Air barons
| Air barons | |
|---|---|
| Country: |
 United States
|
| Currently used aircraft type: | Douglas A-4L |
| Sponsor: | United States Navy |
| Base airfield: | NAS Glenview |
| Founding: | 1967 |
The Air Barons were an aerobatic team of the Naval Air Reserve from 1967 to 1971 and thus at times the second aerobatic team in the US Navy alongside the Blue Angels . During its existence, the team was equipped with two variants of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.
history
In June 1958, the VF-725 Squadron (squadron) of the Naval Air Reserve was formed and stationed at the United States Naval Air Station Glenview . Initially, the VF-725 flew with the Grumman F9F-6 Cougar , but later switched to the FJ-4B Fury . In July 1964 they were rebuilt as VA-725 and equipped with six A-4B Skyhawks. In 1967, the VA-725 set up the Air Barons as a representation team for the US Naval Air Reserve. The team made its debut at the Canadian International Air Show that same year. In July 1968 the VA-725 was renamed VA-8.
In November 1968, the team received official status as a flight demonstration team. In May 1970 the team switched to the A-4L model Skyhawk, which had a more powerful engine and improved electronics than previous versions. On June 28, 1970, during a landing after the flight demonstration, a main landing gear tire burst on the team leader's aircraft. The plane rolled down the full length of the runway and then tumbled over the end of the runway. As a result, the nose landing gear collapsed and the aircraft's nose was badly damaged. Fortunately, the pilot, Jim Mahoney (the team's founder) was not injured. In July 1970, as part of a NavAir reorganization, the VA-209 in NAS Glenview, Chicago, Illinois from the VA-5 and VA-8 squadrons was reorganized as the successor to the VA-725 Squadron.
During the Air Baron's typical 30-minute flight show, various formations and splits were flown with the 6 aircraft. In contrast to the Blue Angels, who also flew the A-4 at the same time, the Air Barons always flew with an additional tank under each wing while the Blue Angels only used additional external tanks for transfer flights and carried out the actual flight demonstrations without any external loads. One of the 6 A-4s also had a hose reel container on the centerline pylon in order to refuel another A-4 of the team as part of the demonstration. In contrast to the full-time military pilots of the Blue Angels, who only do aerobatics when they were assigned to the Blue Angels, the pilots of the Air Barons were only active as part-time military pilots as pilots in the Naval Air Reserve. The pilots on the team were all former regular naval pilots (pilots in reserve). The crew included airline pilots, a teacher, a finance expert and an art director for Playboy . The Air Barons pilots were all part of the civilian population, which explains the team's motto: “Twice a Citizen”. At the end of 1971, the parent unit of Team VA-209 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Glenview, Illinois, was disbanded. The Air Barons no longer had any planes or support (logistics / support / mechanics). This ended the existence of the unique aerobatic team. The team flew 66 official flight displays during its existence.
literature
- Tommy H Thomason, SCOOTER! , The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Story. Crécy Publishing LTD1973, ISBN 978-085979-160-1 (page 203)
- Wings at the Ready, US Naval Institute, Annapolis, MD, pp. 130-131, c1991, ISBN 1-55750-750-3
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Announcement about the line-up of the Air Barons on a4skyhawk.us ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ History of the VF-725, VA-725, VA-209 on a4skyhawk.info
