F-109 Meteor
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United States Military
The F-109 Meteor was developed during the Cold War, as a jet-powered successor to the XP-74 Comet.
Building on the aft-wing design that the Comet had pioneered during the war, the Meteor was to all intents and purposes a glorified rocket with wings and a cockpit attached. Similar in many ways to contemporary craft like the F-104 Starfighter and the English Lightning, where it differed was in it's control surfaces. Like the Comet it was extremely agile in a dive, but unlike it's predecessor it featured additional control surfaces on the nose which helped counter the flaws in the rate of climb. The result was a craft with a level of agility reminiscent of the Eurofighter Typhoon from decades later, though without the advanced computers of the Typhoon it was considerably less easy to fly.
Ultimately, the F-109 was only as good as it's pilot, and that became it's downfall. In the hands of an average pilot it could be no better than any other plane of the era; but in the hands of a veteran who knew how to take advantage of it's aerodynamic quirks, it could be a formidable craft indeed.
The US Air Force's purchase of the Meteor was limited, purely because they lacked enough pilots to use it effectively. It was ultimately phased out during the seventies, though it is still a popular craft for aerobatics, particularly with veteran combat pilots hoping to show off in the notoriously elitist plane.
Out of Character
The appearence of the F-109 Meteor is based on the Angel Interceptors from the original Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons series.
