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What's your favorite military aircraft?

B

bczoom

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So many nice ones to choose from but I'm going to pick 2.

The F-4 and the A-10. So much "bang for the buck" (pun intended).
Good hearty aircraft that were tried and proven and have served well.
Kind of funny since one is so sharp looking and the other so darn ugly.

I worked on EA-6B's, AH-1T's (Cobra attack helicopter) and UH-1N's (Huey's). All great planes and in my book probably belong with my first 2 selections.

I also think strapping into an A-4 (basically a big engine with 2 little wings and a seat) would be a riot to take for a spin.
 
A1 Skyraider, Navy/Marine version ofcourse. :a1: Did a tremendous job in Viet Nam in S&R and close air support. Very manueverable. First aircraft that could carry it's own weight in arms, cargo, whatever.

Then we get into the countryclub airplanes.;) C-130, gunship/bomber/transport, one bad ass machine in it's own right.
F/B 111, too bad it didn't work out for the Navy/Corps. Did an excellent job during the first Gulf War, and one of the best looking planes around in my opinion.
 
Great selections.

Just thought of another one but this one is something I would just like to ride on (not in)
 

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If you look closely, you can see that there are some F18's flying a little close to my barn. You want to talk about rattling the hell out of a barn! My gosh, these things were LOUD! :eek:
 

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Took off this morning over to Custer Airport. I remembered they had a bunch of planes there for a benefit for the Yankee Air Force. I thought it was still on today, but WRONG!! There were a couple planes still there, an A-10, a TBM, and a A/T-6 came in while I was there. Check out the photos.
 

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And a couple more. And to keep it Tractor related, that 'bota is one of the tugs at Custer.
 

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johnday said:
And to keep it Tractor related
Click to expand...

Ahhh, John. Old habits hard to break? We're in the avation section of a non-tractor forum. You don't have to quality your post any more... ;)
 
Aahh geez Brian; It is a habit!! Sorry about the lousy photo of that A-1, if ya can clean up, it's a beautiful snapshot!:wave:
 
No problem with the A-1 Photo.

What I can't figure out is that newfangled fuel probe sticking out the top of the A-10...
 
bczoom said:
No problem with the A-1 Photo.

What I can't figure out is that newfangled fuel probe sticking out the top of the A-10...
Click to expand...
You weren't supposed to see that. It's one the Martian spacecraft from War of the Worlds. We've had that hiding behind that hangar for years. Don't tell anyone, Okay?:toilet: :smileywac
 
I like the F-18 shots! Two of them did a "Fly-Over" of Lambeau Field before the Packer game today, right at the conclusion of the National Anthem! Goose bumps were had by all 70,000+ people!

However, my favorite military aircraft has to be the P-51. Untill you hear one of those for real, you can't appreciate the sound of that beautiful Merlin Engine!


:a1:
 
Hmmm... This is a tough question. There are SO many I like. The A-10 is really cool. I love that big cannon on the nose. It's so ugly yet so functional. I love the way it looks. The A-6 was nice, too. I loved hearing about that old warbird. Before I ramble on too much, I guess I would have to say my favorite aircraft is the MiG-29 Fulcrum. Yes, it is Russian but it looks so cool. It doesn't fly-by-wire so it isn't constrained to that. It has IRST (Infra-Red Search and Track) range finding. It tracks the heat signature of a target aircraft and can home and fire without its prey even knowing. The MiG-29 can perform the Cobra maneuver and the Tailslide. Both are really cool to see. I remember some years ago at an airshow, the MiG-29 was supposed to be there. I was bummed when I didn't see it. They did have a mock dogfight between the F-86 and MiG-15, though. That was awesome to watch.

plg009_8.jpg
 
bczoom said:
So many nice ones to choose from but I'm going to pick 2.

The F-4 and the A-10. So much "bang for the buck" (pun intended).
Good hearty aircraft that were tried and proven and have served well.
Kind of funny since one is so sharp looking and the other so darn ugly.

I worked on EA-6B's, AH-1T's (Cobra attack helicopter) and UH-1N's (Huey's). All great planes and in my book probably belong with my first 2 selections.

I also think strapping into an A-4 (basically a big engine with 2 little wings and a seat) would be a riot to take for a spin.
Click to expand...

F-4 & A-10 rate high in my book as well. I probably like the F-14 Tomcat the most. :thumb:
 
Dargo said:
If you look closely, you can see that there are some F18's flying a little close to my barn. You want to talk about rattling the hell out of a barn! My gosh, these things were LOUD! :eek:
Click to expand...

I don't remember your barn looking like that...maybe that is some other land. The Blue Angels are awesome but I actually thought the Thunderbirds were better at the Dayton Air Show 2 years ago. My son actually slept through the Blue Angels performing right over us!
 
Ricochet said:
I don't remember your barn looking like that...maybe that is some other land. The Blue Angels are awesome but I actually thought the Thunderbirds were better at the Dayton Air Show 2 years ago. My son actually slept through the Blue Angels performing right over us!
Click to expand...

That was before I added on and concreted all of the gravel areas. We have been fortunate enough to have the Blue Angels here 3 of the last 4 years. My house is directly in the path of a "turn around" to their "show box" since I'm in a fairly rural area. After literally feeling the downblast from them while out in my yard, I am in awe of those machines.

