~ awesome aircraft thread ~

[Overfloater]

My favorite airliner :3

Breguet 761/763/765 "deux ponts" (double deck)

[zekes]

A-1 Skyraider.

This plane... could carry more than its weight in bombs, take a huge amount of fire, and fought in two jet wars. An absolute monster, and my all time favorite. Real planes have round engines.

Edited December 4, 2014 by zekes

[razark]

This plane... could carry more than its weight in bombs, take a huge amount of fire, and fought in two jet wars. An absolute monster, and my all time favorite. Real planes have round engines.

http://www.1zoom.me/big2/484/319395-blackangel.jpg?m=1

Stealthy, too. Damn near invisible, I would say.

From the description, I'm guessing the A-1 Skyraider?

Edit: Well, the link shows up in the quote.

[zekes]

Stealthy, too. Damn near invisible, I would say.

From the description, I'm guessing the A-1 Skyraider?

Edit: Well, the link shows up in the quote.

yeah, my bad not adding name

[VR_Dev]

PAK FA:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jsPoqPWoz5Q/Tt5ocQYrIRI/AAAAAAAAAM8/t_G7eVe6gAY/s1600/SU%2BT-50%2BPAK-FA%2BRussian%2B5th%2BGeneration%2BFighter.jpg

Second prettiest jet fighter to me, combines the best aspects of the Flanker and F-14 in a stealthy, modern package.

Wow, never seen that before. That thing is sweet.

Favorite plane of all time has to be the F-16 Falcon

The cockpit shape, the big air intake, everything strikes me just right

http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130612181619/tfumux/images/6/66/F-16_Fighting_Falcon.jpg

That air intake inspired this craft. I figured the VTOL engine needed a big ol' intake.

Edited December 4, 2014 by clown_baby

[Camacha]

And of course, the essential Messerschmitt Me 262. A round of applause, ladies and gentlemen.

Only a so-so aircraft, but an amazing feat of engineering.

[VR_Dev]

For those of you in this thread with a reddit account. Subscribe to /r/fighterjets, lots of good stuff. This guy just popped up in my feed, the JASDF F-2A in ocean camo

I would kill for a cockpit like that in Kerbal.

Edited December 4, 2014 by clown_baby

[KerikBalm]

An autogyro that is not limited in speed by retreating blade stall...

Also... I think this is just one .... looking hangglider, even if the transparent upper sail is pointless:

Edited December 4, 2014 by KerikBalm

[Wanderfound]

Still the prettiest plane ever flown:

[andrew123]

For those of you in this thread with a reddit account. Subscribe to /r/fighterjets, lots of good stuff. This guy just popped up in my feed, the JASDF F-2A in ocean camo

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/8/3/6/2550638.jpg

I would kill for a cockpit like that in Kerbal.

I still think that both the JMSDF and the JASDF have some badass aircraft.

ASW.

[VR_Dev]

I still think that both the JMSDF and the JASDF have some badass aircraft.

http://i.imgur.com/S7kkCLm.gif

ASW.

Aircraft like the one on the left confuse me. Is it not better to have the lift below the COM? Why put the wings up top?

Edited December 4, 2014 by clown_baby

[Kryten]

Aircraft like the one on the left confuse me. Is it not better to have the lift below the COM? Why put the wings up top?

If it is what I think it is, it's amphibious; i.e. flying boat with landing gear. Low wings in water landing=bad.

[Overfloater]

I still think that both the JMSDF and the JASDF have some badass aircraft.

ASW.

is the one on the left a baby cargo plane?

If it is what I think it is, it's amphibious; i.e. flying boat with landing gear. Low wings in water landing=bad.

that's no flying boat, all cargo planes look like that. It's so that the gear won't compromise cargo space ...i think? I have been wrong before.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Overfloater

[VR_Dev]

If it is what I think it is, it's amphibious; i.e. flying boat with landing gear. Low wings in water landing=bad.

My god I hope that tthing lands on water.

is the one on the left a baby cargo plane?

that's no flying boat, all cargo planes look like that. It's so that the gear won't compromise cargo space ...i think? I have been wrong before.

Is it more efficient fuel-wise to have the COL below the COM though? This is a question I've always thought about while building planes. Maybe Kerbal isn't realistic enough to portray it, but in real life it seems to me the Lift pushing up under the COM would be more ideal then the lift pulling the COM from above.

