Warbird Information Exchange

I've heard it said that the AD "handles like a fighter" despite its dump-truck looks. Can anybody out there who has actual Spad time confirm or deny? (I'm doing a piece for Aviation History on the biggest-ever single-engine airplanes. You might be surprised that the Skyraider is fifth on the list of the top 10...)

Hi Stephan, It would depend on what model of Skyraider and what it's carrying. Our AD-1 does not have hydraulic boosted flight controls, so it's a bit heavy on the controls. Ordnance also has a huge effect as we lost almost 40 knots of cruise speed with it loaded up. I'm not a Skyraider pilot, but have speken with Stuart Milson who has flown ours clean and dirtied up.
David
WHF Maint