David Aungst became aware of the difference in the tips of the stock A-4 ailerons and elevators and those of the Blue Angels A-4F Super Foxes and took these pictures of the four-ship display (one did have the Blue Angels mod) suspended overhead in an atrium of the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida to illustrate it.
Note that the aft outer edge of both the aileron and elevator of the Blue Angels Skyhawks come to a sharp corner rather than being rounded (I overlaid an outline of the stock aileron and elevator on the Blue Angels' so I'm pretty sure that there was no increase in span of either as a result).
The difference seems small but apparently it made a notable enough difference in roll rate and pitch control power to be worth it.
Other, better known external changes to the Blue Angels A-4F Skyhawk included the bulged intakes and longer tailpipe that were associated with the Super Fox configuration (see https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2011/02/super-fox.html), the removal of the cannons, a housing for the boarding ladder extending from the left cannon bay, the bolted up slats (they were individually actuated aerodynamically so might not extend or retract at the same time, decreasing roll control precision), and the addition of a drag parachute housing under the aft fuselage.
The boarding ladder was very narrow and collapsed like a parallelogram to fit in its housing for flights to and from display venues.
No comments:
Post a Comment