I could be so very wrong though.

Edited December 4, 2014 by clown_baby

[KerikBalm]

Aircraft like the one on the left confuse me. Is it not better to have the lift below the COM? Why put the wings up top?

Its more stable that way.

Seriously, you've never seen a plane with the fusalage underneat the wings instead of sitting on top?

You wouldn't build a fighter that way, but its great for a cargo plane which you want to be roll stable, and to return to a wings level position on its own.

Kryten: no way is that amphibious... you think low wings are bad in water... try low engines...

But that reminds me:

Note the high engine intakes, and the engine outlets above the wing. Also note the retractable water skis.

note the high engines on these amphibious craft:

[Nemecle]

Caudron C-561, a rare and strange master-piece

[segaprophet]

The march of pioneering German jet designs continues -

Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger

This mofo was made out of wood and could hit 562 mph with a service ceiling of 39,000 ft. The hunchback design with the forward swept wings is strangely appealing. I think I find this thing . . pretty?

Edited December 4, 2014 by segaprophet

[Kryten]

The SNECMA Atar Volante, because... just look at it.

[PakledHostage]

Its more stable that way.

It is, but maybe not for the reasons you think. The presence of the engine nacelles and fuselage below the wing both create a restorative rolling moment when the aircraft side slips (i.e. in an uncoordinated turn). It is primarily an air pressure effect rather than a "pendulum" effect.

Notice that the high wing aircraft in the photo above has anhedral (wings bend down towards the tips) while the low wing aircraft has dihedral (wings bend up towards the tips)? Dihedral and anhedral, along with wing sweep and the position of the fuselage on the wing all affect yaw-roll coupling. Dihedral is stable while anhedral is unstable. Swept back wings and under-slung fuselages and nacelles are also stable. Too much stability affects maneuverability, so high wing transonic aircraft like the C-5, C-17, AN-225, BAE-146, etc all have anhedral to offset the stabilizing effect of their other necessary design features.

Also interesting is that the B747 was originally conceived as a competitor for the C-5 Galaxy. Boeing chose to develop it as a passenger aircraft despite the fact that they lost out against Lockheed. The C-5's high wing makes it a superior freight aircraft to the B747 because the fuselage is lower to the ground. The wing spar on the B747 runs through the fuselage below the main passenger/cargo deck. The engines are also below the wing for aerodynamic reasons. This places the main passenger/cargo deck on the B747 a long way above the ground. The wing spar on the C-5 runs through the top of the fuselage and the high wing gives enough clearance for under-slung engines without the need for long landing gear. As a result, it is practical for the belly dragging C-5 to incorporate loading ramps into its design so that you don't need additional ground support equipment to load/unload the aircraft.

[Vaporo]

The good old 747:

But here's my favorite that I wish existed:

[rodion]

The SNECMA Atar Volante, because... just look at it.

good lord. reality is more like KSP than anyone might like to imagine.

[megatiger78]

But here's my favorite that I wish existed:

http://vanfossen.files.wordpress.com/boeing888.jpg

well, that seems safe.........

anyway......

hawker hunter. that thing was a fighter, but it was so powerful it was found to be better at ground attack

[jmiki8]

My favourite WWII fighter is the one my granddad achieved 7 air victories with (3 IL-2s, one Yak-1, one MiG-3, and two unknown aircraft): The Messerschmitt BF-109 (in Hungarian livery in the picture):

The manufacturer "Messerschmitt" is spelt wrong.

My favourite airliners are the A330, B777, MD-11 and the Tu-154 (it'd be difficult to choose just one ).

Edited December 4, 2014 by jmiki8

[VR_Dev]

But here's my favorite that I wish existed:

http://vanfossen.files.wordpress.com/boeing888.jpg

You're not alone, /u/G-wave built this a couple days ago. If you haven't seen it. Here's the reddit post.

[segaprophet]

My favourite WWII fighter is the one my granddad achieved 7 air victories with (3 IL-2s, one Yak-1, one MiG-3, and two unknown aircraft): The Messerschmitt BF-109 (with Hungarian livery in the picture)

Yay Bf 109! Technically speaking not the "best" or the most glamorous fighter of the war, but absolutely the backbone of Axis air forces - and I happen to think it's purty lookin' - and still a force to be reckoned with in the hands of a skilled pilot.

Edited December 4, 2014 by segaprophet