Radio out- Would you fly?

Nope, the J-79 engines used by the USAF were notorious for smoking.
It's one reason their F-4s were called Olde Smokey. During my stint
with
Uncle Sam's Misguided Children (USMC), we always knew one of ours from
one
of theirs. IIRC, it had something to do with the Navy's (and Marine's)
engines coming from a different source that used some different
parts... or
maybe teflon somethingies.

Nope what? Read my post again. I said the USAF didn't own the *only*
smoke-belching F-4s, the USN and USMC Phantoms also had the Pratt J79
engines that left the smoke trail IIRC. Far as I know the only F-4s
that didn't smoke were the Royal Navy R-R Spey-engined planes. I too
could be wrong here - where's Dudley when you need him??