The Skyhawk was much more maneuverable platform and really a better airshow plane but there is no doubt that the Phantom made the hair on the back of your neck stand up...the plane was huge and held 52 air speed, altitude and time to altitude records that were only eclipsed when the F15 came along. It was definitely a badass plane.
I had the pleasure of working on the Navy F4's when they were the fastest fighter jets on the planet. I nicknamed them the Corvettes, after the 427-435 monsters that I had been aware of. We had a Marine squadron of A4's. I called them the Mustangs...aka 289's! It's no surprise that I wound up buying 6 Vettes in a row!
Walked the flight line as a child with my dad in Salt Lake City meet the pilot of #4 a Marine Major .a year later the returned I was invited to sit down and have lunch with the same Marine. he asked how my pops was doing and grand to see me again. 7 years later I earned my Eagle Globe and Anchor .
I'm a recently retired A.E. with Lockheed Martin. My dad was a radar Guidance Engineer with G.E. Aerospace at Cape Canaveral from '56 thru '76 and I grew up in Cocoa Beach, Fl., which is right beside Patrick AFB (now SFB)...the A.F. had a fighter Squadron there when I was a kid and even as young boys we would make the several mile bike ride down the side of A1A to sit at the end of the runway to watch the Mighty F4 Phantom II take off right over our heads with full after burners lit. They were big SOB's and those two GE J79 engines smoked like an unfiltered camel. Later as a teen boy I'd do the same. I was a very good athlete and had sky high SAT scores and I so wanted to be a fighter pilot but was very disappointed at my initial selection screening that I did not have 20-20 uncorrected vision...back in that era it was an instant DQ. I was offered a multitude of Officer training programs, but it could not include jets and certainly not fighter training, so I passed and off to Georgia Tech I went with the Aerospace Engineering major a no brainer.
For those of us lucky enough to have seen the Blues and Birds flying the F-4 Phantoms, there is no way to adequately describe their raw power and noise, especially on afterburner. The shows were simply breathtaking. 😄👍
Nothing like the F-4s. My first air show was the Blue Angels In El Paso around 71 or 72. Icing on the cake was that I got to see the Thunderbirds in their F-4s around that time too. Best show plane ever!
Watching this video for the ?? time, in 2023. I'm always impressed by the "BLUES" ,and even more so I was lucky enough to see both the "THUNDERBIRDS" and the" BLUE ANGELS" fly the venerable F4 Phantom!! WELL DONE!!
This was the best time of my live when I was a kid. I grew up around oceana in va Beach and saw the f4 around my house they were always over top because they had 5 mile radios.
I worked on the F4 Phantoms in 1969- 1971. Listed as the fastest fighter in the world at that time. Loved standing beside 'em at night when they were shot from the cats!
You know, I'm not certain about the "loaded weight " of the F-14 Tomcats, but I pretty much have always, and I do mean always remember numbers. I remember our F4's on a Mediterranean cruise having 58,000 on the side near the front wheelwells...and that was for the catapults to be aware of the "upcoming shipping freight!" You may be surprised at how large those F14's were. The only planes that I saw that were "tossed around " during flight ops were the A4's!! Watch those baby's land when the cable snaps them to a halt! The front end looks unstable, as does the front of the much larger A5 Vigilante!
Does anyone have video of the Blue Angels (A4 Skyhawk) when they performed at the US Naval Air Station Dallas (Actually in Grand Prarie Tx). It was in the mid to late 70's (The base closed not long after-Thank you President Carter :) ...I was at this air show, and I was never able to see them again. Thank u for your kind attention.....
MAN, at the end there where they broke formation and shoot straight up separately but at the same time, same speed and towards heaven...THAT is a sight to behold ..
Amazing how totally skilled these pilots were with those horrendously heavy aircraft. It must've been a sight to see (and hear) live! When I was a kid, I remember them flying the A-4's. They were the last of the true stick-and-rudder aircraft of the Blue Angels. Those pilots did some amazing things every year I saw them at the Reno Air Races. But still to this day, even with the F-18's, the current crop of pilots continue to be excellent. The F-18's have been in use now for almost 30 years; and will probably be around for at least 10 more. ;-)
There is a rumor that in 2020 the Blues had to cancel the season due to their inability to maintain six feet of social distancing. I think the F-4 Phantom was the absolute best airshow crowd pleaser. Those big honkin' GE J-79s were thunderous and as a kid I loved every second of any airshow they were involved in.
F 4s were AWESOME The only airplane both the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds used. Super Hornet is now used for Blues. T birds need a new airplane. Not newer F 16s, but a different airplane...F 15EX would be AWESOME
I used to see the RF4Cs at night time in the Saigon area. You could hear them and only know where they were as they were taking ground images and flashing each time. They truly were Phantoms at that time! Cheers, CMSgt Bob (Nam 68-69)
I go back to when the Blue Angels had F-11's. What I remember about F-4's is they'd go from a dead stop on the runway to 10,000' in 31 seconds. They would also go from a dead stop to 30,000' in 59 seconds. A 70* climb was all they could hold and maintain speed, anything greater & they lost speed. They used those J-79's in a lot of planes, one of my favorites was the B-58. It's been a long time.
