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.

 

[DesertFox]

My father flew RF-4C during the Vietnam "conflict" stationed out of Udorn, Thailand so I'd have to say my favorite would be the F-4 since it managed to bring him home safely after over 200 combat missions.

All great planes and great men who have served their country under some "mixed" conditions!

Great pics on this thread!

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

The MiG-25 Foxbat.

I always considered this a sinister and formidable weapon. To be respected. Like the AK-47 and the T-64. The Foxbat was a revolutionary design, half a generation ahead of anything in the West when it first flew in 1964. The design elements it ushered in are still echoing today.

Look at the main gear tires. Did those come off a R Series Mack truck?

The Mother of all Afterburners. The Foxbat was designed to intercept the supersonic XB-70 Valkyrie.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

We did get our hands on a Foxbat. The defecting Russian unfortunately landed it in Japan and we had to give it back.
But after we got through with it, The Ruskies flew it out in crates.
It most likely never flew again.

 

[jrm53]

I always thought that the ME 262 looked very neat and balanced with the two Junkers Jumos under the wings, next most beautiful is the A 10 close support tank kller. The ME 262 may have had BMW engines. Jeff

 

[M E Morrison]

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.

You are not really gone as long as someone remembers you!!!

 

[M E Morrison]

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

IIRC, the F-104 was called the flying prostitute, because it had no visible means of support. I don't know if that is an insult, or a tribute, to that small wing.

 

[zzzippper]

Not to be insulting but it is clear a lot of people have no experience with fighter aircraft other than what looks cool. The F-14 and Mig-25 are two planes that never should have been built. They both had one purpose, neither of which ever performed that function.

The F-14 was nothing more than a platform for the fleet defense Phoenix missile. It was too heavy, too complicated, and too expensive. It's maintenance costs, supply demands, mission capable rate, and manpower demands are what finally drove a stake through its heart. The F-18 can fly twice as often with half the maintenance.

The Mig-25 was a low tech missile. The one we examined proved that Soviet technology was vastly inferior to ours. Their manufacturing technology was decades behind ours. They bolt on steel while we sculpt composites. That is why, to this day, our enemies are more interested is stealing manufacturing processes than they are weapon designs.

 

[Rastoff]

The F-14 was nothing more than a platform for the fleet defense Phoenix missile. It was too heavy, too complicated, and too expensive. It's maintenance costs, supply demands, mission capable rate, and manpower demands are what finally drove a stake through its heart. The F-18 can fly twice as often with half the maintenance.

While both of these statements are true, it is not a reasonable comparison. Yes, the main weapon of the F-14 was the Phoenix and it was extremely effective with it. However, it was developed in a different era before the F-18. In fact, you could say it was a transitional aircraft. The F-18 also costs almost twice as much to build.

But that is the nature of the fighter jet. Allow even one year to pass and the technology changes dramatically.

Sure, the JSF and Raptor are nifty aircraft, but they cost a lot more and utilize a lot more modern technology. Still, we work hard to keep all of them up to date. We are still doing testing with the F-15 and F-16. The B1B is still flying though only God knows why. There is a new bomber in the works to replace the B2 and we have a new tanker coming on board.

People are not wrong to like the venerable F-14 any more than they would be wrong to like the F-4. It's just what they like. It has nothing to do with maintenance cost or MC rate.

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

The fatal flaw in the F-14 was it's Pratt & Whitney TF30 engines. If the Navy could of waited two more years they could of had the superb next-gen Pratt & Whitney F100, the same engine used to power the F-15 and F-16. But the Navy had to have the F-14 ASAP. They opted for the TF30 which was the same first-gen turbofan technology that powered the F-111 (another plane limited by it's less than stellar engines).

What you say about the Mig-25 is true. In some respects it was crude. Crude like an AK-47. While it's unfair to compare the Foxbat to American planes that entered service 10 years later, when the Foxbat first flew the West's primary fighter was the F-4. An impressive airplane, but hardly a triumph of aerodynamic finesse. The F-4 was an evolutionary dead end, while new planes that look essentially identical to the Mig-25 are still being made and designed today.

The unarmed recon version of the Mig-25 was perhaps the most useful variation. In the 1970's Foxbat-B's overflew Israel at will. Even though the IDF was armed with state-of-the-art Sparrow missiles mounted on F-4's, they never successfully intercepted a Foxbat-B. It flew too high, and too fast. In a way, it was the Soviet's SR-71, but could operate from a grass cow pasture. In fact, it is a Mig-25, not a Blackbird, that still holds the world's record for absolute maximum altitude -- 123,520 ft.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The IAF went after the Foxbat with the F-4 armed with Sparrow Missiles.
The used a frontal snap-up intercept. None were successful.