Tucson's Pima Air Museum -- Thunderbirds F4 Phantom
Feb 11, 2023 21:12:43 #
Went to the museum for my second time this past week. I don't consider myself to be an airplane enthusiast but the museum display is certainly worth going to.
"The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest, non-government funded air and space museums in the world. With 400 aircraft on 80 acres with 6 display hangars and 125,000 artifacts, there is something for everyone. The museum's collections spans commercial, civilian and military aircraft.
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as an iconic combat aircraft of the Cold War.
It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the United States Air Force Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the United States Navy Blue Angels (F-4J)."
"The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest, non-government funded air and space museums in the world. With 400 aircraft on 80 acres with 6 display hangars and 125,000 artifacts, there is something for everyone. The museum's collections spans commercial, civilian and military aircraft.
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it entered service with the Navy in 1961 before it was adopted by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Air Force, and by the mid-1960s it had become a major part of their air arms. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built, making it the most produced American supersonic military aircraft in history, and cementing its position as an iconic combat aircraft of the Cold War.
It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the United States Air Force Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the United States Navy Blue Angels (F-4J)."
Feb 11, 2023 21:25:51 #
An old Air Force veteran here and my favorite plane of all time was the camouflaged F4. I have never seen this color combination, but I like it a lot! Beautiful! Awesome plane.
Feb 11, 2023 21:30:33 #
Ava'sPapa wrote:
An old Air Force veteran here and my favorite plane of all time was the camouflaged F4. I have never seen this color combination, but I like it a lot! Beautiful! Awesome plane.
An old Air Force veteran here as well. The F-4's where the main fighter at Davis-Monthan (Tucson) during the late 60's. Thanks for your positive comment.
Feb 11, 2023 22:25:18 #
Beautiful set. I'm not sure about its air to air capability but its air to mud capability saved a lot of lives over the years
Feb 11, 2023 22:25:41 #
Saycheeze
Loc: Ct
AF vet here too….I think my crew loaded over a thousand bombs plus rockets, napalm, missiles and assorted other goodies on the F4 -D. I loved working on that airplane. Beautiful color scheme in the photo….it does the phantom Justice
Feb 11, 2023 22:26:29 #
MT native wrote:
Went to the museum for my second time this past we... (show quote)
The F-4 in Thunderbird colors was a true air show favorite. It was highly visible from Ground Zero. Unfortunately it succeeded the F-100 Super Saber and was current when the Arab oil embargo of 1973 hit. The F-4’s large size also came with weight and that consumed fuel. Ergo, USAF decided the Thunderbirds should fly smaller and lighter T-38s. Crowds has trouble seeing that A/C but they stuck with it. Luckily the Thunderbirds were assigned F-16s and have continued their tradition. Rumor has it they will get F-35s soon.
Feb 11, 2023 22:34:44 #
Feb 11, 2023 22:38:32 #
Feb 11, 2023 23:10:37 #
Saycheeze wrote:
AF vet here too….I think my crew loaded over a thousand bombs plus rockets, napalm, missiles and assorted other goodies on the F4 -D. I loved working on that airplane. Beautiful color scheme in the photo….it does the phantom Justice
Same here as a 462. Stationed at Holloman AFB 417 Fighter Squadron. We even did NATO exercises in Germany, loading live nukes. Then we deployed the 49TFW to Takhli Thailand and reopened that base. I was a #2 man on the crew until the jammer driver rolled a 750 off the bomb trailer, (no explosion), but he freaked out and I got his job. Eventually I injured my back and cross trained into the medics. The F4 has always been one of my favorites.
Feb 12, 2023 04:54:47 #
My late father was Union Steward for the Airline Workers and Machinests' Union (and state Vice-President of Same) at Lambert Field in St Louis. So all the airport and airline workers plus most of the workers at the McDonnell plant next to the airport were "his guys". One of his best friends, hunting & fishing buddy and fellow Mason was the chief test pilot.
Both happened to be in Washington DC one week. Dad on union business at Congress and his buddy giving Congress Critters rides in the newest model of the F-4 to get them to vote to buy a bunch of them. Well as Dad was leaving the last meeting of the day he ran into his buddy. "Hey Bob, my last ride of the day just canceled, and I have a full load of fuel. The ground crew wants to do some work tonight that requires dry fuel tanks. Either I burn it off or they pump it dry, and they hate that. Want to take the Senator's seat while I burn off that fuel?"
My Dad agreed, but "No fancy stuff, I just ate lunch and don't want to lose it." "Sure, no fancy stuff, just a nice long fast ride to burn off the fuel." Dad really knew him too well to believe that, they had the same sense of humor. Bet you already know where this is going, right?
Dad got fitted for a G-suit (first clue), and a helmet with the full works then strapped in as tight as the crew chief could pull the straps. (second clue) and off they went.
1. Goes to full afterburner on wartime emergency setting at lift off and UP like a homesick Angel.
2. Levels off way above the airliner flight levels and still going like a bat out of hell westbound.
3. Does a reversal with a few turns, rolls and loops and heads east, still with "the pedal to the metal" as the truckers said on CB.
4. A bit out over the Atlantic and way down below appears a destroyer cruising along minding its own business.
5. DOWN like a rocket powered elevator with broken cables.
6. Pulls out and screams across the water only about 500 feet up from several miles away in a simulated attack run on the destroyer.
7. His buddy is on the radio calling the ship to do air defense drills with them as aggressor. They said yes, so the party was really on.
8. Several attack runs at different levels and angles. One so low, the plane had a rooster tail from the shock wave.
9. And the last one, inverted for part of the way!!!
Then his buddy says goodbye to the Destroyer and goes back to their assigned cruising altitude and heads back to the airbase outside DC at a nice easy pace like he had been using with the Congress Critters.
