McDONNELL DOUGLAS A-4C “SKYHAWK” A-ATTACK 4-4TH MODEL C-3RD MODIFCATION The Skyhawk first flew on 22 June 1954 and was in production for over 26 years with the last Skyhawk rolling off the assembly line in 1979.  It was affectionately known as the “SCOOTER” or “HEINEMANNS HOT ROD” after its designer Ed Heinemann.  The Skyhawk was conceived to meet a Navy requirement of the early 1950s for a carrier based attack aircraft weighing 30,000 LBS with a payload of 2,000 LBS.  The Skyhawks initial empty weight was 15,000 lbs and could carry a 5000-LB payload.  This Skyhawk was accepted on 12 April 1961 by the Navy and went to Navy Attack Squadron-192 (VA-192), in 1971 this Skyhawk was transferred to the Marine Corps reserve and eventually served at MCAS El Toro until replaced. SPECIFICATIONS WING SPAN   27’ 6”” WING AREA   260 SQ FT LENGTH   40’ 4” HEIGHT   15’ 0” EMPTY WEIGHT  9,422 LBS MAX TAKE-OFF WEIGHT 20,000 LBS ENGINE    1 x CURTISS WRIGHT J-65-W-16A/20 THRUST    7,700 LBS MAX SPEED   660 MPH CRUISE SPEED   465 MPH CEILING   34,400’ RANGE    1,740 NAUTICAL MILES CLIMB    9,100 FEET PER MINUTE ARMAMENT   2 x 20MM CANNONS     6,000 LBS OF WEAPONS ON 3 HARD POINTS