” Gotta tell you, this thing flies just incredibly smooth!” stat- ed Matt Nightingale from the front seat of the just-restored North American OV-10D+ Bronco BuNo 155493 registered NX97854. It was the late afternoon of 1 July and Matt, along with test/instructor pilot Eric Huppert, was orbiting southwest of Chino Airport and adding hour number seven after a complete restoration by Matt’s California Aerofab. While just about every aviation enthusiast can easily recognize the dis- tinctive shape of the OV-10, not that many can recite facts and figures involv- ing the Bronco. Developed during the 1960s to cater to the new counterinsur- gency (COIN) mission, the OV-10, which first flew on 16 July 1965, was a multi-mission bird that could carry three tons of external weapons as well as internal loads of paratroopers or a medic and stretchers. Right from start, design- ers gave the aircraft a long loiter capabil- ity and it could stay airborne for three- to four-hours.

Photo credit: WarBird Magazine

Chino Bad Boys: Mark Moodie, camera plane pilot; Matt
Nightingale, photo mission pilot and owner of California Aerofab;
Eric Huppert, test/instructor pilot.

The OV-10D+ comes in for a smooth landing at the end of the
photo mission.

Intended to be a tri-service aircraft, the Bronco would go on to become one of America’s top — and toughest — COIN aircraft for nearly three decades. It would also serve with air forces friendly to America while operating with various government agencies. First acquired by the US Marine Corps, Broncos would be extensively deployed in Southeast Asia and some 81 aircraft would be lost — USAF losing 64, USN seven, and Marines ten. The original variant was the OV-10A and the USAF would get 157 while the Marines would receive 114. Demand (and attrition) was such that airframes were constantly upgraded. The OV-10D was a “second generation” Bronco developed under the Night Observation Gunship System (NOGS) program and these would be extensively modified OV-10As fitted with forward-looking infrared night- vision system and a turret-mounted cam- era and gun under a greatly extended nose. It also had bigger engines and new fiberglass propellers along with chaff dis- pensers and infrared-suppressive exhaust stacks. Some 17 OV-10Ds were built from OV-10As and the OV-10D+ was the next USMC upgrade and consisted of A and D models being extensively reworked at MCAS Cherry Point with more upgrades. These aircraft saw ser-vice during the Gulf Wars and other Middle East actions. A few years back, southern California resident Mike “Mayhem” Manclark developed an interest in the Bronco and in 2018 he got a real coup — six decommissioned OV-10s that he loaded onto trucks to begin a 1300-mile trip to California Aero-fab at Chino. Stopping at Mineral Wells, Texas, Manclark picked up a seventh airframe, thus making him the world’s largest pri- vate collector of the type. Manclark’s goal? Make all seven fly- able! Eric Hup- pert took the first example aloft on 22 June and quickly built up the Chino Bad Boys: Mark Moodie, camera plane pilot; Matt Nightingale, photo mission pilot and owner of California Aerofab; Eric Huppert, test/instructor pilot.and Cactus Air Force. It is a personal favorite. Eric is a soft-spoken very tal- ented aviator who got a lot of Bronco time spraying illegal crops “south of the border.” After our photo flight, Eric commented, “The people that flew and maintained the Bronco have never got- ten the credit they deserve. Mike Manclark will go a long way in correct- ing that situation. We hope to be taking OV-10s to airshows and displays where the aircraft will show how Americans fought — and died — in remote corners of the globe while flying Broncos and defend- ing our freedoms.” We will be featuring a major article on Mike Manclark and his OV-10 Squadron in an upcoming issue. AC Airborne on 1 July from Chino, Matt Nightingale stacks the OV-10D+ above the T-6 camera plane being flown by Mark Moodie.

“I have always loved the Corsair,” said restorer Matt Nightingale from his California Aerofab facility at Chino Airport. “It ranks right up there with the P-40.” Readers of Air Classics know that Matt has been responsible for returning many examples of the famed Curtiss fighter back to the air. “I got my start with the P-40 way back in 1993. That is when P-40C 41-13357 arrived at Fighter Rebuilders. I was just a kid at the time, but I knew I really liked that plane. Courtesy of Steve Hinton, I got my start on learning how to restore a fighter with the P-40C that had come out of Russia and was owned by Stephen Grey’s The Fighter Collection. Compared to some of the other projects since then, this aircraft was amazingly intact. It had crash-landed after a fight with Luftwaffe fighters in 1943 and then just stayed in a very cold climate near Archangelsk until rediscovered and removed to England and then Chino. I learned a tremendous amount by being able to help with the P-40C and I had a real sense of pride and accomplishment when it made its first post-restoration flight on 3 September 1998.” Since then, Matt has gone on to establish his own restoration facility, restored more P-40s, a French Hawk 75, an incredibly rare P-36 and, as can be seen in the last issue, a variety of OV-10 Broncos are now going through his shop. In-between these aircraft, there have been all sorts of other exciting projects with one of the most unusual being the “Yakfire.” This was a Yak airframe that received extensive modifications so it would look a bit like a Spitfire and an actor could sit in the rear seat and be filmed as if he was “flying” the fighter during shooting of the movie Dunkirk. “I recently had the chance to obtain a Vought F4U-1 — it was not a particularly easy process but I knew that if I did not get this airframe then future chances of restoring an early Corsair would be very limited.”

Matt is certainly correct about that. There was a time during the early portion of the Warbird Movement when an airworthy example of the famed “bent-wing bird” was worth considerably less than a similar P-51D Mustang. All that has certainly changed. Corsair airframes, and associated spare parts, are now very difficult to come by and that is interesting since the Corsair remained in production longer than any other WWII fighter. Photographs taken during the late 1950s show literally hundreds of Corsairs in storage at NAF Litchfield Park in Arizona and being offered for sale but there were few buyers and most went to the smelters — along with tons of spare parts and components. In fact, if it weren’t for the recoveries during the 1970s of Corsairs operated in Latin America, then today’s Corsair fleet would indeed be very limited. “Compared to a P-40 or a P-51, the F4U is a really complex aircraft to restore,” states Matt. “There is nothing easy about the Corsair — especially that huge main spar which looks like it should be part of a bridge!” Over the past decade, restorers have advanced the ability to remanufacture certain components including the spar, which was once thought too complex to make it worthwhile, and rear fuselages. Matt is lucky to have the majority of this original airframe — and it is an aircraft with an exciting history. In the coming months, we will have regular updates on the F4U-1 restoration, its history, and how it came to Chino Airport.

Photo Credit: Air Classics Magazine

It’s a commonly accepted belief that things designed by committees don’t generally work out very well, as they’re often compromised by complexity and conflicting requirements. When it comes to fixed-wing combat aircraft, the prime example of that theory is the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark. Obsessed with the concept of “commonality” in order to keep down overall program costs, Robert S. McNamara, U.S. secretary of defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, proposed the TFX (Tactical Fighter Experimental) program as a way to provide a basically common design to suit both U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy requirements. The end result was a sophisticated strike fighter that eventually worked out very well for the Air Force but was a total flop for the Navy. Designed initially for the Air Force, the F-111 proved to be too big and unsuitable for use with the Navy’s aircraft carriers. Today, the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which resulted in the F-35 Lightning II, is another glaring example of that thought process. While the F-35 is finally entering service with the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as a number of foreign air forces, it has taken many years and a far greater cost than originally anticipated to get it to the point where the airplane, designed to meet such diverse requirements, can begin to operate effectively.

Of course, some combat aircraft have served effectively in the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is probably the most notable example. However, the Phantom II was not originally designed with commonality in mind. It was designed to suit U.S. Navy requirements for a carrier-based fighter and was then adapted, with relatively minor modifications, for land-based use as well.

Structural reinforcements, improved engines, new avionics, new wiring and plumbing, improved communications equipment, and a cockpit management system breathed new life into the airplane. Altogether, 14 OV-10D and 23 OV-10As were brought up to the new standard under the designation OV-10D+.

Yet at least one fixed-wing combat airplane that was designed by a committee to suit the needs of all branches of the U.S. military did work out exceptionally well. The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was the result of a tri-service specification for a light armed reconnaissance aircraft (LARA) to serve with the U.S. Navy (actually the U.S. Marine Corps, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy), Air Force, and Army with minimal modifications to the basic design. The concept for a rugged and simple close air support aircraft dedicated to working in conjunction with ground operations apparently originated with W.H. Beckett and Marine Corps Col. K.P. Rice at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California, in the early 1960s, though the Marine Corps had actually given some thought to a similar concept a few years earlier. In any event, Robert McNamara formed a Tri-Service Committee in early 1963 to formulate the requirements for such an aircraft, and the LARA concept was approved by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Army in 1963. Basically, the LARA concept called for a two-man, twin-engine aircraft able to carry 2,000 pounds of external ordnance, or 2,000 pounds of cargo, six paratroopers, or several medical stretchers in a fuselage cargo compartment. Minimal field-level maintenance and the ability to operate from forward airfields were also required.

Photo Credit: Warbirds Magazine

Yet at least one fixed-wing combat airplane that was designed by a committee to suit the needs of all branches of the U.S. military did work out exceptionally well. The North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco was the result of a tri-service specification for a light armed reconnaissance aircraft (LARA) to serve with the U.S. Navy (actually the U.S. Marine Corps, which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Navy), Air Force, and Army with minimal modifications to the basic design. The concept for a rugged and simple close air support aircraft dedicated to working in conjunction with ground operations apparently originated with W.H. Beckett and Marine Corps Col. K.P. Rice at the Naval Air Weapons Station in China Lake, California, in the early 1960s, though the Marine Corps had actually given some thought to a similar concept a few years earlier. In any event, Robert McNamara formed a Tri-Service Committee in early 1963 to formulate the requirements for such an aircraft, and the LARA concept was approved by the U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Army in 1963. Basically, the LARA concept called for a two-man, twin-engine aircraft able to carry 2,000 pounds of external ordnance, or 2,000 pounds of cargo, six paratroopers, or several medical stretchers in a fuselage cargo compartment. Minimal field-level maintenance and the ability to operate from forward airfields were also required.

A sideways-hinged tail cone provided access to the fuselage cargo bay; the tail cone would be removed when paratroopers were carried in the bay. The production model OV-10A featured a wing that was 10 feet longer than that of the prototypes. The engine booms were moved 6 inches farther away from the fuselage pod (thus reducing noise and vibrations in the cockpit), and more-powerful 715-hp T76-G10/12 engines were fitted. To eliminate torque, the Bronco’s three-bladed propellers rotated in opposite directions, and their pitch could be reversed to reduce the landing run. Standing 16 feet, 2 inches tall, the OV-10A Bronco had a 40-foot wingspan and was 41 feet, 7 inches long. Its empty weight was 6,893 pounds and its maximum weight was 14,444 pounds. The Bronco could reach a top speed of 281 mph, and it had a service ceiling of 24,000 feet and a range of 576 miles. Thanks to its very rugged landing gear, the OV-10 could operate from very basic airfields. The aircraft’s takeoff run was typically between 740 and 1,100 feet, and the landing run was between 800 and 1,220 feet.

The delivery of operational OV-10A Broncos to the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps began on February 23, 1968. The Air Force eventually received 157 OV-10As and the Marine Corps got 114. The U.S. Army opted out of the program, relying on the Grumman OV-1 Mohawk and helicopters to suit its requirements. The OV-10A was introduced into combat for observation, reconnaissance, ground attack, search-andrescue, and forward air control missions on July 6, 1968, by the Marine Corps’ VMO-2 operating from the Marble Mountain airstrip near Danang, Vietnam. Air Force A-10As went into combat for the first time with the 19th Tactical Air Support Squadron at Bien Hoa, Vietnam, in August 1968, and were primarily used for forward air control missions. Subsequently, the U.S. Navy borrowed 19 OV-10A Broncos from the Marine Corps and began operating them with VAL-4 “Black Ponies” from Vung Tau and Binh Thuy, Vietnam, in March 1969 for river patrol missions in the Mekong Delta. A total of 81 OV-10A Broncos were lost to all causes during the Vietnam War — 64 by the Air Force, seven by the Navy, and 10 by the Marine Corps.

Photo Credit: Warbirds Magazine

For night observation and gunship missions, two OV-10A Broncos were equipped with Hughes FLIR (forward-looking infrared) and laser target-marking equipment in a lengthened nose (increasing the overall length to 44 feet) as well as a 20 mm General Electric M97 gun turret under the fuselage. Powered with a pair of 1,040-hp Garrett T76-G-420/421 engines, the first of the modified Broncos took to the sky on June 9, 1970, as the YOV-10D. The increased power boosted the YOV-10D’s top speed to 288 mph and increased its service ceiling to 30,000 feet. The aircraft’s range also increased to 1,382 miles. Both YOV-10D Broncos were sent to Vietnam for combat evaluation, flying more than 200 combat missions with VAL-4 between June 5 and August 13, 1971. Beginning in 1978, 17 OV-10D Broncos were eventually delivered to VMO-1 at MCAS New River, North Carolina, and VMO-2 at MCAS Camp Pendleton, California. In order to extend the service life of its OV-10 Broncos beyond the year 2000, the Marine Corps began a Service Life Extension Program at the Naval Air Rework Facility, MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, in 1985. Structural reinforcements, improved engines, new avionics, new wiring and plumbing, improved communications equipment, and a cockpit management system breathed new life into the airplane. Altogether, 14 OV-10D and 23 OV-10As were brought up to the new standard under the designation OV-10D+. The OV-10 Bronco also saw combat service during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Although the Air Force did not deploy any of its Broncos to the Persian Gulf for Desert Storm because it considered the aircraft too vulnerable for use against the Iraqi air defenses, the Marine Corps did deploy 20 OV-10A and OV-10D+ Broncos from VMO-1 and VMO-2 to the Gulf for combat operations. VMO-2 flew three OV-10A and three OV-10D+ Broncos from Camp Pendleton, California, to Saudi Arabia and sent another pair to the Gulf in a container ship. On the other hand, VMO-1 sent seven OV-10D+.

and five OV-10A Broncos to the Persian Gulf aboard the aircraft carriers USS Roosevelt (CVN-71) and USS America (CV-66), with the aircraft deck-launching from the carriers near Spain and then flying on to Saudi Arabia. Flying their full range of missions, the Broncos were typically armed with M60C machine guns, rocket pods containing white phosphorus marking rockets or rockets with high-explosive warheads, and LUU-2 paraflares. AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles were sometimes carried for self-defense against Iraqi fighters as well. Two OV-10A Broncos were lost to surface-to-air missiles during Operation Desert Storm, with three aircrew members being captured and one killed. Although the OV-10 was not equipped with catapult and arresting gear, as was the case with the Doolittle Raiders in World War II, it could fly from the decks of aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. That was primarily a way of transporting the aircraft to various operating areas. The Broncos had to be craned aboard the ships, and then they could be launched away for eventual recovery at a nearby land base. The U.S. Air Force eventually retired its OV-10A Broncos in 1993. Although the Marine Corps had planned to keep some OV-10A and OV-10D+ Broncos in service until at least the year 2000, budget cuts during the Clinton administration forced their retirement from frontline service in 1994. However, both newly built and ex-U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force Broncos (primarily modified OV-10As) also saw service with a number of other nations. West Germany obtained 18 OV-10Bs for target towing missions, Thailand obtained 32 under the OV-10C designation, 16 went to Venezuela as OV-10Es, Morocco operated six ex-U.S. Marine Corps OV-10As, and Indonesia obtained 16 OV-10Fs. Venezuelan Broncos saw combat service during a 1993 coup attempt, and Royal Moroccan Air Force Broncos flew combat missions against Polisario insurgents. Altogether, a grand total of 360 OV-10 Broncos were manufactured between 1963 and 1977. 

