Great shot
 

Understatement ...!

Imagine seeing that pass in front of you as you're cruising along level flight.

Awesome photo.

What are the Dark Blue missiles ?

Great shot!!

Was it taken shortly before departure into the unknown?

The dark blue "missiles" are ballast to keep the ac C of G within limits.

Just one question your honour.

Why is there no jet efflux heat haze?

Case closed.

Very brave if you ask me LM! I just wonder at what stage did the navigator eject?:ok:

Another thing.

Look at the cloud in front of the starboard tailplane leading edge.

Why is it much brighter than all the others?

Are you suggesting that it has already achieved escape velocity, and/or the crew are saving fuel?

Something else.

The engine auxiliary air doors are open - this only occured when the gear was down.

Now what do you all make of this image??

Not quite true LM, aux air doors opened below, I think it was 240kts, on an F4K, but thats an F4M, so it could be a little different.

Well if it is photo-shopped it would be be interesting to see how the original image of the F-4 was obtained..........what are the thoughts?

Low flypast at low speed ( aux air doors) with the power back at idle to avoid any signs of the efflux????

Close formation view from below, again at low speed, but with the power back, etc.....?

Or might it have been simpler to take a picture of an F-4 in the vertical?.

Just asking...

Photo by Dr Stephan Petersen

“Unit: No.19(F) Sqn / RAFG Wildenrath.”

Photo ship was FGR.2 XV475/H.

Sorry for being suspicious.

As a member of Silhouette Challenge I have learnt to be - things are not always what they seem to be.

I suppose we now need a pic of a Lightning going very well upwards....

:):)

What are you waiting for? ;)

Almost....

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...02at200059.jpg

On the F4 in the first picture, there is a span-wise doubler-strap under the wing. Is that an original design feature or a life-extending mod?

Great shot indeed! However, please reduce the size to PPRuNe's required exposure of 850x850. It spreads laterally across the page and adjustments can be and are annoying.

wrong resolution but great pics....
 

loved the BIG pic, thanks.

glf

Spanwise doubler on F4 wing is the "100 FI" life extension;
there were other invisible beef ups too, and as stated earlier aux air doors were automatic based on airspeed.

ttfn

Yes. F4 photo way too big. Reduce it NOW !

These straps were added as F-4s went through scheduled maintenance as i understand it, there were also doubler plates added around the wing fold area and, most RAF F-4s actually received completely new build outer wing sections late in their operational lives.

-RP

oops, Ivor Toolbox beat me too it!

Where did the photo in the OP come from ?

How would you take that photo and get the light / shadows correct
of the aircraft was not airborne ?

Quote from an F4 pilot:- If it was airborne, why the need to Photoshop it as it is an easy photo to set up.

Opinion of an F4 pilot is
- plenty of photos out there of a similar nature
- big bypass in the engine, so it wasn't a massively
hot jet efflux at less than high power settings


Hopefully F4 mate will be along in the near future :ok:

.

F4 Picture
 

It's brilliant but ...... There is a couple of clues why I don't think it's real - one as someone has pointed out already the lower aux air doors are open - gasping for air or about to depart !!! - the biggest clue is on the port stabilator - there is a reflection of the hook which looks very odd from where the sun is

fake?
 

if its real its brilliant - it's a very very hard shot to take I tried it from a Hawk with a 56 Sqn FGR2 but got him to roll towards us - despite my brief an F4 pilot claiming he could do he spot rolled and pulled - front seat mate in Hawk had to avoid in the vertical at not a lot of knots - as we recovered with a T6 NL caption we decided to call it a day !!

if i were to guess I'd say "real" simply because I find the shadow detail of the fletchers, the pylons, the LAU's, AUX's to be just too good. I also did some pixel peeping at the 1024 image, and the transition pixels between aircraft and sky look predominantly the correct shade to me all around the aircraft, no obvious colour shifts because of a transposed background. If it's fake its really remarkable.

Please, will someone tell us? A fantastic shot, but is it up front or not? I'm very adept at photoshopping, but wouldn't like to judge this piece. Only one way to resolve I think - will the photographer please come forward?

Someone on here said it is on Airliners . net web site (on the other Phantom thread).

I cant find it and wasn't about to search through pages of F4 photos.

I sent him a PM asking for the photographers name but no reply.

I also can't find it searching via Google with many different search parameters.

Maybe someone else has luck finding it.

500N

# 15 from aviate1138

Also

Photos: McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 (F-4M) Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

aviate

Thank you, my bad.

Can you see an orange glow / reflection on the plane after the engines ?



OK, do a comparison to this photo by the same photographer.
Photos: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29G (9-12A) Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net

500N
"Can you see an orange glow / reflection on the plane after the engines ?"

Seems to be there after playing with the saturation level. Very high ambient light levels...

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/n...05at081107.jpg

I'm pretty sure it is real as I recollect the original (or something extremely similar) when it first came out in the late 80s or early 90s. I can't be sure, but I don't think tools such as photoshop etc were available back then. :)

I think it's real.

Am still waiting for CM to come back as he was going to look
at the photo more closely - plus he was an F4 pilot and thinks
it's real for the reasons stated in previous post.

High ambient light levels :ok:

My job is Motion Picture Visual Effects and Aviation related image gathering. :)

Isn't it a shame that we immediately think a great photo is manipulated (beyond normal accepted tweaks) rather than just being able to enjoy the image in front of us ? Photoshop etc can do amazing things in the hands of skilled operators, but alas has made us all sceptics, including myself :(

The simple truth is that a great photo will do it's own talking and either by plan or by fortuitous accident they do exist :ok:


SHJ

My job is Motion Picture Visual Effects and Aviation related image gathering



I can use photoshop, manipulate images and do most things with it
but have never been good at describing photos or the effects !!! LOL

I'm glad we have a professional here :ok:

As I said, I thought it was an original (having dissected it !), CM said via PM it was but it was only when you put the link up to the original and I am on another computer with a better screen that the "glow" of the engines stood out more that I commented on it.


I notice that not many of the / his photos have a lot of exhaust
effect out the back.
.

I sent a friend of mine the link to the picture to ask his opinion on wether it was a real photo or painting and he is 99.9% sure it is a photo, just one that has been badly edited/processed in photoshop. And he used to be a screener for Airliners.Net...

-RP

Did 41 Sqn Zap the port side sgt fletcher tank?

This is also by the same 'tog:
Photos: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29G (9-12A) Aircraft Pictures | Airliners.net