This is the maiden flight of Peter Brown's very large, very nice, very expensive Skymaster jet-powered F4 Phantom radio controlled model airplane. Nicely detailed and very nicely flown at the SWMAC in May 2010.
I used to fly F4 N/J/s's in the USMC as well as the RF4B, and if you didnt label the video, or taxi it in front of people, I would not have been able to tell it was a model. The craftmenship is supurb andt the detail is the best I've ever seen! Congradulations on such a fine model. It really took me back to my flying days!
“It’s got the wing loading of a big windowless building” hahaha. It sunk like a rock on that landing. F4 is the hot rod of the skies. Just a beautiful airplane.
Working as a ground support mechanic at Mira Mar Naval Air Station, the wing groups in the number of at six were a constant feature with F-4's occupying the lions share of flight time. In 1974, a number of F-14's being qualified and flight profile tested ended in tragedy all too often, lower power turns in 180 degree approaches at less than 300 meters off the tarmac with wings oriented at 90 degrees from the horizon (i.e. lower power and zero aerodynamic lift). Amazing to use 440V starters to power up the F-4's and push the turbines with ground blowers. The people that made this baby did an exquisite job of detailing and making operational this aircraft. In fact, it is so well detailed and built it reveals any witness I had to the actual aircraft on the ground at the time. Beautifully constructed and meticulously detailed--great job.
Your F4 is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It gave me goosebumps watching it take off, fly, and land. The F4 Phantom is my favorite Vietnam era war plane. I served aboard the US Navy destroyer USS Benner DD807 when we were plane guarding for the USS Ranger CVA61 at Yankee Station off the coast of Vietnam. I saw many of these planes take off and land on the carrier from 1000 yards back.
jrfoleyjr This is also my favorite Vietnam era jet, and all jets combined as well. Looks like a beasty tank with a tail and wings and a Mach 2.2+ top speed. Can't go wrong with that 😎
jrfoleyjr I tested the DECM system on this particular VX-4 aircraft, known as “Black Beauty”, and it was a particularly great aircraft. Testing was initially done at Pt. Mugu in the late 60’s and early 70’s. The DECM installation, known as “Shoehorn”, because of the need to add the ALQ-51 or ALQ-100 DECM boxes to an already packed aircraft, and long RF cables for both the receive and transmit antennas of the DECM system. The forward and aft antennas had very long RF cable runs, and there was at least 10dB of line loss at 9 Ghz for even the best cables in the 1960-70 time period. That means the 1000 watt transmitter lost 90% of its power simply to get the energy to the transmit antennas. Needless to say, things have improved much in line losses at 9GHz since the 1960’s....
Way back in the early 70"s I worked around a similar real version of this fine aircraft at Shaw AFB, the RF4 C (recon version) in the 62nd. TAC Recon Sqdn. Will never forget the sound they made with full AB on takeoff. Some of those taxi shots looked so real. Beautiful plane.
Nope, sure didn't. Got a PCS move out of TAC to MAC at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. Got out of the flying squadron and was assigned to a photo detachment. I was a ground photo maintenance troop. Went from the very warm south to the very cold north. Still here in AK. And right now, it's 0 degrees F outside. They did have the F4 aircraft when I arrived in AK as alert intercept. They chased after the Russian bombers on a fairly regular basis back in the "cold war" days. Cannons and missiles on those birds.
coldfoot99 Was a kid outside of Shaw AFB in the late 60s, man oh man! a beautiful sight to see on a daily basis... Nothing like a Phantom F4D, tough as shyt...
I served with the 1/26th Marines in Vietnam and saw a few of these. Protected our ass many, many times. A big shout out to the flyers of these F4s!! The one and only thing missing was that black smoke trail they almost always had. Very realistic and the paint job and markings were perfect! Good job!!
That's a symbol of the past. The Playboy bunny. The F4 certainly looked cool, I was fortunate enough to remember them in the air when younger. This one looks fantastic painted black. Well done.
I've always loved the Phantom and think it was the most beautiful looking fighter jet ever. I don't know how much patience you would need to build one, but I definitely don't have it. Fantastic achievement.
