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Aircraft Over Rappahannock
The Air Guard plane seen and heard over Rappahannock is the Vought A-7D Corsair II. It is a single-seat, single engine attack fighter originally built for the U. S. Navy. Attack aircraft are designed to hit ground targets, rather than fight other aircraft, although the A-7 can do both.
It is a large fighter, weighing 20.000 lbs. empty, and is capable of carrying over 15,000 lbs of bombs and rockets, and 9,000 lbs. of ftieL
The A-7 can operate as high at 41.000 feet, and has a top speed of 660 mph. It uses advanced electronics, including an on-board computer, to aim its 20-mm cannon and drop its bombs.
When passing through Rappahannock on VR-1754, A-Ts usually fly about 460 mph, and may be as low as 600 ft. Each plane is equipped with a sensitive downward-reading radar altimeter that activate a warning tone if the
^ aircraft goes TjoIow a set level,
approaching obstacles and hisinstrumenta. }'
Navigation is aided by an advanced inertial measurement system and projected map display system, but Capt. Gerrish says that pilots must be able to use their compass, clock and airspeed indicator to plot their course as well
The aircraft usually flown by Navy pilots on VR-1754 is the A-6 "Intruder”, a larger two-engine, two-seat attack plane equipped similar to the A-7. The Navy flies
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