[RELEASED] DC Designs F-4 Phantom II Discussion

DC Designs is at it again, this time working on the venerable F-4 Phantom II! Personally, I feel a bit spoiled as this is my second favorite fighter-jet after the F-14 Tomcat, and thanks to DC Designs we will soon have both in FS2020! It’s currently slated for an April release.

Work in progress shots:

Variants/liveries (subject to change):

USAF F-4E:
THUNDERBIRDS
4th TFW (GREY SCHEME)
4th TFW, 337th TFS (MiG KILLER)
347th TFW, 70th TFS “WHITE KNIGHTS”
20th FS, 49th FW, HOLLOMAN AFB, NEW MEXICO
469th TFS, 388th TFW “BETTY LOU”

JASDF F-4E:
302nd TFS, JASDF

USN F-4J:
BLUE ANGELS
VF-96 CAG “SHOWTIME 100”
VF-111 SUNDOWNERS
VF-51 SCREAMIN’ EAGLES
VF-84 JOLLY ROGERS

USMC F-4J:
VMFA-333
VMFA-232

RN FLEET AIR ARM PHANTOM FG.1 (F-4K):
892 NAVAL AIR SQUADRON “007”

RAF PHANTOM FGR.2 (F-4M):
43 SQUADRON (CAMO)
BLACK MIKE
56 Sqn
92 Sqn
74 Sqn

EXPORT PHANTOMS:
GREEK AIR FORCE F-4E
IRANIAN F-4E
ISRAELI F-4E
LUFTWAFFE F-4E
RAAF F-4E
TURKISH F-4E

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Really happy to see there’s going to be a Blue Angels livery! The first time I saw the Blue Angels, way back in the early 1970s, they were flying the F-4. That was also the first time that I witnessed the F-4 in flight so, to me, they are permanently linked.

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Still WIP but well underway.

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I would spend hours in grade school drawing the F-4. Absolutely my favorite plane. I can’t wait to see this in the sim. Thank you!!!

I used to work with 56 and 74Sqn F-4s early in my career.

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Beautiful shots! Thanks for sharing!

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Sorry for my ignorance, but, what nationality are those squadrons? I don’t recognize that marking.

Nah, that is OK.

56 and 74Sqn ran the F-4 as interceptors for the RAF here in the UK during the Cold War based at RAF Wattisham in Suffolk. Mainly used for discouraging Russian aircraft (Bears mainly) from UK/NATO airspace. It replaced the British Electric Lightning, both equally noisy and thirsty :smiley:

The armed aircraft was the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) aircraft that was on alert 24/7/365 and often airborne in around 2 minutes and sometimes in the air for hours on end, often backed by additional aircraft and tankers.

That role was shared with other squadrons around the UK using the Tornado F3 and nowadays, the Typhoon.

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Oh… I kind of thought it was UK, but I only saw that small open square on the side, and no other nationality markings. Thanks!

Hope your ears survived! My dad (US Navy carrier ops) had issues despite he was doing ATC. Certainly noisy times!

Maybe @pby5a will cover this if @DEAN01973 doesn’t :smiley:

F4E, F4J, F4K ( Royal Navy ) / FGR2 will be included in the package, covering most major variants of the Phabulous Phantoms.

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Because of the interceptor colour scheme, blue/grey, the RAF roundel is there on the engine intakes just above the leading edge of the wings, but it is subtle so easy to miss. Some of the paint jobs they did for air shows/anniversaries were just whack though, like totally bat-shizz crazy

As a meteorologist, I was downstairs from ATC and slightly closer to the runway, without the triple glazing. My ears are OK, thankfully. My room in the accommodation block I was in was about 400m from the threshold and I’d sleep through a QRA launch (laden full military power take-off) in the middle of the night (was a daily occurrence for a while). Being British, we could not accept American engines in our aircraft, some weird, probably colonial throwback, so they were fitted with more powerful (supposedly) Rolls-Royce Spey engines.

But if say a C-130 drifted in in the early hours (we got a lot of visiting aircraft) it would always wake me.

Still have very fond memories even if 35 years ago, especially the all night breakfasts if you were working shifts :smile:

Some old Air Show footage here: The BEST Solo Fast Jet Display!! - RAF F4 Phantom - West Malling 1988 - YouTube

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56 squadron, spent lots of time at the fence watching, uk

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WIP shots courtesy Dean: :drooling_face:












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Truly my favorite plane of all time. Can’t wait!! Thanks for sharing pics for those of us who don’t Facebook LOL.

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Should have a D version

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I know it’s still work in progress but the nose cone just look quite off for the Phantom.

The Phantom flew for multiple nations for decades across probably a dozen or more variants. Which one appears “quite off” to you and do you have reference photos to compare?

Of course, however the E and F variants nose cone seems to be a continuous angle which it isn’t in real life. I’m not going to post someone else’s picture as a reference however a quick Google around ending up on Facebook shows I’m not the only person to have brought this up and DC Designs did reply to the comment, it should be fixed before release however it’s a “low priority” fix.

Another Phabulous Phantom Phriday update: :drooling_face:

To summarize, liveries are coming together. Work is focusing on the cockpit front and back. Autopilot will be very basic (I assume in keeping with the era). Sound package needs to be delivered - the Rolls Royce Spey engine was recorded just last week. No firm launch date yet - the Phantom will be ready when she’s ready (and who would dare tell her otherwise? :wink:). To me, it’s looking like late May/early June (I am hoping in time for Memorial Day as that would be Phantastic! :crossed_fingers:).

Here’s a recording shot from last week plus more WIP. As always, a big thank you to Dean for sharing:

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Are you suggesting something with the Gloster Javelin?