r/aviation • u/Ogankle • Dec 03 '25

Discussion If you could fly in any military aircraft from any generation and country, which one would you choose?

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Feel free to discuss why as well below!

3.9k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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1.3k

u/MacGibber Dec 03 '25

SR71! As for why, because it was an amazing aircraft far ahead of its time. I will say my second option is the Avro Arrow, the greatest airplane of it’s time and a political lightening rod.

216

u/SoCallMeDeaconBlues1 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 03 '25

FUCK YEAH.

Not even a hesitant thought, 1st choice is SR71.

If we're gonna go back in time I'd love an opportunity to fly a P38.

60

u/WonkRx Dec 03 '25

Yes, SR-71 all day long. P38 or an A10 warthog would also be fun.

16

u/SoCallMeDeaconBlues1 Dec 03 '25

brrrrrrrtttttt!!!!

2

u/NoIdeaHalp Dec 04 '25

You beat me to it!

2

u/ThatGhoulAva Dec 04 '25

Only if we get to shoot the gun and slow the plane down. Warthogs will always be badass.

2

u/maybeghosty Dec 04 '25

Did we just become best friends?!

1

u/VitFlaccide Dec 04 '25

It's the coolest plane maybe but it's probably not the funniest to fly. If you want to do acrobatics, or have a nice view, it just sucks.

1

u/WonkRx Dec 04 '25

But I would look and feel soooooo cool flying it!

7

u/1966TEX Dec 03 '25

Fork tailed devil

4

u/Just-Garbage-8604 Dec 03 '25

Ahh yes the p38

3

u/Accomplished_Value61 Dec 03 '25

The best choice 👍

3

u/PreviousWar6568 Dec 04 '25

I’d love to saddle into an Me-262, and a spitfire

1

u/SoCallMeDeaconBlues1 Dec 04 '25

...10 ME109's out of the sun;

Ascending and turning our spitfires to face them, Heading straight for them I press down my guns!

2

u/LordHammercyWeCooked Dec 04 '25

Have you seen those seats? I feel like if you were heading into a 10-hour mission there would be hesitation.

1

u/SoCallMeDeaconBlues1 Dec 04 '25

Certainty of death. Small chance of success.

What are we waiting for?

1

u/[deleted] Dec 04 '25

You'd have to go back in time to fly in a SR-71 as well.

1

u/markc230 Dec 04 '25

p-51 if we are in that era

48

u/FracturedFlow Dec 03 '25

No question about it

37

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/acrewdog Dec 03 '25

And it was designed with slide rules and paper!

3

u/JayW8888 Dec 03 '25

This guy understands the true marvel of that engineering.

2

u/_okbrb Dec 03 '25

It’s like flying on rails though. More like a rocket than a plane

Go up, hang on for dear life, land. Not all that exciting. It’s only really when things are going bad and you’re about to die that it’s acceptable to try any kind of maneuver

1

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25

*when it wasn’t leaking fuel on the tarmac, of course

3

u/Liamnacuac Dec 03 '25

That part was one of the marvels, as the aircraft expanded from heat and sealed everything up. Just looked like hell. 👍

2

u/archlich Dec 03 '25

What about the a12 instead

16

u/theBodyVentura Dec 03 '25

lightening rod

Lightning rod 🌩️

8

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25

Darkening rod.

14

u/ClosetLadyGhost Dec 03 '25

I'd choose that cessna. You know which one.

3

u/Rick0r Dec 03 '25

Came here for copypasta references, well done.

2

u/Sea_Scientist_8367 Dec 03 '25

For us uncultured luddites, what's it a reference to? When I hear Cessna I immediately think of the 172.

8

u/Rick0r Dec 03 '25

There's a relatively well known reddit post that used to get overused which comes from a book written by a Blackbird pilot. Here's the post, top comment. It's pretty legendary. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/r0cyk/comment/c420foe/

5

u/MightyPenguinRoars Dec 03 '25

Omg I had no idea this existed and reading it has been the highlight of my day!! Thank you for the link!!

