±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: 1029
Total: 1029
Who Is Where:
 Visitors:
01: Community Forums
02: Home
03: Community Forums
04: Home
05: Community Forums
06: Home
07: Community Forums
08: Community Forums
09: Community Forums
10: Home
11: Home
12: Home
13: Home
14: Home
15: Home
16: Home
17: LinkToUs
18: Photo Gallery
19: Community Forums
20: News Archive
21: Home
22: Home
23: Home
24: Home
25: Home
26: Home
27: Home
28: Home
29: Home
30: Community Forums
31: Home
32: Home
33: Member Screenshots
34: Home
35: Community Forums
36: Your Account
37: Community Forums
38: Member Screenshots
39: Community Forums
40: Home
41: Statistics
42: Community Forums
43: Home
44: Home
45: Home
46: Community Forums
47: Community Forums
48: Downloads
49: Community Forums
50: Photo Gallery
51: Home
52: Home
53: Home
54: Community Forums
55: Home
56: Home
57: Home
58: Home
59: Home
60: Home
61: Home
62: Home
63: LinkToUs
64: Member Screenshots
65: Home
66: Home
67: Home
68: Home
69: Photo Gallery
70: Home
71: Home
72: Community Forums
73: Home
74: Home
75: Home
76: Downloads
77: Home
78: Community Forums
79: Home
80: Home
81: Home
82: Home
83: Home
84: Home
85: Home
86: Community Forums
87: Home
88: Community Forums
89: Home
90: Home
91: Home
92: Home
93: Home
94: Community Forums
95: Home
96: Home
97: Home
98: Home
99: Home
100: Downloads
101: Home
102: Downloads
103: News
104: Community Forums
105: Photo Gallery
106: Community Forums
107: Home
108: Home
109: Community Forums
110: Community Forums
111: Home
112: Home
113: Home
114: Home
115: Photo Gallery
116: Community Forums
117: Photo Gallery
118: Community Forums
119: Community Forums
120: Community Forums
121: Community Forums
122: Community Forums
123: Community Forums
124: Community Forums
125: Member Screenshots
126: Home
127: Community Forums
128: Community Forums
129: Community Forums
130: Home
131: Home
132: News Archive
133: Community Forums
134: Community Forums
135: Home
136: Home
137: Home
138: Home
139: Home
140: Home
141: Home
142: Home
143: Home
144: Home
145: Home
146: Home
147: Home
148: Home
149: Home
150: Home
151: Community Forums
152: Home
153: Home
154: Home
155: Home
156: Community Forums
157: Community Forums
158: Home
159: Home
160: Home
161: Home
162: Community Forums
163: Home
164: Community Forums
165: Home
166: Downloads
167: Home
168: Home
169: Home
170: Home
171: Home
172: Home
173: Community Forums
174: Community Forums
175: Community Forums
176: Home
177: Home
178: Home
179: Home
180: Home
181: Home
182: Home
183: Home
184: Home
185: Photo Gallery
186: Home
187: Community Forums
188: Home
189: Home
190: Home
191: Community Forums
192: Home
193: Community Forums
194: Home
195: Home
196: Community Forums
197: Community Forums
198: Home
199: Home
200: Home
201: Home
202: Home
203: Community Forums
204: Home
205: Home
206: Home
207: Home
208: Community Forums
209: Home
210: Home
211: Community Forums
212: Home
213: Home
214: Home
215: Home
216: Home
217: Home
218: Community Forums
219: Photo Gallery
220: Home
221: Photo Gallery
222: Home
223: Home
224: Community Forums
225: Downloads
226: Home
227: Home
228: Home
229: Community Forums
230: Home
231: Home
232: Home
233: Downloads
234: Home
235: Home
236: Community Forums
237: LinkToUs
238: Community Forums
239: Member Screenshots
240: Home
241: Photo Gallery
242: Member Screenshots
243: Photo Gallery
244: Home
245: Downloads
246: Home
247: Community Forums
248: Home
249: Home
250: Home
251: Home
252: Photo Gallery
253: Community Forums
254: Community Forums
255: Home
256: Member Screenshots
257: Community Forums
258: Home
259: Home
260: Home
