Bare Bones Flying
Our boney friend enjoying a little stick time around Sleepy Hollow. Happy Halloween!
Never Forget: Why our OV-10 Squadron Mission is More Important than Ever.
When we founded OV-10 Squadron, our mission was two-fold. To protect and rebuild as many of these legendary aircraft as possible. And to keep the memories alive of American men and women whose lives were connected to them.
Since we started down our path, we’ve been joined by dozens of other supporters, cheerleaders, and champions. We’ve received thousands of emails from people who love what we’re doing, encouraging us every step of the way.
We’ve also been made well aware that both the OV-10s and those who served around them are departing us at an alarming rate. As part of a growing community of people working together to create legacies from these legends, we’re working at warp speed to save as many aircraft as we can and share the stories of their impact.
Last week, one of the original designers of the OV-10, KP Rice, passed away. It was his vision that helped change the way America tackles missions in hostile environments. And it’s our vision that will ensure his lives on.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way. And to KP Rice for sparking the idea that impacted so many lives. We look forward to continuing our work together.
Top 5 Things We Love About the OV-10; In Memory of KP Rice who passed away December 26, 2019
America lost one of the good ones. One of the designers of the original OV-10 Bronco, KP Rice, passed away over the Christmas holidays. An aviation trailblazer who was also known for his efforts to bring the flying car to a two-car garage near you, we simply can’t thank him enough for his contributions to American innovation.
In honor of that, we’ve put together a list of our Top 5 Things We Love About the OV-10.
- Portability. The OV-10 was built so it could be transported on the back of a truck in a standard shipping container, then put back together with a box of ordinary tools stowed in the aircraft itself.
- No Runway Required. Because the Bronco was purpose-built for jungle warfare and environments where clearings were few and far between, it had the ability to use roads as runways. That was all made possible thanks to a compact 20ft wingspan and a heavy trailing arm type landing gear with a tread of 6.5 ft.
- Low and Slow. The twin-turboprop design meant that the aircraft could loiter for extended periods of time, perfect for reconnaissance and close air support.
- Low Cost. High Value. When the OV-10 was called back into active service to combat ISIS, it changed the way we think about aircraft deployment. At just a fraction of the cost per flying hour of the military’s most expensive fighter jets and bombers, the OV-10 proved that it could perform many of the same critical missions but for nowhere near the price tag.
- Versatility. From the desert to the ocean to the jungles of Asia and South America – the OV-10 proved it could handle just about anything the military could throw at it. It could pretty much fly or take off from anywhere and was just as good pounding enemy positions as it was at reporting them. It could even operate on high-octane automobile fuel if necessary with only a slight loss of power.
Of course, there are dozens more great design features, but those are some of our top ones. A sincere thank you to KP Rice for being such a vibrant contributor to America’s military.
Why the OV-10 Bronco May Be the Ideal Plane to Combat ISIS
In May 2015, the Pentagon initiated a secret program dubbed Combat Dragon II. Its purpose: to test the viability of the low-cost, Vietnam-era OV-10 Bronco in combat scenarios against ISIS.
Enjoy this well-produced documentary by Smithsonian Channel.
Photo: Will Campbell, Reno Air show 2019
VAL-4 Black Ponies Operating the OV-10A Bronco
Val4usn provides footage of the US Navy’s VAL-4 “Black Ponies” operating the OV-10A ‘Bronco’ throughout the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam 1969 – 1972
Video by val4usn
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