Flying something this nice looking and EXPENSIVE, takes guts. Continuing the flight high speed after a part fell of without landing and investigating is something else.
I worked on RF-4C' s at RAF Alconbury for 2 years, Shaw AFB, S.C. 5 Years and at Osan AB, Korea for a year. They could be a pain in the ass to work on but I have no regrets. This one is particularly beautiful. This gentleman put his heart and skill into this aircraft and it most definitely shows. As for some parts falling off, meh, thats an F-4 for ya ! 😁
The F-4 was one of my favorite planes ever. Its lines are so sleek and beautiful. They simply screamed in the air, too! This model is gorgeous and flys like a dream.
I worked on F4(E,G) for several years in the Airforce, even got to fly in one once. Only problem I saw with this one was it didn't have flames shooting out the back on takeoff(after burner :)) and it did not fly like it was made of concrete. Beautiful...and great flying! Maybe build the next one out of 2X4's to get the real F4 flying effect :).
In 1969 at the Point Magu Space Air Fair, I was lucky enough to see the real color scheme on the real aircraft! It was outstanding! just as outstanding as your model, my compliments.
i was station at VX-4 on NAS Pt Mugu between 1971-1974. i was one of many of the Airframe Mechanics {AMS/AMH} that maintained this bird. the best looking F4 ever.
What a beauty! I grew up in Reno Nevada and twice a day a full flight of these flew over our house in full afterburner on their way to Fallon Naval (Top gun filmed here) so miss those birds! Thank you for sharing!
Very impressive looks and performance...and cost. He's got more invested in it than most of us have in our automobiles.Not knocking it though,throttle up!!
It howls like the real bird! There will never be anything like the sound of a couple of old smokey J-79s in a Phantom. Ever. This model does the real deal proud. God what a beauty!
As an airman 1970-1971 I serviced r4 phantoms in takli thailand.flying sorties over north Viet Nam. I was a raven (electronic countermeasures)technician. We loved those birds.
2:06 you can see he putted a lots of time and effort in his plane, he even gets emotional. 3 seconds later, he puls up his shoulders :) like, here we go ...
If I didn't know it was a model I would swear it was the original. To bad you don't have the drogue chute come out the back when she lands. Thanks for bring her back to life!
Gorgeous model of one of my favorite planes. Say these fly almost daily for years. Next to the A-10 this is the closest thing to a flying tank the US has put in the air.
I served in a fighter squadron aboard the USS Coral Sea CVA43 in 1964. Worked on oxygen equipment , ejection seats ,and cabin air systems in the F4 Phantom. A beautifully designed aircraft.
Mate, I hear where you're coming from. Did 2 years Army, and 21 years R.A.A.F. myself, (r.e.m.f.), and, except for the RARE exception, your words ring true. Generally, they're close to bloody hopeless in the bush, just don't have the upper body strength to haul all the shit a soldier has to haul. BUT, their courage under fire has some AWESOME examples. Look up, "Royal Navy medic awarded Military Cross", I was completely humbled when I read of her utter bravery under fire, and still am.
Beautiful aircraft! I was a bit worried seeing it land - it was coming in quite steeply and I thought it'd crash but it was corrected just in time! A little bit of flare and a perfect landing!
I had to laugh after reading the comments, but that is a very beautiful plane, and the whine of the turbine as it spools up is simply awwesome, wishing I was able to build one right now
F4 Fantom was awesome and this is very close to how I would imagine it looked inflight. The speed and handling looked right on. Loved the 'eye level' shots making the plane look massive and mean.
Looks like something came off the plane at 2:28 just after takeoff. The F-4, however, is a beautiful example of "If you put a big enough engine in it, even a brick will fly". Cool Plane....
@@chosh3637 he said fighter jets dumbass. And the only jet you listed was a piece of shit that came out too late in the war to ever have an impact on the war.
Beautiful plane! I'm 59 yrs old and I've always been partial to the design of the F4. Air intake design and locations, upturned wing tips, down turned hor stabilizers....just an overall beautiful design! I'm old enough to remember the planes being used in Viet Nam. My oldest son is a pilot in the AF. I guess he's living my dream. :-) Thanks for the video! Stan in N AL (close to Huntsville).
