Coolidge Municipal Airport (P08)

[FelipeG]

I wasn't thrilled about the ground cart sitting right in front of the plane.

[Joe Copalman]

Agreed, but at least it was on the other side. 

[Dave S.]

'murrican Thunder.

Any word or info about an upcoming flight?

[Joe Copalman]

Nothing yet, but I can check.

[Joe Copalman]

Another shot of the DC-7 from when Rob and I were doing our ghetto-fab light painting.

[Joe Copalman]

HOBBY HORSE

[Jay Beckman]

Great Title!

[FelipeG]

we still have another month and a half until they start up again.   

Just under 2 weeks

[Scott Youmans]

Joe Copalman might appreciate this one. Taken in April 2005 with my new, at the time, EOS-20D!  Rather boring paint job but being an OV-10 makes up for it, at least for me!

By the way Joe, your PT-22 shot gorgeous!

Scott

[Joe Copalman]

Oh.  Hell.  Yeah.

Was that one of the Colombian SLEP birds, or was this when they were working on the Philippine birds?

Really wish I was shooting back then.  Well, with more than my 5MP point-and-shoot.

[Chris Kennedy]

I read something the other day about the Navy using OV-10s in Afghanistan for some special program. No details though.

This is the article:

http://defense.aol.com/2011/09/20/light-attack-plane-seeks-new-life-in-navy/

[Joe Copalman]

I read something the other day about the Navy using OV-10s in Afghanistan for some special program. No details though.

This is the article:

http://defense.aol.com/2011/09/20/light-attack-plane-seeks-new-life-in-navy/

Very cool.  There was talk a while back about the Navy getting two or three of the State Departments OV-10D/Gs for SEAL support, so I'm guessing this is actually happening now. 

[Scott Youmans]

This OV-10 was for the DOS and ended up getting the spray equipment on it later.  I'd love to see what the Navy might be doing with them. They put them to very good use is Vietnam with VAL-4 and looked really great with the twin Zunis on the wing pylons.

Here's another shot from the same day.

[Joe Copalman]

I'd love to see what the Navy might be doing with them.

Initial reports were that the Navy was interested in the ex-DOS OV-10s for remote-site MEDEVAC and cargo drops, with no intent to re-militarize the aircraft.  No idea on whether the laser designator was removed or otherwise deactivated as part of the de-mil process, but that would come in handy for offensive purposes.  If the comm suite from the OV-10D+ was retained on the DOS birds (BATF made extensive use of this, primarily in line-of-sight monitoring of bodywires and operation coordination of ground teams), that would make the OV a pretty potent command-and-control platform as well.  Check your email, I sent you a report on the transfer options that were being considered for the DOS OV-10 fleet a few years back.  I also have a list of which birds went where, but I'll have to dig around for that.  Some went to museums, some to NASA, and some to the Navy.     

[Chris Kennedy]

CALFIRE got three of them, although all of their aircraft are technically on loan from the Forest Service FEPP program.

Here are some of the dispositions.

http://www.ov-10bronco.net/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=402