• Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2), assigned to: USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)
• Carrier Air Wing 5 (CVW-5), forward deployed to NAF Atsugi, Japan; assigned to: USS George Washington (CVN-73)
• Carrier Air Wing 9 (CVW-9), assigned to: USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)
• Carrier Air Wing 11 (CVW-11), assigned to: USS Nimitz (CVN-68)
• Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW-14), assigned to: USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was designed as a single-seat carrier-borne attack bomber.  The prototype Skyhawk, XA4D-1, flew for the first time on 22 June 1954, only eighteen months after design work was initiated and features a simplified airframe and reduced equipment as compared to other deck-landing combat aircraft.  No wing folding mechanism is used as the Skyhawk is sufficiently small without wings folded to ascend and descend on the elevators of US Navy aircraft carriers.  The Skyhawk entered service in October 1956 and provided the US Navy and USMC with their principal light attack platform for over 20 years.  The total production of all variants reached 2,960 aircraft.

   Early models comprised the Wright J65-W2 powered A-4A/B/Cs (differing in avionics and engine power), the Pratt & Whitney J52-P engine A-4Es and A4-Fs with a dorsal avionics hump.  This avionics hump contained the aircrafts radar jamming electronics counter-measures ALQ-51 box.  This box was extremely heavy and awkward to remove and carry. The unit had several varying-in-size electronic cables.  They were connected to the unit with a water hose type fitting on the cables to fasten to the ALQ-51 box.  This unit was located under the engine in the nose wheel well inside the fuselage.  The A-4F was simply an A-4E with this ALQ-51 unit moved to the top of the fuselage to the inside a dorsal hump.  This hump was located just behind the canopy for ease of installation or removal.

    A-4 trainer variants featured two cockpits in tandem with a single canopy, and some combat capability.  The TA-4J lacked cannon armament and combat capability.  In USN service this is the major operational model, used for advanced training, including carrier qualification.

A-4E Skyhawk Specifications:

Length (including inflight refueling probe) - 42 ft. [12.72m]

Height - 15 ft. [4.57m]

Wingspan - 27.5 ft. [8.38m]

Wing Area - 80 Sq. ft. [24.4sq.m]

Weight(operating empty): - 10,250 lb. [4,649kg]

Maximum take off weight: - 22,500 lb. [10,206kg]

Maximum speed: - 700 miles per hour [1,128 km/h]

Service ceiling: - 39,993 ft. [12,190m]

Range with maximum ordnance: 719 miles [625nm or 1,158km]

Maximum rate of climb - 10,912 ft. per minute [3,326m]

Propulsion - One General Electric F404-GE-100D

non-afterburning turbo fan rated at 48.04 kN

Armament - Two Mk 12 20-mm cannon in wing roots:

plus ordnance including: - bombs, rockets, ASMs, AIM-9P AAMs and fuel tanks.

    When stationed at NAS Lemoore, California from 1966 to 1969, while not at sea Dennis obtained a certification for a back seat flying license for flying in the Douglas A-4E Skyhawk.  The back seat of a TA-4E is exactly the same as the front equipment and instrument panel wise.  The back seat has it's own ejection seat and joystick.

    To qualify for flying in this aircraft, Dennis had to go through a simulated high altitude low pressure air chamber and remove face mask.  This test of oxygen deprivation at high altitude shows the effects on the body for lack of oxygen, including: judgement, motor skills, disorientation.

    As well, Dennis was ejected in a ground ejection seat to find any fears for gravitational forces caused by an ejection.  He also went through vertigo training (motion sickness) and the proper donning of a facemask and helmet for oxygen and radio communication.  He also was given a brief familiarization with cockpit instruments.  Lastly, he went through spatial disorientation testing.      Since, Dennis was an Aviation Electronics Technician 3rd Class, this instrumentation training was familiar.  He obtained his first flying license in April of 1968 at NAS Lemoore, California and re-certified his license in 1969 for another year.

    His A-4E flights took him 125 miles to Crow's Landing near San Jose, California (N37°23.61',W121°03.92'), where the Navy has a military bombing range.  Here the pilot took him through several dives and climbs. The aircraft starts into a dive from 32,000 feet in altitude and dives steeply at approximately a forty-five degree angle.  The pilot reaches his final target altitude of 10,000 to 12,000.  He then pulls back the joystick into a steep climb after having released his bombs or strafed his target or launched his missiles.  The passengers are subjected to two or three G-forces or number of times more the body weighs due to centrifugal forces.  Dennis suffered some motion sickness on this first bombing mission.  The pilot also let Dennis experience the feeling of weightlessness on their way back to NAS Lemoore, California Air Station.

    The very next day, Dennis knew he had to overcome his fears of vertigo (motion sickness), and go on another bombing run.  On this flight he flew over the Sierra Nevada mountains 327 miles to Fallon, Nevada, (N39°28.54',W 118°46.53') and went through the same exercises with several other aircraft from VA-163.  On their way back to Lemoore, the pilot with Dennis got into a dogfight with another jet aircraft over the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  The pilot relied on Dennis as a spotter for the enemy aircraft.  We lost anyway, somehow!  The other pilot must have been TOP GUN.  It's a good thing it was only simulation but what a roller coaster of a ride.

    Dennis experienced several night flights down to Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery (N33°21.2',W 115°28.8'), near the Mexican border 104 miles from Palm Springs.  Here the pilot bombed targets after first releasing magnesium flares to light up the target area first.

    Dennis also experienced in-flight refueling of other aircraft by his own on another flight.  On this occasion the "FUEL LOW" warning indicator light on the instrument panel came on, where Dennis was seated.  Dennis had been so bored by the straight, level flying he had started to doze off earlier.

    When he glanced at the instrument panel and saw the FUEL LOW indicator light on, he questioned the pilot, "Sir, why are we flying so slow?"  The pilot told Dennis he had cut himself short of fuel, while refueling the other aircraft.  Consequently this was why he was flying slowly to conserve their fuel.  The pilot also radioed the control tower at NAS Lemoore and advised them, that there would be "no flybys" and no holding patterns, as their aircraft was almost completely out of fuel.  Dennis said, "Sir, what is the glide ratio of an A-4E Skyhawk?"  The pilot replied, "about the same as a rock".

    When their aircraft finally reached the base and touched down on the runway the pilot radioed to Dennis, "Ha, Ha, I cheated death again".