# What are these chubby jets in the SD National Guard?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 1, 2017, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663 "2017-05-01T21:02:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/21 "2017-05-02T18:18:31Z")
When I was in training to be an Aviation Ordnanceman in the US Navy, I learned how to arm an A-7, even though there may have been all of 2 of them left in the fleet at that point.
I thought it was a waste of our time, but they were relatively easy to work on, and when it comes down to it, there isn’t much difference between loading bullets in an A-7 vs any other aircraft.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/22 "2017-05-02T18:56:21Z")
Incidentally, the A-7 was sometimes known as the SLUF.
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### Author:  [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/23 "2017-05-02T18:58:08Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> Incidentally, the A-7 was sometimes known as the SLUF.
OK, we’ll wait…
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### Author:  [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/24 "2017-05-02T19:28:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#):
>
> I really should sell my A-7E ejection seat.
Did the A-7’s use Martin-Baker seats? Wish I had a GRU-5 from the A-6A’s I worked on - (the Aircrews were always nice to us who made sure their ‘last resort’ would work as advertised.)
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### Author:  [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/25 "2017-05-02T21:30:06Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> OK, we’ll wait…
Short Little Ugly erm… Fellow.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/26 "2017-05-02T21:33:56Z")
> [@Philliam](#):
>
> Did the A-7’s use Martin-Baker seats? Wish I had a GRU-5 from the A-6A’s I worked on - (the Aircrews were always nice to us who made sure their ‘last resort’ would work as advertised.)
No, the A-7E’s seats were made by Douglas. They’re the same as the ones used in the A-4, except they have canopy penetrators.
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### Author:  [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/27 "2017-05-02T21:49:26Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#):
>
> And you’d be surprised (or not) at what’s flown over Mount Rushmore:
Was expecting (Red Flag) MiGs. Am disappoint.
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### Author:  [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/28 "2017-05-02T22:15:28Z")
> [@Kobal2](#):
>
> Was expecting (Red Flag) MiGs. Am disappoint.
Since they’re the “enemy,” they’re only allowed to fly [behind](http://www.akademifantasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/back-of-rushmore.png) Mount Rushmore.
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### Author:  [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)
#### Post date: [May 2, 2017, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/29 "2017-05-02T22:23:07Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#):
>
> OK, we’ll wait…
> [@August\_West](#):
>
> Short Little Ugly erm… Fellow.
In contrast to the B-52, “BUFF”: “Big Ugly Fat F{ellow}”. (Euphemizing a la **August West** and Air Force public relations offices world-wide.)
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### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2017, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/30 "2017-05-03T01:03:45Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> Those aircraft over Rushmore are A-7D. Which was the primary air to ground aircraft of the USAF ANG during the 70s and 80s. Lots and lots of state ANG units had A-7D. Even the Puerto Rico ANG had them.
PRANG’s A7Ds were in the unenviable position in the term of public optics of being bracketed in the history of 198 TFS by hot and sleek pieces of equipment – F104s before and F16s after. However they had a most eventful service life for the unit, as they incurred a loss of 8 aircraft to hostile action, being destroyed on the ground by terrorist attack in 1981 with no human casualties.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [May 3, 2017, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/31 "2017-05-03T02:22:14Z")
> [@August\_West](#):
>
> Short Little Ugly erm… Fellow.
Sometimes rendered as Slow Little Ugly … as well. At a time when everything had to be supersonic they … weren’t.
The A-7 community was much relieved when the A-10 came along and took both the slow and the ugly prize and ran all the way to the bank with both of 'em. 🙂
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### Author:  [@JHBoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHBoom)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/32 "2017-05-04T00:02:26Z")
If you look carefully at the Google Maps imagery of the Warren Grove Range in NJ, you’ll notice an A-7 parked in the dirt, on the \*very \*extended centerline of Runway 15.
I put it there with a CH-53E\*, back in 2000 (I was the crewman in the cabin, calling the load).
I have some pics of the lift; I’ll have to figure out how to link them here if enough folks are interested.
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/33 "2017-05-04T00:08:30Z")
> [@JHBoom](#):
>
> If you look carefully at the Google Maps imagery of the Warren Grove Range in NJ, you’ll notice an A-7 parked in the dirt, on the \*very \*extended centerline of Runway 15.
>
> I put it there with a CH-53E\*, back in 2000 (I was the crewman in the cabin, calling the load).
>
> I have some pics of the lift; I’ll have to figure out how to link them here if enough folks are interested.
Count me as an interested folk.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/34 "2017-05-04T01:30:44Z")
> [@JHBoom](#):
>
> …
> I have some pics of the lift; I’ll have to figure out how to link them here if enough folks are interested.
Cool. Would definitely like to see them.
In my era a lot of the target aircraft were F100s or occasionally 102/106s. Plus a few F-4s. The 100s were mostly aircraft shaped piles of aluminum shreds by the time I got to them, but the 106s & F-4s were much more intact.
You can’t upload pix to SDMB. But you can use any photo sharing site you want and post the url to your upload gallery here.
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### Author:  [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2017, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-these-chubby-jets-in-the-sd-national-guard/785663/35 "2017-05-05T05:12:50Z")
That would be a great name for a band. “Chubby Jets”.
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