BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

  [Welcome to "NITPICK"!  For the next few weeks I will be examining a single aspect of the potential fighters that just drives me nuts.  These are not dealbreakers, or even major flaws.  They are simply one aspect of the aircraft THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER.] Like all other aircraft that place an emphasis on stealth, the F-35 Lightning II was designed to carry weapons tucked away inside.  This is not just a feature  of the JSF, it damn near defines  it.   By storing weapons internally, an aircraft greatly reduces its radar cross section.  This has made internal weapon storage almost mandatory for any aircraft aspiring to low observability.  Some have even expressed the opinion that storing weapons externally on a stealth fighter all but cancels out any advantages of a stealth platform.   Without the advantage of stealth, the F-35 becomes rather underwhelming.  It still offers plenty of cutting edge technology, but its kinematic performance falls behind older fighters li

  [Welcome to "NITPICK"!  For the next few weeks I will be examining a single aspect of the potential fighters that just drives me nuts.  These are not dealbreakers, or even major flaws.  They are simply one aspect of the aircraft THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER.] The Gripen is pointy.  Really, really , pointy.   It does makes sense that a Mach 2 fighter jet would be pointy.  Most of them are.  Just look at the needle-like F-104 Starfighter or F-106 Delta Dagger.   The Gripen takes things to a whole new level, however. Look at it.  It is all sharp edges, angles, and spearpoints.  There is nary a soft crease or a graceful curve.  Its like someone built a fighter jet out of knives and hypodermic needles.  The Gripen is aerospace cutlery. Let us start at the front.  Before we even get to the narrow cone of the radome, there is a needle-like pitot tube.  This is followed by a blade-like apparatus on either side of front nose cone.  Before we even get to the cockpit, the Gripen l

  [Welcome to "NITPICK"!  For the next few weeks I will be examining a single aspect of the potential fighters that just drives me nuts.  These are not dealbreakers, or even major flaws.  They are simply one aspect of the aircraft THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER.] The F-35 Lightning II is a controversial aircraft.  To some, it represents the future of combat aviation.  To others, it stands out as a horribly flawed trillion-dollar boondoggle.  As usual, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle. One undeniable truth about the JSF is that its canopy is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. Look at it.  LOOK AT IT! Other than the fact that is is transparent, just about everything about the F-35 cockpit seems...   wrong.  Compare the F-35 cockpit to the one of its predecessors, the F/A-18: The Hornet has a pretty decent canopy.   The pilot's view is unimpeded except for a thin frame present at the opening seam.  Fortunately, that thin frame houses several rear-view mirrors that help  the