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After reading the report here:

 

https://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/items.php?item=1201098030

 

click on the pdf icon to open it and on pg 3 para 7 mention is made of cracks discovered near the intakes of a couple of A-4s due to gun firing. I began to wonder about the almost all Skyhawk kit's intakes having the same panel on the intake cowlings (part A10 & A21 and continued on the fuselage):

 

10135079z4.jpg

 

I figure it is some sort of reinforcing panel, so i looked thru a bunch of photos and some a/c don't have it while others do. 

 

No panel:

hsgs7377main-lg.jpg

 

A-4F_VA-55_CVA-19_1972.JPEG

 

although a/c 316 in the background looks to have the panel.

 

Panel:

A-4E_VMA-211_NAS_Cubi_Point_1971.jpg

 

USS_Intrepid_(CV-11)_-_Sep_68.jpg

 

It looked like it varied between a/c and and even later time periods didn't have them so if you are building an A-4, especially during the Vietnam War era, you may want to do some research to see if the particular a/c you are building has the panel or not.

 

Jari

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hi jari.

tonight (your afternoon) we're having a lot of exchanges. :-)

look: i have always thought that the horizontal panels above the gun muzzles were to avoid cannon smoke etc. ingestion from the air intakes.

as you can see the fuselage immediately around the cannon is fouled.

i have taken note of the pg. 3 par. 7 of the paper but i'm not quite sure that the horizontal panels can help strenghtening the fuselage or intakes...in that position, in my humble opinion, they were just against the cannon blast.

 

cm'on guys & gals: join the argument...!

ciao. bobo.

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Hi Bobo, i'm not talking about the blast panels above the guns but the flush panel just aft of the intake warning, as seen in the above pics. Here is part of it in this pic:

 

a4intakereviewbg_3.JPG

 

the \_/ at the back of the intake.

 

Jari

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got it jari.

not knowing what to look after really, the only difference i saw in the pics was the presence/absence of the blast panels.

sorry;  much clearer now, but to this i got no answer...:rolleyes:

ciao...and happy modeling! bobo.

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You'll find the strengthening plates on Es that have the retrofitted hump. They're around the hoist points, the hump I believe covered the forward centerline point behind the canopy. Early Fs appear to have continued with the plates.

 

Edit. .. PS the presence of the panels or not are already noted in the instructions for the schemes covered in the AOA sheets.

 

Edited by ziggyfoos
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