Aircraft: Military

"The Fiat G.91 is a jet fighter aircraft designed and built by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione, which later merged into Aeritalia. Wikipedia" | Manufacturers: Aeritalia, Fiat Aviazione, Alenia Aeronautica, Flugzeug-Union Sud

Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF)... multirole combat aircraft named after Chiang Ching-kuo. - Wikipedia

4 engined turboprop transport. Military version of the Antonov An-10. For more than three decades the An-12 was the standard medium-range cargo and paratroop transport aircraft of the Soviet air forces. Wikipedia

Planned Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft and strategic bomber that was being developed by Avro Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (in 1957). Wikipedia

Mach 2 plus delta winged interceptor.

A development of the Lincoln, the more powerful Shackleton served well beyond its intended lifespan in both the maritime recon and AEW roles.

To see the mighty Vulcan in action check out the James Bond movie Thunderball. What an utterly fantastic looking aircraft - a flying sculpture!

British carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s - Wikipedia

Staple of the Allied effort in WWII.

"The first jet-powered strategic bomber to serve with USAF, over 2100 were produced. "

Starting this beast up and watching the Engine indicators - count them! - come to life is fun. Landing it is even more fun!

About 1/3 larger than the F/A-18, the Superhornet brings increased range and payload to the series. The aircraft received wide exposure in the 2023 movie " Top Gun Maverick".

Aerobatic biplane and trainer

Developed during the Vietnam War in response to military interest in new counter-insurgency aircraft to replace aging types such as the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Wikipedia

Liaison and observation aircraft that first flew on December 14, 1949, and entered service in 1950 as the L-19 in the Korean War. It went to serve in many branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, was not retired until the 1970s in a number of variants, and also served in the Vietnam War. Wikipedia

Military version of the Cessna 337 Super Skymaster, used for forward air control and psychological operations by the US military between 1967 and 2010. Wikipedia

Powered by 6 28-cyl radials (and later 4 turbojets as well), the B-36 flew high and slow. It was not uncommon to stay aloft for 2 days without refuelling.

I spoke to an Australian former Vampire pilot some years back. He told me that the Vampire had several throttle settings which were not used because of vibration. Naturally enough, in accordance with 'Murphy's Law', when flying the circuit the throttle settings you wanted to use corresponded exactly with those vibration zones!

Designed in 1949 as the successor to the Vampire, the Venom's more powerful Ghost engine and its stronger airframe made for a much more effective aircraft.

Twin-engined, mid-wing jet fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was designed in response to a 1945 United States Navy requirement for a jet-powered, radar-equipped, carrier-based night fighter. Wikipedia

"The Embraer EMB 312 Tucano (English: Toucan) is a low-wing, tandem-seat, single-turboprop, basic trainer with counter-insurgency capability that was developed in Brazil. The Brazilian Air Force sponsored the EMB-312 project at the end of 1978. Design and development work began in 1979 on a low-cost, relatively simple, new basic trainer with innovative features which eventually became the international standard for basic training aircraft." - Wikipedia

A-10-C Thunderbolt II

Manned version of the V-1 flying bomb. Wikipedia

Single-seat intermeshing rotor helicopter, or synchropter | world's first series production helicopter. Wikipedia

High-altitude fighter-interceptor designed by Kurt Tank. Development of the Fw 190 aircraft. Wikipedia

Eindecker ("one wing") | World War I.

As the RAF's first purpose-built night and all-weather interceptor, the Javelin was a large aircraft who's thick delta wing prohibited supersonic flight. First flown in 1951, many variants were produced, the latter ones with afterburning engines.

As the Allies' first operational jet fighter, the Meteor underwent rapid development, especially of its engines. The underpowered 1943 prototype was transformed by a sequence of more powerful engines into an outstanding multi-role aircraft.

First flown in 1952, the 'crescent' wing was a tremendous technical achievement. However, Soviet missile advances soon rendered the Victor's mission obsolete and despite being upgraded to B2 standard in 1959 with its much more powerful engines, the Victor had to be consigned to the low-level role.

"... all the various marques of Hunter were a delight to fly and much admired by their pilots. Many still fly today in the hands of private owners. Total production was 1,985, 79 types flew with 17 air forces."

"The Il-28 was the mainstay of the medium bomber fleets of the Soviet bloc countries for most of the '50s."

Single-engined fourth-generation multirole jet fighter developed in Israel during the 1980s. Wikipedia

"Black Shark" Soviet single-seat attack helicopter... coaxial rotor system- Wikipedia

S models feature upgraded engines and avionics making them truly all weather fighters and the last production models. The leading edges of the F-104 wings were so sharp the ground crew had to exercise special care not to be cut when working near them!

