OV-10 Belly Cam – Pattern Fly-by
Have we got some awesome video content at OV-10 Squadron? Wow!
OV-10 Re-Flight Project
From the boneyards back to the sky, Mike Manclark of Newport Beach, CA is regenerating an entire squadron of OV-10 Broncos back to the sky. An interest in one aircraft led to a fleet of eight with three having already completed restoration. Two are currently serving as live fire platforms with operational M-60 machine guns with a multiple bomb rack for strafe and target spotting roles. The third is currently for sale with advanced avionics suite, upgraded engines and propellers. From the jungles of Vietnam, the Sands of Desert Storm, Cocaine fields of Columbia, the DMZ of Korea, Manclark’s airframes are rare warbirds with documented provenance and wear the sheet metal patches from actual combat damage. Perhaps even more rare these fifty year old light attack platforms are still live fire capable.
“White Lightning” has sold to a private individual in Europe and soon she’ll be flying “over the pond” to live with her new owner.
Bronco 155474 fought hard against the NVA from 68-73. Her nation called her again in 1991, flying an epic 10,000-mile ferry flight to Kuwait where she attacked Iraqi armor and called in the 16-inch gunfire from the USS Wisconsin. Then in 1999, pulled from retirement and refitted for a new war, the War on Drugs. 474 was a Cocaine Crop Duster carrying a 400-gallon herbicide tank and utilized her armor plating and heavy airframe to battle small arms fire while performing low-level aerial application in the jungles of Colombia.
2018- Fifty years later she is tired. Her bushings worn, wires cut, bullet holes hastily patched, corrosion sets in. As her paint fades we set out on a journey this year to bring her back into service. As our Vietnam Veterans age too, they deserve to share the story of the close air support on the Mekong Delta. Patrols around The Parrots Beak, assaults on the Plain of Reeds, the heavy-hitting punches of 5″ Zuni Rockets clearing the way for Navy SEALs who are surrounded.
The Bronco in Vietnam was there for downed airmen. Troubled Infantry, reassured by the rapid response Black Ponies. Outgunned riverboats. Helicopter Escorts, and spotting targets for the heavy bombers and fast-moving jets.
2018- Fifty years later she is tired. Her bushings worn, wires cut, bullet holes hastily patched, corrosion sets in. As her paint fades we set out on a journey this year to bring her back into service. As our Vietnam Veterans age too, they deserve to share the story of the close air support on the Mekong Delta. Patrols around The Parrots Beak, assaults on the Plain of Reeds, the heavy-hitting punches of 5″ Zuni Rockets clearing the way for Navy SEALs who are surrounded.
The Bronco in Vietnam was there for downed airmen. Troubled Infantry, reassured by the rapid response Black Ponies. Outgunned riverboats. Helicopter Escorts, and spotting targets for the heavy bombers and fast-moving jets.
- TT 10500, 120HR SM IRAN
- LE TTSN 3397 TSO 763
- RH TTSN 1825 300 SMOH
The narrative of the Black Pony pilots
The narrative of the Black Pony pilots who distinguished themselves in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War includes sad, comical, horrifying, and heartbreaking elements. Using their turboprop Broncos to fly “down and dirty, low and sluggish,” they killed more enemy soldiers and saved more allied lives with close-air support than all other navy squadrons combined during their three years of service. Kit Lavell, the author, was a member of this squadron of “black sheep” who were given an opportunity to establish a name for themselves by flying these deadly missions. Light Attack Squadron Four (VAL-4) was the US Navy’s only land-based attack squadron, flying support missions for counter-insurgency troops, SEALs, and ally groups with borrowed, propeller-driven OV-10s. They were risky, unusual missions for fixed-wing aircraft, which readers rapidly grow to admire
Blue Air Training Acquires Seven OV-10 Broncos
Blue Air Training has just announced their acquisition of seven OV-10 Broncos. Two of the aircraft are presently airworthy, seen here in formation recently. They include the recently restored OV-10D+ Bu.155493 (foreground) and OV-10G Bu.155409 (background). The other five examples are of unconfirmed origin, but are thought to come from the OV-10 Squadron’s inventory. (image via Blue Air Training) With the rise in civilian-military partnerships over the past few decades, with civilian contractors taking on many non-combatant roles more traditionally handled by military assets, it has been interesting to see the number of companies springing up to fulfill specific tasks, such as adversary training and the like. These civilian companies, requiring sophisticated machinery with well-proven capabilities to accomplish their missions, have naturally turned to the surplus military market to supply their needs. This has breathed new life into long-retired aircraft types which might otherwise be consigned to museums and boneyards, or simply turned into ‘pots and pans’.
