what fighter do you fantasize about flying and why?

[SeaslugMk2]

I'd love to have a go in the two seater version of the Spitfire, although at 17 stone I wonder if I'd fit?

Give Boultby Aviation a ring and find out. Then find the £2,500 or so for the 30 minute experience!

SRJ.

 

[zen]

Hmmm....Buccaneer at the Red Flag.
Climb to 20ft to reduce dust thrown up by wake.......

 

[Hydroman]

Jet: F-23A, no reason to elaborate. Prop: P-51, a hot rod.

 

[Archibald]

No change since 2013, the Arrow still leading my dream pack. RL-206 notably, pushing the world speed record to Mach 2.7 a day of 1959 (beating the crap of Sukhoi, Phantom, F-104 and F-106). Also the first aircraft to fly above 100 000 feet, perhaps 120 000 feet or even higher. Dropping a cut-down Scout rocket strapped to be belly to launch a satellite into orbit.

But there are a load of awesome flying machines from the 50's - and beyond - I would like to get a ride in.

For piston-engine fighters ? too many splendid machines... XB-42, for a start. Martin Baker MB-5.

 

[perttime]

Jet: F-23A, no reason to elaborate. Prop: P-51, a hot rod.

Grumman F8F Bearcat will beat a Mustang any day in performance, and that is what I'd like to fly - among prop fighters that actually exist now. Also, apparently its take-offs and landings are relatively troublefree, as long as you keep it at allowed speeds while landing gear and flaps are down.

 

[Hood]

De Havilland Mosquito FB Mk.VI

 

[SeaslugMk2]

Hmmm....Buccaneer at the Red Flag.
Climb to 20ft to reduce dust thrown up by wake.......

There is a lovely line in Frederick Forsyth's Fist of God where an escaping Buccaneer, haring along the desert floor, meets a camel caravan. The pilot has to make a split-second decision: does he go round it or under it?

SRJ.

 

[starviking]

Well, as it's a fantasy... a Hawker P1154.

Royal Navy, of course - cat launched from CVA-01, HMS Queen Elizabeth

 

[Justo Miranda]

https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/3374490/jewish/Miracle-at-Entebbe.htm



It's not exactly a fighter but...

 

[JB2Loon]

How about The F-104RB Red Baron. The ultimate hot rod, going 1,010 mph at 100 ft would be one hell of a ride. The next day, take her up over 100,000 ft, maybe to 140,000. The way Darryl Greenamyer had the Red Baron painted, it looks like it is doing 500 mph while parked.
Some interesting stories about this aircraft, definitely on my imaginary bucket list.

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Jet: Typhoon, Lightning, Harrier or F-106. It's hard to choose between them

Prop: Spitfire

 

[Raberto]

A-10 Thunderbolt II.... since I was a wee laddie

 

[Stovepipe]

Me 109 G.....street fighter
MiG 15/17/21.....ideal evolutionary aircraft for any fighter pilot.
Chengdu F-7...what the 21 should have been
F-5E...best of the also-rans.

 

[edwest4]

Me 262, the two seat version with a radar operator. So I can shoot down... uh... never mind.

 

[archipeppe]

F-104G/S forever.

 

[Archibald]

Mirage 4000, if there had been a two seat variant of course !

 

[Dreamfighter]

F/A-18E. Reason: I once had a rather (very) weird & vivid dream I was a flying single-seat Super Hornet. (So being the aircraft itself, and not the pilot of one. No kidding.) Which (for a great part) explains the name I chose to use on this forum.

 

[Dilandu]

F-106 Delta Dart. The first "robot" interceptor...

 

[riggerrob]

Unsung hero of Britain's darkest hour, determined tankbuster in North Africa, lonely guardian catapulted into the North Atlantic night, rugged fighter bomber right up until the end of the war, Hawker Hurricanes did it all and got little of the glory. I always liked them, but Paul Gallico's The Hurricane Story sealed the deal. That would be my choice without hesitation.

You are in luck. A British Group recently converted a Hurricane by adding a second seat behind the pilot. Since it has dark Pleixglass and the same silhouette as a stock Hurricane, it looks the same from a distance. That group also offers rides in two-seater Spitfires (2 Malcolm hoods) and 2-seater Me-109 Buchons.
In the USA, dozens of P-51Ds have been converted to TF-51 configuration. Some of these conversions even have full controls for the back seat.
I have packed pilot emergency parachutes for all of the airplanes mentioned above plus AD-1 Skyraider, AT-6, BT-13, Bucher Jungmann, DH-1 Chipmunk, DH Tiger Moth, F-86 Sabre, F4U Corsair, F6 Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F-104 Starfighter, Folland Gnat, L-29 Delphin, L-39 Albatross, PT-17 Kaydet, SAAB Draken, Sokol Galeb, T-28, T-33, T-38, TBM Avenger, etc.

 

[publiusr]

How about The F-104RB Red Baron. The ultimate hot rod, going 1,010 mph at 100 ft would be one hell of a ride. The next day, take her up over 100,000 ft, maybe to 140,000. The way Darryl Greenamyer had the Red Baron painted, it looks like it is doing 500 mph while parked.
Some interesting stories about this aircraft, definitely on my imaginary bucket list.View attachment 649644View attachment 649645

NF-104 for me.

Lockheed NF-104A - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I'd like to see that done for a 727, just for kicks.

