ET wrote:

Matt Whiting wrote in news:wcn%e.1166$lb.94797
@news1.epix.net:


Oh, just the last time that I looked at an F-14, F-15, F-111 or F-18.
Ok, the -18 is maybe a little closer to a mid-wing like the F-16, but I
believe the wing is still above the CG of the airplane and that is what
defines a high wing to me.



OK, change "high wing" to "wing over your head" and my point is still
valid.... I believe all of the above have the wing out of the pilots
vision....

Well, few, if any (I can't think of one), of the modern jet fighters has
the wing anywhere near the pilot's head. It is usually 10 or more feet
behind the pilot's head.

Yes, all of the above have the wing out of the pilot's line of vision
unless they are looking pretty much backwards. And almost all light
airplanes have the wing in the pilot's line of vision, be they low or
high wing. I could see downward and navigate and make select emergency
landing sites MUCH easier in my Skylane than I can in the club Arrow I
now fly. Yes, the Arrow makes it easier to see the runway during the
approach to landing, but I spend 95% of my time enroute, unless I'm
doing touch and goes in the pattern. I'd much rather be able to see
well 95% of the time than less than 5% of the time. And even in the
pattern, you can see the runway better all but a small fraction of the
time when you are turning. And when you roll level on base, you can
easily see the runway again to time your turn to final. I'm always
amazed at pilots who can't seem to handle this without seeing a constant
view of the runway.

Matt