~ awesome aircraft thread ~

[RocketscientistV]

The Merlin and the Chinook, the best helicopters in Britain.

[Camacha]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRzpLUnE0dWlrkL0S1Xij9mF6y8NexZiEUXg3zkN-VWd2pndM1r5g

Unsightly, noisy and pretty awesome

[mordin86]

Another one I really like - Hughes H-1 Racer - stunning plane:

[Red Iron Crown]

F-104 Starfighter:

Used by many NATO countries as a supersonic interceptor, it's basically a jet-powered missile with stubby wings. It was extremely dangerous to fly due to its poor glide characteristics, earning it the nickname "Widowmaker".

[Razor235]

I have a couple.

The Piper J-3 Cub. It's one of, if not the most popular aircraft of the twentieth century. It and its big brother, the Super Cub, are still used by student and bush pilots for its price, ease of control, and STOL capability. It also has a military variant, which was greatly feared not because of its combat capability, but for the giant artillery guns it was spotting for. That didn't stop this guy from mounting 6 bazookas on it, though.

Another favorite is the under-development Terrafugia Transition. It is the prototype for what they hope to be a line of roadable aircraft and flying cars. IIRC, it is already flight certified, and is currently undergoing road certification. Here's the image gallery from their site.

Edited December 31, 2014 by Razor235
Added STOL demonstration link

[MiltiTrace]

La-7 (Ûð-7)

[Xorth Tanovar]

My personal favorite, Paraplane PM2:

Me flying mine some years ago:

[NASAHireMe]

Beechcraft Starship. I love how elegant it looks.

[Dartguy]

My personal favorite, Paraplane PM2:

http://www.paraplane.com/images/history1.jpg

Me flying mine some years ago:

Flare!! Flare!!

[DisarmingBaton5]

Nobody has mentioned the Hurricane:

[Zaryulenko]

What about the most produced combat plane in history? The Ilyushin 2 "Sturmovik"

"It was known as the black death or even the flying tank!"

Edited January 17, 2015 by Zaryulenko

[KerBlam]

Can there be any other? P51 Mustang.

[Shania_L]

Have to have some British cold war jets in here, so many to pick from such variety and such innovative and radical designs.

TSR-2 supersonic nuclear bomber, cancelled before it got into production, despite it blowing the competition out of the water.

English Electric Canberra, early jet bomber that could out-climb, out-turn and fly higher its contemporary jet fighters.

The English Electric Lightning. Massively over powered Mach 2 interceptor, to this day can out-climb pretty much anything without a rocket engine.

No I'm not sure what the ground crew are doing

And ofcourse the V-bombers. Victor, Vulcan and Valiant.

[StrandedonEarth]

Cancelled projects, you say?

The wiki says it was politcal, but I still think it was because the U.S. didn't like Canada making a better fighter than they did at the time

http://www.thestar.com/news/2008/03/23/a_picture_and_a_thousand_words.html

[zekes]

What can I say, I'm a century series fan.

[AHO]

F 111 Aardvark

Mach 1.2 at sea level over mach 2.5 at altitude, Just an insanely awesome, Variable sweep wing fighter/bomber.

Edited January 20, 2015 by AHO
Pictures

[StrandedonEarth]

Hey Bill, you put the wings on backwards!

[DerpenWolf]

F 111 Aardvark

Mach 1.2 at sea level over mach 2.5 at altitude, Just an insanely awesome, Variable sweep wing fighter/bomber.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Australian_F-111s.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/RAAF_F111.jpg

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/334462709798666538/

YES!!! I knew someone else must have known about the F-111!

But yea I pretty much love the looks of this plane and alot of its other aspects and capabilities!

Here is a image of it dumping fuel

Despite my better judgment I really want to see a modernized version of this airframe.

[Neil1993]

Here's my personal favorite: the X-15. I wish we could see more planes like this being flown today. I remember it being described in The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe as a flying chimney with razor blades

[General Rarity]

SU 25 'Frogfoot'

Whenever I hear 'Russian Jet' I think of this.

[Noname117]

I can't decide if I find the F-107 ugly or pretty. A little of both I guess.

[Tristonwilson12]

yes they are

[zekes]

Ich liebe dieses Flugzeug.

[MightyDarkStar]

Ich liebe dieses Flugzeug.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/jinxx1/Holloman%202014/TornadoIDS4605HollomanMay145.jpg~original

Ah the Tornado. The RAF Role Demos for this are awe inspiring.

- - - Updated - - -

What about, arguably the most famous aircraft design in history?

[Kinglet]

Ich liebe dieses Flugzeug.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v20/jinxx1/Holloman%202014/TornadoIDS4605HollomanMay145.jpg~original

I can't stand looking at this picture, it looks like the jet is hovering above the missile cart while still being on the ground. Arrghh!