Must have been a NATOPS insertion at Sharkie's insistence, to reinforce his unshaken belief that Crabs and FAA pilots are born to different types of parents and have absolutely no understanding of each other!!
Fortunately, in 82, I was "on", OK, "in", HERMES and, thankfully - he was "in" INVINCIBLE, the junior carrier!!
Nevertheless, a "CRAB" button seems hugely sensible to me!!
Might have stopped my embarrassing catapult launch!!
However, the A-4Ms we took to the carrier in 79/80 had ARBS (Angle Rate Bombing System) which is why we went there as VX-5 for Operational Test & Evaluation - as best I can remember!!
The A-4M with ARBS was an amazing machine - even though it was then obsolescent in US military terms. I did a RED FLAG in 80 flying both the A-4M and the A-7E - the A-4M was a delight to fly, and performed extremely well in the RED FLAG environment.
Last edited by ex-fast-jets; 19th Mar 2017 at 20:18.