its from a tower or something, if you were on the ground youd see it had clearance

Now their hair is on fire! Mmmmmmmmm.

For me growing up, that airplane was THE symbol of American air power. The base I was born on had them, and just about ever time I looked into the sky as a kid it was an F-4 flying over. No matter where I lived, in California, Texas or Michigan, F-4's were all I saw.

We used to have 2 fighter wings stationed at Selfridge ANG, and my dad and I would go park at the end of the runway and watch the Guard pilots doing touch and go's.

I'm guessing it is approximately 75ft or so off the deck....

red x

Its flying so low, its a red X!
Wow!

Another pic of the mighty Phantom:

What a beaut that plane is.

Edit: There are no ugly lines on it anywhere. why I felt compelled to edit that sentence in I have no idea. But the Phantom will always hold a fond place in my heart, much like the Warthog and the Mustang.

Quoted: de.geocities.com/glupscherle/f4-flyby.jpg

 

The dreaded   X  

Colt_SBR  

Some people can see it....?

I see it.

Quoted: The dreaded   X   Colt_SBR

[Inignokt]That sounds like a personal problem.[/Inignokt]

I've built several F-4 Phantom models.  I loved them when I was a kid.

Quoted: www.yellowairplane.com/pics/Purcell_F_4_and_Kids_WH.jpg

dang, that's pretty cool!

It was May 24, 1978, and the 5000th Phantom II was being delivered in ceremonies that marked the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the twin-engine, two-person fighter. More than 600 guests attended the event that presented the aircraft to the U.S. Air Force. With pomp and ceremony, the aircraft was unveiled, sporting a special paint job that featured the flags of all the nations currently flying the F-4. At the time, the Phantom II had the longest production run of any supersonic fighter and the run was expected to continue for several more years. By Oct. 25, 1979, Phantom No. 5057 - the last U.S.-built Phantom - was being delivered to the U.S. Air Force for ultimate delivery to the Republic of Korea Air Force.

F-4D somewhere over the RVN

Quoted: Quoted: The dreaded   X   Colt_SBR   [Inignokt]That sounds like a personal problem.[/Inignokt]

 

Yup, sure is.  

Colt_SBR  

All hail the mighty F-4. I wish we still had a use for it.

I'd donate my left nut to go for a ride in one.

Quoted: www.prz.rzeszow.pl/zbigklep/obrazki/F-4%20Phantom-Ma_1.jpg

I wonder how much damage was done to the Aero Commander (civilian light twin) in the background?

Ben, The_Emu

Quoted: Quoted: www.prz.rzeszow.pl/zbigklep/obrazki/F-4%20Phantom-Ma_1.jpg I wonder how much damage was done to the Aero Commander (civilian light twin) in the background?

Good question.

Point Mugu airshow.

Quoted: www.prz.rzeszow.pl/zbigklep/obrazki/F-4%20Phantom-Ma_1.jpg

None.

That's Bob Hoover in his Shrike Commander.

Quoted: Quoted: www.prz.rzeszow.pl/zbigklep/obrazki/F-4%20Phantom-Ma_1.jpg I wonder how much damage was done to the Aero Commander (civilian light twin) in the background? Ben, The_Emu

What's so great about the Phantom?

Serious question - I honestly don't know.  But they seem quite legendary with people in the know, and so I am curious.

Dad was a Phantom II driver...  well... navigator...  

He did a tour in 'Nam.  Says they chased some Migs a few times, dropped a shitload of bombs on the Ho Chi Mihn trail and got shot at a few times... got hit once but made it home safe.  

The F-4 was the do-all jet of it's time.  When he got stationed back here at Bergstrom in 1991, they still had a few F-4s around.  I think it was the last squadron to retire them.  

They were so versatile and had that reputation, that someone built an R/C model of an F-4 that had tank treads and a turret on top!  And that sucker FLEW!    hehehe  

My father was a phantom driver, F4S, for the USMC. At the time, she could do it all. AtoA, AtoG, recon. She was VERY fast and powerful, and could carry quite a load. She was tough enough for carriers. I love that plane. My father took his to Mach 2.1, and over 72,000 ft. He loved that plane. However, he loved th hornet more.

Unfortunately, most of them are here:



My first assignment was at Zweibrucken AFB in Germany humping these babies (RF-4Cs.)  They were pretty neat birds.  

We had a pilot lose control (hydraulics?) of one and had to guide it in to ditch it.  I was on duty at the time and was clearing the tarmac of vehicles.  He circled the base as best he could using the engine and what controls he had left for about 10 mins.  He aimed it at the base and both flyers punched out at about 200 ft.  The plane glided in, nosed over and hit upside down just about 25 yards from the left side of the runway.  It was a pretty dramatic thing to witness.  One hell of a "womp."  The FD put it out and we secured the area.  The pilot stopped by to look at the plane about 3 hrs later.  The look on his face was as though he was looking at dead body.

btw I sat in a Phantom cockpit at Wright-Pat and came to the sad conclusion that I could not have been a Phantom driver or RIO. Those guys were either real small or shoehorned in there.

Here is where the last VMFA-112 Phantom lies in waiting....

F-4's are still helping out the US Military...
As targets!

