User talk:Gzap4me

My favorite Airplanes:

While I have many favorite airplanes, there are a few that I just get goosebumps when I see them or hear the roar of their engines. I will also explain why they are my favorites as well as a bit of information about the airplanes themselves. Throughout my life, I have gone to dozens of airshows in 4 different states. With each airshow comes a different experience. To me, when I'm staring at military jet airplanes, I turn into "A Fat Kid In A Candy Store." I become so indecisive about what I want to see first.

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Northrop Grumman F-14 Tomcat
The F-14 was the United States Navy's primary airplane. The F-14 is a 2 seat supersonic aircraft that is able to perform a variety of roles that span from carrier protection to air interdiction to precision ground attacks. The two seats are for the pilot and the Radar Intercept Officer (RIO). Throughout the years of its service life, it went under quite a bit of modifications and upgrades. Some of the upgrades were for safety reasons, ease of use for the pilots as well as the RIO'S. In combat, the less the crew has to worry about gives them a better chance of surviving the engagement.

The F-14 was revolutionary in so many aspects. The first revolutionary design is the automated "swing-wing" design. On previous airplanes, the wings would need to be swept manually by the pilot. With it now being automated, the angle of the wings is one less thing that a pilot needs to think about. At slower speeds, the wings would be fully extended. For high subsonic-supersonic speeds, the wings are swept back. The wings sweep back at Mach 0.91.

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt
The A-10 Thunderbolt is just the extreme end of the ass-kicking spectrum. The A-10 has quite a few nicknames. The main nickname that is used to refer to the A-10 is the Warthog "Hog". The A-10 is a favorite airplane for both pilots and mechanics. The plane is extremely rugged and durable. An A-10 has been known to survive a direct hit from a SAM as well as AAA fire, and still return to base with no serious limitations. The mechanics love it because it is so easy to service. Quite a few essential parts are inter-changeable. On the A-10, the wings, the engines, and the rudders are interchangeable. This means if one Hog has a bad right wing and another has a bad left wing, the two Hogs can swap wings and the two Hogs will be like new. It is the same for both the engines as well as the rudders. The Hog can take so much punishment and is so resilient to enemy punishment that the enemy has dubbed it "the Devils Cross."

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
The F-16 is a single engine airplane used by the air force for both air superiority as well as ground support.

McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15 Eagle
The F-15 is a dual engine powerhouse of an airplane with a spectacular track record in combat.

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom
The F-4 was the premier airplane in the Vietnam War for air to air battles.

North American F-86 Sabre
The F-86 was the one of the first jet engined airplane that was produced by the United States in the Jet Age during the Korean War. It first saw combat in the Korean War when the North Korean Air Force was using the Mikoyan Gurevich (MiG)-15. The F-86 is a single engine, high subsonic, swept wing airplane.

North American P/F-51 Mustang
The Mustang started out with the designation "P" which stood for "Pursuit", but changed to "F" for Fighter because of its natural abilities to ACM (Air Combat Maneuvering) aka Dogfighting.

Rockwell B-1 Lancer
The B-1 is more commonly known as the "bone".

Lockheed AC-130 Gunship
The AC-130 is a regular C-130 cargo plane, but with a few crucial modifications. The hint is in the designation. This C-130 is not for cargo, but this AC-130 is for ground support.

Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
The F-22 is the first stealth fighter jet that can reach supersonic speeds. As if that is not enough, the F-22 can go faster than Mach 1 without afterburners.

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
The F-35 is an updated and upgraded AV-8 Harrier. The upgrades have been massive. The biggest upgrade is the fact that the F-35 can go past Mach 1, which the AV-8 could not do. It still has VSTOL (Vertical-Short Take Off and Landing), which makes it extremely versatile.

McDonnell Douglass/Boeing/Lockheed Martin F/A-18 Hornet/Super Hornet
The F/A-18 is a combination of an Attack and a Fighter airplane that is a carrier based air superiority, air interdiction, carrier protection, ground support, and close air support.

McDonnell Douglass AV-8 Harrier
The AV-8 is a VSTOL airplane that is the early model of the F-35

Mikoyan Gurevich (MiG)-15 Fagot
The MiG-15 was a Korean War swept wing airplane that was pitted against the F-86 Sabre.

Republic F-105 Thunderchief
The F-105 Thunderchief was also known as the "Thud". The Thud was a two seat jet airplane that saw extensive action in the Vietnam War.