EXCLUSIVE Look At The TA-4 Skyhawk 

The cockpit is so tiny in the single seat version, agreed you wear it just like an F-16... albeit with very poor rearward visibility in comparison, like a MiG-21.

Thanks for your service and thanks for watching!

Sounds almost exactly like my Dad. He flew A-4C's E's, F's and TA-4. 3000 plus hours in A-4's. He also loved the F-11F and said it was the best formation aircraft he ever flew, but his true love was the A-4. I grew up with that Airplane.

@@timclark607that’s awesome! What squadrons did he fly A-4’s in?

So sorry for your loss. Folks like your dad are exactly the reason we keep pouring resources in to aircraft like this. We have to honor the history and sacrifice of those who came before us!

@@JetJerodthanks bud, hope our aviation paths cross one of these days.

He flew in the first A-4E squadron, VA-23 the Black Knights. (I was born at Lemoore) He did his combat cruise in 1965 on the USS Midway. After Vietnam he got orders to be a test and evaluation pilot with VX-5 at China Lake. After his separation from active duty he flew A-4L's in the Navy reserve squadron VA-209 at NAS Glenview until it was disbanded in the early 70's. @@DreadnautVS

Glad you noticed it! NZ has rich A4 history, this aircraft has some NZ influence in the engine and such…plus my wife’s family are Kiwis!

Sure is!! Honor and a privilege!

A few great people with some focus and intention can accomplish amazing things!

@@jagermiesterftn wow that’s so cool! Not sure where you reside but this jet is currently sitting in Houston, TX (Lone Star Flight Museum) on display in all her glory and we do fly her about once per month!

Thank you! We’re excited about the next one! Going to be a big one for us!

That’s so cool! Thank you for your service. I was able to fly the air show demo in this jet at Lemoore a few years back, they said it was the first time in a loooong time that an A4 had been there

Thanks for the kind words! That’s really the main reason I post this kind of stuff, I’m passionate about it and I want to inspire people like I have been inspired. Also, if someone like me can do it, anyone can! 🤣

@@JetJerod thanks so much for your reply and will see you in the skies sometime!😃😊😄🛩️🛩️💪🏼💪🏼

Sounds good! Fly safe!

Thank you so much!

Thank you! I love sharing this stuff with people, it’s really the best part of aviation if you ask me.

Of course! I’m just happy to be a small part of the effort.

Definitely a very cool and interesting childhood to grow up around such historical aircraft!

Thanks for the comment! Stay tuned, we will be releasing several more A4 videos this year!

Wow! Thanks for your service! 🫡 A4’s 4ever!

Thanks for your service! Definitely an awesome experience to fly!

Thanks for the kind words! We love taking care of these awesome pieces of history! If you like this, I’m confident you’ll love what we have coming soon!

Awesome, thank you! We’re enjoying compiling the content!

Definitely a ton of fun and an honor to have been in that formation! Hope we get to do it again someday!

Thanks for watching! I’ve never taken the A-4 over Mach .97 myself!

He’s the best!

I can imagine, thanks so much for his service!

Thank you!! So glad to have all of y’all’s support on this new RU-vid journey of ours!

Us, too! Such an amazing aircraft!

Thank you! It certainly takes a team of dedicated folks, certainly worth it!

Definitely! So much fun to fly!

Thanks so much for your service and appreciate the kind words!

Wow! Had to be fun times! Thanks for watching, glad it brought back some memories!

@@JetJerod I'm glad that there are some folks keeping the various Skyhawks airworthy. Well, I also like seeing the various F-5's, T-2B's, etc. being operated and shared with the public. The later jets, being more complex, seem rather unlikely to be flown and operated by private citizens. The Collings Foundation's F-4 Phantom might be the exception, along with any MiG-23 that doesn't end up dropped into a lake.

Yea it’s definitely a large undertaking of effort and resources to keep any of these flying but I sure think it’s worth it. To a point there’s only so much we can do but it’s worth a shot!

SCOOTER!!! Haha

Thank you! Very fortunate to be able to help take care of these beauties

Awesome! Thanks for his service! 🫡

Gotta represent where I can!

Yes I do get asked that quite a bit but the answer is…well there’s no straight answer! Maybe I can do a video on why that is, that could be helpful as well! Thanks for the comment

Thanks for noticing! Gotta show some support to the Kiwi’s!

Thank you! Yea the Gnat and the A4 are both absolutely spectacular aircraft! Hard to beat the sound of an A4 at full power!

Thank you!

Thank you so much! Just honored to be a part of the team!

