Tires Flat tire problem

[MossRoad]

I saw an interview with one of the guys that designed the F4. Someone asked him how that plane could fly with those tiny little wings. His response was that if you put a big enough engine on a brick, it would fly too /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[RoyJackson]

The Navy version of the F4 Phantom II had GE J79's...two of 'em. Tough engines!
This bird was one of the first with "stressed skin" (i.e. the skin of the aircraft carried a good percentage of the loads from flying).
Reckon at least some of the Reserve outfits are still flying them.

I was in VF 31 as an aiframes mechanic. Due to the stressed skin, there wasn't a heck of a lot that could be repaired (although "temporary repairs" were common...temporary until the next overhaul).
Can't say I enjoyed working on them...like many fighters, you could see the component (we handled the hydraulic systems)...or, you could reach up and touch it, but rarely could you do both simultaneously. We usta swear MacDonnell Douglas built the airframe around some of the components.
But the Phantom was one tough aircraft!

You know, the "brick" comment Mossroad made...due to the wing camber on the F4, they had to land at around 180 mph (may have been knots, tho). Every landing was a controlled crash with these birds. First time you see one landing on a carrier (we deployed on the Saratoga...she's razor blades now), you'd swear is wasn't even a controlled crash!

 

[billfires]

Bob, I bought a low pressure guage at Walmart. I think it was $3.00 and reads from 1-20 PSI.

Bill C

 

[Bob_Trevithick]

<font color=blue>... I bought a low pressure guage at Walmart. I think it was $3.00 and reads from 1-20 PSI.</font color=blue>

Thanks, Bill. I'll check it out. Hope it won't blow up if it accidentally gets a taste of 32 PSI someday. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif