rides

Man, would I like that !
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I randomly stumbled upon a thread in another forum about the Collings Foundation. Apparently that is the only F4 in private ownership in the US. The guy posting was part of that place and was looking for another ejection seat for it. He saw that tv show "Pawn Stars" where someone wanted to sell their F4 Phantom ejection seat for like $300. Ended up in a no-sale, lol. Thing was worth $3.5k+ and looked brand new with 'chute and everything.

link about the rides: http://collingsfoundation.org/enews/enewsletter_July.10.1.htm

how much time you get in the cockpit for $12.5k?

 

I would love to ride that F4. One of my favorite ugly airplanes.

 

Definitely go when it is cool. The air conditioning does not work too well in double ugly. After leaning over screwing with the leg straps for the ejection seat, an amateur will be starting with a real disadvantage if it is warm. Add in some JP8 or Jet A fumes, and a cool day is definitely an advantage.

I was also amazed at how cramped the back seat is when I think of some of my really big F-4 WSO friends that flew the aircraft. I am 5'7" and my helmet was just about bouncing off the canopy half the time.

Great fun to fly, though, and make sure you do some rudder rolls. She can really get around in a hurry. You cannot light the burners from the rear cockpit (fixed on the F-15 and F-16), but other than that, you should have a ball. Loops are fun, too, they just take up a lot of airspace.

The F-4 was the last modern fighter where you could really feel the air loads through the flight controls. Beginning with the F-111 and continuing through the F-15 and F-16, there is a computer, and not just a damper, between you and the flight controls.

Have fun and that much money is a pretty good investment. Closest most people will ever get to being a fighter jock. I spent that much on a fishing trip to Argentinean Patagonia, and an F-4 flight will generate many more memories. Just make sure the pilot is ex-military. I would not fly with an amateur in any jet fighter.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

F4 is my favorite airplane of all time. I think it's beautiful

(eye of the beholder, I guess)

would LOVE to get a ride in one.... $12.5k is kinda steep though....

 

It would be interesting to see how it compares to the Russian fighter jet rides from a $ per hour standpoint. I was thinking that it was more like $25-50k for a recent generation MIG or Sukhoi ride and then you gotta figure a bit more for the travel to and from and meds to clear up whatever you catch from the Ukranian hookers.

There is no information on their web site about how long the rides are for... I would hope/assume that $12.5k probably gets you at least an hour or so. I just went for a 20 minute flight in the right seat of a Ford Trimotor and was happy with it but I only paid $100.

 

Many years ago I remember that a Russian pilot flew an F-4 in a trade with an American pilot who got to fly a Mig 29, I think. The Russian pilot said that the F-4, " FLY LIKE MEELK TROCK!" He was propably correct when comparing 20 years of technological advance.
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Now here's something I want to take a ride in, and the price is fairly reasonable!

http://www.hffshop.com/bookmyflight.html
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This is the ride I want. I was supposed to go up with my son last week here in Colorado, but they didn't show due to engine problems.

http://www.cafb29b24.org/a/Book-A-Ride-b29.htm

 

Scott- Better an engine problem before your flight rather than one during your flight. Note they do not apparently have the pressurization system working on the aircraft. That was one of the big advantages the B-29 had over its predecessors. Either that or they just do not bother to pressurize, which does create extra fatigue on the fuselage.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

$12.5K for a Phantom ride........that's cheap compared to the current prices for MiG flights........

 

I like ugly airplanes.
Many less-than-beautiful airplanes are at the same time some of the best ever built. Numerous Grumman aircraft come to mind. The P-47 is another, not pretty but a magnificent machine.

 

Now they need to get an F-105 "Thud" flying. It's the other awesome "ugly" plane.

 

My favorite most ugly airplane is the A-10 Wart Hog. It lives up to its name but the design is aimed at getting a an ugly job done with the configuration that would do it without fanfare. That airplane has to be a fun machine to fly...ugly or not, it gets the job done like a sledge hammer, which never won a beauty contest.
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One of my regrets was them retiring the F-105G before I could get a ride. Best I could do was sorties in the F-4G. Had a choice of a Thud out of EWO school, but picked the F-111D instead. Wise decision.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

As long as we are on Century Fighters, I have to offer the F-104 as my all time favorite.
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You can get rides in those.........too damn pricey though......$30K at a place in Florida.

 

One of my favorites too. What a great airplane that was, a cal. 50 bullet with itty- bitty wings. AND I loved the names that some of them got. " Polish Glider", " Flying Anvil", and " Mugly Utha".

 

Bob- One of my favorite Thud stories was of an F-105D out of Carswell that landed at Holloman AFB on a cross country. The J-75 had a water injection system for the afterburner to keep temperatures down back there. Transient Alert filled the water tank with JP-4 (gasoline based jet fuel, JP-8 is kerosene based). When the pilot was ready for take-off, he lit the burner and blew a good portion of the tail off the aircraft. He shut down, beat a hasty retreat and was unharmed. Fuel ran out from the water tank, fire went out.

So maintenance fired up Big Bertha and went out to get the crippled jet off the runway (no tires, naturally). They picked her up and then dropped her from a 15' height. So now we have two major accidents ($1M damage) from one airplane. Wing commander was fired the next day.

Do not remember if I told that one or not. Bad day to be a wing commander, transient alert commander or maintenance deputy commander. All walked.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

Jeeze! ! I could see that one coming! That is a sad story regarding the airplane and those in command and what a blast that must have been. Sort of reminds me of Bob Hoover's P-51 story when he was stopped in the mid-west on his way to Abbotsford . He needed fuel and oxygen, got the right fuel but the guy on the line tried to fill the low pressure system with a high pressure cart and blew the airplane in half. Man is always the weak link.
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Steve- Nothing like a J-75 powered fighter. I do not know if there are any F-106s left, but would be nice to see one of those fly, too. We used most of them for targets and then moved on to the F-4, which is still being used. One U-2 variant used a J-75, too, minus after-burner, IIRC.

When that burner lights, it really gets your attention. The J-57 was pretty mild by comparison and the turbo-fans just make more noise. Lots more noise, but no explosive light.

Taz
Terry Phillips