TALKING PAPER

ON
F-4 PHANTOM AIRCRAFT
- Basic Information
-- The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a twin engine, supersonic jet interceptor
and fighter bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell
Aircraft 
-- The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2.2. It can carry more
-- Although subject to irrecoverable spins during aileron rolls, pilots reported the aircraft
to be very communicative and easy to fly on the edge of its performance envelope.
-- Fuel Capacity: 1,994 US gal (1,660 imp gal; 7500L) internal, 3,335 US gal (2,777imp
gal; 12,620 L) with 2x 370 US gal (310 imp gal; 1,400 L) external tanks on the outer
wing hard points and either a 600 or 610 US gal (500 or 510 imp gal; 2,300 or 2,300L)
tank for the centre-line station.
-- Height: 16ft 5in (5m), Gross weight: 41,500lb (18,824kg), Empty weight: 30,328lb
(13,757 kg)
-- Types of F4
--- Summary for Vietnam War Action
--- F-4C, RF-4C, F-4D and F-4E. Weapons and tactics, MiGs destroyed (107.5
total), engines, airframe, electronics, armament, flyaway cost, modifications costs,
cost per flying hour, maintenance cost per flying hour.
- Mission and Role
-- The F-4 was used extensively during the Vietnam War.
-- The USAF and the US Navy had high expectations of the F-4 Phantom (an attack
fighter), assuming that the massive firepower, the best available on-board radar, the
highest speed and acceleration properties, coupled with new tactics, would provide
Phantoms with an advantage over the MiGs.
-- It served as the principal air superiority fighter for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and
Marine Corps and became important in the ground attack and aerial reconnaissance roles
late in the war. 
- Current Use
-- The F-4 Phantom was replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 eagle and F-
16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force, the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. Navy, and the F/A-
18 Hornet in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.
-- It was use for multiple wars and finally left service in 1996.
-- The F4 has been in limited service ever since and some aircrafts are in display all over
the world
-- Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it
the most produced American supersonic military aircraft. As of 2018, 60 years after its
first flight, the F-4 remains in service with Iran, Japan, South Korea, Greece and Turkey.
The aircraft has most recently been in service against the Islamic State group in the
Middle East.
--World Records
--- Operation Top Flight: Zoom climb to a world record 98,557 ft (30,040 m)
--- Operation LANA Phantoms: Flew across the continental United States in
under three hours and included several tanker refuelings. The fastest of the
aircraft averaged 869.74 mph (1,400.28 km/h) and completed the trip in 2 hours
47 minutes
--- Operation Sageburner: A F4H-1F Phantom II averaged 1,452.777 kilometers
per hour (902.714 miles per hour) over a 3 mi (4.82 km) course flying below 125
feet (38.1 m) at all times
--- Operation Skyburner: A modified Phantom with water injection set an absolute
world record average speed over a 20-mile (32.2 km) long 2-way straight course
of 1,606.342 mph
--- Operation High Jump: A series of time-to-altitude records was set in early
1962. Example 34.523 seconds to 3,000 meters (9,840 ft)