Gerald Sobel - Not really. Any plane, down to a Piper Cub, can go vertical for a moment. But the longer you go vertically the more speed you lose until eventually the plane stalls. Even with a greater than 1:1 thrust to weight ratio, almost everything (other than a rocket) will be losing speed as it approaches vertical flight - remember, the thrust is fighting both the weight of the F-4 and the drag, which is considerable. Among others I believe Randy Cunningham talked about this on his three-kill day when the last fight went vertical. If an F-4 is climbing vertically, he’s doing it on momentum and on borrowed time; he can’t sustain it. Even when Blue Angel 6 does the low-transition takeoff, he climbs at about 70 degrees just like Reg said; it just gives the illusion of vertical flight.
I was stationed on USS Forrestal.CVA-59 in early1960's & the F4 Phantom was part of Our air group,& I assure all of You, the top speed of the F4 was about 1,480 mph,NOT just 910 mph!
I like the F-4 footage, not so much, the home-made fyi graphics. An F-4 pilot that I knew, once told me "having two engines is great, you always have the spare to get you to the scene of the crash".
@1:59 a caption reads F4 reaches a top speed of 910 mph or Mach 1.19. Not sure where that came from, the Blue Angels demonstration flight envelope did not include those speeds well over the speed of sound (i.e sonic boom inducing) and the terminal velocity at level flight for a Phantom II was 1,473 mph or Mach 2.23
I went on tour with the blue angels in 69, going thru NAOCS had too many demerits to get off base, so I had to join the captain's band. Saw the show many times, nothing like it ever!
I love F-4 Phantoms too and I saw the Blues as F-4s in New England in 1973, by 1974 and after some bad crashes the Blues had switched to the more manoeuvrable A-4s I saw them Jacksonville Fla.
I was a member of the 101st airborne division. Camp Eagle, Vietnam. I was an infantry man as well as a grenadier. When we would call for close air support, normally we would get the F4 or sometimes the F 101 Our area of operation was between dining and the north Vietnam line. So often we would get lucky and catch up late coming back from rearranging furniture in North Vietnam and they could get with us in a matter of seconds. after over a year of solid humping I got a three day in country pass to disappear to the beach we call China beach because it was secure and well guarded and a great place for a three day break. While I was there I spoke to an F4 pilot, He told me the F4 was a miserable airplane and every thing that you see with the naked eye , was placed there to compensate for something else that went wrong.
The video claims the top speed of F-4 Phantoms is Mach 1.19 (914 mph) - that's way off - it's Mach 2.23 (1,472 mph) and Phantoms have been flown in a shallow dive above 1,553 mph as clocked by ground radar - and the heat blistered the paint on the front of the fuselage.
That's the max speed in level flight at low altitude. At high altitude (above 30,000ft) it goes (went) above Mach 2. The less dense air of higher altitudes = less drag and higher speeds. The Concorde could not have hit Mach 2, and the SR-71 could not have hit Mach 3 at 10,000ft for examples. Wiki rarely mentions this in their speed references on fighters or any high performance jet aircraft for that matter.
Correct the 910 mph is measured at 50-100 foot off the deck air is more dense than at 30,000 feet. At high altitude the F-4A with the J79-8 engine could exceed Mach 2. She set a world speed record from west to east cost at one time. I removed the J79 -10 engins from two of those Blue Angel jets which were the F-4J and replaced with the old J79-8 engines BEFORE they were given to Blue Angels at El Centro and painted Blue/Yellow. The reason for the change was the bigger thrust bearing oil sump which allowed longer inverted flight times. The CO of my outfit had the most hours in a F-4 than anyone in the Navy. Every time he took a ride it was afterburner from start until wheels up and then straight up till with a victory roll as he disappeared for view. The thing that shows such mastery of Navy pilots was how close they maneuvered with a gull wing aircraft. Just Amazing. Also was qualified to fly in the back seat or RIO which I had the great luck to do twice. Gotta love the F-4.
They put on a hell of a show at Miramar in these AC in the early 70's. USN, 68-74. Was at Miaramar 70-74. ETR-2, GCA RADAR and TACAN. Our shop was out behind the bore sight range at Miramar, just off the high speed taxiway at about Q8. It's all been covered over by the Marines now.
I was not in a squadron, I was with base operations, Ground Electronics. We had two QUAD AN/FPN-36 RADAR, and an FPN-52, similar to an FPN-16 which you can search. This was precision RADAR only (no search) and was remoted up to the tower, so the tower actually had three independent GCA. We landed PSA civilian flights when "downtown" was fogged in under minimums. "We had better equipment" Also had a part time job at the base auto hobby shop. I see by Google/ Bing maps that the marines recently tore down the old wooden building where the auto shop was located.
I saw the F4 Phantom in A school in 1974 in a video of the Blue Angels and as a Marine I leaned over to a sailor friend of mine and said "I want that airplane!" he said no you do not as it is many man hours to keep it in flight status. I was sent to MCAS El Toro and I got my Phantoms with the best squadron that the USMC had then and now VMFA 323. I would not trade that time with my squadron or my beloved Phantoms for anything. Semper Fidelis to all of my Marine brothers and sisters.
Psycho9263 Because of our relationship with the Navy they usually have at least one Marine pilot. I served with 2 former Blue Angle Marine pilots. Marines also are a part of the C130 crew. We are a department of the Navy,The Mens Department.
Lloyd Welling It would be nice if they can make an optimized version of the F-4 built of lightweight composite materials more tolerant to heat at high speeds and computerized avionics that can make the F-4 fly higher and faster. Not changing the design, just sleeking her up a bit.
Psycho9263 The weight of the F4 was an issue, also the J79 engine had a gravity fed oil lubricating system that didn't like to be inverted for a long period of time. Still the Phantom was a tank in the sky that brought many aircrew home during VN.
Lloyd Welling If you look at some of the newer aircraft like the F-15 and F-22, both aircraft have some of the F-4's traits. It was a "Flying Brick" with a very historic design.
Slot coming back from the diamond formation with his radome dirty from the J79's is just so bad ass. Crewed them way back in the day.. They took quite a lot to keep them operational ready but hey that's the old bent wing for ya..
Saw them fly F-4's at Miramar, early 70s. NAS Miramar, 70-74, GCA / TACAN maintenance, electronics technician. The Marines have poured concrete over our shop area, used to be W of the far end of the boresight range. I see they finally tore down the old wood Auto Hobby Shop building where I worked part time.
always wondered if the engines used for these demonstrations have any major differences then the ones used for combat... great video..thanks for sharing.
Always thought the Blue Angels looked best when they flew the A-4 Skyhawk. I am interested to see what the shows will be like once they switch to the Super Hornet next season. I've heard that because of the larger size of the SUper Hornet, some of the maneuvers have been scaled back.
I might be a bit prejudiced, being an old Navy man, but the Blue Angels make the Air Force Thunderbirds look tame. I worked on the Blues F-4's at Miramar in 1970, caught all sorts of hell for laying a screwdriver on the wing.
+Angusnofangus. Did you "catch hell" for laying a screwdriver on the wing because it: -may scratch the paint job, -you may forget it, it gets stuck in a moving control piece which could cause it to crash, or -it falls off and gets into the intake of a Blue Angel or another jet and causes a million dollars worth of repairs?
+RemoVegas It's truly preference The Angels fly the low tight slow formations whereas the Birds fly the High fast not as tight but still tight formation, but the birds have the scheme going for em And they actually hold the record for closest Calypso pass
@otochari thats probably at sea level........those advertised mach #s are at altitude like say 20 -30 thousand feet F-4 maybe you could get her to do mach 1.35
My dad was an instructor pilot in the F-4c out of Shaw AFB in the mid 60's. The "C" which was the first AF model was the fastest of the bunch because it was the lightest, and the airframes didn't have speed restrictions on them yet like they added later to extend the life of the airframe and engines. They would take new students on a maximum speed run with no tanks on, which they otherwise always had because the F4 used so much fuel. They had about 30 minutes of fuel to climb to best temperature altitude and go full afterburner to get to max speed. If they took off and stayed in full afterburner they had about 15 minutes of fuel. They would head out into the Atlantic at full afterburner. The highest he saw the mach meter was 2.65, and they usually got above 2.5. The temperature was the limiting factor. The colder the air layer the faster they went. They would then bring the throttle back to idle and do a climbing turn back to land, and would top out around 60k ft as they slowed down. He was always talked about how cool it was to climb 20k ft will in idle. It was all planned out so they had enough gas to get back. It was part of the new student curriculum. They used the runs to get the "how fast and high will it go" out of the students before they let them fly on their own.
It was cool to know that both the Blue Angel's and the Thinderbirds, flew this aircraft at the same timeframe. But as you say, due to using up so much fuel and it cost a lot for fuel, that both teams stop using this aircraft. Still, it's cool to see. Thanks for posting 😇
In full afterburner, the two J79 Turbine Engines in the F4 Phantom burns 20 gallons per second. In one minute, the F4 could burn 1,200 gallons x $5/gallon = $6,000 of fuel in 1 minute. Have your gas credit card ready at all times.
The max airspeed and max altitude are both incorrect. The F-4’s were an amazing aircraft but they were no way as agile as the F-18’s especially at lower air speeds. The Blue Angel pilots did an amazing job with them. Strapping on a Phantom was like nothing else you can think of. Those were the days.
@BC Bob I see what you are saying, but you have to admit, the phantom is a sexy beast... and back when they used em thats when the blue angels had there best set of pilots... they were crazy as hell...
I do. I flew F-4's in the Corps. I can attest to their power and aeronautical abilities. However, the truth is, F-4's are very labor intensive aircraft on the ground. Therefore not cost effective. Yet, they're truly a beautiful aircraft in flight and a joy to fly. I've often contemplated the idea of a brand new F-4 Phantom. Single canopy. Modern fuel efficient engines. Modern fly by wire technologies coupled with modern avionics and radar. Weight reducing materials. Titanium and other less heavy metals. Such an aircraft would be amazing to see. Let alone fly. 🇺🇸 JR
Hmm. They mentioned the Phantom reaches a speed of mach 1.19. I'm assuming this is at sea-level? I was under the impression it could travel at around mach 2.34 at optimal altitude. Though understandably not for long with those big and beautiful GE J79 Turbo-Jets sucking down fuel, lol. But if I remember right, didn't it hold the Sage-Burner course record for a really long time as well?