I've gotta say though, the Harrier (sp?) Jump Jet that hovered over my yard doing a 360 degree turn while hovering sure impressed the hell out of me!! That thing gave a whole new meaning to LOUD! :eek: He blew the fountain in my lake over when he did that! I didn't have my camera at that time, but I could swear the pilot gave me a salute when he took off and I was just standing there like a dope watching him! :o
 
I worked on about 20 different acft. during my time in the AF . My 2 favorites are the C-130 (any model except the A , as it was a hog to work on ) ,and the A7D. Least favorites... T37 , The sound of those things was just about unbearable . T39, Just plain Pigs for such a small airframe . Last but not least, The f117. Great at what it is designed for. But , You couldn't get at anything easily . And if You walked into anything like a gear door, leading edge or trailing edge ,You were going to need stitches .
Don't even get me going on Helicopters :) They really don't fly , it's all done with smoke and mirrors :) John.
 
Hey John,
I've been waiting for you to chime in...
(everyone else - everytime I've met John, we always end up discussing military aircraft and what's the best. It always ends up with us discussing not what's the best, but who's the best and then him conceding that Naval Aviators are significantly better than anyone in the USAF).
nixon said:
Don't even get me going on Helicopters :) They really don't fly , it's all done with smoke and mirrors :) John.
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Helicopters exist to show that a controlled crash can be maintained for a significant amount of time before hitting the ground. Gotta' love an auto-rotation to expedite the experience. :eek:
 
Brian , You are absolutely right on the fact that Naval Aviators ( to include Marines ) are without a doubt the finest I've ever worked with .
But there are times they seem to push their luck ,or just have brass balls .
I was On temporary duty with the Ohio Guard on an A7 conversion . Any way a Navy A6 comes in going cross country . The pilots go to lunch, or where ever. In the meantime , we have a C141 come in ,and needs to park where the A6 is . Noone knows how to get into the Cockpit of this thing. So We just Crack the Brake lines ,and tow it . 3 hours later the Crew Shows up .When We tell them what We've done, and that We need to bleed the Hydro sytem , they just say" We've got a Tail hook !!!!
Anyway , the naval aviators I worked with didn't sweat the "small shit ".
If they had a gripe , it was real . AND, You'd best fix it ! ! John
PS But the AF had Better Maintainers!!!! :)
 
nixon said:
I worked on about 20 different acft. during my time in the AF . My 2 favorites are the C-130...
Click to expand...

I'd love to actually see one of those. About 12 years ago or so, one landed (nose down) on a Jo-Jo's restaurant while is was sitting in my car about 1/4 mile away. :eek: It was a terrible disaster just outside the airport in Evansville, IN. I'm sure you can most likely look up that accident on the internet; I've never tried. I was sitting at an intersection and the crash was just to my right and slightly behind me. Out of shear panic, I simply floored it and ran the light, thinking were were under attack and that was the first bomb. Several people died in the restaurant, everyone on the plane, as well as several in a hotel next door (from the fireball). I still have flash-backs to that crash. I was interviewed as a "witness", but I saw nothing but a huge flash and the earth shook.

I am just now getting curious as to the size of a C-130. Also, I have now come to understand that they are actually a relatively safe aircraft. The crash by me was a training pilot error, from what I've read about later reports. They were doing "touch and go" landings.
 
Brent , Working from memory Here as to the specs on the 130 . Wingspan 132 ' , length 100and a bit . Engines t56- 15 (On H and later models ) 4900 shaft hp . Max TO weight is around 175 k Pounds . It's a very safe machine . About the only way they crash is Pilot error , or gun fire . In fact the first one purchased by the AF (53-3129 ) is still flying as a gunship out of Duke Field in Fla. John
 
Dargo, is that the JoJo's right next to the Drury Inn near the airport? That's the hotel I usually stay at when I'm there!

Dave
 
Brian , thats one of those things that was rarely used . It seemed like a great idea at the time . But the damage it caused from the heat ,and the occasional hang fire from one or more of the Jato units tended to dicourage it's use. We had one plane overseas that was also "modded " so that the prop condition levers could be put into reverse before the plane was on the ground . It was intended for very short fields . It worked , but really beat up the plane and crew . John
 
nixon said:
It seemed like a great idea at the time
Click to expand...

Wasn't it developed as a way to get the hostages out of Iran? I thought I recall that they needed a C130 to be able to land, then take off from something the size of a football field. I thought I also recall that of the 2 planes they were testing it on, someone engaged the braking JATO's when still in the air. It fell like a rock.
 
The Jato fixtures have been on every model of the C130 I've worked on . They mount on the Air deflector doors (4 per side ) .They produce about 1000 pounds of thrust per motor . Depending on fuel load , runway surface You could get airborne in less than 1500 feet of runway . The 130's You are referring to were EC130 E's "combat Talon ) out of the !st SOS at Hurlburt field in Fla. They were somewhat madded for their purpose . But what it was specifically I'm not sure . Anyway the mission was compromised when one of the helicopters collided with one of the 130's at the refueling area in the desert. That was a black day . John
 
DaveNay said:
Dargo, is that the JoJo's right next to the Drury Inn near the airport? That's the hotel I usually stay at when I'm there!

Dave
Click to expand...

That's the one!! I bet you can look up the crash somewhere on the internet. I was sitting at that intersection on Hwy 41, headed north. :4_11_9:
 
At an airshow at Willow Run here in Michigan, the Blue Angels Fat Albert demonstrated a JATO. Man , very impressive. They rotated at a 45 degree angle they said, leveled off around 500', killed the JATO, and it looked like it was just hanging in mid air. Other that tractors and big trucks, airplanes rule!:a1: :coolshade
 
The C-130 is a great workhorse for the military. It can be set up to do so many things. But I like the P-51 and the SR-71 Blackbird.
 
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