This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Somebody: Just a suggestion, but perhaps we could make a separate page along the lines of Cool Plane (Real Life) for all of the real life examples. Frankly, they're starting to outnumber the fictional examples. Looking back, I see there was the suggestion to keep only the five best examples of real life aircraft. However given how subjective the whole thing is, that'd probably just result in an Edit War of epic proportions if people get pissed about the omission of their preferred real life examples—especially if there's Patriotic Fervor involved. I feel that a separate real life page would be the best solution, but that's just me. Anyone else feel that the idea has merit?
Silent Hunter: I'd go for a separate RL page.
Malchus: I thought the above was a good idea, so I went ahead and made the page.
Silent Hunter: I'm putting "Firefox" in speech marks rather than italics because that was the reporting name for the aircraft, not its actual name.
Should there be an entry, sort of the opposite of Every Car Is A Pinto, for something like "Improbable Aircraft"? One example: Many movies have shown overhead dropped ceilings, ventilation ducts, and even wiring ducts big enough to crawl through. Subcategory "Indestructible Aircraft", very common in animation: an aircraft wing clips a rock outcropping or a building, and the wing stays intact or nearly so while pieces come off of the other. "Battlestar Galactica" (new version) does this too: Vipers and Cylon Raiders stay improbably intact even after colliding. — Sullivan
Evil_Tim: I'm removing the F-117. There is nothing cool about a fighter than can't fight and only stays in the air with the aid of computers.
Silent Hunter: Misleading designation. It was the world's first stealth aircraft, so it qualifies. Most modern fighter aircraft require computers to stay airborne.
Evil_Tim: It doesn't qualify because it isn't cool. It's a flying slice of pure ugly that can barely carry a meaningful payload.
Loofah Boy: The Nighthawk has received so much hype about it from the general public that it as been solidified as a "cool plane" by the public, regardless of it's limited capability. After all, article is about aircraft that are "cool" above all else. And for a "slice of pure ugly that can barely carry a meaningful payload", it sure came in handy during the Gulf War, invasion of Iraq, and other operations, with only ONE F-117 ever lost in combat, which cannot be said for other "better" fighters like the F-16, F-15, and what have you.
Ask ANYONE on the street with layman knowledge of combat aircraft and ask them if they think the Stealth Fighter is "Cool" and I bet my underpants that 90% of them would say yes.
Pac Sol: What about the F-4 Phantom II, which still has a devoted fanbase despite being retired? It's also the only plane (different variants, but still) to be used by both the US Navy Blue Angels and the US Air Force Thunderbirds.
Silent Hunter: Oh, most certainly. Pig ugly for sure, but brilliant.
Loofah Boy: Dont you think the real-life example section is becoming a bit too bloated? I guess we need a clarification of what is "cool" in this context.
Silent Hunter: Possibly, yes. I'll put it to a vote and remove all bar the top five.
(Later) Well, I would, but the forum went mid-vote. When it comes back, I'll do this.
Pac Sol: This would probably be a bad time to recommend the Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe (Swallow), eh? It was the world's first operational jet fighter, but didn't really do a lot for Germany's war effort.
Silent Hunter: Add it, we'll put it to a vote.
A Troper: Uhhh... nevermind. Not sure what I was thinking.
Well I for one don't think the bloat is that much of a problem, seeing as all (or most anyway) of the planes are genuinely cool. Also, it says something about writers when they can't dream up tech cooler than the real thing.
Firefly: While the SR-71 itself is unarmed, its... sibling, the YF-12 is most certainly not, packing 3 AIM-47As in the ventral bay. The YF-12 is a flyable aircraft in Konami's Airforce Delta Strike (wherein it is introduced for use in a recon mission of all things), and is also 'shouted out to' by Cobra's Night Raven. For extra credit, the Night Raven also includes a nod to the drones carried by some Blackbirds... though in this case, they're armed (one cannon in each wing) and can be manned (plot only, not the most comfortable of setups).
The Rattler is what happened when said snake-themed OPFOR decided to make a VTOL-capable A-10 analogue (portions of the silhouette are very similar). Sensible concept whose implementation isn't quite up to par: not only do the alterations necessary for VTOL capability actually make it more vulnerable to enemy fire, but the dorsal turret and its associated systems would eat space needed for the cannon and its magazine. Cobra might've been better off taking a Su-25 Frogfoot (the Warthog's Soviet/Russian analogue) and giving its engines Harrier-style vectoring.
Troubleshooter: do space ships count? I was thinking about adding both incarnations of the Normandy from the Mass Effect games, but not sure if there's a separate item for space ships.
