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I'm pretty sure EC 2/10 probably had a couple of two seaters on strength at that point. It would be rare for a frontline single seat fighter squadron not to have a couple of "busses" for recurrent training purposes.

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There seem to be photographs of at least one preserved example that wore these colors in early 1990s. It does not seem to be repainted at the time, so this could the last scheme it wore while it was in service.

7465.jpg

Edited by KursadA
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  • 4 months later...

the Mirage on the photo seems to have a Mirage IV pitot/IFR probe. is it possible?

I've seen IIIBs mount that probe in other imagery. I believe it was mounted as a training aid for units that flew aircraft capable of IFR (such as Mirage IVs). The probe as I recall was not capable of taking on fuel, but it was still capable of hooking up, making it excellent practice for pilots needing to get proficient.

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I've seen IIIBs mount that probe in other imagery. I believe it was mounted as a training aid for units that flew aircraft capable of IFR (such as Mirage IVs). The probe as I recall was not capable of taking on fuel, but it was still capable of hooking up, making it excellent practice for pilots needing to get proficient.

Yes. It was called the Mirage IIIB2.

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I've seen IIIBs mount that probe in other imagery. I believe it was mounted as a training aid for units that flew aircraft capable of IFR (such as Mirage IVs). The probe as I recall was not capable of taking on fuel, but it was still capable of hooking up, making it excellent practice for pilots needing to get proficient.

Indeed!

In fact, it was specific to Mirage IV pilots IFR training.

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Indeed!

In fact, it was specific to Mirage IV pilots IFR training.

glad my eyes did recognize what was indeed a Mirage IV IFR probe. (thanks to my hours of shopping on webstores for metal pitots...biggrin.gif)

is there any other aircraft that have such IFR probe mounted on the tip of the nose cone? (not just french ones)

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glad my eyes did recognize what was indeed a Mirage IV IFR probe. (thanks to my hours of shopping on webstores for metal pitots...biggrin.gif)

is there any other aircraft that have such IFR probe mounted on the tip of the nose cone? (not just french ones)

Not that I am really aware of unless they are specific for training purposes. Since the nose of a fighter is packed so tight with other equipment, even if it doesn't have a radar up front, it might have a small range finding radar or something else dedicated to weaponry sighting. Nose areas are also typically packed with radios and other avionics boxes (F-5 being a prime example) and they put that stuff there for weight and balance due to the heavy engines in back. Sticking in plumbing for IFR use removes space and if you have a leak in the system or knock the tip off (as what happened to one of the Black Buck Vulcans)... could be messy. So from what I have seen, IFR probes tend to be placed somewhat far from electronics boxes, or are stashed in their own dedicated cubby holes if they are retractable.

The closest I have seen to a dedicated IFR nose mount in the center is what the A-37 Dragonfly has. But even then it is something bolted externally on top of the standard A-37/T-37 nose and not integral with it. This is partly because some A-37 operators had no need for the probe.

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  • 3 months later...

The first Grumman F11F Tigers had the refueling probe on the tip of the nose. The ranging-radar antenna was located in the upper side of the nose. See http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2010/11/f11f-tiger.html

 

Grumman F9F Cougars were also retrofitted with a refueling probe on the tip of the nose: http://www.john2031.com/grumman/f9f_cougar/141140-aj6.jpg

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