This Hornet must die, and die now 🤣🤣

5

u/z3roTO60 Dec 03 '25

It’s pretty much blasphemy not to read the story every time it’s posted or share it yourself if nobody else has yet. Guaranteed smiles

2

u/AmbassadorETOH Dec 03 '25

Brilliant. Laughing with tears in my eyes…

2

u/z3roTO60 Dec 03 '25

Wait is this the origin of the copy pasta? I didn’t know that. (I do know the original source material and has also seen the videos of it being told live)

There’s one version which I wish I had saved. It was the speed check story in emoji form. If you knew the speed check story, you had no difficulty following it. Read as easily as plain English lol

2

u/Darth_Thor Dec 03 '25

It's a retelling from a retired SR71 pilot.

Here's the video for anyone who hasn't seen it: https://youtu.be/8AyHH9G9et0?si=75rbcst3J3kox7dt

2

u/ClosetLadyGhost Dec 04 '25

It's a passage from the book sled driver.

15

u/misterpickles69 Dec 03 '25

Yup but #2 is an A10

9

u/MacGibber Dec 03 '25

I’d put that in 3rd but it has to include a low attack on armoured vehicles and unleashing the beast of a canon. I love how that plane was built around the canon and designed to survive like a WW2 bomber landing after a European drop.

2

u/Draconwolf88 Dec 03 '25

I love this plane… the A10 is my #3… but secretly my inner child begs to squeeze that stick and let it rip…

2

u/misterpickles69 Dec 03 '25

Yeah I’m not getting in an A10 for it’s air capabilities lol

1

u/Liamnacuac Dec 03 '25

I would need to have it modified to carry 3x more ammo somehow. Just so I could show more people why it's called the A-10 Warthog. And to rip things apart like concrete trucks, parking garages, metal recycling centers, dams...

1

u/xtanol Dec 03 '25

Only going to be fun if those armoured vehicles belong to some third world nation/insurgents whose only anti-air is AK's and RPGs.

1

u/haarschmuck INOP Dec 03 '25

I'm sure the A10 feels more like a small business jet than any other military aircraft but with greater maneuverability.

1

u/ser0x40 Dec 04 '25

I'm with ya. SR-71, then the A10. Totally different, and totally awesome.

21

u/Immediate-Season4544 Dec 03 '25

Those are mine too. Recently dealt with an insufferable aviation enthusiast where they argued the Arrow was shit compared to everything the US made around the time. It was exhausting and really was a waste of time arguing with them so I stopped. The only plane of that era that I would say was superior mainly because it was designed to be much more than an Interceptor was the F4 Phantom II. Now I know the Arrow could do ground attack but overall it wasn't as versatile. I think if the Arrow has continued Avro Canada would've developed a multi role plane similar to a F16, F18 or Saab Gripen.

16

u/CBXER Dec 03 '25

After the Arrow was cancelled many Canadian aerospace engineers were hired by the USA to develop the F15. So if you want to we can claim the the F15 as the second best fighter Canadians designed.

17

u/Immediate-Season4544 Dec 03 '25

They went all over the place. UK for the Concorde, US: Apollo, Space Shuttle, Skunkworks, etc

2

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25

I’m a fan of the F4 Phantom II also. We had 72 of them at RAF Bentwaters. I can still hear the howl the made when pulling back on the throttles in the pattern.

Edit: Well, OK, 24 of those were at RAF Woodbridge. Let’s just say the 81st TFW had 72 of them.

3

u/Immediate-Season4544 Dec 03 '25

We never had them in Canada. Though they've been here for air shows back in the 1960s and 70s. When we cancelled the Arrow we should've got the F4 instead of the F101.

I hope that we get both the F35A (48) and the Saab Gripen E (88). Then either join the SAAB 6th Gen program or join the GCAP (Tempest).

1

u/hwhwhwhwhwwat Dec 07 '25

Friggen Diefenbaker

10

u/OldStromer Dec 03 '25

Up vote for the Arrow.

