Original R.G. Smith
Skyhawk Concept Blueprint

R.G. Smith A4D-1 Sketch

Breakdown/Re-mating an A-4

1961 Flying Ubangis Skyhawk BuNo 142719, AB-402, is manned and ready to go as the line division clears the area of starter probes and the boarding ladder.

BuNo142085 at NAF China Lake with a good view of the starter probe installed in the right wing root.

13MAR63: China Lake Skyhawk BuNo 147680 and Shrike test pilot LCDR Jack Sickel. Navy photo from J.A. Sickel Jr. Starter probe installed and commencted to a turbine starter.

CVA-19 South China Sea, NF-402 gets a start from a flight deck "Huffer", using a starter probe. 

RNZAF Official photos via Don Simms.

RNZAF N2 (nitrogen gas) rig next to fuel tank vent trolley.

Sprauge Hydraulic Serviving Rig, operators side.

Maximum External Load Capacities:
Fuselage Centerline Station (all models) = 3,500 lbs
2 Inboard Wing Stations (all models) = 2,200 lbs (ea.)
2 Outboard Wing Stations (all except A/B/C/P/Q) = 1,000 lbs (ea.)

External Fuel Tanks: (Useable)
150gal Aero 1C Drop Tank - 147gal
300gal Aero 1D Drop Tank - 295gal (P/N 22548000?)
Centerline 400gal Drop Tank - 396gal

The Buddy Store Pioneered by Douglas and the A-4 Skyhawk, the air refueling system enables the carrying aircraft to serve as a tanker for other aircraft. All fuel in the Skyhawk tanker aircraft, except the fuselage tank, may be transferred to the receiver aircraft.
The refueling store (Buddy Store) carried on the center-line rack contains a 300 gallon fuel cell, a constant speed ram air turbine-driven hydraulic pump, a hydraulically driven fuel pump, a hydraulically operated hose reel, and 50 feet of refueling hose with a droque.
The store is capable of transferring fuel at aprox. 180 gallons per minute. Provisions are made for dumping fuel when necessary. The operational envelope of the store with the droque extended is limited to 300KIAS or .8 MACH, which ever is lower up to 35,000 feet.
The air turbine that powers the 700-pound in-flight re-fueling package will be able to transfer about 6000 pounds of fuel from the center-line and wing tanks, as well as part of the internal load of 5400 pounds in the wings and fuselage. The tanker will weigh about 23,700 pounds on the catapult. When it reaches the bow, its speed will be about 150 knots (173 mph). It was SOP (standard operating procedure) to launch one tanker in each launch-recovery cycle. In combat, the air wing would launch two or three Skyhawk tankers if several divisions of aircraft were attacking well-defended targets. During the years that the Skyhawk tanker was operational, its pilots prevented innumerable aircraft losses due to fuel exhaustion. The most common causes of "low-state" were additional approaches needed for safe landings on a pitching deck, delay for clearing a crash on deck, using extra fuel in evading SAMs and MIGs, and fuel loss from battle damage. 1968: Hornets Skyhawk BuNo 142105 refueling an RA-3B Skywarrior. U.S. Navy by PH2 Don K-Sieburg, Jr.

Center-line "Buddy Store" (re-fueling pod)

Wing station with a External Baggage Container, CNU-188/A (Blivet)

Skyhawk Ordnance Page

1965: VA-64 Black Lancers A-4C Skyhawk (BuNo unknown), AE-608, and VA-66 Waldos A-4C Skyhawk (BuNo unknown), AE-503, in the background as Ordies move an iron bomb across the deck of the USS America somewhere in the Med. USS America CVA-66 Cruise Book photo from Jack R. Hansen.
Good shot of one of the America's bomb elevators. From the flight deck down to the 2nd deck, one deck below the hangar deck. At the 2nd deck, the ordnance is transferred from a second elevator that runs from the 2nd deck to the ordnance storage areas several decks below. Thus no direct path from the flight deck to the ordnance storage areas, in case of of fire and/or explosions.

Robert O. Rahn, first pilot to fly the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, passed away at age 77 on Thursday, May 21, 1998, a victim of ALS (Lou Gehrig disease).

Around the Douglas Aircraft Company flight test department, Bob had the reputation as being "a cool and thorough pilot."  There were several instances in the flight test programs of the AD Skyraider, the F4D Skyray, and the A4D Skyhawk where his unflappable demeanor during test flight emergencies literally saved the programs.  Bob also participated in the F3D Skyknight and F5D Skylancer flight test programs.

Born in Harvey, Illinois, on December 29, 1920, Bob attended the University of Cincinnati, intending to earn a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.  While there, he learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot Training Program and, in early 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and entered flight training.  After graduating, he became a member of the first United States fighter group to deploy to England, where he flew the Spitfire with the 309 Fighter Squadron.

After completing his overseas tour, Rahn returned to the U.S. and wrangled an assignment to Wright Field to attend the United States Air Force Test Pilots School.  With World War II all but over, in August 1945 Bob accepted employment as a test pilot at Douglas Aircraft Company, where he subsequently made first flights in 18 different aircraft between 1946 and 1956. In 1957 he joined the Rockwell Company as an Apollo Space Capsule simulator research pilot.  Rahn retired from the aircraft industry in 1984 to devote much of his time to skiing and flying his Navion aircraft in speed enhancement and point to point flight competition with other Navion owners.

Among the group of World War II pilots who bridged the gap between the "seat-of-the-pants" pilots and the engineer-scientist aviators that now conduct aircraft flight tests, Bob Rahn accumulated many honors in his flying career.  He was inducted into the Navy Test Pilots Hall of Honor, set a world speed record in the Douglas F4D Skyray, served as a founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, was a charter member of the Aviation Hall of Fame, and an original member of the Skyhawk Association.

Bob Rahn was characterized as "a pilot who knew what was going on, able to tell the engineers what the problems were in their own terms."