Which fighter plane was the nicest to actually fly and why?Pic unrelated, I just thought it looks interesting and don't know what it is.
>>64204379Military aircraft were never all that comfy, but my guess would be a fighter-bomber with side-by-side seating. The only one that I can think of is the Su-34, which is not good in a number of ways, but it gives your arms a bit more room, so I guess there is that.
Unironically, probably something like this: something slow and extremely stable yet responsive
>>64204401>not accounting for gyroscopic effect on takeoff
>>64204404I don't see you putting forth any ideas or suggestions.
>>64204379If you're talking about WW2 then Fw190 had "kommandogerat" which was analog computer that controlled fuel mixture, propeller pitch, manifold pressure, ignition timing and supercharger speed switching. Add to bubble canopy and probably best ergonomics when it comes to gauge placement. If you're talking jets anything digital was designed to be handheld just because it's supposed to be "weapons platform and you shouldn't think about flying".
>>64204401>Inhaling castor oil fumes all the timeMmm, designated.
>Comfiest nicest to actually flythe P-38L was the final and most produced Lockheed Lightning with control boost, auto mixture settings to reduce pilot workload and on demand performance for its pilot all the way from 30,000 feet down onto the deckAirplane required a learning curve (being twin engine and relatively more complex) but once mastered was a dream machine in the sky.Best single seat piston engined fighter of World War II hands down
>>64204428>>64204379I actually meant WWII airplanes specifically.But yeah, not having to constantly play a piano while flying to fuck with the settings seems like the best thing ever.
>>64204379Some F-15 models had Sheep Skin seat covers on their ejection seats seems pretty comfy
The Zero was designed to be stable enough to fly for 5 hours and not over-fatigue the pilot.It was designed to not require much thinking during a dogfight because the constant-speed propeller, limiting control surfaces (elastic control) and cockpit layout for a pre-1942 fighter (other aircraft had layouts incredible retarded and cumbersome )
>>64204464To add to that, late P-38s also had hydraulic ailerons, which were basically power steering. All P-38s had one propeller spinning clockwise and the other counterclockwise, so the torque canceled out. This meant that when you added full power, the aircraft didn’t pull to one side.
>>64204464and no heating, which is why it sucked in europe.its a complicated plane with delicate avionics and must be flown by instruments, not by intuition.no not comfy at all.if you want smth exotic but comfy, easy to fly with excellent view, its the Focke Wulf 189.comfy=ergonomic=germanall german pilots which took part in post war fighter trainings and flew american planes said, they had super shit cockpit layouts and / or were made for manlets.
>>64204513>heatingThat was solved with the P-38J-25 and L variants (in my post (You) replied to).the most-produced (5,000+) of the aircraft's run>>64204504Yup.it also had nosewheel landing gear
>>64204379>don't know what it isMistelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistel
>>64204614the french hated the lightning and only used it for recon.st. exuperý was shot down in one, he had no chance against a me109
>>64204906>the frenchWho cares? They took what we had to give them(and by last 2 years '44-45 the French weren't doing much front line air combat anyway)What does 'the french' have to do with my post (You) replied to
>>64204906>>64204923>Mwahaha - The French
>>64204513You vill fly in ze pod and splat ze bugs.
>>64204923lightning was a plane which wasnt comfy to fly and not especially successful in the european theatre, its a pacific plane.
>>64204513>>64205499all these spotter planes crews were super anal about keeping the windows cleanpbys rear droplet formed windows were cleaned hourlynow imagine that in the dusty steppesurely a fulfilling duty
>>64204439Plane fumes good for health.
>>64204379>MistelI'd known about that thing all my life (reading airplane history books in the '80s) but it wasn't until recent years I realized the bomb was actually a fuckhuge shaped charge. It's an RPG shell the size of a minivan with wings.
>>64204401>Open cockpitThe complete opposite of comfy
>>64205897Wrong.
>>64204379I've always liked the I-16. Such a cute aircraft.
>>6420451310/10Would use to watch Dirlewanger's shenanigans.
The P-38 has a bad reputation for its heating. Perhaps the heating pipes, heated by the exhaust pipes, cooled before reaching the cockpit.Saint-Exupéry probably lost consciousness due to old age, fatigue, and cold rather than being shot down.
>>64204399>su-34The tandem seating is to allow the copilot easier access to the pilot's dick.>butbutbut the A-6 Intruder!Yes.
>>64209072St. Exuperys flight paths show he always went much closer to the german hunt areas than he was supposed to. he was too old, an alcoholic and depressive. he was not fit enough any more for a complex to control plane like the lightning. and he knew it. the french air command only gave him a plane because of his fame. he was searching for a fighter pilots death and got it.the german pilot who shot him down was a famous sports anchor postwar, Horst Rippert.Rippert was a devoted fan of Exupery's literature. he was completely devastated when he found out he shot Exupery down, and kept it secret till short before he died, out of shame. but in fact, he did him a favour.
>>64209358>>64209072
and the little prince finally returned to the stars.
>>64209072>heatingAs referenced above that was solved with the L variant. By mid-1944 and later not only had the air war in Europe been largely won bay the Allies, but other single-seat fighters had begun to supplant the P-38s crucial role in that theater for bomber escort and multirole fighter sweeps/interdiction as well as frontline air-to-air combat. The P-38 remained in strong demand until end of the war in both Europe and Pacific as the Allied forces' premier single seat reconnaissance aircraft, a mission for which over 1,600 F-4 and F-5 airframes were been converted off of the Lockheed production lines during its run. The pics of the plane above—windows on side of nose—are of an F-5 unarmed recon variant(Yes I comprehend in your post you mentioned 'heating' in specific regard to the French pilot rather than per se the Lightning airplane and its technical history overall)
>>64209725>bay*by
>>64209725>were been converted*were converted
>>64211826We lost the plot when we stopped doing shiny chrome on aircraft.
>>64204490Which WW2 planes didn't have constant speed props?
Gotta be the Jug for me, dawg. One of the most common things I read from pilots testing loaned or captured P-47s was how comparatively roomy they were and gave you plenty of space to be able to look around, which does a lot for comfort. It was also designed to be an escort fighter so that had long endurance in mind.
