Fiftieth anniversary for the Skywarrior

Air Classics, Jul 2002

Van Nuys Airport in southern California has long been a bastion of unusual aircraft, but the past few years have seen a swing to business jets - more than 50 Gulfstreams and four new Boeing BBJs now call the airport home, much to the anger of neighboring residents who object to the howl of the Rolls-Royce engines in the earlier Gulfstreams.

However, that racket is nothing compared to the volume generated on takeoff by the J57 turbojets fitted to the three Douglas A-3 Skywarriors that still operate from Van Nuys as electronics testbeds with the Raytheon Company.

This October will mark the 50th anniversary of the first flight of the prototype Skywarrior, and as that anniversary approaches the Van Nuys A-3s are the only examples of the Douglas naval attack bomber still flying.

Operated by Raytheon on government test contracts, the Skywarrior is ideally suited to electronics tests work, owing to its spacious interior and excellent load-lifting capabilities. Raytheon acquired the A-3s a couple of years ago from the Hughes Company, which had been a long-time user of the A-3.

However, the past few months have seen some of the former flyers placed in storage, and a further three Skywarriors are kept in storage at Mojave Airport. There are many spare J57 engines stored in containers at Van Nuys so, pending more government contracts, the Skywarrior fleet will be flying for several years to come.