The Modern Phantom Guide: The F-4 Phantom Exposed
65+ pages of nothing but cockpit shots of the various USAF models of the Phantom, something I've never seen in any other publication to date regarding the Phantom,. The book covers everything imaginable, from the pitot tube to the drag chute housing, Jake covered it all. Explanations of the various systems and photos are clear and concise and in a way the avgerage Joe can understand, or a former F-4 crew chief that has been "Phantom bit" one too many times. The cockpit sections has to be seen to be believed, Jake covers the RF/F-4C,D,E,F,G and not to mention the various upgrades made to both the domestic variants and the export variants, and as a suprise to me, he also shows photo's of the QF-4's and the mods made to the airframe..awesome! Looking through the book takes me back to the four plus years I crewed the F-4, with each turn of the page, I can almost smell hydraulic fluid and JP-4 oozing from the pages. I was lucky enough to lay my hands on or launch/recover all the USAF variants at one time or another (my units F-C's and E's, Reno's and Alabama's RF-4C's, Kansas F-4D's, the 35th's F-4G's as they staged back to George AFB, not to mention F-4F's while at Red Flag, just to name a few), this book brings back all those memories I thought that were long faded of the Phantom. Helping Jake with this volume is like a who's who of Phantomology PhDs: Bill Spidle, Gary Chambers (everyone's favorite F-4 WSO!), Bill Peake, Jim Rotramel, not to mention a host of pilots, WSOs, crew chiefs, and Phantom photographers from around the world (big thumbs up to "Scout" and Kostas for the GAF and HAF Phantom pics!) that helped make this title possible. Gentlemen,take a bow for your help! You guys provide the peices to the puzzle and Jake puts the peices together! Okay, enough blabbering from me, I give this book a BIG thumbs up and a must-have for anyone who has an interest and/or love for the F-4, and now I must put on my drool bucket and look through the book again....... __________________ --TSgt. David Cook, 181st Tactical Fighter Group, USAF retired