Flying the A4 Skyhawk with the Royal Australian Navy — Part 2

Guest column by Peter (‘Purps’) Greenfield

The McDonnell Douglas A4 Skyhawk was the only aircraft I flew where I felt that I was in it, rather than occupying it. The cockpit was tight, to the point that your helmet ‘bonked’ the canopy in your struggles to see behind. You had to know where the switches were on the side panels purely by feel, especially beside your body. Once the canopy was down it was like flying in a glass bubble — the aircraft practically responded to your thoughts, rather than…