Thanks for the kind words! Great question, here’s a simplified answer: the aircraft’s book shows +7G rating then decreases from there depending on factors like symmetrical flight, rolling pullouts, turbulence, asymmetrical loading, what you’re carrying on which racks..etc. For example, the limits for full 300 gallon drop tanks are +3/-1 G, also accompanied by speed limits, in this case 525 knots indicated or Mach .80, whichever is lower. So you can see that once you start hanging stuff on the jet and adding weight, the limits are quite reduced and you have to be cognizant of that. As a private operator, we take the limits in the book and reduce them a bit further just to take care of the jet. My max G limit for the jet is 5 and I limit speed to 500 knots/Mach .95, coming down from there if the drops are on and even more if they’re fueled. Hope that helps!

It’s a heck of a fun ride!

Awesome! Lots of folks really enjoyed the Blues flying the Skyhawk!

Thank you! We try to keep her going as best we can!

You can take them off but they’re actually pretty handy to have! Typically they’ll be ran with 2 drop tanks, one on each side. Either 150 or 300 gallon “drops” are standard, in the event of a gear issue, you can even land on the tanks with minimal damage to the aircraft itself.

@@jontyII it is! I have some Kiwi family and I also wanted to honor the NZRAF’s long operation of the A4!

@@JetJerod That’s wonderful thanks from a Kiwi! I miss those jet so much. You are truly lucky and such a massive effort to be civilian rated. Would love to see you one day bring an A4 to NZ!

We don’t in this one, unfortunately! But check with Collings Foundation, they were offering flights in theirs at one time.

@@JetJerod Oh, ok. I think Collings was having some trouble for awhile. Do you use AOA to land your A-4 like the Navy pilots? I love flying the A-4 in DCS World...thanks.

Any change on giving a ride status? I grew up around Navy Weymouth, MA. I chased looking at the A-4 my whole childhood. I flew corporate, fly a part91 Cessna Caravan now. I love the looks of the A-4, making several models of it....thanks--Rob@@JetJerod

Yea Collings did, they might again soon once they get theirs back up and running. Yes I do use the AoA. I take the pressure altitude and runway length in to consideration then decide whether I want/need to do a 1.3 or 1.16 (or something in between) Vso landing, correlate that with the expected airspeed for the given landing weight then go from there! That way you have a target airspeed to check against your AoA on final approach. Thanks for the question!

Yea! Wanted to throw a small tribute to the Kiwis as well since A4’s have a special place in NZ history! I have a Kiwi roundel on the flap of the jet as well!

For now it is! Still for sale, hopefully find a good home for her soon. I love flying her even though I “try” to stay quiet around Henderson, it’s pretty tough! Glad you enjoy the noise!

Wow, that’s so cool!

I hate to be that guy, but the squadron was VA-34 (not VF-34). V= Heavier Than Air, A= Attack (F denotes "Fighter"). The Squadron's name was VA-34 Blue Blasters. It was the second squadron designated VA-34 (the first one was re-designated VA-35 in 1950) and they were aboard Saratoga in 62-63. The squadron was disestablished in 1969. In 1970 another VA-34 was established, but this time flying A-6 Intruders (still using the Blue Blasters nickname and the same insignia, although the US Navy does not recognize lineage among squadrons with the same designation), it is still active today as VFA-34 (Strike Fighter Squadron 34) flying the F/A-18E Super Hornet.

N518TA!

“INCLUSIVE look!” 🤣 According to one of Webster’s definitions of “exclusive” it can mean “stylish and/or fashionable” so I suppose it fits that meaning 😆 Anyhow, thanks for the comment and hope you enjoyed the video.

Thanks! Yea we get 50/50 on having music in the videos. Unfortunately, the videos with music do 10x better than without so we tend to use it. I do like to just hear the engine noise, myself! But we also want the videos to get watched!

The T-2 is owned by someone else, that was at SNA for the Pacific Air Show (Huntington Beach)

@@JetJerod: I wonder,though, if that means people wouldn't watch the same vid with less music. I don't suggest zero music, just not during an active flight. If it's all straight & level, you probably have to jazz it up a bit. Just my 2c.

@@JetJerod: I react that way to all Navy planes of my era.

I agree with you! I want to hear the plane!

1.16 AoA on a 6000’ field not only shows a “Navy” style landing but also best for stopping distance on the relatively short runway. Might look firm but for this jet, it’s soft compared to what it was designed for on the boat! Thanks for watching!

It is! My wife’s family is from NZ and so is the engine in our beautiful TA-4 so I had to represent. NZ did the A4 proud and I’m not above recognizing it!

Hi! We don’t currently offer rides in this jet, unfortunately!

Almost too big! I’m 6’, as for weight..it varies..let’s just say my goal weight is 200 🤣

We do try to take good care of her! We don’t fly her nearly as hard as she was designed to be flown. All about preserving the history and keeping her flying!

@@debbiestimac5175 🤣 both father and son are great dudes!