The BEST Solo Fast Jet Display!! - RAF F4 Phantom - West Malling 1988 

I'm halfway through the video and this is by FAR.....by FAR the absolute best flight demo of a Phantom I've EVER seen.

Holy shite that was incredible. Man flew that jet like he was mad at it.

Good gawd......I've never, ever seen a Phantom flown like that. Outstanding!!!!

I was there. I remember hearing the announcer saying to the crowd to look to the left and in the distance you'll see the Phantom beginning its display. Then the pilot who was probably over a mile away throttling up and this almighty puff of exhaust fumes came out as he roared in to start hi display. Love West Malling. Warbirds was the best. You were so close to the action. The last airshow I went to with my dad before he passed away in 1989.

This is when air shows were shows. The modern day versions are like watching underwater firework display for the blind and deaf.

Holy Crap!! That is the most aggressive Phantom display ever!!! He was really yanking it around the sky...definitely max performing the aircraft...outstanding!!!

I served on HMS Ark Royal in the late 70's and the F4 phantom and the buccaneers were the fixed wing squadrons on board.This video gives a good idea of how awesome the phantom was.but by far the most impressive ( for me) thing it did was the landing and take off from a carrier flight deck. The skills of the pilots who could approach a " postage stamp" that would be pitching up and down and side to side with the thought that getting it badly wrong may cost his and flight deck crews lives.The landings using the hook to catch one of three cables ( it was considered bad form to catch the last cable) but at the same time use full throttle in case of a cable or hook failure to be able to take off again and go around.During my time one of the pilots was a young " Sharkey Ward" who later became a harrier squadron CO and did amazing work keeping the Argentine air force from having air superiority over the Falklands,his experience in fast jets and their tactics was invaluable. BTW the buccaneers were handed over to the RAF and saw service in the gulf. The buccaneers were built to fly extremely low and fast as a naval strike aircraft.I will never forget standing on a weather deck just below the flight deck and looking down at the pilot of a buccaneer.He was so low that the sea behind him was being thrown into the air .....I saw him laugh at my open mouth WTF moment......in the gulf the normal 6 feet ( +/- 2 mtrs) off the ground was kicking up too much sand and gave their position away so they had to come up all the way to 12 feet..... can you imagine flying a jet full throttle 3 mtrs from the ground????? I consider myself very lucky to have been in the RN during that period..... great aircraft and great pilots......

I dont know why I am getting all these F-4 videos lately, but it's awesome. Maybe it's my name.

I served with a Marine Corps F-4 detachment in Viet Nam and Thailand 50 years ago. Amazing aircraft then. They would still be amazing today. Thank you for the post and the memories.

The most beautiful plane ever. Its shape is unmistakable to all who see it striking like a thunder.

This cat was nothing short of fantastic. He really pushed that Phantom hard and put in a ton of effort to give a good display. I have attended the air show at Burke Lakefront in Cleveland and ever since I was a young man, their aerial displays were not nearly as intense as this one was even though they had lots of cool aircraft (F-15, F-18, F-16, F-14, B-1 etc). It has always been pretty much the same tight turns, a split S, a high speed pass, a slow pass to show the landing gear and several circles around the crown to listen to the announcer describe it's capabilities. The pilot in this Phantom was making his aircraft do the talking and I tip my hat to him/her.

I went to the Leuchars Air Show in Sept 1988 and it would have been the same Phantom display crew who a couple of weeks after I'd seen them, failed to pull out of a dive and crashed at RAF Abingdon killing Flt Lt Chris Lackman and Flt Lt Thompson. I remember thinking how I'd only just watched their display a few days before. Very sad.

Indeed the best F-4 Demo I've ever seen. 👍👍👍👍

Now that's an air show display! Heavy G's tight turns lowe and fast and super loud ,you won't see that anymore, that was impressive 😲👍👍👍

I was there!! Thanks for posting. West Malling Airshows we re the best

Holy cow! I never knew a Phantom could move like that! Great job by the pilot. Over the course of my life, neither any of the first hand flights nor videos I've seen have shown anything remotely close to that level of aggressiveness. Awesome!

The sheer size of this aircraft and its agility is mindbending.

