McDonnell-Douglas F4 Phantom II, Vietnam era Fighter/Bomber Options

[dMz]

References
http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/uswpns.../f4phantom.html

Primary Function All-weather fighter-bomber.
Contractor McDonnell Aircraft Co., McDonnell Corporation.
Power Plant Two General Electric turbojet engines with afterburners.
Thrust 17,900 pounds (8,055 kilograms).
Length 62 feet, 11 inches (19.1 meters).
Height 16 feet, 5 inches (5 meters).
Wingspan 38 feet, 11 inches (11.8 meters).
Speed More than 1,600 mph (Mach 2).
Ceiling 60,000 feet (18,182 meters).
Maximum Takeoff Weight 62,000 pounds (27,900 kilograms).
Range 1,300 miles (1,130 nautical miles).
Armament Four AIM-7 Sparrow and four AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles, AGM-65 Maverick missiles, AGM-88 HARM missile capability, and one fuselage centerline bomb rack and four pylon bomb racks capable of carrying 12,500 pounds (5,625 kilograms) of general purpose bombs.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/sys...t/f-4-specs.htm

http://www.military.cz/usa/air/post_war/f4/f4_en.htm

Thrust (with afterburner) 17,900 lb 79,6 kN
Max. speed 1,485 mph 2390 km/h
Initial climb rate 49,800 ft/min 15 180 m/min
Ceiling 62,250 ft 18 975 m
------------------------------------------------
Range normal 595 miles 958 km
maximum 1,885 miles 3034 km
------------------------------------------
Weight empty 29,535 lb 13 397 kg
max. takeoff 61,650 lb 27 964 kg
-------------------------------------------
Wingspan 38.4 ft 11,71 m
Length 63 ft 19,2 m
Height 16.5 ft 5,03 m
Wing area 530 sq. ft 49,24 sq. m

EDIT:
http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/de...?aircraft_id=24

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-4_Phantom_II

Some photo collections:
http://www.f4phantoms.co.uk/

http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/galle...mages/f4/f4.htm

And one for O892:

http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/galle...c12-1389-11.htm
http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/galle...c12-1389-11.jpg
(IMG:http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/gallery/images/f4/c12-1389-11.jpg)

[ULTIMA1]

Hey guys, can we keep this thread going?

[Omega892R09]

Hey guys, can we keep this thread going?

OK Did you notice that open 'door' atop and aftish of the engine nacelle bulge on 002 (02:33 on video linked by chek), have you any idea what that is about?

That last F4 trap (007) was a touch hard. He was lucky to get away without bursting any tyres. But then by that stage (the ECM fits atop the fin came after my period on the squadron) the tyres had been re-designed following our experiences in the early period. Turbulence across the round-down sometimes caused a hole in the air through which they fell , especially in hot and humid conditions. I recall that we had periods where tyre bursting heavy landings were so frequent that we had used up all spare U/C doors having also resorted to patch repairs of these where practicable - which was not that often as most of the metal disappeared overboard in a cloud of shrapnel, also laced with bits of tyre. Several times I made it into the catwalk just in time. After a few one got the feel for a muffed approach and hitting the catwalk became a reflex action.

I recall trimming replacement doors for my second heavy lander of the watch when I heard the words of the civilian boffin on arrestor wire test monitoring equipment on deck being coming over the speakers alongside his colleague in the hanger with the 'five miles downwind' being heard followed shortly by a terrific crash and much noise overhead. The civie' up top was now screaming '..there's bits and pieces flying about and people rushing in all directions. One F4 had just sunk into the round-down.

When it finally arrived in the hangar we could see that its arrestor hook, a huge titanium forged beam, had been slammed up into the rear fuselage with such force that the deck hook damper had been forced up out of its upper mounting, and the hook was bent. There were of course no U/C doors left nor hydraulic or pneumatic pipes on the U/C struts themselves - this was all too common, I frequently had to make up new pipe runs to fit to effect a repair.

