Our esthetic sense evolves along behind designs. What is efficient comes to seem beautiful to the next generation. Once the Ford Edsel was the pinnacle of automotive beauty.

The P-51 or Spitfire would lose to a T-28 or F8F, but the former look better to us. We are attuned now to designs like the Su-57 and F-22, so are less sensitive to the merits of systems that work a different regime.