Like many flight sim fans, my love affair with the Wobbly Goblin began in 1988 with F-19 Stealth Fighter on my Atari ST.

RQ-3 DarkStar is an unmanned aerial vehicle. Its first flight was on March 29, 1996. The Department of Defense terminated DarkStar in January 1999, after determining the UAV was not aerodynamically stable and was not meeting cost and performance objectives. Wikipedia

"Its extreme range and ability to carry offensive weapons on up to 8 hard points make it a potent anti-submarine platform."

TR-1A: Tactical recon variant of the US Lockheed U-2 - Wikipedia

The Hornet was conceived from the word go as a dual-role aircraft, hence the designation F/A-18, which means Fighter-Attack. It was meant to supplement the role of the F-14 Tomcat, providing shorter range Air defense and to totally replace the A-7 Corsair and A-6 Intruder.

Rocket-powered fighter aircraft developed from the Me 163 Komet towards the end of World War II. Three prototypes were built but never flown under their own power as the rapidly deteriorating military situation in Germany prevented the completion of the test program. Wikipedia

The Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant was a German military transport aircraft of World War II. It was a powered variant of the Me 321 military glider and was the largest land-based transport aircraft to fly during the war. In total, 213 were made, with 15 being converted from the Me 321. Wikipedia

The MiG-15 out-turned, out-climbed and had a higher service ceiling than the North American F-86K Sabre. Also - the original NATO reporting name was "Falcon" - it would be interesting to get the story behind changing the name from that of a 'Bird of Prey' to a 'block of wood'!

As Russia's first supersonic fighter, the twin-engined MiG-19 was a truly formidable aircraft for its day.

The "Soviet Super Fighter" is what we called it in the 1980's.

Largest helicopter to have gone into serial production. Wikipedia

Japanese swept-wing, single-seat, twin-engine supersonic strike aircraft that was in service with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force from 1978 to 2006. It was Japan's first domestically designed and built supersonic combat aircraft, jointly developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Wikipedia

Japanese Navy's primary land-based bomber. Wikipedia

Lightning Bolt, Jack

Japanese light bomber of World War II. It was a single-engine, mid-wing, cantilever monoplane of stressed-skin construction with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage and a long transparent cockpit canopy. Wikipedia

High altitude interceptor designed to counter the U-2.

Hayabusa / Peregrine falcon | Single-engine land-based tactical fighter used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service in World War II. Often called the "Army Zero" by American pilots. Wikipedia

A-5 in its export versions, is a 1960s-design Chinese-built single-seat, twin jet engine... CAS... aircraft based on the Shenyang J-6. Wikipedia

The virtual cockpit is good and combined with the pop-up Altimeter - Airspeed and Rate of Climb panel makes it a good choice for visual flights.

The successor to the F-86 Sabre, the F-100 was the first combat aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight.

The '102 had a dual-stick control system where the pilot controled the radar with one hand and flew with the other. The Dagger was also unique for a fighter in that it carried missiles internally.

Total production of the F-86 exceeded that of any fixed-wing fighter at a staggering 9,502.

One of the Allied fighters which helped turn the tide over Europe.

"The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s. Wikipedia"

Stealth bomber with a flying wing design.

"The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23 is an American single-seat, twin-engine, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft technology demonstrator designed for the United States Air Force. The design was a finalist in the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter competition, battling the Lockheed YF-22 for a production contract." - Wikipedia

Fast turbo-prop used by many airforces to transition pilots from prop to fast jets.

Stealthy long range bomber.

"The Su-11 first went into service in 1968 as a replacement for the ageing Su-7 and Su-9 and benefited from its predecessors' extensive combat history in other Warsaw Pact countries. It was designed as an all-weather interceptor and had a phenomenal climb rate, with a service ceiling of 55,000 ft."

Long range interceptor based on the Su-15 with a larger airframe and improved avionics.

Enjoying this and need to get more hours up. Probably the fastest in the fleet.

Joint venture between France and Germany.

Being the fastest prop aircraft in the world and having an extraordinarily long range makes the Tu-142 the ideal choice for a weekend away!

"In 1952 the first Tu-16 ( NATO Reporting name 'Badger' ) flew and represented the new generation of Soviet bombers to be produced during the 1950s. Built in large numbers, some 2000 were made before production ended in 1960."

Development of the Tupolev Tu-22.

The Valiant dropped the atomic bomb over Maralinga, South Australia in 1956.

M-346 in Yak-130 livery. The M-346 was a joint Russo-Euro project until about 2010. The delivered versions of both look very similar, so this is as close as we will get to flying the Yak for the moment.

Quite a handful around the circuit this one but heaps of power. The low- slung design reminds me of 1950's American autos.