Most beautiful aircraft?

simon ess said:
Lot of votes for the Lightning.

IMO just about the most awesome aircraft ever made - but not the most beautiful.
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Beautiful in an awesome way, watched one take off once when visiting my brother who was in the RAF I wasn't expecting it and it frightened me to death,
Prop, Hercules.
Regards Bob.:eek:
 
Hrímfaxi;5333470 said:
Avro Lancaster - all variants.

My Nan used to rivet the fuselage during WW2 - hugely attached to those planes, sound amazing too...
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Er... do you mean she riveted herself to the fuselage hence her being hugely attached... :eek: :lol:

Anthony.
 
My choices would be the Mosquito and the Comet 4.. but anything that flies has got be, to some degree, excellent.

Anthony.
 
Prop - P38 lightning , with spitfire running a close second

Jet - probably the F15 , but the A10 appeals to me too despite being more interesting than beautiful
 
big soft moose said:
Prop - P38 lightning , with spitfire running a close second

Jet - probably the F15 , but the A10 appeals to me too despite being more interesting than beautiful
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My dad used to tow a trailer on a B road near RAF alconbury , one day he was driving along a really straight bit of road getting buzzed by 2 A10s

They were using him as target practice, he stopped , got out and waved a fist at them, one flew low waggled his wings and flew off, that would have been around 1988
 
Its quite a common thing or was for them to practice shooting at cars.
I have some canoeing mates who got "shot" by them in a valley
 
They used to regularly practice on the traffic on the M1 when I was driving trucks in the 80s.

Don't know if they still do.
 
eeyore said:
Its quite a common thing or was for them to practice shooting at cars.
I have some canoeing mates who got "shot" by them in a valley
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Getting shot in the valley must sting a bit.:|
 
feek said:
Prop: Spitfire, Jet English Electric Lighting
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What I was gonna say once I'd read everyone else's choices.

The English Electric lightening I saw at Finningly Air Show in the 80's. The jet that stood on end and just went up! Absolute raw power...loved it!
 
Hawker Sea Fury, the fastest single engined piston aircraft produced. The sound of that engine would reduce anyone on the ground to a quivering jelly.

I first saw one at Shuttleworth some years ago, the noise has never left me.
I've seen Skyhawks and Mirages in action but the sound of the Sea Fury is quite something.
 
Spitfire Mk IX & XB70 Valkyrie for me.
 
Prop - hurricane all the way, just an iconic design and as important as any plane there ever was for the part it played in the BoB.

Jet - I was going to say the Lockheed tri-Star because it's a cool, big airplane (especially with that high third engine) but then remembered the A-10 thunderbolt, possibly the coolest plane ever made and one that wouldn't look out of place in Star Wars.
 
Prop: Lancaster

Jet: F104 Starfighter

Although there are many contenders for both, esp the Tornado GR4, Sukhoi S-37, Nimrod MR2 and Handley page victor for jet catogory.
 
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Prop is difficult, either a Douglas skyraider or Fairey Firefly in grey and cram colours.... Thinking about it, probably the Fairey.

Jet.... Ummmm probably the jaguar
 
Pegasus2 said:
Jet: F104 Starfighter
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The local air museum here has just gotten hold of a Starfighter, (little vid of it arriving at the museum) which they intend to fully restore. Saw one at the Toronto Air Show a few years back, and the jet noise is eerie....and awesome. A lovely looking plane.

But for me:

Prop: Mosquito; lovely lines
Jet: A-10 Warthog. So ugly, it's beautiful!
 
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footman said:
It was the plane of my boyhood dreams, I must have made half a dozen kit models at least!
Sadly became known as the Flying Coffin.
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And in Germany - the "widowmaker".
Very long, slim fuselage and short, stubby wings - all before the advent of advanced computer help.
 
Spitfire and Concorde both beautiful on the ground and when in flight.

Realspeed
 
Prop wise has to be a mosquito for me.

Jet wise I'll never forget as a kid being mesmerised by these at woodford (normally they displayed in a pair but this was the best woodford video I could find)

[YOUTUBE]VP9WvvI5sdA[/YOUTUBE]



Brilliant airshow woodford attracted all sorts of rarities.
 
Prop - Avro Sunderland - jst big and special

Jet - EE Lighting (as an air cadet on summer camp saw them on take off - Awesome and beautiful to watch.
 
Just been taking a look at a starfighter.... Rather pretty! Love the stubby wings!
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The joke in Germany in the 70's was if you wanted a Starfighter, you bought a field and waited.

