Favorite Fighter Or Attack Aircraft?

pilotntrng · Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:43 am

Here we go folks, what types of attack or fighter aircraft are your favorites? Here are mine:

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Photo © Thomas P. McManus

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Photo © Jonathan Derden - SPOT THIS!

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Photo © Andrew Muller

bluethunder · Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:44 am

Nothing to beat that elegant and magestic F-15. I LOVE that thing.

pilotntrng · Tue Apr 27, 2004 5:46 am

I agree with ya Bluethunder, we get a few fly over here in TYS ever so often, and we all go crazy out on the ramp. It's a great sight to see, unless you are a bad guy lol

Brad

nudelhirsch · Tue Apr 27, 2004 6:05 am

This is probably better located in the military-forum...

ScottishLaddie · Tue Apr 27, 2004 6:08 am

Last airshow I went to, I was mighty impressed with the F-18, or the skill of the Swiss AF pilot, or both. Smile

ba319-131 · Tue Apr 27, 2004 6:11 am

I don't think this is suited to the Cival Aviation Forum....

pilotntrng · Tue Apr 27, 2004 7:02 am

I sure am glad the folks on the civil aviaition side are so kind and welcome to other posts........

Guest · Tue Apr 27, 2004 7:43 am

Just a question... are we talking about modern (eg still in activity) birds or all-time favorites? In any case, my favorites would be the F-16 and the Corsair (WWII one).

garnetpalmetto · Tue Apr 27, 2004 10:42 am

My favorite Fighter...would have to be the F-14. My favorite attack aircraft is, hands down, another Grumman product.

FlagshipAZ · Tue Apr 27, 2004 11:02 am

If I can include a couple of eras here....
WWI period...the Sopwith Camel
WWII period...the Vought F4U Corsair
Korean War...the NorthAmerican F-86 Sabre
Vietnam...F-4 Phantom for fighters & A-4 Skyhawk for attack
Today...Grumman F-14D Tomcat for everything. Wink/being sarcastic

Regards.

IndianFlyboy · Tue Apr 27, 2004 2:08 pm

The MiG 29 of course Smile/happy/getting dizzy

closely followed by the Su 30 MKI. From the earlier era in Descending order on basis of time, well roughly at least

MiG 21
Hawker Hunter
MiG 15
P51 Mustang
Spitfire
Hawker Hurricane
Sopwith Camel

Notable mentions to the F 14 , she is one of the best looking beauties around.

Regards

Biggles20 · Wed Apr 28, 2004 12:03 am

Hello All,

I would have to say that in the past, my favourite fighter was the Spitfire - a wonderful image of our history. At present day, hands down it would have to be the Eurofighter Typhoon - this is a multi-role fighter so it covers both roles in one airframe!

Also like the look of the F-35 and F-16 - something about those two which I simply can't place my finger on...oh well!

biggles

garnetpalmetto · Wed Apr 28, 2004 3:19 pm

Wow, I'm surprised nobody has said the Harrier for favorite attack aircraft yet Wow!

Lionel · Wed Apr 28, 2004 6:19 pm

Of course the F-14 Tomcat!

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Photo © Rob Tabor

jmets18 · Thu Apr 29, 2004 12:02 am

i'm a little biased probably, but since the f/a-22 could wipe any aircraft out of the sky before it's even detected...i guess i'd have to say yeah, the f/a-22.

ramprat74 · Thu Apr 29, 2004 12:41 am

SAAB J35 Draken

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Photo © Werner Horvath

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Photo © Werner Horvath

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Photo © Peter Liander

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Photo © Kristof Jonckheere

The Draken first flew in 1958. It looks like something out of Star Wars. I love the profile of it.

geedo · Fri Apr 30, 2004 2:54 pm

F-15

garnetpalmetto · Fri Apr 30, 2004 5:02 pm

I realize that my first choices were rather Air Force exclusive, so allow me to also present my favorite USAF attack aircraft and my favorite USAF fighter craft:

and, last, but not least....it's really an attack aircraft, but has an "F" designation...

advstol · Fri May 07, 2004 7:33 am

HARRIER; BOOOYAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HaveBlue · Fri May 07, 2004 9:01 am

The F-14 is my favorite. I know it's typical, but I fell in love with it way before Top Gun came out.

The SR-71 and XB-70 have always held a special place.

