F-4 v. F-16

[lowtimedriver]

Talked with a retired F-4/F-16 pilot. He said that the F-4 was better at low altitudes than the 16. Thoughts?

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

I'd take a fighter with two guys vs. one any day. At least when you get back from the mission you don't have to sit at the bar alone.

 

[brokeflyer]

f-4 don't have a gun....so i find that hard to believe.

 

[Lear Wanna Be]

What does a gun have to do with anything? Plus, the F-4E had an internal nose mounted 20mm cannon. Earlier F-4s like the D had gun pods. I just don't see the correlation though.

 

[CrewDawg]

Talked with a retired F-4/F-16 pilot. He said that the F-4 was better at low altitudes than the 16. Thoughts?

Haha...If there are any old timers (F-4 Drivers) on here, this could get interesting! I'm going with the Viper, but I may be a little biased... It's hard to compare, they're two totally different generations. The F-4 may be faster, but that's not really a huge factor anymore. If I'm going into combat...i'm going with the Viper any day of he week!

As far as him liking the F-4...

It is appearances, characteristics and performance that make a man love an airplane, and they, are what put emotion into one. You love a lot of things if you live around them, but there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, nor any before nor any after, that is as lovely as a great airplane, and men who love them are faithful to them even though they leave them for others. A man has only one virginity to lose in fighters, and if it is a lovely plane he loses it to, there his heart will ever be................

- Ernest Hemingway, 'London Fights the Robots,' written for Collier's, August 1944

I'd take a fighter with two guys vs. one any day. At least when you get back from the mission you don't have to sit at the bar alone.

That's why we have a wingman! I can't stand flying the two seater, with the backseat empty....it's even worse when there is someone back there!

What does a gun have to do with anything? Plus, the F-4E had an internal nose mounted 20mm cannon. Earlier F-4s like the D had gun pods. I just don't see the correlation though.

A gun has everything to do with it. Putting a gun in the F-4E was the smartest thing they ever did to that jet. As we have seen, every fighter since then has a gun...lesson learned! Unfortunately, that lesson is written in blood.

A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

— Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF

This was in reference to the F-4! If you have no idea who Gen Olds is...google him then read his book!

One of the first things the guys wanted was a gun put in the F-4. The pod was a bandaid to get by until a gun was installed.

If you want to talk about a real mans plane, we need to be discussing the THUD!

 

[LearLove]

A gun has everything to do with it. Putting a gun in the F-4E was the smartest thing they ever did to that jet. As we have seen, every fighter since then has a gun...lesson learned! Unfortunately, that lesson is written in blood.

Only the AF version (A model) of the F-35 will have a gun (built in). The Navy and Marine version will have a pod.

 

[CrewDawg]

Only the AF version (A model) of the F-35 will have a gun (built in).

Like I said...lesson learned!

The Navy and Marine version will have a pod.

I can't help it if our sister service isn't smart enough to learn from the past. You can't fix stupid!

 

[brokeflyer]

What does a gun have to do with anything? Plus, the F-4E had an internal nose mounted 20mm cannon. Earlier F-4s like the D had gun pods. I just don't see the correlation though.

you dont get it....

 

[ExAF]

Nolo Contendere

I've flown both. My first love was and always will be the F-4 (last of the real men's fighters). That being said, If I had to go to war today either down low or up high, I'd choose to go in the F-16 over the mighty Rhino any day of the week.

 

[414Flyer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmXvQqEcJZ8

It just would not be the same with F-16s

 

[LearLove]

ExAF - where did you fly the A-37?

 

[ExAF]

Noise AND Smoke!!!

The best airshow ever was Tbirds in the F-4. Noise, vibrations, smoke (even when they had "smoke off") and a 3 mile turn radius! The "sneak attack" from behind show center was always a crowd pleaser...babies crying, dogs barking, vets hitting the ground for cover and car alarms going off. It just didn't get any better!

ExAF - where did you fly the A-37?

I flew them in Panama 88-90.

 

[Diesel-9]

If I had one flight left in life I would take an F-4. Actually there are a couple missions I would still prefer an F-4. The A-7 was very good Air-Mud. The Viper was very good in the Air-Air mode and something special. Would love to bring a Rhino down initial at 500+ one more time. Would be even better to be on the ground to watch and hear it.

It is appearances, characteristics and performance that make a man love an airplane, and they, are what put emotion into one. You love a lot of things if you live around them, but there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, nor any before nor any after, that is as lovely as a great airplane, and men who love them are faithful to them even though they leave them for others. A man has only one virginity to lose in fighters, and if it is a lovely plane he loses it to, there his heart will ever be................

- Ernest Hemingway, 'London Fights the Robots,' written for Collier's, August 1944

 

[StrykerFL]

I agree, however when the Blue Angels flew the F-4 it really kicked arse!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzm45r2t10g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC8zEPnXZMQ

 

[xrated]

The best airshow ever was Tbirds in the F-4. "car alarms going off".

Did car alarms even exist when the T-Birds flew f-4's?