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How low can you go? (old but true)
I posted this a couple years ago but will post it again.
When I was high school age (1986 or so), I was browsing thru a Safety Magazine while in an Aviation explorers post located at the 80thFTW, Sheppard AFB. I always remembered this story about an F-4 coming back with a dent in a wing tank, and a jeep with a mast antenna, suspiciously bent at the top. Two years ago, I was flying skydivers in south Texas, and this ex-ANG F-4 pilot from Missouri shows up. We start talking about flying F-4s, and I recalled the story from that magazine and related it to him. He was quite familiar with that story, since he was the wingman when it occured. He was flying wingman for the wing CO, and they were to do a pass over an field with an army unit, for a mock attack, flying over at 500 agl. Lead just kept going lower and lower and lower, and was heading right for a jeep. A soldier jeep was excitedly taking photos of the F-4 that was bearing right down on him, and passed just over him. That was to be the last flight for the CO after a stunt like that.. That same soldier shows up at the wing with those "really cool" pictures of the F-4 coming at him. My friend and some others got it blown up really big, and used for the COs retirement party. They also worked out the geometry of the photo, and determined the F-4 was climbing, at about 10 ft!! Ron Tucson AZ C-421 air ambulance |
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While serving as a paratrooper in Alaska in '73 my company was doing some CAS
training. We had an O-2 FAC and 2 F4E Phantoms on station. The platoon leaders took turns calling in "airstrikes" on the other platoons until the FAC advised the jets were near bingo and had gas for one more pass. My Lt. told the FAC to have the jets make a pass on the friendly village. A little confusion occured here. G We were at the company CP on a small hill and had not had any passes made over us. We were training close the the town of Fort Yukon. The LTs intention was for the jets to make a pass over the town to show the locals the jets, the FAC thought make a pass on the CP. We see lead roll in on us. I was standing near my poncho hooch watching this Phantom dive straight toward our hilltop (this hill was maybe 50-75 higher than the surrounding terrain). His dive bottomed out below us - we were looking down at the top of the airplane - and he started back up hill following the terrain contour. As he passed our GP medium tent (rough field prob, we were watching movies in the evening) he pitched up, burner and two real slick rolls as he climbed away. I was looking right up the tailpipe totally enveloped by the roar of the engines when WHOOSH the wake/jetblast hit sending the GP medium tent crashing down (ridgepole destroyed the projector), my hootch went somewhere in western Canada, leaves, twigs, etc flying around... Two went by fairly high..he was probably at 50 feet or so when he went by and was pretty much a non-event after leads pass. G BTW, any posters here that flew F4s in Alaska in '73? My buddy was signed for that projector and he'd like a word with you. G (Friggin awesome pass!!) -- Dale L. Falk There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing around with airplanes. http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html |
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