Quote:
Originally Posted by Platapus
Mediocre acceleration and climb eh?
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Yep. I never said it wasn't fast. The Phantom was one of only two aircraft at the time that was capable of sustained supersonic flight at sea level. The other was the F-105.
The records were all set with an empty airframe, no self-sealing tanks, no armor, no back-seater and enough fuel to make the attempt. Combat ready the plane was a pig.
Let's look at some real-world numbers:
Thrust/Weight ratios:
F-4: 0.86 at loaded weight, 0.58 at Max Take-Off Weight
MiG 21: 0.80 at gross weight. Phantom is better, but we knew that.
Lightning: 0.78.
F-104: 0.76 loaded, 0.54 MTOW
F-15: 1.12
F-16: 1.092
So you're right. For its time the Phantom was pretty impressive in speed, and yes, acceleration, but not when loaded. It wasn't a good turner, but neither was the MiG-21. The MiG-17, on the other hand, was a dogfighter, but missiles don't dogfight.
Actual all-up rate of climb:
F-104: 48,000 ft/min
MiG-21: 44,280 ft/min
F-4: 41,300 ft/min
F-16: 50,000 ft/min
While the F-104 looks good on paper, it has to be remembered that its loaded weight is not much different from its empty weight, not exactly carrying a lot of fuel or ordinance. A loaded Phantom is, as I said, mediocre.