F15's can fly with one wing??

[R6_kid:Me]

The Eurofighter is so dependant on computers that the 'simulator' runs the same software, and is equivalent to approx 99% of flying the real thing. So technically after you can fly it in the simulator you can fly it in real life, of course parliamentarians wouldnt like that so they have two seaters for the old school way aswell.

[sAsLEX]

The X-31 is my favourite, has directional thrust control - you can basically drift the plane, OR say if you were pulling up to get a lock but the guy was climbing to fast you simply tilt the exhaust nozzle up and it flicks the nose of your aircraft up even faster. Pretty cool to play with, albeit in a computer game

Read some of Dale Browns Novels. The UCAV's (Wolverine i think he calls it) he talks about in there utilise thrust vectoring along with the ability to change the shape of the fuselage, which acts as a lifting body, through the use of hydraulics to modify the surface shape, this gives them crazy manueveurabilty. Think the hydraulic skin is used in a few of the planes in those novels, and I wonder how far from reality they are?!

The problem these days is humans, drop them out of the equation and you dont have to worry about support systems, canopys and all that junk. Just fuel airframe and weapons, then the true ability of thrust vectoring can be explored, we are just too soft and pink on the inside to handle the jandle these days.