President Johnson likens it to an altborne jeep. Rep. Pike is trying to get it into fast production. Forward ir Controllers in Vietnam want to turn in ‘their tired Bird Dogs for the more militant OV-10A. What's the big delay? The Marines asked for the craft back in 1959. The Department of Defense sent out proposals in 1963. North American got prototype orders in August 1964. But still no production contracts. EVERYBODY LIKES LARA APPARENTLY EXCEPT...??? President Johnson calls it the ‘airborne equivalent of the jeop,” and like its famous namesake it may be called on to do just about everything. “The airborne joep is North American's new OV-A LARA. Flight and static tests on seven prototypes built so far aren't over yet, but the Defense Department has allotted funds to buy 167 for the Air Force and 100 for the Biarine Corps, Follyw-on orders may bring the total to 500 or more, and if the plane is made available to Allies, as seems likely, North ‘American's LARA production line in ‘Colum- ‘bus, Obie, may be running for years. TARA isn't reslly the OV-10A’s official name, although it’s been known as that so long it may be pointless to find a new one. LARA stands for Light Armed Reconnaissance Air- craft, which is what the Marines were looking for when they made the initial proposal for this design almost seven years ago. ‘The Marines wanted a plane to fly-fighter ‘escort Zor their assault helicopters. It had to be slow and maneuverable enough to stay close to the choppers, fast enough to ahead and scout out a prospective landing: Zone, with enough firepower to drive off enemy forces who might oppose the landing. ‘Since then the project has expanded 2 bit. ‘The plane is now designed to provide heli- copter escort, close air-ground support, and fiy photo, radar, or electronic reconnaissance mis- sions. Its STOL (short takoof? and landing) ‘capability enables it to live with troops in the field, operating from rough clearings, primi- tive’ reads, and, fitted with pontoons, from waterways. It can tote 2400-Ibs. of external stores — bombs, napalm, rockets, and four ‘62mm machine guns. Tt can earry half 2 dozen paratroopers, or $200-Ihs of cargo, oF two litter patients with attendants. Pitted with a different fuselage, it becomes a 12-pas- senger transport. ‘All this versalillty is packed into an air- frame with an empty weight of 4850-Ibs, featuring twin turboprop engines and twin booms with @ horizontal tall mounted high between twin vertical tails. The fuselage is mounted under the wing, with pilot and ob- server seated in tandem forward of the props for unobstructed visibility. ‘Wing span is 30-1 $-In, length 40-ft, hefght 15-£t, It’s powered by pair of Garrett AiRe- search 76 engnes of 660-hp each, driving counter-rotating props. (An alternative power~ plant, the Pratt & Whitney 74, is also being: tested.) Top speed is 305-mph, but it can fy as slow as 60-mph. It takes off over a 50-ft obstacle in 705-ft, lands in 650-ft. Fully loaded. for combat, its operating radius is about 115 tiles, with an hour's lotter- capability. Ferry PROGRESSrange is almost 1500 miles, ‘One man who's impatient to get the OV-10A into production and into service inventories is Rep, Otis G. Pike, of Riverhead, N.Y. He chairs a subcommittee of the House Armed Serviees Committee which conducted exten- sive hearings in the fall of '65 on deficiencies in tactical air support, He sees the LARA as filing a gap In the lower end of the close support spectrum. Another group of people very anxious to see the OV-10A in operation are Air Foreo FAC’s (Worward Air Controllers) in Vietnam. ‘The plane they ly now is the Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (formerly the 1-19). The light, slow, single- engine job has its merits. For one thing it's no great trouble to maintain. The FAC often Tands it in an open fleld, pours in some gas, 2 quart or two of oil, wipes the windshield, and it’s ready to go again. ‘The job of the FAC is to seek out Viet Cong guerrillas, and when he spots them he calls fon fighter planes in the area to drop a few stitches of 50 caliber shigs or rockets on them. Consequently, the FAC is not at all welcome among the enemy, and the low and slow Bird Dog is relatively easy to hit with rifle fire. In ‘that predicament, the FAC tikes to shove the throttle forward and climb out fast, but the O-1 is & bit sluggish in responding. He'd feel much better with the OV-10A’s speed and maneuvorability. And with one engine out it can still get home, a trait the Bird Dog lacks. ‘Even more important, the O-l is unarmed while the LARA carries a respectable arsenal ‘Many a FAC has wheeled helplessly overhead watehing the Viet Cong ambush a U.S. or South Vietnamese army column, while he waited for fighters to arrive. Fighters are seldom more than five minutes away, but in ‘that time the enemy can wreak a heavy toll and fade away. Most friendly casualties are inflicted in the first few minutes of a surprise engagement, before they can react and, with ‘help from the air, pound the enemy hard—if atEVERYBODY LIKES LARA, Continued ‘OV-10 Transport would heve how fuselago, 60 span wing, ‘Sery T2-man Special Forses team, or DDDbs of arg, he hasn't vanished. With guns and bombs, the FAC can mow right into the enemy without waite ing for bigger fighters to back him up. "Phe FAC who sits by helplessly as he sees his countrymen and Allies dying below can't under- stand why it takes 0 long to turn out a replace- ment for his Bird Dog. After all, in World War ‘Two North American produced its first P-51 ‘Mustang in less than four months. But though the LARA was first proposed by the Marines in 41958, it was 1963 before the Defense Department got around to inviting proposals. Nine manufac turers responded. President Johnson announced award of the winning contrac: for seven proto- types to North American on Angust 15, 1964, Now, two years later, the LARA is stili some months away from a production contract. ‘The problem mainly lies in the way DoD ai business today, In World War Two, each service Gesigned and hought its own planes. Now DoD controls the money. Do the Marines want a plane? Let's see if the other services can use one, too. Of eourse they ean, But each one wants something just a Tittle different. So they get together and iry to work ut a compromise design. That takes time. Finally the contract is awarded, DoD assigns develop. ment responsibility to one servicea—in the case of the OV-10A it’s the Navy (which hasn't even decided yet whether it wants the plane).—-but the other service representatives can’t help dropping in af the factory to see how things are coming, and to make helpful suggestions. The manufac turer tries to please them all—and (See pa.79) 2 ‘AR PROGRESS