Fly the world famous MiG killing Navy F-4J Phantom! This real 1967 simulator has introduced many US Navy pilots to the Phantom and it is the same model of Phantom as used by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.                                     

 Channel 3 KSN Meteorologist Leon Smitherman (left) poses with the sim after flying air combat 

F-4 Phantom Data

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic  jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft.  It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable, it was adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air Force by the mid-1960s and became a major part of their air wings.

The Phantom is a large fighter with a top speed of over Mach 2. It can carry over 18,000 pounds (8,400 kg) of weapons on nine external hardpoints, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and various bombs. The F-4, like other interceptors of its time, was designed without an internal cannon, but later models incorporated a cannon. Beginning in 1959, it set 15 world records, including an absolute speed record, and an absolute altitude record.

The F-4 was used extensively by these three U.S. services during theVietnam War, serving as the principal air superiority fighter for both the Navy and Air Force, as well as being important in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles by the close of U.S. involvement in the war.^[3] The Phantom has the distinction of being the last U.S. fighter flown to attain ace status in the 20th century. During the Vietnam War, the USAF had one pilot and two WSOs, and the US Navy one pilot and one RIO, become aces in air-to-air combat. It continued to form a major part of U.S. military air power throughout the 1970s and 1980s, being gradually replaced by more modern aircraft.

The F-4 Phantom II remained in use by the U.S. in the reconnaissance and Wild Weasel roles in the 1991Gulf War, finally leaving U.S. service in 1996. It was also the only aircraft used by both U.S. flight demonstration teams: the USAF Thunderbirds (F-4E) and the US Navy Blue Angels (F-4J). The F-4 was also operated by the armed forces of 11 other nations. Israeli Phantoms saw extensive combat in several conflicts, while Iran used its large fleet of Phantoms in the iran-Iraq war. Phantoms remain in front line service with seven countries, and in use as an unmanned target drones in the U.S. Air Force. Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981, with a total of 5,195 built, making it the most numerous American supersonic military aircraft

 World records

To show off their new fighter, the Navy led a series of record-breaking flights early in Phantom development:

• Operation Top Flight: On 6 December 1959, the second XF4H-1 performed a zoom climb to a world record 98,557 ft (30,040 m). The previous record of 94,658 ft (28,852 m) was set by a Soviet Sukhoi T-43-1 prototype. Commander Lawrence E. Flint, Jr., USN accelerated his aircraft to Mach 2.5 at 47,000 ft (14,330 m) and climbed to 90,000 ft (27,430 m) at a 45° angle. He then shut down the engines and glided to the peak altitude. As the aircraft fell through 70,000 ft (21,300 m), Flint restarted the engines and resumed normal flight.
• On 5 September 1960, an F4H-1 averaged 1,216.78 mph (1,958.16 km/h) over a 500 km (311 mi) closed-circuit course.
• On 25 September 1960, an F4H-1 averaged 1,390.21 mph (2,237.26 km/h) over a 100 km (62 mi) closed-circuit course.
• Operation LANA: To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Naval aviation (L is the Roman numeral for 50 and ANA stood for Anniversary of Naval Aviation) on 24 May 1961, Phantoms flew across the continental United States in under three hours and included several tanker refuelings. The fastest of the aircraft averaged 869.74 mph (1,400.28 km/h) and completed the trip in 2 hours 47 minutes, earning the pilot (and future NASA Astronaut), Lieutenant Richard Gordan, USN and RIO, Lieutenant Bobbie Long, USN, the 1961 Bendix trophy.
• Operation Sageburner: On 28 August 1961, a Phantom averaged 902.769 mph (1,452.826 km/h) over a 3 mi (4.82 km) course flying below 125 ft (40 m) at all times. Commander J.L. Felsman, USN was killed during the first attempt at this record on 18 May 1961 when his aircraft disintegrated in the air after pitch damper failure.
• Operation Skyburner: On 22 December 1961, a modified Phantom with water injection set an absolute world record speed of 1,606.342 mph (2,585.086 km/h).
• On 5 December 1961, another Phantom set a sustained altitude record of 66,443.8 ft (20,252.1 m).
• Operation High Jump: A series of time-to-altitude records was set in early 1962; 34.523 seconds to 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) 48.787 seconds to 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) 61.629 seconds to 9,000 metres (30,000 ft) 77.156 seconds to 12,000 metres (39,000 ft) 114.548 seconds to 15,000 metres (49,000 ft) 178.5 seconds to 20,000 metres (66,000 ft) 230.44 seconds to 25,000 metres (82,000 ft) and 371.43 seconds to 30,000 metres (98,000 ft).

All in all, the Phantom set 16 world records. With the exception of Skyburner, all records were achieved in unmodified production aircraft. Five of the speed records remained unbeaten until the F-15 Eagle appeared in 1975