what's your favourite aircraft?

[altair4]

mine is:

McDonnel Douglas TA-4K Skyhawk

I have flown in one (Royal New Zealand Air Force)

light,fast, agile, Skyhawks have seen action in Middle East, Falklands War(Argentina) & Vietnam

we brought A-4G Skyhawks (Royal Australian Navy) and our aircraft were brought up to standard using same radar as the F16 and late model Sidewinder missiles.It could provide a challenge against Aussie F/A-18 Hornet which took Aussies by surprise during exercises.

I love formation flying and flying low level attack...wearing a G-suit makes a difference of about 2 Gs..can make a difference in combat your life depends on it!

unfortunately our Strike Wing was phased out just B4 Sept 11. I think we should reinstate our combat wing with the Harrier GR7 aircraft that would be suitable for our geography...Harrier is an excellent weapons platform and can land on a tennis court..

also my favourite german aircraft: FW190 & JU87


I am studying a book called Hitlers Flying Saucers(Stevens)

(OBTW I collect German Memorabilia)

I want to import a Walther P38 to add to my collection(I have worked with the NZ Police,so that helps, laws have tightened up recently..thank goodness)

Paul

[Ian Pearse]

Concorde, without a doubt. Nothing to touch it when it was flying,and nothing since, probably ever again. I never had the pleasure of flying in it, but have visited the flight deck on the ground, tried out the Captain's seat for size . I also have a very good model of it in MS Flight Sim 2004 which I am learning slowly... Incredible aeroplane. Sad it won't be flying again. To see a Concorde take-off from close range was an unforgettable experience. I used to see them daily in my previous location.

[gwiz]

Harrier, and not just because I spent a chunk of my working life on it. There were dozens of other attempts at getting a vertical take-off aircraft to work, and very few successes, so the Harrier's elegant solution to the problem rates highly on that factor alone. The way it was developed from the early prototypes that could only just get off the ground to the Sea Harrier, the best UK fighter of its time, and the Harrier II, with a substantial operational attack capability, is also impressive. Without it, the UK would have lost the Falklands War.

[tedward]

Harrier and Concord taken, OK. No particular order an in no way holding this list up as the definitive, just what I grew up with in the Boys Own type magazines when I was young. Please excuse the Brit bent. No single recipient of my accolade so please bear with me.

Vickers Vimy. For what Alcock and Brown did in it. I have seen the Science Museum exhibit in London, YIKES, you want me to go in that?

English Electric Lightning. Stunning stuff. Stand on tail and reach for the sky. Quick as well.

Lancaster.

Spitfire, though the Battle of Britain had more Hurricanes, this just kept going through revisions to past the end of WWII. FW190? Shove a better engine in, bye bye 190. Sea versions as well.

Vulcan bomber. Amazing plane. Read up on the black buck raids.

Apologies for the lack of US, grew up over here so a bit biased. F14, comes to mind. And F4. In there as well should be the Hellcat. And the SR71.

Today, I side with Concord for sheer elegance, grace and speed. Tomorrow I might change my mind.

Edited to add, Buccaneer. Oh eck, remembering more......

[Ginnie]

I want to import a Walther P38 to add to my collection
Why type of collection is it? Do you collect real airplanes?
That would be outstanding.

I always loved the Bell X-1 - the bright orange paintjob, and the way the rocket started when it dropped from the airplane, and then off.


Oh, and the CF-105 Arrow, of course. The aircraft that wasn't.

[altair4]

Ginnie

I collect German WW2 things from a historical perspective and I would LOVE 2 have a Walther P38..so I am trying to sort something out.

also I would LOVE to have a real FW190 or JU87 Stuka but I am not that wealthy!!!

but yes they still exist and people restore them

yeah Bell X- 1 is famous, Chuck Yeager and an interesting aircraft..classic

[Ginnie]

BTW, when the Avro CF 105 Arrow was cancelled, a lot of its engineers went on to work for NASA, including the Apollo program.

www.avroarrow.org/history.html

[LunarOrbit]

My Favourites:

WWII Fighter: Spitfire

WWII Bomber: Lancaster. There are only two that still fly, and one of them is here in Hamilton.



Modern Bomber: B2 Stealth
Modern Fighter: F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (it hasn't entered active service, and could turn out to be a lemon, but I like it anyway )

If I had money: Beechcraft Baron

[gwiz]

tedward said:

Vickers Vimy. For what Alcock and Brown did in it. I have seen the Science Museum exhibit in London, YIKES, you want me to go in that?

I tend to agree with that, though my dad had a ride in one once.

[tedward]

Never ceases to amaze me with some of the exploits leading up to WWII off the battlefield (over?). Putting it all in context and all that. What did your dad make of it?

[gwiz]

tedward said:

What did your dad make of it?

Somewhat relieved to survive the experience, and it got him where he wanted to go.

[JayUtah]

I find it hard to nail down an answer to this thread.

Surely the aircraft I have flown and/or serviced are dear to me: various Cessna and Piper light aircraft, the venerable Convair CV-580, and the B-727 cargo conversion. In my brief stint as a rampie I was very proud of my ability to park a Convair on a dime. Pilots appreciated my sharp eyes and my acrobatic skill with the marshaling sticks, if not my rather short stature. (The Convair's nose is a little hard to see over.)

The aircraft in whose design I have participated are favorites for other reasons: The B-777 and the B-787.

And there are certain aircraft I admire simply for being excellent examples of the art: the SR-71, the Gossamer Albatross, and pretty much anything that comes out of Burt Ruttan's shop. There's a fellow in the Salt Lake area who has fitted his Ruttan airframe with a sort of whistle that emits a Jetsons-like noise. When flying at low altitude, he looks very much like a UFO.

Unfortunately I can't abide the JSF. It's a huge monstrosity that smacks of design by committee. Plus, Lockheed has had no end of trouble trying to figure out how to build the thing. Successful military airframes such as the A-10 and B-17 show that overbaked plumbing, voice recognition, and a place to plug your iPod doesn't substitute in combat for an aircraft that is so fundamentally well built that it brings its crews home even in the worst situation.