Andy,

Having just "flown" a mission using the F-4N, I really noticed it's ability to turn better. Was this the case from when you transitioned from the F-4C/D to the F-4E? Or even from hard wing F-4Es to the slatted jets? Thanks!

Jeff

Jeff

The turn performance of the hard wing F-4s (USAF C, D, and E) was pretty much the same. When turning the E, the nose felt like it had a longer moment arm (and it did), but turn rate wasn't affected.

The effect of slats was not so much that the jet turned better...the primary effect was that of removing adverse yaw as such a significant factor if aileron was used at high AOA. The slats made the jet much more forgiving when using aileron while pulling G.

The slats also produced a fair amount of drag, so energy bleed rates were higher. How much? I don't really remember. There was a group of "hard core" guys that preferred the non-slatted jet because it was faster and lost less energy. Others (me included) thought the slatted jet to be a better "dogfighter". But I do not have any hard data to say one way or the other.

Thanks Andy. I appreciate you sharing your experiences. We had an Eagle driver in the 58th that always said that he'd rather have an A-model F-15 in a BFM fight, over a C-model. The lesser weight really made a difference and they had all been MSIP'd so the A's had nearly all the same gadgets anyhow. Cheers!

Jeff