Flying the A-10 Warthog | Kim "KC" Campbell (PART 1)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ก.ย. 2024
- Former A-10 Warthog pilot, Kim “KC” Campbell, shares what it was like to be selected to fly the Hog, flying training, firing the GAU-8 Avenger 30mm gun, strengths and weaknesses of the jet, and flying at Red Flag!
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I really enjoyed our discussion. Thanks for the opportunity to share some stories about flying the A-10! It's an amazing airplane with an incredible mission.
Our pleasure!
Amazing interview and insight, thanks for sharing your time!
We took our Avenger out to Hagerstown MDs small Airshow a while back, and I’ll never forget the A-10 that a low-level break right over our heads then taxid in right next to us while I was sitting on the wing.
It was bizarre looking across the runway at the old Fairchild factory buildings knowing that thing was built there almost half a century ago and was “home” again, and also that our Avenger was one of the first dedicated CAS aircraft during WW2.
Every A-10 pilot I’ve talked to at the air shows has been exceptionally nice and eager to show off the aircraft. I think it goes back to what you said at the start of the interview about having that mindset of being bigger than just yourself and helping others, as well as enjoying the low-level flying.
I agree about the cockpit btw - only been in two active “fighter” cockpits, the A-10 and an old F-15C at Andrews - much rather be loitering in the A-10. 🤣
I know you’re probably done with this interview, but a part 3 on your actual engagements, planning, targeting, what you saw…. dealing with the reality that you just had your first kill(s) etc would be really interesting.
KC is your friends mom who also happens to be a an A-10 pilot. Gotta love America. Straight air farts 👍🏻👍🏻
I’m an ex UK SF vet and been retired for 25yrs. In my SF career I needed to call in close air support many times but 3 of those times it was an A10 that provided the support. Apart from being grateful, and relieved, every time that support arrived the thing that I’ll never forget is the noise and the feeling of the impact of those 30mm rounds of the A10 through the ground.
One time in particular we had to ask an A10 pilot to lay rounds down less than 100meters from our position. The sound of those 30mm rounds hitting the ground, trees and a wall less than 100 meters away is absolutely truly awesome and you can feel those impacts through the ground which is pretty intense. Then, a second or two later, you hear the buzz from the gun in the sky behind you.
I have a lot of affection for that aeroplane. To me it’s beautiful. I got to meet 2 of the A10 pilots that provided support we requested. I’m sure they’re different to other fighter pilots. They’re so humble and yet so brave to fly into an area they know will make them a giant target and are highly prized by the enemy if they can take one down. They come in very low and, in some cases, can see the whites of the eyes of the enemy combatants, putting themselves at great risk to basically get people like me out of the shit. I’ve heard stories of A10s returning from missions with so much damage from the impact of enemy rounds that it would’ve no doubt have taken down any other type of plane and the pilots of those highly damaged planes were back in the cockpit of another aircraft carrying out a new mission just hours later. I’ve no doubt I’m alive today because of at least 2 of those pilots. As a soldiers pinned down and truly in the shit, I saw the arrival of those pilots in their A10s as my guardian Angels come down to bestow me with more time in this life. But the sound of those rounds impact with the ground etc is something I will never ever forget.
I was for three years in the early 1970s a Tweet IP at both Randolph and Sheppard AFBs. During that time I flew with Iranians, Germans, Vietnamese, and US student pilots. Int that time I had one US student who, for the first 10 or so flights, got airsick. each flight. Somehow I knew he would get past that problem. When he started getting airsick, he would ask me to take the stick while he took care of his little problem. Once he stowed the barf bag, I would ask him if he was ready to take control. He always said "yes". Unlike some other students who got airsick, he was not incapacitated. It was not motion sickness, it was anxiety. He eventually completed the Tweet phase and graduated near the top of his UPT class. I've held many different positions over the years and think of myself as an adult educator. Now at age 75 I look back and feel that my most rewarding job was taking new brown bars and helping them achieve their goals. I have nothing but great memories of the 7 years I served our country. I enjoyed this podcast and the one Killer Chick did with Ryan on Combat Story. Kim, I thank you for your service.
It is a pleasure hearing this lady.
One of my favourite eps yet - KC rules. Ace job Mike.
Cheers!
Loved this interview! Looking forward to part 2.
Great to hear, Andrew!
Great interview, lovely Lady. Really enjoyed learning a bit more about the A10.
