Posted on 03/23/2018 12:04:36 PM PDT by BBell
Do you have dreams of buzzing the control tower after a day of barrel-rolling and air-to-air training against those goons on the red team, and then hopping on your hog and cruising to the beach so you can douse yourself in tanning oil and play a spirited game of volleyball while maintaining eye contact with your buddies for far too long?
Now, you can make those dreams a reality thanks to the folks over at Platinum Fighters: For a cool $4 million, theyll sell you your very own F-4 Phantom II.
The Phantom McDonnell Douglas F4H-1F Phantom II Bu.145310 a pre-production variant and the 11th one produced before the plane was ultimately re-designated the F-4 in September 1962 is on sale for $3.95 million, Warbirds News reported March 14. Just 45 F4H-1F Phantoms were ever built using an earlier version of the J-79 turbojet featured in the widely-produced F-4s that first took the skies in 1959. And while this war plane isnt fully operational, its pretty close to being flight ready, according to The War Zone.
If youve got the cash, why not splurge on the aircraft that was also the first in the F-4 family to be outfitted with hard points to carry bombs and, as Warbirds News notes, subsequently helped convince the U.S. military that the warplane could function as both a tactical fighter and bomber. It just needs a little work to upgrade its engines, active its ejection seats, and tinker with its avionics.
So if youve got a couple million lying around, be prepared to drop a few more and thats before you even figure in gas.
Yeah, saw bunch for sale at EAA years ago. It was remarkably cheap for a jet....
The emergency procedure for loss of control:
If loss of control beneath 10,000 AGL
EJECT
Ok..
The F-4 was marginally safe at best for carrier operations. I witnessed several F-4 launch and landing mishaps over a few cruises in the early 1980s.
Hat tip to all F-4 carrier pilots and RIOs.
Is there a “Jealous” icon???
Aluminum and titanium.
Gary Shumake is still in business? I knew him from way, way back when roadracing street bikes in SoCal at all the old tracks. He could be a prickly bastard at times. Wow, must be going on 40 years ago.
You have that right.
I was in V-2 Cats on CVA-42, ‘60-’62. The Phantoms were THE loudest a/c we launched. They were even louder than the larger A3 Skywarrior bombers.
I was an air traffic controller during my AF days and spent most of my career working F-4’s, both tower and radar. I fondly remember the days when the Wing would surge, everyone wanting to land and takeoff at the same time, single runway, always a couple of barrier engagements, limited holding patterns, somebody declaring minimum fuel, etc. Glory Days.
Gary Shumake is still in business?
Yep, he is just around the corner from the airport, and with 2 rz500’s and 2 rd400’s we have become good friends over the years, I see him every week or so.
Sometime ask him if he keeps in touch with Bill Henry. That was the guy I teamed up with to race a RD350 in production class. I was learning to tune and we had no real $, but I learned a lot. Henry went on to race a Spec2 bike for some time.
Coolest plane ever. Love those droopy tail fins.
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