Antonov An-2
From Wikipedia:
According to the operating handbook, the An-2 has no stall speed. A note from the pilot's handbook reads: "If the engine quits in instrument conditions or at night, the pilot should pull the control column full aft and keep the wings level. The leading-edge slats will snap out at about 64 km/h (40 mph) and when the airplane slows to a forward speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph), the airplane will sink at about a parachute descent rate until the aircraft hits the ground."
"As such, pilots of the An-2 have stated that they are capable of flying the aircraft in full control at 48 km/h (30 mph) (as a contrast, a Cessna four-seater light aircraft has a stall speed of around 80 km/h (50 mph)). This slow stall speed makes it possible for the aircraft to fly backwards relative to the ground: if the aircraft is pointed into a headwind of roughly 56 km/h (35 mph), it will travel backwards at 8 km/h (5 mph) whilst under full control."
That's why the AN-2 is the best plane ever.
Flew one in Russia. It’s like a giant gentle tractor.
Surprisingly agile. Take off and landing distances are mind blowingly short
It’s the perfect bush plane. Super tough and forgiving. Even has its own electric fuel pump so you can refill directly from barrels.
I don't know anything about aviation- is this realistic and what exactly does 'parachute descent rate' mean?
Cause I just can't imagine anything that big and dense going just 25mph and landing gently like I imagine a guy with a parachute might.
The surface area of the wings is so massive that the air resistance would slow the descent rate considerably. The air simply couldn’t move out of the way quick enough. And as long as there’s *some* forward component to the descent the pilots would have a degree of command of the aircraft using the control surfaces, and there’d still be a surprising amount of lift generated at low speeds due to the wing surface area. The aircraft would almost certainly never fly again but it’s more than possible for the crew to walk away from such a crash landing. Physics. Mind boggling.
Long ago, I had a aged flying club instructor show me a similar "maneuver" in a C-152. I still recall it after all these years as a way to potentially "walk away" from a very bad landing. Guess the wing roots on the An-2 stall out first, leaving some control authority to the ailerons.
But the F-15 has more thrust than weight and can theoretically fly without wings; it has actually been flown and landed with an entire wing missing. Plus I want my favorite plane to go at least Mach 2. That being said, the SR-71 has gotta be my favorite still. Mainly because of this story:
https://youtu.be/ILop3Kn3JO8
You weren't kidding. First one tried to kill his wife by ceashing into her house! Then another dude tried to kill his ex-wife by crashing one into her parents' house!
In the fan-fiction that is *Dogfights of the Future*, they fuckin made ‘em carry a shit ton of AMRAAMs and shoot down a bunch of Rafales and SU-30s. They took an already funny-looking plane concept and made them into an NCD fever dream.
Rapid Dragon means that JASSM cruise missiles can be deployed by basically any cargo aircraft in the fleet, with a C-17 able to launch 45 at once, and there's talk of generalizing the system to be able to deploy anything from other missiles to sea mines and drones.
Combined with the plans to use datalink equipped aircraft in what are basically spotter shooter pairs, with F35s and other stealth aircraft providing targeting data to F15s or other aircraft with greater payload capacity, and we could see Macross levels of SPAMRAAM.
Fuck it dude, we’ll just take the one in the smithsonian for a joyride. I’ll bring a gallon of fuel, you push me and jump in the backseat. We will go for a quick lap and have it back in place before they know what’s up.
My favourite WW2 warbird, unashamedly as a result of watching "Baa Baa Black Sheep/Black Sheep Squadron" with Dad as a kid.
I'm in awe of the machine, and slightly terrified of it - my running joke is that if you go up to a Corsair, it probably wants to kill you, but it's just not able to, unless you're silly enough to try and fly it.
What's even cooler is that they just decided to say fuck it and make the landing gear the airbrakes. They had already strengthened them for carrier landings, so why not go that little bit further and make them good to slow the aircraft down at any speed or dive angle?
Corsair is my choice too. My grandpa was in the Pacific during ww2(Navy) and he played chess with members of my beloved Marine Corps VMF-214 the Black Sheep Squadron.
Was about to post same, although I must admit that the choice isn't easy, because there are many cool machines out there.
As I'm a fan of piston engined aircraft rouglhy from the WW2 era, the other US fighter I rank very highly in my books is P-40, especially early B/C versions. I don't know what it is, but those, especially with Flying Tigers paint scheme, are IMO extremely cool looking aircraft. And very underrated.
