Ex-F-4 crew members highlight why loved it despite its issues
“The hard wing variants did not turn as well as the slatted models. Smaller planes could outturn it however a well-flown Phantom was the king until the next generation fighters…
“The hard wing variants did not turn as well as the slatted models. Smaller planes could outturn it however a well-flown Phantom was the king until the next generation fighters…
The heart was kept in an ice-filled plastic picnic cooler. General Bob Becklund of the North Dakota Air National Guard was operating the F-4, and the cooler was fastened to…
When an engine fire produced a strong oscillation of the fly-by-wire aircraft in July 1979 while Norman “Ken” Dyson was piloting Have Blue No. 2, he was forced to eject.…
“The F-4s got off to a horrid start when running into F-8s. Their reputation was dog-s**t,” Jerry B. “Devil” Houston, former F-8 driver One of the most versatile fighters ever…
“I am the spirit of the Phantom. My spirit will live long in the minds and hearts of those in whom I have captured something. They are the ones who…
“It grows on you. It smells like an airplane, it makes a lot of noise, vibrates, goes fast, it’s real loud. You put it on like a glove. I’ll never…
“It’s an unusual pilot… who does not give his bird a private touch of loving gratitude before he leaves her nest,” Col. Robin Olds, 8th TFW Commander at Ubon Royal Thai…
Because of relatively lax RoE, the F-4 crew was able to pursue the MiG beyond the 20th parallel Although the F-4 Phantom II was the most significant fighter-bomber to be…
The painters made an approximation of the F-4’s camouflage scheme using a schematic from an outdated technical order The 45th annual Freedom Flyer Reunion of the 560th Flying Training Squadron…
“It was like something out of the old days. We had a standard Mark One dogfight as if it were right out of WWII. If you could have spoken to…