TA-4J Skyhawk \\\ 21 Nov 2009 \\\ Marana AZ

We were fortunate enough to be there when our good friend Mike "Maj" McDougall saw a major milestone in his four year build of the TA-4J Skyhawk.

 A4EngineTests_357.jpg

The J52 engine lit up on the second try, belching out a plume of white preservative smoke. After debrief and inspection, Maj set out on a short taxi test. It was great watching this plane come to life, compress the nose strut as he added power, and trundle down the taxiway with all of the "Remove Before Flight" streamers blowing.
Maj went from 60% to 70% power with little more than 1/4" movement of the throttle. At 80% the plane would jump the chocks.The only casualties of the run were two engine mounted hydraulic pumps which operated for only a few minutes after being yanked out of retirement.
Maj would have continued to taxi all around the entire airport, but figured he had burned enough fuel, and it seemed prudent to leave well enough alone.

Lost Squadron will continue to follow the progress of this aircraft as it moves into the flight test phase.

Photos by: Dean Siracusa & Roger Tonry       

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