George wrote:
"Robatoy" wrote in message
...

That brings us to the A-10 ...Warthog....aptly named... in a Julia
Roberst sort of way.

I think the A-10 is one impressive bird. A frickin' tank with wings.
One of my favourite all-time aircraft.

SR-71....another great one.

But the A-10 is on my desktop.


An airplane which proved unsuited to the task for which it was intended -
hosing Soviet armor as it tried to force the Fulda gap.

Planned to be a two-seater, made a single, where the load on the pilot was
so large in the weather that prevails so often in Germany, it went into the
guard in record time. It's done great work in clear air and with upgrade
avionics.

The blackbird is one of the finest machines out there. When dad first came
to Beale, he described an SR with a T38 chase as "the shark and a
pilotfish." Of course, the Okinawans called her Habu, which also seemed
suitable. A night takeoff was almost a religious experience for onlookers.


Never saw a night takeoff, but being on perimeter road at the landing
lights when one goes overhead is rather impressive. We could hear each
other talk by the time we left the perimeter road and hit the base area.
Joe