F-4B/N Wing question

[longmc]

Regarding the 4x antenna under the wing and the hump above the main gear. Tamiya calls out installing all. Academy doesn't mention them, but they're all in the kit. 

Some pictures I've found show the antenna, some without. I can't really tell about the upper wing.

Can someone provide some insight about when and where these were added?

 

thanks

Mike

[Dave Williams]

The two antennas under the intakes, and under the wing, just outboard of the speed brakes are ECM antenna, as are the fore/aft antenna on the fin cap, and the “beak” under the ex-IR fairing under the radome.  They were added during project Shoehorn in late 67/early 68.  F-4Bs before this time didn’t have them.

 

https://phantomphacts.blogspot.com/2014/03/us-navy-f-4-ew-development-revisited.html

 

Not really sure when the wing bumps above the MLG strut were added, or if they were always there.

[longmc]

Thanks, Dave! Thats great info! 

[Dave Williams]

Another blog post, showing that the forward antenna on the fin cap was for AN/APR-30.

 

https://phantomphacts.blogspot.com/p/shoehor.html

Actually, I think the “beak” under the radome was part of AN/APR-30 too, not AN/APQ-51/100 as shown in the blog.  The -30 system didn’t seem to work very well, so not that many aircraft were fitted with the system.

Edited March 24, 2023 by Dave Williams

[Stefan buysse]

Hi,

 

My take on the trunnion covers (the covers over the MLG struts) is that all F-4B's were delivered without them and all F-4J's were built with them.

The first flight of the F-4J was on the 27th of May 1966, so the covers would have been designed a bit before that.

I think that once they had been designed no time was wasted in installing them on the F-4B's. They were after all a solution to a problem: the violence of deck landings was creating cracks in the upper wing surface above the struts.

When I get around to building my VF-84 F-4B from the 1965 cruise, I'm not going to install the trunnion covers on the wings. If I'd build a 1967 F-4B, I would install them.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

[longmc]

3 hours ago, Stefan buysse said:

Hi,

 

My take on the trunnion covers (the covers over the MLG struts) is that all F-4B's were delivered without them and all F-4J's were built with them.

The first flight of the F-4J was on the 27th of May 1966, so the covers would have been designed a bit before that.

I think that once they had been designed no time was wasted in installing them on the F-4B's. They were after all a solution to a problem: the violence of deck landings was creating cracks in the upper wing surface above the struts.

When I get around to building my VF-84 F-4B from the 1965 cruise, I'm not going to install the trunnion covers on the wings. If I'd build a 1967 F-4B, I would install them.

 

Cheers, Stefan.

Stefan,

That's great info, thank you . I'm building an Academy B as a Marine aircraft from '66, so I it seems like it would not have any of these updates (antennas or gear covers). I have some Hypersonic mk5 early seats as well. 

My tamiya will be a later B from '68 so would have all of these.