# Can I legally make my own fighter plane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037 "2015-01-27T19:06:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![slowlearner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@slowlearner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slowlearner)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/21 "2015-01-29T01:03:18Z")
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubt19wLNcKM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubt19wLNcKM) Check out this happy crappy (to quote a stephen king character) all you non-Texans. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/22 "2015-01-29T01:09:58Z")
> [@slowlearner](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubt19wLNcKM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubt19wLNcKM) Check out this happy crappy (to quote a stephen king character) all you non-Texans. I knew they did it somewhere — just couldn’t quite remember where. It’s not bangling season (firearms fishing in Vermont) but it looks like a helluva lot of fun. ---
**Author:** ![vomit\_comet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/73ab20/32.png) [@vomit\_comet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vomit_comet)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/23 "2015-01-29T03:50:15Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Well, the guns are not mounted on the airplane but the pilot or the passenger can shoot out of an airplane at wild pigs, coyotes, etc… Folks do it all the time. 🆒 > > If they are permanently mounted they require paper work. :mad: > > If just Duct taped to a strut and using a pull string to fire at wild pigs or coyotes being the new “Hold my beer and see if you can shoot with your plane this good?” Not really a problem IMO. :dubious: > > Can use helicopters, ultra lights, hand guns but that is some difficult shooting, :dubious: and … > > If you make or use real machine guns ( ratat tat tat tat ) then you need to be real afraid of the ATF … IMO :eek: You want to try and strafe wild animals in an aircraft doing 80 MPH? At best you could hope to wound an animal and have it suffer a horrible death. Probably not going to fly. No pun intended. ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/24 "2015-01-29T05:17:07Z")
A C-150 will fly just fine at 42 MPH if you pay attention. Piper cubs can back up in a stiff breeze. etc… I did not say I wanted to strafe animals with a plane. I told the OP that he could duct tape a gun to a strut or fixed gear leg and call it a fighter if he wanted. I have seen this done only a couple of times back in the late 60’s. Mannys peoples shoot wild hogs, coyotes, etc from small planes & helicopters. Google ‘wild pig hunting from aircraft’ or some such. I have been the shooter from the #2 position and the shooter as the pilot. Must fly the airplane first & last & always less the ground arise & smite thee. Been a few killed when they got too involved in the hunting and let the flying take a back seat to the hunting/shooting so to speak. Need to be very careful with coyotes as when they finally freak out and the front end & the back end are trying to go in different directions, you pass too close & too low and they will jump at the plane in full attack mode. Been a few killed who forgot that little bit also. Need to shoot them before they get that way. Flying pipe we would sometimes harass a coyote in a field and he could not get away from that huge ‘devil hawk’ from the sky and would jump as a last resort. When you are 4-5 feet off the ground, there is veeeeery little room to bobble and a coyote hitting your gear leg or strut is going to make the plane wobble. That was back when I was still working on not being bold and had not yet started on just being old. 😃🆒 ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/25 "2015-01-29T05:26:33Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > \ > > The CAF’ers definitely had nothing nice to say about (re)certifying the warbird(s) once they bought them for restoration and personal use. Some stated they would never try to get a warbird again, fwiw. And I would bet things are even tighter restricted nowadays. Were they required to remove the hard points? (re-inforced sections able to withstand the weight and recoil of weapons). ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/26 "2015-01-29T15:25:32Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Were they required to remove the hard points? (re-inforced sections able to withstand the weight and recoil of weapons). That detail I do not recall. I was not familiar with the Zero other than movies/historical pics, etc, and I had my attention on overallness/awesomeness of plane, basically. Sorry. I was totally ignorant of what was inside skin of Zeroes, and had no reason to ponder such details. It was obvious, though, from the conversations of the ol’ fellows that they had to jump through bureuacratic hoops at various levels of govt reg’s, so to speak. There was lots of talk of what other warplanes the group wanted to get for CAF reasons, and cert’ing them was a big part of their talking (along with the beer loosening their lips a bit). I _think_ the weapons themselves were internal to wing(s) (and frontal images suggest such of Zeroes, AFAIK), so it’d’ve been hard to tell, and I was rather ignorant of weapon-systems/mount-points at that time so would not have had knowledge to see or ask aout such details. I do remember that there were a few with open wing/gun ports, and others with plates/skin over same areas (obviously non-OEM, so to speak), and that’s about all I remember about that aspect. My getting to actually fly the Zero and roll & loop it around for maybe 10 minutes total kinda overwhelmed the rest of my day, if that make sense. The group left for their hotels not long after, so I did not have much actual conversation with most of them, unfortunately. Instructor had made it clear that I should just be a fly-on-the-wall to learn from what I could hear, and they talked loud enough to be easily overheard. Elation diverted attention from specific details of airframe itself, LOL. Plus, details fade after 30+ years passing, other than the highlights of that day. