Old Viper Tester Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 (edited) YA-7D, s/n 69-6191, was a support jet with the 6512th Test Squadron, 6510th Test Wing, Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. It was primarily used as a trainer for the USAF Test Pilot School (TPS) and as a support aircraft for other aircraft test flights, usually F-15s or F-16s. March 1981. Most of the YA-7Ds retained the US Navy probe and drogue refueling probe and were never fitted with the flying boom receptacle. July 1984. The "ED" tail codes were added to most 6510th Test Wing Aircraft in 1983 May 1985 with SUU-20 practice bomb suspension units. When the A-7s were used as target/threat aircraft for F-15 or F-16 radar testing, ALQ-131 or ALQ-188 ECM pods would be carried on the mid-wing stations. The trapezoid markings on top of the wing are for optical tracking during TPS spin training/evaluation missions, making it easier to determine the aircraft attitude with ground-based optical trackers and cameras. TPS would spin the A-7 both upright and inverted. January 1989. I had left Edwards for a posting in London in 1985. When I returned to Edwards in 1988, all of the F-4s and A-7s were in white with red visibility markings. Just as well that all the flight test A-10s left Edwards in the Summer of 1985. White and red Warthogs would be just plain wrong. Thanks for looking, Sven Edited June 10, 2019 by Old Viper Tester 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 30 minutes ago, Old Viper Tester said: White and red Warthogs would be just plain wrong. Amen to that, Sven Ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted June 11, 2019 Share Posted June 11, 2019 thanks for posting these pictures Sven. The whole flightline looks interesting Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted July 1, 2019 Share Posted July 1, 2019 Great scheme, thanks for posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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