GAF RF-4E Phantom II

[hrtpaul]

I fly from the right..

This just proves how odd you really are LOL

[RayS]

NIce stand Paul.

What didiyou use for the rods?

I have seen it done with clear acrylic rods tinted to make them look like the AB flame.

[tor lives]

My "heroes" are people like the Wright Bros, Doolittle, Scott Crossfield, Neil Armstrong, Kelly Johnson, etc,

And let's not forget Tex Johnson....it takes balls to barrel roll a 707 over the boss's head....not once but twice
TOR

[hrtpaul]

Thanks Ray S. I just used clear acrylic rod and painted it. It's supposed to be smoke from the engines but I went a bit overboard with it unfortunately.

[Adam the Akrodude]

My "heroes" are people like the Wright Bros, Doolittle, Scott Crossfield, Neil Armstrong, Kelly Johnson, etc,

And let's not forget Tex Johnson....it takes balls to barrel roll a 707 over the boss's head....not once but twice
TOR

Thanks to you, I discovered this is impossible in a Airbuss A330 - "Computer says NO!". Ol' Tex knew just how tough Boeing makes aeroplanes! The aileron roll he performed would have been pretty gentle on the airframe - not much more than 1G, a little more during the initial pitch up. Thing is though these guys know the exact limits and know how the other systems in the aeroplane will cope. Wasn't his response to his boss, something like: "Boss, I'm just trying to sell aeroplanes!". Boss replied - "Tex, just don't do it again please!" Legendary stuff! As you said Ray - Tex has massive brass ones!



Thread course correction - One can see why Paul is such a big fan of the big ol' smokin' Double Ugly - it is one seriously impressive aeroplane! Just seeing one in a museum inspires jaw dropping awe! From Wiki...

World records

Transcontinental "Operation LANA" in 1961

To show off their new fighter, the navy led a series of record-breaking flights early in Phantom development. All in all, the Phantom set 16 world records. With the exception of Skyburner, all records were achieved in unmodified production aircraft. Five of the speed records remained unbeaten until the F-15 Eagle appeared in 1975.

Operation Top Flight:
On 6 December 1959, the second XF4H-1 performed a zoom climb to a world record 98,557 ft (30,040 m). Commander Lawrence E. Flint, Jr., USN accelerated his aircraft to Mach 2.5 at 47,000 ft (14,330 m) and climbed to 90,000 ft (27,430 m) at a 45° angle. He then shut down the engines and glided to the peak altitude. As the aircraft fell through 70,000 ft (21,300 m), Flint restarted the engines and resumed normal flight.
On 5 September 1960, an F4H-1 averaged 1,216.78 mph (1,958.16 km/h) over a 500 km (311 mi) closed-circuit course.
On 25 September 1960, an F4H-1F averaged 1,390.24 mph (2,237.37 km/h) over a 100 km (62.1 mi) closed-circuit course. FAI Record File Number 8898.

Operation LANA:
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Naval aviation (L is the Roman numeral for 50 and ANA stood for Anniversary of Naval Aviation) on 24 May 1961, Phantoms flew across the continental United States in under three hours and included several tanker refuelings. The fastest of the aircraft averaged 869.74 mph (1,400.28 km/h) and completed the trip in 2 hours 47 minutes, earning the pilot (and future NASA Astronaut), Lieutenant Richard Gordon, USN and RIO, Lieutenant Bobbie Young, USN, the 1961 Bendix trophy.

Operation Sageburner
On 28 August 1961, a F4H-1F Phantom II averaged 1,452.777 kilometers per hour (902.714 miles per hour) over a 3 mi (4.82 km) course flying below 125 feet (38.1 m) at all times. Commander J.L. Felsman, USN was killed during the first attempt at this record on 18 May 1961 when his aircraft disintegrated in the air after pitch damper failure.

Operation Skyburner
On 22 December 1961, a modified Phantom with water injection set an absolute world record speed of 1,606.342 mph (2,585.086 km/h).
On 5 December 1961, another Phantom set a sustained altitude record of 66,443.8 feet (20,252 m).

Operation High Jump
A series of time-to-altitude records was set in early 1962: 34.523 seconds to 3,000 meters (9,840 ft), 48.787 seconds to 6,000 meters (19,700 ft), 61.629 seconds to 9,000 meters (29,500 ft), 77.156 seconds to 12,000 meters (39,400 ft), 114.548 seconds to 15,000 meters (49,200 ft), 178.5 seconds to 20,000 meters (65,600 ft), 230.44 seconds to 25,000 metres (82,000 ft), and 371.43 seconds to 30,000 metres (98,400 ft).

[hrtpaul]

I'd love to get a model of an F4H-1 but I haven't seen one. There might be some obscure one out there but not from the mainstream manufacturers.

[Adam the Akrodude]

Hey Paul

I'm sure there used to be. I remember building one as a kid back in the early 70's - using a lot of glue (included in the kit) and no painting of course! Probably some obscure Japanese brand. I very much remember the flattish canopy - gawd, I'm showing my age!

Building a Sageburner Phantom would be cool huh - averaging over 900mph below 125 feet! Now that is impressive! Kinda makes anything at Reno look ho-hum - how's that for some inspiration! Maybe there is some kind of conversion to a F4H1? Cutting Edge used to do some amazing stuff, but sadly they are no more

[hrtpaul]

I'll have to have a look around me thinks

[AndrewDoppel]

This looks pretty cool too. You're becoming a bit of a machine.

[hrtpaul]

I am not....... I am not...... I am not....... I am not...... oops a glitch in the program