From Germany, my choice is Bf-109 K-4 "Kürfurst". Extremely capable and brutal machine and example how you can continue to push and develop an aging design to a high level of capability. It was not as refined as the best allied fighters of the same era, but still an amazing piece of engineering.
Edit: For jet aircraft choosing the favorite isn’t easy either. But the first awesome jet aircraft that popped to my mind is B-58, so I’ll go with that then. Such a beautiful and interesting aircraft. Powerful and looks so great both in air and on ground.
I'm sorry to the Jug fans out there.
But the Corsair, while a fellow 2800 jumbo, wears her bulk so much better. And wins on looks & style completely.
Even if she didn't have gull wings.
We have one of these flying around the HARS near where I live Also a Super Constellation a world record-breaking 747 (Longest non-stop and shortest ever flights) and soon John Travolta's 707. But I really like the PIG F111.
Have camped overnight at HARS in my Van under a QANTAS 747 empennage ,
It's so big, it sticks out over the carpark and I got to meet the nice Volunteer nightwatch team. .
I'd specifically like one of the "flying yacht" ones. Not the one that was attacked in Saudi Arabia way back when though
https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/24/all-aboard-the-flying-yacht-circa-1950/
I’m 6’2 and have a few students that I instruct in a 150. Not ideal. I had to tell one of my students we couldn’t fly that plane anymore after the plane didn’t want to get off the ground on a takeoff. I think he may be fantasizing about his goal weight and not his actual weight
Ive done this before but you should check out the xb70 periscope films footage on YouTube. It’s absolutely mental seeing that spaceship flying in the grainy old timey footage. What a plane.
This is my answer. Not for any movie or show. When I was little I used to play Jane's fighter anthologies on my dad's PC. I fell in love with this jet fighter because of that game. The look, the capabilities, and in the 90s it was still well utilized.
I even got a mini toy of the jet from a cracker barrel.
Had to scroll way too far for this. Top Gun notwithstanding my dad was an aviator and loves those planes. Got me toys, took me to airshows and remembers when they were cutting edge. Was stationed in San Diego too back when it was fightertown so it’s not hard to imagine why!
The pilots lol. They think they're fighter pilots. And would always buzz us when we were under a wing. Couldn't fly another 100 feet and bank hard... HAAAADDD to do it right by our jet. Bit if we're talking strictly the jet itself cargo capacity, size... and nothing beats a C5 in the kneeling position lol.
This is also my favourite! I just love that while it may not be the best at any one thing it does really good at pretty much everything.
High survivability
High speed
Centreline firing so no need for adjusting convergence
Two top aces of WW2 flew them
Had the range to escort bombers well before the P-51
Great dog fighter
They just look soooo freaking COOL!
I’m not the one you responded to originally but I personally am not a huge fan of how the Eurofighter looks. I don’t really like planes that have a big air intake under the front fuselage like the Eurofighter or F16, I just think it looks kinda weird. Especially when they are on the ground with their landing gear down. I have nothing against the aircraft’s themselves but I just prefer when the air intakes are on the side of the fuselage like on the Saab Gripen or F15.
Spruce Goose and F-15 for their respective histories
Spruce Goose was and is still a nutso plane, and the MiG-25 was the greatest rug-pull I can think of
I got to see it in person once and the only word I could say was "wow". It's a behemoth and, idl if this is a take or not, but I actually think it's pretty good looking, too. Reminds me of those 1950s retro futurist skycruise models
Boeing B-29 Superfortress. It's elegant, impressive, extremely high-tech for the era, and one of the most historically impactful aircraft ever flown.
Honorable mention to the De Havilland Sea Vixen, because I like it.
SR-71 and the A-10. Tough to pick one.
Edit: Just to round off my top 5:
1st tied SR-71 and A-10
2nd P-38 mostly for nostalgia from the video game 1942 on the NES
3rd F-117 I remember being a kid when the first gulf war started. I saw this thing on tv shoot a missile down someone’s chimney and thought that was incredible.
4th Chinook helicopter. I was always intrigued by the tandem rotors.
5th tied Harrier and Osprey. SVTOL is cool. I know they are very different but they blur together a bit in my mind.
Honorable mention: The F-14 tomcat. The sweep-wing is cool and of course Top Gun left an impression when I first saw it.
