Not surprising. The quote exists in three places, the original post, a member of the forum where it was posted has it in his sig, and I have it in my sig here (because it's cool). Googling "UFO: Alien Invasion" naturally has this site as the top results. Though the top three are the old url.
It originated Stardestroyer.net, toward the end of a thread titled "
Will aesthetics ever be part of military design?"
The
post itself reads as follows:
I think the A-10 is a good example of reputation affecting perception. If you were looking at sleek fighters and were shown the A-10 with no prior knowledge of it, it would seem ugly. Yet the fact it eats tanks for breakfast and can take a hell of a beating redefines what ugliness is for anybody who reads about it. Thereafter, the A-10's style is appealing. Let's face it, the A-10 doesn't 'fly'; it stares down gravity until it runs into a corner sobbing and then, due to sheer badassery, the air decides to get out of its way.
I wanted to quote a good chunk of it, but it wouldn't fit, so I just stuck with the last sentence.
Oh, and the following goes so well with that quote: