Ridden

Call me crazy, but a ship that looks like it was actually designed for a dogfight in space would be a nice change... Starfury Thunderbolt... looks kinda like the new RSI heavy fighter, maybe... if you squint?

The F7 Hornet / Super-Hornet is easily comparable to the modern USN carrier based fighter the F18 Hornet / F18 Super-Hornet obviously an influential factor on the F7 design. This would have to make the Aegis Avenger the equivalent of a F14 Tomcat which was designed as more of an interceptor compared to the multi-role Hornet / Super-Hornet which replaced it. While the A-10 to Avenger comparison is nice to make because of the BIG A** nose cannon the actual roles and abilities are far to different. In the Attack aircraft role the easiest comparison to modern aircraft would be the T8A Gladiator to the EA-6 Prowler. But when Star Citizen is actually hands on I'm sure the better comparison will be to aircraft of the WWII pacific theater then the modern jet fighters. Honorable mentions: Scythe = Mig-29 Constellation = AC-130 Retaliator = B-52 325 = F16

From a purely combat effectiveness prospective, I doubt, Chris Roberts would not make a game with the F7a hornet being a god ship. Previous games (WC1, 2, and 3) always had the protagonist feel like an underdog in a brutal war, portrayed both in the story around them and in the fighter combat. I think people see a ship with a ton and a half of guns and think "I'm going to kill EVERYTHING" without looking at the fighter as a whole. If this 200 year old fighter is so perfect... why develop the replacement F8? Oh, and Reavern makes complete sense, if the "log out" mechanic is not handled well it keep the casual players away.

I really think people are over estimating the combat effectiveness of the Hornet (F7A & F7C-M), compared to its two main adversaries the Scythe and Cutlass, it probably will not have the speed to control the engagement. Think RAF Hurricane Mk I vs BF 109E-1, while the Hornet has the guns, they need to be brought to bare to be effective. Although... the Aurora and 300 Series will be screwed matched against a Hornet.