Cheers Peter.
A-10 and F-111, my two most beloved USAF planes, because they are so well designed for their purpose (the F-111 was also ahead of its time) to be simply astonishing, but for some reason they seems to be also the less loved by the USAF itself.
ikr, only if the F-111 was still in service
Great interview.
Cheers!
Great interview, being aircraft maintenance with A-10 Flying Tigers station in Louisiana in the mid 80s bringing them up to Washington, then, transferring them back east. I must say at A10 warthog is the best aircraft in our inventory. You can think of an A-10 like a Timex watch, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
Looking forward to Part 2.
I just sent your interview to a bright 10 year old girl.Her uncle. is an O1 in the space force. Hoping your vision from inception light's the spark.Another uncle is a special ops Marine who has seen service in Iraq.Upon separation he became a security contractor in Afghanistan until contract complete.Now he is in Ukraine.I am an Air force veteran myself.Thankyou for unwavering service for Country!
They don't shout about it but concerns of friendly fire helped motivate the a10c upgrade. The integration of both the targeting pod and data link is a whole new world of target identification capability.
Can't wait for this one!!!
Thank you the both of you for doing this It was really great. She is so humble and badass at the same time. I've always loved that plane and really respect the pilots going low and slow doing the good work and support troops.
Great to hear you enjoyed it.
That was great, looking forward to part 2!
Cheers.
I love that she has he tail panel from the damaged Hawg👍🏼
I was wondering about that. I guess the story comes from Part 2? Great stuff so far.
... and - if I'm not mistaken - the image of her on the inside of the ladder door. (15.01)
Got confirmation from her directly, that that is the real deal. Even better!
It does indeed.
Great interview. It brought back lots of memories flying the A10.
What a fantastic lady and a great interview 👏
Cheers.
great interview as always!!
Thanks.
What a lovely aviator, the enthusiasm for flying is oozing out of the screen, so cool sharing her story.
A bit surprised at the lack of mention of the AGM-65 Maverick. For the longest time, it was the only precision weapon in the A-10 inventory (besides the gun). I was checked out on the Maverick in the F-16, it was a pretty cool weapon.
Just an oversight, we used plenty of AGM-65 Mavericks, and we also upgraded the A-10C to carry the laser Maverick as well.
@@kim-kc-campbell I figured as much. Pretty key weapon on the A-10. We were using it when I was at Kunsan (as a Panton). But that was before you were even in the AF, so I'm dating myself, LOL... Anyway, great stuff and looking forward to more, including the battle damage incident.
This interview was Killer
Cheers
Interesting fact regarding the size of the A-10: almost identical to a WW II B-25...
Hey great content as always man! Thanks so much for all of your fantastic work. Any idea when you'll post part 2? Just a week from now or what? I'm not sure about your schedule. =) Thanks.
Thanks very much! We are back on track so this Sunday at 1900 as normal.
I was an avionics technician with VMA 311 Tomcats from 1982 to 1986. I remember talking with Capt WW “Whiskey” Griffin and he said the Marine Corps actually considered getting A10s instead of AV8s to replace the Skyhawk. Is there any truth to this? I think the A10 would have made an awesome Marine Corps arrack platform.
NOTIFACTION SQUAD!
What a cool woman.
I think it’s fair to say that the Air Force is not enamored with either the A-10 or close air ground support. And have been trying to retire the A-10 from the service fleet for a long.
Whereas the troops on the ground absolutely love the A-10.
So wouldn’t the best solution be to transfer all the A-10 assets to the army and or the marines?
Hello, I've seen a video where you interviewed German test pilot Robert hierl, do you have his contact? I would like to get in touch with him for my graduation thesis
Both the A-10 and the AH-64 have 30mm cannons but the A-10's seems so much bigger. AFAIK the AH-64 even has dual feed but the A-10 doesn't.
at 19:14 what's with the dents on the nose? Air-to-Air refueling probe?
That's exactly it. The A-10s can take a beating during refueling. Air-to-Air refueling can be especially tough at night and in the weather. Not my favorite part of the job!
Does inhaling gun gas while shooting again & again gives pilot black lung or sone sort of disease?
No, they are on mask fed oxygen and the cockpit is pressurised. The gun gases caused issues with the engine in development though.
Other interesting fact: the Air Force is re-reengining the B-52 but not the A-10. Go figure...
The only problem is that we should have never been in Iraq in the first place...