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6 comments

  • ahnyerkeester

    ahnyerkeester 8 years, 5 months ago

    Pretty cool. But I just HAVE to point out that the F-18 is a derivative of the YF-17 which lost the fly-off to the F-16. So the Navy picked up Air Force cast offs. But even then, they did pretty good! F/A-18 is pretty tough aircraft.

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    • Nickolas

      Nickolas 8 years, 5 months ago

      Some pretty interesting trivia can be found on this site. http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/planes/q0145a.shtml

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      • ahnyerkeester

        ahnyerkeester 8 years, 5 months ago

        Great, brief article! Thanks for sharing that. So, while an over-simplification of the process, I'm still right. :)

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        • Nickolas

          Nickolas 8 years, 5 months ago

          You are correct Sir. ;-) I think it worked out the best for both services. I agree with the critics of today that are saying that the approach of the F-35 is not the best path.

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          • ahnyerkeester

            ahnyerkeester 8 years, 5 months ago

            It did work out best for all of us. Sef Def McNamara attempted "commonality" in the 60s and tried to push the F-111 on the Navy. There was no way to land it on a carrier with that huge nose. So the AF would up with an aircraft that was over-designed for runway landings and the Navy got a jet they couldn't use. The F-16/F-18 split was a better way to go about that idea and both aircraft have been very successful in their roles.

            I still hold out hope for the F-35. It is really advanced technology; a leap forward not an incremental change. The cost, though, is going to kill it.

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