OBTW... 1.15M on the meter coming back from an FCF A. I don't think we were
actually supersonic though.


Woody,
Before Chuck Suwells (SP) (Grumman test pilot) demise. He said that the A-6
would not go supersonic. He tried straight down and full power with no luck. He
also did a road show were he would take A-6 pilots up in the right seat and
spin the A-6 as a demo. Now thats some quality Special Crew time.

He did say the Prowler would go Supersonic. I tried many times and I guess I
did it but no one ever called to complain about the supersonic boom. I also ran
into the Mach tuck mentioned in the NAtops manual. It seemed to be airframe
specific. Most Prowlers it was barely noticeable but we had one that would
pitch down 3-5 degrees. It would really get everyones attention. Once we
understood what was happening it was OK but I damn near overstressed the plane
the first time it happened.

Sparky