Your favourite aircraft to fly. And why?

[Mr_Tayto 140]

When I started playing this game I wasn't prepared for the sheer joy of dials switches it has since given me. I grew up on Microprose sims on Atari ST; F-19, F-16 Fighting Falcon, Gunship etc. Almost universally they had glass cockpits, I guess because with the resolutions of the time it was hard to render needles and dials. Same with early radars; games back then either had "modern" radars with TWS as standard, or were WW2 sims with no radars.

That the developer focused on 60s-80s aircraft in SF2 is its greatest strength. Not only do we have some iconic thoroughbred jets to play with, but he was able to make a sim where airmanship really mattered. Learning your gauges is as important when flying a new aircraft as is knowing its flight envelope. As an aside, I love that he modelled missiles accurately as well, if it was possible to have a guaranteed hit every time, in the absence of chaff and flares, the game would be way too easy, especially the Vietnam theatre.

With all this in mind, the aircraft it's taken me longest to start flying is the F-4. Unaerodynamic, heavy, even ugly, it's a plane that frightened me a little. I decided a month or so back I might as well try it... and I LOVE it. I can't even explain why, really. It might be the climb rate, it might be the speed (she's fast with engine on minimal settings), but she's hard to trap on deck, turns like a tanker and with tanks and ordnance may as well be a 747. All this in mind I love her anyway, and feel powerful flying her in a way I don't in the A-4 or even the F-105 (otherwise a strong contender for favourite). The F-4 isn't invulnerable by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the plane I most feel like I can get out of a sticky situation.

 

So what's your favourite (and why?)

 

[+EricJ 4,238]

Not surprising to most, but the Super Hornet/Growler has caught my fancy so far. It's maneuverable and while it has short legs compared to some fighters, I like flying it and think it's a great plane to fly.

[+daddyairplanes 10,228]

depends on what im working on,   some are quite fun to fly while others are pigs that im putting lipstick on

in general, i do prefer the air to ground and support mission sets, and typically fly the jets best suited to that (A-10s, A-7s, F-4s and the range of heavies)

[+Nightshade/PR 7,928]

Depends on what I'm feeling that day, so I'm liable to take anything out of the hangar. I love A/G & SAM hunts, so I'm partial to ones I can hang a LOT of ordinance on. As well as nukes. But there are 3 that I fly more than others.

3. Mirages (any); Specifically: Mirage III. Sleek: Fast: Elegant: Beautiful even when standing still, and oh so deadly. You can do it all in them. All weather, all-world, and as long as you utilize it's strengths, it will more than hold their own in a dogfiht with almost anything. As an attack jet, they're perfectly suited for whatever mission you want to run.

2.A-7's. When it absolutely, positively has to be blown up and the debris bounced, that's you plane, AF version or Navy.

1. The Tornado. Any model; any version; any mission; any nationality (Especially the IDS Marineflieger models) IMHO, pound-for-pound, the best strike aircraft ever produced.

Edited May 12 by Nightshade/PR

[+Gepard 11,287]

For me it is the F-5E Tiger. It's an underdog plane, but astonishingly capable. It's nimble, agile, had a good handling. It's a pilots plane.

[mono27 85]

I like many planes, but specially swing wing planes like F-111, MiG-23, Tornado, and of course my favorite...F-14 Tomcat.

I enjoy a lot using those AIM-54 Phoenix

 

[Viggen 644]

Toss up between a few different aircraft, but I think I can narrow it down to F-4, F-100, F-105, and Tornado IDS/ADV.

[+Muesli 2,161]

It's a bit chauvinistic maybe, but I really love scooting around in the Northrop NF-5A Freedom Fighter! Dropping iron or spraying lead... all in good fun!

[+Trotski 936]

It has to be the JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG for me, or the Gina, of course any SAAB is also a contender.

[Wrench 9,845]

Anything made by MiG or Sukhoi.

Because they make such a satisifying sound when they hit the ground

[Mr_Tayto 140]

On 5/11/2024 at 6:16 PM, Nightshade/PR said:

2.A-7's. When it absolutely, positively has to be blown up and the debris bounced, that's you plane, AF version or Navy.