and years later, the russians are doing the same thing the blues did. the russian knights fly the big Su27. it smokes, like the phantom. its loud, like the phantoms. its big, like the phantoms......but it doesnt handle like the phantoms XD. all that aside. i love seeing past blue angels vids.......if only we can get vids of the tbirds playing the F-105, then it would be complete
+Lt. wreck I don't know about the Tomcats for the BA's, since they're retired their best options is either the Super Hornets or the F-35Cs and nooo. I would hate to see them in the T-45s. But I do strongly agree about the T-Birds using F-15s. I would love to see them fly the Eagles some day.. :D
+MrAviator Boii I got the feeling he meant Tomcats back when they were the hot ticket, instead of A-4's. My preference would be F-35's or even F-22's for the T-birds (although Raptors are in short supply), just because it seems like a display team should show the state of the art. And while the F-15 is a great plane it is over 40 years old.
To me it’s like the F-4 Era of Both Blues&Birds were the hight of them, because they flew same planes and were Big and Iconic 🤷♂️ I also noticed that the Thunderbirds f-4 has the gun pod or whatever else it is below the nose and the BlueAngels f-4 does not cause ones Navel , the others Airforce
If you like the Blues and the Phantoms, check out the book Phantoms and Angels. It was written a year ago by Noel Rodriquez. Probably google it....beautiful book with lots of beautiful pictures and stories that will have you laughing.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
In my time I've seen The Blue Angels fly the Tiger, Phantom, Skyhawk and Hornet. The F-4, hands down, gave the most awe inspiring demonstration.
Just the awesome power and sound alone
The Skyhawk was much more maneuverable platform and really a better airshow plane but there is no doubt that the Phantom made the hair on the back of your neck stand up...the plane was huge and held 52 air speed, altitude and time to altitude records that were only eclipsed when the F15 came along. It was definitely a badass plane.
Agreed. Best plane of the Blues and T-Birds.
now the super hornets
I had the pleasure of working on the Navy F4's when they were the fastest fighter jets on the planet. I nicknamed them the Corvettes, after the 427-435 monsters that I had been aware of. We had a Marine squadron of A4's. I called them the Mustangs...aka 289's! It's no surprise that I wound up buying 6 Vettes in a row!
Walked the flight line as a child with my dad in Salt Lake City meet the pilot of #4 a Marine Major .a year later the returned I was invited to sit down and have lunch with the same Marine. he asked how my pops was doing and grand to see me again. 7 years later I earned my Eagle Globe and Anchor .
Saw this team as a boy in the '70s. This documentary has the sound of an NFL highlight reel. Dated but awesome!
I was thinking the same thing! Thought it might be a Sam Spence song, haha.
My Dad was a Navy F-4 pilot... Love this plane
The F-4 Phantom II is the absolute KING of classic old school “muscle car” fighters! Period.
Saw them in 1970, Absolutely awesome !! The F4 is, always will be,, my fav.
I miss the F- 4 Phantom blue Angels they look so beautiful
And Air Force Thunderbirds
@RUclips needs a Snickers Air Force Thunderbirds used F-4E's
@RUclips needs a Snickers oh ok
Man I just wish I was around to see them fly it looks so cool
@RUclips needs a Snickers damn lucky man :( wish I could see that happen irl
I'm a recently retired A.E. with Lockheed Martin. My dad was a radar Guidance Engineer with G.E. Aerospace at Cape Canaveral from '56 thru '76 and I grew up in Cocoa Beach, Fl., which is right beside Patrick AFB (now SFB)...the A.F. had a fighter Squadron there when I was a kid and even as young boys we would make the several mile bike ride down the side of A1A to sit at the end of the runway to watch the Mighty F4 Phantom II take off right over our heads with full after burners lit. They were big SOB's and those two GE J79 engines smoked like an unfiltered camel. Later as a teen boy I'd do the same. I was a very good athlete and had sky high SAT scores and I so wanted to be a fighter pilot but was very disappointed at my initial selection screening that I did not have 20-20 uncorrected vision...back in that era it was an instant DQ. I was offered a multitude of Officer training programs, but it could not include jets and certainly not fighter training, so I passed and off to Georgia Tech I went with the Aerospace Engineering major a no brainer.
I didn’t see the F4 but when l went in the Navy in 1978 l saw the A4 several times.
For those of us lucky enough to have seen the Blues and Birds flying the F-4 Phantoms, there is no way to adequately describe their raw power and noise, especially on afterburner. The shows were simply breathtaking.
😄👍
F-4 has its own sound, sound of Freedom
My dad always told me about this since I was a kid.
Nothing like the F-4s. My first air show was the Blue Angels In El Paso around 71 or 72. Icing on the cake was that I got to see the Thunderbirds in their F-4s around that time too. Best show plane ever!
Watching this video for the ?? time, in 2023. I'm always impressed by the "BLUES" ,and even more so I was lucky enough to see both the "THUNDERBIRDS" and the" BLUE ANGELS" fly the venerable F4 Phantom!! WELL DONE!!
This was the best time of my live when I was a kid. I grew up around oceana in va Beach and saw the f4 around my house they were always over top because they had 5 mile radios.
