F-4B Phantom II
U.S. Marine Corps, VMFA-531 "Grey Ghosts", El Toro MCAS, California 1968
Aircraft by Mark Harper/Alphasim
Repaint by Frank Safranek
About this aircraft
-------------------
I originally selected this aircraft because I had an old set of model airplane decals sitting around and I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some use out of
them. I had purchased a copy of Modeldecal Sheet #2 back in the 1970s but had never
used them. One of the aircraft on the sheet was this F-4B, number EC00.
While researching this scheme on the internet I came in contact with Paul D. Hosick,
webmaster at "http://home.inreach.com/trinity/". I'll share some of Paul's observations.
"I love your version of "Double Nuts"! I was her plane captain and it is not often
that anyone recognizes that particular paint scheme. This paint scheme was in 1968
when 531 had just transferred from Cherry Point out to El Toro, and the squadron was
receiving their aircraft from squadrons in Vietnam. So they all got a real quick
face lift and new colors. Later in 1970, 531 was the first Marine or Navy squadron
to go to a solid color for the entire vertical stabilizer."
"Double Nuts was our first plane to fly at El Toro. They all came in pretty well
beat up from Vietnam."
"A Little trivia. One reason the paint scheme you painted did not last all that
long was because when in flight all you could see was what appeared to be a blue
dot from the ground. We were often called the Sylvania Blue Dots. Though since
I actually painted the insignia on Double Nuts she is very close to my heart."
"Some time after the Marine Corps transferred over to the F/A-18 and all the Phantoms
were scrapped, a retired general bought Double Nuts and refurbished her for display.
MAG-11 was kind enough to donate the paint job but they repainted her in MAG-11
colors. NO SUCH THING!! MAKE BELIEVE!! RUBBISH!! Double Nuts was on display at
El Toro up until the base was closed several years ago, and I think she was moved
down to MCAS Miramar in San Diego."
"Unfortunately, I was not a pilot, just one responsible for making sure the planes
were air worthy. I was lucky enough to have received my back seat certificate, which
got me in the back seat of Double Nuts several times. As for any reference to me,
I guess just Former Marine, Plane Captain, and member of VMFA-531."
I asked Paul about the colors and markings of this particular aircraft and Marine
Corps F-4s in general.
"Regarding the tail letters "EC", the Navy would assign a set of letters to a fighter
wing, such as all the squadrons on one carrier. The Coral Sea had NK. The Marine
Corps would assign a different set of letters to each squadron. Example VMFA-314
is VW and VMFA-115 is VE. Even the helo squadrons have their own tail letters. To
my knowledge the tail letters were never painted on the wings. I have seen one
texture that shows them on the wings but I think they boo booed!"
"Regarding the top of the flaps that was a habit of the Navy that the Marine Corps
adopted because many Marine squadrons were deployed on carriers. Oddly enough
only before and after the Vietnam war for some reason. During Vietnam the Navy
didn't want us on their boats for some reason."
Thank you Paul for the email conversations and for the feedback on this paint scheme.
Isn't the internet great? I was looking for a little clarification on colors and
ended meeting the plane captain for the subject aircraft.
About these textures
--------------------
These textures are intended for use with the Alpha Simulations "F-4 Phantom Pack 1"
payware aircraft package. You can get the aircraft at http://www.alphasim.co.uk .
Installation (Fs2004)
---------------------------------
This zip file contains only the textures. You will also need the original "ALPHA F-4
Phantom Pack 1" files. The intended method for installation is as an optional set of
markings. There are two weapons configurations for the F-4B included in the ALPHA F-4
Phantom Pack 1.
A) Install the Alpha Simulations F-4 Phantom Pack 1 aircraft package.
B) Make a new folder named "texture.vmfa531a" under the "Aircraft\ALPHA F-4 Phantom II"
folder.
C) Copy the textures from the original "texture" folder to the new one.
D) Extract the texture files (*.bmp) in this zip file to the new "\texture.vmfa531a"
folder. Go ahead and overwrite when prompted.
E) Edit the aircraft.cfg files to add the new [fltsim.x] section that reads as follows:
(change "x" to be the next number in sequence -- don't duplicate or skip or
it will not work)
F) "2" in the "model=" line below is for the F-4B with AIM-7 Sparrow missiles under the
fuselage and two AIM-9 Sidewinders on the inner pylon stations. Changing the "2"
to a "3" will load the F-4B version with no Sparrows under the fuselage and four
Sidewinders under the wings. A set of wing tanks or a centerline tank would have
been great.
G) That's it. You will now have another F-4B aircraft available when you
go to Select Aircraft.
Credits
-------
Thank you to Mark Harper and Alphasim for making the F-4 Phantom Pack 1 aircraft
package and paint kit and for granting permission to repaint the textures.
Copyright
---------
Created by Mark Harper/Alphasim.
Texture repaint by Frank Safranek
These freeware files are a intended for use with a specific commercial product.
These files may not be copied (other than for backup purposes), transmitted or
passed to third parties or altered in any way without the prior permission of
the publisher. Any breach of the aforementioned copyright will result in the
full force of law being brought to bear on those responsible.
All rights reserved - ALPHA SIMULATIONS 2005
WWW.ALPHASIM.CO.UK
