±Recent Visitors

Recent Visitors to Com-Central!

±User Info-big


Welcome Anonymous

Nickname
Password

Membership:
Latest: HighestAce
New Today: 0
New Yesterday: 0
Overall: 6648

People Online:
Members: 0
Visitors: 760
Total: 760
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: Community Forums
02: Home
03: Downloads
04: Home
05: Community Forums
06: Community Forums
07: Community Forums
08: Home
09: Community Forums
10: Community Forums
11: Community Forums
12: Community Forums
13: Community Forums
14: Member Screenshots
15: Community Forums
16: News Archive
17: Community Forums
18: Home
19: Community Forums
20: Home
21: Community Forums
22: Community Forums
23: Community Forums
24: Member Screenshots
25: Home
26: Home
27: Community Forums
28: Community Forums
29: Member Screenshots
30: Home
31: Community Forums
32: Home
33: Treasury
34: Home
35: Community Forums
36: Home
37: Home
38: Community Forums
39: Community Forums
40: Downloads
41: Community Forums
42: Home
43: Community Forums
44: Home
45: Home
46: Member Screenshots
47: Home
48: Community Forums
49: Home
50: Community Forums
51: News Archive
52: Community Forums
53: Home
54: Community Forums
55: Home
56: Community Forums
57: Your Account
58: Community Forums
59: Community Forums
60: Tell a Friend
61: Community Forums
62: Photo Gallery
63: Community Forums
64: Community Forums
65: Photo Gallery
66: News Archive
67: Photo Gallery
68: Community Forums
69: Home
70: Home
71: Community Forums
72: Downloads
73: Downloads
74: Community Forums
75: Community Forums
76: Community Forums
77: Community Forums
78: Community Forums
79: Home
80: Home
81: Community Forums
82: Downloads
83: Downloads
84: Member Screenshots
85: Photo Gallery
86: Community Forums
87: Home
88: Member Screenshots
89: Community Forums
90: Home
91: Community Forums
92: News Archive
93: Community Forums
94: Downloads
95: Home
96: Community Forums
97: Community Forums
98: Community Forums
99: Community Forums
100: Community Forums
101: Home
102: Home
103: Community Forums
104: Community Forums
105: Community Forums
106: Your Account
107: Home
108: Community Forums
109: Photo Gallery
110: Photo Gallery
111: Home
112: Home
113: Community Forums
114: Community Forums
115: Community Forums
116: Community Forums
117: Home
118: Community Forums
119: Community Forums
120: Home
121: Home
122: Community Forums
123: Photo Gallery
124: Community Forums
125: Community Forums
126: Home
127: Downloads
128: Community Forums
129: News Archive
130: Community Forums
131: Search
132: Home
133: Community Forums
134: Your Account
135: Home
136: Contact
137: Home
138: Community Forums
139: Home
140: News
141: Home
142: Community Forums
143: Community Forums
144: Member Screenshots
145: Your Account
146: Community Forums
147: Community Forums
148: Community Forums
149: Photo Gallery
150: Your Account
151: Community Forums
152: Community Forums
153: Member Screenshots
154: Community Forums
155: Community Forums
156: Member Screenshots
157: Community Forums
158: Home
159: Home
160: Treasury
161: News Archive
162: Member Screenshots
163: Home
164: Home
165: Photo Gallery
166: Community Forums
167: Downloads
168: Community Forums
169: Community Forums
170: News Archive
171: Downloads
172: Community Forums
173: Home
174: Photo Gallery
175: Community Forums
176: Community Forums
177: Community Forums
178: Community Forums
179: Member Screenshots
180: Home
181: Community Forums
182: Home
183: Home
184: Home
185: Community Forums
186: Home
187: Community Forums
188: Home
189: Community Forums
190: Community Forums
191: Community Forums
192: News
193: LinkToUs
194: Community Forums
195: Community Forums
196: Community Forums
197: Home
198: Downloads
199: Community Forums
200: Home
201: News Archive
202: Home
203: Member Screenshots
204: Community Forums
205: Community Forums
206: Community Forums
207: Member Screenshots
208: Home
209: Home
210: Community Forums
211: Community Forums
212: Community Forums
213: Home
214: Community Forums
215: Statistics
216: Community Forums
217: Home
218: Community Forums
219: Downloads
220: News Archive
221: Home
222: Supporters
223: Member Screenshots
224: Photo Gallery
225: Community Forums
226: Tell a Friend
227: Community Forums
228: Community Forums
229: Home
230: Community Forums
231: Home
232: Home
233: Community Forums
234: Community Forums
235: Member Screenshots
236: Community Forums
237: Home
238: News
239: Home
240: Member Screenshots
241: Community Forums
242: Home
243: Community Forums
244: Community Forums
245: Home
246: Downloads
247: Member Screenshots
248: Photo Gallery
249: Home
250: Photo Gallery
251: Community Forums
252: Home
253: Community Forums
254: Community Forums
255: Home
256: Supporters
257: Community Forums
258: Home