Seen to be useful for civilian operations such as air data sampling, firefighting spotting missions, aerial surveys, and nighttime surveillance missions, a number of surplus OV-10s wound up with civilian operators such as NASA, the California Division of Forestry, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Department of State Air Wing. Several dozen have also gone on display around the world as museum exhibits, and some even still fly in air shows. Perhaps the most interesting OV-10 operation today is Mike Manclark’s California-based OV-10 Squadron. A co-founder of Leading Edge Aviation Services, an active commissioner in the Orange County, California, Sheriff’s Department, the CEO of the Mangic Foundation, and a certificated pilot, Mike began his career in aviation as a teenage airport lineboy. Now known as International Aerospace Coatings, Leading Edge Aviation Services is an FAA-certified maintenance, repair, and overhaul company based in Costa Mesa, California. The company is the world’s leading aircraft painting operation, with major airlines and even Air Force One on its client list. The registered owner of The OV-10 Squadron, the Mangic Foundation supports various historic and philanthropic missions and projects.

On January 4, 2018, The OV-10 Squadron obtained six OV-10 airframes from the National Vietnam War Memorial of Mineral Wells, Texas, and had them trucked to Matt Nightingale’s California Aerofab restoration shop at Chino, California, to join a seventh Bronco that was already in the shop. Matt’s crew is restoring the aircraft to flying condition for general aviation personal use, commercial and air show operations, and to make the general public aware of the aircraft’s history. The seven aircraft consist of OV-10D+ Broncos BuNos 155418, 155446 (which has already been sold to an undisclosed customer), 155474, 155479, 155483, 155498, and 155493. On June 22, 2019, Eric Huppert took OV-10D+ Bronco No. 155493 up for its first post-restoration test flight at the Chino Airport. Eric had previously flown Broncos with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Carson City, Nevada-based Cactus Air Force. The airplane was initially registered as NX97854 pending the completion of FAA paperwork needed to license the Bronco in the Standard Category without the “X,” and Eric flew it for its successful five-hour FAA certification before checking Matt out in the Bronco. An accomplished warbird pilot and restoration expert, Matt noted that the Bronco’s restoration was a very straightforward process. Matt subsequently flew the OV-10D+ to Stead Field, Nevada, for display during the 2019 Reno National Championship Air Races, and later flew the Bronco alongside the Comanche Warbirds’ Douglas AD-4NA Skyraider during the Planes of Fame Air Museum’s Living History Flying Day event at the Chino Airport on October 5, 2019. The Bronco also garnered a great deal of attention during the Lyon Air Museum’s History on the Flight Line event at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, on February 22, 2020.

OV-10A Bronco BuNo 155493 came off the North American Rockwell production line at Columbus, Ohio, on January 14, 1968, and arrived at NAS North Island, California, for service with VAL-4 on January 27, 1969. After combat service with VAL-4 at Binh Thuy, Vietnam, the Bronco flew with the U.S. Marine Corps’ VMO-6 at MCAS Futenma, Okinawa, from April 3, 1972, through May 10, 1972. In 1991, the airplane was upgraded to OV-10D+ configuration and was finally retired to the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Facility at Tucson, Arizona, on June 24, 1993. Given the civilian registration N97854, the Bronco became a parts aircraft with the National Vietnam War Memorial before finally becoming a part of the OV-10 Squadron. The airplane had logged a grand total of 8,215 flying hours in military service. BuNo 155493 has been restored in the colors and markings of VMO-2 when the squadron was based at MCAS Camp Pendleton, California. Matt recently discovered exact full-scale airsoft replicas of the M60 machine gun and obtained four for use in the OV-10D+ Bronco. “Once you take off the infantry parts (shoulder stock, sights, etc.), the guns just bolt right into the sponsons,” Matt reported. Combined with external drop tanks, which are sometimes fitted for long flights, the end result is a rather impressive-looking warbird.

The OV-10 Squadron has since grown to eight airplanes. On February 26, 2020, OV-10D+ Bronco BuNo 155409 joined the other Broncos at Chino. The airplane originally served with VMO-2 before being employed by the U.S. Department of State Air Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. The Bronco was subsequently displayed at the Valiant Air Command Museum in Titusville, Florida, before finally being flown to Chino, California. Considering that only 360 OV-10 Broncos were manufactured, it is a pleasant surprise to see so many survivors on display or still performing useful missions, as well as getting a new lease on life.

