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Gunsmoke 1983 - 52TFW


Old Viper Tester

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The 52nd Tac Fighter Wing team out of Spangdahlem AB at the Gunsmoke Aerial Gunnery Competition, Nellis AFB, October 1983

 

71-1079

71-01079 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 34cr

 

72-1067

72-0167 52tfw SP GS83 19831010 31cr

 

74-1052

74-1052 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 25cr

 

74-1052 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 24cr

 

74-1638

74-1638 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 35cr

 

74-1639

74-1639 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 22cr

 

Gotta love the lo-viz shark mouth...

74-1639 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 20cr

 

Very odd. This is F-4E 74-1639, yet the "Identi-Plate" looks like it is a generic stencil. It starts with the very first production F-4E, 66-0284, and goes up to 69-0236. Yet this is a 1974 production contract year airframe. Even if it is generic, its use makes no sense. The data block is supposed to identify the production block number so that maintainers and aircrew know the equipment and structural configuration of the jet. The inclusion of the words "Identiplate Location" is also strange. Maybe this jet escaped the paint barn without the aircraft specific data block being applied here?

74-1639 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 30cr

 

Thanks for looking,

Sven

Edited by Old Viper Tester
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You really want me to build another Phantom kit, don't you?? :Tasty:. :rofl:

 

Do you know what is that thing on the leading edge of port wing, with the red cover on it? It's an all the airframes of this bunch. TIA

 

Ciao

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9 hours ago, giemme said:

Do you know what is that thing on the leading edge of port wing, with the red cover on it? It's an all the airframes of this bunch.

As whiskey responded, it's TISEO. As a target identification system it was supposed to help with "beyond visual range" (BVR) engagements. As I recall, it provided magnification from 5 to 10 times. Some sources say that it helped target detection at BVR, but the field of view was relatively small, so finding a target without first detecting it with the radar was pretty long odds.

 

I know that Hasegawa has TISEO in their F-4E kits, can't speak to the others.

 

Sven

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1 hour ago, whiskey said:

It's a TISEO- Target ID System Electro-Optical.  Basically a long range TV with magnification.

7 minutes ago, Old Viper Tester said:

As whiskey responded, it's TISEO. As a target identification system it was supposed to help with "beyond visual range" (BVR) engagements. As I recall, it provided magnification from 5 to 10 times. Some sources say that it helped target detection at BVR, but the field of view was relatively small, so finding a target without first detecting it with the radar was pretty long odds.

 

I know that Hasegawa has TISEO in their F-4E kits, can't speak to the others.

 

Sven

Thank you both, guys :thumbsup: It wasn't a standard F-4E feature, was it? 

 

Ciao

 

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9 minutes ago, giemme said:

It wasn't a standard F-4E feature, was it?

It was a standard feature, but it was introduced very late in production, in 71-series (Block 48) and later. Which is why you won't see it on any F-4Gs as they were all conversions of 69-series airframes. Pretty sure it wasn't retrofitted to earlier Phantoms because of other wing modifications that occurred in the latter blocks that the TISEO installation was designed for.

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On 29/11/2018 at 18:15, Old Viper Tester said:

It was a standard feature, but it was introduced very late in production, in 71-series (Block 48) and later. Which is why you won't see it on any F-4Gs as they were all conversions of 69-series airframes. Pretty sure it wasn't retrofitted to earlier Phantoms because of other wing modifications that occurred in the latter blocks that the TISEO installation was designed for.

Thanks Sven :thumbsup: 

So a slatted wing F-4E would have the TISEO?

TIA

 

Ciao

Edited by giemme
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On 11/29/2018 at 4:45 PM, Old Viper Tester said:

As whiskey responded, it's TISEO. As a target identification system it was supposed to help with "beyond visual range" (BVR) engagements. As I recall, it provided magnification from 5 to 10 times. Some sources say that it helped target detection at BVR, but the field of view was relatively small, so finding a target without first detecting it with the radar was pretty long odds.

 

I know that Hasegawa has TISEO in their F-4E kits, can't speak to the others.

 

Sven

FYI.

At the moment I am looking at a kit of the ESCI 1/72 F4 E/F - No 9027, which has a TISEO included for the F4 E version in the kit, this a/c is from the 3rd TFW - 3rd TFS, code PN on the fin.  The information on the box does note that TISEO is included.  The kit is moulded in tan plastic.

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  • 1 month later...
On 11/28/2018 at 11:48 PM, Old Viper Tester said:

 

74-1052 52tfw SP KLSV GS83 19831010 24cr

 

Hmm, never noticed those extra static dischargers on the wingtip and the fuelvent before. After looking at some more pics, it seems like only late model E's had those. You learn something new every day. Thanks for the nice pics.

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On 1/19/2019 at 6:23 PM, Boman said:

Which of the 52TFW squadrons were the jets from, or was it a mix from all squadrons? 

It was a mix.  For Gunsmoke competitions, the active duty units fielded teams at the wing level and selected the best airframes across the wing to participate. Hence no squadron tail bands, in this instance. Other units applied tail bands representing all squadrons or a unique wing-level tail band.

 

Unlike the active duty units, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units sent squadron teams.

 

Sven

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On 12/2/2018 at 8:31 AM, giemme said:

...

So a slatted wing F-4E would have the TISEO?

...

Hi Giorgio,

 

Not necessarily. All TISEO jets had slat wings, but not all F-4Es had TISEO (and most F-4Es were slatted eventually, whether by manufacture or refit). As Sven wrote, only jets from Block 48 production (so with serials starting 71- or higher) and later were equipped with TISEO.

 

Something else I've noticed about these and other late-production F-4Es is that they all have the ARN-101 fairing (low, black shape between the two upright antennae) on the spine. Given that the two features are seen together (at least on F-4Es - I'm not thinking of ARN-101 as applied to some RF-4Cs), it suggests to me that TISEO and the digital avionics upgrade offered by the ARN-101 system were connected.

 

hope this helps,

 

Andrew.

 

P.S I really like these photos; thanks very much Sven.

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Sven these aircraft are from Spangdahelm AB in Germany not George AFB. Great set of photos again, it was great seeing them here in Europe although the skies were more grey than blue.

 

Robert

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 11/29/2018 at 9:18 AM, Old Viper Tester said:

Very odd. This is F-4E 74-1639, yet the "Identi-Plate" looks like it is a generic stencil. It starts with the very first production F-4E, 66-0284, and goes up to 69-0236. Yet this is a 1974 production contract year airframe. Even if it is generic, its use makes no sense. The data block is supposed to identify the production block number so that maintainers and aircrew know the equipment and structural configuration of the jet. The inclusion of the words "Identiplate Location" is also strange. Maybe this jet escaped the paint barn without the aircraft specific data block being applied here?

My guess is someone has taken the drawing information literally and produced a stencil stating exactly what the drawing said, instead of using that info to make an individual marking required!

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