259: Home
260: Your Account
261: Home
262: Community Forums
263: Downloads
264: Member Screenshots
265: Home
266: Community Forums
267: Community Forums
268: Home
269: Home
270: Community Forums
271: Community Forums
272: Community Forums
273: Home
274: Downloads
275: Member Screenshots
276: Home
277: Home
278: Community Forums
279: Member Screenshots
280: Home
281: Community Forums
282: News
283: Photo Gallery
284: Home
285: Community Forums
286: Downloads
287: Community Forums
288: Downloads
289: Community Forums
290: Home
291: Member Screenshots
292: Home
293: Community Forums
294: Member Screenshots
295: Member Screenshots
296: Community Forums
297: Home
298: Member Screenshots
299: Community Forums
300: Community Forums
301: Home
302: Member Screenshots
303: Your Account
304: Member Screenshots
305: Community Forums
306: Community Forums
307: Member Screenshots
308: Community Forums
309: Treasury
310: Community Forums
311: Photo Gallery
312: Community Forums
313: Community Forums
314: Community Forums
315: Statistics
316: Community Forums
317: Your Account
318: Community Forums
319: Home
320: Community Forums
321: Community Forums
322: Home
323: Downloads
324: Community Forums
325: Home
326: Home
327: Community Forums
328: Community Forums
329: News
330: Community Forums
331: Community Forums
332: Home
333: Community Forums
334: Home
335: Home
336: Community Forums
337: Community Forums
338: Community Forums
339: Community Forums
340: Community Forums
341: Member Screenshots
342: Community Forums
343: Community Forums
344: Home
345: Community Forums
346: Community Forums
347: Photo Gallery
348: News Archive
349: Statistics
350: Home
351: Community Forums
352: Community Forums
353: Home
354: News Archive
355: Tell a Friend
356: Community Forums
357: Photo Gallery
358: Member Screenshots
359: Community Forums
360: Treasury
361: Community Forums
362: Community Forums
363: Statistics
364: Home
365: Community Forums
366: Community Forums
367: Community Forums
368: Your Account
369: News Archive
370: Community Forums
371: Downloads
372: Community Forums
373: Community Forums
374: Downloads
375: Community Forums
376: Community Forums
377: Community Forums
378: Community Forums
379: Community Forums
380: Community Forums
381: Community Forums
382: Photo Gallery
383: Your Account
384: Community Forums
385: Photo Gallery
386: Member Screenshots
387: Photo Gallery
388: Home
389: Community Forums
390: Community Forums
391: Community Forums
392: Statistics
393: Photo Gallery
394: Community Forums
395: Community Forums
396: Community Forums
397: Community Forums
398: Community Forums
399: Home
400: Community Forums
401: Community Forums
402: Community Forums
403: Community Forums
404: Community Forums
405: Community Forums
406: Community Forums
407: Community Forums
408: Home
409: Community Forums
410: Community Forums
411: Community Forums
412: Home
413: Community Forums
414: Community Forums
415: Photo Gallery
416: Home
417: Community Forums
418: Community Forums
419: Your Account
420: Downloads
421: Community Forums
422: Community Forums
423: Community Forums
424: Home
425: Community Forums
426: Photo Gallery
427: Tell a Friend
428: Community Forums
429: Home
430: Community Forums
431: Community Forums
432: Home
433: Community Forums
434: Downloads
435: Community Forums
436: Community Forums
437: Photo Gallery
438: Photo Gallery
439: Photo Gallery
440: Community Forums
441: Member Screenshots
442: Community Forums
443: Downloads
444: Community Forums
445: Community Forums
446: News Archive
447: Community Forums
448: Community Forums
449: Home
450: Home
451: Community Forums
452: Community Forums
453: Community Forums
454: Community Forums
455: Community Forums
456: Home
457: Community Forums
458: Community Forums
459: Home
460: Home
461: Community Forums
462: Community Forums
463: Home
464: Community Forums
465: Home
466: Community Forums
467: Community Forums
468: Community Forums
469: Community Forums
470: Community Forums
471: Community Forums
472: Home
473: Community Forums
474: Community Forums
475: Community Forums
476: Member Screenshots
477: Photo Gallery
478: Community Forums
479: Home
480: Supporters
481: Community Forums
482: Community Forums
483: Community Forums
484: Community Forums
485: Community Forums
486: Community Forums
487: Community Forums
488: News Archive
489: Home
490: Community Forums
491: Community Forums
492: Community Forums
493: Home
494: Community Forums
495: Community Forums
496: Community Forums
497: Home
498: Home
499: Community Forums
500: Community Forums
501: Community Forums
502: Community Forums
503: Community Forums
504: Community Forums
505: Downloads
506: Community Forums
507: Community Forums
508: Home
509: Community Forums
510: Community Forums
