BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

Is one of these a deathtrap? There was a decent crown at the air show today.  It was a beautiful August Saturday, with just the slightest wisps of clouds high up.   "Time to start the show." Captain Buster said to himself as he throttled his trusty CF-18 Hornet demonstrator up and off the tarmac.  Buster had a privilege of following The Snowbirds that day, so he knew he had his work cut out for him.  "No problem." he thought, those 50-year-old CT-114s may have their precision, but the ol' Hornet had raw power on its side.  Captain Buster imagined he could hear the crowd's "Ooohhs!" and "Aahhhs!" over the roar of this after burning GE404 turbofans.  Even after 30 years of service, the Hornet was still an impressive plane.  Its high thrust and high angle-of-attack performance allowed it to perform maneuvers that seemed to contradict the laws of physics.  "Not bad for an old girl..." thought Buster with a smile. ...

CF-104 Starfighter in "Tiger Meet" livery. For some reason, the two-versus-single-engine debate never seems to go away. Possibly the day before the Harper government announces its plan to replace the CF-18, a new study questions the wisdom of going with a single engine aircraft. Morbidly entitled "One Dead Pilot", the study concludes that the single engine F-35 is a poor choice for Canada due to its single engine design.  The piece often compares the F-35 to the infamous CF-104 Starfighter, a fighter that earned the nickname "Widowmaker" due to its sketchy (and deadly) safety record. One Dead Pilot 9 June 2014 Byers Embargoed 2 For one thing, the CF-104 is a TERRIBLE example of single-engined jet fighter safety.  The Starfighter was notoriously unforgiving, being little more than a "missile with a man in it".  Its tiny wings provided the glide characteristics of a lawn dart, and its onboard diagnostic systems would be considered ...