Any Military Aviation nerds about?

[Gunga]

I was in LA last week and got to visit the Western Museum of Flight. I went specifically to go see this beauty...the YF-23 Black Widow II. Alas, it lost the Advanced Tatcical Fighter competition to the not-as-cool-looking F-22 Raptor which deploys in 2008 I believe.

If you want to read more about the YF-23, there's a bunch of good info and pictures here.

The museum's also got one of the YF-17 Cobra prototypes, which lost the Lightweight Fighter competition to what would beceome the USAF's F-16 Falcon. But it didn't really lose too badly...the YF-17 was developed by the Navy and evolved into the F/A-18 Hornet.

[Miscue]

Sweet! Almost as cool as a Sopwith Camel...

[bleachit]

LONG LIVE LOCKHEED MARTIN!!!!!!!

yeah, lockheed rules.. and in response to your question, yeah, I am a military aviation nerd its kinda like a sick addiction actually... lol sweet pics though

[Konigballer]

YF-23, no thanks, I'll take a Focke Wulfe D9 please. Or a Fokker D7. Jets are cool but I prefer planes who saw some REAL combat against worthy opponents.

Lets face it, there will probably never be another war that sees the massed dogfights of WW1, and especially WW2. That means there also probably wont be a pilot who racks up 20 or more kills for a while. That things still cool though.

[FactsOfLife]

I like the new hardware but I'm an old schooler when it comes to military aircraft.

[bleachit]

I want an F-86, if that says anything. I think the old jets are the sweet ones, as far as looks go.

[Lopy-slopy]

Originally posted by Miscue
Sweet! Almost as cool as a Sopwith Camel...

aint that a ww1 plain, like what billy bishop would have flown in?

[bleachit]

yeah, camel is from wwI

[PyRo]

http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/

Thats the airplane museam in upstate NY that I went to all the time when I was younger. My father was into old airplanes, and he got me likeing them. Its really cool to see some of those old planes (although alot of what they have are replica's and anything that isn't probably has very few original parts left). The last time I went there they had some pre WWI planes that really look like somthing I could put together in my backyard. They have moc dogfights, have rides in an old mailplane, I had lots of fun there
I like this one

http://www.oldrhinebeck.org/aircraft/albatros.htm

[Konigballer]

Youv'e been to Old Rhinebeck "all the time"?!?! Man I hate you Pyro, I've wanted to go there since I was friggin' 10 years old! Oh well, ONE day.........

[FooTemps]

WAAI!!! ^__^

That is the coolest freaking plane ever... Too bad it lost out. It outperformed the f22 too

[bleachit]

YF-22 was a safer design, well less radical. Besides, everyone knows lockheed martin makes the best aircraft in the world. lol gotta love da skunk works.

[Steelrat]

Did the 23 outperform the 22? I thought the 23 had the edge in stealth, whereas the 22 was the superior dogfighter. Looking at those photos, it appears the 23 did not have thrust vectoring nozzles, which tremendously help manueverability.

I just wish the 23 had kept the original name, the Lightning II. Thats a proud name. The "Forked tailed devil" was a good ship, and was the mount of the top scoring US ACE of WWII, I believe.

[bleachit]

The YF-23 did have the stealth advantage, mainly due to its tail design. I also believe that made it more manueverable. I think it may have had the edge in overall speed too, but I dont know that for certain.

the P-38 lightning was also the airplane that shot down Admiral Yammamoto's airplane over the Pacific, I think. He was the guy who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, and I believe the only high ranking military official who was assassinated during the war. The irony of it was Yammamoto was one of the few people who did not want to attack the US at Pearl Harbor because he knew the manufacturing capabilites of our car industry.

as far as the name change, I believe Raptor suits the airplane better. If I am not mistaken, Raptor means "bird of prey". If the F-22 does all they say it can, it will definitly being preying on all the other birds over the combat zone.

[Konigballer]

The top scoring US ace of WW2 was a guy named Richard Bong, he flew the P-38. Had 40 kills but the poor guy ended up dying testing an experimental jet built by Lockheed.