Part of the AFFTC parade of aircraft during the 89' Edwards show

This F-4E was active with the Thunderbirds from 1969-1973 and flew as the slot a/c, #4. The slot a/c flies behind and slightly below the lead F-4E. As a result, number #4 vertical fin and rudder are in the exhaust of #1, causing the dark staining. It was not cleaned off during the season to show how close together the a/c flew. After the Thunderbirds switched to the T-38 in 1974 this a/c was assigned to the USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. Retired in 1991 and eventually scrapped.

This F-4 was retired to AMARG during Mar 91 where it is stored with the PCN/Inventory No. AAFP0626.

Thunderbirds ship # 4 was the slot machine that always caught the exhaust soot from the rest of the formation. Back in 1960 a decision had been made to allow the tail of #4 to remain black, although never painted as such. The Thunderbirds graduated to the heavy Phantom from the F-100D in 1969 and relinquished them in favour of T-38's in 1974 after a break thanks to the 1973 oil crisis. 66-0291 went into storage at Davis Monthan in 1991 as an NF-4E after test use at Edwards and removed for scrap 5.11