Photo Credit: Warbirds Magazine

The Bronco sat in a Chino hangar that once housed P-51 Mustangs in the process of being restored to flight. Only 20 years removed from the Mustang and Mitchell, the market changes that brought this OV-10 along with seven more to Chino are perhaps emblematic of the huge shifts occurring in the Warbird world. Is it time for “modern” Warbirds to disrupt the marketplace? And this Bronco is a disruption — in every way! The passage of time and the words of journalists have taught generations of enthusiasts to identify with the song of the Merlin and the roar of big radials. This angular warplane makes a sound similar to Mitsubishi MU-2s and Grumman S-2T fire-bombers — and for good reason since the OV-10 is fitted with Garrett T-76G-420/421 turbines, the military designation for the Garrett TPE-331 fixed-shaft turboprop powerplant. For Warbird readers of Air Classics, we haven’t really discussed turboprops.

So, what is a turboprop and why do they exist? A turboprop is a jet engine that turns a propeller through a gearbox integral to the engine. They run on Jet A and are nearly totally reliable, capable of being on an aircraft for thousands of hours, and needing nothing more than minor adjustments when flown by conscientious pilots. The starting and operational use of such engines is simpler than reciprocating engines, they have much more power for their size and can maintain that power to far higher altitudes than piston engines. They burn perhaps twice the amount of fuel in a direct comparison but the benefits outweigh the fuel costs to operators that can afford turbine power. The first military turboprops showed up late in WWII, giving turbine propeller-driven aircraft a very quick power delivery compared to the first generation of pure turbojet warplanes whose delayed throttle response was more than worrying to military planners. Military turboprops were never designed with efficiency at the forefront, so they can be thirsty but the ease of maintenance and available power is why they replaced the pistons. Turboprops have a history of very few shutdowns or engine failures. To understand turboprop effectiveness, one has to look at the numbers built. The TPE-331 in the OV-10 was designed for the military as the T-76 and was expected to be used initially in helicopters. It was created by Garrett AiResearch as a 575 shaft horsepower engine and was not scaled down from a larger engine, which was the practice of the time. This turboprop has been used in 24 fixed-wing aircraft as the primary engine while being retrofitted to 13 more designs since 1965 by Garrett and then Honeywell after 1999. An incredible 13,500 have been built. Considering that number is really important. This engine has been with us for 56 years and that roughly translates to just 250 engines delivered per year. The TPE-331/T-76 generally requires a fuel injector nozzle cleaning every 400 hours, an 1800 hour hot section inspection, and a 5600 hour time between overhauls. These engines simply don’t wear out! The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 deserves mention since 51,000 units have been made and used in many more aircraft along with non-flying applications. The Garrett is considered a little “finer” and it is purely an aircraft engine and always has been. PT-6 applications run across many different types of machines and that fleet is noteworthy in logging OVER 400 MILLION flight hours, and with a shutdown rate of one per 651,126 flight hours. The less common TPE-331 has 122 million flight hours — a staggering 9037 hours per engine so far. The turboprop is in many ways the “ultimate” powerplant for subsonic aircraft and its reliability, weight, and power delivery numbers are unmatched. But they make noise — and lots of it. Where you come from often dictates what you like, and my first turboprop was a Piper Cheyenne LS-400 powered with the superlative TPE-331-14GR engines.

Photo Credit: Air Classics Magazine

Currently, the OV-10s being operated by the Philippine Air Force are the only Broncos still
flying combat missions. These planes, which were mainly airframes donated by Thailand,
operate on a regular basis against ISIS forces in remote jungle areas of the island nation.
The aircraft are supported by the American government but they may become available as
newer aircraft are funneled to the Philippines and the OV-10 Squadron is keeping a close
eye on the machines.

