Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking. Login or Take a Tour!
user-inactivated · 1680 days ago · link · · parent · post: The Coolest Aircraft the Year you were Born
Bummed that Gripen never makes these lists, but I guess it makes sense. This is one of my earliest memories:
Saab gets the short shrift all the way through. the Draken was basically the first blended-wing body aircraft and was designed to be so overpowered that it could take off from a quarter-mile-long two-lane road. I have no idea how the Viggen would have done in operational combat, but much like the S-Tank I simply don't give a shit. Some manufacturers flirted with canards; Saab started a cult around them. I also love that they were designed using the Ikea philosophy of maintenance whereby a conscript ground crew of 5 could keep it in the air.