Nothing wrong with the role they were used for, it was training pilots in sunny bits of the USA then expecting them to be able to fly through the hazy claggy (on a good day) central German plains. Wasn't going to end well, and often didn't.

To be fair, the RAF's Jaguars seemed to end up in smoking holes more often while I lived in Germany. Thats ignoring the one that was the result of the only RAF shoot down since WW2!
 
Bernie174 said:
The joke in Germany in the 70's was if you wanted a Starfighter, you bought a field and waited.

Nothing wrong with the role they were used for, it was training pilots in sunny bits of the USA then expecting them to be able to fly through the hazy claggy (on a good day) central German plains. Wasn't going to end well, and often didn't.

To be fair, the RAF's Jaguars seemed to end up in smoking holes more often while I lived in Germany. Thats ignoring the one that was the result of the only RAF shoot down since WW2!
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I read that too.

I thought the majority of crashes were due to engine failure
 
Bernie174 said:
The joke in Germany in the 70's was if you wanted a Starfighter, you bought a field and waited
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And other variations.

Rober Calvert (ex Hawkwind) used it on his album Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters in a rock opera. The ine being "Anybody want to buy a used starfighter? Buy an acre of land and wait"

It was built as a fair weather fighter and sold as the F104G as a multi role conbat aircraft.

I had a day on the beach at Schoorl in Holland in Summer 1973 when I heard a rumble and a speck in the distance arrived over as and went past us at low level - was a Dutch F104s Starfighter. Beautiful sight.

But for me the EE Lightning takeoff was unforgettable!

Steve
 
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My dad lived on a US airbase in Germany during the 60/70s as his dad was in the RCAF. He often used to tell us stories of the star fighters he saw with their noses stuck in the ground and tail in the air. Was quite common apparently!
 
TCR4x4 said:
My dad lived on a US airbase in Germany during the 60/70s as his dad was in the RCAF. He often used to tell us stories of the star fighters he saw with their noses stuck in the ground and tail in the air. Was quite common apparently!
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Well, one nickname was "the lawn dart"...
 
TCR4x4 said:
My dad lived on a US airbase in Germany during the 60/70s as his dad was in the RCAF. He often used to tell us stories of the star fighters he saw with their noses stuck in the ground and tail in the air. Was quite common apparently!
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Big killer of pilots but a stunning aircraft design. Big engine. stubby wings. Cigar tubd fuselage....

S
 
Didn't help that the original (and I understand that it was the US only that flew them) had a bang seat that fired downwards.
Now, this is fine at 30,000 feet, but not terribly convenient on take off when it suddenly goes very quiet.
While the F104 did only have one lump, not 2 like proper aircraft like the lightning, it was more a case of the pilot having a perfectly usable engine, had it not ingested a great deal of earth shortly after the pitot head spearing the ground.
However it did only seem to be the USAF and the Germans that had problems with turning their planes into scrap. The Dutch Belgians, Canadians and most other users manged to keep their examples in one piece.
But anyway, time of a gratuitous picture of a German Starfighter, and it's in one bit too!

8173339483_a9e453508d_b.jpg
 
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Jet Sr71
WW2 twin The Mossie
Vietnam era Twin prop OV-10 The most functional flying aircraft of all time.
Single prop P-51 Mustang
Civil Single Cirrus SR22 GT3 with leather seats 4 drinks holders , oh, and full glass cockpit !
 
I thought the problem with the German F104s was that they insisted on a modified version with a lengthened fuselage.

Prop: Beaver

Jet: TSR2 ..... Or possibly the Buccaneer.
 
Bernie174 said:
Didn't help that the original (and I understand that it was the US only that flew them) had a bang seat that fired downwards.
Now, this is fine at 30,000 feet, but not terribly convenient on take off when it suddenly goes very quiet.
While the F104 did only have one lump, not 2 like proper aircraft like the lightning, it was more a case of the pilot having a perfectly usable engine, had it not ingested a great deal of earth shortly after the pitot head spearing the ground.
However it did only seem to be the USAF and the Germans that had problems with turning their planes into scrap. The Dutch Belgians, Canadians and most other users manged to keep their examples in one piece.
But anyway, time of a gratuitous picture of a German Starfighter, and it's in one bit too!
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Perhaps they did not fly the Witwenmacher (Widowmaker) as much, Bernie.
 
pepi1967 said:
Prop for me would be the mustang

Jet for me would be the Vulcan closely followed be the victor.
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agree on this comment but I'd add the Valiant as well all the V bombers are stunning aircraft
 
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