Starfreak Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 While doing some research on my up and coming F-4E project i found this picture , is it possible for this to happen??? or is it a fake?? Pat Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Not sure on that pic, but I have seen film of a Crusader in the pattern with folded wingtips. Pete Link to post Share on other sites
Incaroad Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Nice Frickin Model!!! LOL... Cheers, Larry. Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 I suspect it's probably real. Link to post Share on other sites
Phantomologist Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Not a fake. It is a 57th FIS F-4E. Second recorded time with the Phantom. VF-14 had the first photo inflight with wings folded. Link to post Share on other sites
hazmatt Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 There was a thread about the F-8's a while ago but it basically boiled down to the fact that the control surfaces were inboard of the hinge so it could still fly with the wings folded. Apparently that's the case with the F-4 as well although I thought they were on the outside. Shows how much I know! Incredible photo though. Bet some people couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it! Matt Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Not a fake. It is a 57th FIS F-4E. Second recorded time with the Phantom. VF-14 had the first photo inflight with wings folded. Ha! The Air Force can do it too! Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Yikes! Link to post Share on other sites
Phantomologist Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 There was a thread about the F-8's a while ago but it basically boiled down to the fact that the control surfaces were inboard of the hinge so it could still fly with the wings folded. Apparently that's the case with the F-4 as well although I thought they were on the outside. Shows how much I know! Incredible photo though. Bet some people couldn't believe their eyes when they saw it! Matt That is correct. The ailerons and flaps on the Phantom and Mighty Crusader are inboard of the wing fold. Both have movable leading edges on the outerwing panels. Also on the F-4E the wing fold is human powered not hydraulic powered like the Navy/Marine Phantoms. Evidently both the crew and the crew chief missed the unlock indicators prior to launching. Link to post Share on other sites
Su-34 Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Pics in this topic are amazing, but my guess is, Photoshop. And why exactly they do so? Link to post Share on other sites
tomthegrom Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 so when pilots forget to extend the wings is that there career over or what? pretty big mistake to make. Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 (edited) Pics in this topic are amazing, but my guess is, Photoshop. Um, no. They've all been documented situations. In the case of the F-8 I believe it occurred in the neighborhood of eight different times. Edited June 23, 2007 by David Walker Link to post Share on other sites
Incaroad Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 I suspect it's probably real. I suspect you're probably right. I was just quoting Beetle Juice! LOL... Nothing surprises me... Cheers, Larry. Link to post Share on other sites
vvac201 Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Ha! The Air Force can do it too! Fold thier wings??? Link to post Share on other sites
Almansur Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Configuration flown successfuly on (means take off and landing): F-8 Crusader (including cat shot!); F-4 A-7 and without success on: A-1 And these are just the ones I remember right away. Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 (edited) F-8 Crusader (including cat shot!); My word, that would have been interesting to watch. I read that in at least one F-8 incident they were able to unload the wing and get the wing tips to snap down into place. Edited June 24, 2007 by David Walker Link to post Share on other sites
yardbird78 Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Never fear, your trusty pilot is here! How can you go through pre-flight checks, taxi out, runway line up, end of runway/last chance check, etc without looking out & seeing that or someone on the ground noticing it. Link to post Share on other sites
tomthegrom Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 how does the whole catapault crew not notice that the wings are up?? Link to post Share on other sites
Starfreak Posted June 24, 2007 Author Share Posted June 24, 2007 Never fear, your trusty pilot is here! How can you go through pre-flight checks, taxi out, runway line up, end of runway/last chance check, etc without looking out & seeing that or someone on the ground noticing it. how does the whole catapault crew not notice that the wings are up?? These are both very good questions, someone should have noticed??? Link to post Share on other sites
David Walker Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 (edited) I believe several of the instances happened at night, and also the wing tips could appear to be in the down position without being LOCKED in the down position. Edited June 24, 2007 by David Walker Link to post Share on other sites
hazmatt Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Talking about this with my brother, he mentioned an F/A-18 doing this and I thought about it and wondered if it was possible. I mean, the flaps act as ailerons at low speed right? I figured they probably can't because there's something in the computer system that won't, but could it? Matt Link to post Share on other sites
ikar Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 Just before I left the Air Force we got a briefing about an F-4 the crashed on takeoff when the wing tip folded. The aircraft flipped over on its back. Link to post Share on other sites
clumsy Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 May be all they had seen was that the wingfods were down. May be they had not checked if there were any safety pins or what so ever. And after take off as the speed grew up and up the lift made the wingfolds move up and then a inboard situation. AFAIK the wingfolds stand with 90 degrees to the wings but the photos show an angle more than that, may be as a result of lift produced by the aerofoil section of the wingfold which is a part of the wing. Best regards, Arkut Link to post Share on other sites
Andre Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 I believe I've read somewhere that once a RAF Buccanneer also took off with its wings folded. Must be pretty scary. Cheers, Andre Link to post Share on other sites
Gabe Posted June 24, 2007 Share Posted June 24, 2007 how does the whole catapault crew not notice that the wings are up?? Although it never happened with us, I know Flight ops get very hectic and some crews probably could forget. I would be willing to bet that all the F-8 incidents and that VF-14 incident all happened during the Vietnam war. Things could get very exciting on a deck during war time. One thing you have to remember is that the aircraft dont start unfolding their wings till they approach the catapult. With big aircraft like the E-2 or S-3, you would see the PCs and other deck crew making sure that the unfolding wings did not hit other aircraft. A much smaller concern with the A-7s, Hornets and A-6s. Link to post Share on other sites
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