Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxor
Wab Not being an aerospace engineer I can't say for certain but judging from looks don't most things "fly" better than the F-4 did/does? It looks like it has very little when it comes to glide ratio and controlability without power.
|
My next-door neighbor back in Tampa was a retired AF Lt Col fighter driver, and he did some flight-test on F-4Ds. He liked 'em, but said it WAS a challenge to fly it well, at least compared to his time in F-15s. (And note that he flew 'em in combat in Vietnam, AND flew F-104s, without a doubt the most challenging aircraft ever in widespread use in the inventory.)
He said it was never happy at low altitudes, and wanted to 'buck you off', while the F-15 was just so easy in almost any flight regime.
When he transitioned from Phantoms to Eagles, the thing he noticed immediately was the different response at low speeds and a high power setting: the F-4 would fly away from it as you'd expect: with the knots coming up, it would get easier and easier to fly, until it was back in the 'sweet spot' that it liked best, between 300 and 600 knots, and if there was little or no g on the airplane, GREAT, it liked it even better and took less time to get to the 'right' speed.
The F-15, on the other hand, would just pin your ears back when you slammed the throttles in, and unless you were REALLY slow, it didn't mind if you were in a high-g maneuver or not, you'd be getting your airspeed back without having to 'manage' the increasing speed.
Bottom line: if you were good in an F-4, you were the 'real deal', a fine fighter pilot.