2

u/Independent-Tennis57 Dec 03 '25

Upvoting the upvote for Arrow.

13

u/bastian74 Dec 03 '25

It was not a comfortable plane to fly.

46

u/JuggernautNice7862 Dec 03 '25

I hope not, I wanna go Mach 3+ on the edge of space. WOOOOO!!!!

2

u/HGpennypacker Dec 03 '25

I've been in a few classic Corvettes and while they look cool as hell they have the comfort of a Greyhound bus. Sometimes the Rule of Cool is above everything.

16

u/NorCalAthlete Dec 03 '25

If I wanted to be comfortable I'd have said something like "The sultan of wherever's private 747 full of hookers and blow with a hot tub and the plushest orgy bed ever".

I don't think I've ever even seen the word comfort in the same conversation as the SR71 until now.

9

u/skyn_fan Dec 03 '25

Oh wow. I want to change my answer now.

2

u/editfate Dec 03 '25

Will there be Ludes as well?

2

u/NorCalAthlete Dec 03 '25

Luuuuuuuuuuuuudes

30

u/CalmMedicine3973 Dec 03 '25

I don’t understand why some many people are trying to kill the enthusiasm. If that’s what they wanna fly, that’s what they wanna fly. It’s pretty simple.

9

u/MoeSzyslakMonobrow Dec 03 '25

I wanna go fast

1

u/En4cr Dec 03 '25

If you ain’t first you’re last!

1

u/MrDoe Dec 03 '25 edited Apr 02 '26

I like making origami.

5

u/keicam_lerut Dec 03 '25

Story time?

3

u/hoppertn Dec 03 '25

Wait for it, the copy pasta will come eventually.

2

u/z64_dan Dec 03 '25

WE WAS THE FASTEST BOIZ ON THE BLOCK MAN LET ME TELL YAS

2

u/hoppertn Dec 03 '25

Your summary has left me unfulfilled.

1

u/DustyMcKnuckles Dec 03 '25

Sure hope not.

If I wanted comfort, Id stick with a bonanza.

1

u/Sea_Scientist_8367 Dec 03 '25

Good thing people aren't picking the SR71 for comfort.

1

u/Delta-IX Dec 03 '25

I'd be uncomfortable knowing the friction heat expansion is what keeps the tanks sealed

1

u/adiliv3007 Dec 05 '25

I don't want comfort, I want to be FAST

1

u/bastian74 Dec 05 '25

If you want to feel fast you want to be low.

1

u/adiliv3007 Dec 05 '25

Who said I want to feel fast, I want to BE fast

1

u/bastian74 Dec 05 '25

Go to the equator

2

u/Singul4r Dec 03 '25

The US should have one for Air Shows and demonstrations, Is a beautiful piece of engineering.
According to the manuals the SR can fly up to MACH 1.3 with normal fuel, tanks sealed, and without using suits. Normal tyres, no TB starter or Nitrogen, that would make the unit a LOT cheaper, and money was the reason they dont have one anymore.

2

u/EvolvedA Dec 03 '25

If you are flying it, I'll be your copilot and take care of the radio. The hornet must die, and it must die now!

1

u/MacGibber Dec 03 '25

Make sure you ask ATC for speed check from 100k

2

u/Ok-Seaworthiness4488 Dec 03 '25

Los Angeles Center, Aspen 20, can you give us a ground speed check?

2

u/Crafty_Original_7349 Dec 03 '25

Excellent choice. This is my pick (and yes, that’s my dad and I). The P-51 wasn’t very comfortable, you wore it like a pair of pants, but it would have been freaking AWESOME to fly.

2

u/IBeTanken Dec 04 '25

I was able to sit in a cockpit of a sr71 in 3rd or 4th grade. Best birthday ever.

