What is your all time favorite military fighter jet?

[rwsmith]

the Phantom wasn't a dogfighter....

Secondly, it's been mentioned here that the Korean War produced the last dogfights of plane and pilot against comparable hostiles. I'd challenge that, as some dogfights happened over Vietnam.

They didn't need to dogfight, they had missiles. Of course when asked what else could be done to the Phantom to make it more successful the pilots said, "Give us a gun, PLEASE."

 

[rwsmith]

This list of planes...

Based just on the posts...It's amazing how many jet fighters the US has produced over the decades..any/ all of them could still fly missions if kept up to date... and would be the envy of probably 95 % of all countries if they could just have 1 or 2 of these models in their inventory.

The list of planes, mostly bomber variants that were almost adopted or adopted and quickly replaced is one long list.

 

[Syspila]

British Harrier

 

[bobf]

Some maintenance actions on an F4 required a functional check flight (FCF). When it taxied out without external tanks the flightline came to a stop to watch the show. It was unusual to see one without tanks, really looked different.

The take off was impressive, if it wasn't straight up it wasn't off much.

 

[Rick_A]

I've had a fascination with the AV8B since childhood.

The F104 Starfighter is a fascinating plane.

The B2 Spirit is a wild looking plane in person.

For years the F-16 Falcon was a favorite

The A10 you've gotta love being a gun guy.

There's always the classics.

Folks have a lot of love for this one. It was an enduring design.

The Super Hornet is probably my favorite fighter these days.

There's always something new.

For foreign planes the Mig29 is a favorite as in its early iterations it was a strange mix of advanced airframe with old avionics and purely hydraulic controls.

An Israeli Kfir or two is seen in the skies around here on occasion. It is loud and the profile is unmistakable.

...and just 'cause...

 

[taxifolia]

Not just fighters, but interesting Warbirds with some great high res videos :
[FONT=&quot]http://vimeo.com/101647637[/FONT]

 

[Texas Star]

Did F-105's knock down any MiG's in Vietnam? From what I've read, the AF seems to have greatly preferred to use the F-4 in aerial combat and used F-105's as bombers.

South Africa developed the Cheetah, very like the Israeli Kfir. I suppose it remains their primary fighter, although I'm not sure what's changed when government did in the mid-1990's.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Did F-105's knock down any MiG's in Vietnam? From what I've read, the AF seems to have greatly preferred to use the F-4 in aerial combat and used F-105's as bombers

Yes, several F-105s shot down MIGs.
Like, (Shakey ) Jack Hunt, Good old Boy from LA.
Jack relates that one day they were smoking into NVM when hit by MIGs.
A Mig -17 came through the flight and kind of floated out in front.
Big mistake! Jack was armed up, master armament switch on, so he grabbed the paddle switch on the front of the stick.
That gave him 'Guns Air to Air'. The sight retcicle came up into the air-air mode and started to settle down.
Jack carefully centered the Mig in the reticle and squeezed the trigger.
He put a burst of 20mm up the tailpiece of that Mig.
It blew up into many pieces.
Was be happy? Not that happy.
Just before the Mig flew out in front of the formation it had shot down one of His buddies.
Jack is no.6 on the link below.


https://books.google.com/books?id=2...jgK#v=onepage&q=f 105 mig shoot downs&f=false

 

[Oldiron]

I am surprised that none of you Navy folks have mentioned the A-4 Skyhawk. Never saw one in action but from the films we would show to our classes in AE school I think they were one of the neatest planes going. Something about the little plane on the extremely tall landing gear, taking off with as much deliverable hurt as she weighted just made me like her.
Love the A-10 for the gun, love C-130s for power of the turboprops, pure power give me a Canaveral launch, but if I were going to be a one man force, I think I would have to have a Skyhawk. JMHO
Larry

 

[THE PILGRIM]

They Got a good looking A-4 over at the Pima.
Since this is not a mystery airplane thread, it could be a mystery A-4 Pilot Thread.
What well known US Senator was shot down flying an A-4?

 

[Oldiron]

Me thinks that may be J McCain. One of our short term senators ( J. Denton) was also shot down but I think he was in an A-6. Larry

 

[69camfrk]

I'm with you. F-4 Phantom. And for your enjoyment, here ya go. Nellis AFB a few years back.

 

[scha]

Great read comparing modern fighters:

How To Win A Dogfight: Stories From A Pilot Who Flew F-16s And MiGs

 

[Cleveland48]

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed reading that.

Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk

 

[Stirling]

A couple of points. I talked to an F-15 pilot who said it was a dream to fly, compared to the F-4. He thought sometimes in the F-4,"Please, please turn!" as he maneuvered. The F-15 is much more nimble.

Secondly, it's been mentioned here that the Korean War produced the last dogfights of plane and pilot against comparable hostiles. I'd challenge that, as some dogfights happened over Vietnam.

But it's interesting that in Korea, a Royal Navy Sea Fury piston engined fighter shot down a MiG. Did any other allied prop planes do that?

Skyraiders also shot down a couple of MiGs in the Vietnam war. Definitely one maybe two.

My Favourite jet fighter is the Mirage F1. The current SAAF fighter is the SAAB Gripen.



The Mirage F1CZ below is a double MiG killer.

 

[Road Rat]

While on the subject of "Fighter Aircraft":

Did any of you give serious thought to the kind of men it took to -

Get up every morning; eat breakfast; put on the flight suit;

Strap on a jet fighter aircraft and BET YOUR LIFE every day that you were better than the foe you were going up to meet????

Balls of an elephant!!!

 

[forindooruseonly]

I have always liked some of the less popular ones. I like the ninety series jets, which are all but forgotten. They represent an important transition era and designers learned a great deal from the early jet fighters.

I like the English Electric Lightnings, their vertical engine configuration always intrigued me and the more I learned about their design, but more it appealed to me.

I like the F-101 Voodoos. Not that they were particularly good, nor had a long service life, I just liked the design from the era.

I like the R/A-5 Vigilantes. Such a sleek design, reduced to reconnaissance roles. My father's childhood best friend flew them in Vietnam and was lost on mission. Some of his possessions ended up with my dad afterwards. Years later, when I went off to boarding school, my dad gave me his friend's portable chess set, still inscribed with his friends name. Him holding onto that chess set for thirty years made me think, long and hard, about a lot of things. Maybe someday I'll pass it on to my kid and explain where it came from.

The list goes on. There's too many interesting designs out there to decide upon one or five.

 

[Road Rat]

Oh, yeah, the F-101...

My office in the Pentagon used the RF-101 version for low level photo recon.

Got some great photos of the Cubans in Oct 1962 gaping up as the plane came in at about 50-100 feet off the deck; cameras rolling!!!

 

[Tony C.]

Hawker hunter and a close second would be Lockeed F104 Starfighter.

 

[brucev]

A-7 Corsair.