An F-4 pilot requested clearance to take off from a joint military/civilian airport, but due to the amount of civilian traffic the ATC told him he’d have to hold.
After a repeated impatient request by the F-4 to take-off the ATC suggested that if the pilot could reach 14,000ft within half the runway length he could take off; otherwise he would have to hold.
To the ATC’s surprise the F-4 pilot acknowledged the tower and began to roll. At the halfway mark the F-4 went vertically up until he reached 14,000ft, then levelled off.
The ATC had no option than to hand the pilot over to departures and wish him a nice day, since he’d met the conditions laid down.
Grant a military jet pilot his wish and he will respond.
sadly, ATC often mistakes helos for planes and handles them as planes. The differences only occur to them when we insist on them.
Regular departure from McDonnell@ KSTL was full military thrust and a “viking one” departure which consisted of 104% thrust to Vr then 70 degrees to cruise FL. in order to pass over incoming or departing civilian activity at Lambert Field. This departure never reached the crossing runway and there is little difference between 70 and 90 degrees climb out in the 4.
I’ve seen this done “Zaragosa Spain” Excellent job Capt. King
Don’t remember any F-4s doing “Viking” departures here at Lambert, but F-15s flown by McDonnell Douglas test pilots did them almost every day…
More impressive than the T-Birds or Blue Angels any day…..
The most remarkable routine departures I have witnessed occurred in Lokichokkio, Kenya. The aircraft was a DC-6 loaded 3000 lbs over gross departing a runway 3000 feet short. No, the aircraft never came close to an 80 or 90 degree vertical climb, but it staggered into the air wing in ground effect. The F-4 or F-15 performing “Viking” departures are compelling to watch but not as much as a DC-6 struggling to STAY in the air.
We saw Il-76′s delivering MRAPS to Iraq doing this on a daily basis. They would land heavy, hot, and fast, barely able to stop. Then they would take off overloaded, getting the wheels off the ground on the last foot of pavement, barely clearing the fence off the departure end. They were only able to climb out of ground effect because the earth has curvature. Watching them was a spectacle to be sure.
I somehow doubt the F-4 had the thrust to weight to do this vertically. However, I actually saw this exact story, but involving an F-16 from the Texas ANG. I was at Carswell AFB, then Navy Ft. Worth, now I believe JRB Ft. Worth in a C-21/Lear 35 behind the F-16 in question. He was clean, and therefore not exactly fat on gas. After pleading his case through tower a few times and relaying that if he didn’t take off soon he wouldn’t have the gas to complete his mission, tower comes back and says “Departure says that if you can be be at one-three thousand by the departure end, you can takeoff any time you want.” The F-16 pilot then responded, “Copy cleared for takeoff,” rolled onto the runway, stroked the burner, rotated into ground effect building a big head of steam, snatched the nose up into the vertical about 3/4 of the way down the runway, and went straight up until he did an Immelman at 13,000 and was handed off to departure.