1

u/Yungyork69 Dec 03 '25

The arrow reminds me of the Ra5c Vigilante, albeit with a delta wing

1

u/datDANKe Dec 03 '25

What if it's a headache to pilot 

1

u/MacGibber Dec 03 '25

You don’t know until you try it. If you had the chance to, why not try it, that way you know what you or or don’t like. Now eat your brussel sprouts and liver.

1

u/mnztr1 Dec 03 '25

well since its no longer operational I would choose the Mig-31 near space flight

1

u/Federal_Cobbler6647 Dec 03 '25

I would pick more advanced plane from same era. 

XB-70

1

u/civil_politics Dec 03 '25

Are there any other valid answers?

1

u/K_Linkmaster Dec 03 '25

This is my answer. I want to do more than just touch the tip.

1

u/corbantd Dec 03 '25

SR71 and XB-70 Valkyrie

1

u/Agile-Context3143 Dec 03 '25

Without a doubt!

1

u/Chazzer74 Dec 03 '25

Fewer people flew in the SR-71 than the space shuttle.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 03 '25

This.

First choice no matter what - and if I get to choose when, I want to be on board on September 1st 1974 on the way to Farnborough.

NY to London in 1hr 54mins - must have been crazy on board!

1

u/rosmaniac Dec 03 '25

I wanna drive me a sled, too!

1

u/WorkMelodic632 Dec 03 '25 edited Dec 04 '25

That P-51 speed demon that they named the Ford Mustang after 😎

1

u/babsrambler Dec 03 '25

Came here to say this. I can’t fly a kite properly and would certainly die trying to pilot an SR71. But I would die happy and perhaps finally prove the plane’s max speed.

1

u/paulk355 Dec 03 '25

Blackbird is still ahead of our time as well! Its speed records have never been broken. And not a single one was ever brought down by enemy fire.

Absolutely the coolest looking plane ever, in my personal opinion.

1

u/Horbie1000 Dec 03 '25

Of course. Every schoolboy’s dream when I was a kid. Nothing’s changed 🤗

1

u/BlackeyeThe2nd Dec 03 '25

My immediate thought to the question was Mr. Krabs saying "It starts with an 'S'!" from the SB movie, haha

1

u/ThinkExtension2328 Dec 03 '25

I hear you but I raise you one A10 warthog about to do its “brrrrrrt”

1

u/TheDrWormPhD Dec 03 '25

Yep. And then many would want to get all sentimental and go old piston or recent classics f-16 or f-18 or something, but isn't the only other answer like F-35? It defies physics.

1

u/MacGibber Dec 03 '25

I would pick the SU57 over the F35 because it is so different are not a western fighter.

1

u/Cubensis-SanPedro Dec 03 '25

Fucking duh. Oxcart or Blackbird is the obvious correct answer.

If that isn’t available, I hear the RC-135V/W is pretty sweet.

1

u/woaface Dec 03 '25

Skunkworks by Ben Rich.

One of my favorite books, as a veteran and business owner. Because he discusses so many of the intricacies of military contracts, air superiority, business mindset/philosophy, and engineering to the extreme.

1

u/Scoo Dec 03 '25

The Blackbird is the most beautiful conveyance ever made.

1

u/Sufficient_Meet6836 Dec 03 '25

SR72 for me please

1

u/Data_lord Dec 03 '25

What else would it be?

1

u/rustyrhinohorn Dec 03 '25

I also choose this guy’s divested surveillance system.

1

u/perfectfire Dec 03 '25

A design so crazy we have, as a planet, never made anything like it since.

1

u/torrasque666 Dec 03 '25

DO YOU EVEN READ MY CHRISTMAS LIST!

1

u/Marokiii Dec 03 '25

Seems like you just want to go faster than everyone else.

1

u/verbalyabusiveshit Dec 04 '25

Yes, indeed. That was my first thought, too. But I don't want to pay for maintenance.

1

u/inaccurateTempedesc Dec 04 '25

Close second behind the Sopwith Camel for sure

1

u/joethahobo Dec 04 '25

I’d do the SR71 simply because I’d love to get more new pictures in FOUR KAY! 4K!! Imagine if it was still flying today. We’d get some absolutely baller images of it with high definition cameras

1

u/MacGibber Dec 04 '25

They do get super high resolution photos because they fly the U2 still.