I need to do a campaign in the A-7, I've liked the plane ever since watching them on TV in Desert Storm.

 

19 hours ago, Gepard said:

For me it is the F-5E Tiger. It's an underdog plane, but astonishingly capable. It's nimble, agile, had a good handling. It's a pilots plane.

 

This is another one I'd like to try, such a cool looking aircraft and felt omnipresent on TV shows and films in the 80s and 90s, from Top Gun and Apocalypse Now onwards. The one I quoted, is it in (presumably post-reunification) VPAF colours? I read about VPAF pilots stealing A-37s from liberated airbases and using them in the fall of Saigon, I didn't know the SVAF had them too?

Edited May 13 by Wrench
Please don't quote with images still attached, thank you

[+Gepard 11,287]

17 hours ago, Mr_Tayto said:

This is another one I'd like to try, such a cool looking aircraft and felt omnipresent on TV shows and films in the 80s and 90s, from Top Gun and Apocalypse Now onwards. The one I quoted, is it in (presumably post-reunification) VPAF colours? I read about VPAF pilots stealing A-37s from liberated airbases and using them in the fall of Saigon, I didn't know the SVAF had them too?

North Vietnam captured a number of F-5A and E and used them till end1970th/early 1980th. One F-5E was given to Poland, one to Czechoslovakia and an unknown number to the Soviet Union. Some ended in vietnamese Museums, the rest was sold to Iran.

The photos were taken during the soviet flight test of the F-5E:

A lot of features of the F-5E were later used for MiG-29 and Su-27 development.

 

[Mr_Tayto 140]

Awesome @Gepard, thanks for the info. I imagine it wasn't advanced enough (in terms of technology) for the US to be too worried about the Soviets getting a hold of them. Neat little plane though.

[OlWilly 130]

22 hours ago, Gepard said:

North Vietnam captured a number of F-5A and E and used them till end1970th/early 1980th. One F-5E was given to Poland, one to Czechoslovakia and an unknown number to the Soviet Union. Some ended in vietnamese Museums, the rest was sold to Iran.

"1976, on the initiative of the head of the Air Force Research Institute, General Gaidaenko, supported by the Deputy Air Force Commander-in-Chief for Armament Mishuk, comparative tests and training combat were carried out between former South Vietnamese F-5E [of earlier series] vs MiG-21bis and MiG-23M fighters. Test pilots N. Stogov, A. Bezhevets, V. Kondaurov participated in the tests. These tests consisted of two parts: an assessment of the aircraft’s general performance and a comparative assessment. Moreover, at the stage of comparative assessment [air combat], each of the pilots took turns in MiG-21bis and MiG-23M and fought against F-5E (and vice versa).

The technical staff who prepared the elegant American fighter for flight remembered it for its simplicity and thoughtfulness of design, and ease of access to serviced units. One of the participants in the study of the American aircraft, leading engineer of the Air Force Research Institute Marchenko, noted such an advantage of the fighter as a glare-free instrument panel: high-quality coated instrument glass in any lighting did not create problems for reading information. Air Force Research Institute engineers puzzled over the purpose of the button at the bottom of a deep niche in the cockpit for a long time. As it turned out later, it was intended to remove the weapon lock with the landing gear extended.

Soviet test pilots appreciated the comfort of the cockpit, good visibility from it, rational placement of instruments and controls, easy takeoff and excellent maneuverability at high subsonic speeds. F-5E flew in Vladimirovka for about a year until one of the landing gear tires collapsed. After testing at the Air Force Research Institute, the aircraft was transferred to TsAGI for static tests, and many of its components and assemblies ended up in the design bureaus of the aircraft industry, where interesting technical solutions from Northrop were used in the development of domestic aircraft. These tests are recalled very interestingly and in detail by their direct participant, Honored Test Pilot of the USSR, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel Kondaurov in his book “A Life-Long Runway.”

