Fighters and Attack Jets   McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F-15 Eagle The F-15 is the only fighter to have never received a scratch in combat despite having been used to shoot down over 100 enemy aircraft and to bomb countless enemy installations. It is also the fastest plane currently in operation in the US, capable of doing 2.5 times the speed of sound. Like the fighters that preceded it, it is fast, can fly very high, and can carry tons and tons of weapons. Unlike the fighters that preceded it, however, it is VERY agile, and can be used effectively in dogfights as well as in high-speed beyond-visual-range combat. In many ways the best fighter in the Western world, it is only now (after about 35 years of existence) being out-performed by jets like the F-22 and the Russian Sukhois. One small note is that almost every Eagle seen in airshows is an F-15C, the fighter version. There is a newer model, with more powerful engines, greater range, much more modern and varied sensors, and an even larger weapons capacity, called the F-15E Strike Eagle, a heavier bomber version. The “E” model can be recognized by bulging extra fuel tanks along the sides of the engines, pylons for holding bombs near the bottom of those bulges, infra-red and laser-painting pods at the front of the belly, two seats instead of one, and, most noticeably, a dark grey paint scheme (in contrast to the F-15C’s light gray with darker “blobs” on top). Northrop (now Northrop Grumman) T-38 Talon and F-5 Tiger 2 During the 1950s, the standard modern American fighter went from being a small, agile dogfighter to being an anti-bomber missile platform: large, hard to fly, incapable of fast turns, unsuited for guns-only combat or dogfights. Northrop saw this, and knew that the rest of the world (if not the USAF) could use a small, agile fighter/bomber that was easy to fly and cheap to operate. Northrop created the T-38, the first supersonic trainer. With this plane, pilots could learn about supersonic high-altitude flight in a plane that was stable, agile, and forgiving. Still today it is the fastest trainer in the world and the airplane used to prepare pilots for flying F-15s, F-16s, and F-22s. The fighter version of the T-38, the F-5, was found to be too small and too slow by the USAF, but was exported to more countries than just about any other plane in history. It still is the frontline fighter in most of the western world’s air forces: small, cheap, very agile, very easy to fly, and supersonic. Over 4 decades it has been upgraded so as to be carry most modern air-combat technologies. The F-5 is used by US aggressor squadrons to simulate enemy aircraft, like in “Top Gun”, flown by experienced pilots who are familiar with advanced air-to-air combat tactics. The agile, fast, and surprisingly loud T-38 was the jet of choice of the USAF Thunderbirds until the F-16 came along. And one more note: I grew up in Brazil, and seeing F-5s fly over Rio two or three times a year (during the independence day parade, during the graduation of the military academies, and one or two more times during training) had a big impact on me. Still today I think they’re some of the coolest-looking planes ever built, and they have a special place in my heart. General Dynamics (now Lockheed) F-16 Falcon During Vietnam, America’s large fighters simply could not keep up with the small, agile MiGs they faced in air combat. Since World War 2, the American fighter plane had gone from being small and agile to being big and fast and only good against bombers. The exception to this was the T-38/F-5, which was not used by the USAF as a frontline fighter. The F-16 was built to fix this trend, and it brought unprecedented manoeuverability to the USAF, and to many air forces around the world. It was the first jet to use computers and electric signals in its flight controls instead of hydraulics, and is actually so unstable it could not be flown without computers. It is the only airplane in the USAF that can be used both as a bomber or as a fighter. It is a tremendous success in international sales: The very first batch to come off the factory was shared between the US, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and F-16s are now flown everywhere from Japan to Israel to Latin America. Just about the most aerobatic plane in the US Air Force inventory, it is flown by the USAF demonstration squadron, the Thunderbirds. McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18C Hornet When Lockheed designed the F-16, Northrop thought that a vastly improved F-5 could out-do it, and designed the F-17 Cobra. The F-16 was found to be superior; However, the Navy was in need of a new fighter, and the F-17’s twin-engine high-alpha-friendly design caught its attention. Northrop and McDonnell Douglas improved the F-17 into a bigger, faster, more agile naval fighter-bomber, the F/A-18. The most acrobatic plane in the Navy, the F/A-18 is the first fighter-bomber to truly fulfill this role, capable of carrying all the sensors and weapons required for bombing AND air-to-air combat. It is a “self-escorted bomber”, and in fact Hornet pilots have shot down enemy aircraft during what were originally supposed to be bombing missions. Rugged, reliable, fast, agile, and with an almost unparalleled weapons capacity, the Hornet has recently been exported to many countries in the world, some of which (like Switzerland) don’t even have Navies… Fast, sleek, loud, and extremely aerobatic, it is the current jet of choice of the US Navy Blue Angels thanks to its combination of