

Yair

[milenio3]

Very nice collection you have there, Yair!

[hyair]

Thanks Gerardo - the Vought planes were alway looking radical.
The Cutlass was looking like no other plane in its time with the twin tail and the Crusader
with its unique wing design of up and low positions. The Corsair II was based on the Crusader and was a simplfied version adapted to carry heavy bomb load with very accurate weapon system.

Yair

[hyair]

The A-7 was dasigned from the outset to replace the A-4
Skyhawk. However the Skyhawk was only retired half a year ago in Israel in compare to the Hellenic air force more than a year ago. So the Skyhawk which first flew in 1954 is 66 years
old. Part of it's longevity can be traced due to it's relative simplicity
of design. Also the Skyhawk was produced in huge numbers approching
4000 and the last model with the dash -408 had much better performance
due to the higher thrust of some 11000 lb in compare to the regular J52 with 9300 lb.

These two models in 1:72 are showing the main differences between them and size
comparetion. It's a pity that I didn't build the paper Skyhawk in recent years but I will try to
build it in the near future.

Yair

[hyair]

Some more pics of the GPM Corsair II.

Yair