On taxi out, the aerobatic guys with their Pitts and Extras stuck fingers in their ears and glowered when you growled by. Remember, you don’t have to use the brakes, you just taxi using “Beta” — or reverse pitch — to slow the bird down. I thought it sounded very satisfying. And with that monster at my fingertips, I was able to climb out of John Wayne Airport every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 0710 at 4500 feet per minute and made FL230 in under six minutes. Simply magic! Slumming a ride in a PT-6 powered King Air, I was underwhelmed. Power to weight in the Cheyenne was six pounds per horsepower, similar to a Mustang. It seemed like the King Air was just a heavy turd. I loved the Garrett. Interestingly this engine came into being as the military Garrett T-76 FIRST and was developed into a fixed-wing aircraft engine with the OV-10 airframe. The Garrett is direct drive; what we call a fixed shaft turbine. That means the JET engine (a small one) is built with a gearbox on the front that is a direct and unbreakable link to the propeller. This is VERY different from a free shaft engine like the PT-6 family, which simply blows on a turbine wheel attached to the propeller. The fixed shaft engine is noisy because the jet engine that is the Garrett propeller runs at only two speeds — different from the civilian three speeds — that are set by the condition levers marked Takeoff and Land, Normal Flight, Fuel Shutoff and Feather and Fuel Shutoff. The High setting on the military OV-10 is for takeoff and landing, critical flight environments that require the best the engine can give and that RPM is 100%. Next is Cruise or “Normal Flight,” which is, believe it or not, 96 to 97% of RPM. That’s it. Civilian Garretts have a “LOW” and “HIGH” speed, which gives the pilot a quieter plane for ground ops. LOW corresponding to 65% to 73% of RPM for ground operations. All Garrett aircraft are considered loud but with a ground idle of 96%, the OV-10 screams. The Garrett is an excellent powerplant though and gives you power NOW. That’s kinda why we talk about the propeller condition lever first, because once set in Normal Flight the propeller governor controls engine speed by adjusting the propeller blade angles to maintain what is desired. The power levers control fuel or torque essentially and gives instant response because the propellers instantly respond to the governors’ adjustments. It seems complicated if you are new, but the operation becomes very intuitive. Designed to be simple, in operation it is. Best of all is the NTS (Negative Torque Sensing) system. This will partially feather a propeller when a lack of power is felt by the engine, thus giving the pilot a lower drag scenario in which to take time to decide to feather the whole way or attempt a restart or correct a problem. Ultimately, for me, the OV-10 is a lot more familiar to walk up to and consider flying because as a corporate and then regional airline pilot, turboprops were the bedrock of the 1990s/early 2000s. Most of us starting out 20 years ago learned our trade in medium bomber-sized airliners with P&W “free shaft” powerplants and while we didn’t have the agility of the OV-10, we had the training of flying the line in all weather with aircraft that had systems and characteristics like the Bronco. So, with that background I really was curious about the OV-10 and how it would perform, as well as feel. Would it be a fun airplane that I would consider as a possible purchase, or fly for someone? Would it have a Warbird feel or would it remind me of a Cheyenne or Aero Commander? In any case, I waited for my OV-10 familiarization flight with great anticipation.

