Members HKSblade1 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 They were thinking "Man, that AIM-7 semi-active is the way of the future! How could the enemy dodge that and close the gap?" If they'd had fully active missiles and modern radar, they might have had a point at the time, but taking away the gun for the close in work, especially with the iffy-ness of the AIM-9 at the time was, mmm, a poor judgement. Or, maybe it was decided that the F-4 couldn't turn for a damn anyway, so why would they need a gun? FWIW, for those that can afford them, the latest generation SU fighters are pretty darn compelling. I know very few, save for perhaps China or a few wealthy arab countries could afford them, but even so, we don't have the numbers these days to also yield technological superiority as well, hence the importance of the F-22 and 35. I agree, the Super Hornet is cool, but the differences in upgrading last generations fighter as much as you can vs. building a new marvel from the ground up are staggering; the Army faces the same problem with helicopters. For more, check out the Air Force's C-5 fleet vs. the C-17; the latter is a freaking rocket that can do short field takeoffs and landings in spaces you would not believe for an aircraft of that size. The C-5, not a whole lot larger, could never attempt what the C-17 pulls off; that's what a few decades of engineering advancement will do for you. My Uncle flew F-4's and said the only real good thing he remembered about it was it had a decent size fuel tank and could out run Mig 17's and 21's. Said the stupidest design flaw was no guns. They couldn't even provide CAS when needed. His next tour he volunteered for the A-1 and loved flying that plane. Of course they took on a lot of fire, but the A-1 was armed to the teeth as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members imgooley Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Personally I think it will be all about unmanned drones. For air superiority? Naw, a Mig-17 can shoot down what we have up there now, even the best of them. For everything except air superiority, they have advantages (though not as marked as other traditional aircraft.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Didn't the F-4 have a gun pod that could be hooked up underneath the cockpit? I know my airfix model did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Tomcat and Eagle are the sweetest fighters we ever had. Sad to see the F14 go. {censored} yes. When I was a kid I was obsessed with these 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members imgooley Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Didn't the F-4 have a gun pod that could be hooked up underneath the cockpit? I know my airfix model did. When the F-4 came out with the Navy in the 1960, it didn't have a gun. After it started squaring off with the Chinese and NVA Mig-19s and 21s, they mounted gun pods on it. The USAF adopted F-4E had internal cannons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HKSblade1 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 {censored} yes. When I was a kid I was obsessed with these 2. For a while there those Tomcat pilots would just hot dog around the beaches, then they kind of just went to touch and go's. Saw some early F18's at Fentress for some kind of training deal they had going on. When I got sick of A6's F14's and F18's, I just took a drive to Hampton to see 15's and 16's. My wife freaked when we were sitting there one evening over by Langley and an F117 departed. They were not really showing that one off as much, but a lot of the heavy military personnel were always around Langley. Used to see Russian Mig's fly in there as well as F16's with Israeli markings. My guess is they were doing Red Flag. One of my buds there was a pilot and said our guys would usually get taken down by Israeli pilots. I guess at the time they trained harder and had an age limit of 30 or something. After 30 you couldn't fly their fighters. That was like 20 years ago though so I'm sure a lot has changed since then. The other stupid thing my buddy did was jump wakes when the carriers went out to sea. He had a small Bayliner. They won't let any boats near those ships today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 That's badass. I would've loved to have seen any of that. As a kid one of the coolest times I had was at an airshow where I got to see an F-15 and sit in an F-16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HKSblade1 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 That's badass. I would've loved to have seen any of that. As a kid one of the coolest times I had was at an airshow where I got to see an F-15 and sit in an F-16. Just had to live near a Naval Air Station or Air Force fighter base and you can see as much as you want to. I'd prefer the air shows since they ramp things up. When they fired up that Tomcat at an NAS Air Show they really let it do it's thing. What a badass fighter. When it did that radius turn I loved the noise the D model (higher thrust engines) versions made. Deep deafening roar. Touch and Go's otoh get boring after seeing the first 500 or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Just had to live near a Naval Air Station or Air Force fighter base and you can see as much as you want to. I'd prefer the air shows since they ramp things up. When they fired up that Tomcat at an NAS Air Show they really let it do it's thing. What a badass fighter. When it did that radius turn I loved the noise the D model (higher thrust engines) versions