Aircraft owes survival to famed race car driver Drivers heading down Interstate 75 by the and of Ocala.Aircraft owes survival to famed race car driver Drivers heading down Interstate 75 by the and of Ocala, Florida, may notice something a little different the nearest time they pass through the area, reports Kevin s Tanner. The new addition is Vought A7A Corsair II BuNo 152650 which has the distinction of being the first Corsair II to catapult and arrest forward an aircraft carrier. This incident happened on 15 November 1966 and the carrier was USS America. This particular Corsair II could previously be seen perched high atop a pedestal near the main gate at Cecil Field Naval Air Station where it had been since 1976 However, Cecil Field was clos in 1999 and the historic Corsair II was scheduled to be scrapped! Along came Don Garlics to the recapture and he got permission to induce the Corsair II to his Drag Racing Museum in Ocala where it is now forward display. Don Garlits is a well-known drag racer who was asked according to President Nixon in 1971 to journey to Vietnam to cheer up the bodys for the holiday season. Don raced against a Corsair II aboard the USS Lexington for a Navy recruiting placard Don has also raced against an F-16 at NAS Lakehurst where the Navy has a land-based steam catapult. perpetually since, Don has wanted to acquire an A-7 for his Drag Racing Museum. This particular A-7A was first displayed at Ocala in replete CAG markings of VA-105 as it had been seen at Cecil Field. unusually the colorful Corsair II was then taken down and repainted in a rather non-standard scheme and then placed back forward the pedestal. It is a shame that this aircraft was considered scrap by dint of the Navy and it strike one as beings that it should have been deposit on indoor display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola. However, we all owe Don Garlits a big thanks for saving this historic aircraft from the smelter Copyright Challenge Publications Inc. Mar 2004 |
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