But, the most spectacular damage was to the wing tips - these were buckled to hell - this without having hit anything. The shock of the U/C impact had sent strong vibration waves along the spars and out to the tips. This is visual evidence that makes me suspect the nature of ANY aircraft alleged to have been involved in 9/11. The bits at the ends suffer catastrophic damage when the main sections hit something hard.

[ULTIMA1]

OK Did you notice that open 'door' atop and aftish of the engine nacelle bulge on 002 (02:33 on video linked by chek), have you any idea what that is about?

Yes, on the British F-4s with Rolls Royce engines the door you are refering to is an Auxilliary Air Door.

Do you know where they are on the American version with GE engines?

[Omega892R09]

Yes, on the British F-4s with Rolls Royce engines the door you are refering to is an Auxilliary Air Door.

Spot on. (IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)

Do you know where they are on the American version with GE engines?

I don't think they had aux-air doors.

Here is an underside view I shot some time in 1971

(IMG:http://lionels.orpheusweb.co.uk/AirSea/Ph004HL.jpg)

The starboard lower aux-air door is ringed in cyan. Up in that hole was the 'starter bay' containing a small (about the size of an Electrolux cylinder vacuum cleaner but much heavier.) Gas Turbine Starter engine (Plessey Solent) that rotated at 72k RPM and kicked out 95 shp. These were troublesome and often decided to spew their guts out in a display of flame, sparks and smoke.

One dark night on the line ashore at Yeovilton, at the time Rolls Royce had rolled over because of RB211 trouble, we were working flat out trying to get some troubled Spey engines to run up to self sustaining RPM. The only available spares were in transit to the Ark Royal ready for our forthcoming deployment and these could not be requisitioned by we mere mortals.

The engine trouble included several that had coked up burners - due to the AVCAT we used which burned dirtier. The fix for this was to connected a special pressure rig up to the burner manifold and pump in a wax based solvent known as LIX - the procedure being known as a LIX wash. After a designated soak period attempts were made to run the engine up to self sustaining and then carry out the full power range checks - with and without flaps (with full and half selections chosen alternatively as this worked the compressor 7th-12th stage BLC bleed change over) and also rapid reheat checks. Rapid reheat was selected by a special switch which allowed a more rapid move from approach power settings to full AB in the case of a missed wire - a bolter.

One of my two aircraft needing runs (I was sup'ing a nose leg change on a third) proved a right blighter. The first LIX washes on both engines had not quite done the trick. And so the aircraft was moved up the line and the fuel that had washed down out of the jetpipes was hosed away by a fire-crew. Another LIX wash was carried out on both and after the requisite soak period further run ups of both engines was attempted. The jet pipes had been checked as dry before attempting this.

I managed to get the port engine up to self sustaining but the starboard still proved reluctant - but only just. So having aborted the start, and having the jet pipe rechecked for spare fuel, I sat there with the port engine idling whilst the GT starter on the starboard engine was allowed its alloted time to cool down - and a bit more understanding these brutes. The next attempt ended in a spectacular fireball (well so I was told afterwards) erupting from the starter bay (aux air door) at about that time I noticed two crews with CO2 fire extinguishers moving in - one from front in under the intake and another aft on the same side. I figured it was time to shut down and vacate the cockpit.

The fires in the starter bay and jet pipe area were extinguished without serious damage and shortly thereafter, following a GT starter change the next ground run was completed with all AOK.

Interesting times.

The orange circle in the pic' above highlights a U/C door with a stainless steel patch at one corner, the result of one of those heavy landings.

[ULTIMA1]

Spot on. (IMG:http://pilotsfor911truth.org/forum/style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)

The starboard lower aux-air door is ringed in cyan.

The Americen version J79-GE15/17s only had the lower aux doors.

Have you ever tried to do a engine start using a cartridge?

Usually on the J79-GE15/17 you ended up getting at least one bad cart , so you would end up only getting one engine started. Sometimes you would get two bad carts and could not get either engine started.