2007 McGuire AFB Open House - F-4 Phantom Demonstration

[thudable]

My FAVORITE jet fighter aircraft of all time. Saddens me to know they will be used for target practice. Seems to me to be an insult to such an important part of our (USA) freedom.

[BBQFanNo1]

Often people who make comments out of error or ignorance are too lazy to take their time to do research much deeper about the information they comment about. Too many people today are that lazy.

[BBQFanNo1]

Due to the 1973 oil crisis, the team only flew six air shows and was grounded for some time. However, in 1974 they switched to the more economical T-38 Talon. Five T-38s used the same amount of fuel needed for one F-4 Phantom. The switch to the T-38 also saw an alteration of the flight routine to exhibit the aircraft's maneuverability in tight turns, and also ended the era of the black tail on the #4 slot plane, which would now be regularly cleaned and shined like the others.

[BBQFanNo1]

@Rickey85 In 1969, the squadron adopted the noisy and huge F-4E Phantom, which it flew until 1973, the only time the Thunderbirds would fly jets similar to those of the Blue Angels, as it was the standard fighter for both services. Do your research more carefully by Googling it up and check Wikipedia before posting error comments.

[Rickey85]

@BBQFanNo1 I have a video tapes of airshows by the blue angels from the 70's and 80's of blue angels as F4 phantoms,and A4 sky hawks. Do your research buddy

Blue Angels order of planes F4's then A4's and now f18's

[mechanic7866]

didnt the thunderbirds use the f-4?

[1bearcatf8f]

@mechanic7866 Yeah same with the Blue Angels.

[scrfce123]

I miss the sound of turbojets.

[1bearcatf8f]

Im surprised Japan seems to be the only country that i know that still uses the F-4.id keep them just keep upgrading them.

[upyr1]

@1bearcatf8f Germany, Egypt, Turky and Greece still use the Phantom

[1bearcatf8f]

@upyr1 Those 3 countries havent done much with them,Germany uses them as trainers or addvasery trainers.

[TISAC1]

Not only smoky, the F-4 was weird sounding, as its engines would have a sound unlike any other on landing approach.

There was no mistaking this sound! :)

[hawkplaya94]

what i would do to see one of those in a show...

[M19GUNNER]

ughhhhhhhh i need to get me one of those!!!

[futuredk89]

my fav fighter

[usselliot76]

ol smokey

[rampking1]

@usselliot76

Actually this one must have same engine up-grade as the Luftwaffe F-4's.

This one is quite clean.

You are correct that the smoke from the

J-79's was a problem.

This generation's "ol smokey" ??

Check out videos of MiG-29's here on

YouTube.

Surprised the hell out of me!

[TheBostonranger1]

I've always loved the F-4.

[1889SSWolf]

The F-4 is a machine of sheer beauty. The space shuttle, THAT'S a flying brick. Top mark's for the video airshowfansh!!

[LS1Heli]

LOL - Aint that the truth! Funny shit.

[rsm93]

you have to admit ,it looks like a fighter

[HuasoPodrido]

The F-4 is solid proof that if you put a big enough engine in it, even a brick will fly!

[rsm93]

i beg to differ . my uncle flew one, and he said it was very responsive .you had to actually fly a jet back then

[HuasoPodrido]

It was not a knifer fighter, but it did execute it's main roll as an missile interceptor quite well. Say hello to your uncle for me and thank him for his service.

[DSCP46]

By far my Fav Plane.. Have loved it since I was a little tacker.

[kevinM2123]

they should bring this aircraft  back into service when they need to retire the F-15 or something. what a nice plane

[Singnature12]

dude, are you crazy? besides the f-22, the f-15 is one of the main safeguards of the airforce. the f4 was an awesome plane i must say, but its statistics just dont add up to the standards we need today. btw, i didnt down you

[Hennersbass]

the 69 dodge charger of fighter aircraft loud n proud

[Rickey85]

they say the F4 can fly so fast you can not see it.The f4 was the first fighter to shoot down a ufo but it's all a so call cover up but I seen it on the discovery channel

[trlott]

why can't someone do a heritage flight with the tomcat

[bubbabrand]

beacuse they are retired and have all been destroyed so enemies with similar aircraft cant use the parts from them.

[TaskforceDingbat]

Namely the Iranians, who have a fleet of their own Tomcats. Rumor has it that they've developed their own means of maintenance and upkeep since the embargo cut them of from Grumman. Just an example of just how dangerous the Iranian Defense Forces would actually be if provoked. And another common misconception is that these tools in their hands lack training. Not so. They are often cross-trained with Russian pilots. And those are still some of the best in the world.

[sanfranciscobay]

What a beast compared to the F15, F14.

[BiggJonson]

Too bad they left the centerline tank on it. It was probably requested to keep it from outshowing the newer garbage which is how they sold the F-16. If you ever find it look for the Paris 87 airshow and they have the demonstration of the SUPERPHANTOM makes any F-16 look oridinary.

[ti1ion]

That's just wrong. I am a huge fan of the F-4 and have been since I was a kid. They were made in a different time. They were not maneuverable machines. After Vietnam, the pilots said they needed nimble aircraft and the F-16 was the result. The F-16 can turn on a dime. I hated it (as a kid) for replacing my favorite plane, but there is no comparison in a dogfight. Similarly, the F-15 can turn tighter and climb faster (man, can an F-15 climb!). The Super Phantom was not enough.

[BiggJonson]

Wrong?? And you worked on them where and talked to how many F-4 pilots? I worked on F-4s for 5 years and the F-16 for 15yrs. I worked with F-4 pilots from the Vietnam era. I was at Nellis when they sold the F-16 and watched all the political bull involved, to include daily visits to watch them dog fight in the ACMI building. Feel free to produce anything but government supplied propoganda. When the first F-16s came TDY to nellis for live fire scrambles our F-4s had to wait on the F-16.

[TaskforceDingbat]

Your experience, you feel, speaks for itself. But it doesn't speak louder than Physics speaks. The truth about the new age of Fighters vs. the old, has nothing to do with nostalgia, and everything to do with science. The F-16 is scientifically designed to be more maneuverable than the F-4s' science could ever allow it to be. It's really just that simple. The truth is in the numbers, not recollections and misguided reverence. Love the F-4, but it's time was definitely up.

[pr9383]

I was at this show. What a day!

[saxocopter]

"From cradle to grave, the F-4 Phantom simply refuses to give up. Phantoms phorever!"

That's why it's called the phantom; every time we try to get rid of it, it comes back to haunt us!

[PanzerAngriff]

Love it!

[xeroforce5569]

saw one at macdill airfest 08

[SgtGrant23]

i saw one at the fort smith airshow in 2006 in a heritage flight