Favorite Aircraft

[munlander1]

@pTrevTrevs I would expect nothing less from you.

[pTrevTrevs]

16 hours ago, munlander1 said:

@pTrevTrevs I would expect nothing less from you.

It's hard not to like the Blackhawk when there's an airspace corridor for them that goes directly over my house. And another that goes directly over my school. And another that goes over my church. And another, and another, and another...

Praise Sikorsky.

Edited February 18, 2017 by pTrevTrevs

[Guest]

On 2/1/2017 at 7:59 AM, UnusualAttitude said:

 

It looks like something I'd come up with in KSP.

The backward-pointing propellers, the canard design, I'm in love.

[Riven]

My most favorite - Burt Rutan's Boomerang. It simply defies logic.

I like almost all of Rutan's aircraft, but this one is the best.

Edited February 19, 2017 by Riven

[munlander1]

7 hours ago, Riven said:

It simply defies logic.

Why do you say that?

[Riven]

57 minutes ago, munlander1 said:

Why do you say that?

Well, it's partly hyperbole.

Still, I'd think it defies some logic at first glance because it's asymmetric design is forward-swept in general (the middle span isn't even the same sweep as the starboard wing) which is inherently unstable as forward-swept wings have a greater tendency to pitch up - how many general aviation aircraft have you seen or know of that have forward-swept wings; the two different sized fuselages at first glance would seem to make the plane less stable because of asymmetric drag, yet there's no problem with it since it's flying in that picture; and the seemingly asymmetric thrust because of the offset engines.

[LN400]

"So where you guys want us to drop this? Next to your CH-53?"

All in a day's work for the Mi-26.

 

[maas1248]

For me, definitely the Mikoyan Gurevich Mig-35 (Ето Россиа?) 

And to balance the bias, 

Lockheed-Martin F-22

Cheers.

[SpaceYorkie]

My favourite fixed-wing aircraft would have to be the Blackburn Buccaneer and the Messerschmitt Me-262 Schwalbe. As for rotary-wing aircraft, the Bell 222a and the AH-64 Apache take the cake.

http://i.imgur.com/QWgJS8L.jpg - Buccaneer

http://i.imgur.com/SrEEd6h.png - Schwalbe

http://i.imgur.com/lDZfjTp.png - Bell 222

http://i.imgur.com/uTCu5s7.jpg - Apache

[Spacetraindriver]

Wait a minute...do airships count?

If so then it's actually a three way battle between the USS Akron, USS Los Angeles, or the Hindenburg. Though the K to N class Naval blimps are close seconds. Any aircraft are third and below.  

[Jeb1969]

I usually put them in categories when it comes to favorites.

Combat: 

Grumman F-14 Tomcat 

Avro Lancaster 

Supermarine Spitfire

Passenger:

Saab 340

Boeing 767 (Without winglets)

Ilyushin Il-96

Edited March 5, 2017 by Jeb1969

[Kokoro]

 

BN Islander and Trislander are my favourite.

Also love Opticas and Harrier T8s in black.

[53miner53]

Space shuttle- first orbital spaceplane, also happens to function as a heavy lifter

SR-71- worlds fastest jet

F-16- relaxed static stability+fly by wire=maneuverability unless you want to fly straight.

F4U Corsair- distinctive wing shape that causes it to be more maneuverable at higher speeds.

C-17- just because they fly over my house a lot.

Edited March 18, 2017 by 53miner53

[Mr. Me]

My favorite would probably be the A10. I mean look at that thing.

[munlander1]

7 hours ago, Mr. Me said:

My favorite would probably be the A10. I mean look at that thing.

The thing is a flying tank. I would say a literal flying tank but the Russians did that...

Spoiler

 

[StrandedonEarth]

1 hour ago, munlander1 said:

The thing is a flying tank

Flying tank killer, that is. With a titanium bathtub for the pilot and slab sides to handle all the ground fire it attracts by flying low. 

Edited March 10, 2017 by StrandedonEarth

[Wjolcz]

It's hard to decide which aircraft is my favourite because of the sheer amount of different aircraft from different eras.

