Team JSTARS maintainers restore an F-4C Phantom II

[Duggy009]

U.S. Air Force aero repair specialists with the 116th Maintenance Squadron (MXS), 116th Air Control Wing (ACW), Georgia Air National Guard, and 461st MXS, 461st ACW, prepare to tow an F-4C Phantom II at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, July 20, 2021. Team JSTARS maintainers restored the jet and towed it to a pad in front of the wing headquarters, where it will be on permanent static display representing the wing lineage when the former 116th Tactical Fighter Wing flew the aircraft from 1983-1986. (U.S. Air National Guard photos by Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons)


A U.S. Air Force F-4C Phantom II sits on a pad in front of the headquarters building for the 116th Air Control Wing (ACW), Georgia Air National Guard, and 461st ACW, at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, July 21, 2021. Team JSTARS maintainers restored the jet and towed it to a pad in front of the wing headquarters, where it will be on permanent static display representing the wing lineage when the former 116th Tactical Fighter Wing flew the aircraft from 1983-1986. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons)

[mike furline]

Must have run out of Insignia Blue.

[Malo 1]

Looks naked without drop tanks.

[Xray]

Phantoms & Tomcats are the 2 jets I miss most, have been under dozens of takeoffs and landings of both.

Once saw [heard] an F-14 break the sound barrier near Selfridge ANG, and was under a USMC Phantom takeoff that I believe was dangerously low, barely cleared the perimeter fence and yes, everyone there hit the deck quick. These aircraft are so loud, powerful and intimidating coming at you that you are sometimes forced headlong into the ground or at least to cover your ears like a girl, can only imagine one coming at you in anger with napalm and zunis. .

[ffuries]

What's up with the black extending pass the radome to the windscreen and canopy like that? My dad did the majority of his 26 years in the USAF as Maintenance and Pro Super on F-4s and don't ever recall seeing that before!

OK, after a quick Google search I found some USN birds, and some early USAF birds (White, grey color) with this, but didn't find any camoed birds with it.

[JohnB]

The curved line of the radome and anti-glare panel is like the design usually seen on (and pretty much unique to) F-106s.

Still, being an ANG outfit, I wouldn't swear they didn't have them.

Last edited by JohnB on Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Clifford Bossie]

The curved line of the radome and anti-glare panel is like the design usually seen on (and pretty much unique to) F-106s.

The 179th TRS Minnesota ANG had that same curved anti-glare panel on their RF-4Cs and when they became the 179th FIS (again) their F-4Ds were marked similar.

Even if there are some inaccuracies in the paint job I am happy to see an F-4 receive some TLC.

[Andy Marden]

Might be worth mentioning that the correct serial of this F-4C is 63-7559.
It has been at Robins for c 20 years (first report I had was March 2001).

[Snake45]

Looks naked without drop tanks.

And weird shiny.

[Ken]

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-8k3 ... 3MGH-L.jpg

Photo with the extended black.

[p51]

Love to see another Phantom preserved.
I got to see them as a kid, several times in the air. Not to mention the airshow flights they had right before the USAF dropped the fires forever on them, in my 30s and 40s.
I was in AFJROTC in high school and each year we'd do a visit to Tyndall AFB. One year we were in a school bus paralleling the taxi strip and we were overtaken by a Phantom at about 50 feet. She turned to take the active just as the bus got line-abreast of the F-4. I saw the nozzles tweaking and knew it was gonna be loud. He pushed the throttles to the stops, ran them up and I thought all the bus windows were going to blow inward. I grew up doing Civil War re-enactments with artillery so I thought I'd heard the loudest stuff a person could hear.
Nothing, I say again, NOTHING is louder then an F-4 with the afterburners lit when you're less than 50 feet from the feathers!
To this day I've never understand how the windows didn't shatter on that bus.