speed, agility, and precision. Boeing F/A-18F SuperHornet When the lifespans of the F-14 Tomcat and EA-6B Prowler started approaching their ends, the Navy looked for a plane to replace them. To do it, this plane would need to be bigger and stealthier than the Hornet, have a faster top speed, a slower landing speed, and the capacity to hold even more weapons and electronics/sensors. McDonnell Douglas (now a part of Boeing) completely redesigned the Hornet and produced the SuperHornet, with a 40% greater lifting surface area, and stealthier shapes where it really counts (like the engine intakes). Its weapons-carrying capacity is superior to that of any other fighter jet. Its powerful engines and superior aerodynamics give it both a very fast top speed and a very slow, carrier-friendly landing speed, as well as the unprecedented ability to land on a carrier without first having to drop (i.e. waste) any unused weapons. Arguably the most capable and most deadly naval jet in the world. Lockheed F-117 NightHawk aka “Stealth” The first jet designed for stealth above all else, the F-117’s flat-panel surface and pointy lines give it a unique look. When stealth technology (ways to keep a radar from detecting an airplane) was originally studied by the USAF, computers could only calculate the radar signatures (what a radar antenna sees when it tries to detect an aircraft) of aircraft composed of flat shapes, not curved surfaces. Therefore the design of a stealthy airplane was done by testing many flat-plate designs in this computer program, and eventually building and testing a few real prototypes. The F-117 was the only airplane that flew into Baghdad’s airspace – the most heavily-defended area in all of Iraq – during the first Gulf War, since its surface either absorbs radar waves or reflects them in directions away from the radar source. The F-117 also has no radar of its own, making it even harder to detect (the one time one was shot down, it was actually spotted visually, which is why they are only flown at night). It is not very fast, not that aerodynamic, can only carry a couple bombs at a time (no air-to-air armament at all), and its complex computer-controlled flight system can barely keep it in the air and under the control of a pilot – in other words, it’s doesn’t fly very well. However, given the grills over the engine intakes, and the aerodynamic problems of having sharp edges and flat plates all over the place, it’s really quite a miracle that this thing flies at all. Besides, it’s just awesome-looking. One interesting story is that when the USAF was testing the radar returns on the first prototype (which they did by mounting the plane on a big pole and trying to detect it with a radar), the radar return was quite a bit higher than what Lockheed had calculated. They plane did not seem to be stealthy at all! The reason, it was soon found, was that the POLE was returning a lot of the radar waves! Never before had the pole reflected anywhere near as much radar as the aircraft on it, let alone MORE radar. So the USAF test center at Groom Lake had Lockheed make them a new, stealthier pole, which allowed them to determine that the F-117 returned about as much radar as a small bird would. Lockheed F-22 Raptor There’s no way to overstate how revolutionary this plane is. The materials and techniques used in the manufacture of its engines and structure make it lighter and more efficient than any other jet its size – it’s the only plane that can fly its whole mission at MACH 1.5 (even the F-15, F-16 and F-18 can’t fly faster than sound for more than 20 minutes at a time). It can fly over MACH 2, carry beyond-visual-range missiles, fly tighter turns and a more deadly dogfight in a greater range of speeds than any other jet on earth… and it’s STEALTHY. Its radar, its radios, its sensors, its engine nozzles and its airframe were all designed so as to be almost impossible to detect, unless the Raptor is right on top of you. In fact, it can data-link its displays and weapons so that it can fly, aim and shoot while guided by another airplane’s sensors, and so never give away its position at all. This fighter will revolutionize the way air combat is done. There is no other airplane on earth that comes close to being this deadly. During wargames at Nellis, a single F-22 would be able to take down four F-16s or four F-15s before any of them could even detect where the F-22 was; “Air superiority” barely begins to describe it. It can also be used as a bomber, but unlike other aircraft, it can drop precision-guided bombs while flying at MACH 2 from over 50,000 feet, which means it can drop those bombs dozens of miles away from the target and then turn around before entering dangerous airspace. While it is only occasionally and briefly seen at airshows, F-22 sightings are becoming more and more common. Keep an eye out. Hawker (now B.A.E.) and McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) AV-8B Harrier Unfortunately, the Harrier is a rare sight at airshows. I say “unfortunately” because this is just about the coolest airplane in existence in my opinion. The reason for that is, instead of ejecting all the engine exhaust air out one big hole in the back, this plane has four small engine exhaust nozzles, which can shoot the air out to the back OR straight down. This allows the Harrier to hover like a helicopter, to fly really slowly (even sideways or backwards), and to take off and land vertically out of any small concrete surface (like, say, a helipad). Not only that, it also carries all the night-vision laser-aiming