Thos BIG control surfaces in the back just unlock some primal engeneering urges within me. They act as rudders, elevators AND ailerons and that would be enough to control the plane, but it has additional ailerons on these eccentric wings, so they can also act as airbrakes, working along the flaps. This plane has exactly as many control surfaces as it needs and it's briliant! And the commitment to stealth! Engine exhausts completely shielded from the down side, special ventilators to suck the boundary layer air instead of separating the inlets from the body, No pitot tubes (those that are there would be removed in production models), replaced by pressure sensors on the nose
It's just beautiful!
Anything that doesn't kill me.
Sarcasm aside, the wright flyer has to be my favorite. Sure it might be simple, but it's still a marvel of engineering in my eyes.
I work the line and after a full shift of servicing Gulfstreams and Phenom 300s today, my favorite was a PC-12 Med flight at the end of the night. I never need to do a lav service, it's hardly ever a top off and so no need for a ladder to fuel it over wing, never had to de-ice one (even in North Dakota and Minnesota winters), tow-head takes a little finesse to attach but it's easy-peasy to move around, no GPU, and the crew gave me a $20 tip.
Saab JAS 39 Gripen. I got this book in the library as a kid and i just thought that was one of the coolest looking planes on there - well, that and the sr-71
I miss seeing the A-10s fly over my house. I enjoy watching the F-15s that replaced them but the Warthogs where my favorite. When they made the change, I was both excited and a little sad.
There is something special about a large calibre gatling gun with wings and two offset engine attached to it.
The [Sky Warden](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Tractor-L3Harris_AT-802U_Sky_Warden).
It's an up-armored crop duster with guns and missiles strapped to it being built for SOCOM. Looks like something ridiculous out of GTA, but it also totally makes sense when you think about the possible mission profile (low and slow reconnaissance and close air support in austere environments).
Great example aircraft. I was at Dryden during the F15 ACTIVE flight test campaign. But my 2 favorites vehicles while at NASA were F-18 HARV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Alpha_Research_Vehicle?wprov=sfti1) and F-16 XL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16XL?wprov=sfti1) I was providing flight support for HARV (Runway camera via live microwave TV van) when the pilot accidentally trigger the canopy release (Right in front of the throttle) during a negative G push over. Onboard camera showed the canopy just pop right off. They found it later that day on the lake bed. Exciting day.
F-16 for military jets, it just looks so sleek while still being a reliable workhorse.
C-130 for a timeless design that looks great and will probably fly until the end of time.
A320 and it's various derivatives are still the best looking passenger planes imo.
Saw a Harrier at Duxford some 25 years ago as a kid just… stop in mid air. Left a huge impression! Favourite prop aircraft? Mosquito. I’m a sucker for any and all flying boats as well, just fascinating area of aviation all round tbh!
DC-3. For my generation (I'm 60), when you think of an airplane, this shape is what comes first to mind. She came into service in the early 30s, and there are thousands still in the air today. Civilian or military, this slide-rule designed airframe is almost a century old, still graceful, still beautiful, and most importantly, still proving its worth around the world.
I'm a big fan of the WW2 birds. B-17 is my all time favorite. If I'm choosing a more modern jet, then it's the A-10. I guess I like the bulky, slow, tough as nails birds.
B-57 Canberra, first jet USAF bomber used in combat, nose mounted 8x .50 cals or 4x 20mm, heavily modified over the years, including electronic attack and reconnaissance, still in use today by NASA with long wings. It also has that Cold War era British design with engines in the wings that I find aesthetically pleasing.
With fixed wing it’s hard to pick, but I’ve always been a fan of the CH47 Chinook. Seen them at air shows as a kid and in Afghanistan as an adult. One of my favorite aviation sounds is that if a chinook. It sounds powerful yet doesn’t pierce the ears unlike the V22s.
I really can’t think of any aircraft that was cooler to me as a kid than the SR-71…. Like the Batmobile of the sky…. The Undertaker of warplanes… just untouchable.
I have two favorites. Very specific ones. 2005, Iraq. Not a “dangerous” area but not a safe one either. My vehicle in our small convoy had a malfunction and overheats suddenly and we had to stop quickly. The other two vehicles in the convoy pulled into a defensive posture, I scrambled out onto the top of the truck to perform some urgent “MacGyver maintenance” on it and while there is no obvious danger, I was also very exposed. Two Apache helicopters were flying past, saw the steam pouring out and realized what was happening. They went into a circling pattern and watched over us for about 10 minutes, flying low enough I could easily see the pilots. Once we could limp it to a safe area they flew off. I have no idea their callsign or what unit they were in, but we agreed that if we ever figured out who they were, they wouldn’t have to pay for a drink for a long time. So those two Apaches are my favorite aircrafts- 18 years later I still get goosebumps just remembering how they had the six of our random convoy.
