wrote:
Flying the F104A with the aging J79-3b engine we practiced
'precautionary patterns' a lot because we still had problems with the
oil system. On a nice VFR day with winds not a problem, you started
over the 'numbers' at the end of a long runway at 15000 AGL at 260
KIAS, gear up, T/O flaps set, sink rate about 4500fpm. One turn and you
were on final, aiming for a 'window' (envision a volleyball net) right
over the approach end of the runway. As you gently flared through the
middle of this window about 20-30 feet up you slipped below 250 KIAS
and pulled the emergency gear extension handle all the way out freeing
the uplocks. All three gear fell out and back (like an A4) and locked
down in about 3 seconds or so.

My first tour at NKX in the 60's I was a GCA controller. Was always
amazed at the skill of our tower controllers who could blend an F-8
doing a practice emergency engine out approach with an active pattern.

For that matter I could include their mixing of Mission Bay entries with
Atlas entries all with a dual hi-lo traffic pattern in progress. Those
sure were the days.