Questions tagged [fighter]
A fighter is an aircraft designed primarily for aerial combat.
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Why does the F/A-18 use external aileron and flap hinges?
As seen in the picture, the legacy Hornet uses ailerons and flaps with external hinges, and I was wondering what were the advantages of external hinges compared to flush hinges in the land-based ...
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Why do you land a fighter jet with AOA Units?
I currently begann learning Falcon BMS and watched some fighter cockpit landings on YT and learned the technique to land a fighter is to use your AOA and not Airspeed like you would do it on a GA ...
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Do fighter pilots have to manually input the ordnance they have loaded on the aircraft?
When ordinance is loaded onto a fighter or bomber, does the system automatically know what ordnance it has? Or does the pilot have to manually input for each pylon?
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Why do the engine of MiG-31 spit out flame when going for afterburner?
I was seeing this image. Always we can see an abnormal flame spit out of the engine when the pilot goes for afterburner. Why?
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What are the problems Ukrainians have with F-16?
Ukraine say they will not be able to operate F-16 till the end of the year, even if they get them. The communication does not explain, why.
It is anything known on what are exactly they problems? Is ...
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What is this thing sticking out under the F-22 Raptor's fuselage? [duplicate]
I was looking through some pictures I took of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor performing a demo flight at Oshkosh 2023 and I noticed this thing sticking out from the bottom of the Raptor's fuselage. ...
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Low and High G snapshot
I'm reading Fighter Combat: Tactics and Maneuvering by Robert L. Shaw and ran into this passage which I'm having trouble understanding. I was thinking maybe someone with experience would understand ...
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What capabilities have been lost with the retirement of the F-14?
As in the title. Ideally, I am looking for a study in the public domain that would summarize the US Navy's loss of capabilities with the disappearance of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat. I will also accept an ...
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What is this black streak on the F-35B?
I was seeing this image and noticed a black streak behind a vent on the fuslage of the F35. What is this vent used for?
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Did pilots use the radio in the Spanish Civil War?
Was radio communication used by fighter pilots during the Spanish Civil War?
Fiat CR32, Messerschmitt Me 109 and Polikarpov I-16 were typical aircraft but I have no information about radio ...
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Which fighter jet is seen here at Centennial Airport Colorado?
These fighter jets landed at Centennial Airport Colorado today. What type of fighter jet are they?
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What does this hand gesture of fighter jet pilots mean?
I am trying to understand more of the gestures fighter jet pilot use. I have seen this gesture many times:
Does anyone know what this gesture mean? Are there any good resources about the gestures ...
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Which fighter jet is this, based on the silhouette?
6 to 8 of these planes flew through the Ogwen Valley in North Wales, UK, this morning (2nd of June). Hawks and other training jets are common sights, but I’ve not seen these before and can’t identify ...
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Energy Maneuverability Theory Applied to WW1 Fighters
I am trying to test the Fokker D.VII, Spad S.XIII, Sopwith Camel, Nieuport 28, and the Se5a using the model in this paper:
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA066034.pdf
It's called Combat Performance ...
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Were European single-engine fighters considered superior to U.S. designs at the start of WW2?
There was a wide consensus in U.S. military circles about 1940 that U.S. pursuit fighters were substantially less capable in terms of performance than their equivalent European counterparts. ...
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Why is there no video of the drone propellor strike by Russia
I've seen lots of videos of the Russian aircraft flying near the US drone, but I've yet to see a video of the reported collision with the drone's propellor. Is there no video of the strike? If not, ...
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Why would a fighter drop fuel into a drone? [closed]
According to the BBC:
A feed from a camera fitted under the fuselage of the surveillance drone shows a Russian SU-27 making two extremely close passes while releasing, what appears to be, fuel as it ...
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Do modern Russian aircraft have other Radar Modes?
Russia had many aircraft like the MiG-29S and Su-27SK with Radars. However, these did not have radar modes other than Single Target Track. Do more modern Russian fighters have other radar modes (such ...
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What is the exact blue-green color that used to be popular in cockpits of Russian fighters
Does anybody know the exact name of the color that was used to paint all Cold War era Soviet fighter cockpits? It’s a blue green color but I’d like to get the exact color as I’m currently building a ...
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How are shock waves formed at fighter jet inlets when the shock wave is already formed at the nose cone?
If the main shock wave is formed at the nosecone of a jet aircraft at supersonic speeds, how is the airflow still supersonic at the inlet of the jet intake? Shouldn't the inlets experience subsonic ...
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Is it possible to fly with lower than 1 g-force?
I was watching this video GOING SUPERSONIC with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds! and at some point (video 15:20 minute) the g-force appear to be 0.7. Here image from the video:
As you can see the g-force ...
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Can you drop the bombs of an F-16 during 9G-forces?
An F-16 simulator instructor told me that it is not possible to drop the bombs of an F-16 during 9 G-forces. I was surprised by this fact and looked it up, but I couldn't find anything about this. So ...
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Why do most military multi function displays use CRT or LCD instead of something like OLED
As I understand most screens for military MFDs utilize LCD screens or used to use CRT screens. OLED however has some advantages over LCDs especially in terms of weight and space. They're generally ...
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How much of the Mig 25 utilized vacuum tubes?
I've often heard that because the Soviet Union lagged behind in integrated circuit development, they built their fighters to rely less on them compared to NATO and American platforms.
The Mig25 is ...
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Why did the British Royal Air force not see a mass adoption of American Fighter planes and bombers?
