http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u91/acsteele_photos/...w¤t=f_5e-s.jpg


http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u91/acsteele_photos/...rent=f-5-30bit-s.jpg

The F5 always looked ready for a scrap to me

Su-27

Everything else is in second place, IMO. My father's favorite ride. He flew the F-86, F-100, and F-105 during his 23 years in the Air Force. He parked an F-105 in the jungle of North Vietnam in 1966, but lived to tell me the story when he came home.






These lovely photos are not my own. I copied them off the net, and would gladly give credit if I could remember the source.

Wayne E.

Whoops didn't leave enuf room for my blurb on the above A/C.
Always kinda liked the Draken.
Very cool unique planform.
Them Swede's make some pretty decent fighters.

No contest. The F-8 Crusader

An F-4 doing a down and dirty 100 feet above my head.

Also beautiful in their own way:

quote:

Originally posted by fla3006:
Also beautiful in their own way:

not sure if its beautiful or not, but its bad ass! Especially after 30+ years of taking names.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc TH:
No contest. The F-8 Crusader

I never flew one, but, even being a single seat, one motor pilot, I drooled over F-8's.

An amazingly difficult plane to bring back to the ship, but one that would kill the shit out of MiGs:

The MiG Killer

There are folks here who will look at the referenced picture and absolutely agree with me that the pilot was keying the mic, screaming splash one, getting ready to punch a bunch of left rudder, rack the a/c in a 4G turn to port, all the while looking for his wingman... and heading for the boat and tapping the burner if he had the gas, thinking, whoopee!, Silver Star... Until his APQ-25 lit up again, that is!!!!!! And his blood pressure and heart rate would exceed that during the combat if the boat had a little pitch and roll...

1300 or so F-8's and 1000+ major accidents. The beautiful son-of-a-bitch was sneaker than Delilah. It'd give you the very greatest of pleasure, but would bite you in the butt if you didn't fly it every damn second. I agree with the motto of F-8 pilots... until the F-16, anyway... "When you are out of F-8's, you are out of fighters."

quote:

Jon Beutler: not sure if its beautiful or not, but its bad ass! Especially after 30+ years of taking names.

That's what makes it so beautiful.

'I agree with the motto of F-8 pilots... until the F-16, anyway... "When you are out of F-8's, you are out of fighters."'
JudgeG:
It was after my time but I always liked the F14 'Tomcat' Motto: "Anytime, Baby!"
Short and succinct, no?

Although I did not fly them, I had the honor to serve in an F-8 Crusader photo reconnaissance squadron with the Marine Corps in '62-'64. Sleek and fast, the Crusader seemed to slip through the air with flawless grace.


(Picture of a Navy F-8 Crusader)

Unlike the Crusaders of the rest of Marine Air Group-33 (MAG-33), the F-8s of Marine Composite Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VMCJ-3) did not mount any armament but were equipped with cameras. It was this type of plane that discovered and photographed the missile sites being constructed in Cuba and which led to JFK's calling Krushchev's hand. For a few days the world tottered on the brink of nuclear war - then Krushchev blinked.

Those were exhilirating times, to be a young Marine, and to have been a part of a dangerous moment in history.

Namibiahunter

No one mentioned the Me 262?
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter:
No one mentioned the Me 262?
Peter.

Back on page 1 Peter. Trapper posted a photo...

Thanks Macifej. I completely missed it! Great photo. BTW educate me please on your "handle".
Peter.

Can't believe that no-one has plumped for the Hawker Hunter. While there have been some worthy contenders nominated, the Hunter in my mind, is the cleanest purest of them all.
Singleseater.


pic from here

The two seater if anything even more attractive.

pic from here

Being an Air Force brat, I have several. When Dad was stationed at Williams field in Arizona I loved the T-6 and the T33. When we were at Ladd AFB in Fairbanks, Alaska I loved the F100s, F104, F89C&D, and the F102. This was in1954-1956. The B36 and the B58 Hustler were great.
My youngest son has been a U2-TR-1 crewchief for 18yrs. I was given one of the side windscreens and the flag that was in his plane when it set an altitude-payload record. It is very special to me.
Butch

+1 Su-27

The British Tornado is gorgeous, too.

My favorite straight wing is the the F9 Panther. I could not find any still photos to do it justice for me. So from You Tube, is this short 2 minute clip of William Holden in the "Bridges at Toko-Ri."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHZ8HrVqrWE

I'm kinda partial to the A-7. Yeah, I know it's not really a "fighter", but it looks like a mini F-8. WestCoaster's pic of the Draken does it for me well enough!

Just cause of the memories--

Dugga:

Did you fly A-4's... or did you already tell me that?

All to briefly

You, like me, lived a dream. I think about it every damn day. Kick the tire and light the fire. What an ultimate toy. Roll rate of 720 degrees a second. Down the chute, jink, put a couple of G's here and there and the pipper magically was where it needed to be at pickle, rack the a/c hard port, reverse and never try to think about the quad 23 that had your APQ 25 (in the "hump" models) going beep-beep-beep-beep (you woke up hearing that sound)... and the grunts who were the reason for our existence would find your sorry ass, buy the all the drinks you could hold at the "O" Club before they even got a shower or a hot meal. Oh, the joy. I thought I was Elvis. The hell with Tom Cruise. Back in the real world, I had a Porsche, boozed and picked up the ladies at Miramar and MCRD and had a BSA bike before that lily-livered actor-whimp got rid of training wheels on his Schwinn.. but I still enjoyed the movie.

I'm a bit late to the party but had to add my favorite-



Harrier

For looks, the F 104, a Missile with a Man in it.

For the job it has done,the F4 Phantom.

quote:

Originally posted by JudgeG:
You, like me, lived a dream. I think about it every damn day. Kick the tire and light the fire. What an ultimate toy. Roll rate of 720 degrees a second. Down the chute, jink, put a couple of G's here and there and the pipper magically was where it needed to be at pickle, rack the a/c hard port, reverse and never try to think about the quad 23 that had your APQ 25 (in the "hump" models) going beep-beep-beep-beep (you woke up hearing that sound)... and the grunts who were the reason for our existence would find your sorry ass, buy the all the drinks you could hold at the "O" Club before they even got a shower or a hot meal. Oh, the joy. I thought I was Elvis. The hell with Tom Cruise. Back in the real world, I had a Porsche, boozed and picked up the ladies at Miramar and MCRD and had a BSA bike before that lily-livered actor-whimp got rid of training wheels on his Schwinn.. but I still enjoyed the movie.

Thought about this a time or three before I posted a reply but the A4 was a most welcome sight - I can see those long shiny, skinny containers come tumbling down, then the 'Whoosh!" and the running wall of flames as they 'scratched your back' and made some more crispy critters. Next to the Spad, it was a most welcome sight when you were sitting in the river, shooting like hell and the ammo running low - put it on the tree line, man, really close, really close.
'Semper Fi' to you from a sailor, Marine!

In no particular oder, I think these aircraft were, for their time, ahead of the game and are graceful:

Me 262 "Swallow",

Mig 15,

English Electric Canberra (yes, I know it was a light bomber in the same vain as the Bristol Blenheim and the DH Mosquito),

a Saunders and Roe protype, killed off by a Labour Government, delta wing fighter in the 1950s,

Hawker Hunter,

McD F-4 Phantom,

another advanced protype, high wing aircraft (TSR-2?)killed off by another Labour Government in the late - ish 1960s and designed to carry the Blue streak? missile