Future I would have taken the F-23 personally
Current F-14 and Su-37
Vietnam F-4
Korea F-86 and F-82 (gotta love 2 Mustangs joined together!)
WWII tied between the P-51 and F-4, but leaning towards the 51
WWI no comment

L-188 · Fri May 07, 2004 3:30 pm

Lets see here, in no particular order

A4D Skyhawk

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Photo © Ian Powell

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Photo © Rob Neil

F4U Corsair

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Photo © Ernie Viskupic

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Photo © Colin K. Work - AirTeamImages

A1D Skyraider

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Photo © Mark Carlisle

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Photo © Gerhard Plomitzer

Dassault Mirage (Doesn't matter if it is a 2000, 50, 5 or II)

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Photo © Serge Bailleul

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Photo © John Higgins - AirTeamImages

TwinPioneer · Fri May 07, 2004 8:38 pm

Without doubt my all time favourite has to be the English Electric Lightning. This would be closely followed by the Blackburn Buccaneer. Both classics IMHO. Smile

Refueler1974 · Wed May 12, 2004 2:15 am

For me it will always be

Fighter: F-14

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Photo © Kenneth Turley

Attack: A-10A

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Photo © Den Pascoe

DfwRevolution · Wed May 12, 2004 8:24 am

As much as I love the classics, you gotta love the modern-

Mariscal35 · Mon Jun 21, 2004 9:05 pm

My favorite fighter aircraft, the Saab Viggen

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Photo © Christer Karlsmoen

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Photo © Thierry Deutsch

And the Dassault Rafale

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Photo © Ducros thierry

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Photo © Philippe Noret

Speedbird747 · Tue Jun 22, 2004 2:42 am

1. F/A-18

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Photo © Kristof Jonckheere

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Photo © Andreas Zeitler -Flying Wings

2. Su-27

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Photo © Gerhard Vysocan

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Photo © Pereslavtsev Alex

3. Saab Gripen

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Photo © Kristof Jonckheere

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Photo © Sven De Bevere

fly_yhm · Tue Jun 22, 2004 5:56 am

Without a Doubt for my favorite fighter.

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Photo © Tony Zeljeznjak

Attack aircraft goes to

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Photo © Simon Thomas

BCAInfoSys · Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:03 am

Oh come on guys.. you're so unoriginal. The all-time greatest will always be the P-38 Lightning! Big thumbs up

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Photo © Tony Zeljeznjak

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Photo © Colin K. Work - AirTeamImages

Spacepope · Tue Jun 22, 2004 11:44 am

I'm so glad people are posting photos. Makes the thread much more entertaining.

For fighters, I'll go with the YF-12A. Missiles accurate enough to take the tail off of a B-47 drone, but with a 250 kiloton warhead (The hiroshima bomb was only 10KT) who needed accuracy?

But for getting really down and dirty, what beats an B-26K, as dragged out for the Vietnam war. 8 .50 cals in the nose, and hardpoints galore under the wings. Did these use the bomb bay as well?

NightHawk117 · Tue Jun 22, 2004 2:48 pm

Favorite fighter a/c: The F-22 Raptor

Favorite attack a/c: The F-117 NightHawk

f4wso · Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:53 pm

My favorite fighter is the F-4 Phantom II. It is a biased opinion because I spent a dozen years in the back seat. My favorite attack plane is the mighty Herk-a-saurus. The C-130 can drop the biggest conventional bomb, the BLU-82. The AC-130 gunship carries the biggest airborne cannon, the 105mm.

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Photo © Gary Chambers

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Photo © Gary Chambers

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Photo © Gary Chambers

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Photo © Gary Chambers

Gary
Cottage Grove, MN

wietse · Mon Jun 28, 2004 6:39 pm

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Photo © Wietse de Graaf - AirTeamImages

Wietse

zhukov · Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:28 am

Difficult question, since they are so many beautiful aircrafts... but for me there is something both aggressive and feline in the Flanker design :

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Photo © Andreas Müller

and something pure in the lines of the Dassault Mirage III. Below are pictures of the IIIRS, but the IIIS is even purer :

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Photo © Andreas Zeitler -Flying Wings

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Photo © Andreas Zeitler -Flying Wings

by the way, all my congratulation to Andreas Zeitler, his pictures are simply amazing !!! Wow!

I would say they're my both favorite fighter aircrafts.

F. Breit.

RayChuang · Fri Jul 02, 2004 2:32 pm

I think right now my favorite fighter is the new Eurofighter Typhoon, which I believe that deliveries are starting some time this year.

A very manueverable fighter (the design of the plane owes a lot to the X-31 research program), it's probably the only fighter that can fly faster than Mach 1 without using reheat (afterburners) besides the F-22A Raptor. Of course, the Typhoon's supercruise speed is lower than the F-22A's.

I wonder can the Typhoon turn with the same tight radius as the F-16 or MiG-29?

NoUFO · Sun Jul 04, 2004 2:00 am

Ray, delivery of Eurofighter Typhoon has already started; if I'm not mistaken Luftwaffe recieved it's first Eurofighter in the first week of February this year.
The Luftwaffe squadron stationed at Laage AFB started flying operations with Eurofighter a while back.

Reportedly, the Typhoon has a significantly tighter turn radius than the F-16. I'm no expert but from what I have seen at ILA in Berlin, the Eurofighter was indeed a tad more agile, even though the Eurofighter carried two Sidewinder and 4 AMMRAM and not only two Sidewinder. But if you compare price tag and age of both fighters, this comes as no surprise ...
As for a MIG 29 vs. Eurofighter comparison: I don't know, but some pilots at Laage have flown both planes and they are reportedly really enthusiastic.

miamiair · Fri Jul 16, 2004 9:59 pm

My pick: theMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom aka the clear air converter. Jack of all trades.

