Simon Posted October 29, 2021 Share Posted October 29, 2021 Hello everyone I'm busy with the Airfix 1/72 FGR.2, and I see that 'later' RAF Phantoms had a formation light and also a small semi-circular vent/hole on the rear of the brake parachute housing, which are missing from the kit. I'm assuming (rightly or wrongly ), that the light was moved from the rear of the fin just above the top of the rudder when the Phantoms got their fin-top RWR fairings fitted, but what's the vent for? Just out of interest... There's a nice clear piccy of it on this thread: Thanks Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 You are correct on your theory of the nav light. As for the "vent", there was nothing else in the drag chute door to require venting. No pipes came through from the main tail cone. The only thing it was for to my knowledge was to help close the spring loaded door. Insert the fingers of your right hand and grip the door. Close the door and pull out the T bar shown in the photo with your left hand to lock the door. It required a good technique and timing to get it to go smoothly. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 30, 2021 Author Share Posted October 30, 2021 Thanks for that @Phone Phixer Sounds like you needed to be a bit of a contortionist. As I mentioned in my post, there's neither the re-positioned light nor the hole on the Airfix kit's tail 'chute door. Was the "vent" or handhold fitted originally, or was it a modification? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Brown Posted October 30, 2021 Share Posted October 30, 2021 21 minutes ago, Simon said: Thanks for that @Phone Phixer Sounds like you needed to be a bit of a contortionist. As I mentioned in my post, there's neither the re-positioned light nor the hole on the Airfix kit's tail 'chute door. Was the "vent" or handhold fitted originally, or was it a modification? Simon The hole is on all F-4s. It was either round or half-moon shaped. Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 On 30/10/2021 at 11:08, Ben Brown said: The hole is on all F-4s. It was either round or half-moon shaped. Ben I never noticed it until you pointed it out, Happy RF-4C More spaced out F-4N 2 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 I always thought it was to allow warm air from the tail cone to vent out through the 'chute to stop it from freezing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Like the man said, John 8 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silverkite Posted November 1, 2021 Share Posted November 1, 2021 if you check late Greek RF-4E (slatted) with extra antennas under the nose they also have some sort of extension where the smile resides Luigi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo88 Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 It's amazing what you learn here. I love the drawings above. Even the face is a little work of art. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted November 4, 2021 Share Posted November 4, 2021 Roger that! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted November 5, 2021 Share Posted November 5, 2021 Wow! can it get more complicated to open and lock a spring loaded door?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_K Posted November 7, 2021 Share Posted November 7, 2021 Ooh, brake chutes... They are always "armed" with some temper. Flying a Learjet I always volunteered to pack the brake chute rather than check the engine oil levels. Inserting a spring loaded chute into a container sized only slightly larger than a family size pea soup tin is always interesting to say the least. I've read that it wasn't completely without some heavy breathing with Phantoms either. Cheers, Antti 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted November 8, 2021 Share Posted November 8, 2021 You had to follow a set sequence of actions with the chute handle in the cockpit and locking the door. Otherwise things could go wrong. Lineys could make an occasional error, but let aircrew do their own flight servicing and oooer. This is a photo I took, mid Atlantic from a Tristar tanker. We (19 Sqn) were enroute to Nellis AFB for Red Flag, Oct 1987. The Phantoms went from Wildenrath to Leuchars and overnighted, with the aircrew doing their own AFs, BF,s and drag chute fits. The groundcrew main party flew on a Herc to Brize, then got on a Tristar for the journey to the states, via Goose Bay. The Phantoms took off from Leuchars to meet up with us and be re-fueled on the flight leg to Goose. Unfortunately on take off from Leuchars, XV422 "J" (yes, the infamous Juliet the Jag Killer) had it's drag chute fall out still packed in its shell. The door and the main shackle had not been locked properly. It flew all the way across the pond with the door open. The riggers on the support party had to do some repairs to the door in Goose Bay. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now