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What's your favorite military aircraft?

For no particular reason that I can justify, but I like the Navy Sea Knight (despite its marginal safety record)

ch-46e.jpg




A sentimental favorite from my childhood when I used to make models of planes would have to be the venerable Sopwith Camel

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And for some reason, the DeHavilland Mosquito has always been a favorite of mine. This is a plane that was built in secret, was never supposed to have existed because it was not considred viable, but ended up being used in great numbers (something like 7700 of them were produced in at least a dozen variants).

Mosquito.jpg
 
B1 is way cool. And I wonder what it's real mission is. I really don't think it was intended for bombing. I'm thinking fairly large missile launching from near space altitudes? It sits way high off the ground, as if intended for large underbelly payloads.

I had the pleasure of being at the 50th aniversary air show at Edwards. We got there before sun-up, so we could watch the SR71 take off (oh man, is that simply mind-numbing!) We also witnessed the B2 take off as well, along with a representative of every other USAF machine in service. At that show, you could walk up to any aircraft there, including an SR71. They also had the proto YF22 and 23 right there that you could walk up to and touch. But the B1? It was across the field, all by itself, with armed guards around it. What's with that?

The formation fly-by of one of every USAF machine was simply too cool.
 
kind of late to this thread , but as you can tell from my name the f15 is one of the best in the world and has been for some time, although the new boy on the block the f22 Raptor looks interesting, course i am partial to fighters.
 
Frank, did you fly an F15? Sure wish I could've.
 
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Doc never did fly the F15 or for that matter any airplane, but i sure wish i would have been able to, airplanes are just a love of mine, and can only imagine the feeling of flying one, can not begin to wonder what it would be like to catapult off in a tomcat off the deck of a carrier.
 
I get a thrill just imagining that Frank. I've never had the chance either. Darnit!
 
Well lets see, I have worked on these Air Force birds before I retired from the Air Force (12 years active and 11 in the Reserve)

1. F-4
2. T-38
3. F-15
4. F-16
5. C-124
6. C-130
7. C-141
8. C-5
9. C-17
10. C-9 (the C-9 was the medical evac plane used by the Air Force for critical injury patients)

My favorite aircraft to work on was the first aircraft that I had the pleasure to work on even tho it was a beast the F-4 that the Air Force had.
 
lilnixon said:
I just found out from my brother that my Dad actually was responsible for getting the Fu-Kemal named. :a1:
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And a fine name that is!!!:applause:
I almost pasted it into a google search to see it's meaning until I change the pronunciation (and then it made perfect sense) :whistle: :thumb:
 
bczoom said:
And a fine name that is!!!:applause:
I almost pasted it into a google search to see it's meaning until I change the pronunciation (and then it made perfect sense) :whistle: :thumb:
Click to expand...
My FIL recounted a ttale to Me about a very senior officer asking about the name . He told Him it was pronounced FOOCAMEL. Then proceeded to tell Him it was a Chinese term wishing good luck :)
Another time when He was asked by an arrogent officer what the "pee tubes were , He told Him it was part of the intercom system . He'd always crack a smile when He described how that guy tried talking into it ,and waited for a response from the cockpit :yum: :yum:
 
Too hard to pick one.

Classics
B-17, flew in one a few years ago, remember the 8th.
P-51, would marry your ugly daughter for a ride.
P-38, just looks cool.

Almost Classics
F-86, just looks cool.
H-1, carries more than you can cram in it, makes a lovely wop-wop.
C-130, land anywhere, carry lots-o-stuff, floats like a butterfly.

Modern
F-16, one sleek bird.
SR-71, just looks cool, heard it could fly to moon if trajectory was right.

If I absolutely had to pick one, it'd be the B-17. Maybe not so much for its art-deco looks and fighting capability. Maybe more for the memory of the men who flew those last miles in her in a straight line, unprotected, in the daylight raids over Europe, watching other ships fall around them.
 
My B-17 ride...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nspUsJTJ2O0"]YouTube - B-17 - Aluminum Overcast[/ame]
 
A little late to this thread, but...

Chance-Vought F4U Corsair, hands down.

The Corsair saw production through the Korean War. It was extremely versatile, and could hold its own against any other prop fighter. All other US production of fighters ended at the end of WWII. Although P51' etc flew for a long time after, the F4U was the one in production and heavy use.

The F4U easily held its own. Although it saw very limited use outside the Pacific Theatre in WWII, in US military testing late in WWII it won a large percentage of test mock fights. It was tested against other US fighters(P51, P38 etc), Japanese fighters, and German fighters captured during the war. It could easily hold its own, and usually came out on top.

It was tough enough to fly from carriers, or go land based. Yes, it had a rough start on carriers. Interestingly, it was the British that figured out how to really make it work on carriers. Only the "Cat" series could boast that too...

Those gull wings just look cool!

I am briefly acquainted with pilots who flew them off the USS-Phillipine Sea. Pretty cool stories. The pilot narrating this video, and the one making the rough landing, are the pilots I have met and talked with. The pilot who made the video, is a docent on the USS-Hornet CVS-12 museum, in Alameda Ca. This pilot also flew F9F Panther/Cougars off the USS Hornet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq61EV-FqYw
 
Bobcat said:
Classics
B-17, flew in one a few years ago, remember the 8th.
P-51, would marry your ugly daughter for a ride.
P-38, just looks cool.

Almost Classics
F-86, just looks cool.
H-1, carries more than you can cram in it, makes a lovely wop-wop.
C-130, land anywhere, carry lots-o-stuff, floats like a butterfly.

Modern
F-16, one sleek bird.
SR-71, just looks cool, heard it could fly to moon if trajectory was right.
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Sorry to tell you Bobcat, but your modern choices are 'almost classics' now, too. :whistling:
 
The Consolidated PBY was/is my favorite militart plane, not fast, but could fly for hours and did a lot of work during WWII


PBY Catalina



PBY-5 Catalina landing at NAS Jacksonville.
Typeflying boat patrol bomberManufacturerConsolidated AircraftDesigned byIsaac M. LaddonMaiden flight28 March 1935IntroducedOctober 1936, USNRetiredJanuary 1957, USNRPrimary usersUnited States Navy
United States Army Air Forces
Royal Air Force
Royal Canadian Air ForceProduced1936-1945Number built4,051 (est.)Unit cost$90,000 as of 1935VariantsBird Innovator
The PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s. It could be equipped with depth charges, bombs, torpedoes, and .50 Browning machineguns and was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the US military and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. In the United States Army Air Forces and later in the USAF their designation was the OA-10, while Canadian-built PBYs were known as Cansos.
In World War II, PBYs were used as anti-submarine warfare aircraft, patrol bombers, convoy escorts, search and rescue aircraft, and transports. The PBY was the most successful aircraft of its kind, as no other flying boat was produced in greater numbers. The last active military PBYs were not retired from service until the 1980s. Even today, over seventy years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as an airtanker in aerial firefighting operations all over the world.
In the acronym PBY, "PB" stands for "Patrol Bomber", and "Y" is the code for "Consolidated Aircraft", as designated in the 1922 United States Navy aircraft designation system.

PBY-N287.jpg



[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NzkUfpSpZg"]YouTube - Pescaria - Puta susto! / Fishing - What scare! (funny)[/ame]
 
There's been some fine and beautiful acft. named here. But I'm still going with the C130 . It's still in production and at the same time a classic .
It also has done some things that other land based acft. Can't even attempt.....[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfwJJD5jGXk"]YouTube - C-130 Hercules on an Aircraft Carrier!![/ame]
 
guys talk about bang for the buck nothing in the invetory matches the service life of the b52 and ithink the runner up could be the hurc the hurc is likely my favorite the two sounds the turn me on is the c130 and the m35 and 51 with the multi fuel motors
 
dds said:
guys talk about bang for the buck nothing in the invetory matches the service life of the b52 and ithink the runner up could be the hurc the hurc is likely my favorite the two sounds the turn me on is the c130 and the m35 and 51 with the multi fuel motors
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I was sitting at a stoplight about 15 years ago when, tragically, a C130 landed nose first about 1/4 a mile from me on top of a JoJo's restaurant and Drury Inn. I've mentioned it earlier, but it really sticks in my mind.
 
I still say that all you need to do is sit in a chair with a blindfold on in the "War Bird" area of Oshkosh during Airventure and you will nearly die of the chills and goosebumps.

If you have never smelled, felt and heard a real warbird with a 1000+ hp radial engine, you have never lived. (The video is a very poor representation.) Feeling the vibration of the air in your lungs to the chugga-chugga-chugga of one of these huge engines is beyond explanation. A Harley is a very poor substitute. Crack cocaine is less addictive. Just watching this video brings tears to my eyes at the sound...

This is the sound of testosterone.


[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw6UWPaTUt0"]YouTube- Grumman F8F Bearcat Flight Demonstration - MONSTER Radial Sound ![/ame]
 
My personal favorite from my perspective as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) - "GIBS" for you AF guys - was the EKA-3B.

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EKA-3B-VAQ130.jpg

Big, roomy, fun to fly in, great multi-mission aircraft : Electronic Warfare, Air-air-refueling, long-range navigation lead, cruise missile simulator and all-around cargo hauler. Only drawback - no ejection seat.

Favorite aircraft to watch launch from and recover on the carrier: RA-5C
ra5c1467.jpg


This sucker is HUGE. Crew of two. You can see the pilot in this pic. The NFO is in back of him. See that little dark square above the star-and-bars? That's the NFO's window. He can't see ANYTHING when coming aboard the carrier - if things don't go right, he feels it before he sees anything... those guys had cojones.....
 
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