Before Musk....NF-104 was as close to the Orbit Jet we ever had.

 

[muttly]

I may seem a little out there but I would like to fly a Fokker tri-wing.

 

[riggerrob]

I may seem a little out there but I would like to fly a Fokker tri-wing.

I have skydived from a Ford Tri-Motor ... er ... the 1964 resserected version known as the Stout Bushmaster 2000.

 

[Archibald]

How about The F-104RB Red Baron. The ultimate hot rod, going 1,010 mph at 100 ft would be one hell of a ride. The next day, take her up over 100,000 ft, maybe to 140,000. The way Darryl Greenamyer had the Red Baron painted, it looks like it is doing 500 mph while parked.
Some interesting stories about this aircraft, definitely on my imaginary bucket list.View attachment 649644

A two-seat NF-104A, hence a NF-104B (d'uh !) what a ride it would be, to 121 000 ft... Lockheed had a couple of improved variants: CL-747 and CL-772.

 

[Michel Van]

Total Off topic

I want to fly Gemini Spacecraft, Apollo CSM, Crew Dragon and Soyuz capsule
and mean not as passenger but active pilot it !

 

[publiusr]

Ironically the Dragon capsule is the polar opposite of THE RIGHT STUFF…unlike Starliner.

Some would have you believe those days are over;

The Sad Death Of The Knob, Switch And Button

I want to start by coming out and saying I'm not one of those car luddites who think everything should hover in some magical past; while I'm very fond of old-school cars, there's an amazing amount of amazing new tech in cars, and LCD dashboards in so many new cars here at the Detroit Auto Show...

jalopnik.com

Not so

Cars need their buttons and knobs back

Drivers love physical car buttons, but manufacturers insist on cramming controls on touchscreens despite their obvious usability problems.

www.fastcompany.com

Buttons and Knobs Are Easier to Use and Safer Than Touchscreens

It seems like every screen is a touchscreen. However, in a car, buttons and knobs are known to be easier and safer to use than a touchscreen.

www.motorbiscuit.com

Tom Paris was right!

 

[helmutkohl]

for the longest time, the F-14. It was the 80s and the F-14 was the poster jet on everything. Top Gun, Afterburner, etc
although the F-15 is arguably the better jet of that generation, it just looked a lot more boring compared to the F-14.

Some others:
Rafale - it has a very interesting cockpit design with that holographic hud
F-35B - I am curious to what people keep referring to as a one touch landing. Also because its a vstol jet
MiG-31 - its a behemoth, fies flast and high.
PZL Orlik - its a cute trainer plane
Mirage 2000 - I think this is my favorite pure delta. At times I like it more than the Rafale.
C-1 - its an underrated transport aircraft, would like to try flying it
ShinMaywa US-2 - curious to landing a boat plane on water
Viggen - my favorite of the 3rd gen era.
Shinden - one of my favorite WW2 designs that never made it far
Me-262 - cool looking jet, probably my favorite of that era. Wish there were more pod engine planes today. I think the Firebar might have been the last
P-51 - duh
Ki-62 - a lot of people liked the Ki-84, but I liked the Hien more

 

[cluttonfred]

Unsung hero of Britain's darkest hour, determined tankbuster in North Africa, lonely guardian catapulted into the North Atlantic night, rugged fighter bomber right up until the end of the war, Hawker Hurricanes did it all and got little of the glory. I always liked them, but Paul Gallico's The Hurricane Story sealed the deal. That would be my choice without hesitation.

You are in luck. A British Group recently converted a Hurricane by adding a second seat behind the pilot. Since it has dark Pleixglass and the same silhouette as a stock Hurricane, it looks the same from a distance. That group also offers rides in two-seater Spitfires (2 Malcolm hoods) and 2-seater Me-109 Buchons.
In the USA, dozens of P-51Ds have been converted to TF-51 configuration. Some of these conversions even have full controls for the back seat.
I have packed pilot emergency parachutes for all of the airplanes mentioned above plus AD-1 Skyraider, AT-6, BT-13, Bucher Jungmann, DH-1 Chipmunk, DH Tiger Moth, F-86 Sabre, F4U Corsair, F6 Hellcat, F8F Bearcat, F-104 Starfighter, Folland Gnat, L-29 Delphin, L-39 Albatross, PT-17 Kaydet, SAAB Draken, Sokol Galeb, T-28, T-33, T-38, TBM Avenger, etc.

Wow, you resurrected an old post for sure. The Hurricane would still be my choice!

 

[F.L.]

I would like to fly in F-5E, Mirage F1 & MiG-29.
I would dream to fly in Ta-152, Ki-84 & D.520.
As pilot of course !!!

 

[PMN1]

An X-Wing

 

[publiusr]

I imagine new materials going to early 1900s designs...or spindly craft in air filled lunar lava caves filled with extinct-gene spliced creations-hollow Earth style. Steampunk below-atompunk above.

 

[FighterJock]

Has to be either the Harrier (does not matter what variant) or Phantom.

 

[F-2]

I know this might come as a huge shock





But specifically 118 would be my first choice to get a ride in (unless I could fly it myself then I would want an F-2A 503).

 

[Jason Dykstra (Wyvern)]

Jet: Typhoon, Lightning, Harrier or F-106. It's hard to choose between them

Prop: Spitfire

I'm going to add Tornado ADV to this