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Of course the speedbrakes can be opened on the ground - the problem is that a fully extended ventral petal will contact the ground if the aircraft is not on jacks. Complicating this is a photo, which I believe appears in the Squadron/Signal A-1 Walkaround book that shows a ventral petal (partially) extended and resting on a wooden box which led some to believe is fully extended.
BTW, in Vietnam it is documented that the ventral petal was commonly locked out to prevent interference with the centerline fuel tank. Note that this was not jury rigged, it is provision spelled out in the Dash One. Regarding the A-1H in TN, its ventral petal is also (currently) locked out for the same reason.
One compromise to all of this that has not been part of the discussion is that, for ground checks, the speedbrakes can be extended using the electric back-up hydraulic pump. I assume that this is how the photo originated of the ventral petal resting on a box. Turn on the pump, hit the extend switch and have an observer shout when the ventral petal is about to contact the box and turn off the pump - the speedbrakes stop at partial extension to permit maintenance/inspection.
Ken
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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."
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