Zitat

Biggest news is that the Germans lost a F-4F today. Earlier in the day we noticed a F-4F being hauled in for repair, I assume for an engine or 2. Around 3:00 the pilot/wso bring the jet out to the main runway and light the afterburners 2 or 3 times going up and down the runway. As he turned around to go back down the runway again he lights the afterburner roars ahead then backs off, well when he backed off something happened and his brake drum/tire area caught on fire. The pilots must have not picked up on this right away or else tried to put it out but after about 100 metres the tire burned flat. So this now stopped their forward movement and the fire started hard then. After about 5 seconds the canopies open and the pilots jump out of the jet down onto the wing and start running for the infield. Now one would think there was a fire truck nearby, but he had decided to go in early so nobody is around. Finally a firetruck starts to come out but he is driving like he is on a Sunday sfternoon cruise. I will give the tower and firetrucks the benofit of the doubt because our angle was perfect and the tower could not see what we were seeing. So the firetruck arrives and starts foaming down the jet, the fire was under the right side and up into the engine by now and the entire jet was engulfed in smoke. Two more firetrucks come out and they foam that jet up and down, inside and out. I would hate to be the one assigned to clean those cockpits, if they even are repairable. By the time everything was done, my guess is they willl just write it off, but who knows? So I have pics from the moment the fire starts till well after they get the fire out. I will try to get some up.