Air Force Thunderbirds, before they flew the F-16. The opposing solo pilots would show the low speed characteristics of the aircraft by making a pass along the runway with the gear down, one of them upside right, the other upside-down. Blue Angels do it too.
Actually I think that the Air Force F4's did have tail hooks. And they were able to use them for arrested landings on land bases - I don't have a source but I think I recall this discussion in a Vietnam fighter pilot memoir "Downtown".
Air Force Phantoms had tail hooks. It was an integral part of the design, from their Navy development. Some bases had arresting gear, actual or improvised (cables across the runway coupled to several hundred feet of heavy chain on either side of the runway. See wiki, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrestor_cables, or http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0227468 for a DTIC entry.
The hook is a result of the F-4's Naval origins. Depending on the Air Force, standard land aircraft also use hooks, The Canadian Air Force in particular. They do come in handy on short strips when the pilot might have preferred a longer roll.
11 comments:
Thunderbirds.
Air Force Thunderbirds, before they flew the F-16. The opposing solo pilots would show the low speed characteristics of the aircraft by making a pass along the runway with the gear down, one of them upside right, the other upside-down. Blue Angels do it too.
No ejecting from that!
Looks like he's got a tail hook. Makes no sense if so.
The USAF never had or used tail hooks to my knowledge.
USAF F-4 models retained the tailhook that was included in the earlier Naval versions.
They could use them, for example if their brakes failed on landing, to engage the arresting gear installed at AF bases.
"Pardo's Push" wouldn't have worked without it:
http://www.af.mil/news/airman/1296/pardo.htm
Actually I think that the Air Force F4's did have tail hooks. And they were able to use them for arrested landings on land bases - I don't have a source but I think I recall this discussion in a Vietnam fighter pilot memoir "Downtown".
Yes,
The Air Force had tailhooks on the F4...Not for carrier landings but field landings in an emergency...Most AF bases have BAK-12 arresting gear.
Not a tailhook, its a crane on the ground behind him
Air Force Phantoms had tail hooks. It was an integral part of the design, from their Navy development. Some bases had arresting gear, actual or improvised (cables across the runway coupled to several hundred feet of heavy chain on either side of the runway. See wiki, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrestor_cables, or http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0227468 for a DTIC entry.
The hook is a result of the F-4's Naval origins. Depending on the Air Force, standard land aircraft also use hooks, The Canadian Air Force in particular. They do come in handy on short strips when the pilot might have preferred a longer roll.
Cheers
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