sensors that make the F-15E, A-10 and F/A-18 such awesome bombers, making the Harrier one of the main ground support aircraft in the US inventory, along with the A-10. Recently, more and more Harriers have been upgraded with F/A-18 radars, which allow them to carry the same air-to-air missiles used by all the other US fighters, making them very capable at beyond-visual-range aerial combat. These upgraded Harriers can be identified by a “fatter” more rounded nose, while older Harriers have a pointier, smaller nose with a small round FLIR “window” at the tip. Fairchild A-10 Warthog a.k.a. Thunderbolt-2 The A-10 was designed following a very different set of requirements than any other US jet. It was designed to fly low over the battlefield in order to support ground troops, so it is primarily an anti-tank and anti-vehicle airplane, a small and extremely precise bomber. Since it is meant to fly very close to enemies on the ground and at slow speeds, it was built for survivability above all else. The aircraft’s main systems are redundant, with several fuel and control systems placed in different areas of the aircraft (so that if one area gets shot up, systems in other areas will keep the plane flyable). The pilot sits under thick bulletproof glass and inside an armored titanium bathtub. The engines are hidden between two tails such that heat-seeking missiles would have a harder time locking on to them. But most importantly, the airplane is extremely strong structurally, and can fly after an engine, one of the two tails, or part of a wing, is destroyed or shot off. This thing is a flying tank. And since it is meant for low speeds and long endurance, it has high-aspect-ratio wings, longer and straighter than the wings of other jets since they are made for efficiency, not for supersonic speeds. The A-10’s high-bypass-ratio engines are also much quieter and more efficient than a supersonic fighter’s engine – they are in fact small airline-type engines. And one unique design feature is the cannon in the nose of the Warthog: It fires rounds that are the size of Coke bottles, similar to those used by tanks (but fired in very quick succession), and several times bigger than the bullet-like rounds fired by the guns on planes like the F-15 and F-22. All these things make the A-10 absolutely unique among combat aircraft, allowing it to fight in a realm populated by helicopters and tanks. AeroVodochody L-39 Albatros The L39 was designed in the early 70s by AeroVodochody of the Czech Republic. It was made so that Soviet pilots could learn to fly a jet fighter in an airplane that was cheap to buy and to operate, easy and safe to fly, but still had the flight characteristics of a high-end fighter. In other words, it is the Soviet equivalent of the T-38, and its exceptional design ensured that it was adopted by every country east of the Iron Curtain. With the collapse of Communism, though, many poor eastern air forces sold many of their L39s, most for little more than the price of a new Cessna. This means that hundreds of L39s are currently flown by civilian pilots in the US and Europe. It’s one very, very neat toy. L39s are also flown by the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, and are the plane of choice of the only civilian jet aerobatics team in the US, The Patriots, as well as of the similar Breitling Jet Team. Also, James Bond fans will recognize the L39 from the excellent intro to “Tomorrow Never Dies”, where 007 steals one from an “arms bazaar” seconds before the place is hit by a British cruise missile, and then evades a hostile L39 by flying his jet with his knees while struggling against an unfriendly back-seater. Mikhoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 and MiG-17 Two of the most feared jets of the Korean and Vietnam wars are, ironically, the two most common Korean-War and Vietnam-War jets seen at Airshows. The Mig-15s’ American counterparts/adversaries, the F-86s, are not quite as numerous, and the late-50s American jets that flew against the MiG-17 (such as the F-4 Phantom) are extremely rare sights outside of air museums. The MiG-15 was one of Russia’s earliest jet fighters. It used a much-improved jet engine design “borrowed” from the British to fly fast and high. It was a lightweight airplane, which could turn very tight. It carried much more damaging and higher-caliber guns than the F-86s they flew against. It is quite widely recognized that the reason why American jets were not slaughtered over the skies of Korea is because of superior pilot training, not because the F-86 was a better fighter. During the late 50s, the Russians kept making their fighters small and agile, while the US made the bigger, more reliant on missiles, with faster and more powerful engines but incapable of making tight turns. When the Vietnam war came along, the MiG-17 (Russia’s first supersonic fighter) could fly circles around the more modern American fighters. Of course, American fighters could just light up those big engines and run away, and then use their missiles from a safe distance, but this proved to not be that effective at shooting down MiGs (only at keeping F-4s from being shot down). The MiG-15 and 17 are simple, rugged designs, that require very little maintenance and can be operated out of dirt fields by small groups of soldiers with just a few tools. This is why so many are around today. Small and light, they showed that American fighter planes, built to shoot down Russian bombers, had to struggle to defend themselves against smaller, simpler, more primitive aircraft.

