Re: How low can you go? (old but true)

[Ron]

I posted this a couple years ago but will post it again.

When I was high school age (1986 or so), I was browsing thru a Safety Magazine
while in an Aviation explorers post located at the 80thFTW, Sheppard AFB.

I always remembered this story about an F-4 coming back with a dent in a wing
tank, and a jeep with a mast antenna, suspiciously bent at the top.

Two years ago, I was flying skydivers in south Texas, and this ex-ANG F-4 pilot
from Missouri shows up. We start talking about flying F-4s, and I recalled the
story from that magazine and related it to him.

He was quite familiar with that story, since he was the wingman when it
occured.

He was flying wingman for the wing CO, and they were to do a pass over an field
with an army unit, for a mock attack, flying over at 500 agl.

Lead just kept going lower and lower and lower, and was heading right for a
jeep. A soldier jeep was excitedly taking photos of the F-4 that was bearing
right down on him, and passed just over him.

That was to be the last flight for the CO after a stunt like that..

That same soldier shows up at the wing with those "really cool" pictures of the
F-4 coming at him. My friend and some others got it blown up really big, and
used for the COs retirement party. They also worked out the geometry of the
photo, and determined the F-4 was climbing, at about 10 ft!!


Ron
Tucson AZ
C-421 air ambulance

[Dale]

While serving as a paratrooper in Alaska in '73 my company was doing some CAS
training. We had an O-2 FAC and 2 F4E Phantoms on station. The platoon leaders
took turns calling in "airstrikes" on the other platoons until the FAC advised
the jets were near bingo and had gas for one more pass. My Lt. told the FAC to
have the jets make a pass on the friendly village. A little confusion occured
here. <G> We were at the company CP on a small hill and had not had any passes
made over us. We were training close the the town of Fort Yukon. The LTs
intention was for the jets to make a pass over the town to show the locals the
jets, the FAC thought make a pass on the CP.

We see lead roll in on us. I was standing near my poncho hooch watching this
Phantom dive straight toward our hilltop (this hill was maybe 50-75 higher than
the surrounding terrain). His dive bottomed out below us - we were looking down
at the top of the airplane - and he started back up hill following the terrain
contour. As he passed our GP medium tent (rough field prob, we were watching
movies in the evening) he pitched up, burner and two real slick rolls as he
climbed away. I was looking right up the tailpipe totally enveloped by the roar
of the engines when WHOOSH the wake/jetblast hit sending the GP medium tent
crashing down (ridgepole destroyed the projector), my hootch went somewhere in
western Canada, leaves, twigs, etc flying around... Two went by fairly high..he
was probably at 50 feet or so when he went by and was pretty much a non-event
after leads pass. <G>

BTW, any posters here that flew F4s in Alaska in '73? My buddy was signed for
that projector and he'd like a word with you. <G>

(Friggin awesome pass!!)

--
Dale L. Falk

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing
as simply messing around with airplanes.

http://home.gci.net/~sncdfalk/flying.html