My Fav 5 list 2

OK as promised here are the favorite 5 aircraft post 1960.

(Yes I realize that all of them were designed in the 1950's but they DID serve after 1960.

No. 5

F-106 Delta Dart

OK, this may not be original but EVERY schoolboy has made a paper airplane. This aircraft is as close to that simple folded paper delta wing as you can get. Fast, demanding but very effective as an interceptor, the F-106 was one of those planes you either loved or hated. I loved her.

No. 4

RA-5C Vigilante

This baby just looked fast and wicked sitting still. It was designed as a nuclear attack bird and then the Navy decided to put it's A-Bombs on missiles so they turned it into a dedicated fast reconnaissance aircraft.

No. 3, No 2 (tie)

A-4 Skyhawk and the SR-71 Blackbird

I always loved Ed Heinneman's little "scooter". If I ever had the money this is one plane I would buy just to look at.

What aerophile doesnt love the Blackbird? I once knew a person who was a crewchief for a Blackbird. I was in awe of them. I could not imagine ever leaving that position.

No. 1

B-58 Hustler

Fast and demanding on crews, the Hustler could outrun most fighters of her era. There were never many and those that did serve spent much time in the hangers being "upgraded" in order to fly. The Air Force never found a place for this craft, it didnt fit with the "LeMay's Big Bomber Fleet" theories and it was years ahead of its time and once gone it took the Airforce another 15 years before it saw the need for a supersonic strategic bomber. In its day the B-58 broke 12 world speed records and won almost every major aviation award in existence. http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/systems/b-58-rec.htm

Here is a bit more on this favorite bird:

http://www.faqs.org/docs/air/avb58.html

She wasn't perfect by any means but man was she sexy.