Greetings from Mojave Airport! We first met Bob Grondzyk when he flew into Mojave Airport for one of our “Jet Blasts” several years ago. His visit was long before high fuel prices made flying a private jet unaffordable. Bob flew in with one of his friends and he was thinking about buying a small jet to fly.

He has a North American T-28C and his beautiful Douglas AD-1 Skyraider and both are seen on the air show circuit in Southern California during the summer months. His daughter flies the T-28 and Bob performs an impressive aerobatic routine with the Skyraider.

This photo was taken by Britt Dietz at the 2005 Chino Air Show held May 21-22. Mr. Dietz takes outstanding photos of aircraft in flight while standing on the ground. His detail is unbelievable! Bob displayed the capability of the Skyraider’s speed brakes during numerous flybys. He did lots of rolls, creating wonderful opportunities for photographers to click pictures of the top, bottom, front and back of this wonderful warbird!

Douglas began flight test work on the Skyraider in March 1945. This aircraft was designed to be a replacement for the torpedo/dive bombers flown by the U.S. Navy in WWII.

The Skyraider was not completed in time for use in WWII, but was a valuable weapon in Korea and Vietnam. It was the last single-seat; piston engine combat aircraft ever built for the U.S. military, but still proved its worth in the new jet era during the Korean Conflict.

During the Vietnam War in 1966, nine years after the production lines had been closed down; serious consideration was given to resuming production. Douglas produced 3,180 Skyraiders from 1947 to 1957 with seven different variants.

This aircraft served in the USAF and Navy during Korea and Vietnam. During the Gulf of Tonkin crisis, in August 1964, all aircraft carriers of the 77^th Task Force were deployed with attack squadrons of the Douglas A-1H. They were the first to be sent into action against targets in North Vietnam. The US Navy Skyraiders remained at the front until April 1968, earning the nickname of “Workhorse of the Fleet.”

They were useful for low-level attacks and ideal as escorts for rescue missions, during the early years of the war they did everything and flew everywhere, being given the familiar name of “Spad,” from the famous World War One fighter.

A1-E Skyraiders from the 1st Air Commando Squadron at Pleiku were scrambled to support the Special Forces in March 1966. The monsoon season was still underway, and the North Vietnamese knew that this would also hinder American air support. Jet aircraft were of little use due to the low ceilings, and an AC-47 gunship and helicopter had both been downed while making low passes.

During the second day in support of the A Shau battle, one Skyraider, piloted by Col. Dafford "Jump" Myers, was severely damaged, and in flames. The only alternative was an emergency landing on the airstrip in the lower-valley camp. Fisher, guided the stricken aircraft in for a belly landing. Failing to jettison his 300 gallon drop tank, Myer's Skyraider landed in a ball of flame as it skidded down the make shift runway.

Myers successfully escaped the burning wreckage, but was within yards of enemy ground forces. Colonel Bernard Fisher and several other Skyraiders made several low passes laying down strafing fire and dropping ordnance. With any chance of helicopter rescue many minutes away, Col. Fisher took matters into his own hands and landed his own aircraft on the damaged and refuse-laden landing strip, successfully rescuing his downed comrade. Fisher's Skyraider received 19 bullet holes, and for his heroic efforts Colonel Fisher became the first USAF officer to receive the Medal of Honor in Southeast Asia.

Colonel Fisher is depicted in a Stan Stokes' painting during that mission in the A Shau Valley on March 10, 1966. The U.S. Special Forces camp had faced several days of heavy attack by a large force of North Vietnamese troops, who had brought in ack-ack guns in anticipation of Air Force support.

Skyraiders carried the nickname “Sandy” were used in over 100,000 missions in the skies over Vietnam and proved to be a very valuable aircraft even though it was powered by a Wright R-3350-26WD radial engine, instead of a jet engine and was swinging a 4-bladed, thirteen and a half foot propeller.

The AD-1 Skyraider was capable of carrying 4,000 pounds of bombs and/or wing loaded rockets. Improvements continued with future variants, and when equipped with a 3,020-horsepower power plant, the Skyraider's payload capacity increased to 6,500 pounds, with a top speed of 328 knots (377.2 mph).

James H. Doolittle, III, grandson of General James H. Doolittle, who flew the B-25’s off the carrier Hornet in WWII to bomb Tokyo, flew Skyraiders in the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1973 and flew missions in Vietnam.

I hope you have the chance to see “Skyraider Bob” at an airshow in the near future. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed!

Until next week.  .  .  .  .  “Keep ‘em flying!”