John H. Rood

Thanks, Phil for all your efforts here... VERY COOL.

Quick Size Comparisons: With an F-86 this past year at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying. And below, two early Skyhawks, A4Ds, with another superb Ed Heinemann design, the A3D Skywarrior, the beloved WHALE! As the Whale lacked ejection seats for her 3-man crew, the A3D came to be known as "All 3 Dead". But a great airplane, superlative in every way. Notice the subtle family lines the A-4 received from the A-3. And note this Whale was still wearing Glossy Sea Blue overall, so this photo was fairly early in the Skyhawk's tenure. Edited By John_Rood on 05/02/2016 23:22:32

For a solid. detailed overview of the Skyhawk, this 49 minute documentary is worth the time investment. Attention is paid to the design philosophy and the subsequent development of each variant, and the YouTube video quality is better than I expected -- especially for a video that was made before the year 2000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLMM_jf6Lwc#t=2831.510065 Edited By John_Rood on 04/02/2016 22:06:01

Aggressor training, circa 1982, NAS Miramar, California. Below: Possibly a still photo from the "Top Gun" movie production.

Here's where it all started... XA4D-1 Skyhawk at El Segundo, California, 1954.

So as to get my model actually BUILT and FLYING, I am taking an advanced placement seminar, "A-4 PSSer Workshop Aggressiveness 101" with this PSSA UK-authorized astrophysicist civilian consultant here at NAS Miramar. She's kinda needy and high-maintenance, but hey -- it'll all be worth it.

Skyhawk Disciples, I hereby join your great adventure! How's about a PSSA UK bird built all the way from over here across the muddy pond in Boston, Massachusetts, USA? I'm gonna give it a try! Just this past Saturday I ordered the goodies from Traplet, they've got my money and fingers crossed the goodies arrive soon and I will hit this thing and hit it hard. I'll sure TRY not to throw it in Boston Harbor one night in a fit of Colonial outrage like happened with some tea here back in 1776 or whenever it was. More likely, however, it thing gets built I'll manage to drop it in the drink, probably more than once, and with deleterious effect, both here in Boston Harbor and down south a bit in Cape Cod Bay. There's some great slope soaring down in them thar parts! Meanwhile, for religious worship / inspirational purposes, here's a sweet lil' Tinker Toy I've known for many years at Santa Monica Airport in my hometown of Santa Monica, California. I took this snapshot out on the ramp late one afternoon in Summer 2011. She's part of the collection at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying. Cheers, and thanks for having me.