Forum: F-35 Lightning II

Just keeping my eye on "CYCLONE" Shocked

Hope it doesn`t win!!!! Luckily it seems quite unpopular.

I agree Safetystick, Reaper seems a bit grim.... Doh

Piasa, what were they smoking?
Black Mamba, what? Sounds like a character in Kill Bill Vol2.
Cougar, well, thats` just cheesy, isn`t it!
Phoenix, an aircraft and "ashes" don`t really sit well together, do they.

I get the feeling Lightning will win. Seems to me somebody really wants that name.....Phantom is a great name TC but there can be only one Highlander!

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TC wrote:

Cougar would have to be "Cougar II" (Grumman F9F-5, anyone?).

Lightning would have to be "Lightning III" with the Brits' participation...this would follow the P-38, and the EE Lightning.

My vote is still for Phantom III. It's used for AA and AG. It's used by the USAF, USN, USMC, and the RAF and RN. It seems like they're trying to turn it into one of those "Do it all" kind of fighters. Oh yeah, and it's a LO fighter. LO = hard to see...kind of "Phantom"-like, eh?

Ah, Foxtrot it. TC's probably in a large group of one on this vote...

Beers and MiGs were made to be pounded!

TC,

I'd love to see another "Phabulous Phantom" fly again and I think the F-35 has just enough ugly to wear the name Thumb

!

As Phantom isn't in the poll, I voted for Reaper - it just sounds nice and mean Twisted Evil

.

I guess "Tiger Moth" is a dead issue (like it was ever alive). Sad

"Lightning 2", there are worse planes than the P-38 it could be named after.

"Spitfire II"? We never had a Spitfire I. And Piasa??? Maybe if the French bought some they could name theirs that. Laughing

I still think Thunderchief II would be great.

I bet my Lightning gets to 60K before yours does !!

asiatrails wrote:

I bet my Lightning gets to 60K before yours does !!

But ours will still have gas when it gets there. Twisted Evil

boff180 wrote:

I believe Lightning II was the original name for the F-22 aswell!

Actually no. Even the article makes the same mistake. Lightning II was the proposed name for the YF-23. Had it won the competition, it would have been named, or at least suggested to be named as such.

While Griffon is a neat name, the JAS-39 Gripen already has that moniker, albeit in native tongue.

While Phoenix is nice, we already had a missile named that. And while there was an AIM-4 Falcon missile before we had Fighting Falcon, I doubt they'll go to the extreme of naming it the Phighting Phoenix, don't you?

sferrin wrote:

"Spitfire II"? We never had a Spitfire I.

Ahem.

http://www.star-games.com/exhibits/spitfire/spitops.html

boff180 wrote:

So? Fury was rejected for being a car? How pathetic...

Um, yeah I fail to see how Fury being rejected by being already taken by a popular, well-known and respected car of the 50's and 60's would be considered pathetic. Yeah it didn't have the guns of the speed of the prop plane, but there's definitely nothing pathetic about the car's 440 cubic inch engine offered in 1970, especially with the "Six pack" option. It was even at one point Plymouth's flagship car (As the Corvette is to Chevrolet).

With that being said, I'm surprised the name choice "Cougar" is still an option, as the name had already been taken by Mercury's pony car that survived for 35 years. Confused

I am still personally convinced that the F-35 should be given the name "Razorback". This is because of all the options offered, Razorback is the only one that fits both the appearance (the plane is unusually bulky for it's size, since it stores it's weapons internally as well as externally) and mission (the "get down and dirty" objectives of A2G, which is primarily what the JSF is designed for). Also, to me "F-35 Razorback" sounds just right when said aloud.

Someone stated on another thread of this forum: "Pigs don't fly so good". All I've got to say to that is: Tomcats, Mustangs, and Warthogs don't fly so well either, yet they've been used before.

Now let me take a look at some other popular names.

Phoenix I've noticed that this option is, yet again, the most popular of this poll. However, I don't particularly see why, since it's too graceful for the aircraft's looks and goals. I mean do we have to name all of our aircraft after birds of prey? Some relate the name to the plane by the saying the F-35B takes of vertically as the Phoenix rises from it's ashes. However, I had always thought the mythical bird was known for arising from it's ashes (reviving itself from, rather than just taking off from). Yet, even if "Phoenix" did seem right for the F-35B, the name wouldn't fit at all for the other variants that take off conventionally. I just don't see how that name would work out.

Black Mamba Another cool sounding name that doesn't suit the F-35. While the Black Mamba snake itself isn't black (More of a gun-metal grey really), one would probably expect that an aircraft given this name would be colored black. I think the name would have worked better for the F-117, or the B-2.

Lightning II/Spitfire II Would it really make sense to name a 21st century, state-of-the-art aircraft (that's an attacker) after an old prop plane (though, very successful FIGHTERS ) of WWII?

Griffon A similar name (but with the same meaning) is already taken by the JAS-39 Gripen.

Just look at the plane, and then consider the names that most fit. I don't know about you all, but don't see any other names that fit other than Razorback. Smile

Habu wrote:

boff180 wrote:

I believe Lightning II was the original name for the F-22 aswell!

Actually no. Even the article makes the same mistake. Lightning II was the proposed name for the YF-23. Had it won the competition, it would have been named, or at least suggested to be named as such.

Actually, no, the YF-22 was "Lightning 2" unofficially. I think there was even a video game called "F-22 Lightning 2", that's how sure everyone was that it'd be named that at the time. The YF-23 was named "Black Widow 2" after the WW2 P-61 night fighter.

http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-23.htm

http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/p-61_black_widow.pl

I don't think that the F-35 needs a name that is already used!!!!!!. Just give it an original name, NOT Phantom III, Spitfire II or Lightning II/III. What are the names over 50 years? Phantom XXVII, Spitfire XVI and Lightning XIX?

That's it, I'm going to bust out the Monster Manual (Dungeons and Dragons) and look for things that apply. It's getting to the point of being silly. Anyway, the people who actually name the thing are the pilots and the maintainers. And frankly, "That mike foxtrotting piece of sierra over there." Probably isn't very fitting. I mean, how often are airplanes really called what they're named?

Whiteman_B2 wrote:

Actually, no, the YF-22 was "Lightning 2" unofficially. I think there was even a video game called "F-22 Lightning 2", that's how sure everyone was that it'd be named that at the time. The YF-23 was named "Black Widow 2" after the WW2 P-61 night fighter.

Right right right...I transposed the damn names, my bad. Dunno why I thought that. Black Widow II would still be nice. And anyway, like has been said over and over again, it probably won't go by the official name anyway.

We could do something totally asinine and let the Russians pick a name, and adopt it kinda like they adopted Fulcrum and Flanker. Haaarrrrrr! Razz

LordOfBunnies wrote:

That's it, I'm going to bust out the Monster Manual (Dungeons and Dragons) and look for things that apply. It's getting to the point of being silly. Anyway, the people who actually name the thing are the pilots and the maintainers. And frankly, "That mike foxtrotting piece of sierra over there." Probably isn't very fitting. I mean, how often are airplanes really called what they're named?

The F-35 Monster Zero The Eagle is called the Eagle. Sure it's got that "Rodan" moniker but does that get tossed around as often as Viper and Warthog? What about the Tomcat?

Let's go Gundam on the F-35, habout the F-35 Sazabi, baby! Razz

Forum: F-35 Lightning II

Final unofficial poll on the F-35 name