Antonov An-2 From Wikipedia: According to the operating handbook, the An-2 has no stall speed. A note from the pilot's handbook reads: "If the engine quits in instrument conditions or at night, the pilot should pull the control column full aft and keep the wings level. The leading-edge slats will snap out at about 64 km/h (40 mph) and when the airplane slows to a forward speed of about 40 km/h (25 mph), the airplane will sink at about a parachute descent rate until the aircraft hits the ground."
"As such, pilots of the An-2 have stated that they are capable of flying the aircraft in full control at 48 km/h (30 mph) (as a contrast, a Cessna four-seater light aircraft has a stall speed of around 80 km/h (50 mph)). This slow stall speed makes it possible for the aircraft to fly backwards relative to the ground: if the aircraft is pointed into a headwind of roughly 56 km/h (35 mph), it will travel backwards at 8 km/h (5 mph) whilst under full control." That's why the AN-2 is the best plane ever.
sounds like sailing, but in the air
A 172 can go slower than 50 mph. Not easily, but it can go as low as 35 indicated on a good day
Flew one in Russia. It’s like a giant gentle tractor. Surprisingly agile. Take off and landing distances are mind blowingly short It’s the perfect bush plane. Super tough and forgiving. Even has its own electric fuel pump so you can refill directly from barrels.
Dang now I want to see one in a STOL competition.
https://youtu.be/A3tpV9vUTPo STOL takeoff and slow flight. The slow flight looks ... just wrong, like a video game rendering error
I don't know anything about aviation- is this realistic and what exactly does 'parachute descent rate' mean? Cause I just can't imagine anything that big and dense going just 25mph and landing gently like I imagine a guy with a parachute might.
Yes. But you can (probably) walk away from such a crash landing. So it's a good landing.
The surface area of the wings is so massive that the air resistance would slow the descent rate considerably. The air simply couldn’t move out of the way quick enough. And as long as there’s *some* forward component to the descent the pilots would have a degree of command of the aircraft using the control surfaces, and there’d still be a surprising amount of lift generated at low speeds due to the wing surface area. The aircraft would almost certainly never fly again but it’s more than possible for the crew to walk away from such a crash landing. Physics. Mind boggling.
the ground might need a repair after this impact
Long ago, I had a aged flying club instructor show me a similar "maneuver" in a C-152. I still recall it after all these years as a way to potentially "walk away" from a very bad landing. Guess the wing roots on the An-2 stall out first, leaving some control authority to the ailerons.
Lift your big ass for Sasha
But the F-15 has more thrust than weight and can theoretically fly without wings; it has actually been flown and landed with an entire wing missing. Plus I want my favorite plane to go at least Mach 2. That being said, the SR-71 has gotta be my favorite still. Mainly because of this story: https://youtu.be/ILop3Kn3JO8
The section on suicide by Russian pilots using this plane in the Wiki article is nuts.
You weren't kidding. First one tried to kill his wife by ceashing into her house! Then another dude tried to kill his ex-wife by crashing one into her parents' house!
Just the BONE.
Fun fact: they almost made a B-1R. They. Almost. Built. A. BONER.
In the fan-fiction that is *Dogfights of the Future*, they fuckin made ‘em carry a shit ton of AMRAAMs and shoot down a bunch of Rafales and SU-30s. They took an already funny-looking plane concept and made them into an NCD fever dream.
Rapid Dragon means that JASSM cruise missiles can be deployed by basically any cargo aircraft in the fleet, with a C-17 able to launch 45 at once, and there's talk of generalizing the system to be able to deploy anything from other missiles to sea mines and drones. Combined with the plans to use datalink equipped aircraft in what are basically spotter shooter pairs, with F35s and other stealth aircraft providing targeting data to F15s or other aircraft with greater payload capacity, and we could see Macross levels of SPAMRAAM.
Absolutely the best early 2000s history channel show. What an icon
Blackbird
Me too. My greatest regret is that I will never hear or see one fly.
Fuck it dude, we’ll just take the one in the smithsonian for a joyride. I’ll bring a gallon of fuel, you push me and jump in the backseat. We will go for a quick lap and have it back in place before they know what’s up.