Looks great! I have to admit that when I saw the "Huge" tagline, I was thinking it was going to be a 16' long 1/4 scale Phantom - looks about the same as all the turbine powered kits, like the BVM stuff, but great job finishing and looks like it flies well. Hope you guys enjoy it!!!!
So there were a couple of minor hicks, but the model was so beautifully made and flown so well. The leap between building and flying can prove to be an expensive one, I admire their courage and fortitude, not to mention their amazing talent.
Gloss black is awesome for this aircraft! I pulled up one time in my delivery van, beside Manston Airfield in SE England, when I saw a Phantom preparing for take off. I stepped out to get a better view, and just then, she powered up. Holy crap! Every thing shook with the noise!!!! I shook, my van shook, the packages shook, the surrounding hills shook, God shook so much he fell off his imaginary throne, wandered off into into the wilderness, and was tempted into buying some ear plugs.
You know, the guys in the hobby who put this much detail into the planes are usually not very good at flying...they have a pro, or trusted friend, fly it for them, especially on maidens! So get yourself into a club and rub shoulders with all the turbine guys, get known as a really good pilot. You'll be flying a jet one day, without investing $15k on engines and 200 hours on build time :)
Absolutely freaking outstanding. A thousand kudos to the guys who obviously put a tremendous amount of time, energy, and money in one of these. I was a little fearful of what the landing was going to look like. Pulled it off superbly. I watched a guy lose his B-25 on a bad landing in another video.
and for those guys and gals that think its just a fan unit powering this model, I suggest turning up your volume to really hear whats going on in this video
Cool looking model. Regarding Fuel Consumption of the J79 Turbine Engines in the F4 Phantom, F104 Starfighter, A5 Vigilante and the B58 Hustler, one turbine would burn 10 gallons of fuel per second when in full afterburner. The F4 Phantom had two of them and they would burn 20 gallons per second in full afterburner.
@@camgnilpe9300, incorrect, you should have said that the American Imperial system is fucked, look at your Gallon, it is 3.78 Litres whereas the real Imperial gallon was 4.6 litres, you are getting ripped off by your government dude. Feel free to join us in the 21st Century whenever you like. 😂😂😂😂😂
Mad Cat Ripped off? $1.75 a gallon is a bargain compared to your shitty petrol costs. They make you feel like you are getting a bargain using liters, when actually you are getting ripped off.
Absolutely gorgeous airplane. The F4 is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built and in black it is truly a piece of art. Flies very nicely, too. Great job!!!
except for a quicker, shorter, takeoff, unreal! beautiful job! I havent seen a more beautiful job ever! I was with VF-151 in the 60's and 70's, on two different carriers, the coral sea and the midway. We always had a water shortage onboard and had to clean the bird by hand with waterless hand cleaner. The phantom was a brute! Beautiful job.
Gorgeous model and WOW it goes fast! Both its high landing speed and high sink rate reveals it needs a much more aggressive trailing edge flap position to give it more lift to allow slower approaches like the real Phantom II had/has. It would also help to add leading edge flaps like the early models or leading edge slats like the later USAF F-4E,F,G and Navy F-4J versions. Did I mention it's fast?!
Gorgeous finish on the model ! The low camera angle taxi shots make it look like the real thing. Don't sweat the loss of the undercarriage doors - it's less fun if everything works perfectly on the first flight. I would almost consider it a bad omen.
Beautiful aircraft! Perfect takeoff and landing. Enjoyed the orbit around the airfield, too. Reminded me of so many times we had a pair of F4s working a close air support orbit in front of our troop line. Real poetry in motion.
Beautiful Jet. I still think the F4 is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever put in the air. I just looks sleek and ready for business. I'd be shaking in my boots flying that thing. ;-)
Amazing, simply amazing, if it were not for the large antennae sitting off the port nacel, I would have sworn some of those shots were of the real thing! Great attention to detail, great build, great flying, and wonderful videography. I am truly jealous.