Dang, an F4 is a massive plane to try to use for precision acrobatics. Hat's off to them.
I worked on the F4 Phantoms in 1969- 1971. Listed as the fastest fighter in the world at that time. Loved standing beside 'em at night when they were shot from the cats!
You know, I'm not certain about the "loaded weight " of the F-14 Tomcats, but I pretty much have always, and I do mean always remember numbers. I remember our F4's on a Mediterranean cruise having 58,000 on the side near the front wheelwells...and that was for the catapults to be aware of the "upcoming shipping freight!" You may be surprised at how large those F14's were. The only planes that I saw that were "tossed around " during flight ops were the A4's!! Watch those baby's land when the cable snaps them to a halt! The front end looks unstable, as does the front of the much larger A5 Vigilante!
As a boy nothing llooked as bad ass as a F4 Blue Angel
Does anyone have video of the Blue Angels (A4 Skyhawk) when they performed at the US Naval Air Station Dallas (Actually in Grand Prarie Tx). It was in the mid to late 70's (The base closed not long after-Thank you President Carter :) ...I was at this air show, and I was never able to see them again. Thank u for your kind attention.....
My all time favorite jet!! Great footage -- Thanks for posting this
MAN, at the end there where they broke formation and shoot straight up separately but at the same time, same speed and towards heaven...THAT is a sight to behold ..
Amazing how totally skilled these pilots were with those horrendously heavy aircraft. It must've been a sight to see (and hear) live! When I was a kid, I remember them flying the A-4's. They were the last of the true stick-and-rudder aircraft of the Blue Angels. Those pilots did some amazing things every year I saw them at the Reno Air Races. But still to this day, even with the F-18's, the current crop of pilots continue to be excellent. The F-18's have been in use now for almost 30 years; and will probably be around for at least 10 more. ;-)
When I was a kid I used to see them every year with the F4. I could watch that endlessly.
Sean Hollingsworth BMW 1
There is a rumor that in 2020 the Blues had to cancel the season due to their inability to maintain six feet of social distancing. I think the F-4 Phantom was the absolute best airshow crowd pleaser. Those big honkin' GE J-79s were thunderous and as a kid I loved every second of any airshow they were involved in.
F 4s were AWESOME
The only airplane both the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds used.
Super Hornet is now used for Blues.
T birds need a new airplane.
Not newer F 16s, but a different airplane...F 15EX would be AWESOME
I used to see the RF4Cs at night time in the Saigon area. You could hear them and only know where they were as they were taking ground images and flashing each time. They truly were Phantoms at that time! Cheers, CMSgt Bob (Nam 68-69)
I go back to when the Blue Angels had F-11's. What I remember about F-4's is they'd go from a dead stop on the runway to 10,000' in 31 seconds. They would also go from a dead stop to 30,000' in 59 seconds. A 70* climb was all they could hold and maintain speed, anything greater & they lost speed.
They used those J-79's in a lot of planes, one of my favorites was the B-58. It's been a long time.
That's funny. I've seen the J's perform many times, and they would go STRIGHT UP~!!!!!!!!
Gerald Sobel - Not really. Any plane, down to a Piper Cub, can go vertical for a moment. But the longer you go vertically the more speed you lose until eventually the plane stalls. Even with a greater than 1:1 thrust to weight ratio, almost everything (other than a rocket) will be losing speed as it approaches vertical flight - remember, the thrust is fighting both the weight of the F-4 and the drag, which is considerable. Among others I believe Randy Cunningham talked about this on his three-kill day when the last fight went vertical. If an F-4 is climbing vertically, he’s doing it on momentum and on borrowed time; he can’t sustain it.
Even when Blue Angel 6 does the low-transition takeoff, he climbs at about 70 degrees just like Reg said; it just gives the illusion of vertical flight.
I flew them in 68/69. Miramar had a published SID departure where you had to be at 10000' within 3 miles of the airport!
Phantoms Phorever!
I was stationed on USS Forrestal.CVA-59 in early1960's & the F4 Phantom was part of Our air group,& I assure all of You, the top speed of the F4 was about 1,480 mph,NOT just 910 mph!
I was young when this was new!😎 I built an F-4 model and painted it in Blue Angel colors.😎
thanks for posting. been looking for footage of the Blues in the F-4, my favorite jet.
You can't be a pansy and fly a F-4 Phantom that low to the ground. I salute the Blue Angeles for both their courage and skill.
I would love it if the Blue Angels did an airshow with every plane they've ever flown. The A-4's are my favorite.
Amazing! ... you would not want to sneeze!. thanks👍
Phabulous Phantoms
First time I saw the Blue Angels flying they were using A-4 Skyhawks.
I like the F-4 footage, not so much, the home-made fyi graphics. An F-4 pilot that I knew, once told me "having two engines is great, you always have the spare to get you to the scene of the crash".
those f-4s are awsome.I finaly got one for christmas.
Those* F-4s* are awesome*. I* finally* got one for christmas - Were you on the run when you typed this?