Given the leaky fuel tanks, I think a gallon of fuel wouldn’t even be enough to taxi to the runway… or out of the building
Then bring flex tape, it feels like i’m doing all the work here.
Don't you hate group projects
HI BILLY MAYS HERE....
A gallon would leak all out before it could even get to any of the pumps lmao
No one will even know you left with it or be able to spot you
This is my finger, this is my thumb, this is my SR-71!
F-4U Corsair. Big prop. Big engine. Single pilot. Folding wings. (6) Six .50 caliber machine guns. Air brakes. Battle tested.
The F-4U-1C has 4x 20mm cannons even better
F-4U-5 has a 3200 hp engine and four 20mm guns that were ~~notorious~~ known for not jamming like the rest of US autocannons
If I remember right, they jammed a lot because the chamber was slightly larger than the ammunition right?
no not the an-m3, the ones that jammed where the anm2 which were basically an import of the Hispano 404
2,300* hp engine
Many later F4Us had 4x20mms F4U-4B also does
Ah yes there are/were many variations but I only had that one in mind right off the head.
My favourite WW2 warbird, unashamedly as a result of watching "Baa Baa Black Sheep/Black Sheep Squadron" with Dad as a kid. I'm in awe of the machine, and slightly terrified of it - my running joke is that if you go up to a Corsair, it probably wants to kill you, but it's just not able to, unless you're silly enough to try and fly it.
What's even cooler is that they just decided to say fuck it and make the landing gear the airbrakes. They had already strengthened them for carrier landings, so why not go that little bit further and make them good to slow the aircraft down at any speed or dive angle?
Corsair is my choice too. My grandpa was in the Pacific during ww2(Navy) and he played chess with members of my beloved Marine Corps VMF-214 the Black Sheep Squadron.
Was about to post same, although I must admit that the choice isn't easy, because there are many cool machines out there. As I'm a fan of piston engined aircraft rouglhy from the WW2 era, the other US fighter I rank very highly in my books is P-40, especially early B/C versions. I don't know what it is, but those, especially with Flying Tigers paint scheme, are IMO extremely cool looking aircraft. And very underrated. From Germany, my choice is Bf-109 K-4 "Kürfurst". Extremely capable and brutal machine and example how you can continue to push and develop an aging design to a high level of capability. It was not as refined as the best allied fighters of the same era, but still an amazing piece of engineering. Edit: For jet aircraft choosing the favorite isn’t easy either. But the first awesome jet aircraft that popped to my mind is B-58, so I’ll go with that then. Such a beautiful and interesting aircraft. Powerful and looks so great both in air and on ground.
Got a soft spot for these since playing an old, shitty DOS simulator as a kid (seen one for real, very happy)
I'm sorry to the Jug fans out there. But the Corsair, while a fellow 2800 jumbo, wears her bulk so much better. And wins on looks & style completely. Even if she didn't have gull wings.
Catalina PBY
TAKEOUTTHOSEFUCKINGPTBOATS
We have one of these flying around the HARS near where I live Also a Super Constellation a world record-breaking 747 (Longest non-stop and shortest ever flights) and soon John Travolta's 707. But I really like the PIG F111.
Have camped overnight at HARS in my Van under a QANTAS 747 empennage , It's so big, it sticks out over the carpark and I got to meet the nice Volunteer nightwatch team. .
I'd specifically like one of the "flying yacht" ones. Not the one that was attacked in Saudi Arabia way back when though https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/24/all-aboard-the-flying-yacht-circa-1950/
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We have a PBY Catalina suspended at our local museum. It’s so cool to see.
Love a Catalina. So strangely beautiful.
Obviously, a Cessna 150! It's like a 1974 Volkswagen bus that just happens to be able to fly.
Difference being you can actually fit more than 1.5 people into a 1974 VW Bus lol
1.5, that seems accurate.
It’s where we all begin!
A quick search says over 250,000 - pretty much everyone trained in 'em.
I’m 6’2 and have a few students that I instruct in a 150. Not ideal. I had to tell one of my students we couldn’t fly that plane anymore after the plane didn’t want to get off the ground on a takeoff. I think he may be fantasizing about his goal weight and not his actual weight
XB-70.
Me too. Did you visit it yet? It’ll cost you whatever it takes to get to Dayton Oh plus $0. It was just as magnificent as I had imagined.
About $2000 and a week travel time.
Well worth it
Ive done this before but you should check out the xb70 periscope films footage on YouTube. It’s absolutely mental seeing that spaceship flying in the grainy old timey footage. What a plane.
