November 2024 - It's Go Time! (Patreon)

Hi folks!

Work continues on the F-4 Phantom. I am having an absolute ball. I haven't had this much fun in a long time! I recently completed the cockpit description section for the Pilot, and I am now going through the WSO cockpit and miscellaneous equipment. In my characteristic twisted way, I really love how clunky (and sometimes impractical) everything is in this plane... wires dangling left and right, switches or lamps loosely wobbling around as the fuselage starts rattling through the air. You can tell this generation of aircraft came at the point where engineers were scratching their head trying to find any room at all to cram all those avionics in. The struggle for space was real! It's an interesting period in aviation history where the requirements for multirole aircraft meant a significant shift in design philosophy was necessary, as shown in the later Teen Series aircraft.

After we're done with the cockpit, we're going straight to sensors (radar and Pave Spike targeting pod). This is gonna be good.