Posted on 06/16/2010 8:51:11 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Korean Air Force decommissions F-4D jets
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
A squadron of F-4D Phantom fighter jets conducted its last flight Wednesday, ending its 41 years of service with the ROK Air Force.
A ceremony for the decommissioning of the aircraft was held at the 11th Fighter Wing in Daegu, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul.
Boeing-built F-15K Slam Eagle fighters will replace the older aircraft.
Though the F-4D aircraft is fading into the mist of history, their spirit will be succeeded by the F-15K, which will further bolster our air defense, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Lee Kye-hoon said at the ceremony. Hundreds of guests, including former F-4 pilots, attended the event.
The 151st Fighter Squadron of the ROK Air Force has operated about 60 F-4Ds since 1969. The twin-engine aircraft, nicknamed MIG Killer, can cruise at a top speed of Mach 2.3 and has an operational range of 1,260 kilometers.
Under a 2007 deal, the Air Force is receiving up-to-date F-15K aircraft from U.S. aerospace giant Boeing.
In 2002, the F-15 aircraft was selected for the 40-plane, $4.2-billion first-phase plan of the F-X fighter modernization program aimed at buying 120 high-end fighter jets by 2020.
The Boeing Company won the second-phase deal in 2008 to provide 20 more aircraft. The deal was valued at $2.3 billion.
The F-15K can fly air-to-ground, air-to-air and air-to-sea missions day or night in any weather. It has a 23,000-pound payload and can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 2.3 with a combat radius of 1,800 kilometers. gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
to me, the F4 is the iconic image of Vietnam era fighters. I get a little nostalgic looking at planes like that.
‘Flying The Bus’
F-4E incorporated the cannon in the nose. Made it harder to shoot the nose-gear off.
Folks don’t realize how big it was, made our A-4s look
tiny.Nothing quite like the sound of those two engines
in afterburner. Our living quarters were about a mile
from the runway but you couldn’t talk when one was taking
off. We got used to it but on tapes we sent home the
conversation would just be replaced by this ROAR.
They brought some up to Chu Lai back when we just had
matting runways and it was amazing watching it buck
down the runway on take off.........of course they
lost some bombs and racks too. Was nearly struck
by shrapnel from a 500 lb. frag. Most of the time they
didn’t have enough travel to arm but this one went off
about 200 yds away from our flight line. A chunk
the size of a hamburger bounced off the main strut of
the bird we were changing the brakes on, about six inches
above our heads and went into the belly tank.
the guy working with me and I cut it in half, I kept it
for years but lost it along the way. Nasty, sharp, jagged
edges.
Yep. We were golden. We actually knew how to use an o’scope, a TDR, and really troubleshoot gripes. Even used schematics to figure stuff out. Wow. I must be old. LOL
There was no schematic on how to get all the wires back into an ACRP once you'd opened it. :)
Very cool actually, three 20mm pods hanging off the beast - whatever the target is, death will be very quick!
Good God! Probably better than the air brake.
A friend was a McDonnell Douglas engineer. His comment, the F4 was proof that if you put a big enough motor on a barn door, it will fly.
You'd hear endless variations on that theme, but the F-15 has the same engines and much less blocky profile. Once saw a -15 stand on it's tail a few hundred feet up and just hang there for all the F-4 folks to see.
Yea, without the external tanks, the flight time was not real long!
I was an air traffic controller in the AF and pretty much cut my teeth on the F-4. I can’t tell you how many F-4’s I worked using PAR (precision approach radar to the non-flying Freepers) in a freezing cold GCA (Ground Controlled Approach) van in Germany. About the hardest aircraft to get on course and keep him on course.
A classic, but a little too slow and cumbersome to take on the newest generation of CHICOM fighters.
That's way too practical and cost-efficient. The government will never go for it!
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