Crew returns Phantom jet to Florida sky
 

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- James Gunn (left) and Gene Fischer remove damaged titanium blast shields from a QF-4 Phantom II here. They are aircraft structural engineers. Mr. Gunn is from Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Mr. Fischer is from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. (


TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The titanium blast shields on this QF-4 Phantom II were extensively damaged. Aircraft structural engineers repaired the full-scale aerial target drone saving the military $620,000.


by Terry Vanden-Heuvel
Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center Public Affairs

5/14/2004 - TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFPN) -- Arizona-based technicians saved the military $620,000 when they rebuilt a QF-4 Phantom II full-scale aerial target drone. The drone had suffered extensive missile damage to its aft section during a warfare exercise over the Atlantic Ocean near here.

Even though shrapnel had shattered the QF-4's blast shields and tail hook, the remotely controlled drone returned here safely.

Maintainers from the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., revived the drone, which belongs to the 82nd Aerial Target Squadron here.

"The plane was damaged beyond our repair capability," said Marion Dillon, an aerial target maintenance supervisor. "This aircraft suffered major structural damage, and we knew (the regeneration center’s technicians) had the knowledge and skill to make it flyable again. We knew (they) could do it."

With a price of more than $725,000 for a replacement drone, officials decided to return the aircraft to the sky by repairing the aircraft. A four-person crew went to Tyndall to begin the drone's repair process.

They called in Tyndall firefighters to use a rescue saw to remove the mangled sheets of blast shield and expose the extensive internal damage.

Replacement parts, including the titanium blast shields and a tail hook, were taken from other aircraft; however, correcting the damage to the F-4's keel beam proved to be a testimony of the work crews' versatility, officials said.

To repair breaks in the beam, stainless-steel panels had to be custom made to line up with the existing rivet holes, center experts said.

Eugene Fischer, an aircraft structural mechanic, made the stainless-steel panels, completely recreating the aircraft's main lower structure by hand.

"The only thing more challenging than this job would have been trying to get the job done while being fired at," said Mr. Fischer, who served in Vietnam repairing battle-damaged helicopters.

This Phantom II began its active-duty service life in 1969. It was eventually retired from the 35th Fighter Wing at George AFB, Calif., and entered the regeneration center in March 1992, where it remained for seven years.

The aircraft was selected for the F-4 drone program and returned to flight status in March 1999.

There are more than 600 F-4 aircraft at center, many of which will be used in the drone program following a seven-month regeneration process. (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)

Bump out of respect for the mighty F-4.

W3rd.   It's sad that they are being used as target drones.... but you gotta use SOMETHING.  

Dad liked the plane a lot.  (he's about 5'10" and fit in the plane fine)  He'd tell me about some of the experiences he had...

He was in Nam when they tested the 20mm gun pods since the F-4s did not have their own cannons.  Said they mounted three pods, two wing mount and one center fuselage... when they tested them, they fired all three.... damn near stalled the plane!  

Not an F-4, but you have  to love this shot (claims to be of Hornet breaking the sound barrier)

Those planes are so cool the pilots shit ice cubes. Serious.

I grew up near Bergstrom AFB in Austin, TX - and everyday, F4s would fly over with that distinct black jet trail and engine sound.....We stopped several football/baseball/soccer games as kids just to watch them fly over. We never got tired of it.

I was sad to see them decommissioned.

My cousin flew one for an foreign air-force during 70's.
He said it was like driving a fast truck in the sky... he loved it.

It's an incredible red X...

tag 4 home

Damn the Phantom is a sexy bitch of an aircraft. I LOVE the lines of it.

Quoted: Damn the Phantom is a sexy bitch of an aircraft. I LOVE the lines of it.

Absolutely.

Thank you, CMJohnson, for that post.

Germany still flys them as trainers for the Tornado, they can still be seen flying around Holloman AFB in NM nearly every day.

I think Germany and Japan still use them as interceptors, right?

I dont think its that close to the deck at all.  Its just an illusion.  What looks like brush and grass is really trees.  

Quoted: its from a tower or something, if you were on the ground youd see it had clearance

Yeah, it's much less cool now

Thanks Wobblin, the F-4 is my favorite plane, too. i must have built ten or fifteen models of them as a kid.....and I got to see the Blue Angels fly them at Quonset Point at least twice.

This is a model with a real turbine engine.










For scale reference.........



Among other actual scale operaing functions including drouge chute, drop tanks, flaps, ailerons, full moving stab, rudder, functional retractable shock absorbing landing gear with full gear doors and wheel brakes, functional opening canopy, the nose gear can be pumped up with air to raise the AOA (angle of attack) on the wing just like the real Naval carrier bound Phantoms, all by remote control. Following picture shows the difference in AOA of two model Phantoms. The model on the right has it's nose gear raised for a carrier take off......



Drop tank......





Much more information can be found at www.bvmjets.com

Quoted: www.boeing.com/defense-space/military/f4/bluebook/images/c22-48-3.gif It was May 24, 1978, and the 5000th Phantom II was being delivered in ceremonies that marked the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the twin-engine, two-person fighter. More than 600 guests attended the event that presented the aircraft to the U.S. Air Force. With pomp and ceremony, the aircraft was unveiled, sporting a special paint job that featured the flags of all the nations currently flying the F-4. At the time, the Phantom II had the longest production run of any supersonic fighter and the run was expected to continue for several more years. By Oct. 25, 1979, Phantom No. 5057 - the last U.S.-built Phantom - was being delivered to the U.S. Air Force for ultimate delivery to the Republic of Korea Air Force.

I remember that, clear as a bell.  Big article and pics in AW&ST.

Merlin