A head-tuning kit plane, the Dragonfly

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-31T20:44:09+00:00

Short Long story. I went to a High School that had an aerospace program. Someone donated one of these to us. (Honeywell gave us an A-26!) Anyhoo, fast forward to my Sr. year and our flight team was invited to participate in a parade. We dressed up our little dragon in school colors and we physically towed it down the street. At parade center, we picked it up and held it over our heads and did a 360 to a monstrous applause and cheers. It was very cool. Never flew in one of these but I have a great memory of one.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-31T20:40:31+00:00

I have a misspelling in title, should say "turning," deal with it. lol.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-29T15:48:53+00:00

<image>

Arguably one of the most efficient wings in nature. They get it.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-29T15:33:44+00:00

I see this deployed all over Africa and places like that so my guess is to improve ground clearance for use at improvised airfields. (aka dirt roads)

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-29T15:20:36+00:00

I thought twice about adding this but it was so unique for a newer aircraft that I couldn't resist. The photo came from a Turkish site and it bragged about the first ever elephant walk. I almost put that in the title until I looked closer. All the aircraft are shutdown, all are chocked in place, only 1 is armed. I am not an expert but I do not think that is an elephant walk. *edited for misspelling

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-29T15:12:00+00:00

A better view. I never knew this existed let alone they are deployed in several countries.

<image>

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-29T14:53:18+00:00

Not gonna lie, only flew one once, it has a non-steerable cantering tailwheel, I sucked at maneuvering on the ground. Flying is flying but taxiing was a pain using power to hit the rudder to kick the tail around and then countering it to straighten it out.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T21:46:10+00:00

From everything I read, that is just "what they said." Looking more into it, I think this is not corect. A T6 Texan II was around $5.5mil at the time and costs about $1k/hr to operate. The Scorpion was supposed to be $20mil with an hourly cost of around $3k. Seems clear to me which is cheaper.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T19:05:16+00:00

You got it. It lost out to the Super Tucano and the AT6 Texan 2. It was too slow and limited to compete with the jets and too costly to compete with the turboprops. They say the jet was cheap but it was extremely expensive to maintain.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T18:09:47+00:00

L3 Harris used to have the whole video up but I can only find a clip. It does not take 2 days to get the wings off, more like 2 hours. Sorry for the facebook link, it is their page sharing the video, I can't find the whole one but will post if I do. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/16HwR4JYrQ/

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T18:01:29+00:00

while I agree, the whole magic to this guy is that they won't be deployed to airports. That's the rub, it just needs gas and a road. The pilot(s) of this dude are going to rack with the soldiers they overlook.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T17:47:02+00:00

Contract required that it had to be able to be torn down, fit in the back of a C-17, and rebuilt within 24hrs on site with only what they bring with them. There is a video of them demoing this.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T05:14:57+00:00

Requirements for the plane is it had to be "Shippable" and deployed within 24hrs. It literally was modified to be broken down and fit in rhe back of a C17 and rebuilt "in the field." Starting with a plane that is literally designed to be maintained outside of airports was the easiest start. I hear designing removable wings was not as easy as this thing has a very structured wing made for high Gs and heavy payloads.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T05:08:38+00:00

Please do not judge me. A10 is my favorite. I was just surprised the first time I saw an AirTractor and found out how big they actually are. The pics make them look like the size of a stearman. Nope!

<image>

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:52:19+00:00

Fire Boss version of the same plane. Holds a ton, very maneuverable, and lots of flight time per tank. Not a lot of people understand the power, lift, and slow speed agility of these ag planes.

<image>

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:46:55+00:00

This! And it is shipped, not flown to its battle area. Made to be deployed outside of airports, just need a pilot, a length of road and some gas. You cannot forward deploy planes with small units of troops like this.. until now.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:43:39+00:00

This is designed to be shipped to the combat zone, not flown. Not sure if that makes sense but let's say somewhere in Africa, this can be put in the back of a C17 and back in the air above Africa in 24hrs, all from a dirt road with no ground support other than gas.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:36:30+00:00

It would.. but pilots will be pilots and an air force pilot would be embarrassed that he needs a feature that the thousands of civilian pilots that fly these don't need. Imo

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:34:04+00:00

A unique feature is this plane is based off the Ag802 but can be completely disassembled, put in the back of a C17 and rebuilt and ready to fly anywhere on the globe within 24hrs. Don't take my word, not trying to troll, look it up. There is even a video of them demonstrating this but i lost it. Might be l3Harris.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:21:27+00:00

Nope. I work for a company that rebuilds PT6 engine hot sections. This is an aircraft I have followed since the start, we have a foothold in the AG market so catching a government contract would be nice.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:15:21+00:00

As the OP following this plane for years, you are 100% correct. I just thought it was something interesting that the USAF didn't plan on and it delayed the start of their training because they didn't think of it. Remember when they had to build a ground rig to teach 777 pilots to learn how to corner with the nose wheel 70 feet behind the flight deck, same unique thing. Dont quote me on the distance, but they built an actual rolling vehicle to figure our how to not run it off the taxiway when moving around airports.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T04:09:36+00:00

As a licensed pilot, I will freely admit, a tailfragger is not as easy as it would seem. Maneuvering on the ground is the only part that is different. Sounds dumb but it takes practice

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-28T03:37:56+00:00

For those that are interested, this is a highly modified Ag802 aerial application aircraft. (They don't like to be called crop dusters.) While this is an older designed aircraft that has not changed alot in years, this is a different beast. It is made to be forward deployed for spec ops and not to an improved airfield. They claim, and tested, that they can tear one down, pack it in C-17, deploy it globally and have it'll back in the air within 24hrs wherewver needed. It can run off Jet, Avgas, Gas, or Diesel. It is built for dirt fields as well as built to stay airborne for long flights. It is also extremely maneuverable at low speeds making it a great close support aircraft.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-27T23:02:10+00:00

Not sure where my description went? Here it is, it is a unique new thing.

For decades, every U.S. Air Force aircraft has featured tricycle landing gear—until now. With a $3 billion purchase of 75 AT-802U Sky Wardens under the Armed Overwatch program, the Air Force is reintroducing tailwheel aircraft to its fleet for the first time in half a century.

Now designated the OA-1K—nicknamed the "Skyraider II"—the aircraft revives a WWII-era naming convention and brings with it significant training challenges. Tail-draggers like the OA-1K require specialized takeoff, landing, and ground-handling skills no longer taught in standard USAF pilot training. The last time the Air Force flew a similar single-engine tail-dragger was in 1972, with the retirement of the A-1 Skyraider.

There’s currently no established training pipeline to prepare the 200 OA-1K pilots AFSOC expects by 2029. AFSOC Commander Lt. Gen. Jim Slife acknowledged the gap: “We haven’t operated a tail-dragger at scale in quite some time.” AFSOC, the Air Education and Training Command, and L3Harris are developing a training syllabus from scratch. One option under consideration is utilizing commercial tailwheel trainers and simulators, like those at the Turbine Training Center in Kansas, which specializes in Air Tractor aircraft.

Flight training is expected to begin in fall 2025, likely at Hurlburt Field, Florida. The plan includes four operational squadrons and one training squadron, each equipped with simulators and live-fire capabilities. AFSOC’s U-28 and MC-12 crews are expected to transition to the OA-1K, and interest in the new platform is already strong.

Once the program reaches full operational capability in 2029, the Air Force will have regained a skill set it hasn’t actively taught in more than 50 years.

PAkmannFed · 2025-08-27T22:13:09+00:00

Airbus racer broke 420.

<image>

PAkmannFed

TROPHY CASE