Now if I was a ground pounder and needed air support, my pick would be the AC-130U.

hbfly · Thu Oct 07, 2004 2:11 am

My favorites are:

F-16 Fighting Falcon

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and

F-15 Eagle

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Berni

dl021 · Thu Oct 07, 2004 10:16 am

My favorite is the only one that I have actually seen used up close and hot...the A-37 Drangonfly. Followed closely by the AC-47, formerly of the USAF then the Honduran AF now with, as I understand it the Colombian AF. I hear they are going to convert them to Basler 67Turboprops...Long Live Puff!

The A-37 could go low and slow and carry a good load. It also made a hell of a racket and could strafe with its internal 7.62 minigun AND it could carry napalm. thank you Mr.Cessna and the good folks in Wichita. Thank you Mr. Douglas and the ingenious sob who figured that , "Hey, we could put some miniguns on this sucker and put it on its wing and drop all the lead on one point! That would ruin someones day!" and make plenty of others.

Cadet985 · Sat Oct 09, 2004 12:29 am

I love the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, A-6 Intruder, and A-10 Thunderbolt II.

Marc

RaginMav · Sat Oct 09, 2004 3:47 am

I'm suprised nobody has mentioned this one yet, I think it's pretty cool:

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Convair990 · Wed Oct 27, 2004 11:26 pm

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Photo © Michael Baldock

The Vought F-8 Crusader.... has to be one of the greatest fighters even though they started phasing him out around when I was born Big grin

[Edited 2004-10-27 16:34:13]

f4wso · Thu Oct 28, 2004 12:30 am

A quick note on Raginmav's comment on the F-86 registration. The FU-666 is not the registration, it is the "buzz number" Tactical aircraft in the 1950's had a two letter code to identify the type, ie, FU is for the F-86 series. The three digits were the last three of the serial. Buzz numbers were for identification of a plane that was flying too low. A noise complainer could phone in with the number and the Air Force could track down the alleged offender. A complete list can be found in the Fahey books on US Army and USAF designations. They are out of print but can be found through the USAF Museum bookstore.

There has been some other threads in this forum and the Aviation Photography section on the confusion generated by the way the USAF paints serial numbers on the tail. I hope this discussion of Buzz Numbers doesn't add to more confusion.
Gary
Cottage Grove, MN

TupolevTu154 · Thu Oct 28, 2004 2:31 am

C'mon, nobody suggested the...

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SnowJ · Thu Oct 28, 2004 7:15 am

My favorites would have to be the Hawker Hunter...

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Photo © Colin K. Work - AirTeamImages

followed VERY close behind by the Blackburn Buccaneer.

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MissedApproach · Thu Oct 28, 2004 8:43 am

I guess I'd say the A-4 Skyhawk & the F-104 Starfighter, both compact designs focused on a single mission. Multi-role airplane? F/A-18 Hornet. They're all so cool though! Big thumbs up

bsergonomics · Fri Oct 29, 2004 6:51 am

There can be only one...

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Photo © Philip Preindl

There are many other worthy candidates ... ME262, Spitfire, Mig-29, Lightning... but, in the end, this is my Baby...

SXFAN · Fri Oct 29, 2004 12:01 pm

Here are my favorites:
Starting from WWII:

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& a Russian

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tu114 · Fri Oct 29, 2004 10:51 pm

On the basis of sheer speed:

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Photo © Stuart freer

And what the Russians came up with to chase it...

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727200er · Sun Oct 31, 2004 7:26 am

Ground attack
AC-47 aka Puff the magic Dragon
P-47 Thunderbolt
A-10 Thunderbolt II
Interceptor
CF-104 Starfighter
Jet fighter
CF-100 Canuck
CF-101 Voodoo
CF-18 Hornet
F-15 Eagle
Bomber
FB-111

IntruderPC · Mon Nov 01, 2004 7:47 am

To SXFan you really have the first one right.

The best fighter of all time has to be the P-51 series put out by North American. To all of you others, I understand about combat records and the fame of the P-38 in the Pacific, and the MIGs and FWs etc etc. However I don't think any A/C has had more of a morale impact and a combat impact than when the P-51 hit the scene in Europe in 1943.

The best bomber/attack A/C should probably go to the B-25 Mitchell or the B-17 since they had much the same story during some of the darkest days of WWII.

As you see by my username I am an Intruder PC and we played one heck of a roll in 'Nam. Also, the F-4s that we had with us did some awesome CapCom and attack of their own. However, I think that those two A/C are really the kings of A/C in their roles with maybe a second to F-3 Wildcat in WWII. Modern jets are great and they do really go into Harm's Way, but the smart bombs and EQ tech really help protect them, whereas WWII pilots and crews were really one on one and they had some COURAGE to fly into some of the places they went.

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