A collection of video clips of fighters, bombers and helicopters from my plane-spotting youth(!)
All are less than a Megabyte and in standard MP4 format, for playback in iTunes, Quicktime or almost any other computer media system.
Apache gunship
An awesomely ugle piece of hardware, 'fiercely
beweaponed', as Douglas Adams used to say.
AWACS airborne control
centre
No, I have no idea either how the
extra frisbee section manages to stay 'on'!
B2 Stealth Bomber
If you had showed this design to
the Wright brothers, they'd have keeled over laughing, I suspect. The first
real computer-driven design, both in terms of airframe and stealth.
B52 Bomber
Noisy and dirty. But it can fly tens of thousands of miles,
stopping halfway to drop a truck load of bombs....
SR71 Blackbird
reconnaissance
Famously designed
using slide rules in Lockheed's skunk works, the Blackbird can fly at over
3,000 mph and higher than any other aircraft. Just try shooting this
down...
Blackhawk
helicopter
Chinook transport
helicopter
These have a
very distinctive sound and go over my house almost every day. From a flight
point of view, of course, this has to take the biscuit as the most inelegant
design ever.
F5 fighter
Surprisingly small and agile, used by air forces from all
nations for decades.
F15E Strike Eagle fighter
bomber
Sheer brute power and strength. It can fight
its way to a target, decimate it and then fight its way home again.
F15 Eagle fighter
The earlier, lighter version of the Strike Eagle. This one
was single seat and is/was America's front line interceptor.
F16 fighter
A very pretty and agile plane, and a favourite at air
shows.
F18 Hornet
fighter/bomber
Also great at air shows, the F18 is
mainly used by the US Navy for carrier-borne work.
F22 Raptor fighter
bomber
Effectively the followup to the F15 Eagle, this
is significantly more 'stealthy' and with vastly more advanced
avionics.
F111 bomber
The original cold war bomber, along with the much larger
B52.
Mig 25 Foxbat
The brutishly fast Soviet jet that the West was so
frightened by that they developed the F15
Harrier fighter
bomber
The only real mass produced
vertical take off military jet in the West. A classic design.
Mig 29 fighter
bomber
Designed to be
simple to maintain and ultra-durable for use across the USSR. Now a favourite
at air shows for its Cobra and Bell manoeuvres.
Dassault Mirage 2000
fighter
V-22 Osprey
Just coming into service now, the Osprey has
been a long time in development.
F4 Phantom fighter
bomber
The jack of all trades of the
Western military for decades. Powerful, noisy, heavy and adaptable.
BAe Sea Harrier
FRS.1
As the name
suggests, the Harrier adapted for naval use, e.g. in the Falklands
war.
Tornado fighter
bomber
One of the few
land-based swing-wing designs. Specialises in low level flight.
Warthog
Ugly name, ugly design, but lots of cannon
firepower and very robust.
Note that I don't condone military action anywhere in the world - I just find the design and power of these machines fascinating... 8-)