Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

We Yankees still operate them, but only as drones. I see them fly nearly every day. I KNOW I keep promising all of these nifty pictures (alas, I have no scanner) BUT as soon as I get in contact with one, I'll post a pic I have from Tyndall that was taken late last year. It has in formation the following:

P-51D
F-86F
F-4E
F-15C
F/A-22

This formation was unprecedented in military aviation, and quite possibly one of the most amazing things I've ever seen, except for watching John Glenn launch in the Shuttle, and a certain something that one of my girlfriends did one time...but, that's a story for another day class! Razz

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

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Wow, sounds great; I hope you get the pictures up!

Haha, hey let's keep it PG here. lol Anyways, I would really like to see those pics. That would be awesome!

Thanks TC

TC wrote:

We Yankees still operate them, but only as drones. I see them fly nearly every day.

Oh oops

I didn't know we were still using them in service, albeit as drones. I guess I meant during its man-controlled service Very Happy

I initially thought they were retired completely a few years ago with the wild weasels being the last operational squadron.

Last edited by TC on Apr 14, 2005 - 07:53 AM; edited 1 time in total

Roger that goatmilk. Last active unit to fly the Rhinos was a Weasel unit out of Nellis. Last overall unit was the Idaho ANG, also a Weasel unit. Both transitioned out of F-4s in 96. By then, the groundwork for the QF-4 FSAT program was about 7 or 8 years into existence.

First QF-4s showed up at Tyndall in 97, just as QF-106 ops were finishing up. Last Dart flight was in 98, and they started killing Rhinos around the same time.

QRF-4C ops never really got going. 5 were converted, but they had some problems with the Recon Rhinos. Some Es were converted, and I think we still have a few QF-4Es. One of them was repainted with SEA camo, and is flown at airshows. Really cool looking!

The most converted model, however, has been the G. I believe the AF's intent is to stick with the QF-4Gs until about 2008, when the QF-16A and B program can start.

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

TC, isn't there a unit of Qs that flys out of Holloman? I saw one of their birds out at Miramar last year. I guess they shoot some of 'em down, but they also keep a few around for pilot proficiency if I remember correctly.

One other interesting thing - I was still attending Microskills next to Miramar studying computers last year when I saw a flight of Phantoms come into the break in full burner Thumb

. They brought back some pretty good memories from airshows back in the day. The only thing is that I couldn't see the unit markings on the jets. Anyone have an idea as to who might be flying a few Phabulous Phantoms into Miramar Confused

?

Yes, the 82nd ATRS out of Tyndall operates a Det. out of Holloman. Tyndall gets initial delivery of all FSATs, as we are not only the largest operator of FSATs, but also Tyndall is responsible for flight testing (both manned and unmanned) of the drones.

Some stay at Tyndall after that, and some get sent to Holloman. The AF prefers to shoot as many down at Tyndall as they can, because the Army runs WSMR, and we have to pay them to use the range. At Tyndall, they have unlimited range time.

If it was American operated Phantoms, it would have been one of the following:

AF drones from Tyndall or Holloman

Navy drones from Point Mugu

Luftwaffe training unit from Holloman

And last but not certainly not least, BGen Steve Ritchie's F-4D

Did you catch a paint scheme on the jets? That would help me figure it out.

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

Sadly the 'Silver Lobos' are no longer a unit. I guess the Germans are done with the F-4 as well.

TC, sadly the only thing I really saw of them was the underside which was gray if I remember right. I just heard this LOUD noise (and we were used to CH-53s flying a couple hundred feet overhead Wink

), looked over, and nearly dropped my soda Laughing

! There's no way to be certain of course, but from your list I think they were probably out of Point Mugu.

Thanks for the info there Taco! Just curious if anyone knows who's still operating the Phantom?

Yeah Taco, I figured they would have been wrapping up Phantom ops pretty soon. Apparently though, as you have said, they did already.

The last time the Luftwaffe came to shoot at Tyndall was last year, around September or October. We had Tornados and F-4Fs using the range. The Rhino unit that came said that they would be transitioning to the EuroFighter this year.

Whenever the Luftwaffe came, some of the Germans from Holloman would come in as well. Rumor had it then that they were changing jets or disbanding.

BTW, does the Luftwaffe still train Tornado pilots at Holloman?

You're most likely right parrothead. A Navy/Marine Corps show, in the same state as the Navy's drone fleet. 2 and 2 seem to fit here.

I dug up that formation pic I mentioned above. Now I just need to dig up a f#*%ing scanner! Evil or Very Mad

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

I think the Luftwaffe still has its training @ Holloman for the Tornados. They are having an airshow this Sunday. I guess I'll have to drive down there and see for myself. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks Taco! If you've never seen it, the Luftwaffe puts on a great Tornado demo! Saw them fly a few years ago at NAS Pensacola (home of the Blue Angels). Most of the flight is in burner, and they do some very Aardvark-esque stuff.

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

I saw a German F-4 last year here at Buckley. The only other country I've seen fly them in recent memory was when we were operating out of Incirlik in late December of 2000 and the Turks were using them.

Current Phantom users include:

Turkey, Greece, Iran, Korea, Japan and Israel...

Any more anyone?
Mike

Here's a foto of a HAF F-4E AUP Phantom, one of the two most capable types of Phantom in service about the world, in my opinion! The other is the Israelian F-4E!

http://photos.airliners.net/photos/7/2/4/813427.jpg

Forum Veteran Joined: Nov 07, 2003 - 09:12 PM Posts: 901

Actually, compare apple with apple, the Terminator has outshined its predecessor, serving the Israeli Air Force. Rolling Eyes

Forum: Military Aircraft of the Cold War

What do you think about the F-4?