Summary
- A-10 Demo Team’s last season in 2024; Major Johnson is an experienced A-10 instructor pilot with combat time also.
- A-10 vs F-35 controversy explained by Major Johnson: Funding key issue; A-10 capable of multiple missions.
- A-10 Demo Team mission is to showcase combat capabilities and honor US Air Force history with more airshows until October’s Pacific Airshow.
With 2024 being the last airshow season – for now – of the US Air Force’s A-10 Demo Team, Simple Flying was able to catch – with the help of Fairchild Air Force Base’s Public Affairs – Major Lindsay “Mad” Johnson for a brief interview about the demo and other A-10 issues.
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying
Major Lindsay “MAD” Johnson is the current demo pilot with over 1,380 flight hours, including 431 in combat with the 354th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, Kandahar AB, Afghanistan. For this, Major Johnson won the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. Major Johnson is also a qualified A-10 flight instructor who gave Simple Flying some advice employing the 30mm gun in DCS World – use the CCIP cross, not one off the reticles.
A-10 vs. F-35
With that, Simple Flying inquired into what Major “Mad” Johnson’s insights are on the A-10 vs. F-35 controversy. As Major Mad shared with us,
“A lot of it comes down to funding. We don’t have the funding we have to keep this airplane in as we continue to bring other aircraft onboard. So the focus now is more on multi-role capable aircraft versus airplanes designed for single mission even though we know the A-10 is capable of doing other missions.”
According to “Mad,” those other missions besides close air support include forward air control, interdiction, and search and rescue. Recently, “The Afterburn” Podcast did an episode with a pair of A-10 pilots on the subject.
“Mad” also shared with Simple Flying that she liked using, after the 30mm gun, the AGM-65 Maverick guided missile family and the AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rocket. Neither is currently packed by the F-35. Simple Flying did an analysis on the subject of F-35A vs. A-10C:
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But ultimately, as “Mad” – a museum and history buff – explained the A-10 Demo Team’s role in her “farewell tour”,
“It’s a bittersweet time for me. I’m honored to be able to be the one to do it’s last year for sure to take it and hopefully give it the farewell tour that it deserves for sure. But this airplane [Fairchild A-10 Warthog] is always gonna be remembered, in my opinion, for everything that it’s done and done well. And I think there’s going to be enough people around that are going to continue to, like, honor what it’s done over the past 40-plus years.”
Keeping history alive
“Mad” in her demonstrations will do more than just turn and roll around the sky in either her “Black Mamba” black & grey A-10 or her “Memphis Belle III” multi-color A-10. Since the A-10s are gifted from the 357th Fighter Squadron, which flew a “Memphis Belle II” Republic F-105 Thunderchief in the Vietnam War – it was decided to make a tribute Republic A-10C Thunderbolt II “Warthog” livery. As per below, the F-105 Memphis Belle II is now in the National Museum of the US Air Force:
Photo: Kevin LaRock | US Air Force
The names of the fallen and Prisoners of War from the 357th Fighter Squadron are printed on the right nose of Memphis Belle III. Below are some photos of Memphis Belle III.
As “Mad” shared with Simple Flying,
“It’s our way to be able to honor the men who paid the ultimate sacrifice when they were killed in action or prisoners of war.”
This is just one of the missions of the A-10 Demo Team – keeping history alive.
Mission and Remaining Schedule
The A-10 Demo Team’s mission is to showcase the combat capabilities of the A-10 Warthog while highlighting US Air Force professionalism. Although it’s been decided to mitigate the very real risks of employing ordinance by using prerecorded A-10C 30mm gun run sounds and ground-based pyrotechnics instead, the thrilling effects thrill airshow crowds as you can see below from SkyFest’s Saturday performance:
As of June 26, the A-10 Demo Team has 11 show sites remaining, including at Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s AirVenture. One should note that at Oshkosh, the A-10 Demo Team will only perform on certain days:
Related
Confirmed: USAF A-10 Warthog Demo Team Will Perform In EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
In the A-10 Demo Team’s last season, the A-10 will participate in some of EAA AirVenture Oshkosk’s week of airshows.
One can also review the A-10 Demo Team’s 2024 schedule below:
Graphic: A-10 Demo Team | US Air Force
The schedule concludes at the Pacific Airshow on October 4-6 at Huntington Beach, California. At Pacific Airshow – the grand finale for the A-10 Demo Team, one should note that most other US military demo teams will be in attendance, such as US Navy F-35C Demo Team, US Navy F/A-18 Rhino Demo Team, US Navy EA-18G Growler Legacy Team, Louisiana Air National Guard Bayou Militia F-15s, U.S. Army Blackhawk and Lakota Helicopters, US Marine Corps MV-22 Demo, US Air Force C-17 West Coast Demo Team and even the US Air Force KC-135 Demo Team. The only US Air Force demo teams missing as of June 26 are the US Air Force F-35A Demo Team and the US Air Force F-16 Demo Team, the latter of which has a Reno, Nevada commitment. But the date remains open on the F-35A Demo Team’s dance card as of June 26.
Bottom line
With that, the A-10 Demo Team will perform its last demonstrations in the hands of a highly experienced attack pilot. As Major “Mad” Johnson put her role as a demo pilot in a May 3, 2023 Air Force Heritage Flight interview,
“I thought that the demo role was an incredible opportunity to help inspire young men and women across the country to join the military, whether that’s as a pilot, a maintainer, a public affairs officer or whatever they choose to be.”
Do you plan to see the A-10 Demo Team this year? If so, please share in the comments where.