Let's say you’ve got your dream house somewhere in SoCal, a 10-car garage, maybe even a helicopter and a pilot that’s under your employment. But what if you’re a bit of a pilot yourself? Certified, of course. Well, did you know that civilians can own fighter jets if they’ve been demilitarized? Now you’re getting the picture.
To be clear, there would be several hoops you’d have to jump through. Just because a jet might be for sale, and it doesn’t have a working weapons system, doesn’t mean it’s been demilitarized.
Aside from guns and rockets, you must take out any special radar equipment and any other government-owned technology that might make the aircraft dangerous in the hands of a civilian.
For those reasons, I can’t guarantee that you might be able to operate this 1992 McDonnell Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk model outside of, let’s say using it for an airshow or maybe even additional government contract work. That being said, what I can tell you is that the TA-4J is already to some extent, demilitarized.
This is basically the dedicated trainer version of the A-4F model, featuring a downrated engine and no weapons systems. Fun fact, most TA-4Fs are said to have been at one point converted to this configuration – the TA-4F had an extra seat for the instructor.
Anyway, the idea here is that you can indeed purchase this particular TA-4J Skyhawk, listed on Controller with a price tag of $3.2 million. That’s actually less than what you’d pay for a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, Super Sport or a Lamborghini Sian.
According to the ad, the jet has been fully restored and is operational. It’s also ADS-B equipped and comes with a Garmin 375 system and two G5 displays. As for its visuals, the fuselage boasts a light blue camouflage aesthetic, which is a bit silly, but it sort of works.
Aside from guns and rockets, you must take out any special radar equipment and any other government-owned technology that might make the aircraft dangerous in the hands of a civilian.
For those reasons, I can’t guarantee that you might be able to operate this 1992 McDonnell Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk model outside of, let’s say using it for an airshow or maybe even additional government contract work. That being said, what I can tell you is that the TA-4J is already to some extent, demilitarized.
This is basically the dedicated trainer version of the A-4F model, featuring a downrated engine and no weapons systems. Fun fact, most TA-4Fs are said to have been at one point converted to this configuration – the TA-4F had an extra seat for the instructor.
Anyway, the idea here is that you can indeed purchase this particular TA-4J Skyhawk, listed on Controller with a price tag of $3.2 million. That’s actually less than what you’d pay for a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, Super Sport or a Lamborghini Sian.
According to the ad, the jet has been fully restored and is operational. It’s also ADS-B equipped and comes with a Garmin 375 system and two G5 displays. As for its visuals, the fuselage boasts a light blue camouflage aesthetic, which is a bit silly, but it sort of works.