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A-37 Formation

HuggyU2

HuggyU2

Well-Known Member
None
This past weekend, a good friend and I took two A-37B aircraft from Boise to St George Utah for a fly-in.

Both jets were in the same South Vietnamese AF squadron, and were later captured by the communist North. The jet I'm flying was actually flown by the communists against the Khmer Rouge. So, yeah... it flew combat for the good AND the bad guys. The owner has photos of his jet in communist hands. And his jet looks exactly the way it did in Da Nang in 1970.

This was the first time in 34 years that A-37s flew in formation in North America.

The other jet will be repainted to look like the other jet for historical accuracy.

Easy to fly and simple. However the fuel system is really odd, and if there is an issue, you will be Emergency Fuel in short order. I watch it like a hawk.

The fuel burn is heinous. I expect that the next time we fly them, Greta Thunburg and her cohorts will fast-rope into the airport and set up a major protest. Yes, those 4 underwing pylon tanks are real, and were full of fuel when we took off.

I delivered the jet to the Warhawk Museum in Nampa Idaho, and it will spend the winter there for the public's enjoyment. The rocket pods and 250 lbs bombs are back on and really look good.


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That's really awesome, thanks for sharing! I'd had no idea until recently how much of a "hot rod" the A-37 was compared to the tweet. Watched a video, maybe even one that you posted somewhere, and man that thing screams at idle. Let me know if you ever need a navigator/radio talker :)

What's max fuel state with the 4 drops and wingtips and full internals?
 
It's about 5600 lbs of fuel with all four pylons filled.
Roughly... it's 100 gallons in each pylon, each tip and each wing. Plus 80 gal in the fuselage tank.

The engines crank out about 5800 lbs of thrust... which is what a T-38A puts out in afterburner.

I didn't compute it to a gnat's ass on this trip, but my trip last year at 16,500 burned about 1.1 gallons per mile. I think we burned more this year since we flew low on some of it.

Keep in mind: the jet weighs about 5500 lbs empty... and it has a useful load of 8,500 lbs, giving it a max takeoff weight of 14,000 lbs.

I'm guessing the video you referred to is this one. Hilarious! And very accurate too!


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@HuggyU2 I have a work colleague in Lincoln NE who is involved in another A-37 project there (Offut RC135 guy) and they think their jet should be flying in early 26.
 
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