Still, they are pretty cool:
http://www.wallpapergate.com/data/media/2179/F_111_1.jpg
And became the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet.
It’s hard to evaluate relative coolness across eras.
The P-26 (Boeing P-26 Peashooter - Wikipedia) was an awesome development of its time. It just oozes late 1920s design values.
From the WWII era I was always a P-38 or FW190 fan. Getting excited about P-51s always seemed so, well, commonplace.
Post-war, it was the Grumman F8F Bearcat. The fact they’re the leading Unlimited class racer today says Grumman got something right with that airframe.
As a kid in the 60s, the F104 had it all. Serious sex appeal. Shame it was such a crappy weapons system. In the plane’s defense, USAF never really used it for what it was best at.
As a pilot in the 80s, and I gotta admit I’m deeply prejudiced here, the F-16 has it all. Looks, performance, multiple missions, serious killing power.
It was really the first USAF design with truly good avionics for bomb dropping. Which also meant it was the first tactically effective bomb dropper. The F-4s and F-105s of Viet Nam were a waste of effort. Lots of brave men died trying to do a mission the aircraft simply couldn’t; high-precision tactical visual bombing.
It was also the first really good dogfighter since the F-86. The F-15 was the more versatile air-to-air platform for the complete range of AA missions, but within the -16’s sphere of competance, it could, and usually did, beat the F-15 at its own game. F-14s were mere strafe rags.
The -16 today is no longer bleeding edge areodynamics or performance. Nevertheless, General Dynamics & now Lockheed Martin have sold some 4,500 of them so far and they continue to sell well today. Apparently a lot of people agree with me that it was, and still is, a damn good machine 35 years(!!) after its first flight & 31 years after it was introduced into full-up squadron service.
Finally, whatever else happens, it’s still got bleeding edge looks. http://www.af.mil/art/media_search.asp?q=f-16 and http://www.af.mil/photos/media_search.asp?q=F-16 .
Trust me when I say the view from the inside looking out is even better than the view from the outside looking in.
The de Havailland DH 98 Mosquito has to be pretty high up in the Cool Factor category. A 400 mph plywood Jack of All Trades.
Ah, but was a bomber! 
See post #32
Ah, the Mossie was a multi-purpose aircraft, with -fighter or fighter- found in almost any description.
Still worthy of consideration if the story of hearing one on the radio when Herman Goering broadcast, “If the British ever bomb us, you can call me Greenbaum!”
I probably misquote, please insert appropriate Gilbert & Sullivan quote here.
I saw an episode of Dogfights where the Mosquito was used exactly right.
Faster than almost anything, and armed with 4 machineguns and 4 20mm cannons…this mission, they flew 2 of them deep into Germany and made 2 surprise high-speed passes over an airfield. Strafed the hell out of a bunch of German fighters parked right out in the open, then ran away before anything could get airborne to engage.
If you have speed, firepower, and long range, that’s how to exploit your advantages. 
They looked a lot like fighters in that epsiode.
On-topic, I think I still regard the P-38 Lightning as the heart-stoppingest, coolest fighter ever. But the Spit, the Mustang (bubble canopies especially), and the Sabre are very, very close.
And props to the ME-262 for looking like a flying shark.
Oddly, almost nobody regards the P-47 Thunderbolt as sexy-cool, but it was much better as a fighter than people seem to recall. Its high-altitude performance was superior – it could out-turn and probably out-climb most fighters at very high altitudes (40,000 feet+). That’s in addition to having more guns, being a better firing platform, diving like a rocket, being one of the fastest prop fighters in the war (only a shade behind the P-51), having tons of power, great range, and more hit points than anyone else. And produced in huge numbers. The Jug was a war-winning design.
Still both slower than the Spitfire, though (at least, the Mk. X and later variants).
I love the old B&W movies such as the Langley because they used real footage. I hope Oskosh sneaks a good one in this year. I love the outdoor theater that Ford sponsors.
Enjoyable thread!
I know it’s been controversial, I know it’s been canceled, but damn it, I think the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is one sexy vehicle.
Also, I agree about the P-47 Thunderbolt. It was a great fighter, with a terrific record, and it could out-dive anything in the air. Not a great looker, though, compared to the P-38 and P-51, or, I suppose, the Spitfire.
Actually a freind of mine pointed it out to me one time when we were watching a movie , with the langley being one of the scenes,and pointed out a scene where some planes were flying and asked me if I recognized them, which of course no.
Turns out that they had a scene of Torpedo 8, that squadron in midway that got shredded. I think the film was close enough to the war that they may well have been the same pilots and crew.
Declan
I think the Jug, like its decendant the A-10 would have only looked really beautiful to the infantry and bomber squadrons. As much as it did the job it was designed to do ,and did it really well, the plane seriously came up lacking in looks, obviously some may disagree.
I dont get the spitfire love to be honest , the hurricane was a much much better looking airplane and yet I dont think we have seen it mentioned yet. Looks wise , no contest between the Hellcat and the Corsair, the F4U wins hands down. People will always be drawn to the artistic.
Declan
I know it’s cheating in this thread but the 12 year old me loved the X-29.
Aw, I was going to, I already have the Wiki Link in my clipboard, see? P47! 
It’s not beautiful, but the raw power is cool. I liked it best in Warbirds Online.
And it can look cool!
For all you Mustang fans… How about the F-82 Twin Mustang. At least I think it’s cool.
I don’t think it really counts as “canceled” since it’s already in operation. I only think of aircraft that never see service as canceled.
Nothing wrong with the Hurricane. And when you factor in the Zeitgeist it’s pretty cool. But looks-wise, it’s no match for the Spitfire. It’s a pretty plane, but looks a bit ‘tubby’ next to a Spit.
Hawker Hurricane 3-view
Hawker Hurricane in flight
Supermarine Spitfire 3-view
Supermarine Spitfire in flight
For me always the Sopwith Camel. But coolness depends on it’s time. You were brave to fly one.
However, the Tempest will always be a favourite (more a fighter bomber).
Cicero’s post jogged my memory: the prettiest plane ever, the tiny Hawker(-Siddeley, and now BAe) Hawk.
It’s mainly a trainer, but they’re capable of carrying air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance and a squadron of RAF instructors was pressed into service in a sort of emergency light interceptor role in the mid-80s. Anyway, its coolness factor is only enhanced by the Red Arrows… and the fact that my first Airfix model was a Hawk.
Also, it seems like every other jet trainer in the world was designed with the Hawk’s airframe in mind, except the T-5, which preceded it.
The current version (the 132) isn’t nearly as pretty, since the nose has been extended to house new radar pods or somesuch.