My dad flew these. Went out to Davis-Monthan in the USA (second lot to go out) to learn how in 1968, then served three years on the staff of 228 OCU at Conningsby, followed by three on 41 Squadron when it reformed at Conningsby, and then a couple or three more on 2 Sdrn at RAF Leuchars - which is now Weeze International Airport. Dad was a tactical reconnaissance navigator. Sadly no longer with us. Four things stick in my memory about those days: They were LOUD! The RAF definition of the Phantom F4 with the RR engines: A triumph of thrust over aerodynamics! ('Glides like a brick' as Dad put it.) One of the scariest memories was seeing a diamond nine of Phantoms barrel roll over the airfield at Connigsby! Dad clocked up two thousand hours' night flying while we were at Conningsby.

Seemed to remember this was one of two phantom s. Pilots stayed overnight at the bear hotel West Malling and few out the next day. Now that was a display.

When it’s your day and your flying is crisp…it shows

This is THE BEST Phantom aerial display that I have ever seen! Very sprightly & agile, with superb, crisp 4 point roll, etc.!!! Phantoms Phorever! Thanks "Spooky" & Cheers!🇨🇦🍺🇨🇦🍺🇨🇦

The rolling change of direction at 2.50 is incredible.

Reminds me of happier days, when I used to work on these magnificent machines!!!

Oh, the West Malling Air Shows, those were the days. Good to see the 'Sally B' got into the footage twice as well. I was lucky enough as a ten year old, to get wave from a Phantom pilot when he flew through the valley adjacent to Cat Bell's in the Lake District. Even better to see a Phantom flying lower than yourself. Just a shame I did not have a camera on me at the time. I guess that's why the Mach Loop is so popular with plan spotters.

Not often you see a Phantom flown like this. There's a reason they were loved by the countries armed services that had them. Fast and for it's time rather agile. Pretty amazing the the RAF Phantoms had a lot of redesigning to fit the RR Spey. Brilliant aircraft and my Favourite of all time. Cheers for posting this vid.. Phantoms Phorever!!

The crowd were deaf but happy after this. Phenomenal display.

Remember a show at Waddington, when the announcer said,the next aircraft is the Lightning which is coming from Lossiemouth! Everyone settled down expecting to be quite a while, but it approached from the north in no time at all and thundered down the airfield, all hell broke loose kids were crying ,dogs barking a few windscreens were shattered!proper air shows!

In 1960-63 at PAX RIVER NAVEL AIR test center Maryland I was a plane captain. At that time we were required to pull flight time each month. Believe me i climbed into the back seat of the F-4 PHANTOM we were testing every chance I could. A test pilot i flew with told me to hold my stomach muscles tight when doing maneuvers and I wouldn't get sick. At 81 now, this video brought back all the excitement i felt doing those same maneuvers as shown WHAT A RUSH!

Probably the best looking military jet aircraft ever built.

Perhaps more manuverable than what I've read about. Impressive, great footage I've never seen.

Nothing like a completly agressive display. And that Phantom looks agile for such a heavy aircraft

One of my all time favorite jet fighters, the F 4 Phantom. That airplane screams of ' BAD ASS ', the lines of that airplane are pure beauty, only rivaled by a beautiful woman.

I lived on a F-4 base in southern California. I never got tired on hearing and seeing these. I sometimes forget how magnificent and bad ass these planes are.

My high school physics teacher was a co-pilot in a wild weasel during Vietnam. He had good stories and was extremely good at teaching. He knew the info backwards and forwards.

The F-4 Phantom is all angles and brute force and rage...

My brother served at an English base back in the 70's, he gushed about how the Brits were able to fly the wings of these and other aircraft vs the USAF rules limited American pilots.

brings back memories of when i was a crew chief on F-4Ds. when those J-79 engines went into afterburner, my heart would pound.

As a kid growing up in the 60's and 70's (before F-14's, 15's, 16's and 18's came on the scene), the F-4 Phantom was what a fighter jet was, to me. Big, loud, smoky, fast and intimidating. Looked like a flying shark. Badass. I miss Ole Smokey....

Brings back memories for me. I was allowed 10 mins unlimited in my phantom when I left JaBo 72 back in 86.

Awesome airplane! And what noise! And looks fearsome! Sorely missed!

Fantastic flight display!! I don't remember ever seeing a F4 pushed that hard in a flight display. Very impressive 👍

Brilliant! As a lad, used to watch the F4-Ds ('D' for 'Dirty'!) from RAF Bentwaters in the mid'70's from the fields on my Grandfather's Farm next to the River Deben. Didn't always throw theirs around like the RAF display guy, but now and again they'd hit the throttle and go vertical .. I can remember the insane noise reverberating through my chest .. so, so lucky to have seen these .. one-of-kind aircraft.

Possibly the most fearsomely elegant fighter plane ever built.