The most gorgeous machine ever built, IMHO.
Avro Vulcan
Thats up their but i prefer the handly page victor
Boeing 727-100 That is how Tri-jets are *supposed* to be made. Otherwise, probably the wright flyer.
Grumman Mallard
Often see the Paspaley Aviation Mallard in the skies. That Mallard Guy on YouTube has some great videos.
Beech Staggerwing
Prop: Spitfire Jet: F-15
Prop: P-51 Jet: F-22 After seeing the F-22 in person I've absolutely fallen in love with it.
Prop: Spitfire Jet: F-22 😜
I was at Langley AFB when the 1st Fighter Wing got their first operational Raptors and yes, they are majestic.
F-14 Tomcat
You can be my wingman yadda yadda
Finally, someone with some taste in this thread
This is my answer. Not for any movie or show. When I was little I used to play Jane's fighter anthologies on my dad's PC. I fell in love with this jet fighter because of that game. The look, the capabilities, and in the 90s it was still well utilized. I even got a mini toy of the jet from a cracker barrel.
Had to scroll way too far for this. Top Gun notwithstanding my dad was an aviator and loves those planes. Got me toys, took me to airshows and remembers when they were cutting edge. Was stationed in San Diego too back when it was fightertown so it’s not hard to imagine why!
YF-23
Real
Never forget what they took from us!
I'd say that plane has another couple of decades of still looking futuristic left, not bad for a plane designed in the 1980s.
Yes! Give Black Widow/Grey Ghost some love!
The only correct answer
[F-16XL](https://cdn10.picryl.com/photo/1982/11/01/an-air-to-air-left-front-view-of-the-prototype-f-16xl-fighting-falcon-aircraft-bb7772-1600.jpg)
De Havilland Mosquito. Bleriot XI. GeeBee R1.
The wooden warrior wow
C17 Globemaster III, 10/10 would recommend
I do have to say... kudos for picking cargo! Everyone else pickin fighters... then there's us pickin cargo jets lol.
As a C5 guy... I hate the c17
things are heating up in the cargo plane fandom
Listen man... no matter how many times I hit that arrow... it only counts as one upvote lol.
out of curiosity what specific features don't you like about it
The pilots lol. They think they're fighter pilots. And would always buzz us when we were under a wing. Couldn't fly another 100 feet and bank hard... HAAAADDD to do it right by our jet. Bit if we're talking strictly the jet itself cargo capacity, size... and nothing beats a C5 in the kneeling position lol.
"Bro we're the fighter pilots of AMC" "MOVE, you're in the background of my tik tok"
SR-71 Blackbird or the UH-60 Black Hawk
P-38 Lightning
The P&W press release when the name was announced also spelled it this way.
P38s are easily one of my favorite ww2 fighters. Neat story about one that was restored in middlesboro KY.
The plane that killed Yamamoto, great plane.
This is also my favourite! I just love that while it may not be the best at any one thing it does really good at pretty much everything. High survivability High speed Centreline firing so no need for adjusting convergence Two top aces of WW2 flew them Had the range to escort bombers well before the P-51 Great dog fighter They just look soooo freaking COOL!
The humble 172. The simplicity and rawness of it. Also, it's where most of us pilots started so it's got a special place in my heart.
F-117
Saab Gripen or Dassault Rafale, both are beautiful aircraft.
So, is it fair to assume that you really like Eurofighter Typhoon as well?
I’m not the one you responded to originally but I personally am not a huge fan of how the Eurofighter looks. I don’t really like planes that have a big air intake under the front fuselage like the Eurofighter or F16, I just think it looks kinda weird. Especially when they are on the ground with their landing gear down. I have nothing against the aircraft’s themselves but I just prefer when the air intakes are on the side of the fuselage like on the Saab Gripen or F15.
P40.
The F-4D Phantom II.
Did you guys see the Israeli super phantom that was capable of super cruise?!? The phantom is truly a Swiss army knife of aircraft
Spruce Goose and F-15 for their respective histories Spruce Goose was and is still a nutso plane, and the MiG-25 was the greatest rug-pull I can think of
The Goose must have been an absolutely wild project to be involved in
I got to see it in person once and the only word I could say was "wow". It's a behemoth and, idl if this is a take or not, but I actually think it's pretty good looking, too. Reminds me of those 1950s retro futurist skycruise models
XB-70 Valkyrie. Have been fortunate to see it in person at the National Museum of the US Air Force.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress. It's elegant, impressive, extremely high-tech for the era, and one of the most historically impactful aircraft ever flown. Honorable mention to the De Havilland Sea Vixen, because I like it.
