F-4 PHANTOM II Aircraft Restoration - U.S. Airforce Fighter JET

F-4 PHANTOM II Aircraft Restoration - U.S. Airforce Fighter JET

Restoration of McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II – The legendary aircraft used by the US Air Force, the NAVY, and the Marines. See me restore and repair this fighter jet plane back to awesome to celebrate the Air Force's 75th anniversary. Aim high airmen!

ABOUT THE MCDONNELL DOUGLAS F-4J PHANTOM II
This legendary fighter jet plane was produced by McDonnell Douglas and came out in 1958. At that time the F4 Phantom II had a revolutionary design and has been serving the US Air Force, US NAVY, and the US Marines for many years. It could reach a top speed at MACH 2.2 Phantom production ran from 1958 to 1981 with a total of 5,195 aircraft built. The fighter did set 15 world records for its in-flight performance.

The last time the McDonnell Douglas Phantom II was operating was in Operation Desert Storm before the plane was retired in 1996.

The Phantom Fighter jet was gradually replaced by more modern aircraft such as the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force, the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. Navy, and the F/A-18 Hornet in the Navy and Marine Corps.

I got this scaled metal model of the McDonnell Douglas Phantom II from one of my subscribers 2 years ago. I have saved the restoration project to celebrate the U.S. Air Force's 75th anniversary 18. September 2022. So congratulations and Aim high airmen!

ABOUT THE RESTORATION
I started by saving (prying them out) the two little pilots from the cockpit. Then I dismantled the bombs and the exhaust from the Phantom F4. I gave the whole aircraft a very clean sandblasting. I then TIG Welded the broken wing and ground it for many hours to 100% match the other wing. I drilled new holes to mount the bomb using a laser precision tool.

The cockpit canopy was missing so I have been searching for a new cockpit for the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II for a long time. My only problem was that this plane model was old and rare, so I couldn’t find any spare parts. Finally, I found a nice guy in the USA actually from the US Air Force who has the same Aircraft. He was so kind to make a mold so I could cast my canopy for this restoration project.
I used resin to cast the new canopy. I was a little bit skeptical in the casting process, but the new canopy was amazing and with a few adjustments it fits the Phantom F4 perfectly. BOOM!

There was also a stand along with the aircraft, but the bottom part was missing. So I cast a new one in aluminum and painted it black. To honor the Airmen I had my aluminum blocks engraved with the text Aim High – Fly – Fight – Win which is the official motto of the U.S. Air Force. The stand also turned out well and fit the airplane very nicely.

Finally, I gave the aircraft a good polish. I did not want it to be mirror blank just very bright and clean. I designed a whole package of decals that fit the older versions of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. As a little tribute, I added the U.S. Air Force 75th anniversary logo on the tail.