261: Home
262: News Archive
263: Home
264: Home
265: Home
266: Home
267: Home
268: Home
269: Home
270: Home
271: Home
272: Home
273: Home
274: Home
275: Home
276: Home
277: Home
278: Home
279: Home
280: Home
281: Home
282: Home
283: Home
284: Home
285: Home
286: Home
287: Home
288: Home
289: Home
290: Home
291: Home
292: Home
293: Home
294: Home
295: Home
296: Photo Gallery
297: Home
298: Home
299: Home
300: Home
301: Home
302: Home
303: Photo Gallery
304: Photo Gallery
305: Home
306: Home
307: Community Forums
308: Home
309: Home
310: Home
311: Home
312: Home
313: Home
314: Home
315: Home
316: Home
317: Home
318: Home
319: Home
320: Home
321: Community Forums
322: Photo Gallery
323: Home
324: Home
325: Home
326: Home
327: Home
328: Home
329: Community Forums
330: Community Forums
331: Photo Gallery
332: Member Screenshots
333: Home
334: Home
335: Home
336: Home
337: Community Forums
338: Community Forums
339: Home
340: Photo Gallery
341: Community Forums
342: Home
343: News
344: Home
345: Community Forums
346: Home
347: Home
348: Home
349: Home
350: Home
351: Home
352: Home
353: Home
354: Home
355: Home
356: Home
357: Home
358: Home
359: Home
360: Member Screenshots
361: Home
362: Home
363: Home
364: Home
365: Home
366: Home
367: Community Forums
368: Home
369: Home
370: Home
371: Home
372: Home
373: Home
374: Home
375: Home
376: Home
377: Home
378: Home
379: Home
380: Home
381: Home
382: Home
383: Home
384: Home
385: Community Forums
386: Home
387: Home
388: Community Forums
389: Community Forums
390: Community Forums
391: Home
392: Member Screenshots
393: Community Forums
394: Home
395: Community Forums
396: Home
397: Home
398: Home
399: Home
400: Community Forums
401: Home
402: Home
403: Home
404: Member Screenshots
405: News Archive
406: Community Forums
407: Home
408: Home
409: Home
410: Home
411: Home
412: Home
413: Home
414: News
415: Home
416: Home
417: Community Forums
418: Photo Gallery
419: Home
420: Home
421: Community Forums
422: Home
423: Home
424: Community Forums
425: Photo Gallery
426: Member Screenshots
427: Community Forums
428: Home
429: Home
430: Home
431: Community Forums
432: Home
433: Home
434: Photo Gallery
435: Downloads
436: Member Screenshots
437: Photo Gallery
438: Community Forums
439: Downloads
440: Member Screenshots
441: Photo Gallery
442: Downloads
443: Home
444: Home
445: Community Forums
446: Photo Gallery
447: Member Screenshots
448: Home
449: Community Forums
450: Community Forums
451: Community Forums
452: Community Forums
453: Home
454: Community Forums
455: Photo Gallery
456: Home
457: Photo Gallery
458: Photo Gallery
459: Home
460: News Archive
461: Home
462: News Archive
463: Member Screenshots
464: Community Forums
465: Home
466: Home
467: News Archive
468: Community Forums
469: Community Forums
470: Community Forums
471: Community Forums
472: Home
473: Home
474: Home
475: Home
476: Home
477: Community Forums
478: Community Forums
479: Community Forums
480: Photo Gallery
481: Community Forums
482: Community Forums
483: Member Screenshots
484: Photo Gallery
485: Home
486: Community Forums
487: Community Forums
488: Community Forums
489: Home
490: Home
491: Home
492: Home
493: Home
494: Home
495: Home
496: Home
497: Home
498: Home
499: Home
500: Home
501: Home
502: Downloads
503: Home
504: Home
505: Home
506: Community Forums
507: Home
508: News Archive
509: Photo Gallery
510: Community Forums
511: Community Forums
512: Community Forums
513: Community Forums
514: Home
515: Member Screenshots
516: Member Screenshots
517: Community Forums
518: Community Forums
519: News Archive
520: Home
521: Home
522: Community Forums
523: Home
524: Home
