BEST FIGHTER FOR CANADA

T-38 in "Aggressor" paint. The USAF has yet to declare an open competition to replace its venerable T-38 Talon trainer.  Despite this all signs point to this one as "one-to-watch".  Competitors would very much like to prove that they still have the chops to build a fighter-type aircraft.  At its current pace, this could very well turn into another " Battle of the X-Planes ". As the USAF finalizes the capabilities it wants for the T-X, more manufacturers are deciding to forego license-building proven designs and will offer "clean sheet" designs instead. Boeing, which has partnered up with Swedish-based Saab, was the first to do this .  This despite the initial rumors of a "downgraded" Gripen being used as the basis. Northrop Grumman, soon after taking the lead over from its partner, BAE, has decided that it will also develop a clean sheet design instead of offering a version of BAE's Hawk .  While some were rather surpr...

Thanks to everybody who voted in last week's "What if..." poll.  The results were pretty straight forward.  A staggering 81% of you believe that the F-35 is the wrong fighter for Canada no matter what the price. Yikes. The inspiration for this week's "What if..." comes from BF4C's new cover picture.  (I got a request to take down the Voodoo...)  The CF-100 Canuck remains Canada's only indigenous fighter design to make production.  While it certainly is not the sexiest aircraft design, it is still fondly remembered for its ruggedness and longevity.  The "Clunk" even managed to find a foreign buyer with Belgium. It really is too bad that Canada's fighter industry died with the CF-100's successor, the CF-105 Arrow. Right now, Canada's fighter selection is rather limited in variety.  While there is a substantial quantity  of choices, the quality leaves a bit to be desired.  Even including two aircraft that are not offici...

The F-35's fiberglass stunt double .  (Image credit:  Erik Gustavsson) It's official.  The F-35 Lightning II will not be making its international debut  over Farnborough this week. This was supposed to be a big month for the Lightning II.  Costs are said to be coming down, with further discounts on the way .  There is even the possibility of the Canadian government making its long-delayed announcement on whether or not to sole-source the stealth fighter.  All this would be met with great fanfare as the JSF made its international debut with its only "Level 1" partner, the United Kingdom.  A flyover at HMS Queen Elizabeth's naming ceremony , followed by an aerial display at the Royal International Air Tattoo  (RIAT), and then an appearance at the Farnborough International Air Show . Despite best laid plans, July of 2014 will be remembered as the month nothing seemed to go right for the JSF.  In fact, its UK debut has can be descr...

My house is under the "15:00 Sat/sam." dot. Sorry for being away for the weekend.   Hurricane   "Post tropical storm" Arthur paid my family, neighbors, and I a little visit on Saturday, knocking trees and power lines out of the ground, leaving me and my trusty iMac without power for about three-and-a-half days.  Thankfully, there was no damage to my house other freezer full of groceries. The weekend went slowly.  Mobile device power was at a premium and wireless internet service was spotty at best.  While I like to envision myself as well prepared for a zombie apocalypse, I am not sure if I could live in a world without hot, fresh coffee every morning. Even without power and spotty internet access, I managed to read (if not reply or moderate) all of your comments.  Thanks to you all for keeping the conversation rolling and keeping the tone civil and mostly on topic.  (So what if the Super Hornet was brought up in the Silent Eagle vs. Gripen F...

Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Imagine a military combat aircraft that first flew in 1954 and is still flying today.  No, it's not the B-52 .  This aircraft has played major roles in the air over Vietnam, the Falklands, and the Yom Kippur War.  It replaced the F-4 Phantom as the jet of choice for the USN's Blue Angels  demonstration team.  This aircraft even played a supporting role in Top Gun . Now...  What if I told you that the first 500 examples of this aircraft cost $7.5 million each, adjusted for inflation? The Douglas (soon to be McDonnell Douglas, then Boeing) A-4 Skyhawk was designed from the outset to be a small, light, simple, inexpensive attack aircraft that could be operated from the USN's aircraft carrier fleet.  It's chief designer, Ed Heinemann , really knocked it out of the park.  The A-4 weighed about half of the USN's desired specs.  Unlike most carrier based aircraft, the A-4 doesn't need folding wings.  The Skyhawk earn...

Textron Scorpion Textron, parent company to Cessna, the well known civil aviation manufacturer, unveiled an interesting concept recently named the Scorpion. It's a two-seat, twin turbofan design meant to be used as a light strike aircraft, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) platform, or a trainer.  Wing pylons are capable of mounting external fuel, weapons, or sensors.  A modular design allows easy customization for potential customers. The Scorpion's stingers. While it certainly appears sleek, with a tail quite reminiscent of the F-14 Tomcat, the Scorpion is certainly no dogfighter.  It's incapable of supersonic flight and those long, straight wings are designed with loiter time in mind, not high speed performance.  Still, the promise of an affordable ($3,000 per flight hour) light attack and ISR platform seems to have a lot of potential in the days of military budget cutbacks and uber-expensive stealth fighters. But is there a market?...