Last U.S. Air Force Phantoms fly through Star Wars Canyon

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 10/31/2016 at 14:53 • Filed to: Planelopnik

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This is very likely the last time you’ll ever see this. Full story has more photos and video.

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Photo by Johnson Yang via !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

Jcarr > ttyymmnn 10/31/2016 at 15:06

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I hate this. The way things are going, the only way my son is going to experience many of these warbirds is through a Youtube video or gathering dust in a museum.

RallyWrench > Jcarr 10/31/2016 at 15:36

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Are there none privately owned? You’d think if guys can buy old MiGs, a de-fanged Phantom or two could find their way to the airshow circuit someday.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 10/31/2016 at 15:37

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Time and tide wait for no man. There’s at least one airworthy F-4 left. I shot this a couple of years ago. The Collings Foundation has one, and it’s not this one. So I guess that makes at least two.

Jcarr > RallyWrench 10/31/2016 at 15:39

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I hope so, but it seems like that’s happening less and less. Just look at the number of Korea and Vietnam-era planes that are still flying compared to the number WWII ones. Also, the more complex they are, the more they’re going to cost to buy and operate.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > ttyymmnn 10/31/2016 at 15:50

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My dad flew those and EA-6B’s I think.

ttyymmnn > RallyWrench 10/31/2016 at 15:51

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I think there are least two still flying in the US. I shot this a couple of years ago at an air show in Kingsville, TX. The Collings Foundation has one, and it’s not this one (or at least it has a different tail code). So I guess that makes at least two. The vast majority were turned into QF-4s and shot down. You might be able to find a cheap one in Turkey. I think they were the last to fly them operationally.

ttyymmnn > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 10/31/2016 at 15:52

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That’s fantastic. There was a guy who worked at my cigar shop who flew the F-4, the F-104, the first F-16s, and probably others. I never made it out of the shop without talking to him at length. Of course, he liked to talk. And I sure liked to listen.

RallyWrench > ttyymmnn 10/31/2016 at 16:15

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Amazing shot! These things are pigs but some should absolutely be kept flying.

ttyymmnn > RallyWrench 10/31/2016 at 16:16

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Thanks. It was a combination of good location and luck.