511: Community Forums
512: Community Forums
513: Home
514: Community Forums
515: Community Forums
516: Community Forums
517: Community Forums
518: Community Forums
519: Community Forums
520: Community Forums
521: Home
522: Downloads
523: Community Forums
524: Community Forums
525: Community Forums
526: Community Forums
527: Community Forums
528: Home
529: Community Forums
530: Community Forums
531: Community Forums
532: Community Forums
533: Statistics
534: Member Screenshots
535: Community Forums
536: Downloads
537: Home
538: Home
539: Home
540: Community Forums
541: Community Forums
542: News
543: Community Forums
544: Downloads
545: Member Screenshots
546: Photo Gallery
547: Home
548: Community Forums
549: Community Forums
550: Community Forums
551: Your Account
552: Community Forums
553: Community Forums
554: Community Forums
555: Community Forums
556: Community Forums
557: Photo Gallery
558: Community Forums
559: Home
560: Member Screenshots
561: Community Forums
562: Home
563: Downloads
564: Search
565: Community Forums
566: Community Forums
567: Community Forums
568: Downloads
569: Home
570: Downloads
571: Community Forums
572: Community Forums
573: Community Forums
574: Community Forums
575: Community Forums
576: Downloads
577: Community Forums
578: Community Forums
579: Community Forums
580: Community Forums
581: Home
582: Community Forums
583: Home
584: Community Forums
585: Community Forums
586: Community Forums
587: Community Forums
588: Treasury
589: Community Forums
590: Photo Gallery
591: Community Forums
592: Community Forums
593: Home
594: Member Screenshots
595: Community Forums
596: Member Screenshots
597: Community Forums
598: Community Forums
599: Community Forums
600: Downloads
601: Community Forums
602: Photo Gallery
603: Downloads
604: Community Forums
605: Community Forums
606: Home
607: Community Forums
608: Home
609: Your Account
610: Community Forums
611: Community Forums
612: Community Forums
613: Community Forums
614: Search
615: Community Forums
616: Member Screenshots
617: Community Forums
618: Community Forums
619: Home
620: Community Forums
621: Community Forums
622: Community Forums
623: Community Forums
624: Community Forums
625: Photo Gallery
626: Community Forums
627: Community Forums
628: Community Forums
629: Community Forums
630: Community Forums
631: Community Forums
632: Home
633: Community Forums
634: Community Forums
635: Community Forums
636: Home
637: Home
638: Home
639: Community Forums
640: Community Forums
641: Community Forums
642: Community Forums
643: Community Forums
644: Community Forums
645: Member Screenshots
646: Community Forums
647: Community Forums
648: Community Forums
649: Community Forums
650: Home
651: Community Forums
652: Community Forums
653: Community Forums
654: Community Forums
655: Community Forums
656: Community Forums
657: Community Forums
658: Home
659: Community Forums
660: Your Account
661: Community Forums
662: Community Forums
663: Community Forums
664: Home
665: Community Forums
666: Community Forums
667: Community Forums
668: Community Forums
669: Community Forums
670: Community Forums
671: Community Forums
672: Home
673: Home
674: Home
675: Community Forums
676: Home
677: Community Forums
678: Community Forums
679: Community Forums
680: Community Forums
681: Community Forums
682: Community Forums
683: Home
684: Member Screenshots
685: Community Forums
686: Home
687: Member Screenshots
688: Community Forums
689: Community Forums
690: News Archive
691: Photo Gallery
692: News Archive
693: Community Forums
694: Home
695: Community Forums
696: Community Forums
697: Home
698: Community Forums
699: Community Forums
700: Photo Gallery
701: Community Forums
702: Home
703: Home
704: Community Forums
705: Search
706: Community Forums
707: Community Forums
708: Community Forums
709: Home
710: Community Forums
711: Member Screenshots
712: News
713: Community Forums
714: Member Screenshots
715: Community Forums
716: Home
717: Community Forums
718: Home
719: Downloads
720: Home
721: Community Forums
722: Community Forums
723: Search
724: Community Forums
725: Community Forums
726: Community Forums
727: Community Forums
728: Community Forums
729: Community Forums
730: Community Forums
731: Community Forums
732: Community Forums
733: Community Forums
734: Downloads
735: Community Forums
736: Home
737: Community Forums
738: Community Forums
739: Home
740: Community Forums
741: Home
742: Home
743: Community Forums
744: Community Forums
745: Community Forums
746: Community Forums
747: Community Forums
748: Home
749: Member Screenshots
750: Home
751: Community Forums
752: Community Forums
753: Downloads
754: Community Forums
755: Home
756: Community Forums
757: Community Forums
758: Home
759: Home
760: Community Forums

