Something that’s been stuck in my head ever since the May Jedi Transition post has been to go into some more details on the Fouga Magister. See, I’ve been low-key enamored with that aircraft since reading about it in some long forgotten magazine article years ago.
First off, it’s so very French. When the British went to build a jet trainer in the 1950s, they came up with the Jet Provost. We built the T-33 (which is good looking in its own right, don’t get me wrong), the Swedes came up with the Saab 105, and the Czechs eventually built the L-29 for the Soviets and various other countries. But where all those other designs seem to range from ugly and utilitarian to fighter-derived pretty, Fouga took a clean-sheet design and made something elegant.
Maybe that’s where I got my thing for V-Tails? Or was that from the V-35 Bonanza? Maybe the Cirrus VisionJet? Where was I? Oh, right, the Magister. The Source of All Knowledge has a good write up, but the tl:dr is that the Magister flies as good as she looks. Decent range, smooth acrobatics, well mannered single-engine characteristics, and cold air conditioning! She’s even a warbird, given that the Israelis used theirs to good effect during the Six Day War.
All that, and used models can be had for less than the price of an Italian supercar.
Clearly I need to start saving my pennies for a trip to the Jetwarbird Training Center!