Warbirds North American P-51 Mustang Many pilots and historians say that the P-51 Mustang is the airplane that won World War 2. Its unparalleled range and speed, combined with its exceptional maneuverability and weapons payload, allowed highly-trained American pilots to rule the skies over Germany. Some skilled P-51 pilots even shot down Nazi jets! Aerodynamic innovations such as a laminar-flow wing and a bubble canopy made the Mustang one of the most modern designs in World War 2. The P-51 was the only fighter able to escort bombers all the way to their targets and back, giving them the protection they needed to drop tons of bombs against the Nazis. P-51s were also used for light bombing, training, and other duties, and went on to dogfight Russian jets over Korea. One of the most amazing propeller-driven aircraft ever built, even today the fastest piston-powered airplane is still a souped-up P-51! An interesting detail is that the Royal Air Force originally approached North American asking them to build them some P-40s, but North American thought they could design a better fighter, and less than six months later they had the Mustang prototype ready. And once the Brits discovered what the Mustang could do, the US Army Air Corps wanted some too! Grumman 'cats Grumman made fighters (among other things) for the US Navy for many many decades, from biplanes in the 1920s to the legendary F-14 Tomcat to some modern radar and cargo airplanes still operated from carriers. When World War 2 started, Grumman's then-current product to fulfill the Navy's fighter requirement was the F4F Wildcat (and the slightly improved FM wildcat built under license by General Motors), one of the Navy's first monoplane fighters and one that preserved much of the design of the previous-generation F2F biplane. As the war progressed, Grumman produced a similar but larger and more powerful design, the F6F Hellcat (which can be distinguished by its slightly-bent wings and it's "smiley" air scoop below the propeller hub). The Hellcat was extremely capable and built in huge numbers: More aircraft during World War 2 were shot down by Hellcats than by any other fighter type (which is saying a lot), and the Hellcat made more aces (pilots with 5+ kills) than any other fighter type. Towards the end of the war, Grumman released yet a newer design, the F8F Bearcat. It had a bubble canopy, low-aspect-ratio straight-edged tapered wings, and clean, smooth lines, similar to the jet fighters that were to follow it. However, the war ended before the futuristic F8Fs could be proven in combat. These three fighter types, plus the Corsair, were the backbone of the US Navy's fleet-defense capabilities in the early and mid 1940s, and we are lucky to still have many airworthy today. At most airshows, a Hornet or SuperHornet demo is usually concluded with a "Tailhook Legacy Flight", where one to three Grumman cats take off and do a few passes in close formation with the Hornet. (Much more rare are the F7F Tigercats, an extremely fast and quite large twin-engined naval fighter, or the jet fighters that followed it in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, leading up to the F-14 Tomcat). North American T-6 Texan (USAF), Harvard (UK), and SNJ (Navy/Marines) The T-6 trained almost every pilot who flew during World War 2. Originally designed in the mid 30’s, it was one of the first airplanes to incorporate many features we today take for granted in aircraft, such as a single pair of cantilever wings, retractable landing gear, and an enclosed cockpit. Rugged, reliable, easy to operate, but very powerful and acrobatic, it was an extremely successful airplane, flown all over the world and manufactured by allies like Canada, Brazil, and the UK. The first Brazilian Air Force demonstration team flew T-6s, and many airshow aerobatic pilots today still do. It’s amazing how much this 70-year-old airplane can do. Yakovlev Yak-3, Yak-11, Yak-52, and Yak-18/CJ-6 The Yak-18 (also license-built in China as the Nanchang CJ-6) and the Yak-52 are some of the most commonly seen warbirds in the US. Why is that? It's because they are still being built! Although these designs are over 50 years old, their ruggedness and reliability and great flying characteristics (they are military trainers) and low price (they are Russian and Chinese and cost about the same as a small Cessna) have made them extremely popular with pilots over the decades, so the manufacturers just kept making them. They are comparable in performance with the T-34, although their radial engines may make them look more like T-6s or T-28s. (You can tell a Yak-52 by its straight wings and rounded tail, and a CJ-6 by its bent wings and rectangular tail). Now, the Yak-3 is very different: a very powerful single-seater, it's basically the Russian clone of the P-51. So if you want a P-51 but you don't have half a million dollars and don't care for maintaining a 64-year-old airplane, then you could do little better than buying a Yak-3. They are also available with big radial engines that make them some of the fastest piston airplanes you can buy. Yakovlev also makes other airplanes, most of them fairly similar looking, from the T-6-like Yak-11, to the very small and extremely aerobatic Yak-55, to the four-seater (but still aerobatic) Yak-18T. And when you see a Yak, remember: It just LOOKS like it's 60 years old, it's in fact probably newer than most