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!
Great pics! :: Archived
A general meeting place for all pilots!
Go to page 1, 2  Next
Post new topic    Revive this topic    Printer Friendly Page     Forum Index ›  Officer's Club

Topic Archived View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:09 pm
Post subject: Great pics!

sharpshooter-maj.com/h...twtd02.htm

Go to bottom of page for more in-flight wingtip-to-wingtip shots of F4's.


More good shots on this page:

sharpshooter-maj.com/h...oshoot.htm

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:42 am
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

TON of great pics!!!

WOW!!!!! Love the F-4, I grew up as a little kid watching them haul @ss down on the deck out in the desert near George AFB where we lived!!! Dig the idea of a "Phan-con"!

What a great resource....

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
Joe_D
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 29, 2006
Posts: 2067
Location: Razorback Country
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:22 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

I remember those Phantoms (F4G's).

Used to see them fly over all the time at Irwin. George is no more and was pretty trashed when I went through there in 2002 on the way to Forbes Field in Kansas.

Here's an F4E I took a picture of back in the 70's. Bob Smart might recognize the location.



Joe D
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 1:45 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

- Joe_D
I remember those Phantoms (F4G's).

Used to see them fly over all the time at Irwin. George is no more and was pretty trashed when I went through there in 2002 on the way to Forbes Field in Kansas.

Here's an F4E I took a picture of back in the 70's. Bob Smart might recognize the location.



Joe D


Joe,

I think most or all of those pictured are F4E's. All on missions to north of the seventeenth parallel in that series.

Fine looking planes.

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 3:25 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

Bob Smart or anybody:

What are the small inlets forward of the pilot's cockpit and low on the nose for?

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
bsmart
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 23, 2006
Posts: 2523
Location: Central Maryland
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:04 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

- JG300-Stoopy
TON of great pics!!!

WOW!!!!! Love the F-4, I grew up as a little kid watching them haul @ss down on the deck out in the desert near George AFB where we lived!!! Dig the idea of a "Phan-con"!