After a thorough analysis of the materials, the conclusions of F-5E vs MiG-21 tests were as follows:

• MiG-21bis had better acceleration characteristics and climb rate at speeds of more than 500 km/h – due to higher thrust-to-weight ratio
• MiG-21bis had better angular speeds of turns at speeds of more than 800 km/h [MiG turned better at higher speeds]
• At speeds of 750-800 km/h, neither aircraft had any advantages - the fight was on equal terms, but close combat did not happen due to the large turning radii of both fighters
• At speeds less than 750 km/h the F-5E had the best maneuverability characteristics, and this advantage grew bigger with increasing altitude and decreasing flight speed
• F-5E had a wider maneuvering area where it was possible to perform steady turns with a radius of less than 1800 meters [speeds at which F-5 could perform tight turns]
• F-5E had better visibility from the cockpit and a more comfortable cockpit layout
• F-5E had more ammunition, but a lower total rate of fire of the guns, which allowed to have a longer firing time

Kondaurov wrote about the American fighter: “Not inclined to perform vigorous maneuvers in clean wing configuration [wing mechanization not activated], it was transformed when the pilots transferred it to the maneuverable configuration [slats and flaps activated]. From a heavy “hulk” it turned into a swallow.”

It was noted that without the use of wing mechanization, the F-5E had no advantage in maneuverability. On F-5E of the first series (one of these aircraft was tested by Soviet pilots), the pilot, using a switch mounted on the throttle stick, could set the slats and flaps to 5 fixed positions. On later series F-5E, the deflection of slats and flaps was made automatic - based on a signal from the altitude and speed sensors. At speed above 0.85 Mach forward slats of F-5 were not active [neither version of MiG-21 had leading edge slats].

Analysis of the tests carried out forced Soviets to reconsider the degree of importance of certain parameters when assessing the maneuverability of an aircraft. Tactical techniques for conducting air combat with F-5E and recommendations for fighter pilots were developed. The general meaning of these recommendations was as follows: to impose a battle on the enemy in conditions where the MiG-21bis had advantages over F-5E, and to evade the battle (or try to get out of it) under unfavorable conditions - make a good use of the advantages in speed and acceleration characteristics of MiG-21. [same vibes to “American pilots encounter A6M in Pacific and learn to not engage into slow turning dogfights, maintain energy instead”]

The results of training dogfights with MiG-23M were similar.

At higher speeds, the advantage likewise passed to MiG-23M, due to better acceleration characteristics and thrust-to-weight ratio. Based on the test results, work began on introducing leading edge slats on the next modification of MiG-23 [ironically, almost all versions of MiG-23 had forward flaps, but those were used only for take-off/landing. Fully automatic forwards flaps for maneuvering were enabled only on MLD version].

With F-5E's armament [cannons and Sidewinders], the main problem for it was entering the Weapon Employment Zone. At speeds of less than M 0.85, F-5 did well and could tail both MiGs on the second turn. At higher speeds F-5 could no longer do anything.

And indeed, at higher speeds MiG-21 and MiG-23 both performed well against F-5. In fact, at these speeds MiG-23M performed the best because it could attack from any vector [MiG-23M had all aspect R-60 missiles and IRST while both MiG-21bis and F-5E had no IRST and assumed to use older “tail-chaser” missiles]. Moreso, MiG-23M was the only fighter of these three capable of BVR combat and could engage F-5 from safe distance. For this reason, BVR combat was not even simulated as F-5 couldn’t really do anything in such scenarios."

[UllyB 1,206]

Oh boy, where do I even start....

I don't have a certain one but I can give you some names that impressed me over the time.

 

SAAB 37 Viggen

Mirage IIIC/2000D

MIG - 29/ MIG - 31/ MIG - 25

SU - 34/SU - 35/Su - 27/ SU -25/ SU- 24/ SU - 30SM

Kfir C2/ Shahak Tsniut

YAK -38/141

TU-22M3/TU - 95/Tu - 160

F-4/F-16/F-15/F-117/F-22/F-A 18/ F -14/ F -105G

Jaguar / Tornado F3

Sea Harrier

Rafale M

Eurofighter 2000

 

 

PS - However, I lost my virginity with F-4 if that is making any sense LOL

Edited May 14 by UllyB

[Mr_Tayto 140]

18 hours ago, UllyB said:

Sea Harrier

One of the first campaign mods I installed was the Falklands mod, and I agree the Sea Harrier is great to fly. If only I could figure out how to land the thing...

[toot 302]

vautour my beloved