Still get to see these babies take off almost daily at my duty station in South Korea. Absolutely love the roar.

Magnificent....So sad that the nay sayers have stopped us enjoying such a spectacle these days.

I was a weapons controller in the USAF, on the EC-121 for 5 years. And over 90% of the aircraft I controlled were F-4's, it was literally the ONLY aircraft flying the DEW line or the GIUK (Greenland Iceland UK) gap in the 70's.

I was a weapons mechanic on F4D's, in the 70's, on flight line duty, stationed at Hill AFB Utah . Used to pull the pins and launch these fuckers from end of runway two at a time , in full afterburner with 10 feet of cover, OMFG was it impressive!

The RAF had different engines than the ones that were in our squadron on the Saratoga. We had the B model Phantoms , Lots of smoke and extremely loud but fast & agile. Lots of them came back with lots of holes and parts dangling off too from ground and air fire. F-4> Mean & Nasty, very capable. One outstanding aircraft.

Wow...hats off to the pilot here - getting the most out of the plane that he can. Impressive, utilizing all the strengths of the F4. One of the best all around displays I have ever seen. I LOVE THIS!

Phantom displays were always absolutely nuts. Loads of noise, hard G maneuvers and a ton of engine fumes.

Those people watching that so long ago can still hear the rumble of those jet engines in their heads. Whatta brute of a plane!

0:25 That is a 360 degrees turn in about 22/23 seconds. Even discounting for a speed inaccuracy in the analog device playback, is a damn impressive number. To give you a idea, is the same number as the average F-15C do in air displays.

Only got to hear the F4 in a high speed run once. In Korea, 1968, some outfit moved from VietNam to Taegu(Daegu) AB, Korea. The bird came down over the mountain range on the left, poured the coal to her, she came up with a great twin j79 screaming for air with a big low moan. Still gives me chills when I think of it. That legend of an airframe will never be again, just raw power!

One of if not THE BEST displays put on by an F-4 I have ever seen! Would love to meet and speak to this pilot and more so, Love to hitch a ride while he performs this Ballet! Fantastic and Bravo..

A Phantom with the burners lit. It’s this that made me want to be a pilot after my first air show 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Fantastic display by a great pilot in a great warhorse ,top marks 👍

I’ve never had the privilege of seeing an F4 move like this pilot demonstrated here. Wow.

Amazing display, I hadn’t realised that the Phantom was that agile. That performance puts some F-16 displays I have seen in the shade. Thanks!

A younger “simPaul flights” was there too with some friends from MGS Maidstone. Firstly thanks for putting this video up, that air show also featured two B17’s used for the film (indeed to film) Memphis Belle with pyrotechnics used during an F190 ‘attack’. The F4 was awesome…later on I was introduced to them properly at RAF ‘What a Shame’ in Suffolk.

He was giving it some pasty there. Great stuff.

never had a clue the F4 was this agile what a fantastic solo display!!! can't wait to see this again!!

Fan Freakin Tastic!!! I have seen the F4 in demonstration flights before, but not like this. I never knew the F4 was this agile. WOOOHHH!!! Nice video!!!

""Nothing like the lighting. ❤️

When I was a child I saw The Blue Angles perform at Willow Grove Naval Air Station in the mid-1970s they were using the F-4 at that time. I later saw them using A-4 as well. In the 80s I joined the Marines and saw the F-16s perform for the air force team. The last time I saw the Blue Angles they had F18s. They were all good but for size, sheer power, and ear-splitting shriek, nothing compares to this utter beast. I only wish I could take my grandsons to see an F-4 perform these stunts.

We worked on the Spey 202's on the RN & RAF machines at RR Derby during my 16yr stint there. It was a pleasure to see them in action. I still have a soft spot for the EE Lightning though. They were regular visitors to RAF Akrotiri in the '60's. The scramble, rotate and climb still bring a tear to my eyes. Memories !!

I've never seen an F-4 put through its paces like that. I've watched it demonstrated dozens of times since its introduction in the early 60s (1961?), and I've never seen it flown like that. Pilots I talked to referred to it as a flying brick, and that it took two counties to turn it. Bull****!

Congratulations Friend Barry Price , Spectacular Military Pilot, honestly.

I found it hilarious that they tried to commentate over the roar of those Spey engines at full chat. I have been at airshows where they have tried to do that. You can’t hear a bloody thing LOL. 😂

Awesome F4 display shows what it could do in the right hands :) Thanks for the upload .

