Why Every F-4 Phantom Flew Bent in Two Places

NASA says the F-4 Phantom II's wing needed just three degrees of dihedral to fix its stability problem. Instead, McDonnell left the inner wing flat, bent the outer panels up twelve degrees and pushed the tail down twenty-three. Using NACA wind-tunnel reports, NASA histories and the F-4's own flight manuals, we look at why the fix went on the wingtips: the wing spar was already committed to manufacture, and the outer panels were the ones that folded for the carrier. Then we follow what the two bends bought and what they cost: better aircraft stability in pitch and yaw, a flat spin driven by the drooped tail, and a high angle of attack problem the Phantom answered with leading-edge slats, not a new wing. With the voices of the last pilots who flew it, all the way to the final QF-4 flight at Holloman on December 21, 2016. Chapters: 0:00 Three degrees or twelve? 0:41 A missile fighter for the Navy 1:26 The problem in the wind tunnel 2:52 Two bends 5:00 What it cost 7:25 The trade-off ledger 8:53 Legacy Media credits: "Floating Cities" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0