Every fighter fan probably had this experience already - one gets to see a fighter jet in a museum, at an airshow or - the coolest way - during a fighter jet ride with MiGFlug. And once one is getting closer - it's like *boah* how huuuge is that thing! Knowing that the fighter jet is pretty big, one is still impressed by its size. I had this experience with three aircraft in particular: Blackburn Buccaneer, English Electric Lightning and the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. By the way, all jets once offered at MiGFlug. I, therefore, had the idea to publish a comparison of a bunch of jets here - knowing that the original is still impressive while the picture of it is not. Hence the title image of that Flanker version showing Pugachev doing a crazy low pass. Have a look at the size of the pilots to realize how big that plane actually is (click enlarge)! Fighter Jets in Comparison         As mentioned above among the jet available for tourist jet flights is the MiG-29 Fulcrum - featured in the video below. For more information about that particular Edge of Space flight in the MiG-29, have a look Edge of Space Flight.                  

Related Questions

How big is a fighter jet?

Fighter jets are far bigger than most people expect. Many modern fighters are 15 to 22 metres long with wingspans of 10 to 15 metres and stand several metres tall — roughly the size of a small house. Photos rarely convey this; standing next to one, or looking at the pilot for scale, reveals just how massive they really are.

What was the English Electric Lightning?

The English Electric Lightning was a British Cold War interceptor famous for its blistering climb rate and twin stacked engines. Around 16 to 17 metres long, it was built to rocket up to high-altitude bombers at supersonic speed. Read more about Britain's vertical missile.

How big is the Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker?

The Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker is one of the largest fighters of its generation, roughly 21 to 22 metres long with a wingspan of about 14 to 15 metres. Its sheer size, combined with great agility, lets it perform dramatic maneuvers like the Pugachev's Cobra. Up close, the Flanker towers over many Western fighters.

What is the Blackburn Buccaneer?

The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low-level strike aircraft designed to attack ships and ground targets at high speed and very low altitude. Around 19 metres long and built tough for carrier and overland operations, it strikes many people as surprisingly large and muscular when seen in person.

Why do fighter jets look bigger up close than in photos?

Photographs flatten scale and remove familiar reference points, so a fighter can look compact in a picture. In person, comparing the aircraft to the size of the pilot, the cockpit or a person standing beside it reveals its true bulk. The intense forces these big machines pull also affect pilots — see what pulling 9G does to your body.

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21 Comments

  1. Kamal Kannan

    Mig29

    Reply
  2. apoorva

    Very comprehensive analysis

    Reply
  3. angelo

    adoro o mundo dos aviões de combate e suas evoluções.

    Reply
  4. angelo

    adoro a evolução do mig 29

    Reply
  5. pillimahesh

    l am join in Indian Airforce becaue my derma but my father also work in a INDIAN ARMY ( please sir give me Airforce job)

    Reply
    • Istrobel Mikhail

      That is not how that works tho

      Reply
  6. Tw raptor

    Good comparison! Gives us a straight forward concept about the relative size of modern jet fighters. Just a little advice, the official name of the Ching-Kuo fighter is called ” F-CK-1″ instead of “A-1”, where CK stands for Ching-Kuo.

    Reply
  7. abhishek

    I want to become a pilot for (IAF)

    Reply
  8. ching pao

    where’s the bloody f16…the most important fighter of them all.

    Reply
    • *slurp*

      bruh are you blind lol

      Reply
  9. Daniel

    Can’t find the “enlarge” button.

    Reply
    • *slurp*

      mabey zoom in? or get some fimking contact lenses?

      Reply
  10. ged

    you forgot about the largest of them all… the hawker siddeley Nimrod MR2.
    during the Falklands war some were fitted with AIM-9 Sidewinders giving them the distinction of the largest fighter in the RAF at the time

    Reply
  11. Tom Hawk

    I would love to see how the Avro CF-105 Arrow looks up against those other fighters. It was 23.71m long, 6.25m tall and had a wingspan of 15.24m. It also had a wing area of 113.8 m² (probably the most of any fighter in history). My guess is that it would be second only to the Tupolev Tu-128M Fiddler in size and weight. It was made of titanium and still weighed more than the MiG-31 Foxhound made of stainless steel. That’s saying something…LOL

    Reply
    • *slurp*

      you do realize that just because its big doesnt mean its op, right? sorry to crush your dreams tom, but because of that fighters size and weight, it will have terrible manuverability in a dogfight. therefore, any fighter smaller than it can bounce on it anytime, and come out pretty much victorious. that fighter was built for speed and stability, to intercept level flying bombers, not agility, or dogfighting, which you need agility for.

      Reply
    • Dave

      It’s the seventh plane from the top.

      Reply
  12. Davie

    ME 262 is my favourite.

    Reply
  13. G2k

    This list would completely own if it just had the lengths marked alongside the names.

    Reply
  14. Istrobel Mikhail

    also i like how the dude is impales on the pitot probe of the ultra sabre. its a shame that fighter didnt come out, although i would imagine that there would be some problems with ejecting.

    Reply
  15. Nathan Khasilev

    a 8 Saab Viggens once escorted a sr-71 with an engine failure

    Reply
  16. *slurp*

    why is the ajeet so small. i garuntee its bigger than portrayed

    Reply

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