The 'JUST A NICE PIC...' thread

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Member for

15 years 2 months

Posts: 2,631

I'll probably be kicked off the forum for saying this, but I've always thought the Lightning was incredibly unattractive for an airplane. It just looks like a pregnant MiG-21 (or J-8I with the engines stacked vertically) with weird looking wings to me...
Ooooooh I shake my fist at you, cross you off my Christmas card list and take note in my 'Take Notes of People that make negative Notes about the Lightning...' note book. Blasted Yanks!!! :highly_amused: :p

Each one to their own I suppose. :)

What I think is the most futuristic fighter ever to been have developed. The SAAB Draken! I wish the RAF had these.

http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/6117/draken230ea116pk2.jpg

Member for

13 years 4 months

Posts: 262

I'll probably be kicked off the forum for saying this, but I've always thought the Lightning was incredibly unattractive for an airplane. It just looks like a pregnant MiG-21 (or J-8I with the engines stacked vertically) with weird looking wings to me, but then again the F-4 Phantom was my favorite airplane from an early age, and many people think it's quite ugly. (They'd be wrong, but hey...that's their opinion.) :)

With that being said, here's a photo of a British aircraft that I think is simply beautiful from all angles...

Hawker Hunter F.58

http://danielrychcik.com/mollis06/hunter_papyrus_air_mollis_3.jpg

I happen to like the Lightning, but I will also say that the Hunter is a beautiful airplane.......kind of like an early Porsche 911 of the air.....small, perfect lines, timeless. Have flown against them a few times, and they are very cool to see still flying. Equally nice looking on deck.

Member for

14 years 11 months

Posts: 519

I happen to like the Lightning, but I will also say that the Hunter is a beautiful airplane.......kind of like an early Porsche 911 of the air.....small, perfect lines, timeless. Have flown against them a few times, and they are very cool to see still flying. Equally nice looking on deck.

Have to agree. The Lightning is an ugly duckling on the ground but transforms into a supersonic swan in the air. The Hunter, on the other hand, is a gentleman airplane. Gracious and so perfectly proportioned (all versions). I'm particularly fond of the T7's with their longer nose. Arguably the prettiest design ever.

Member for

15 years 2 months

Posts: 2,631

There was a couple of Hawker Hunters at the Sunderland Air Show last year. Great to watch, and have terrific sound too. With the jet noise and their way of resisting the airflow (if that makes any sense), they sound like a '70s Formula 1 car at high revs. Well, they do to me anyway. :)

http://media.airspacemag.com/images/Panthers-At-Sea-631-edit.jpg

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10 years 11 months

Posts: 689

F-84 Thunderjet

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/14fw-f-84-1948.jpg

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17 years 7 months

Posts: 4,951

Saab Draken was certainly pretty. Imagine it crossbreed with JSF or Rafale front end, EJ200 or F414, and an internal bay for AMRAAM.

Member for

10 years 10 months

Posts: 174

ah-64 apache

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3215/2758024020_95857b9279_o.jpg

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2051/2425986782_e23c1ee6f8_o.jpg

Member for

13 years 5 months

Posts: 3,381

No need to fight! Lightning, Draken, and Hunter all look good ... as does Phantom for that matter.

From the enthusiast perspective, one of the more unfortunate aspects of industry and project consolidation and the exit of some nations from the game entirely is the loss of variety; this is an aesthetic loss, a loss of cultural expression, and also narrows the possibilities for discussion. Going forward, instead of having F-16, F/A-18, Harrier, A-10, Tornado and Phantom to talk about, compare, and drool over we will have ... F-35. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm already sick of that aircraft. :p

Member for

15 years 2 months

Posts: 2,631

The only Stealth aircraft I like are the J-20, J-31 and the F-117. That doesn't mean I'm anti-F-35 or whatever (before I get stoned), I just think they lack character as do most other fighters in service today, built by a committee. Even at 31, I prefer older jets, Cold War era aircraft, when boffins were a bit... bonkers. Solution to find a place to install twin 30mm Cannons on a Lightning, how about in the fuel tanks?... Yeah okay! Done! Things I like such as that that wouldn't even be thought of today.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/F-117_Nighthawk_Front.jpg

Member for

14 years 11 months

Posts: 519

Looks awful but gets the job done.

By the way, the Lightning had 4 canons and an air to ground rocket pack holding 32 (memory getting frail) rocket. Only problem with it was that in a dive, the plane was going so fast, the rockets couldn't get away quick enough and bounced off the under nose section of the fuselage.

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24 years 2 months

Posts: 7,989

I think most Lightning models fitted with guns had just the twin 30-mm cannons (nose in early models, ventral tank front section in the F.6)...right?

Member for

13 years 5 months

Posts: 9,579

No need to fight! Lightning, Draken, and Hunter all look good ... as does Phantom for that matter.

From the enthusiast perspective, one of the more unfortunate aspects of industry and project consolidation and the exit of some nations from the game entirely is the loss of variety; this is an aesthetic loss, a loss of cultural expression, and also narrows the possibilities for discussion. Going forward, instead of having F-16, F/A-18, Harrier, A-10, Tornado and Phantom to talk about, compare, and drool over we will have ... F-35. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'm already sick of that aircraft. :p

5th gen has brought us the PAK-FA though.
And it looks absolutely stunning IMO.

Member for

11 years 2 months

Posts: 1,059

I think most Lightning models fitted with guns had just the twin 30-mm cannons (nose in early models, ventral tank front section in the F.6)...right?

The early ones had two nose guns, F3 had none, the F2A hand both nose and ventral guns and the F6 had two ventral guns.
All had various ventral packages, one being 44 two inch rockets.

http://sg-etuo.de/bilder/XN727W_XN726_Stolze.jpg

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11 years 2 months

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http://www.456fis.org/THE%20F-106/Missle%20killer%202.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/F-106_over_Alaska.jpg

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15 years 2 months

Posts: 2,631

The early ones had two nose guns, F3 had none, the F2A hand both nose and ventral guns and the F6 had two ventral guns.
All had various ventral packages, one being 44 two inch rockets.
The F2A just had the nose Guns. The Ventral section was used for extra fuel, also the F2A had the best endurance out of all the Lightning Marks. Many F2A pilots recorded in their log books that generally flew over 90 minutes un-refuelled on practice Battle Flight scramble sorties even with a reheat climb to height.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2449/3708937907_b396be6e94.jpg

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10 years 10 months

Posts: 174

F-16A art pic

http://www.aviation-art.net/Vipers/F16%20In%20Action%201.jpg