F-16s. North American B-25 Mitchell The B-25 has many features typical to most World war 2 bombers, such as high wings, radial engines, and a wedgetail (H-shaped). The B-25 was a smaller, more agile bomber, without the range or payload of bombers like the B-17 or B-24, but much more precise. In fact, the B-25’s unique rock-solid stability and precision makes it one of the best camera platforms even today: B-25s have been used to film most aerial sequences in Hollywood films, such as Pearl Harbor. Speaking of which, the B-25 is probably most famous for its role in the Doolittle Raid. This was America’s first response to Pearl Harbor. In April of 1942, sixteen B-25s were loaded onto an aircraft carrier (the only time Army Air Corps bombers were flown from navy ships), sailed across the Pacific, and took off to bomb Japan. They then were to land in China. However, as they approached Japan, the carriers were spotted and the B-25s were launched early, so they did not have enough fuel to reach their intended air bases: the pilots either crash-landed or bailed out. The damage to Japan was minimal, but it was an important moral victory, and the start of the US’s involvement in World War 2. Douglas DC-3 / C-47 Skytrain / Dakota The Douglas DC-3 is an extremely important design to the history of aviation, in that it was tremendously more efficient, reliable, and easy to maintain than its contemporaries. This meant airlines could make much more money off flights, rather than requiring government subsidies, since the airplane was so inexpensive to buy and operate, while still being fairly big and roomy for the time. The introduction of the DC-3 thus caused a boom in commercial aviation, and ticket prices dropped to the point where flying was no longer exclusive to the wealthy. The military version was built by the thousands during World War 2. (During D-Day, over eight hundred DC-3s were flown out at the same time in massive formations to deliver several thousand US paratroopers). Right after the war, DC-3s could be bought for very cheap and in large numbers, which caused a great increase in the number and availability of airline flights. The DC-3 was used by the military into the Vietnam war (as a gunship, with several large-caliber machine-guns at the doors), and even today is still used for light transport, to take skydivers up, and for recreational flying. Few airplanes are as important to establishing the aviation industry as the DC-3, and its elegant outline is an icon of the golden age of aviation. North American T-28 Trojan From this list, you’d think North American made almost every airplane in the 1940s. Nothing could be further from the truth, with Curtiss, Grumman, Vought, Beechcraft, Douglas, and Boeing all putting out a huge variety of designs, not to mention the British and of course German manufacturers, and the experiments done by Northrop and McDonnell. But of the huge numbers and variety of planes flown in World War 2, the North American ones are the ones that seem to just not break over the years. In any case, around 1949 the USAF wanted to have the Texan replaced– pilots needed something a little more powerful to learn to fly jets in. Who better to make the trainers than North American, who at the time was also making the front-line fighter jets flown by the Navy and Air Force. The T-28 was adopted by the Air Force, and soon by the Navy and Marines (like the T-6 before it), as well as by France and several other countries. It could also carry much more of a weapons load than the T-6, which made it a useful attack aircraft as well. After a long career, it was replaced in the military by the T-34, but like other North American planes, they just don’t seem to want to stop flying. Beechcraft (now Raytheon) T-34 Mentor The T-34 is a military trainer derived from the Beech Model 35 Bonanza. The Bonanza's characteristic V-tail being replaced with a more conventional design, and the 4-seat cabin being replaced by a more "military" tandem two-seat layout with a bubble canopy. The mentor was introduced in the late 1940s as an Intermediate Trainer (the airplane flown by pilots before the move up to advanced jet trainers), a role today filled by the T-6 and T-37. It has since been upgraded with turboprop engines which gave it twice the power, and the ability to be used as a light ground-attack aircraft. It is still used as a Primary Trainer in the US Navy and as an advanced trainer in different Latin American air forces. Some versions of the T-34 are certified for aerobatics, while some are not. Recently, a T-34 crashed due to cracks in the wings that were not picked up despite standard safety inspections being done. This caused all T-34s to be grounded for several months while the FAA reformulated its T-34 inspections. T-34s are now back in the air. Although they are not quite as agile or aerobatic as, say, a T-6 or a Yak, they are popular with formation-flying groups, with companies that offer warbird rides and dogfights, and with any other flying that benefits from the great view provided by a bubble canopy and the unusual flight attitudes the T-34 can fly through. Boeing PT-17 Stearman If you see a large-ish two-seat biplane at an airshow (or in a movie), chances are it’s a Stearman. The Stearman Airplane Company was bought by Boeing in the late 20s. During the early 30s, that division designed the Model 75 as a Primary Trainer for the military. A