I read about a type of Mirage that was very difficult to learn and master to fly often failing students who picked it so it eventually became the most unpopular to pick. Anything like that now? In the past?
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Which fighter aircraft is or was the hardest to learn to fly and continue flying?
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#1 by MrAUDU on April 11th, 2011
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Probably the most difficult to master in current service would be the FA-18. It requires that the pilot be proficient in air-to-air combat and air-to ground attack roles. The F-4 tried to do both, as a result, it did neither well. As I understand it now, FA-18 squadrons are trending toward more specialization.
#2 by skyking on April 11th, 2011
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Having been a F18 driver i can tell you that all the Brits and US personnel i ever spoke with swears it was and still is the Harrier.
#3 by John Doe on April 11th, 2011
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The BAE Harrier because it is a fighter jet that takes off vertically and it requires intense training to learn how to maneuver it.
#4 by easy way is always mined on April 11th, 2011
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i’d say generally any and all of those rocket era planes…
F 104, MiG 21
#5 by RichC on April 11th, 2011
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There are a lot of planes out there that were not easy to fly. The F-100 had its sabre dance if the angle of attack became too high. But one that I was told was difficult was the F-101 Voodoo because is was designed for true supersonic flight so the instruments were only accurate when supersonic and since much of the time flight was in the subsonic mode the pilot was always having to correct for true speeds and altitudes. This alone would have been stressful. The other planes that are not easy are the ones which had a very small wing and flew very fast (two of these being the F-104 and the T-38/F-5)
The T-38 was the trainer version of the F-5, but it killed a lot of people. There was no autopilot, the plane flew in the area of reverse command (more power needed to fly) plus it had a symmetrical air foil (it was the same distance over the top and the bottom so it did not create lift from its shape). This meant the stall characteristics were unique in that the nose would not break you just found your self falling at a very fast rate in a nose high attitude. Students could fly it but very few ever flew it well.
Every plane has its challenges and each can be overcome with training. Many WWII planes were difficult in some aspects of flight and fighting.
#6 by JetMech on April 11th, 2011
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I would have guessed the F-104 as the hardest to learn to fly. My question to RichC would be why was the T-38 used so much by the USAF if it was so difficult to fly? ….and I believe you. I’m not questioning that. I always thought of the T-38 as a coloring book jet because it was so unremarkable. Beautifuly sleek but unremarkable. Was it a matter of trial by fire? If they could learn to fly the T-38 they could learn in anything? Was that it?
#7 by Warbird Pilot on April 11th, 2011
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Sopwith Camel killed more beginners than any other.