Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

Last edited by falcon17 on May 27, 2012 - 10:50 PM; edited 1 time in total

Hey guys falcon here Smile

. Can anyone tell if all the E model phantoms were upgraded to the agile eagle standard of if this was just for the newer E's? And is there any chance the C model eagles may get a class cockpit with their AESA radars?

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You mean the slats?? I believe it was more or less all of them. I suppose it's possible that the 66-XXXX BuNos (earliest F-4Es) didn't receive the upgrades, but I believe most did.

southernphantom wrote:

You mean the slats?? I believe it was more or less all of them. I suppose it's possible that the 66-XXXX BuNos (earliest F-4Es) didn't receive the upgrades, but I believe most did.

Yes i meant the slats and thank you very very much Smile

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falcon17 wrote:

Hey guys falcon here Smile

. Can anyone tell if all the E model phantoms were upgraded to the agile eagle standard of if this was just for the newer E's? And is there any chance the C model eagles may get a class cockpit with their AESA radars?

The Cs that get upgraded with AESAs, are supposed to get updated cockpits. I'm not sure if that means an entirely glass cockpit though, but will see what I can find out.

I believe the Es flown by the Thunderbirds did not have slats.

There was a retrofit involved. I think every F-4E/G received them. Navy and USMC F-4S Phantoms received them as well. Not sure about the N model. I don't think the RF-4C ever received these as it limited top speed and if the recce Phantoms ever got into trouble their best bet was to run. I've always been curious as to whether the outer (upward bent) part of the wing of an F-4E could be bolted onto an F-4C or D. The Collings Foundation flies and F-4D and does way more acrobatics with it than the USAF and their QF-4Es. I bet the privately owned F-4D might do well to receive leading edge slats. I'm surprised earlier model Phantoms didn't get them as the F-4Cs and Ds still stuck around a while after the E was introduced.

You are correct the RF-4C did not get slats, thats why the Air Force hasnt liked them as well for the QF-4 program. While all of the line F-4E were retrofitted with slats, the Thunderbird F-4E did not and as far as I know any of their birds that went to edwards AFB as test planes never did. They also retained the short gun muzzle to this day.

you can see the lack of stats on these pics of former Tbird F-4, note the lack of stat hinge mounts on the wings.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... c145e14ec5

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... c145e14ec5

Here is a pic of standard F-4 with the slat hinges visible on the bottom of the wing
http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 2925f26f2a

Here is a front pic of a Thunderbird, check out the clean bottom wing with no slat hinge mounts.
http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... d92f611e70

"McDonnell Douglas became interested in wing modifications for the F-4 that would improve buffet onset and increase lift and turning performance, while retaining satisfactory characteristics for approach and landing. Candidate configurations included the use of wing leading-edge flaps, leading-edge camber, trailing-edge flaps, and other devices; however, the most effective modification was a two-position leading-edge slat. Two slats were mounted on the leading edge of each wing panel in place of the earlier leading-edge flap. The inner slat was fully retractable at high speeds, but the outer slat remained deployed in both the cruise and high-lift con-figurations. With the slats deployed, the F-4 could make tighter turns, and approach speeds were also reduced by a significant amount. Another benefit of this modification was a dramatic improvement in the lateral-directional handling characteristics and spin resistance at high angles of attack. The slat configuration was evaluated during flight tests (known as Project Agile Eagle) of a modified F-4 test aircraft with extremely impressive results. The wing leading-edge slats were incorporated on all F-4E aircraft built during and after 1972. Later, the Navy received a slat equipped version of the Phantom known as the F-4S. The F-4N retained the thin wings and tires, the main radar, and the undernose infrared search and track detector of the F-4B.

The F-4N was fitted with an F-4J-style slotted stabilator which helped solve "Mach tuck" problems when decelerating from supersonic speeds and which reduced approach speeds during landings. All F-4Ns had their inboard leading-edge flaps locked shut and did not have stats. "

On Thunderbird Phantoms structural cracks quickly developed, requiring reinforcement of the outer wing panels

On a side side note, the Blue Angels request to fly the F-4 was denied until the navy brass found out the Thunderbirds were about to start using Phantoms. The navy then switched to Phantoms in a hurry.

There's a book called F-4 Phantom II by Tony Holmes which has a picture of a Turkish RF-4E (70310) with slats on it.

Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

F-4E agile eagle