525: Home
526: Home
527: Photo Gallery
528: Home
529: Home
530: Home
531: Home
532: Home
533: Home
534: Home
535: Home
536: Home
537: Home
538: Home
539: Home
540: Home
541: Community Forums
542: Community Forums
543: Member Screenshots
544: News
545: Home
546: Community Forums
547: Home
548: Home
549: Home
550: Home
551: Downloads
552: Photo Gallery
553: Home
554: Community Forums
555: Home
556: Home
557: Home
558: Home
559: Home
560: Home
561: Home
562: Community Forums
563: Home
564: Home
565: Community Forums
566: Home
567: Home
568: Home
569: Home
570: Home
571: Home
572: Community Forums
573: Community Forums
574: Home
575: Home
576: Home
577: Community Forums
578: Home
579: Home
580: Home
581: Community Forums
582: Home
583: Home
584: Downloads
585: Community Forums
586: Member Screenshots
587: Photo Gallery
588: Photo Gallery
589: Contact
590: Community Forums
591: Community Forums
592: Downloads
593: Community Forums
594: Community Forums
595: Downloads
596: Community Forums
597: Community Forums
598: Photo Gallery
599: Home
600: Home
601: Home
602: Community Forums
603: Home
604: Home
605: Home
606: Home
607: Community Forums
608: Community Forums
609: Downloads
610: Community Forums
611: Community Forums
612: Community Forums
613: Home
614: Community Forums
615: Home
616: Photo Gallery
617: Home
618: Home
619: Photo Gallery
620: Community Forums
621: Community Forums
622: Community Forums
623: Photo Gallery
624: Home
625: Photo Gallery
626: Home
627: Community Forums
628: Photo Gallery
629: Community Forums
630: Home
631: Home
632: Community Forums
633: Community Forums
634: Your Account
635: Home
636: Community Forums
637: Community Forums
638: News Archive
639: Photo Gallery
640: Photo Gallery
641: Home
642: Community Forums
643: Community Forums
644: Home
645: Home
646: Home
647: Community Forums
648: Home
649: Home
650: Community Forums
651: Community Forums
652: Home
653: Community Forums
654: Home
655: Home
656: Home
657: Community Forums
658: Home
659: Home
660: Home
661: Community Forums
662: Home
663: Home
664: Home
665: Home
666: Home
667: Home
668: Home
669: Home
670: Home
671: Community Forums
672: Home
673: Home
674: Home
675: Home
676: Home
677: Home
678: Home
679: Home
680: Home
681: Home
682: Home
683: Community Forums
684: Home
685: Home
686: Home
687: Home
688: Home
689: Home
690: Home
691: Home
692: Home
693: Home
694: Home
695: Home
696: Home
697: Home
698: Home
699: Home
700: Home
701: Home
702: Home
703: Home
704: Home
705: Home
706: Community Forums
707: Home
708: Home
709: Home
710: Home
711: Home
712: Home
713: Home
714: Home
715: Home
716: Home
717: Home
718: Community Forums
719: Member Screenshots
720: Community Forums
721: Home
722: Home
723: Community Forums
724: Home
725: Home
726: Home
727: Community Forums
728: Home
729: Community Forums
730: Community Forums
731: Home
732: Home
733: Community Forums
734: Community Forums
735: Home
736: Home
737: Photo Gallery
738: Home
739: Community Forums
740: Home
741: Home
742: Home
743: Home
744: Home
745: Home
746: Photo Gallery
747: Home
748: Home
749: Community Forums
750: Home
751: Community Forums
752: Home
753: Home
754: Home
755: Home
756: Community Forums
757: Community Forums
758: Community Forums
759: Home
760: Home
761: Home
762: Home
763: Home
764: Home
765: Home
766: Home
767: Home
768: Home
769: Home
770: Home
771: Home
772: Home
773: Home
774: Home
775: Home
776: Home
777: Home
778: Home
779: Home
780: Home
781: Home
782: Home
783: Home
784: Home
785: Home
786: Home
787: Home
788: Home
789: Home
790: Home
791: Home
792: Home
793: Home
794: Home
795: Home
796: Home
797: Home
798: Home