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/27 "2015-01-29T15:42:37Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > … > I’m going to go way out and speculate that live fire is almost never done. Blank cannon rounds and dummy bombs are easy - but the missiles can’t be so easily faked - is there some alternative to firing a real missile (with no explosive/whatever on it). Can you simulate the track-to-target capability without a real missile? One of my best friends works for the Air Force. He turns obsolete fighters into drones (F-4’s mostly). Squadrons rotate in for training culminating in live fire exercises. This is done over the Gulf of Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/28 "2015-01-29T19:44:03Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Given that, as far as I know, no where in the 50 states can even police fire their weapons from police helicopters regardless of the circumstances, I would highly doubt it. They can and have: > **[Mark Essex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Essex)** > > Mark James Robert Essex (August 12, 1949 – January 7, 1973) was an American serial sniper and black nationalist known as the "New Orleans Sniper" who killed a total of nine people, including five police officers, and wounded twelve others, in two separate attacks in New Orleans on December 31, 1972, and January 7, 1973. Essex was killed by police in the second armed confrontation. > Essex is believed to have specifically sought to kill white people and police officers due to racism he had previous... ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/29 "2015-01-30T01:41:51Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > That detail I do not recall. I was not familiar with the Zero other than movies/historical pics, etc, and I had my attention on overallness/awesomeness of plane, basically. Sorry. I was totally ignorant of what was inside skin of Zeroes, and had no reason to ponder such details. It was obvious, though, from the conversations of the ol’ fellows that they had to jump through bureuacratic hoops at various levels of govt reg’s, so to speak. There was lots of talk of what other warplanes the group wanted to get for CAF reasons, and cert’ing them was a big part of their talking (along with the beer loosening their lips a bit). Are you sure they were Zeros? Genuine Zeros are very rare (only 4 flying today world wide). There are a number of T6 Texans that were modified to look like Zeros though and were used for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! > **[North American T-6 Texan](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_T-6_Texan)** > > The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1970s. > Designed by North American Aviation, the T-6 is known by a variety of designations depending on the model and operating air force. The United States Army... ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/30 "2015-01-30T13:24:11Z")
**RP** :I was told they were actual Zeroes and it was a big deal to my CFI, who called me rather early in morning that I make the two-hour+ drive to see these planes (skipped school, LOL), but it is _certainly_ possible the guys were bullshitting me. Like I said, it was 30+ yrs ago and I was ignorant of many types of aircraft other than the ones I had been ‘hands-on’ with CFI. And I was being slightly disrespected by the group until my CFI had heard enough and forced one guy into a corner, so to speak, and made that bet. _Lots_ of talk amongst owners of severe difficulty of finding parts for them, etc. I do remember that more than a few of them had a fair amount of wear/tear look to them in various areas - seats well-worn, knobs’ shininess of paint rubbed to dullness, etc. None, IIRC, of them looked ‘brand-spanking new’, if that makes sense. Circumstantial evidence, at most, I guess. They were silverish in color, too, fwiw. I really wish I had taken a camera with me that day. Could give more accurate (and provable) answers that way ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/31 "2015-01-30T22:51:13Z")
It’s quite probable that they were the T6 conversions. The CAF currently has 9 (by my count) T6/SNJ/Harvards that have been converted to look like Japanese aircraft, mainly Zeros. It’s hard finding information but from what I read the CAF has only ever had one real Zero at any one time. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2015, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/32 "2015-01-30T23:44:29Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > It’s quite probable that they were the T6 conversions. The CAF currently has 9 (by my count) T6/SNJ/Harvards that have been converted to look like Japanese aircraft, mainly Zeros. It’s hard finding information but from what I read the CAF has only ever had one real Zero at any one time. Definitely possible, if not probable. I, too, did some searching for records, etc, and not much from that far back. I can only recall that what I overheard was talk of their ‘authenticity’ and that parts were more often than not custom-made. Then again, pilots of that type (no offense meant to any pilot, LOL) tend to boast a bit when gathering and drinking of adult bev’s. I know that I was told with no uncertainty by my CFI that I could’ve logged my flight in my logbook (if I had thought to bring it down, dang it!) as an actual Zero, but he might’ve been pulling my leg or playing mind games. I kinda doubt it with the seriousness he always had towards me and his brutalness of rectifying any mistake I made. I learned from a _tough_ ol 'sumbitch who had 9 DFC’s and 6 PH’s, as well as many other medals. He also had more than a few of reel-reel tape recordings from chopper attacks he performed that he played for me now and then as examples of what not to do - cool stuff! The ones where he was shot down were more than interesting, to say the least. The planes’ owners’ talk of having to cover the gun ports and having parts made, though, has me a bit confused, though. Unfortunately, the CFI-fellow died awhile back , so no real way to confirm that I can think of. It was just so long ago, and time fades things… Either way, it was a hell of a day, and very memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2015, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037/33 "2015-01-31T04:04:34Z")
> [@slowlearner](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubt19wLNcKM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubt19wLNcKM) Check out this happy crappy (to quote a stephen king character) all you non-Texans. I’m no animal rights person or even vegetarian (and I’m a gun person as well), but jeez! Talk about shooting fish in a barrel. Hardly seems very sporting. > [@Dorjan](#): > > They can and have: > > [Mark Essex - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Essex) I like how the article states, _ **“An autopsy later revealed more than 200 gunshot wounds.”** _ though it doesn’t sound like they actually hit him from the helicopter. And it seems odd there’d be enough sharpshooters to hit him 200 times! Sharpshooters (and police in general) don’t use full-auto weapons. Still, interesting site, never heard of the guy before… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-legally-make-my-own-fighter-plane/711037.md?page=1)