Loved watching the Phantoms flying out of Leuchars back in the day. The Lightnings were no slouch either!❤

Hats off to that pilot. He's throwing around a 1960s Phantom like an Eagle. I was at an airshow in the 1980's where a F14 was demoed and that overweight pig was nowhere as maneuverable as this Phantom.

I remember watching these take off in the twilight at RAF Tengah in the 70's, the noise was incredible, and i used to wait for the two red 'dots' to turn bright orange, and the whole house would shake!!! Happy memories....

Best Fighter jet of its day. Broke record after record. Love the Phantom!

Chucking it around like a rally car! Great aggressive flying!!

One of my ALL time favorites! F-4 are such legendary aircraft, and when piloted well, as the video shows, the smoke wagon is an absolute formidable predator! Such an awesome aircraft!

The plane,the pilot and some pretty neat flying... don't get much better than this!!!!

Served on two RAF stations with Phantom squadrons: Leuchars and Wildenrath. The "sooties" (engine techs) used to say that you can tell when a Phantom is empty; it stops leaking. A truly impressive aircraft for its time.

What a lovely solo flight display the F-4! It is evident that this pilot is an real expert flying for a long time this fantastic airplane! I really would have loved to be there to watch this airshow....

I once saw a mock dog fight between a Corsair and a Phantom at Tanagra while I was waiting to get in the airshow. They flew right over me while doing a tight turn. Such an awesome experience.

F-4 was pinnacle of 3rd gen fighter jets. Just pure raw power and machinery.

When I was stationed at Bruggen, Germany, in the mid 70's, we had a Phantom jockey called Watson. He always gave a great display on return. Then they were replaced with Jaguars. Nothing was ever the same after then.

Loved the phantom growing up. My fave plane 👍👍👍

Lovely to see. The best Phantom display I saw was by a Royal Navy Phantom at Bentwaters, just after the transatlantic air race. One I will never forget.

Beautiful display., much better than watching a jet display team.

Fantastic Barry give me a F4 over a F=35 anyday of the week F4 Forever

Cant quite put my finger on it,but the skies felt much safer with the Phantom about.It was such a speedy,powerful,menacing plane..sorely missed.!!

The glory days of air shows , such a tight display too, thankyou for sharing!

A great big heavy beast of an aircraft getting thrown around here. I used to love seeing Phantoms flying over the house....they were so damn loud!

This pilot is a legend!!

Traditional RAF F4 Phantom, Incredible Royal United Kingdom Air Force Fighter Airplane. Fantastic Motores, Spectacular Missiles, Wonderfull Radars System. Amazing.

Barry this is one of the very best Phantom videos! Thanks phor sharing.

I was stationed at RAF Alconbury, it was a USAF base in 1965 . We received the first two RF-4Cs in Europe in April of that year. The first RF on the ground that day was 64-1025 flown by the base commander. Within the first few weeks, that 0025 was grounded due to damage done doing a high speed fly-bys at another RAF base. The pilot really must know what he/she is doing at those altitudes in thick air with all that power. The story was.. that too much thrust caused the RF to pitch up and the attempt to correct the nose-up caused the aircraft to porpoise. That osculation caused the rear canopy to either come off completely or become unlocked. I can't confirm that story, but I did see the result, the fuselage was twisted. I stood in front of the plane in a hangar and viewed from the front the vertical stabilizer was not vertical, not even close to vertical. That aircraft was returned to McDonald/Douglas and came back ~2 years later. I rotated back to the states soon thereafter. Just a couple of years ago I stumbled on a listing on of USAF aircraft and their history. Based on that listing the 025 never recovered and ended its service 1975. The second plane that arrived that same day remained in service until 1992. Hats off to the pilot in the video. It's tougher than it looks. 👍

Simply magnificent!

This was August 1988. In September this aircraft crashed at RAF Abingdon while practising for the airshow there. They had flown the high G 360 followed by the loop (at about 1 minute here) and hit the runway at the bottom of the loop.

Just chanced on this on Christmas Eve! Loving aircraft but not being an expert on the subject I find that as thrilling to watch as super duper modern fighters. Go pilot👏

A superb display of an aircraft that is quite agile for such a beast.

IMHO the most beautiful jet fighter ever built.

The F4 Phantom and Concorde, two aircraft which were way beyond their time, awesome

I remember this. My house was just a mile away in Offham. Our model club flew from the runway but we had to collect a two-way radio first so if there were any full-size aircraft coming in it was "everyone down".

Very impressive bird - and display! I love the F-4 Phantom!