After the crew got them out of the plane and on the ground, Dad proceeded to cuss his friend out to the point half the airbase was slack jawed with admiration. Ending with "I am not talking to you ever again you crazy........."
But it only lasted a month, their hunting buddy group had a week-long wild turkey hunt in the Ozarks planned to start the season and that was too important to stay mad.
Besides, it turns out they set a few new records for that particular model, and being along for the ride was prime bragging rights for Dad. I think he said one of them was for how empty the tanks were when they got back. Basically on fumes at engine shut down.
Both happened to be in Washington DC one week. Dad on union business at Congress and his buddy giving Congress Critters rides in the newest model of the F-4 to get them to vote to buy a bunch of them. Well as Dad was leaving the last meeting of the day he ran into his buddy. "Hey Bob, my last ride of the day just canceled, and I have a full load of fuel. The ground crew wants to do some work tonight that requires dry fuel tanks. Either I burn it off or they pump it dry, and they hate that. Want to take the Senator's seat while I burn off that fuel?"
My Dad agreed, but "No fancy stuff, I just ate lunch and don't want to lose it." "Sure, no fancy stuff, just a nice long fast ride to burn off the fuel." Dad really knew him too well to believe that, they had the same sense of humor. Bet you already know where this is going, right?
Dad got fitted for a G-suit (first clue), and a helmet with the full works then strapped in as tight as the crew chief could pull the straps. (second clue) and off they went.
1. Goes to full afterburner on wartime emergency setting at lift off and UP like a homesick Angel.
2. Levels off way above the airliner flight levels and still going like a bat out of hell westbound.
3. Does a reversal with a few turns, rolls and loops and heads east, still with "the pedal to the metal" as the truckers said on CB.
4. A bit out over the Atlantic and way down below appears a destroyer cruising along minding its own business.
5. DOWN like a rocket powered elevator with broken cables.
6. Pulls out and screams across the water only about 500 feet up from several miles away in a simulated attack run on the destroyer.
7. His buddy is on the radio calling the ship to do air defense drills with them as aggressor. They said yes, so the party was really on.
8. Several attack runs at different levels and angles. One so low, the plane had a rooster tail from the shock wave.
9. And the last one, inverted for part of the way!!!
Then his buddy says goodbye to the Destroyer and goes back to their assigned cruising altitude and heads back to the airbase outside DC at a nice easy pace like he had been using with the Congress Critters.
After the crew got them out of the plane and on the ground, Dad proceeded to cuss his friend out to the point half the airbase was slack jawed with admiration. Ending with "I am not talking to you ever again you crazy........."
But it only lasted a month, their hunting buddy group had a week-long wild turkey hunt in the Ozarks planned to start the season and that was too important to stay mad.
Besides, it turns out they set a few new records for that particular model, and being along for the ride was prime bragging rights for Dad. I think he said one of them was for how empty the tanks were when they got back. Basically on fumes at engine shut down.
Feb 12, 2023 05:28:13 #
Feb 12, 2023 08:42:42 #
robertjerl wrote:
My late father was Union Steward for the Airline W... (show quote)
GREAT STORY! Many of us had similar experiences. Though I seldom saw the same flight activities when your dad was yanking and banking we were flying straight and level eating our dinner! Not lunch, but dinner. Galleys can produce splendid banquets is you bring the proper cuts of beef. We ate very well enroute. Destinations meant "Happy Hour." Flying days
Feb 12, 2023 08:55:28 #
Feb 12, 2023 09:03:23 #
Nice set, Dennis.
As an old Navy Veteran, My first assignment was VF-84 Jolly Rogers at Virginia Beach, VA. I walked into the hangar and there were twelve of the most beautiful aircraft I had ever seen. Not polished up like the photos, these were working birds and I immediately feel in love with F-4B's. I had not been to any Navy schools yet and the squadron CO had a policy of rotating newbies without a work specialty through all the maintenance shops. So I got to touch and feel every part and piece of this beautiful aircraft through about a 6 month period.
I finally ended up in the RADAR shop, and, for the time it was a very advanced RADAR system. Capable of tracking, calculating trajectories, firing on and killing multiple bad guys simultaneously. And then we deployed on board the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier.
Seeing those birds perform in the most difficult conditions that any aircraft operate in was another eye opener. I qualified to work the flight deck during flight ops supporting our F-4s and this 18 year old kid grew up very quickly!
Although I worked on many different aircraft over the next 20 plus years, none matched that first Navy experience with the F-4 Phantoms!
As an old Navy Veteran, My first assignment was VF-84 Jolly Rogers at Virginia Beach, VA. I walked into the hangar and there were twelve of the most beautiful aircraft I had ever seen. Not polished up like the photos, these were working birds and I immediately feel in love with F-4B's. I had not been to any Navy schools yet and the squadron CO had a policy of rotating newbies without a work specialty through all the maintenance shops. So I got to touch and feel every part and piece of this beautiful aircraft through about a 6 month period.
I finally ended up in the RADAR shop, and, for the time it was a very advanced RADAR system. Capable of tracking, calculating trajectories, firing on and killing multiple bad guys simultaneously. And then we deployed on board the USS Roosevelt aircraft carrier.
Seeing those birds perform in the most difficult conditions that any aircraft operate in was another eye opener. I qualified to work the flight deck during flight ops supporting our F-4s and this 18 year old kid grew up very quickly!
Although I worked on many different aircraft over the next 20 plus years, none matched that first Navy experience with the F-4 Phantoms!
Feb 12, 2023 09:14:19 #
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