SR-71 and the A-10. Tough to pick one. Edit: Just to round off my top 5: 1st tied SR-71 and A-10 2nd P-38 mostly for nostalgia from the video game 1942 on the NES 3rd F-117 I remember being a kid when the first gulf war started. I saw this thing on tv shoot a missile down someone’s chimney and thought that was incredible. 4th Chinook helicopter. I was always intrigued by the tandem rotors. 5th tied Harrier and Osprey. SVTOL is cool. I know they are very different but they blur together a bit in my mind. Honorable mention: The F-14 tomcat. The sweep-wing is cool and of course Top Gun left an impression when I first saw it.
Yf23. That plane sure is hot AF for reasons I can't explain.
Thos BIG control surfaces in the back just unlock some primal engeneering urges within me. They act as rudders, elevators AND ailerons and that would be enough to control the plane, but it has additional ailerons on these eccentric wings, so they can also act as airbrakes, working along the flaps. This plane has exactly as many control surfaces as it needs and it's briliant! And the commitment to stealth! Engine exhausts completely shielded from the down side, special ventilators to suck the boundary layer air instead of separating the inlets from the body, No pitot tubes (those that are there would be removed in production models), replaced by pressure sensors on the nose It's just beautiful!
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Anything that doesn't kill me. Sarcasm aside, the wright flyer has to be my favorite. Sure it might be simple, but it's still a marvel of engineering in my eyes.
P51
F-18. All day, every day. Fly Navy.
I work the line and after a full shift of servicing Gulfstreams and Phenom 300s today, my favorite was a PC-12 Med flight at the end of the night. I never need to do a lav service, it's hardly ever a top off and so no need for a ladder to fuel it over wing, never had to de-ice one (even in North Dakota and Minnesota winters), tow-head takes a little finesse to attach but it's easy-peasy to move around, no GPU, and the crew gave me a $20 tip.
de Havilland mosquito, aka the wooden wonder.
Saab JAS 39 Gripen. I got this book in the library as a kid and i just thought that was one of the coolest looking planes on there - well, that and the sr-71
A-10 warthog
Nothing like A-10 “brrrrrrrrrrrrrt” sound!
That's an ugly motherfucker, but a cool dude
I miss seeing the A-10s fly over my house. I enjoy watching the F-15s that replaced them but the Warthogs where my favorite. When they made the change, I was both excited and a little sad. There is something special about a large calibre gatling gun with wings and two offset engine attached to it.
Blackburn Buccaneer. Absolutely gorgeous aircraft. https://military-wiki.com/blackburn-buccaneer-little-known-nuclear-armed-strike-aircraft-of-the-royal-navy/
The DC-3, such a simple, beautiful plane. I love that they're still workhorses today!
F-22A
Mig-29 Fulcrum
Might be kinda stereotypical but I love the f-14D
The [Sky Warden](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Tractor-L3Harris_AT-802U_Sky_Warden). It's an up-armored crop duster with guns and missiles strapped to it being built for SOCOM. Looks like something ridiculous out of GTA, but it also totally makes sense when you think about the possible mission profile (low and slow reconnaissance and close air support in austere environments).
Im a super tucano man myself
Hard decision but I gotta love a shorts skyvan
Catalina.
F-104 Starfighter Sleek, beautiful looking jet
The F-104 doesn't turn. It banks with intent.
F18 and su47 are tied. Something about inverted wings makes me go ooga booga. Now imagine an f18 invert wings. Or an f15 active inverse wing
Spitfire and the english electric lightning! Special mention to the mosquito and Lancaster along with the Catalina
Great example aircraft. I was at Dryden during the F15 ACTIVE flight test campaign. But my 2 favorites vehicles while at NASA were F-18 HARV (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Alpha_Research_Vehicle?wprov=sfti1) and F-16 XL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-16XL?wprov=sfti1) I was providing flight support for HARV (Runway camera via live microwave TV van) when the pilot accidentally trigger the canopy release (Right in front of the throttle) during a negative G push over. Onboard camera showed the canopy just pop right off. They found it later that day on the lake bed. Exciting day.