wild success, this airplane became known simply as "the Stearman" (although the US Army officially designated it the PT-17). It was the Primary Trainer (the airplane that pilots first learned to fly in) used throughout World War 2, so most World War 2 aviators learned to fly in a Stearman. Its simple and rugged design, as well as the fact it is relatively easy to fly, makes it a favorite among aerobatic pilots, even today. There’s plenty of room for improvement on the basic 1930s design, and some “modern” Stearman airplanes have twice the horsepower as the originals, as well as tougher wings, enclosed-canopy cockpits, streamlined wheel pants, fancier engine cowlings, more modern materials, and other “upgrades”. This is a remarkable airplane that has been flown at airshows for over 70 years! So when an aerobatic pilot or a wing-walker starts their airshow act, keep in mind that folks in your grandparents' generation got to watch the exact same display! Vought F4U Corsair The Corsair was arguably the best naval fighter to see combat in World War 2. It was flown by the US, UK, France, New Zealand, and many other countries, some of which kept flying the Corsair into the 1960s! Over 12500 were built, but only about 25 are still flying, so it is by no means as common a sight at airshows as a P-51, T-6, T-28, or T-34. The Corsair was designed around what was at the time the largest and most powerful engine available, a Double Wasp. In order to take advantage of the power of this monster engine, a very wide propeller had to be used. This in turn required that the nose sit quite high off the ground. But the landing gear could not be too tall, or it would break during carrier landings. The solution: The wing is bent down at the landing gear, and bent up where it meets the fuselage, allowing the nose to be high off the ground and the landing gear to not have to be too tall. This gave the Corsair unparalleled speed and acceleration among naval fighters - it was the first naval airplane to break 400mph. It was also exceptionally streamlined: It was the first Navy plane which retracted its landing gear completely into the wing, air intakes were slots in the wing leading edges rather than protruding scoops, panels were attached with flush rivets, etc. Its extreme flaps (60 degrees!) allowed it to fly at speeds slow enough for carrier landings, although visibility over the nose was poor (pilots often ended up landing by looking over the "crook" of the wing's downwards bend. Also, Landing Signal Officers had to stand further back on the carrier, and in the end the pilot's seat had to be repositioned, but once all these changes were implemented the Corsair became a reliable carrier-deployed fighter). Fewer than q90 Corsairs were shot down by enemy aircraft, but over 2100 enemy aircraft were shot down by Corsair pilots. The corsair was superior to the Hellcat in every performance parameter (but it cost 60% more). Corsairs were also used as fighter-bombers, in the close-support role, supporting US MArines amphibious landings. Charles Lindbergh flew Corsairs in order to determine how best to increase its war-load and effectiveness in the attack role. Lindbergh managed to get the F4U into the air with 4,000 pounds of bombs of diverse kinds, even napalm. It was a prominent participant in the fighting for Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, with the ground-pounders calling it the "Sweetheart" for its welcome services when things were getting nasty. It could be said that the Corsair was the SuperHornet of World War 2: One of the deadliest, fastest, most agile naval fighters, as well as a precise bomber capable of carrying huge loads for the support of ground troops. An exceptional aircraft, still used today in the Reno Air Races. Beechcraft Model 18 / C-45 Made famous by a series of "Lost" episodes, the Beech 18 is a fairly common sight at airshows, at least on static display. Its unique taildragger wedgetail (H-shaped) configuration makes it easy to recognise. In 1935, when biplanes still dominated the middle-sized-aircraft scene, Walter Beech proposed that a sreamlined monoplane could out-perform them and be more efficient, and this led him to create the model 18. From the late 30s to the late 60s, over 9000 were built. There are more versions of the Beech 18 certified by the FAA than of any other basic aircraft type - over 200! The USAF ordered 5000 of them to be used as transports during the war, and these were designated C-45s. Other military variants include the AT-11 Kansan (which had a small bomb bay, intended primarily for bombardier training), UC-45 (increased seating capacity & longer nose), F-2 (reconnaissance), AT-7A Navigator (which had floats and a ventral stabilizer fin), JRB, SNB, H-18, and others. This airplane can carry 2 crew and 9 passengers. Modern conversions can fit Beech 18s with tricycle landing gear, turboprop engines, and an extended fuselage that fits 6 more people. It is a simple, reliable airplane, and a popular choice for pilots who want to fly while surrounded by classic art-deco lines reminiscent of the golden age of aviation (but who don't want to pay for a DC-3). Just the fact that it was continuously built from the biplane age into the jet age says something about how special this airplane is - some of the last Beech 18s rolled off the factory at around the same time Lockheed finished the first MACH 3 Blackbird...

