05 Oct 2019, 12:49
Amazing videos...
What I can't get over (and am grateful for), is the difference in how the YF-22A and F-22A look. They made some MAJOR improvements IMO. The prototype had an ugly, almost bulbous like front, ridiculously sized vertical stabilizers and the wing didn't exactly inspire. Nor did the horizontal stabilizers. From tip to tail, I thought it was damn ugly. Especially when juxtaposed to the YF-23A.
The production F-22A was a different story. The front of the aircraft was much, much better IMO. Moving the cockpit forward such that the intakes didn't block the view was a major improvement. Ditto for the vertical/horizontal stabilizers. And especially the wing. The clipped wingtips look killer IMO, and even its underside was a lot more pleasing.
Which is all of course, subjective. But I think we can all agree we got an absolute monster air superiority platform, the biggest bump in capability ever. While the F-14, 15 and 16 all held great advantages over their Soviet contemporaries, the F-22 is that much more dominant.
You have to hand it to Lockheed. All those years out of the fighter business, and they come up with this. Wow...
