Why is there voodoo at the rec park? — a walkaround the Callaway FL McDonnell F-101B Voodoo
Why is there voodoo at the Callaway rec park? — a walkaround the Callaway FL McDonnell F-101B Voodoo
30º 09′ 26″ N / 85º 32′ 46″ W
Callaway FL is a quiet town, a suburb community to Panama City but it proudly displays an F-101B Voodoo on the Callaway Recreational Complex grounds. This Voodoo is in excellent condition and sits atop a nicely sculpted concrete plinth — no spartan-like pole or unimaginative cradle used here.
McDonnell-Douglas F-101B Voodoo on display at the Callaway Recreational Complex — photo by Joe May
The Voodoo’s profile — photo by Joe May
Also welcome is is how this aircraft sits in a field of its own so a good walkaround can be had with the bonus of being in a quiet environment, unless there are baseball or softball events in play. Even a slight inspection will show the ancestry the F-101 is to the McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II with the twin engines nestled side-by-side, the tandem cockpit, high tail and the wings are reminiscent, as well.
The F-101 as if it is forming up — photo by Joe May
Wingman’s perspective of the F-101 — photo by Joe May
When you think about the pair of Voodoos displayed in Panama City this F-101 makes three for the area. Three Voodoos in the small area of Panama City and its surround. My, maybe this area isn’t as quiet as it appears, after all 😉
The trailing view best shows the Voodoo’s high tail and engine placement, the empennage design would descend to the F-4 Phantom II — photo by Joe May
The lines of an interceptor, the F-101B Voodoo — photo by Joe May
As a bonus, I heard a loud military aircraft — actually, military aircraft are almost always loud — overhead and to the south. There it was, my first sighting of a Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor a few thousand feet above in a tight but high rate turn. Whether the Raptor’s thrust vectoring (on the pitch axis) was then used at the time I cannot say but this aircraft was really honkin’.
Additional source: F-101Voodoo.com — thorough and complete
Travel for Aircraft 
Hi Joe, great photos. The two you show in Panama City look fairly sad in comparison to this polished beaut. Did you know there is an effort to get “the Blue Chicken” removed from GCCC? Sad, but true. I’m interested in raising interest to retain and restore exterior of this decommissioned aircraft that has been a landmark for 34 years. Any ideas?
Hi,
I searched using Google many ways and could not find a group dedicated to the F-101 Voodoo. What I would suggest may be unoriginal but why not go the VFW, the AFW, city elders and chamber of commerce?
Good luck!
Joe
If you look under the 444th FIS you’ll find a bunch of us who worked on F-101B’s for quite q while at obviously the 444th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Charleston S. C. This plane has an incorrect tail number according to most of the guys on the web page. It should be 57-0367. It been a topic of conversation for a few days now. I worked on this particular aircraft. Unfortunately a fellow Airman was killed while working on the roto-door of this plane. How can I reach someone to possibly have the number changed? If you check the website that shows all the F-101’s made you will see that this tail number was never assigned and it shows that 367 is where this plane is. You can contact me at plumgrubby@aol.com
Thanks
Paul
Thanks! I notice the F-101 website doesn’t have the Callaway F-101 photo so I’ll contact them about that as well as get back with you via email in a few days or so. Thanks again for this information. Joe
This F101B was once part of the 75th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at DOW Air Force Base I was a crew chief on this aircraft 1960 1962
A1C Dave Clark
That is so cool! Thanks for this news–it makes a difference to get the human dimension into history.
Here’s the information I have that leads me to believe the F101B at Callaway Is 57-0417 repainted as 56-0417.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_McDonnell_F-101_Voodoos
F-101B
F-101B on display at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Nebraska
• 56-0235 – Yankee Air Museum, Belleville, Michigan.[25]
• 56-0241 – USAF History and Traditions Museum, Lackland AFB, Texas.[26]
• 56-0250 – Air Force Armament Museum, Eglin AFB, Florida.[27]
• 57-0252 – Hill Aerospace Museum, Hill AFB, Utah.[28]
• 57-0282 – Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Arizona.[29]
• 57-0294 – Washington National Guard Museum, Camp Murray, Washington.[30]
• 57-0308 – Wilmington Airport Collection, Wilmington Airport, Ohio.[31]
• 57-0374 – Maine Air National Guard, Bangor Air National Guard Base, Bangor, Maine.[32]
• 57-0410 – Combat Air Museum, Topeka, Kansas. N8234, nickname, ‘the Gray Ghost’; previously at Colorado State University.[33]
• 57-0412 – Castle Air Museum, Castle Airport (formerly Castle AFB), Atwater, California.[34]
• 57-0417 (painted as 56-0417) – Callaway Recreational Complex, Callaway, Florida.[35]
A1C Dave Clark 75th FIS Dow AFB Bangor Maine 1960- 1963