flyboy707 Wrote:For those of us who flew them, I found them a NIGHTMARE. Serious controllability issues (which resulted in an additional huge amount of money being spent to make them stable) Constant engine flame-outs (or complete destruction of the engine that caused many losses of aircraft), avionics failures, defensive packages that were easily defeated, constant problems with the swept-wing (mechanically and the computer control), etc etc. NONE of these issues were because of the USAF maintenenace guys (very dedicated people, who were stuck working on something that was plagued with designed problems).
Up until just a few years ago, my basic Palm Pilot had more computing power than the entire package on-board one these monstrosities! An avionics and computer upgrade made them better, but I was already flying KC-135R refuelers by then. Baxx, could probably give you a better insight to the maintenance nightmare, but out of the 7 we had for our squadron, usually only 2 were flyable at any given time.
A HUGE waste of tax payer's money for a plane that the USAF ABSOLUTELY DID NOT WANT OR NEED. Politics...the senator that finally pushed them down our throats happened to be from the home-state that the initial B-1A and B-1B models were built.
flyboy707 Wrote:Ahhhh...the flying pig.....a little before my time, but I remember my Uncles (both USAF pilots, too) telling me stories about them. The perfect swept wing aircraft ever made was the F-14 (all models). My father flew them for many years and loved them. I am a "heavy guy" (ie I fly large multi-engined aircraft) and don't particuliarly like fighters, but the Tomcat......good stuff.
flyboy707 Wrote:Ahhhh...the flying pig.....a little before my time, but I remember my Uncles (both USAF pilots, too) telling me stories about them. The perfect swept wing aircraft ever made was the F-14 (all models). My father flew them for many years and loved them. I am a "heavy guy" (ie I fly large multi-engined aircraft) and don't particuliarly like fighters, but the Tomcat......good stuff.Love the F-14!
jimbow8 Wrote:Love the F-14!
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote:Jimbo, wouldn't we have to say the most successful American fighter of the 70's was the F-16? Last I heard, the kill-ratio was 90-0. And on the topic of fighter aircraft, while I respect Ralph Peters mucho, I don't understand his animus against the F-22. Overpriced? Sure. What government project isn't? But the good old F-15s and F-16s of 1970s vintage are just =wearing out=. As I understand it, you can't refurbish a fighter as you can, say, a B-52--the high-acceleration stresses on the airframe prohibit that. To my way of thinking, if we're gonna pay through the nose (which we will anyway), let's get the best aircraft that American technology and industry can provide for our fighter jocks. Let the potential bad guys know that if you take to the air against the USAF, =you are a dead man=. Such is my simple take, anyway.
flyboy707 Wrote:Ahhh....the F-16.....known throughout the USAF as the "lawn dart". Think of what an F-16 would like going straight nose down into the ground and what a real lawn dart looks like sticking in the ground--you'll get the idea) Although I'd agree with their "fight" record, they also have the highest non-wartime, non-pilot error crash rate of any fighter the US has ever deployed. Even now, they still have "mysterious" unrecoverable flight control problems (espeicailly rudder hard overs - a killer in any plane), engine problems that can't be resolevd or recovered in flight (remember F-16s only have one).
I have never flown the F-18 or the F/A-18C , but all the people I know who do swear by them. EXTEMELY reliable (so much so the manufacturer was confinced the USAF was not properly reporting problems). The F-18 is coming up this year more it's first major upgrade.....looks like a killer package.
Of course, the F-22....I have gotten a ride in one of those at Tyndall AFB, FL.....whew!....is all I can say....that's going to be a major monster if the manufacturer can work out the bugs....