![]() The right wing of the F-15 was sheared off about 2 feet (60 cm) from its base near the fuselage, but the two-man crew of the F-15 didn’t realize the extent of the damage, as leaking fuel was vaporizing and obscuring their view (plus the aircraft was rolling uncontrollably as you might expect). The pilot of the Skyhawk ejected and his aircraft disintegrated. In 1983, an Israeli F-15D Eagle collided mid-air with an A-4 Skyhawk in a training exercise. The claim that “our air superiority fighter is so good it only needs one wing” may sound akin to “I’d still beat you with one arm tied around my back,” but in this case it’s actually true. The F-15 can fly – and land – with one frickin’ wing missing ![]() ![]() In short, the F-15 is the fastest, most balls-to-the-wall jet fighter the US has ever produced. Some sources place the top speed of the F-18E Strike Eagle at 1,875 mph. The F-4, which set multiple speed records, is slower. ![]() The F-22 Raptor that was intended to replace the F-15 is slower. Top operational speed is Mach 2.5, or between ~1,600 and 1,800 mph depending on air temperature. The first few variations of the Eagle used Pratt & Whitney F100 engines with 25,000 pounds of thrust each, but today’s F-15 variants use two extremely powerful General Electric F110-GE-119 afterburning turbofans with a maximum thrust of 29,000+ pounds each.Īll of this adds up to a hella fast jet. Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed.” The F-15 has been called “an American muscle car with wings” (though it can turn and burn better than any 1970s MOPAR). As Eleanor Roosevelt said in 1936, “America is all about speed. Is this thing an airplane or a rocketship?!? The answer is yes. The F-15 can go from ground level to 65,000 feet in just 122 seconds, and was the first US fighter jet that could fly straight up directly after takeoff… and still accelerate vertically. Depending on which source you read, the upgraded F-15K “Slam Eagle” has a thrust-to-weight ratio of up to 1.29:1, which is superior to every other fighter in the free world. The F-15A had a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1.17:1, meaning that for every pound of weight, it generated 1.17 pounds of thrust from its twin F100 engines. The F-15 is the first fighter that can accelerate straight up This results in a service record of less than 2 aircraft destroyed per 100,000 flight hours, which is impressive considering the large numbers of aircraft still being flown. The F-15 was the first fighter that could attack multiple enemy targets simultaneously from distances of up to 100 miles, using its sophisticated, nose-mounted radar system and advanced air-to-air radar-guided missiles to blow up the bad guys before they even knew what hit them.Īround 125 US F-15s have been lost over the past 5 decades in mishaps, mostly due to pilot error in reduced visibility situations, ground incidents, or training accidents. That’s right folks, the F-15 has an air-to-air record of 104 and 0. Bring it!ĭespite the initial criticism from the “fighter mafia” that the F-15 was too large and heavy to be successful as a dedicated dogfighter (a line of thinking which led to the groundbreaking-and still excellent- F-16 Fighting Falcon), the F-15 defied expectations and became the most successful modern fighter, with over 100 victories and zero losses in aerial combat. Let’s go over just a few facts that show why the F-15 is so incredibly badass, and why we’re right and you’re wrong. Considering its incredible speed, acceleration, versatility, 3,500-mile range, durability, maneuverability, electronic warfare capability, lengthy service history, stellar air-to-air record, and its ability to carry up to 23,000 pounds of weapons and ‘splodey stuff, it’s no wonder the US Air Force is still ordering new F-15s and the aircraft is in use by multiple allied nations around the globe. In our estimation, the McDonnell-Douglas/ Boeing F-15 Eagle (and its Super Eagle and Slam Eagle upgraded variants) is the best jet fighter of all time…so far. Well, we think we might have this argument won before it begins. In Britain this might be called playing Top Trumps, while in the good ol’ US of frickin’ A we just say “mine is better than yours,” along with some well-chosen words about our opponent’s mother. The list goes on, but one of our favorite pastimes is to get in friendly arguments with other airplane nerds about which prop-driven/bomber/fighter/supersonic/whatever aircraft is better. The best pinball machine (The Addams Family FTW… fight us). The history of air conditioning in homes, vehicles, and aircraft. Aerospace nerds like us geek out over all kinds of stuff: Innovative, high-performance microtube heat exchangers.
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