titanmiller From United States of America, joined exactly 7 years ago today! , 86 posts, RR: 0 Reply 11, posted (4 months 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 9793 times:
Easily the F-22 in my opinion. I've never seen a Rafale in person, but I'd imagine it would be a close second, maybe even surpass it.
[quote=Oroka,reply=10]I would vote for the Raphle. It has the good looks of the F-16 from above, and maybe even the side, but from below it has such a unique look!
What a great picture Oroka.
Simply stunning lines.
The best contribution to safety is a competent Pilot.
india1 From India, joined Aug 2011, 90 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (4 months 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 9602 times:
"I'd go a generation or two earlier...it seems Northrop's designers had a knack for turning out gorgeous planes... . "
@ Devilfish - I agree! The F-5/F-20, the original YF-17....
What about the F-117 from some angles, just like the Rafale (although the in-flight refuelling probe spoils it for me)? The PAK-FA looks pretty good to me, too!
mig21umd From Australia, joined Feb 2005, 238 posts, RR: 1 Reply 16, posted (4 months 3 days 21 hours ago) and read 9536 times:
The 50s and the 60s produced some good looking fighters. I always liked American Vietnam war aircraft like the F-100, the F4, the A4, the F-105 and Delta dart was pretty too.
thunderboltdrgn From Sweden, joined Jan 2012, 127 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (4 months 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 9489 times:
I think The Su-33, the Mig-29 and F-14 are at the top of my list when it comes to "prettiness".
While the Saab Viggen in green camo is at the top of the tough looking fighters.
Devilfish From Philippines, joined Jan 2006, 4429 posts, RR: 1 Reply 22, posted (4 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 9286 times:
Quoting AYVN (Reply 7): %u201CCars are only beautiful when they win%u201D %u2013 Enzo Ferrari
Perhaps Signor Enzo's view was clouded by their balance sheets on not so favorable occasions? Fortunately, Ferraris remain beautiful even when they lose (except if it crashed).
Quoting AYVN (Reply 7): I think this is even more true with fighter aircraft.
It's certainly a big letdown when you lose a potential multi-billion dollar contract. And definitely smashing when you're blown away! .
Quoting HaveBlue (Reply 21): My all time favorite plane! Especially when Dale Snodgrass was flying it...
Oh...I thought the Hopeless Diamond was your favorite... .
HaveBlue From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 2069 posts, RR: 1 Reply 23, posted (4 months 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 9278 times:
Quoting Devilfish (Reply 22): Oh...I thought the Hopeless Diamond was your favorite...
Nice catch lol! No, I picked my screenname because I wanted something aviation related, but all my favorite aircraft names don't sound too great on their own (Tomcat, Blackbird, Valkyrie) and the project Have Blue seemed like a good fit.
The F-16 is a real looker in all angles where the air intake is not too prominent. I'm no fan of underbelly intakes like the ones on F-16, EF and so on.
The Rafale is disqualified by the simple fact that it hasn't got a retractable probe. IMO it looks ridiculous with that think pointing out of its nose. Otherwise, great looking.
25 afterburner33: The F-16 has been my favourite for many years. Shame the XL model was never produced! Also had a bit of a soft spot for the MiG-29 as well, and more r
27 Geezer: It's definitely the Raptor ! (and #24s photo is about the best one yet!) It's funny about the F-22 though.......it's about the hardest plane there is
28 Areopagus: No collection of beautiful jet fighters is complete without the Draken!
29 francoflier: It has atmospheric capabilities as well. Though given how Luke crash landed on Dagobah, it seems they were rather limited. I mean, it can travel at s
30 tugger: Come on guys, how can no one have put forth the: F-104 Starfighter! It was so simple and elegant in what it was. It is my favorite. Tugg (Ooops, sorry
31 flybulldog: I know many will think it's the ugliest, but I love the A-10.
32 HaveBlue: I mentioned it in my post too, in Reply 21
33 tugger: My bad, sorry again! But seriously how can people not think the F-104 is the best looking? Of course we could nitpick that the F-104 is not a fighter
34 HaveBlue: The F-104 is simplistic fighter elegance, getting rid of all extraneous stuff that made so many of the Century Series fighters big and bulky... simil
35 neutrino: Uh, to nitpick, the X-wing in itself is sub-lightspeed. It jumps through hyperspace to go from point A to point B faster than light would have throug
36 rampart: The Su-27 or -30 would be my favorite. I agree, the F-16 and Saab Viggen are also snazzy, close runners up for me. I once designed a modern fighterbom
37 757gb: Absolutely: Tomcat hands down... then we can talk about second best, third, etc...
39 EagleBoy: I think the F-23 looked more cutting edge tech than the F-22. The F-22 is (IMHO) just a stealth upgrade on the F-15 look. I wouldn't say gorgeous....
