OT: A present for someone hard to buy for.

[saab2000]

Does it plane?

[NHAero]

POTD!
I dunno, those tires don't look supple, but I bet they are tubeless

Originally Posted by saab2000

Does it plane?

[benb]

If I'm doing my math right it's ~450gallons of fuel per hour at a current rate of around $4.77/gallon for JP-4.. can't find if that's Military thrust or what, that's like $2000+ in fuel alone per hour. Must be nice to be the billionaire target market.

Didn't the instructors fly the A-4 in Top Gun? "Going to hit the brakes and he'll fly right by..."

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by benb

If I'm doing my math right it's ~450gallons of fuel per hour at a current rate of around $4.77/gallon for JP-4.. can't find if that's Military thrust or what, that's like $2000+ in fuel alone per hour. Must be nice to be the billionaire target market.

Didn't the instructors fly the A-4 in Top Gun? "Going to hit the brakes and he'll fly right by..."

Yeah, owning and operating jet aircraft isn’t for the thin of wallet. Anyway, the insurers won’t let just anyone fly this.

[bigbill]

After I win a lottery worth hundreds of millions, I want a Mig-21. I'd have to buy 4-5 surplus planes to build one flyable model. Then I'd have to learn to fly.

On a side note, my son is still in the window where he could be sent to fly Harriers. I'd like to see him in a Hornet personally, but a B or C model F-35 will do.

[benb]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Yeah, owning and operating jet aircraft isn’t for the thin of wallet. Anyway, the insurers won’t let just anyone fly this.

I'd argue you have to be someone special to even find it enjoyable to fly with all the hoops you have to jump through, completely ignoring the money.

[jds108]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Yeah, owning and operating jet aircraft isn’t for the thin of wallet. Anyway, the insurers won’t let just anyone fly this.

Insurance on an old fighter jet? I suppose, but now I'm imagining the cold call to a company as I ask them for a quote...

[chismog]

Wow, you can get a Phantom from the same company. Price slashed to 1.5M!!! Paging Old Potatoe!

https://www.platinumfighters.com/inv...-1f-phantom-ii

[Louis]

Originally Posted by chismog

Wow, you can get a Phantom from the same company. Price slashed to 1.5M!!! Paging Old Potatoe!

https://www.platinumfighters.com/inv...-1f-phantom-ii

I'm not a pilot, but if a good condition Staggerwing Beech were to suddenly show up in my driveway I'd be willing to learn.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by benb

If I'm doing my math right it's ~450gallons of fuel per hour at a current rate of around $4.77/gallon for JP-4.. can't find if that's Military thrust or what, that's like $2000+ in fuel alone per hour. Must be nice to be the billionaire target market.

Didn't the instructors fly the A-4 in Top Gun? "Going to hit the brakes and he'll fly right by..."

'About' 50 pounds per minute, just cruising along. 'About' 10 gallons per minute.
600 or so gallons per hour. Yup, expensive...In afterburner, the Phantom, burned about 2000 pounds per minute. Just flying along, bench mark for Phantom was 3000 pounds per hour per engine..6000 pounds per hour, 100 pounds per minute. A-4 about 1/2 of that, roughly.

Top Gun flew the A-4 as well as the 6 'Adversary' squadrons in the USN.
VF-126
VF-43
VF-127
VA-45
VFC-12 and VFC-13(reserve squadrons..fee active duty, bunch of airline drivers).

All but VFC-12/13 and VF-127 all gone now. TopGun is in Fallon Nevada, no longer at NAS, now MCAS Miramar.

A-4 in adversary and in training command long gone. Now a mix of F-5 and F-16.
AND, nothing about the movie(TopGun) that was really factual...entertaining but a cartoon, that helped USN aviation a lot...but still a cartoon.

Wow, you can get a Phantom from the same company. Price slashed to 1.5M!!! Paging Old Potatoe!

Wow, very first gen Phantom..really a pre production prototype. Small nose, small rear canopy. Production models(F-4B(USN), F-4C(USAF)), much different.

[clyde the point]

OP lived the good life most of us dream of, me anyway. Chasing cars down Hwy 14...

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by clyde the point

OP lived the good life most of us dream of, me anyway. Chasing cars down Hwy 14...

HA..did I tell that? Hwy 14 towards Mojave...on the way to China Lake..yup, did that..in the 'black' Phantom in VX-4..

[Plum Hill]

My former ophthalmologist’s playtoy: http://aeroexperience.blogspot.com/2...-st-louis.html

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Plum Hill

My former ophthalmologist’s playtoy: http://aeroexperience.blogspot.com/2...-st-louis.html

Wow..deep, DEEP pockets to be able to actually fly these things...Something breaks and it's replacement has to be hand made.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by reuben

The fat tires make it easy to land on gravel runways.