made. Deep deafening roar. Touch and Go's otoh get boring after seeing the first 500 or so. Never got to see an F-14 in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HKSblade1 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Never got to see an F-14 in person. Shame ! Now retired you might see one static displayed at an Air Show. If so, you can wait until the last day of the show when the jets depart. That's how I saw a B58 Hustler in flight years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mesa4x12er2 Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Shame ! Now retired you might see one static displayed at an Air Show. If so, you can wait until the last day of the show when the jets depart. That's how I saw a B58 Hustler in flight years ago. Yep, sucks. Been to a lot of air shows but never saw an F-14 at one. Too bad as those have always been my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cirrus Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 IIRC I think I saw one at Mirimar air show in either '98 or '99? One of the best days of my life, going there as a 14 year old who loved all things to do with aviation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Blues In Me Posted September 4, 2012 Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 The C-5 is enormous, even in comparison to the 17. I've seen them side by side on the flightline, and dear god, that thing is huge. When the USAF retires it, we're gonna need a new heavy airlift to replace it, because the 17 can't cover everything it does.The C-17 is a technological wonder, though. My house is in the flight path of the C-5's right now. Watching one of those on approach is one of the coolest things you will ever see. This massive hunk of metal looks like its just sitting in the air, not moving, nor do you hear anything. Once overhead the entire neighborhood shakes. My house is so close you can also read the writing on the landing gear. They have a few C17's on-base now and they are much smaller, but certainly are marvels of technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axe_34 Posted September 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted September 4, 2012 Marine Corps Harrier practice attack run in HD. Cockpit, HUD and gun camera views too. Semper Fi!http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=115_1346740174 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mermph Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 Mind If I Borrow It? The day an Air Force mechanic commandeered a North American F-86.http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/Mind-If-I-Borrow-It.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Axe_34 Posted September 5, 2012 Author Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 Mind If I Borrow It? The day an Air Force mechanic commandeered a North American F-86.http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/Mind-If-I-Borrow-It.html Wow, great story. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 Marine Corps Harrier practice attack run in HD. Cockpit, HUD and gun camera views too. Semper Fi!http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=115_1346740174 I love harrier jump jets, there role in the Falklands conflict convinced the US to buy some for the US Marines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miter Gauge Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 I love harrier jump jets, there role in the Falklands conflict convinced the US to buy some for the US Marines.I believe the harriers also convinced the Argentinians that the islands didn't belong to them after all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Neilrocks25 Posted September 5, 2012 Members Share Posted September 5, 2012 I believe the harriers also convinced the Argentinians that the islands didn't belong to them after all! nah they are still arguing that {censored}, I hope the F35 is ready in time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mermph Posted September 6, 2012 Members Share Posted September 6, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members imgooley Posted September 6, 2012 Members Share Posted September 6, 2012 For a while there those Tomcat pilots would just hot dog around the beaches, then they kind of just went to touch and go's. Saw some early F18's at Fentress for some kind of training deal they had going on. When I got sick of A6's F14's and F18's, I just took a drive to Hampton to see 15's and 16's. My wife freaked when we were sitting there one evening over by Langley and an F117 departed. They were not really showing that one off as much, but a lot of the heavy military personnel were always around Langley. Used to see Russian Mig's fly in there as well as F16's with Israeli markings. My guess is they were doing Red Flag. One of my buds there was a pilot and said our guys would usually get taken down by Israeli pilots. I guess at the time they trained harder and had an age limit of 30 or something. After 30 you couldn't fly their fighters.That was like 20 years ago though so I'm sure a lot has changed since then. The other stupid thing my buddy did was jump wakes when the carriers went out to sea. He had a small Bayliner. They won't let any boats near those ships today. The Israelis have the best pilot training in the world, barnone. They're surrounded by countries with modern (not U.S./Russian or even Chinese modern, but early 80s modern) air forces that want to kill them. Japanese, ROC and ROK pilots are pretty BA, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.