aeronut66 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 I am building the Hasegawa 1/48 A-4C in honor of a late friend. I have two questions. 1) At one time, he had described to me one of his missions in particular (1967, Vietnam), where he stated a loadout of 6xMk82s (three on each of the two wing TERs) + one centerline fuel tank. Subsequently however, I've read where 3 x bombs on each wing TER wasn't done because of clearance issues with the gear doors, so instead 2 x bombs per TER were loaded instead. Is it possible my friend was mis-remembering? Or was there a workaround to enable the loadout he stated? 2) I am using the Hasegawa Aircraft Weapons A kit to model the TER. I'm having a hard time understanding how the TER attaches to the A-4C wing pylon. I've done searches on Google and to my surprise have had a hard time finding a good picture to help me. Can someone point out a good reference? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 In the reference section on Cybermodeler, the typical loadout chart for the A-4c shows the use of 3 mk.82s on MERs on the wing pylons. HTH, Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Here's a clip of some Snakeyes being loaded on a Skyhawk. As you can see 3 Mk.82's is possible, but it's a tight fit with the gear door. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aeronut66 Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 (edited) Thanks very much Dave! I see the Cybermodeler reference page confirms my friends recollection so I will go ahead with the 3 x Mk82s on each TER. Thanks Pete for the video, very helpful! In the reference section on Cybermodeler, the typical loadout chart for the A-4c shows the use of 3 mk.82s on MERs on the wing pylons. HTH, Dave Edited July 23, 2016 by aeronut66 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Hmm, now that I've looked again, they might actually be Mk.81's in the clip. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 In the video above those are Mk-81 Snakeyes on the inboard stations of the TERs, they are smaller and the tails do not have on notch on them like the MK-82 Snakeys. Here is another video: you can see the size differences between the bombs. Also at the 2:25 mark you see a load of 5 Mk-81 Snakeyes on a MER. You could use a MER and have 3 Mk-82s loaded. Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Here is a pic showing the TER on the i/b pylon: http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/awa02/1001-1100/walk1016-a-4-nevin/07.jpg More pics here: http://www.ipms.nl/walkarounds/walkaround-vliegtuigen-jets/561-walkaround-a4-skyhawk.html scroll down as there are a few there. Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twong Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 This link is of someone's account that flew A-4's in Vietnam. http://a4skyhawk.org/content/marine-ordnance-loads This link is for the A-4E but it shows the A-4 weapons chart that the inner wing pylon can carry three on the TER. Should be the same for the A-4C. http://a4skyhawk.org/content/4e-weapons-loads-usmc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aeronut66 Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 Thanks to all the responses. Verdict still seems a bit mixed, but think I'll go ahead with the two IB TERs with 3xMk82's each as per http://www.cybermodeler.com/aircraft/a-4/a-4c_loads.shtml . It's going to be an inflight model so clearance won't be an issue anyway ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Or was there a workaround to enable the loadout he stated? Yes - according to some of my books, a person would physically push the landing gear door out of the way while the inside bomb was loaded and then let go, the gear door resting against the bomb until it was retracted in flight. Another configuration not mentioned yet is 3 bombs on a MER (outside and centerline on the front, inside on the rear). This also avoided the gear door. I only have pictures of this with the A-4E/F - I'm not sure if it was used on the C. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Finn Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 I wonder if when power was applied, would the main gear door go into the fully open position and thus making contact with the inside bomb and causing damage to the door? On some a/c if certain gear doors had been manually closed and not fully open prior to hydraulic power applied, everyone would hear it snap to the open position. Here is another video showing a Bullpup being loaded: at the 1:11 mark you see a TER load with slicks, note the inside bomb is smaller, and sits lower, no doubt the the upper sway braces/crutch pads are all the way down. Jari Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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