The old boy is a die hard USAF guy, I get that. Wants to rep his brand and there isn't anything wrong with that. Unless he is just wrong. In all of Vietnam I think we (US) took down a little over 200 enemy aircraft, strictly air to air. That was an afternoon in the Pacific during WWII. Most of our air craft loss in Nam was due to SAM and other AA shit. I still love the old boy
lol The hole just keeps getting deeper and deeper. F4s dropping agent orange. That's beyond lol funny.
I obviously didn't. The fact remains that by the time Vietnam came around air 2 air battle wasnt much of a thing. This is proof by the very low number of air 2 air battles. Lot more anti aircraft missiles. Don't get angry at me you old coot, the numbers and history books don't lie. Oh and one more thing, the Navy has the best pilots in the world.
Having been a pilot in the Air Force (did not fly fighters) let me say that it is ridiculous to assert that one branches pilots are better than another. Navy pilots train to land on carriers, Air Force pilots do not. I can pretty much assure you that Air Force pilots could be trained just as easily to land on carriers as Navy pilots, which by the way is not an easy task. Also, you need to have aircraft designed for the purpose of crashing on to an aircraft carriers flight deck, because as any carrier qualified pilot will tell you, landing on an aircraft carrier is best described as a "controlled crash". As far as air shows go I would have to agree the BAs put on a better show. Had the opportunity to attend an air show featuring the Italian Air Force demonstration team the "Frece Tricolri" and was impressed, it was very different from the BAs or the T-birds which are more about power and precision, whereas, the Italian show could best be described as a ballet in the air.
Spent three years on an aircraft carrier. Not a big fan of naval aviators, but they do have immense skills. A couple of times due to crowding, I had to eat with them at a table in the wardroom. One conversation struck me. Two guys had just finished tours with air force squadrons. They were AMAZED that the air force could tell you that you would be flying aircraft xyz on next Wednesday at 10:00 leaving from briefing room x. Where as in the navy you were told to show up, and a fighter might or might not be ready. I am sure there was a bit of hype to this, but the point is that the air force is imminently more structured than the navy. This is a cultural deal that goes back hundreds of years, In the days of wooden ships and iron men, when the navy vessel sailed over the horizon, the Captain was "God." That culture persists, and manifests itself in many ways, shapes, or forms. I give the navy pilots the edge not only for their skills in landing and taking off, but in the culture from which they come.
Absolutely. That is why the myriad of attempts to have a "common aircraft" just don't work out very well. With the three mega-expensive variants of the F-35 being the latest examples. And . . . I expect the days of the manned fighter are numbered. Drones can about do it all, and there is no need for life support stuff in the airframe (more room for weps or electronics), or even better, no dead or maimed pilots if captured.
