F‐4 Blue Angels Panel

[SoonerAviator]

Pretty neat discussion from team members during the transition into the F-4. Some pretty humorous stories about learning to fly the F-4 and the changes they made to the aircraft in order to adapt it to flight show duty.

 

[Warlock]

First time I saw the Blue Angels was 1969 at KEFD and F-4s less then three miles from the house…this was way cool as I was eight at the time…I could Ride to the backside of Ellington from the house…nothing but open fields between our house the last in the subdivision and the field…

 

[Velocity173]

Just watched that the other day. Great stuff. He’s about the only YT channel that I watch regularly. The stories those guys tell and the lives they’ve lived on the demo teams are amazing.

 

[SoonerAviator]

Just watched that the other day. Great stuff. He’s about the only YT channel that I watch regularly. The stories those guys tell and the lives they’ve lived on the demo teams are amazing.

I was just amazed at the background of that team having all had extensive combat and several having been downed. Makes for a lot of hard-earned experience in the cockpit and likely some world-class troubleshooting ability when it was needed.

 

[Velocity173]

I was just amazed at the background of that team having all had extensive combat and several having been downed. Makes for a lot of hard-earned experience in the cockpit and likely some world-class troubleshooting ability when it was needed.

I don’t know if you’ve seen Blue Angel Threshold but it’s a good documentary into the F-4 experience. The high altitude show in Ecuador in particular.

 

[SoonerAviator]

I don’t know if you’ve seen Blue Angel Threshold but it’s a good documentary into the F-4 experience. The high altitude show in Ecuador in particular.

I haven't, I'll have to look that up. Amazing that they ran into meaningful loss of power/performance in an aircraft like a F-4 when doing airshows at high-altitude locations. As a non-mil guy, the idea just seems foreign that they use so much of the available performance in a show routine that it would come into play at higher altitudes. I have an uncle who flew the F-4 in Vietnam doing recon, but I've never really asked him much about flying the aircraft in general. I did run around the house a bunch with one of his flight helmets on as a kid. Flipping the clear and smoked visors down was a blast, lol.

 

[Velocity173]

I haven't, I'll have to look that up. Amazing that they ran into meaningful loss of power/performance in an aircraft like a F-4 when doing airshows at high-altitude locations. As a non-mil guy, the idea just seems foreign that they use so much of the available performance in a show routine that it would come into play at higher altitudes. I have an uncle who flew the F-4 in Vietnam doing recon, but I've never really asked him much about flying the aircraft in general. I did run around the house a bunch with one of his flight helmets on as a kid. Flipping the clear and smoked visors down was a blast, lol.

You can order the DVD on Amazon if you don’t want to see subtitles at the bottom.

 

[AKBill]

Blue Angles were still flying the A-4 when I was stationed at NAS Pensacola. I worked on the engine. It had 4 fuel nozzles per burner can. Watched them practice many times. Very cool

 

[X3 Skier]

Good tales and the F-4 could be a handful as I’ve been told.

Cheers

 

[Brad W]

thanks for posting that.
I enjoyed hearing brief mention of the 1st show I ever saw them fly. I was just a young tike...if it was 1971, would have been about 4-1/2 years old. Dad was stationed in Hawaii & I have fuzzy memories of seeing that show. I think we saw the T-Birds while there too...could that have been a joint show?
Does anyone know where in HI that show was? I've searched google and I'm coming up short.....

 

[ateamer]

When I was four, the Blues flew their F-4s in a show near us. We didn’t go, but the solos flew over our home a few times, going low and loud. Definitely made a lifelong impression on me, standing out in the yard, watching what is still one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

 

[Brad W]

Should have watched that second film, Threshold, before my earlier post. Obvious the HI show was over Waikiki.

 

[Crashnburn]

I live inside the Moffett airport pattern in Sunnyvale. I’m more impressed with the Blue Angels than the Thunderbirds.