799: Home
800: Home
801: Home
802: Home
803: Home
804: Home
805: Home
806: Community Forums
807: Home
808: Home
809: Home
810: Home
811: Community Forums
812: Community Forums
813: Community Forums
814: Home
815: Community Forums
816: Member Screenshots
817: Home
818: Community Forums
819: Home
820: News
821: Home
822: Home
823: Home
824: Home
825: Home
826: Home
827: Home
828: Home
829: Home
830: Home
831: Home
832: Home
833: Home
834: Home
835: Home
836: News
837: Community Forums
838: Home
839: Community Forums
840: Community Forums
841: Home
842: Home
843: Member Screenshots
844: Downloads
845: Photo Gallery
846: Home
847: Home
848: Home
849: Home
850: Home
851: Home
852: Home
853: Home
854: Photo Gallery
855: Home
856: Home
857: Home
858: Home
859: Community Forums
860: Community Forums
861: Home
862: Home
863: Home
864: Photo Gallery
865: Home
866: Home
867: Community Forums
868: Home
869: Home
870: Community Forums
871: Home
872: Home
873: News
874: Home
875: Home
876: Home
877: Home
878: Photo Gallery
879: Home
880: Home
881: Home
882: Home
883: Community Forums
884: Member Screenshots
885: Photo Gallery
886: Home
887: Home
888: Home
889: Home
890: Home
891: Home
892: Home
893: News Archive
894: Community Forums
895: Home
896: Community Forums
897: Home
898: Community Forums
899: Community Forums
900: Home
901: Downloads
902: Home
903: Home
904: Member Screenshots
905: Home
906: Home
907: Community Forums
908: Downloads
909: Community Forums
910: Photo Gallery
911: Home
912: Home
913: Home
914: Community Forums
915: Photo Gallery
916: Community Forums
917: Community Forums
918: Downloads
919: Home
920: Home
921: Community Forums
922: Your Account
923: Home
924: Home
925: Home
926: Home
927: News Archive
928: Home
929: Home
930: Home
931: Community Forums
932: Community Forums
933: Home
934: Home
935: Home
936: Home
937: Home
938: Home
939: Community Forums
940: Home
941: Community Forums
942: Home
943: Member Screenshots
944: Home
945: Home
946: Home
947: Community Forums
948: Community Forums
949: Home
950: Member Screenshots
951: Home
952: Community Forums
953: Community Forums
954: News
955: Home
956: Home
957: Home
958: Home
959: Home
960: Home
961: Community Forums
962: Home
963: Community Forums
964: Home
965: Home
966: Home
967: Home
968: Home
969: Photo Gallery
970: Photo Gallery
971: Community Forums
972: Community Forums
973: Member Screenshots
974: Home
975: Community Forums
976: News
977: Member Screenshots
978: Home
979: Home
980: Your Account
981: Home
982: Photo Gallery
983: Home
984: Member Screenshots
985: Community Forums
986: Photo Gallery
987: Community Forums
988: Home
989: Home
990: Home
991: Home
992: Community Forums
993: Home
994: Home
995: Photo Gallery
996: Home
997: Home
998: Home
999: Home
1000: Home
1001: Home
1002: Home
1003: Home
1004: Home
1005: Home
1006: Home
1007: Home
1008: Home
1009: Home
1010: Home
1011: Home
1012: Home
1013: Home
1014: Home
1015: Home
1016: Home
1017: Home
1018: Home
1019: Home
1020: Home
1021: Home
1022: Home
1023: Home
1024: Home
1025: Home
1026: Home
1027: Photo Gallery
1028: Home
1029: Home

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: 6258
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: 2069
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: 6258
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: 6258
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: 2069
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: 6258
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: 2069
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: 6481
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.