I understand the RAF made extensive use of C-47 and other support aircraft from the US, but they never seemed to adopt fighters and bombers for frontline service like the British Army so eagerly did ...
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Why do missiles typically have cylindrical fuselage and not a fuselage that generates more lift?
For example, Tomahawk Cruise Missile, or Harpoon anti-ship missile. They fly straight and level for the most part of their flight regime. I think if they had a fuselage optimised for level flight then ...
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What is the fundamental difference between a land-based jet and a carrier capable jet?
Are the carrier-capable planes designed as carrier-capable from the ground up? Or are they made carrier-capable by modifying a land-capable design?
For example, Mig-29 versus Mig-29K ?
In the latter ...
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Is it possible to fly around the world to stay in daylight with a fighter jet?
I was wondering if it is possible for a fighter jet to fly around the world and stay in daylight? For the Southern and Northern Hemisphere, the time and speed of daylight is different during seasons. ...
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Are the F-18 movements in the Top Gun: Maverick movie really possible?
Lately, I watched the new movie Top Gun: Maverick. A few times Maverick made some impressive movements when he was getting hunted by another fighter jet. He somehow goes slightly up, brakes and gets ...
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Why do fighter jets make a whistling noise when landing and taking off?
Lately, I was watching fighter jets (F-16s and F-35s) from very close (fascinating!) and heard for the first time the "whistling noise" when they were landing and taking off. I expect it has ...
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Why are fighter jets so loud when doing slow flight?
Going to air shows I noticed that when fighter jets did slow fight, it was just as loud as high speed passes. Why is this?
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What were other possible solutions proposed to solve the problem of clean weapons separation for the F-18 Super Hornet?
I'm curious as to what other solutions were considered besides canting the pylons.
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Why are the red/white control surfaces under the wing extended during a take off?
These pictures are more than a little dated as the CF-101 Voodoo's have not been flown since the mid 80's. In these two photos we can see the Voodoo is performing a full afterburner take off. Note ...
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Did the F-16 have an AoA limiter since the very first variant?
Did the F-16 have an AoA limiter since the very first variant or was it added later?
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Countries that have unmanned and manned fighter teaming projects [closed]
I have been wondering what countries currently have military programs related to teams of manned and unmanned fighter aircraft? For instance, I know that the US has several programs related to this ...
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Why do F-35B jets hover with their weapons bay doors partially open?
This is an interesting phenomenon noted for F-35B aircraft during vertical flight and vertical landing. They will do so with their weapons bay doors partially opened.
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Why would an F-35 take off with air brakes behind the cockpit extended?
At the Farnborough Airshow, I saw an F-35 take off with air brake behind the cockpit extended. Why would they do that?
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Understanding fuel tanks/pumps of Fighter jet
I have observed fighter jets performing maneuvers like inverting, Turing around in sharp angles etc. This may subject plane to G forces and other dynamic forces. How does fuel tank ensure steady ...
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How does the F-16 engine startup work?
So, the simplest way to start up an F-16s engine is to flip the power switch to "main power" and then set the "jet fuel" switch to "Start 1" or "Start 2".
I ...
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what is considered a good pedal performance in a fighter?
What is considered a good performance in designing the directional control law in a fighter? Is it acceptable to have some roll when using a pedal? For example, is it acceptable to have 40 degrees ...
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Why does the hardpoint mechanism on sweep wings produce a contact trace in front of the axis?
The basic structure and photos have already been explained on this site and on Wikipedia:
How does a variable-sweep-wing aircraft keep wing-mounted payloads straight?
Variable-sweep wing, Wikipedia
...
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Can fighter jets still fly with their radios being jammed?
Imagine a scenario, a squadron flies through an area and suddenly their radio is getting jammed. Even when they try to go back, it's still getting jammed. Would something bad happen if they can't ...
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What is this jutting structure in the tail section called and what is its function?
I was wondering if there is a name for this particular structure on Su-27 and F-22 and if they serve any function?
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Why aren't swarms of cheap consumer-level drones a viable anti-aircraft tactic?
In the Russia/Ukraine war, when it comes to cheap, consumer-level drones, I've only heard of them used for reconnaisance, not for anti-aircraft defence. But given that:
In civil aviation, a single ...
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How does a fighter pilot calculate approach/landing speeds?
Let's say an F/A-18C returns to land after expending some payload. Fuel burned and weapons released made the plane lighter. I guess the aircraft computer can tell the pilot the actual weight of the ...
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Is there a modern-day counterpart to the F-20 Tigershark?
A previous question (Would it be feasible to restart production of the F-20 Tigershark?) has established that restarting production of the F-20 Tigershark is not feasible. Given this, I wonder if ...
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Would it be feasible to restart production of the F-20 Tigershark?
This seems unlikely considering the cancellation of the F-20 program, however, the F-20 has been characterized as "the right fighter at the wrong time". As such, I'm curious if F-20 ...
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What specific features of the Sukhoi 27 make it a rival to the F-15?
I just read an article about the Sukhoi 35 that mentioned as a side note that:
The Soviet SU-27 was designed to kill the American F-15
Of course the political context of the Cold War agrees with ...
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How long does it take to train a commercial pilot to fly a fighter jet?
The question is motivated by the recent events in Ukraine and the Ukrainian parliament on Monday tweeted that Europe was sending 70 fighter planes to Ukraine.
If this were to happen, how much time ...
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Why does this F18 have the rudders pointing towards each other? [duplicate]
I have seen this when they are parked and when taking off from the carriers.
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