Warthogs fly natives in

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John O'Brien, an alumni of Cardinal Mooney, stands before his A-10 Warthog as a member of the 103 Fighter Squadron from the Willow Grove Naval Air Reserve Station in Philadelphia PA, during the Thunder Over the Valley Air Show on Sunday afternoon. Geoffrey Hauschild

Air Show Sunday

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The Youngstown Air Station Open House and Air Show, Thunder Over the Valley, Sunday, August 9, 2009.

Youngstown Air Show

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Air Show Saturday

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Thunder Over the Valley Air Show at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station Saturday, August 8, 2009.

By Peter H. Milliken

Introduced in 1975, the Warthog is scheduled to fly until 2044.

VIENNA — The pilot of an A-10 Warthog flies solo, serving as pilot, navigator, gunner and bombardier in this versatile twin-engine jet, which is specially designed to support ground troops, day and night.

For two ambidextrous pilots of these planes who grew up in Mahoning County, the weekend’s Thunder Over the Valley air show was a homecoming.

Lt. Col. John O’Brien, a 1985 graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, and Capt. Mike Stock, a 1997 graduate of West Branch High School, fly these planes with the 103rd Air National Guard Fighter Squadron based at Willow Grove, Pa., near Philadelphia.

Three of the Warthogs were displayed at the air show, two from Willow Grove, and one from Barksdale Air Force Base near Shreveport, La.

The Warthog, which features a large Gatling gun and carries missiles and laser-guided bombs, has withstood the test of time. First delivered to the Air Force in 1975, the plane is scheduled to remain in service until 2044, O’Brien said. “There’s nothing that’s going to replace it with the same capability,” he observed.

A mechanical engineering graduate of Case Western Reserve University, where he was enrolled in ROTC, O’Brien has served tours of duty in Kosovo in 1999 and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Having flown the A-10 since 1996, he flew 33 combat missions in Kosovo, where he participated in the rescue of an F-117 pilot who was shot down. He said he also flew 30 to 35 combat missions each in the A-10 in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“What attracted me to this airplane is this is the last of the stick and rudder airplanes, where you still have to have a map out. It harkens back to the good old days of flying,” O’Brien said.

“To me, it’s more challenging as a pilot,” than flying planes with advanced avionics, he said. “There’s a lot of stuff to keep track of, and it’s challenging for me as opposed to having the computer figure it out for you and just doing what the computer tells you,” he added.

“If they need me to go into combat again, I’d certainly volunteer to do that,” he said.

O’Brien’s grandfather, Lawrence Snovak, a paratrooper with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, was killed during World War II’s Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944.

A son of Donald and Mary O’Brien of Canfield, O’Brien said his desire to fly airplanes began when he was 8 years old.

O’Brien lives near Philadelphia with his wife, Colleen; a son, Aidan, 5; a daughter, Kayleigh, 3; and a son, Connor, 1.

“Now I feel it’s my time to come back and give back to whatever little kid’s climbing up the ladder to look, and hopefully encourage him to do the same thing I did,” O’Brien said of the air show.

A son of Karen and Jim Rice of Beloit, Stock received a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Pittsburgh.

Stock, who has been piloting the A-10 for five years, said his interest in flying an A-10 began in his childhood when he attended the Cleveland Air Show. “When I was a kid, I saw an A-10 there, and wanted to fly it,” he recalled.

“The Number 1 thing is helping the guys on the ground. Our mission is to take care of that 18-year-old soldier on the ground with the rifle. We live for those guys. That is our job — close air support,” Stock said.

Stock, who has served in combat in Afghanistan, resides in Quakertown, Pa., with his wife, Jennifer, and sons, Aidan, 5, Gavin, 2, and Tyler, 4 months.

Stock said he enjoyed participating in the air show and “coming back home and meeting up with old buddies that I haven’t seen in a long time.”

FACTS about the a-10 Warthog

Primary mission: To provide day and night close air combat support for friendly land forces and act as a forward air controller to coordinate and direct friendly air forces in support of land forces.

Secondary mission: Support of search and rescue and Special Forces operations.

It can be used against all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles.

It features a titanium armor-plated cockpit, short take-off and landing capability and excellent get-home capability after being hit by enemy fire.

Power plant: Two General Electric turbofan engines, each with 9,065 pounds of thrust.

Speed: 420 mph.

Length: 53 feet, four inches.

Height: 14 feet, eight inches.

Wingspan: 57 feet, six inches.

Ceiling: 45,000 feet.

Maximum takeoff weight: 51,000 pounds.

Range: 800 miles.

Armament: One seven-barrel, 30mm Gatling gun; laser-guided bombs, Maverick and Sidewinder missiles.

Unit cost: $13 million.

Operated by the active duty Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

Deployed locations: United States, including Alaska; Germany, Kuwait and South Korea.

Source: Federation of American Scientists