@1:59 a caption reads F4 reaches a top speed of 910 mph or Mach 1.19. Not sure where that came from, the Blue Angels demonstration flight envelope did not include those speeds well over the speed of sound (i.e sonic boom inducing) and the terminal velocity at level flight for a Phantom II was 1,473 mph or Mach 2.23
I went on tour with the blue angels in 69, going thru NAOCS had too many demerits to get off base, so I had to join the captain's band. Saw the show many times, nothing like it ever!
Did you know my second cousin Commander Harley Hall?. Thank you for your services
Huge balls to fly those things like that. The Hornets are like driving little sports car compared to those frggin bricks.
If you have enough power you can make a brick fly. I miss F-4's. Retired U.S.A.F. Egress Technician. F-4 C,D,E, and RF-4C. Eglin AFB and Osan Korea
I love F-4 Phantoms too and I saw the Blues as F-4s in New England in 1973, by 1974 and after some bad crashes the Blues had switched to the more manoeuvrable A-4s I saw them Jacksonville Fla.
It's incredible that they were able to do their routine in these behemoths... Definitely speaks of the piloting prowess those guys had.
I was a member of the 101st airborne division. Camp Eagle, Vietnam. I was an infantry man as well as a grenadier. When we would call for close air support, normally we would get the F4 or sometimes the F 101 Our area of operation was between dining and the north Vietnam line. So often we would get lucky and catch up late coming back from rearranging furniture in North Vietnam and they could get with us in a matter of seconds. after over a year of solid humping I got a three day in country pass to disappear to the beach we call China beach because it was secure and well guarded and a great place for a three day break. While I was there I spoke to an F4 pilot, He told me the F4 was a miserable airplane and every thing that you see with the naked eye , was placed there to compensate for something else that went wrong.
The video claims the top speed of F-4 Phantoms is Mach 1.19 (914 mph) - that's way off - it's Mach 2.23 (1,472 mph) and Phantoms have been flown in a shallow dive above 1,553 mph as clocked by ground radar - and the heat blistered the paint on the front of the fuselage.
Great aircraft
That's the max speed in level flight at low altitude. At high altitude (above 30,000ft) it goes (went) above Mach 2. The less dense air of higher altitudes = less drag and higher speeds. The Concorde could not have hit Mach 2, and the SR-71 could not have hit Mach 3 at 10,000ft for examples. Wiki rarely mentions this in their speed references on fighters or any high performance jet aircraft for that matter.
Correct the 910 mph is measured at 50-100 foot off the deck air is more dense than at 30,000 feet. At high altitude the F-4A with the J79-8 engine could exceed Mach 2. She set a world speed record from west to east cost at one time. I removed the J79 -10 engins from two of those Blue Angel jets which were the F-4J and replaced with the old J79-8 engines BEFORE they were given to Blue Angels at El Centro and painted Blue/Yellow. The reason for the change was the bigger thrust bearing oil sump which allowed longer inverted flight times. The CO of my outfit had the most hours in a F-4 than anyone in the Navy. Every time he took a ride it was afterburner from start until wheels up and then straight up till with a victory roll as he disappeared for view.
The thing that shows such mastery of Navy pilots was how close they maneuvered with a gull wing aircraft. Just Amazing.
Also was qualified to fly in the back seat or RIO which I had the great luck to do twice. Gotta love the F-4.
mikepodella Wow
I think they may have also fiddled with them a bit for better handling.
Outstanding 😁 Always Fly Navy 😇🇺🇸
Nice vid. I couldn't imagine wrestling around an F-4 like that. awesome airmanship!
They put on a hell of a show at Miramar in these AC in the early 70's. USN, 68-74. Was at Miaramar 70-74. ETR-2, GCA RADAR and TACAN. Our shop was out behind the bore sight range at Miramar, just off the high speed taxiway at about Q8. It's all been covered over by the Marines now.
I was not in a squadron, I was with base operations, Ground Electronics. We had two QUAD AN/FPN-36 RADAR, and an FPN-52, similar to an FPN-16 which you can search. This was precision RADAR only (no search) and was remoted up to the tower, so the tower actually had three independent GCA. We landed PSA civilian flights when "downtown" was fogged in under minimums. "We had better equipment"
Also had a part time job at the base auto hobby shop. I see by Google/ Bing maps that the marines recently tore down the old wooden building where the auto shop was located.
Precision and excellence....whether flying skyhawks or Phantoms. Incomparable.
VT-4 68-69 shared hanger with the blues NAS PENSACOLA . Just a thrill every day.
Back in the day when they were good and never backed off on the power. Those were the days.
I saw the F4 Phantom in A school in 1974 in a video of the Blue Angels and as a Marine I leaned over to a sailor friend of mine and said "I want that airplane!" he said no you do not as it is many man hours to keep it in flight status. I was sent to MCAS El Toro and I got my Phantoms with the best squadron that the USMC had then and now VMFA 323. I would not trade that time with my squadron or my beloved Phantoms for anything. Semper Fidelis to all of my Marine brothers and sisters.
+Lloyd Welling I believe one of the F-4 Blue Angels pilots is a Marine Corps pilot.
Psycho9263 Because of our relationship with the Navy they usually have at least one Marine pilot. I served with 2 former Blue Angle Marine pilots. Marines also are a part of the C130 crew. We are a department of the Navy,The Mens Department.