If we're talking about jets then probably F-104 for its looks (the cute and deadly stubby wings), Ho 229 because of how UFO it looked at its time, and X-47 because it's another flying wing UFO.

For pistons: Fw 190 A-4 because I used to put additional 20mm pods and shred everything on my path in War Thunder. Same with Hurricane. Me 110 because that's a cool plane I could own (the engine necelles are really nice) and fly as an air taxi in some remote place in the world. P-39 for its unusual looks and front wheel again. I also always liked P-51's thin tail and elevator controls being in front of the rudder.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned racing machines: I don't know how it handled but Chester Goon looked really nice. Also Me 209 for its top speed and unusual tail.

Other: Teenie Two is something I could own. Really small and cute plane.

Probably a few others I forgot about. Does anyone know the name of that slender WW2 RAF bomber? I always forget. I only remember the crew didn't like it because of how little space there was in it.

EDIT: Actually, add PZL TS-11 Iskra to the jet class. Not the best plane in the world but gotta be patriotic from time to time.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Veeltch

[Spacetraindriver]

5 hours ago, Veeltch said:

 Probably a few others I forgot about. Does anyone know the name of that slender WW2 RAF bomber? I always forget. I only remember the crew didn't like it because of how little space there was in it.

Hmmm...Halifax?

[Wjolcz]

2 hours ago, Spacetraindriver said:

Hmmm...Halifax?

Nope. It was smaller. 2 engines only.

EDIT: Got it! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Hampden

Same manufacturer as Halifax apparently, so thanks for mentioning it. For some reason "Hampden" is too hard to remember for me.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Veeltch

[cantab]

Hampden maybe? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Hampden

Opening paragraph of the wiki page mentions it being cramped, and the rear fuselage is slender.

[Dfthu]

I would say my favorite plane of all time is the Boeing 757-300, the longest narrowbody twinjet in the world. It is juts so sleek and awesome! But in a close second is the MD-90 and in third is the MD-11. I think those are the best planes but its sad to think most of these planes wouldn't  be flying in ~10-15 years.

I took this picture at MSP airport.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Dfthu

[razark]

Honestly, I've never understood why people think airliners are interesting in any way.  I've always found them to be rather boring.  Yes, there is the very occasional one that breaks new ground, but aside from the first massively produced one, or the first jet airliner, I just don't get it.

 

Can someone explain it?

[Dfthu]

I would say that all planes are interesting, the fact they can fly is amazing. But I do think that most military jets are ugly. They have big glass canopy sticking out, the air intakes also stick out, the wings also look a little stupid plus many more reasons. There are some good military jets though the B-52, C-5 Galaxy and the KC-10. Airliners are much more sleek and long, they just look so good. Besides, how is this not cool? If you look at that website for long enough you start to understand why airliners are interesting.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Dfthu

[razark]

21 minutes ago, Dfthu said:

I would say that all planes are interesting, the fact they can fly is amazing.

I'll give you this, of course.  Making tons of metal float through the sky is amazing.

 

22 minutes ago, Dfthu said:

But I do think that most military jets are ugly. ... Airliners are much more sleek and long, they just look so good.

So it's mostly a matter of looks?  I've always been more interested in what they can do, rather than how they look.  (And, frankly, I tend to find most airliners really tend to look the same.  I don't really see enough difference between them to care.  Which makes sense, since they're all really designed to do the same job.)  Further, I can rarely go a day without seeing an airliner or twenty.  They're simply not rare enough to peak my interest. 

 

26 minutes ago, Dfthu said:

Besides, how is this not cool?

Well, ok.  That's cool.  But, if I may point out, that one is doing one of the interesting bits of its job.  If they're not taking off or landing, airliners are just kinda... boring, I guess.  Routine.

However, take that same 747, and make it do something else:

or

Much more interesting than a simple people-mover.

 

Anyway, thanks for the input.  We all have different things that interest us, and some of them just confuse the hell out of me.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, razark said:

So it's mostly a matter of looks?  I've always been more interested in what they can do, rather than how they look. 

There's this rule of thumb that the better an aircraft looks, the better it flies. Obviously, this isn't true for all them.