Phantom 50th Anniversary
Discussion
If you haven't done so already, I suggest obtaining a copy of "Phantom Pilot" by Bob Prest, which gives an excellent insight into the life an RAF line squadron pilot in the seventies.
My sister's father-in-law was also an F4 driver at around the same time - it was a bit of a beast in many respects, and the technology that was absolutely bleeding edge in the fifties was still tempramental in the seventies - the bugs were never really ironed out.
My favourite story is about a high-pressure fitting in the cockpit next to the pilot's foot which had some form of turbine in it - it had an occasional habit of running away, making a god-awful noise, indicating that the crew had a few seconds of frantic switch fertling to do to shut the system down before it came apart and took the pilot's foot off. The solution to the problem was to put some armour around the offending bit of kit, to lessen the chances of foot removal.
My sister's father-in-law was also an F4 driver at around the same time - it was a bit of a beast in many respects, and the technology that was absolutely bleeding edge in the fifties was still tempramental in the seventies - the bugs were never really ironed out.
My favourite story is about a high-pressure fitting in the cockpit next to the pilot's foot which had some form of turbine in it - it had an occasional habit of running away, making a god-awful noise, indicating that the crew had a few seconds of frantic switch fertling to do to shut the system down before it came apart and took the pilot's foot off. The solution to the problem was to put some armour around the offending bit of kit, to lessen the chances of foot removal.
It's always been a favourite of mine, I suspect this is partly because it was the first military jet I ever sat in (aged 5 or 6), a memory that is as strong today as ever. (My father sat me in the front seat and closed the canopy - I was very worried that it might take off!!)
But I also think that fully loaded up it looked a very menacing and purposeful machine more so than any other IMO.
But I also think that fully loaded up it looked a very menacing and purposeful machine more so than any other IMO.
We used to use the Phantom as an example of how not to design a cockpit. Truly awful bits of kit. Apparently they were awful to maintain as well.
The cockpits looked like the designers had thrown all the instruments in the air and where they landed they wired them in. I wish I could find the missile arming and firing sequence to post up - it's scary how convoluted it is.
The cockpits looked like the designers had thrown all the instruments in the air and where they landed they wired them in. I wish I could find the missile arming and firing sequence to post up - it's scary how convoluted it is.
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff