F-4 Pilot's one chance at a MiG #aviation

F-4 pilot Phil Mentesana discusses the one chance he had to go air to air with a MiG over Vietnam, and how he narrowly escaped a dangerous situation.

Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum:

[Wings_Museum]

Episode 35 - Behind the Wings Podcast!

[tomsmith]

Laser guided bombs being in a museum makes me feel fucking old lol

[cavaliere]

That one MiG pilot is like:
“Awww, come on… why are you leaving”

[airmanfirstclass]

Never get into a fair fight. No way to gauge how good or bad the other guy is. BVRAAM

[MrJoel]

The best story. Don’t regret missed opportunities. Keep calculating risks.

[fazole]

So this guy was a navigator on the B-52, then flew as a pilot in F-4s in Vietnam? What stories he must have!

[GorlockSlayer]

Having served as a maintainer in the Air Force, I learned quickly that the words “cocky” and “fighter pilot” are pretty synonymous and for good reason. It is vital that pilots have supreme confidence in their capabilities but also understand the importance of utilizing that bravado strategically. I can see how a young, less experienced pilot might have been tempted to take the bait and fall into a trap.
You can tell this man developed a proper respect for the enemy’s capabilities and knew when to set ego aside. That seemed to be a very important quality that all of the best pilots possessed in my somewhat limited experience.

[alanwhiteside]

Good choice!
Thank you for your service.
I worked on the F-4 back in 1978 for a year towards the end of them being manufactured at McDonnell Douglas Bldg 101.
I worked on the center fuselage on the top.
Then after a layoff I worked F-18, AV8B Harrier, then most of my career on the F-15.

[RedTail-]

(indistinct)... He clearly said "then"

This is why you don't let a computer write captions for you.

[theoneandonlywariortank]

Thank you for your service. Great to hear stories from someone who experienced this kind of stuff first hand.

[CrackedCandy]

Classic maneuver, a double wagon wheel was a WW1 invention.

[LucasC-uf]

When he said he didn’t take the chance, I thought he meant drop a bomb on a mig 😅😅

[asylumlover]

KEEP THIS MILITARY HISTORY AND STRATEGY, AS WELL AS THESE AIRCRAFT,

[NauticalBuff]

History channel had this amazing show called “ dogfights “ . Amazing show .

[toddstrickland]

That's actually a good tactics practice, circle in layers!!

[SladeBling]

Ooh, that was a common trick used by the North Vietnamese and I'm pretty sure those 17's could outturn an F4. Good thing he didn't get caught in the wheel.

[noreengarcia]

Blessings for these true stories. ❤ Thanks for your service.

[ima.noob.trader]

Discretion, the better part of valor 😜😁👍

[strizhi]

An absolutely legend and this is some one even where I reside can still admire and salute 🫡

[billgund]

My dad was a 2nd Lt in Korea, flying F-80's. Once he saw a Mig 15 at low altitude and naturally dad decided to take a whack at the Mig. Mig had a friend. Fortunately dad was able to escape with minimal damage to his A/C. He retired a Lt. Col. flying F-104's. Quite a career.