Where have all the Phantoms gone?

[RED]

[goo]

cool thread
i think i liked the phantom better than the tomcat. reason being, the phantom didn't have any friggin' software!
plus, the phantom made more smoke which is more macho and less environmentally correct, like me.
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1969:
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3427/...8122d1.jpg?v=0
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1997
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3661/...33ec1b.jpg?v=0
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f14 c (convertible)... the pilot was quoted as saying,
"i knew the RIO had ejected when the plane's performance got better."
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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/...a0c356.jpg?v=0
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iranian tomcats over isfahan, 1977.
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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/...f409a7.jpg?v=0
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the old goo, 1977,
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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/3...9277ed.jpg?v=0
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these days, both the phantom and the tomcat are obsolete, like me and red.
maybe when we croak, we could be stuffed (like trigger) and they could put us in the back seat of one of those target drones.

[dryheat]

More smoke. I remember the Blue angels came to our base and one did a low pass with smoke pouring out. At the right angle an F-4 looks a little like an A-4 and I thought, Oh boy, looks like ones on fire.

[DRB]

The QF4s are used as manned targets as well as drones. We used them in a couple times in Seattle when we were doing F-22 avionics development. Flew then against the flying test bed and the sensor tower. We shot them down many times but not for real. We also used F-16s just depended on who coudl come by and give us some targets. FWIW the F-22 is a great plane but they are going to go with the F-35 because it is "cheaper". The F-35 is probably going to end up being about the same cost but it is only about half as capable think F-16 replacemnt versus F-15 replacement. Lockheed offered a flyaway cost of about $140 million per F-22. An F-35 was supposed to be about half that but last I heard I think it was around $100 million. Knowing what I know about the F-22 I think it is a crying shame they are not building more. The original plan was 750 when the contract was first bid a one for one replacement for the F-15. That dropped to about 350 when the cold war "ended" As it is with 183 of them the F-15 will have to be kept in inventory forever or we will lose most of our intercept capability.

[Bob Womack]

More smoke. I remember the Blue angels came to our base and one did a low pass with smoke pouring out. At the right angle an F-4 looks a little like an A-4 and I thought, Oh boy, looks like ones on fire.

The last time I saw the Blue Angels at NAS Norfolk, they were flying the FA-18. About five minutes into the airborne portion of their show, they flew the diamond formation in down the show line from the right, low and slow. Right about show center the slot man begins blowing black smoke out the right engine. And its just him.

Almost like it was choreographed, he dropped out, did a truncated offside pattern to land upwind, and landed, smoking all the way. A ground crewman had already fired up the two-seater by the time he taxi'd in. He transferred, caught up, and rejoined with only about five minutes lost.

I was impressed.

Bob

[RickH]

It is nice to have a spare...unfortunately we only have one !

[goo]

Subj: Eagles 3, crows 0


This is from a guy who runs a 2000 acre corn farm up around Barron, WI, not far from Oshkosh. He used to fly F4Es and F-16s for the Guard and participated in the first Gulf War...


I went out to plant corn for a bit to finish a field before tomorrow
morning and witnessed The Great Battle.

A golden eagle - big bastard, about six foot wingspan - flew right in
front of the tractor. It was being chased by three crows that were
continually dive bombing it and pecking at it. The crows do this
because the eagles rob their nests when they find them.

At any rate, the eagle banked hard right in one evasive maneuver, then
landed in the field about 100 feet from the tractor. This eagle stood
about 3 feet tall. The crows all landed too and took up positions
around the eagle at 120° apart, but kept their distance at about 20
feet from the big bird. The eagle would take a couple steps towards
one of the crows and they'd hop backwards and forward to keep their
distance.

Then the reinforcements showed up.

I happened to spot the eagle's mate hurtling down out of the sky at
what appeared to be approximately Mach 1.5. Just before impact the
eagle on the ground took flight, and the three crows which were
watching the grounded eagle, also took flight thinking they were going
to get in some more pecking on the big bird. The first crow being
targeted by the diving eagle never stood a snowball's chance in hell.
There was a mid-air explosion of black feathers and that crow was
done. The diving eagle then banked hard left in what had to be a 9G
climbing turn, using the energy it had accumulated in the dive, and
hit crow #2 less than two seconds later. Another crow dead.

The grounded eagle, which was now airborne and had an altitude
advantage on the remaining crow, which was streaking eastward in full
burner, made a short dive then banked hard right when the escaping
crow tried to evade the hit. It didn't work - crow #3 bit the dust at
about 20 feet altitude.

This aerial battle was better than any airshow I've been to, including
the warbirds show at Oshkosh! The two eagles ripped the crows apart
and ate them on the ground, and as I got closer and closer working my
way across the field, I passed within 20 feet of one of them as it ate
its catch. It stopped and looked at me as I went by and you could see
in the look of that bird that it knew who's Boss Of The Sky. What a
beautiful bird!

[Carl R]

goo, that's a great story. I live in Dunn County so that guy lives in my neck of the woods. Out taking walks I've seen three way aerial battles between red tailed hawks, crows, and bald eagles. None of them resulted in any carnage that I'm aware of. That story gives new meaning to the term eating crow. Carl

[jon_norstog]

Goo, good story!

DRB, it's good to hear from someone who is a little closer to the F-22 than I am. i'd rather see us build the right plane. Maybe we should ditch the f-35 and keep the F-16?

This has been a pretty great thread, BTW. This coming from someone who is suspicious of any plane that doesn't have propellers.

jn

[goo]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2373/...069c01.jpg?v=0