Lloyd Welling It would be nice if they can make an optimized version of the F-4 built of lightweight composite materials more tolerant to heat at high speeds and computerized avionics that can make the F-4 fly higher and faster. Not changing the design, just sleeking her up a bit.
Psycho9263 The weight of the F4 was an issue, also the J79 engine had a gravity fed oil lubricating system that didn't like to be inverted for a long period of time. Still the Phantom was a tank in the sky that brought many aircrew home during VN.
Lloyd Welling If you look at some of the newer aircraft like the F-15 and F-22, both aircraft have some of the F-4's traits. It was a "Flying Brick" with a very historic design.
Slot coming back from the diamond formation with his radome dirty from the J79's is just so bad ass. Crewed them way back in the day.. They took quite a lot to keep them operational ready but hey that's the old bent wing for ya..
If you think the FA-18 is loud you haven't heard these Bad boys
los angeles azules en los phantom despues en los skyhawk, ahora en los f 18.son lo maximos en vuelos acrobaticos.
Saw them fly F-4's at Miramar, early 70s. NAS Miramar, 70-74, GCA / TACAN maintenance, electronics technician. The Marines have poured concrete over our shop area, used to be W of the far end of the boresight range. I see they finally tore down the old wood Auto Hobby Shop building where I worked part time.
always wondered if the engines used for these demonstrations have any major differences then the ones used for combat...
great video..thanks for sharing.
No they're the same. Only diff is inverted fuel pumps for longer inverted flight..
Always thought the Blue Angels looked best when they flew the A-4 Skyhawk. I am interested to see what the shows will be like once they switch to the Super Hornet next season. I've heard that because of the larger size of the SUper Hornet, some of the maneuvers have been scaled back.
Man, I love jazzy sounding 70's shorts like this with that NFL films type narrator. If you do too, check out MST3K's "Progress Island USA".
MST3K shorts are hilarious!
The most bad ass jet ever made!
ยอดเยี่ยมมาก😊👍👍
F4 legendary.
I might be a bit prejudiced, being an old Navy man, but the Blue Angels make the Air Force Thunderbirds look tame. I worked on the Blues F-4's at Miramar in 1970, caught all sorts of hell for laying a screwdriver on the wing.
+Angusnofangus. Did you "catch hell" for laying a screwdriver on the wing because it:
-may scratch the paint job,
-you may forget it, it gets stuck in a moving control piece which could cause it to crash, or
-it falls off and gets into the intake of a Blue Angel or another jet and causes a million dollars worth of repairs?
+Angusnofangus
Your Not Prejudiced - Just STATING The FACTS Jack..!
+RemoVegas It's truly preference The Angels fly the low tight slow formations whereas the Birds fly the High fast not as tight but still tight formation, but the birds have the scheme going for em And they actually hold the record for closest Calypso pass
@otochari thats probably at sea level........those advertised mach #s are at altitude like say 20 -30 thousand feet F-4 maybe you could get her to do mach 1.35
The F-4 Phantom,I believe is the only plane to be both a Thunderbird and Blue Angel.
I remember them from early El Toro Air Shows .
Man, never knew F-4's were Blue Angels wow, I was a crew chief on the Phantom years ago , tail # 66-6333, awesome vid man!
A.F I assume, no BUNO Number
What model? Where?
My dad was an instructor pilot in the F-4c out of Shaw AFB in the mid 60's. The "C" which was the first AF model was the fastest of the bunch because it was the lightest, and the airframes didn't have speed restrictions on them yet like they added later to extend the life of the airframe and engines. They would take new students on a maximum speed run with no tanks on, which they otherwise always had because the F4 used so much fuel. They had about 30 minutes of fuel to climb to best temperature altitude and go full afterburner to get to max speed. If they took off and stayed in full afterburner they had about 15 minutes of fuel. They would head out into the Atlantic at full afterburner. The highest he saw the mach meter was 2.65, and they usually got above 2.5. The temperature was the limiting factor. The colder the air layer the faster they went. They would then bring the throttle back to idle and do a climbing turn back to land, and would top out around 60k ft as they slowed down. He was always talked about how cool it was to climb 20k ft will in idle. It was all planned out so they had enough gas to get back. It was part of the new student curriculum. They used the runs to get the "how fast and high will it go" out of the students before they let them fly on their own.
Great info', Matt Cline !!
It was cool to know that both the Blue Angel's and the Thinderbirds, flew this aircraft at the same timeframe. But as you say, due to using up so much fuel and it cost a lot for fuel, that both teams stop using this aircraft. Still, it's cool to see. Thanks for posting 😇
The beautiful flying brick. 'Merica.
I thought it was the flying man hole cover, as in, glide ratio of that. Oh god do I love that bird!!
In full afterburner, the two J79 Turbine Engines in the F4 Phantom burns 20 gallons per second. In one minute, the F4 could burn 1,200 gallons x $5/gallon = $6,000 of fuel in 1 minute. Have your gas credit card ready at all times.
The taxi I love how they do it by the was was this released in 2010 or 2011
Love the soundtrack. Sounds like we should be watching Karl Malden in "The Streets of San Francisco"
Magnific !
I can't get past the sound track.. Feel like I've been wearing a smoking jacket and shopping for a new van in the mail catalog that just arrived.
