All-Time Favourite Aircraft

[EOS-Man]

Boeing 747SP, Lockheed L1011, or DC10/MD11's

[Callie_will_dich]

I forgot to give credit to the fabulous P-51D and B-17E and C-17. The sound of a B-17 flying overhead is breathtaking.

[Seluryar]

 

but not just any 757, my preferred setup involves winglets and RB211 engines

[Immelmann]

Why did the Germans make all the cool planes back in WWII? Makes me sound like a Hitler lover, saying I like all these Nazi fighters and whatnot. Yes, I think the ME109 is pretty cool too :p

[Car Freak]

Because they couldn't produce any more military equipment following their defeat in the War. The Allies really crippled Germany after 1945, both in terms of physically hammering them in the War, as well as various treaties and such which denied or greatly reduced numerous German sovereign and military rights. Long story short: The Allies learnt from their mistakes after WW1 , and wanted to make sure Germany would not be able to recover and possibly be the cause for another war.

 

(History student FTW :D)

[TDUFREAK500]

well my favs are the:

Spitfire

P-51 Mustang

and the concorde

I have a vid of a spitfire starting up and a vid of a P-51 mustang starting up

[Immelmann]

Because they couldn't produce any more military equipment following their defeat in the War. The Allies really crippled Germany after 1945, both in terms of physically hammering them in the War, as well as various treaties and such which denied or greatly reduced numerous German sovereign and military rights. Long story short: The Allies learnt from their mistakes after WW1 , and wanted to make sure Germany would not be able to recover and possibly be the cause for another war.

 

(History student FTW :D)

 

I know that bit, but what does that have to do with military aircraft? The 109 was part of a competition in 1934 (year?) for a new multirole fighter. And those treaties wouldn't have been relevant after Hitler tore things up. Me262 > B17 in my opinion.

[ovy_geo]

F22 Raptor the best fighter :D

[Car Freak]

I know that bit, but what does that have to do with military aircraft? The 109 was part of a competition in 1934 (year?) for a new multirole fighter. And those treaties wouldn't have been relevant after Hitler tore things up. Me262 > B17 in my opinion.

Nono, those treaties came after WW2. Germany was barred from doing a lot that was related to its military, fighter planes included. That's why all their good planes only came out before/during the war, because they weren't allowed to develop any after it

[GTAMADDOG]

I'm not really an aircraft type of person, but after visiting a local air show last year and seeing the Vulcan XH558 flying around over the airfield it was instantly my favourite. The noise it made when it powered up the runway and the short bursts of additional thrust as it flew around was fantastic.

[Immelmann]

Nono, those treaties came after WW2. Germany was barred from doing a lot that was related to its military, fighter planes included. That's why all their good planes only came out before/during the war, because they weren't allowed to develop any after it

 

I meant Versailles, and how the Allied planes all looked bleak in comparison :p

[V8 Vinnie]

It has to be The Concorde

 

[Leadfoot[YT]]

Eurofighter, just because it's not capable of flight with all its panels locked (and because it's the one of the most maneuverable fighters with the computers working).

 

But, of course, this thread is about "aircraft," right? So what's to stop me from saying my favorite "aircraft" is the Hughes (now part of McDonnell Douglas) OH-6 "Littlebird"? Because it can fly under almost anything and can pummel anything with its dual miniguns. But mostly because it's small, light, and nimble. :)

 

I also like the Blackhawk because I've ridden in one, and the C130 for the same reason (except there was an engine failure and they had to call in another one to repair it :cheeky: ).

 

Not all military, though; I like the Beechcraft Baron 58, mostly because I use it a lot in Flight Simulator X. :)

 

-Leadfoot

[dredgy]

Beechcraft Baron 58

 

Lol, I did my training for multi-engine certification in one of them before I switched to the far superior BN2 Islander. The Baron just lacks the specialness to me, though I'm not a great general aviation fan at all. The one I did my training in had curtains that could be pulled over side windows, which I thought could've been quite dangerous.

 

C130 for the same reason (except there was an engine failure and they had to call in another one to repair it ).

 

Eeks. I flew in one of them from Hong Kong to Singapore, they are bloody loud things - they handed out earmuffs before we took off.

[Car Freak]

What were you doing in a C130 from HK to Singapore?

[dredgy]

What were you doing in a C130 from HK to Singapore?

 

I was invited for some of my humanitarian efforts in the Middle East, spent a few days in (actually just outside in Al Fallujah) Bagdhad and got to know a few troops and a couple of pilots. I caught the Herc on its way back to Oz. After the rather uncomfortable flight, I was quite happy to get on my Emirates flight home.

[Who]

On the complete opposite end of the scale, My current favourite aircraft is the Electraflyer-C

 

I See big things happening with electric aircraft. Not in this guise (unless they add Solar Panels to the wings) because batteries are grossly inefficient, but if they switch to hydrogen fuel cells (think Honda Clarity) then air transport will change forever (and it'll mean that air transport is saved when we run out of oil)

[Immelmann]

Hmmm, that's actually kind of interesting, and, well, unexpected :P

I can't help but wonder though, what of radiation? I know that a regular transatlantic flight is only about the same as amount of radiation from an x-ray, but the electric aspects make me wonder. Same goes for the feasibility of large electric aircraft, as I doubt even solar panels could support the masses of energy you'd need to get one of those off the ground.

[Who]

I suppose there is the fact that Hydrogen + Airflight has been tried before but I do like the fuel cell idea

 

I've seen a report into Electronic flight, on the one hand, Motors need much stronger weatherproofing (obvious reasons) however - in traditional aviation, we need combustion (fuel + oxygen = fire) which makes a fuel-powered engine less effective at higher altitude, where the air is thinner. This is not a problem for an electronic motor, and higher altitudes also play into the hand of solar panels, where light is err, more readily available, with the thinner atmosphere and no clouds.

 

It's an interesting concept, and I think it could be the future, considering how we are running out of oil, and the aviation industry is receiving more pressure to reduce emmitions

[HavockJoker]

SR-71 Blackbird & Concorde

[BioHazard7911]

F-22A Raptor

Me262

B-29 "Flying Fortress II"

B-17 "Flying Fortress"

Blackbird SR-71

P-38 Lightning