Cargo Planes   Lockheed C-130 Hercules The Hercules is one of the most reliable, versatile, and widely-used airplanes ever built. By now almost 50 years old, this trusted and beloved design is still being made at Lockheed's assembly lines. The C-130 has been used as an airborne ambulance, bomber, gunship, electronic-warfare platform, maritime patrol airplane, search-and-rescue aircraft, mid-air refueling tanker, and to transport troops, cargo, vehicles, supplies, and paratroopers. C-130s can land on the ice in Antarctica for transport and resupply missions, snatch re-entering spacecraft in mid-air, and fly into the eyes of hurricanes to take meteorological measurements. A C-130 has even landed on and taken off from an aircraft carrier! More modern materials, a bigger and more refined design, and computerized avionics, means that new C-130s are still some of the most capable cargo aircraft ever made. The amazing Hercules is both a classic, historical design, and a successful modern airplane certain to serve dozens of countries for decades to come. Lockheed C-5 Galaxy The C-5 is the biggest airplane made in the United States. It's bigger than a 747 and only a little bit smaller than its Russian counterparts. The Spruce Goose (a 1940s seaplane) may have had a slightly wider wingspan, but the C-5 is longer and, most importantly, weights over twice as much (a whopping 840,000 pounds). Some amazing facts - the C-5 can carry twenty OH-6 helicopters, it carries 151 tonnes of fuel (more than a whole C-141's total weight, and about 50 000 gallons) which (if it were gas) would allow a car to circumnavigate the earth 60 times... Just its paint weighs over 2600 lbs. Nose-to-tail, the C-5 is two and a half times the length of the Wright brothers' first flight. It has 28 wheels, it can carry as many people as a 747, and its max cargo load is so heavy that if a C-5 were to carry as much cargo as it could (270 000 punds) and it were all gold, it would be about 750 billion dollars' worth of gold (and the C-5 itself costs a couple hundred million). Each TF39 engine (in a pod 27 feet long) provides 43000 lbs of thrust (more than is provided by both engines of a SuperHornet put together, and using up significantly less fuel too). This airplane is a monster. If you see one on static at an airshow, do get close to it so you can appreciate how huge it is, and imagine what it must be like to fly something the size of an office building. McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) C-17 So the C-130 can take off and land almost anywhere, but it's not big enough to carry tanks, helicopters, and other large things the US military needs when they deploy abroad. The C-5 can carry all that stuff, but it needs a 2-mile runway to take off and land, which restricts it to big air bases and international airports. The C-17 was designed to be able to carry the big pieces of equipment only the C-5 could carry, and operate from airstrips only a C-130 could take off or land at. The C-17 is smaller than the C-5 but has about the same fuselage diameter, so it can carry the same huge pieces of equipment the C-5 can (just not as many of them). At the start of the program, the USAF performed studies to determine how much lift could be aqueezed from a cargo airplane's wings. The program involved the creation and testing of aircraft like the YC-14, YC-15, and NASA QSRA. The result is an exceptional wing, a little draggier than those on most airplanes, but one that can generate a ridiculous amount of lift, by using several of every lift-augmenting device known to man. (For example, it has eight vortex generatos on the engine cowlings - most airliners only have two - and its several flaps can be lowered almost to the vertical, especially in the area right behind the engine exhaust, which is thus blown downwards). The C-17 also has more thrust than most other airplanes its size - about as much as a C-5, actually (but with only 70% of the weight). The result is that the C-17, which weighs almost four times as much as a C-130, needs less runway to take off! It can even take off from dry lakebeds on the desert, and other unprepared surfaces. Truly as capable and useful a cargo plane as anyone could dream of.