What a great resource....


I only spent a few weeks at George AFB and don't have very fond memories. It was in the 'spring' of 1982. We were involved in a huge combined exercise (Gallant Eagle 82) that was designed to show the 'Rapid Deployment Force' could deploy and fight anywhere in the world in a very short time.

It was a deployment on the level (or actually above the level) of the initial response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait 8 years later. Airlift was in such short supply that there were C-141Bs that were rushed throuh the 'stretch' program (cut the airframe in front and in back of the wing and insert plugs ) and were flying with Zinc chromate green plugs in front and in back of the wings and the interiors unfinished (as if any airlifter looked like the interior was finished Rolling Eyes ) because they didn't take the time to finish painting them before putting them back in service

Anyway we were living in a tent city and the weather was nasty. The few locals we talked to swore that it was the coldest April they could remember. I remember it raining, snowing, sleeting and hailing in one 24 hour period. On top of that the supply people only planned for enough diesel fuel to heat the tents based on 'normal' weather. Then the fuel supply pipeline into the base had problems with water contamination and they had to start running tank truck convoys over the highway just to proivide fuel for the aircraft let alone provide heat for the tents.

The 82 Airborne flew non stop from the East Coast on the second or third day and jumped in. The problem was that the winds were marginal for the jump when they took off and by the time they arrived were above the normal safety zone. a decision was made that they would jump anyway since this was an 'operational need'. Our pilots were flying top cover for the jump and they said it was spectacular but we heard later that casualties from the jump were heavier than expected. I provided a an airborne BG a ride in our flightline truck when I saw two 'army types' hobbling along the road from towards the command complex. He and the captain with him had both sprained or broken legs and were 'walking' from the Hospital to the CP on crutches. He confirmed there had been several deaths but his one comment has stuck with me. We had heard 5 jumpers died. He said 'Thats true and it sounds terrible and will be all over the news. But when we lose one jumper in a jump of 250 troops no one notices. We put over 7500 people on the ground today. we were actually afraid we would lose 7-10. Overall we did better than we had any right to given the weather'.

Hopefully we began learning lessons about how to deploy large forces (and redeploy them afterwards, The confusion in trying to get everyone back home was terrible) that helped out later but we made a lot of mistakes that time.

_________________
Bob Smart ([email protected])
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail
bsmart
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 23, 2006
Posts: 2523
Location: Central Maryland
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:14 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

- JG300-Ascout
Bob Smart or anybody:

What are the small inlets forward of the pilot's cockpit and low on the nose for?

Cooling and possibly Ram air for the M61 Vulcan gun. Not sure if it is just cooling or if it also provides power to a RAT (Ram Air Turbine). They also are on some F-4C &D aircraft. I can't remember if they are on teh Navy F-4Bs. The older radar system put out a lot of heat so it needed a lot of air flowing past it.

Pod mounted M-61s used a RAT to generate the power to work the gun. I'm not sure if the one in the F-4E used that or power from the main power bus.

I don't recognize the ZF tailcode I used to have a list of some of the tailcodes and remember some but ZF doesn't ring any bells.

I know ZZ was the code used by the wing at Kadena when they converted from F-4s to F-15s (about 1979 or so)

_________________
Bob Smart ([email protected])
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail
Joe_D
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 29, 2006
Posts: 2067
Location: Razorback Country
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:31 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

Ascout,

I was commenting on the F4's Stoopy said he saw. IIRC by '87 George was a "Wild Weasel" outfit. Sometimes they'd come in so low you'd swear they would hit our antennas. On many occasions you'd feel the heat. Most of the time they'd play the RED force, depending on the ROE. With the A10's being Blue.

Gallant Eagle, big stink over that jump, was all over Stars and Stripes. Described how the winds dragged some troopers to death once they landed. The comments by the paratroopers are so true. There's a reason why they get jump pay (I don't think it's enough). The single fatalities usually never even make local news. The two years I spent at NTC we had at least one fatality per rotation (14 rotations per year back then). Everything from Heat Stroke, to soldiers being crushed by tanks. Certain units were notorious for having fatalities. It was just a dangerous place.