43 Caryjack: This is my favorite "modern" fighter aircraft to see. A powerful, all weather, carrier launched, attack and fighter aircraft, but I've never actually
50 Larshjort: I believe the Lockheed CL-1200 is one of the most beautiful fighters out there. Also the He 219 is a looker. Also the aircraft "från hinsidan" the Sa
51 tugger: Another one that I just remembered that I always liked for its simplicity.... but such a simple design done so beautifully: Dassault Mirage 2000 Anoth
52 BMI727: I'm going to have to go with the F-22 and P-38 for this reason: those two influenced popular design. The F-22 look has been independently emulated by
53 epten: Tornado F-3 (love the long nose) Mirage F-1 Mirage 2000 F-14 F-15 Mig-29 single seater EF2000 single seater Su-27 two seater Rafale perhaps F-16 MiG-3
54 rampart: I wish. If I had it at all, it's stored somewhere deep in my vaults (e.g. the boxes in the crawlspace). I retain a lot of Star Wars information absor
55 WESTERN737800: P-51, Corsair, F-86, F-4, F-15, F-16, F/FB-111, F-14 is my all time favorite.
56 Geezer: It's a good thing the OP asked for the "best looking" fighter, rather than the "best" fighter; I think it's impossible to compare airplanes from WW2 e
57 calvo747: F22 for me love the lines, especially up close
59 rwessel: Phooey. The P-38 always had more range than the P-51. Only if you compare the P-38's range *without* drop tanks to the P-51's range *with* drop tanks
62 Revelation: Reasonable choices, but I personally prefer the ones tugger made in #51 above. I'm not much a fan of the Bf110, much more a fan of the Me262.
63 EagleBoy: DrStrange from Germany does make a good point.....the Me-262 was a beautiful design, well deserving of the name Schwalbe. And the Hawker Hunter follow
65 AustrianZRH: Put me in for the Tomcat too . Such a sad day when they were retired . The Me-262 is simply a classic, but I am also rather attached to the Typhoon an
66 HaveBlue: I'm at a loss here... I never heard of a prohibition of drop tanks before. I believe what you are saying but can you shed some more light on this? I
67 SCAT15F: In no particular order -Rockwell HiMAT (looks badass and can outmaneuver even today's best 5th gen aircraft) -F4D Skyray/F5D Skylancer -F-107 Super Su
69 SCAT15F: My favorite F-14 paint scheme by far... Rockwell International HiMAT in all her glory! This is what we'd have today if not for stealth...
70 rwessel: Prior to the US entry to WW2 the notion of long range fighter being relevant (bombers were supposed to be self defending) or practical was dismissed
71 AF1624: My vote would be Dassault Rafale & the F-22, with a slight preference for the Rafale, it's a sexy machine.
72 WhiteWasp: F104 Starfighter or MiG 17 are my favorites
73 ptrjong: Tastes differ, that's for certain. Of the mentioned aircraft, I'd call the F-23, Avro Arrow, YF-12, CL-1200, Eurofighter and HiMAT downright ugly. The
74 Areopagus: There was no need. The Lightning had turbosuperchargers, which produced good high-altitude performance. The wonder is why the Brits refused the turbo
75 ptrjong: I think I read that they didn't get them.
76 spudh: For me, one of the best looking prop fighters was the deHavilland Hornet Its a close call between the Spitfire and Mustang. The P-51 practically defin
77 kanban: Why is the Qehar -313 missing from the list????
78 RussianJet: Although it's very similar, obviously being based on the F-16, I'm going to have to put a shout out for the Mitsubishi F-2. It has the looks of the F
79 Devilfish: A classic illustration of the "form follows function" tenet. I'm partial to Shafaq...its predecessor .
80 moo: The story that I heard was that turbo and super chargers were deemed "secret" technology by the DoD, and were not supplied to the UK as a result.
82 RussianJet: I love that aircraft too, love its compact form and proportions. But, can it really be called a fighter? It's a close support/light attack aircraft.
83 flyingturtle: Point taken. There is even a Yak-130 variant - the 4-seat VIP transport... (Any pictures of that thing?) Would it make sense to have a slow fighter j
85 Spacepope: I was always partial to the F-108 Rapier. Wish one could have flown.
86 flyingturtle: Aaaaahhh! I've to give back my a.nut membership... David
87 neutronstar73: I can't believe this hasn't made an appearance: Awesome bird! For modern fighters, that's a tough one. I'm really partial to the F-15, F-16, F-8 Crusa
88 kanban: thanks for mentioning it.. I agree with you.
89 rfields5421: I've been lucky enough to see the Vigilante fly a few times. Sweet aircraft.
90 RussianJet: On a side note - what are the actual perceived advantages of that 'crooked' wing shape?
91 rwessel: Ground clearance for the really big propeller. With the folding outboard wing, it was difficult to fit a long enough retracting gear. So the bend in
92 DrStrange: Ok, I have to say the F14 is also one of my favorite jets of all time, but it's been mentioned before in this thread... I also like the design of this
93 speedygonzales: Su-47, too bad there only was one prototype.
94 RussianJet: Thanks for that - makes sense. That plane does look badass, but I can't say that I consider it very beautiful.
95 EagleBoy: Personally I love the S-47 Berkut....but I agree with the above post, its not really beautiful is it?
97 rwy04lga: Dad got back alive....but only after 3 years in a German POW camp. DR1 P-51 Spitfire Me-109 Me-262 F4U P-38 F-86 F4D A-4 YF-12A F-4 F-104 F-16 F-22 F
98 HaveBlue: Call it an F-5F.. looks identical to a T-38.
100 rwy04lga: As a child in 1967, I used to live on the extended centerline of runway 31 at EDI. I remember the English Electric Lightning being VERY LOUD. The F-4
101 RussianJet: Now, I love the lightning, it's an awesome machine. BUT - I really can't dig the shape of those wings. It really looks like a schoolboy's drawing of
102 ANZUS340: I am surprised nobody has chosen the F16 XL. This IMO takes an already beautiful plane and makes it stunning. I would follow the XL up with the Mirage
103 SCAT15F: Yeah, the XL would be near the top of my list too.
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And definitely smashing when you're blown away! 
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