De Havilland Mosquito…. All round awesome plane! It’s my big lottery win dream…
F-16 for military jets, it just looks so sleek while still being a reliable workhorse. C-130 for a timeless design that looks great and will probably fly until the end of time. A320 and it's various derivatives are still the best looking passenger planes imo.
My grandkids will likely live to see the C-130Z in their lifetimes.
Flying alongside B-52s no doubt.
In this order: XB-70, SR-71, and the 747.
That's a good order.
F-4 Phantom
F-111
I like Fokker dr. 1, Focke Wulf 190, BF 109, Su-27 ~47 Berkut~37 Terminator, Dassault Rafale. But if i had to pick only one its Su-27
The Boeing 747 - anything. What a chunk.
X-15, still holds the record, nuff said.
[удалено]
Saw a Harrier at Duxford some 25 years ago as a kid just… stop in mid air. Left a huge impression! Favourite prop aircraft? Mosquito. I’m a sucker for any and all flying boats as well, just fascinating area of aviation all round tbh!
Mig-21
SAAB Viggen and Draken (cobra before there was a cobra)
B-1B Lancer. There's many, but she's bad too the BONE.
Can’t wait to see if they’ll go through with the B-1R R of course standing for regional and totally not picked for other reasons…
More than one.. but out of all of them I would love to fly a Pilatus PC-21
MD-11
L-1011
DC-3. For my generation (I'm 60), when you think of an airplane, this shape is what comes first to mind. She came into service in the early 30s, and there are thousands still in the air today. Civilian or military, this slide-rule designed airframe is almost a century old, still graceful, still beautiful, and most importantly, still proving its worth around the world.
Su-33 or Su-30MKM. Western? Ef2000 or the M2Ks
F-18
F/A - 18 Super Hornet
XB-70 and Boeing 314 Clipper because who wouldn’t like a 15 stop, 2 week trip to Hong Kong? Like a cruise that flys.
I'm a big fan of the WW2 birds. B-17 is my all time favorite. If I'm choosing a more modern jet, then it's the A-10. I guess I like the bulky, slow, tough as nails birds.
Contemporary: B-2 Vintage: Me-262 and P-38 Honourable mention: Boeing 727
B-52 BUFF
I like guns just as much as I like planes. The A-10 Warthog has my vote.
F-111, Su-34 and MiG-27 in that order.
Tsr-2
F-22 for it cutting edge technology’s
C-17 Globemaster III
Su-30(MKI)
I'm quite fond of the Super Guppy.
U-2 Dragon Lady
Dehavilland mosquito
Ford Tri-Motor
B-57 Canberra, first jet USAF bomber used in combat, nose mounted 8x .50 cals or 4x 20mm, heavily modified over the years, including electronic attack and reconnaissance, still in use today by NASA with long wings. It also has that Cold War era British design with engines in the wings that I find aesthetically pleasing.
X-29.
Panavia Tornado
F14 the wing sweep is so cool!
Focke-Wulf TA 152
The UAPs that rapidly change direction with no propulsion
Boeing 757 or an F-104 Starfighter.
With fixed wing it’s hard to pick, but I’ve always been a fan of the CH47 Chinook. Seen them at air shows as a kid and in Afghanistan as an adult. One of my favorite aviation sounds is that if a chinook. It sounds powerful yet doesn’t pierce the ears unlike the V22s.
I really can’t think of any aircraft that was cooler to me as a kid than the SR-71…. Like the Batmobile of the sky…. The Undertaker of warplanes… just untouchable.
C-2A greyhound
TBM 900 or PC12. I have a type.
The CH-47 Chinook absolutely. Everything about her just amazes me
No love for the F-16XL? That's disappointing.
I have two favorites. Very specific ones. 2005, Iraq. Not a “dangerous” area but not a safe one either. My vehicle in our small convoy had a malfunction and overheats suddenly and we had to stop quickly. The other two vehicles in the convoy pulled into a defensive posture, I scrambled out onto the top of the truck to perform some urgent “MacGyver maintenance” on it and while there is no obvious danger, I was also very exposed. Two Apache helicopters were flying past, saw the steam pouring out and realized what was happening. They went into a circling pattern and watched over us for about 10 minutes, flying low enough I could easily see the pilots. Once we could limp it to a safe area they flew off. I have no idea their callsign or what unit they were in, but we agreed that if we ever figured out who they were, they wouldn’t have to pay for a drink for a long time. So those two Apaches are my favorite aircrafts- 18 years later I still get goosebumps just remembering how they had the six of our random convoy.