Joe D

BTW: The F4E picture is from Langley
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Ascout
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 6257
Location: Cyberspace
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 4:42 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

- Joe_D
Ascout,

I was commenting on the F4's Stoopy said he saw. IIRC by '87 George was a "Wild Weasel" outfit. Sometimes they'd come in so low you'd swear they would hit our antennas. On many occasions you'd feel the heat.



...and smell the fumes? Smokey devils, ain't they? Laughing

_________________
"All facts go to clearly prove that Shades is a thrice-cursed traitor & mentally deranged person steeped in inveterate enmity toward mankind"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
bsmart
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 23, 2006
Posts: 2523
Location: Central Maryland
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:05 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

- Joe_D
Ascout,

I was commenting on the F4's Stoopy said he saw. IIRC by '87 George was a "Wild Weasel" outfit. Sometimes they'd come in so low you'd swear they would hit our antennas. On many occasions you'd feel the heat. Most of the time they'd play the RED force, depending on the ROE. With the A10's being Blue.

Gallant Eagle, big stink over that jump, was all over Stars and Stripes. Described how the winds dragged some troopers to death once they landed. The comments by the paratroopers are so true. There's a reason why they get jump pay (I don't think it's enough). The single fatalities usually never even make local news. The two years I spent at NTC we had at least one fatality per rotation (14 rotations per year back then). Everything from Heat Stroke, to soldiers being crushed by tanks. Certain units were notorious for having fatalities. It was just a dangerous place.

Joe D

BTW: The F4E picture is from Langley


I didn't even think about Langley but yea the one thing that might have IDed it is behind the plane. I'm guessing it is the transient area near building 757 (the old hangers, the Tower was on Building 756, Most of my time I was assigned in 755)

Yea we heard several troopers were drug on the ground and at least one was hit by a cargo load that was misdropped .

After the main exercise was over the Fighter types set up a 'King of the Hill' competition in the Airspace. The incoming flights would que up with the AWACs and take on whoever currently controlled the sky. We had Navy, Marine, Air Guard, and I think even Canadian aircraft 'playing'

It wasn't much of a contest actually. 1 TFW queued up 8 Eagles and sent one pair into the space. They took it from a Navy F-14 pair. The second Eagle pair watched from the outside until the first two ran low on fuel then 'tagged in' the third pair then got ready while the 1st pair hit a tanker. The fourth pair did an overwatch (Just to make sure no one tried to sneak in while the defenders were busy, you can't trust fighter pilots to play by the rules Mr. Green ) I don't think we lost control of the space the entire time (although the Marines almost did with the Harriers. As one of our pilots said "Those f%#@ers don't fight fair, they STOP" but we had some experience with them from Red Flag Laughing ) They rotated through several times (You burn gas fast in air combat) I wish I had some gun footage from that day or better yet the ACMI recordings that could be played back like a video game. Just the UHF radio we were listemning to was great.

_________________
Bob Smart ([email protected])
Back to top
View user's profile Send e-mail
Joe_D
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 29, 2006
Posts: 2067
Location: Razorback Country
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:03 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

Yep,

I think it was called the transit apron. Being TAC HQ's all sorts of cool stuff would fly in. Riding the bus back from school we'd check to see what was out there. If there was, my friend and I would try to get back out that way to snap a picture without getting caught by the Flight Line SP's. Real pain was getting from the LTA side back over before it got dark. Quite a ways to go when you depend on your feet or a bicycle. I got maybe 8 or 9 decent pictures of different aircraft. None are flying today and some were just about retired at the time (F100). This hobby lasted about 2 months. Cost of film, distance, and lack of decent pictures ended it. That and spending more time with the opposite sex. The latter being the main reason Wink .

Joe D
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
Shades
Forum Tree-Rat

Offline Offline
Joined: Mar 07, 2005
Posts: 6475
Location: 3rd Branch up, 'Ye Olde Oak', Green Wood.
PostPosted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 7:59 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

I used to visit my Aunt and Uncle on the not-exactly-big-city Isle of Wight in the Summer as a pre-teen and watched those beggars buzzing the beaches.
T'was most excellent (as the pre-teens of today might say).