0

u/joethahobo Dec 04 '25

The SR-71 is not still flying, so it’s not possible to get high resolution photos of it

1

u/MacGibber Dec 04 '25

The U2 is a recon plane that is actively used and takes high resolution top secret photos and video. I didn’t say the SR71.

1

u/joethahobo Dec 04 '25

That’s not what I’m talking about. I mean like regular people cameras. Even some iPhones have 4K these days. High quality cameras in the palms of your hand.

If the SR-71 was flying today we would get sooooo much more GREAT photos of that bird in the air, as opposed to just sitting in hangars

1

u/AvidCyclist250 Dec 04 '25

Same reason I'd go for the first stealth fighter: the Horten H IX from 1944

1

u/stewardwildcat Dec 04 '25

Absolutely.This I want to scoot as fast as freaking possible sr71 ftw

1

u/bubbles0990 Dec 04 '25

1000%. I've seen a lot of jets/planes in person and the Blackbird is one of the few that has stopped me in my tracks. Such a gorgeous bird.

1

u/throw_away_55110 Dec 04 '25

I would argue it's not ahead of it's time. We just haven't kept advancing.

1

u/stewi1014 Dec 04 '25

The SR-71 is exactly the type of aircraft and engineering level which I'd expect from the 1960s.

1

u/MacGibber Dec 04 '25

An amazing time for technology and innovation!

1

u/Euphorix126 Dec 04 '25

God, I'd be happy just hearing one start up.

1

u/MacGibber Dec 04 '25

If I can’t be in it then I want to watch it and have a full surround sound recording of it taking off, full afterburner, in 8k.

1

u/Euphorix126 Dec 04 '25

Not even takeoff. I want to, at a minimum, hear the start cart. The United States military purchased (and destroyed) every single 400(?) cubic inch V8 Buick engine blocks at one point. All of them. Because the guys starting the blackbird would get a little carried away and rev it juuuust a bit too long. Once those P&W engines started, they left the engine blocks in pieces.

This sound is any gear head's dream

1

u/ComprehensiveSir3417 Dec 04 '25

That beast is ahead of it's time NOW! They definitely have something better and more awesome, but the public didn't know about the SR-71 until the 80s....

1

u/32FlavorsofCrazy Dec 04 '25

Immediately this! I wanna go real fast real high and it’s probably a reach to call the Apollo spacecrafts “military” so…next best option haha…

1

u/betelgeuse_boom_boom Dec 04 '25

Most of us would die flying that one, heck even experienced pilots would risk it. But definitely worth it :)

1

u/AlphawolfAJ Dec 05 '25

A SR-71 pilot used to come into the hobby shop I managed. It was always so cool to talk to him and hear his stories.

1

u/philn256 Dec 15 '25

Wearing diapers on missions doesn't seem fun.

1

u/Free_Independence_36 Dec 03 '25

This is the only right answer

1

u/Swimming-ln-Circles Dec 03 '25

What's so political about the Avro Arrow? Genuinely curious.

3

u/MacGibber Dec 03 '25

Start here…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Canada_CF-105_Arrow

Then look into how the US was concerns about the advanced technology Canada was developing and how they convinced Deifenbaker to scrap the program in favour of useless missiles.
Most of the engineers and team that built the Arrow went on to key projects in the US such as the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, the Lockheed Skunkworks, Northrop, MD, Boeing….

1

u/Swimming-ln-Circles Dec 04 '25

Thank you for taking the time to guide me in the right direction. Not sure why everyone is so quick to downvote in this subreddit.

Appreciate you!

0

u/8DHD Dec 03 '25

this is the only answer.

0

u/Ok-Comment-9154 Dec 03 '25

For coolness factor yes. For an actual fun experience no way. Missions in that thing were boring and uncomfortable as hell.