I'll still take the A10 all day everyday. A late co-worker built the when he worked for Fairchild in Hagersburg. A cousin of mine was a nav on an F14 in the 80s-90s.
I also have a soft spot for the AC130 Specter.
My father has flown every AC130-H and most of the AC-130As to enter service when he was in the 16th SOS. He transferred to help establish the EC-130s, then on to ACCS (an airborne battle command platform), and finally E3 AWACS.
He flew normal C-130 on forward support missions during the Linebacker 2 push, and was aflight instructor prior to that. Long and interesting career with a lot of stories.