Only other thing I enjoyed on that overgrown sand-castle was the Hendrix festival.., except.., I WAS ON THE OUTSIDE!!!
WHAHHHHH!!!

[edit: Oh.., and all the Red Skwirrells... Mr. Green ]


_________________
Skwerl's place.

Com-Central's cutest, fluffiest, twitchiest, tail.
CPU > Intel i9-9900k (o/c 4.9GHz); COOLING > BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 4;
MOBO > ASUS PRIME Z390-A; RAM > 2x32GB Corsair LPX 2666MHz;
GPU > Gigabyte GEFORCE GTX650Ti PCI-e 3.0 2Gb GDDR5;
AUDIO > Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music (plus - Universal Audio UAD2 Quad Custom accelerator);
HDD > 3x1TB+ M.2. SSDs; LCD > DELL - S2419HGF (1920x1080);
PSU > 650W be quiet Straight Power 11 - 80+ Gold;
CASE > BeQuiet! SILENT BASE 601; OS > Windows 11 Home Advanced (64-bit).
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website ICQ Number
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:51 am
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

- Joe_D
Ascout,

I was commenting on the F4's Stoopy said he saw. IIRC by '87 George was a "Wild Weasel" outfit. Sometimes they'd come in so low you'd swear they would hit our antennas. On many occasions you'd feel the heat. Most of the time they'd play the RED force, depending on the ROE. With the A10's being Blue.


Heya Joe,

I lived in the High Desert south east of George AFB from '62 to about '72, and '62 was maybe a bit early for the F4's but I was only 1 year old at the time anyway and my a/c recognition skills were kinda fuzzy at that age....but anyway, back then the desert was very sparsely populated and it was very easy to be able to see all the way across most of the valley that comprises the Hesperia / Apple Valley / Victorville area. I literally grew up with F4's in the distance and sonic booms and have many great memories of that era.

By around 2nd or 3rd grade my buddies and I were accomplished aircraft spotters and our regular dirt-lot baseball games would be interrupted by the sound of one or two VERY loud jets somewhere across the valley, and we'd all stop and gather together and try to spot 'em. We couldn't always find them but got better at it once we learned to look WAY ahead of the sound, and they'd be down low on the deck just HAULING. This of course led to the revelation that they were supersonic! We'd amassed a good collection of aviation knowledge by that time and had heard about Mach numbers, and the accepted scientific method to calculate Mach was to estimate the plane lengths between where we saw the plane, and where the sound was coming from behind it, and approx. each 10 plane lengths between the plane and the sound it made would equal one Mach number...so it wasn't unusual to see those babies doing Mach 2 about 500 feet above ground, and there were rumors of a Phantom equipped with special engines that could do Mach 3 or 4, easy...but we only saw it a few times and it was always further away than the rest, so gathering intel on it was pretty hard. Smile

My Dad was building a rock retaining wall around the front yard of our house and he and I would get up early and head out in his old Ford pickup truck and go out to Bell mountain, east of George AFB, to go get rocks for it. I wasn't sure why we had to go so far just for rocks, although I think I understand his reasoning now. Anyway, one morning we were picking out rocks that met our criteria and tossing them in the bed of his pickup, and this perfect shadow of a jet airplane came across the ground right through where we were standing as an F4 came over the top of the hill directly overhead....I remember covering my ears and turning to watch it's shadow ripple across the desert floor. COOL!

We moved away and my Mom and I returned in about '77 or so, and I was working at a polishing shop. One of the older employees lived in Lucerne, well east of George AFB, and apparently those F4 drivers REALLY went to town out in that area. He had a private well on his property and a very high water tank that made a good reference point for them I guess, because he said he was buzzed all the time...he'd called the base commander a couple of times to complain, and said the base commander asked if he got a tail number or anything, to which he replied "Hell I can tell you what color eyes that sumb!tch had!!!!"

If I remember right there were some fatalities as well, particularly a story about a pilot who had chosen to ride it in rather than eject over a populated area (may have been Victorville)...but that's maybe local urban legend, I don't know.