Best demo plane EVER!
レーダーや照準器を外したF-4のコックピットってこんな感じなんだ！
I'm digging the groovy music
Its like something straight outta Cowboy Bebop :)
0:59 parece até os Changeman ou Flashman, pensei que os aviões iam se compactar e formar um robô p combater o monstro gigante 😂😂😂
AWESOME VIDEO.
The max airspeed and max altitude are both incorrect. The F-4’s were an amazing aircraft but they were no way as agile as the F-18’s especially at lower air speeds. The Blue Angel pilots did an amazing job with them. Strapping on a Phantom was like nothing else you can think of. Those were the days.
The F4 was THE Blue Angel!
+1 !
Awesome
Right on Navy aviators
+Jerry Olson They usually have at least one or sometimes two Marine Corps pilot(s).
I think that the US Air Force Thunderbirds also used the F4 Phantoms for awhile.
jay capp ,The "T-Birds" & the "Blue Angels" both flew the F4 from 1969-1973 but they were different models !Good catch!
Loved the F4!!
Think the T - birds were F4 - E's
Who else thinks they should bring back the F-4 phantom for the blue angels team instead of the F-18?
@BC Bob I see what you are saying, but you have to admit, the phantom is a sexy beast... and back when they used em thats when the blue angels had there best set of pilots... they were crazy as hell...
Not me . There are zero navy or marine corp qualified phantom crews , and their aircraft have long been scrapped out at Davis Mothan. But nostalgia .
@BC Bob digress
Jackson Storm also another true statement
I do. I flew F-4's in the Corps. I can attest to their power and aeronautical abilities. However, the truth is, F-4's are very labor intensive aircraft on the ground. Therefore not cost effective. Yet, they're truly a beautiful aircraft in flight and a joy to fly. I've often contemplated the idea of a brand new F-4 Phantom. Single canopy. Modern fuel efficient engines. Modern fly by wire technologies coupled with modern avionics and radar. Weight reducing materials. Titanium and other less heavy metals. Such an aircraft would be amazing to see. Let alone fly. 🇺🇸
JR
a ballet in the sky...
Hmm. They mentioned the Phantom reaches a speed of mach 1.19. I'm assuming this is at sea-level? I was under the impression it could travel at around mach 2.34 at optimal altitude. Though understandably not for long with those big and beautiful GE J79 Turbo-Jets sucking down fuel, lol. But if I remember right, didn't it hold the Sage-Burner course record for a really long time as well?
Back in the 60-70s of The Navy Blue Angels
yes very nice
and years later, the russians are doing the same thing the blues did. the russian knights fly the big Su27. it smokes, like the phantom. its loud, like the phantoms. its big, like the phantoms......but it doesnt handle like the phantoms XD. all that aside. i love seeing past blue angels vids.......if only we can get vids of the tbirds playing the F-105, then it would be complete
That is awsome
°great shot°
looks like they keep flying by the old Navarre Fla. runway.
Doug Updyke
That would make sense as they are based in Pensacola.
The F-4 was the best plane for the Blue Angels. So loud and mean looking, and all that smoke, even the F/A-18 seems less exciting.
everything since has been disappointing ditto for the t birds shoulda got those tomcats and they shoulda got eagles.
+Lt. wreck I don't know about the Tomcats for the BA's, since they're retired their best options is either the Super Hornets or the F-35Cs and nooo. I would hate to see them in the T-45s. But I do strongly agree about the T-Birds using F-15s. I would love to see them fly the Eagles some day.. :D
+MrAviator Boii I got the feeling he meant Tomcats back when they were the hot ticket, instead of A-4's. My preference would be F-35's or even F-22's for the T-birds (although Raptors are in short supply), just because it seems like a display team should show the state of the art. And while the F-15 is a great plane it is over 40 years old.
I agree, even the F11-F1 Tiger was a mean looking plane for Blue Angels.
+FooBar Maximus Your full of it! They were forced to use A-4,s because they were cheaper to operate.The same as the Thunderbirds with T-38,s.
To me it’s like the F-4 Era of Both Blues&Birds were the hight of them, because they flew same planes and were Big and Iconic 🤷♂️
I also noticed that the Thunderbirds f-4 has the gun pod or whatever else it is below the nose and the BlueAngels f-4 does not cause ones Navel , the others Airforce
Nice,
I'm a big fan of Red Arrows
Blue Angels are good too
If you like the Blues and the Phantoms, check out the book Phantoms and Angels. It was written a year ago by Noel Rodriquez. Probably google it....beautiful book with lots of beautiful pictures and stories that will have you laughing.
You mean, like the story "Kick the Tire and Light the Fire"? Funny not funny story.
If they're a display team, why are missiles attached to the planes?
When was that filmed? By the music and voice over 1960's ?
Is this from the documentary 'Wingtip to Wingtip'...had that on VHS, but iit got lost somewhere along the way....can't find it on IMDB OR Google
Mohammed Cchen // "Threshold" maybe?
Awesome! You Americans are experts on making aeroplanes.
Gonna replicate this in DCS
When was this filmed?
Putting Jesus First 1970s
💚💙
Im waiting to see the blue angels succesor from the f18