Photo Credit: Blue Air Training
One of Blue Air Training’s half dozen A-90 Raiders, a COIN aircraft of Finnish origin. (image via Blue Air Training)
Blue Air Training’s CEO
Blue Air Training has just announced their acquisition of seven OV-10 Broncos. Two of the aircraft are presently airworthy, seen here in formation recently. They include the recently restored OV-10D+ Bu.155493 (foreground) and OV-10G Bu.155409 (background). The other five examples are of unconfirmed origin, but are thought to come from the OV-10 Squadron’s inventory. (image via Blue Air Training)
Blue Air Training’s CEO (left) getting his hands in on maintenance with one of the company’s half dozen BAC Strikemasters, seen here at Pensacola. (image via Blue Air Training)
While the aim for these civilian-military collaborations is to train the modern warfighter for present-day conflict scenarios, it has had the unintended benefit, for those of us with a passion for vintage military aviation, of seeing some of our favorite aircraft in skies once more. We have seen types such as the Hawker Hunter, Dassault Mirage, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and even legacy McDonnell-Douglas F-18 Hornets, refurbished for flight in significant numbers. Now we can add the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco to this list.While the aim for these civilian-military collaborations is to train the modern warfighter for present-day conflict scenarios, it has had the unintended benefit, for those of us with a passion for vintage military aviation, of seeing some of our favorite aircraft in skies once more. We have seen types such as the Hawker Hunter, Dassault Mirage, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and even legacy McDonnell-Douglas F-18 Hornets, refurbished for flight in significant numbers. Now we can add the North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco to this list.
Blue Air Training has just announced their acquisition of seven OV-10s which they will use on contracts to help train U.S. Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC). Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, with an additional operation in Pensacola, Florida, Blue Air Training has specialized in Close Air Support mission profiles, a role in which the OV-10 Bronco will excel since it was originally designed as a counter-insurgency and forward air controller platform during the Vietnam War.
Blue Air Training has been in operation since 2011, and has a well-established reputation. They have been operating a number of other types, including the BAC Strikemaster, IAR 823 and A-90 Raider. They also recently acquired six former Royal Australian Air Force Pilatus PC-9 trainers to add to their fleet as well. Regarding the Bronco acquisition, Blue Air Training’s founder and CEO, James “Chef” Barlow had this to say about the aircraft: “As a career A-10 Pilot, I’ve always had a tremendous respect and appreciation for the OV-10 Bronco. Its unique look and mission focused design rings true to my heart. In our configuration of 8 bombs, 7 rockets, 2000 rounds, FLIR and LINK-16 there is no wonder why this aircraft was recently selected to take the fight to ISIS. For those very reasons the seven OV-10D+ and OV-10G Broncos we are adding to the Blue Air Close Air Support fleet are undeniably the best JTAC training platform in the air, anywhere.“ – Founder and CEO, James “Chef” Barlow.
The newly acquired OV-10 fleet is known to include two currently airworthy Broncos: former USMC OV-10D+ Bu.155493, which the OV-10 Squadron recently restored to flight, and OV-10G Bu.155409, lately of the Valiant Air Command. The identities of the other five Broncos which Blue Air Training has acquired are unconfirmed at present, but based upon comments noted on the OV-10 Squadron’s Facebook page, it seems likely that they are amongst the other examples noted in that organization’s inventory. Time will tell, of course. Regardless, it will be great to see the Bronco well-represented in the air again. While they add to their legend in military history, we are bound to see some of them turn up at air shows in the coming years as well. Long may the Bronco renaissance continue!
Some of the Blue Air Training team at Pensacola. Two BAC Strikemasters are in view to their rear. (image via Blue Air Training)
#FlyingBroncos
@FlyingBroncos
@OV10.Squadron
Recent Comments