Anyway...lots of good memories. Was sad to hear of George closing down when it happened even though I'd moved away again long before it did, and even sadder to see the F4's being retired. But even the desert in that area has changed so much itself, and isn't the grandeur it used to be either, so it's just as well I guess. What a chapter, and I feel lucky to have seen a bit of it.

EDIT: Dang almost forgot! Seeing the Thunderbirds perform in F-4's at Geroge AFB when I was 9 or 10 years old...damn, now THAT was an airshow!!!!

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
RCAF_Wingnut
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 29, 2005
Posts: 786
Location: Omaha, Ne.
PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:12 am
Post subject: Re: Great pics!



Gentilemen, I spent the better part of 11 years working around F-4D, F-4E, and F-4G aircraft, while I was in the US Air Force. Oh, and Joe_D, I was one of those flight line Security Police (Sp's). Of course the aircraft pictured above was an F-4E. That section under the nose with the black front was a 20mm Vulcan cannon. The engine intakes are located on the sides of the aircraft, behind the pilot in front, and between him and the back seater. There are 2 members of the aircrew. The rear seater is called a weapon systems operator, or Wizzo. He helps the pilot operate the main weapons, except the nose cannon, and identifies the targets for him. There are two small air inlets down low on the fuselage in front , and I think they were inlets to help keep some of the electronics cool, and for instrumentation on the plane.



Here is a closer view of the E model so you can see the intakes and the gun.

The D model didn't have a gun as a permanent part of the plane. Later in the Vietnam war, it was determined that the aircraft was unable to defend itself effectively with just missiles, and they made centerline pods that contained a 20MM cannon. It wasn't as accurate as the E model because it was brought in as a stop gap measure until they could get aircraft with cannons mounted as part of the plane. The targeting system wasn't linked with the gun pod, so the pilot had to guess the deflection when shooting. the tracers loaded in the gun helped a little. In the E model, the gun targeting system was linked with the gun, so the plane could do help with deflection when in gun combat.



Here is an example of the D model, and you can tell it doesn't have the cannon in the nose. In fact, it was one of the aircraft that I work around, note the SP on the tail. All of the F-4s at Spangdahlem (SP) had those letters.

Here is a couple ideas of what the SUU-23/A gun pods looked like that was used on the F-4D.





The F-4G look like the F-4E except the section where the gun was, didn't have an opening in the front for a gun. It was used as a sensor that detected anti-aircraft missile radar systems in operation. The G model, also called the Wild Weasel was used to locate and destroy those Sam radar sites so the rest of the bombers and fighters could go into a target area without the threat of being shot down by the missiles. The crews set themselves up as a target to get the enemy to target them, and when they did, it was too late. The Harm anti-radiation missile system carried on the G was already locked and launched.

Here is a picture of an F-4G. The two outer missiles are Harms. You can tell by the clipped fins at the rear of the missile. Sparrow missiles have fins like the front ones on the Harms, both front and rear.


_________________
"May your Enemys Run With Fear!!"
Back to top
View user's profile Photo Gallery
JG300-Stoopy
Power User

Offline Offline
Joined: Jan 05, 2005
Posts: 5840
Location: Group W bench
PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:24 pm
Post subject: Re: Great pics!

There was a very good documentary on the F4 Phantom on the Military Channel I saw a while back, that went into detail about that gun pod - there were two versions, as I understand? Something to do with the first version having some problems with the generator, which had a pop-out design to put it into the windstream and spool up, so as to power the gun.

They had a lot of footage of that gun pod in action and it was pretty impressive.....

_________________
"Once your reputation is ruined, you can live quite freely."
Back to top
View user's profile Visit poster's website Photo Gallery
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic    Revive this topic    Printer Friendly Page    Forum Index ›  Officer's Club
Page 1 of 2
All times are GMT - 6 Hours
Go to page 1, 2  Next

Archive Revive
Username:
This is an archived topic - your reply will not be appended here.
Instead, a new topic will be generated in the active forum.
The new topic will provide a reference link to this archived topic.