Some Air Force pilots will leave the service with a tailwheel endorsement. The Air Force expects to get its first (of 75) OA-1K Skyraider II light attack fighters in the next couple of months, and its nickname pays homage to what was likely the last taildragger to actively serve. The original A-1 Skyraider was a much beloved machine gun and missile platform that was designed in the Second World War and flew in active duty until the 1980s. The OA-1K is not your grandfather’s Skyraider, however.
Based on the Air Tractor 802 cropduster, the Skyraider II was developed by Air Tractor and L3Harris to fill a similar role as its namesake but to support U.S. Special Command’s Armed Overwatch program. So far, the Air Force has determined the plane will provide ground support, along with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, but the commander who gets to wring it out first says he’s not sure where it’s going to go. “I am excited about the Skyraider II, I think we have a capability that’s only ours, and we are going to have the ability to shape that into something that the rest of the nation might not even know they need right now,” Lt. Gen. Michael Conley, Air Force Special Operations commander, said in a statement.
The plane is powered by a 1,600-HP PT6A and is designed for landing and taking off from farmers’ fields. It will haul 6,000 pounds of weapons from 10 hard points and cruise at 180 knots for 1500 nautical miles. It has numerous data and voice communications systems along with a glass cockpit.
