Our newest restoration project... F-4C Phantom II, AF 64-0763

[Babalonian]

Not many people could stomach the fuel bill of that thing either even if they did let you fly it.

That's not even half the logistics/cost of it, but it is a nice chunk. 

Jet-age aircraft are just a completely different animal in terms of maintenance, safety and precautions.  IE: How many flying museums (most being NPOs, Paul Allen doesn't count ) will have (registered and current) state/fed licensed pyrotechnicians on hand to regularly deal with the ejection seats? 


Still a very cool adition.

[Shifty]

It'd be cool to find it's former pilots and have them tell some flight history/experience.

There's probably quite a few pilots that flew this bird. It might not be all that hard to find them.

[Puma44]

Ah, yes the mighty Rhino.  Great looking even when she's in pieces.

[Midway]

Ah, yes the mighty Rhino.  Great looking even when she's in pieces.

(Image removed from quote.)

 

[flight17]

Very true, but first of all you'd have to deal with the maintenance bill to get the airframe, engines, electrical system, fuel tanks and control systems flightworthy. I used to work on the pointy end of F-4s, together with a bunch of other maintenance people in a bunch of specialties for the rest of the plane. To get a plane as complicated as the F-4 back to flight status after it's been sitting a zillion years is not simple and would be a major monetary sink hole. Then continuing maintenance testing and repair to keep it flightworthy would be a secondary fiscal drain.

Nice photos!

Thanks.

Another issue is parts. We tried to get parts for a t-34, a plane which has been operated by hundreds or thousands of civil operators and because of where we got ours from,the navy couldn't sell us any pats that we need.

Not many people could stomach the fuel bill of that thing either even if they did let you fly it.

there are multiple ways organizations can make it work to at minimum break even on operating it. The Collings foundation have the single f-4 phantom on the US registry, and it pretty much doesn't fly without a paying passenger in the back seat. It is also paid to attend every airshow it goes to and I would guess it stays pretty local to their Texas base as well, unless there is some big time show that is willing to pay for it to come there.

[ghi]

cool photos!