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Favorite military aircraft?

Robert Maxwell

Robert Maxwell

memelord
Premium Member
I thought about putting this in SciTech but I didn't want to discourage anyone from just sharing their opinion--be it based on science or not. ;)

What's your favorite military aircraft and why?

For me, it will always be the A-10. Few planes can claim to be as tough or as practical. One of the military bases I grew up on had a wing of A-10s and a wing of F-18s. Guess which ones were always down for maintenance... :D

They're ugly as hell, make a godawful racket (hence the nickname "Warthog"), and aren't the quickest or most powerful planes, but they can take a hell of a beating and still make it home alive.

The USAF wanted to retire these monstrosities, but they couldn't because they didn't have a suitable model to replace them that would have been as reliable or effective. Hah!

What about you guys? Got a favorite?
 
Can we include rotary-winged craft? Because my vote goes to the Apache. Having a pair of Apaches circling overhead in a high/low formation while we patrolled in Iraq made things so much better.

And the bloody things are quiet and mean. They can be on target dropping 30mm rounds and Hellfires before the target even knows they are there. Fixed wing aircraft take forever to get on station and locate what you're targeting.
 
the A-10 is legendary :techman:

I like the F-4 because it looks cool . . . I like the polyhedral wings
F14 variable wing geometry
F-16XL
F117 because it's so alien looking
SR71 - would be Darth Vader's jet if he had one
F22 - that picture says it right there
 
Three way tie: F-14, A-10, F-15. If I had to pick just one, it'd be the Tomcat. The F-14 just has a "heavy, one punch and you drop, I'm going to fuck you up" quality about it.
 
The Avro Arrow:

http://www.aviationartists.ca/Colin Bowley/avro arrow.jpg

When it comes to planes that actually made it into production, I'm a big fan of the CF-18 Hornet, I've always thought they were cool planes. I also love the MiG-35 and the Su-27 and its derivatives. In fact, I find I generally like Russian planes better than North American ones, there's something about 'em that's just cool. I like many of the Antonov and Tupolev transports and bombers as well, probably mostly because of their ridiculous giganticness. Cases in point, the An-22 and An-124, and the Tu-95 and Tu-160.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Caliburn24 said:
Can we include rotary-winged craft? Because my vote goes to the Apache. Having a pair of Apaches circling overhead in a high/low formation while we patrolled in Iraq made things so much better.

And the bloody things are quiet and mean. They can be on target dropping 30mm rounds and Hellfires before the target even knows they are there. Fixed wing aircraft take forever to get on station and locate what you're targeting.
Click to expand...

I said "aircraft," so if it flies and it's man-made, it counts. :techman:

I like the V-22, as well, for basically the opposite of the reasons I like the A-10. The A-10 is practical but totally uncool, while the V-22 is incredibly impractical but cool as hell.
 
While growing up only one aircraft looked tough, ready to fight, that was the F-4 Phantom. A few were still in service when I joined up.
 
My favourite plane is the F-15 followed by the B-1B. But, I'm also partial to the F-117 and B-2, both of which I loved when I was younger.
 
The C-130 Hercules. Not sure what first brought them to my attention but it was back when I was a kid, because I've loved them forever - maybe I saw one at an airshow my dad used to take me to.

But I just love how much they are capable of. According to the Wiki article the Hercules holds the record for being the largest and heaviest aircraft to land on a carrier. Which must have been a sight to behold!

And then there's this story Premature twin babies born in Stornoway were transferred by an RAF Hercules to Glasgow. The RAF had to get involved in the transfer because of the bad weather.
 
trampledamage said:
The C-130 Hercules. Not sure what first brought them to my attention but it was back when I was a kid, because I've loved them forever - maybe I saw one at an airshow my dad used to take me to.
Click to expand...

I like the Hercules as well. I love big, heavy transport planes and bombers for some reason. I think it's probably at least partially the fact that it always feels a little mind-boggling they can actually make it into the air. Hell, I pretty much feel that way about anything larger than a Dash-8. :lol:
 
A few of my favorites.

The Mig 25, whats not to like about a welded nickel steel alloy brick that can do Mach 2.8 and a bit more if needed (destroys the engines though.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mig_25

Sukhoi SU-15 Flanker is one of the greatest looking aircraft ever, especially the later versions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-15

Saab Draken. :cool:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_Draken

Mirage IV sleek aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_IV

Avro Vulcan. :cool:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_vulcan

And the English Electric Lightning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BAC_Lightning

Favorite Dutch Aircraft
The Dutch Fokker G-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_G.I
Fokker D XXI
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_D.XXI

Fokker S14
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_S14

And the good old F-27 Friendship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fokker_F-27
 
F-14 Tomcat
A-10 Warthog
A-6 Intruder
Avro Lancaster
Bristol Beaufighter
P-51 Mustang
Blackburn Buccaneer
B-1 Lancer
B-24 Liberator
Lockheed YF-12
 
Modern: The F22. I saw one taking off right in front of my eyes a month ago. The thing went up like it was fired from a railgun. 75 degrees angle of attack and it broke no sweat.

WW2: The F4U-4 Corsair. I love its gull wings and its overall dominance in the pacific theater of war. It could've flown and probably dominated the European sky as well if the Army and the Navy could ever actually cooperate.
 
Modern - The F14 Tomcat. I'd always been into aircraft, but before I saw a certain film with this one (Final Countdown), I hadn't paid that much attention to modern aircraft. I just thought it looked a sweet aircraft:)

As for older ones, I like the Hawker Hurricane and De havilland Mosquito:)
 
A-10s! We had them at Dad's base when I was growing up. A pair of A-10s soaring over my hometown was a common sight when I was growing up.
 
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