[Xray]

Love to see another Phantom preserved.
I got to see them as a kid, several times in the air. Not to mention the airshow flights they had right before the USAF dropped the fires forever on them, in my 30s and 40s.
I was in AFJROTC in high school and each year we'd do a visit to Tyndall AFB. One year we were in a school bus paralleling the taxi strip and we were overtaken by a Phantom at about 50 feet. She turned to take the active just as the bus got line-abreast of the F-4. I saw the nozzles tweaking and knew it was gonna be loud. He pushed the throttles to the stops, ran them up and I thought all the bus windows were going to blow inward. I grew up doing Civil War re-enactments with artillery so I thought I'd heard the loudest stuff a person could hear.
Nothing, I say again, NOTHING is louder then an F-4 with the afterburners lit when you're less than 50 feet from the feathers!
To this day I've never understand how the windows didn't shatter on that bus.

Of all the 100's of takeoffs I have been under of military jets, only 1 was louder and you'd likely not guess what it was - A fully loaded KC-135 [before they re-engined them] with water injection. The loudest, most shrieking sound I have ever heard, even guys that typically don't cover their ears like me are involuntarily forced to. Phantom at least had more of a deep growl, those water injected 135's were like out of tune, drunk banshees on steroids.

Both the F-14 and F-111 come [came] close to the Phantom for sheer loudness, unfortunately was never under a SR-71, I imagine they ranked up there in the sound dept.

[sandiego89]

Of all the 100's of takeoffs I have been under of military jets, only 1 was louder and you'd likely not guess what it was - A fully loaded KC-135 [before they re-engined them] with water injection. The loudest, most shrieking sound I have ever heard, even guys that typically don't cover their ears like me are involuntarily forced to. Phantom at least had more of a deep growl, those water injected 135's were like out of tune, drunk banshees on steroids.

I also "enjoyed" a KC-135 water injection takeoff up close, extremely memorable, with all kinds of howls, smoke, shrieks, pops, crackles, and sheer ear splitting volume. Not only heard but also felt. Made a real impression that is still clear some ~40 years later.

[Kyleb]

Of all the 100's of takeoffs I have been under of military jets, only 1 was louder and you'd likely not guess what it was - A fully loaded KC-135 [before they re-engined them] with water injection. The loudest, most shrieking sound I have ever heard, even guys that typically don't cover their ears like me are involuntarily forced to. Phantom at least had more of a deep growl, those water injected 135's were like out of tune, drunk banshees on steroids.

We live right off of the end of the runway at Dobbins ARB near Atlanta. F-22's (made at the co-located Lockmart factory) were loud, but the JSTARS that come up from Warner Robins are the worst as someone who lives near the field. An awful 1970's era turbojet whine that makes the near-deaf dog howl.

The loudest thing I've heard? A full burner fly-by by a B-1, when I was standing on the flightline at Dobbins during airshow practice. During the real show, the pass was over the runway. During practice, it was much closer to the crowd - like along the edge of the ramp.

[Xray]

Of all the 100's of takeoffs I have been under of military jets, only 1 was louder and you'd likely not guess what it was - A fully loaded KC-135 [before they re-engined them] with water injection. The loudest, most shrieking sound I have ever heard, even guys that typically don't cover their ears like me are involuntarily forced to. Phantom at least had more of a deep growl, those water injected 135's were like out of tune, drunk banshees on steroids.

We live right off of the end of the runway at Dobbins ARB near Atlanta. F-22's (made at the co-located Lockmart factory) were loud, but the JSTARS that come up from Warner Robins are the worst as someone who lives near the field. An awful 1970's era turbojet whine that makes the near-deaf dog howl.

The loudest thing I've heard? A full burner fly-by by a B-1, when I was standing on the flightline at Dobbins during airshow practice. During the real show, the pass was over the runway. During practice, it was much closer to the crowd - like along the edge of the ramp.

B-1's are very loud true, still lacks the decibels [thankfully] of the old water injected jets. I recall a B-1 doing a fast flyby and he set off about every car alarm for miles around.