The final flight and retirement ceremony for the venerable F-4 Phantom will be December 21st at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The Phantom is still in active service at Holloman with Detachment 1 of the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron. The last flight and ceremony are open to the public, but attendees must RSVP to the base.
Tentative Schedule
8 am – La Luz Gate** opens to attendees (attendees will be directed to designated parking areas and then bused to the event)
8 am – Community expo opens to include static aircraft such as the QF-4 and QF-16
10 am – F-4 Phantom II takeoff and final flight (tentative)
11:30 am-12 pm – F-4 Phantom II retirement ceremony
1 pm – Event conclusion
**The La Luz gate is the only gate open for non-DOD cardholders and public access
It’s important to note that attendees must RSVP with the 49th Wing Public Affairs office by calling 575-572-7381 or by emailing 49wg.paoffice@us.af.mil. RSVPs may be accepted through their Facebook page as well. Further updates will be posted to the event Facebook page.
Thanks to AirShow Stuff for the information.
Such a wonderful aircraft….Heads up and cheers to the handlers – past and present (crew, mechanics, pilots, etc) !
I was crew chief on two RF-4Cs at Alconbury, England for two years. What a wonderful aircraft. I actually crewed both aircraft at the same time, for a while. We were very short handed during Vietnam. Our whole 10th Wing was on alert standby for a time to be deployed to Nam but it was called off. 641018 was my assigned bird and she was a great one.