Gene K

Yes, but the outboard slats are sometimes hard to discern on photos taken at ground level. in those situations, the most obvious slat indicators are as shown on the attachment: 1= Slat actuator fairings; 2= wing fence; and 3 = the outboard slats. The Navy slats differed from the Air Force in the cross section of the slats, as well as the shape of the wing fence. What gets really convoluted is the difference between USN and USAF coordinated leading edge and trailing edge flap positions ... as well as the leading edge and trailing edge flaps relationships ... using cockpit switches and/or automatic actuation.

As a long aside - in the USAF the back seaters initially were pilots straight out of Pilot Training ... it was thought that the Phantom was too much for a new pilot to handle. As a result, many pilots in the back were not getting much experience flying the plane, but became really good Weapons Systems Operators while awaiting their turn to upgrade to the front. The normal GIB route was to get a tour in SEA in the pit, come back to the US to upgrade to Aircraft Commander, and then return to SEA in the front. "Unfortunately" for many GIB pilots awaiting their chance to upgrade, the USAF concluded that new pilots could in fact handle the airplane, and started assigning pilots to the front seat straight out of pilot training. At the same time, back seaters started coming to the Phantom from Navigator Training. All that resulted in some "mentally challenging " situations ... as when a new Lieutenant AC came into a unit and was crewed with an anguished Captain pilot who had hundreds of hours in the back seat. To further distress pilot GIBs, the USAF started sending pilots from other aircraft to the Phantom front seat based on hours of flying experience. That way a pilot who graduated Pilot Training in a class ranking below others (who chose fighters) got to the front seat ahead of pilot GIBs by "virtue" of having flown long hours in cargo or bomber aircraft. The sad part of that travesty was that some very talented pilot GIBs languished in frustration to the point that they left the Air Force. Gene K

@Bremspropeller We have a language problem ... obviously. I yield to your expertise, especially since I've never flown the Trident or the A350 (but do have 14 years in the Phantom). Gene K

Nice -- BUT you are mixing up the terms "slats", "slots", "flaps" ... and "droops". Of the Phantom models you mentioned (plus the S): the C,D,B, and J had wing leading and trailing edge flaps; S and E/G had leading edge wing slats (different between USAF and USN) and trailing edge flaps; E/G, J, retrofitted B and S had stabilator leading edge slots. "Droop" refers to ailerons that were automatically lowered in conjunction with the flaps on some USN models. RF and exported models differed, for example, no slotted stabs on German F-4F and Japanese F-4EJ. Gene K

Thanks very much, Nexus for the detailed explanation!! Unfortunately I'm not a Facebook guy so can't access your link. Frustrating that Google doesn't come up with much. But I did come across this. (the misaligned holes on the vari ramps spoil that model for me) The airplane's capabilities sure have been enhanced since I flew it back in the Dark Ages. Thanks again. Gene K

I'm late to the party -- what is DMAS? Thanks, Gene K

Actually, in this case, the right down aileron has more drag than the left up spoiler, THUS yawing the aircraft to the right. Among other things, that positions the left wing more perpendicular to the airstream, while the right wing is in opposite situation ... THUS there's more lift on the left wing, causing the airplane to roll right, opposite the intended direction. Gene K