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To: doorgunner69
In the early 70s I was a crew chief in Barrier Maintenance at Taegu AB, Korea. We had a ROKAF F-4C hit the barrier (BAK-12) at about 150 Kts and even after dumping as much fuel as possible, weighing over 40klbs. He had zero hydraulics and his fuel dumps were stuck open so when he stopped the aircraft was totally engulfed in flames. I thought the crew was toast. The USAF fire dept. guys had that fire out so quick it didn't even singe the paint.

It was one of the most memorable engagements I ever saw. With the speed and weight factors it was what was referred to as a Regime 4 engagement and required both the cable and tape be changed which was no fun at all.

19 posted on 06/13/2015 9:34:00 PM PDT by Jaxter (Si vis pacem para bellum.)
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To: Jaxter
I saw an F-100 from the Thunderbirds flame out on takeoff at Laughlin AFB back in 1964. It went through the barriers and came to a stop inches from HW 90 next to a no parking sign. No fire and the pilot walked away. Made for a lasting memory.
21 posted on 06/13/2015 10:08:48 PM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: Jaxter
Most memorable for me was a shot up F-4B coming back from a mission to Chu Lai with hydraulics out and no gear. Runway was foamed, he came in, missed the arresting gear with his hook.

Then the damnedest thing, he hit the afterburners, jockeyed them to stay straight on the runway, and that damn F-4 clawed itself back into the air. How much power does an airplane need to get airborne scraping sown the runway on it's belly?

They climbed out over the ocean and punched out. Very sad watching that noble bird roll over and dive down. Pilot and RIO were fine, but I suspect needed a change of shorts.

31 posted on 06/13/2015 11:28:30 PM PDT by doorgunner69
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