Which Is Your Favourite Military Aircraft

Lien · Post by **Lien** » 08 Nov 2003, 22:22

My favourite military plane is Air Force One.

Lien !

twan01 · Post by **twan01** » 09 Nov 2003, 01:06

"What is your favourite military aircraft ? "
This is realy a difficult question for me. In a first reaction I would say, the Wright Flyer with which aviation started about 100 years ago, from which I only saw the original pending on the ceiling in the Air & Space museum in Washington, and a replica at this year's airshow in Dayton, but .... that wasn't a military aircraft.

So my second choice goes to one of the over 80 different ones that I was able to fly in, but..... which one ?
The SV-4 in which I made my first flight some 43 years ago? My first jet flight in the A-Jet ? the F-16 ? the F-4 ? F-15 ? or F-18 ? There has been so many more and all of them were so fantastic.
Now as member of the Commemorative Air Force, I'm part of the flight crew, flying the sole airworthy B-29 in the whole world. Can I say anything else than that is my all-time favourite aircraft at this time ?

But there are thousands of other aircraft and for those who could fly them or see them soaring through the skies, they all are in one way their most favourite aircraft.

MD-11 · Post by **MD-11** » 09 Nov 2003, 11:01

Lien wrote:My favourite military plane is Air Force One.

Lien !

MD-11 · Post by **MD-11** » 09 Nov 2003, 18:09

329 wrote:The F-104G Starfighter of course.

John

Dorfmeister · Post by **Dorfmeister** » 09 Nov 2003, 18:18

Here it goes...

For me, KC-10A (in the black colourscheme)*, Su-32, Su-37, AN-225 (that's military or not?).

Benjamin

* Too bad we didn't have a KD-11A...

VC10 · Post by **VC10** » 09 Nov 2003, 18:45

My favourite military aircraft are the Nimrod and the Vulcan Bomber.

Perhaps I could be really cheeky and request that MD-11 draw them for me???

Lien · Post by **Lien** » 09 Nov 2003, 23:02

Thank you very much for the drawing, Bart

it's really fabulous. Very nice of you.

Greetings

Lien !

Avro · Post by **Avro** » 09 Nov 2003, 23:05

Like Lien, I would also say Air Force one, altough it's not really a "military" airplane.

My second favorite is theC-17

Caio
Chris
8)

Leo · Post by **Leo** » 10 Nov 2003, 09:20

My favourits are the Sukhoi Flanker, C 5 Galaxy and the "Aardvark".

Cheers,
Leo

pegasus · Post by **pegasus** » 10 Nov 2003, 13:27

My favorite is the C-130, reliable, beautiful, elegant and luckily present in the Zaventem sky.

rgds
PGT

MD-11 · Post by **MD-11** » 10 Nov 2003, 13:39

VC10 wrote: the Vulcan Bomber.

Perhaps I could be really cheeky and request that MD-11 draw them for me???

B737229 · Post by **B737229** » 10 Nov 2003, 14:44

The english electric (or BAC) Lightning....

Another example of a great english aircraft

MD-11 · Post by **MD-11** » 10 Nov 2003, 15:07

Some nice pics I found on www.jfktower.com/jfktwr/portal.php

Air Force 1 at JFK

Air Force 1 leaving JFK

Is this real, that you can actually see a sonic boom or is this photoshop?

L-1011 · Post by **L-1011** » 10 Nov 2003, 18:34

MD-11 this sonic boom is real and you can see it due to the excess of water vapour in the air which condenses under the high pressures in the bow shock.

My favourite military plane would be the FA-18 Hornet on equal foot with the ill-fated SR-71

ciao,
TriStar :jump:

VC10 · Post by **VC10** » 10 Nov 2003, 18:56

MD-11 - you came up trumps again!!

Thanks for the lovely pic.!!!!

meerkat · Post by **meerkat** » 12 Nov 2003, 00:07

Overall it has to be the F-104 for me, but all the "Century Series" fighters including the Phantom have real class.

If I look at UK military then the Lightning and the Buccaneer really do something special, and of the Europeans the Mirage III and the Draken are pretty special.

Meerkat

Comet · Post by **Comet** » 14 Nov 2003, 12:16

Slightly off the topic here, but I love that sonic boom photo, I remember the photo being published in the UK media sometime last year.

concordino · Post by **concordino** » 14 Nov 2003, 14:44

I am not so sure that it really is a sonic boom - wouldn't that form behind the aircraft?

Any way here's another interesting take on the same topic
http://www.scramble.nl/photos/gfx/30.jpg

Concordino

Comet · Post by **Comet** » 14 Nov 2003, 14:57

Concordino - that too is a stunning photo.

L-1011 · Post by **L-1011** » 14 Nov 2003, 15:38

Concordino wrote:I am not so sure that it really is a sonic boom - wouldn't that form behind the aircraft?

Actually the sonic barrier is broken by the plane at Mach 1.0 when the plan surpasses the speed of sound. At that speed the plane has pierced a small hole in the "barrier" and it's nose is ahead of it. If the plane accelerates even more the plane will "enter" the other side of the barrier more and more. To completely be on the other side the plane will have to fly at a very big Mach number.

The fuselages of supersonic planes are strengthened to withstand the sonic boom and penetrate the "barrier" with the least vibrations and structural stress possible.

So this plane you see here is flying at more than just Mach1

The small "cloud behind the cockpit is certainly due to extra constraints on the air at that point due to the form of the cockpit itself.

ciao,
TriStar