F-4 Phantom

TBT_Piper · Post by **TBT_Piper** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:08 am

Dash wrote:
LawnDart wrote:That is a sweet move and it's called "Rollback to Arrowhead", something you might see in our next movie possibly, maybe... ehrmm, likely!

Another hint for the previous Q: Think about where #4's tail spends most of the time in the formation and those J79 turbojets the Phantom had sped this process up somewhat too...

LawnDart
Guys, cut me some slack here, I'm totally not gettings this!

-Dash

Another hint: Read this carefully.

"Think about where #4's tail spends most of the time in the formation and those J79 turbojets the Phantom had sped this process up somewhat too..."

Read each part so you can comprehend every part and combine it. (So english class can be useful after all.)

USAF_Soldier · Post by **USAF_Soldier** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:16 pm

OHhhhh now I know y!

lieutfunaki · Post by **lieutfunaki** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:43 pm

Dash,

Here's the deal. No. 4 spends his time in the slot position as you know well. If you look at those photos of the F-4 team you will see black smoke radiating from the engines of those beasts. The tail of no. 4 is right in the wake of the smoke spewing from no. 1's engines. While there was rumor that the Thunderbirds painted no. 4's tale black, it's only a rumor. The truth is that the tail got pretty dirty in each performance, and after a short time the team got tired of cleaning it. Instead of doing so, they decided to leave the soot on there. Over time the tail became black, and stayed that way. The rest of the aircraft was cleaned and repainted regularly, the tail was not.

The pictures serve as proof that no. 4 held his position well, and held it closely. It became bragging rights for the team. Make sense?

Burner · Post by **Burner** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:08 pm

I've been discussing this with #1 and #4, when you see the Roll back to Arrowhead, and other old school maneuvers, in our next movie "possibly, maybe... ehrmm, likely" as LD put it, we will be paying homage to the vintage teams while wearing this tail.

Cross reference with this image: http://www.thunderbirdsalumni.com/Photo ... 9/608.aspx

USAF_Soldier · Post by **USAF_Soldier** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:02 pm

I feel sorry for Jarheads plane, alwasys cleaning the Back Wing before Airshows and Practices

Convertible · Post by **Convertible** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:49 pm

#4 does not clean the tail. It remains like this. From my understanding it is an honor to have the black on the tail as the #4 pilot.

Convertible

USAF_Soldier · Post by **USAF_Soldier** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:14 pm

Oh, I see.

Post by **Lawndart** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:17 pm

Nowadays, every tail gets cleaned and polished to an amazing glow, including #4's, but since the Tbirds began flying the Falcons in 1983 they've had one year (I'll have to get back to you about which year it was) when they allowed the tail of #4 to collect soot over the course of that season as a tribute and honor to past teams. I believe it was during one season in the mid 90's... The Thunderbird airplanes of today are probably the cleanest airplanes found anywhere, at any time! Enlisted members spend countless hours each day polishing and cleaning the planes. Wax on, wax off...

We might have more than soot in store for future Virtual Thunderbirds projects! Any F-4 fans here?

Moving right along, here's another trivia question:
When (and why) did the pilots start using red flight suits while flying demonstrations?

They currently use blue and red flightsuits that they alternate between, but during the 1983 season for example they used grey and white flightsuits and just like so many other things when it comes to the Thunderbirds, there's always a story and some history behind the choosing of red color for their uniforms for the first time.

LawnDart

Dash · Post by **Dash** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:54 pm

Well I don't know the answer to your question so I can only speculate...The Thunderbirds perhaps changed to Red flight suits during a war to show tribute to our military. The Red on our flag signifies hardiness and valour. Perhaps this has something to do with the scoop of things?

-Dash

Post by **Lawndart** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:00 pm

Hint: During a visit to a foreign country is when they wore them for the first time. Your flag idea wasn't too far off... although, the country visited had more red than our flag!

lieutfunaki · Post by **lieutfunaki** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:59 pm

LawnDart wrote:We might have more than soot in store for future Virtual Thunderbirds projects! Any F-4 fans here?

Well, I've begun texturing an F-4...if you guys are already doing it, I'll stop and not waste my time...

Did you copy my post on the immelman issue. It can be done, but speed is a huge problem, and once the problem is created there is no reliable way out.

USAF_Soldier · Post by **USAF_Soldier** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:17 pm

That's gonna be aweosme an F-4 Thunderbird Mod. People will be wanting to join the team everyday.

Post by **Lawndart** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 1:37 pm

Red show suits were worn and approved for the team's 1987 debut in China. They even started the show with the following radio call over the speakers:

"Thunderbirds check!"
"Er, san, si, wu, liu, qi, ba" ( 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 )

...and to finish off the other trivia question about "Dirty Thunderbirds". As most will know, the USAF Thunderbirds are renowed for keeping their F-16s in perfectly clean and shiny, pristine condition. However, in 2000, the tailfin of the number 4 "slot" aircraft was allowed to become smoke-blackened from being in the exhaust of the lead aircraft, as a gesture of heritage to past Thunderbirds.

Older types of Thunderbirds aircraft had the tailfins of their slot aircraft so smoke-blackened that the markings were almost totally obliterated. This practice stopped when the team received their T-38s, and from then on, the number 4 aircraft's tailfin was kept clean and polished. However, due to the relative cleanliness of modern jet engines, the number 4 F-16C still maintained a fairly clean tailfin in 2000, it's markings still perfectly visible with just a small amount of "soot" on the leading edge and top.

LawnDart

SilverOne · Post by **SilverOne** » Sat Jul 23, 2005 6:06 pm

Yeah , but I like the #4 tail like that, it just has it's own style.

aztec01 · Post by **aztec01** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:48 pm

I remember, as a child, sitting along Brookpark Road
with scores of other people watching the Thunderbirds,
in their F-100's perform an impromptu show at KCLE after
their regular demonstration at the National Air Show at
KBKL. Someplace, I have no clue where, are home movies
of the the Super Sabres blowing back and forth alongside
the road, #4 in blacktail and all, and a forlorn B727 stranded
on the taxiway as fighters criss-crossed over it. That was
soooo cool and soooo long ago...