NOTE: RADIO CONTROL AIRPLANES ARE ON THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PAGE.
The North American A-5 Vigilante was one of the most advanced and largest aircraft to operate from United States Navy carriers at the time of its deployment.
They were quick and maneuverable for a large aircraft. However, they had a relatively fast landing speed due to their high wing loading. This was a problem for some less experienced pilots.
The Vigilante was the first production aircraft to utilize fly-by-wire technology. It used spoilerons rather than ailerons for roll control.
The aircraft were the first to be equipped with an automated bombing system using both radar and T.V. imaging for aiming.
It was the first aircraft ever deployed with a Head Up Display (HUD).
The A-5 was the first aircraft capable of low altitude navigation using a terrain following radar system.
Although they served as an attack aircraft, some believe that the aircraft had an influence on the design of the Soviet interceptors.
A total of 158 North American A-5 Vigilante aircraft of all types were produced.
Immediately above is a photo of the great looking scratch built rc A-5 Vigilante by Harold Ferguson. It has a wing span of 47" and a length of 66".
Scale oleo struts and a knee type nose gear strut add to the scale appearance. Harold's scale model rc A-5 Vigilante is powered by a Wren MW 54 turbine.
Pictured first below is the rc A-5 Vigilante by Nitro Planes. It has a 40" wingspan and is EDF powered.
Pictured second below is the A-5 Vigilante rc airplane for sale by Flying Models. It is designed by Phil Nuckles and features fiberglass and foam construction. Wingspan is 63" and length is 87". Suggested power is a single Byro-jet fan powered by an O.S. .91 engine.
Mark Frankel has plans for sale of a scale rc A-5 Vigilante rc. The plans are no. 902 available from RC Modeler magazine. It has a 66” wingspan. Construction materials are balsa, ply, fiberglass and foam core for the wings. We were unable to find any information on how it is powered.
The next picture is of the A-5 Vigilante rc profile model built by Frank Burke. You can find the build article in RC Groups. It has a wingspan of 24" and a length of 28". Frank powers his rc airplane with a park 300 motor pusher prop. It is made from 6 mm Depron foam and weighs 7.2 oz.
The bottom picture is of the rc A-5 Vigilante built by triple b from RC Groups. It is made from Depron and has a wingspan of 28" with a 37" length. A 2200 kV pusher prop motor propels the approximately 18 1/2 oz. scale model.
We are surprised not to find more A-5 Vigilante rc airplanes. They are nice looking aircraft and surely would make good flying scale radio control airplane models.
Please email us with pictures and details if you have built a rc North American A-5 Vigilante or one of its variants, or know of any that you can recommend to put on this page
North American A-5 Vigilante