The configuration of the OV-10 I was to fly was different from the others under restoration at Matt Nightingale’s California Aerofab facility at Chino Airport. Registered N15453, this aircraft was obtained in flying condition from Florida where it had been previously operated by the Department of State. It was built as Bureau of Aeronautics serial 155409 and NAA c/n 305-20, the 29th OV-10 made out of a total of just 360. It had been completed on 22 April 1968 and was immediately sent to Vietnam. It had arrived at Camp Pendleton on 23 April and was listed in Da Nang with VMO-2 on 2 May 1968! Serving in combat for one year, the Bronco was next at Okinawa in 1969 before moving on Kanehoe, Oahu, by 1971. In 1985, the Bronco was converted to an OV-10D and got the long nose and other mods. By 23 April 1993, the OV-10D was in storage at Davis-Monthan with the code PA0002. At some point, the Department of State acquired the old warrior with the civil registration N15453. The DoS OVs were operated by DynCorp and were part of the clandestine Latin American drug Interdiction efforts.  The DoS Broncos still stand out a bit. The DoS removed the fuselage sponsons — the stub wings that housed machine guns — in order to mount the hopper for herbicide spraying. Additionally, the long nose and Kevlar fuselage armor to protect the crew from small arms fire not only shows the military usage but also the equally hazardous anti-drug mission. A wind-driven pump was added along with spray booms that would allow a herbicide or other chemicals to be dispersed. Little has been published on these controversial operations, but it is believed the DoS OVs were in service from 1996 to 2008. Painted black overall with red flashing on the tail, the plane looked not unlike a P-61 Black Widow. Some records have this OV being used by the Policia Nacional de Colombia as PNC-3043, but this could have been a DoS cover. Oddly, the OV then went to the Valiant Air Command but was never flown by that group, just stored and displayed. The OV-10 Squadron and Blue Air Training found N15453 and added it to their fleet. Perhaps because of the aircraft’s Latin American use, it had a very large unit mounted in front of the back seat position. What this meant was that my forward visibility was nil! Sort of like the Spirit of St. Louis, I could look around the box and get some forward visibility but, for my initial flight, I found I wouldn’t really be able to see much forward! Startup and taxi went by quickly as every airplane has its own sequence and cadence, and turboprops come up to temperature quickly. They burn a bunch on the ground, so you want to get the airplane rapidly into the air. My first military turboprop was a surprise for me as there is no sound deadening like I was used to in civilian planes so while I thought the previous turboprops I flew were loud, this was something else entirely! Unlike a recip, the turboprop engine note really doesn’t change — it just is a strident and urgent drone that fills the cockpit. The propeller and reduction gearbox is five feet away from you (on either side) in the back seat and the plexiglass does little to mitigate the sound. Visibility above and below was very good, but the engines and wing prevented any look behind the leading edge of the wing from the back seat. I am sure the visibility in the front seat is excellent. When it was my turn to fly to Bronco, I found the plane has nice flight controls — not beautiful, but nice. The OV is kind of workmanlike in its handling. It does not feel particularly light or heavy and is reasonable to throw around the sky at medium altitudes. Flying the OV, I can’t get away from its history and what the military pilots were doing along with their civil counterparts in the drug war. So, the control input and results seem excellent for what crews needed to be doing — keeping eyes outside, power and speed up, and looking for trouble on the ground. The OV has good visibility in some quadrants for the CAS mission but would not be a great platform to defend from an aerial opponent. The visibility behind the engine wing line is nonexistent! (EDITOR’S NOTE: On the internet, a viewer can watch Venezuelan F-16s shoot down two OV10s on 27 November 1992. The OVs were being operated by a faction loyal to the communist leader Hugo Chavez so Joe’s comments about rear visibility are correct — the OVs didn’t know what hit them as the F-16s shredded them with 20mm cannon fire.) Any turboprop’s energy is always a bit deceiving since the OV’s engines provide all the power (and airflow) over the wings that you seem to need. I bet this one would be able to hang on its propellers fairly well. I read that NASA had played with one, adding lift devices and different props until they got it to be almost like a Storch. This one stalls at around 74. The props always turn at 2000 rpm so the sound of airflow over the airframe is really tough to hear if that’s one of your cues. Trying a lazy 8 just to feel pitch and roll control through a variable speed and load range, you find the onset of speed “heavies” up the controls quite a bit. Sitting around looking at things from an OV perch over a tactical spot is as light as you can imagine, so a nice place to work in normal operations. Approach and landing is a numbers deal. Partial flaps were all I saw although someday I would love to try some full flap arrivals. With great power and response, large flight controls, and nearly indestructible landing gear designed for STOL work, I would bet the OV-10 could make some very interesting arrivals. However, this was not my plane! The interesting nature of the OV and its different feel from the piston Warbirds makes the Bronco worth considering for a variety of reasons. One main item to consider is the fact we are constantly moving away from piston-engine technology along with the ability of pilots to operate tailwheel aircraft (especially large ones), so there is an entirely new market of prospective OV owners — especially pilots that want an aircraft with unique performance as well as looks. Ultimately, I would love to fly the OV on a range or do some air-to-ground work with Blue Air Training. It would be a sensational platform to operate in the air-to-ground role with something to shoot at! So, for a potential Warbird owner wanting a modern and distinctive aircraft with tricycle gear and turbine power along with amazing military history, then the OV-10 would have to be at the very top of the list.