fish314 said:
A-10 "Warthog" = the "hog". That damn thing is so ugly, the official nickname is as unflattering as the unofficial one.
Actually, the A-10 is officially known as the "Thunderbolt II" although I have never heard anyone ever call it that. Never, ever.
I know the F-111 was always unofficially the Aardvark because of its nose, and the AF finally decided in the 80s to make that the official nickname.
The F-22 was orignally supposed to be called the "Lightning II" as that was what was proposed during the flyoff with the YF-23 (which was called the "Black Widow II" in reference to Northrop's earlier P-61). Lockheed built both the F-22 and the earlier P-38 Lightning.
Interesting that the other JSF competitor, the X-32, had already received an unofficial nickname of "The Whale" from pilots.
I like to see original new nicknames for planes. But hopefully it's not something like the "Freedom" or something like that which appears to be in "in" right now with the politics. ("You wouldn't cancel a plane called 'the Freedom' now, would you Mister Congressman?")
Incidentally, I still believe the JSF should be properly designated the F-24 as it was supposed to be, which is the next number in the line of fighters. Instead of being originally designated the YF-24 and YF-25, the JSFs were designated with experimental designations being the X-32 and X-35. When they announced the winner was the X-35, they announced at the press conference that the production model woule be called the F-35.
Actually, as I think about it, I'd call that thing the Switchblade. All the panels and slots that open and close on that thing, like the weapons bays, the fan jet panels, the rotating nozzle, and the various other parts...