Helicopters Sikorsky H-60 Blackhawk The Blackhawk is a fast, long range, very versatile and quite large chopper. Versions are fitted with all kinds of different sensors, weapons and equipment (sometimes attached to big high-wings like a Hind's) to optimize them for rescue, anti-ship or anti-sub warfare, penetration and special-ops operations, transport, etc. Infrared cameras, terrain-following radar, passive radar, GPS guidance and night-vision-goggle-compatible flight displays are only a few of the goodies that equip many of these exceptional helicopters. They are also fast enough to be able to refuel from tankers like the KC-130, and many Blackhawks have long mid-air-refueling probes sticking out from the nose. Bell UH-1 Huey The Huey is one of those extremely versatile and long-lived designs, the C-130 of helicopters. It was initially used as a troop transport, the whomp-whomp-whomp of its blades being to many the sound most reminiscent of Vietnam combat. It has since been used as a gunship, for search and rescue, fire fighting, as an air ambulance, command-and-control helicopter, VIP transport… And like the Herc, modern Hueys include new engines, lighter materials, and computerized controls, as well as being among the most reliable aircraft in the sky. Hueys have been flown by most armies and air forces of the western world, and are still in military service in several countries, such as in many search-and-rescue squadrons of the US Navy and Marines. It has been said that when the last Blackhawk is retired to a scrapyard, it will be flown there hanging from under a Huey. Sikorsky C/MH-53 Sea Stallion, Pave Low, and Super Stallion Derived from the older HH-3 ambulance / cargo-carrying helicopter, the H-53 is an impressive machine, one of the largest and fastest choppers in the US. It was designed in the late 60s for the Marines to assist in carrying heavy loads in assistance of amphibious-landing operations. It can transport up to 55 marines, and can carry loads internally or externally. The helicopter is capable of lifting 16 tons at sea level, transporting the load for 60 miles and returning. A typical load would be a 16,000 pound (7264 kilogram) M198 Howitzer or a 26,000 pound (11,804 kilogram) Light Armored Vehicle. The aircraft also can retrieve downed aircraft, including another H-53. The 53E is equipped with a refueling probe and can be refueled in flight giving the helicopter indefinite range. Different versions are used for Airborne Mine Countermeasures, search and rescue, and other functions. Perhaps most impressive is the Air Force’s MH-53J Pave Low III: it is optimized for low-level, long-range, undetected penetration into denied areas, day or night, in adverse weather, for infiltration, exfiltration and resupply of special operations forces. It is the largest and most powerful helicopter in the Air Force inventory, and the most technologically advanced helicopter in the world. Its terrain-following, terrain-avoidance radar and forward-looking infrared sensor, along with a projected map display, enable the crew to follow terrain contours and avoid obstacles, making low-level penetration possible. The helicopter is equipped with armor plating, and a combination of three 7.62mm miniguns or .50 caliber machine guns. It can transport 38 troops or 14 litters and has an external cargo hook with a 20,000-pound (9,000-kilogram) capacity. Vertol (now Boeing) CH-46 Sea Knight Boeing CH-47 Chinook Aérospatiale (now Eurocopter) H-65 Dauphin Robinson R-22 & R-44

Bombers & Tankers B-1 B-52 KC-135, KC-10 T-6 II

Aerobatic Ariplanes (“stunt planes”) Pitts (and Oracle Challenger) Zivko Edge Zlin 50 Extra 300 Sukhois

Rare Airplanes Waco Zero Messerschmitt 109 Yak 3 P-38 P-47 B-17 and B-24 Spitfire N9M CT-114 Tutor (Snowbirds) F-4 Gazelle B-2 Anything international (old and privately-owned Drakken, Iskra, Strikemaster, Magister, Gnat, or even front line fighters like the Tornado, Kfir, Mirage, and the occasional Rafale).

Well, that's it for now. As you can see, I still have to finish writing about the above airplanes. But the most commonly seen ones are already done. Thanks for visiting. Any questions, comments, suggestions, corrections, or other feedback, please don't hesitate to email me. - Bernardo