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Fast Mover. 12/31/2005

Considering the fairly shitty time I’ve been having of late, including having to work on Christmas and Boxing Day, as well as having Smiffy pass on, I was rather pleased to receive an SMS message on my phone for this…

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A 1/32 scale Revell F-4E Phantom. This particular model is of the 30th Anniversary Edition of the Phantom, a plane that was first conceived in the late 1950’s, and saw extensive service in the Vietnam war. They were known as “Fast Movers”, an alluision to their speed and ability get ordnance on target quickly, in response to calls from troops on the ground.

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The Phantom was noted for several deficiencies. It was designed for the Navy as a “stand-off” interceptor, and not designed for close in air combat. Hence, the initial versions of the Phantom did not have a cannon installed. According to the designers, the Phantom would rely upon it’s Sidewinder missles to shoot down enemy planes. Unfortunately, as pilots soon found out, the Sidewinder wouldn’t engage once the bogey was too close in, a situation which is normal during ACM. The result of this was that the kill ratio for the Americans. This had the happy effect of forcing the Navy to create its Fighter Weapons School, famous the world over as “Top Gun”. The school taught Naval aviators how to get the most out of the Phantom, and to flyas close to the edge of the plane’s performance envelope as possible. The F-4E addressed this deficiency with regards to close in air combat with the inclusion of a Vulcan 20mm cannon into the airframe.

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Another shortcoming of the Phantom was its smoky engines. It was often quoted about the Phantom that it was “America’s proof to the world that with a big enough engine, even a brick can fly.” The Phantom’s engines were fast, but left a smoke trail visible from miles away. They also gulped fuel in tremendous amounts, especially when on afterburner in supersonic flight. During air operations in Vietnam, it was critical that air tankers were available for thirsty Phantoms. This resulted in the United States developing air-to-air re-fuelling into an art form. The United States is possibly the only country, currently, in the world, which can afford the sheer lunatic cost of mid air refuelling, on a full time basis.

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The last thing about the Phantom that was much hated by air crews was the very limited rearward visibility. The driver had to rely on the RIO, or back seater, to tell him if there was anything coming up on his “six”, or rear. This situation has been re-dressed in all fighters designed since then, with bubble canopies being the norm, affording excellent all round visibility for the pilot. If you look at planes designed in the sixties and seventies, and still flying today, like the F-15 Eagle, the F-14 Tomcat, and the F-16 Flying Falcon, as well as the Russian Mig-29 and Sukhoi Su-27, you will notice that the canopy forms a noticeable bulge in the air stream. Fighter pilots don’t mind paying the price for a little increased drag, if it means that they can see what’s happening around them.

Comments»

1. NSDS3HvLDjJd - 12/31/2005

I love the smell of napalm in the morning… Smells like… victory.

2. ShaolinTiger - 1/2/2006

Happy new year dude, I’m back in town, let’s catch up sometime.