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What is your favorite aircraft of all time?

Missy Hellfire

One of the Regulars
Messages
138
Location
Blighty
Lancaster bomber... Lots of people love Spitfires as you can't beat the sound of a Merlin engine, but the lanc has four :D This is Just Jane, she lives at East Kirkby airfield in Lincolnshire and I took this shot this afternoon. Just Jane taxis at the moment but has just taken delivery of some beautiful new engines and it is the hope that she will fly again someday soon.
janey.jpg
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
Lancaster bomber... Lots of people love Spitfires as you can't beat the sound of a Merlin engine, but the lanc has four :D This is Just Jane, she lives at East Kirkby airfield in Lincolnshire and I took this shot this afternoon. Just Jane taxis at the moment but has just taken delivery of some beautiful new engines and it is the hope that she will fly again someday soon.
janey.jpg

Good call Missy, simply beautiful aircraft and able to pack a real wallop by carrying a huge bomb load.
 

SgtRick

One of the Regulars
Messages
186
Location
FOB Salerno, Afghanistan
I was in VMA 214 (The Blacksheep) in the 1980's when I was stationed at MCAS El Toro. We where flying A4M's at the time until we transitioned to Harriers in the mid to late 80's. The F4U Corsair of WWII that VMA 214 flew then is one of my favorite aircraft.
 
Messages
13,466
Location
Orange County, CA
I was in VMA 214 (The Blacksheep) in the 1980's when I was stationed at MCAS El Toro. We where flying A4M's at the time until we transitioned to Harriers in the mid to late 80's. The F4U Corsair of WWII that VMA 214 flew then is one of my favorite aircraft.

For years I remember seeing the A-4s, F-4 Phantom IIs and later F/A-18s from El Toro in the skies over Orange County. There's now an A-4 on display in front of the County Recorder's Office in Santa Ana. I'll have to go back and take some more pics.

Santa Ana, April 20, 2011
DSCF0162.jpg
 

SgtRick

One of the Regulars
Messages
186
Location
FOB Salerno, Afghanistan
I have some pics from my 81-82 WESTPAC deployment of our A4's being loaded with ordnance. Once I can post pics I will throw some up here. Thanks for the pic. I miss OC. It was a fun place to be in the 80's.
 
Messages
13,466
Location
Orange County, CA
El Toro is totally unrecognizable today. After the base closed there was a big debate as to what to do with it. One proposal was to turn it into an airport (which was a more logical and badly-needed option IMO) and the other was to make it into a park. Unfortunately the park faction won out and the former MCAS El Toro is now called Great Park.
 

djd

Practically Family
Messages
570
Location
Northern Ireland
I love the de Havilland comet and the Short Empire flying boat. I would have loved to have travelled on one of those 30s flyingboats. Very stylish!
 

cco23i

A-List Customer
Messages
472
Location
Phoenix
Here's a strang one, never made it into combat but it sure looks COOL! The XFM-1 Airacude by Bell.

Scott

Bell-XFM-1-Airacuda.jpg


BellYFM1Airacuda.jpg


airacuda.jpg
 

DNO

One Too Many
Messages
1,815
Location
Toronto, Canada
Sopwith Camel: I saw a repro in flight once. It looked pugnacious, efficient.
Hawker Hunter: one of the most graceful jets ever designed. I was lucky enough to see one flying into Yeovil in the early '80's.
North American Sabre: the other graceful jet. It looks downright uncomfortable on the ground.
 

dhermann1

I'll Lock Up
Messages
9,154
Location
Da Bronx, NY, USA
Great choices. I met a guy once who had been in the Army Air Corps in 1923 and 24, flying old WW I Camels. He said the rotary engines were really deadly. He saw more than one pilot bank too sharply and get into an uncontrolled spin and crash.
 

Renault

One Too Many
Messages
1,688
Location
Wilbarger creek bottom
My adopted granddad and a buddy who had been an aircraft mechanic in the great war, took the train from Austin to San Antonio in 1920 and bought a surplus Curtiss JN-4 at Kelly Field. They flew it back to Austin. Their intent was to make cash "barnstorming" the local county fair circuit in this area. He had no idea what he was doing. The mechanic had maybe 5-10 hours in the air........ They made it back and taught themselves how to fly the thing. He had some pretty interesting stories. Don't remember what he said they finally did with the thing.

Renault
 

DNO

One Too Many
Messages
1,815
Location
Toronto, Canada
Great choices. I met a guy once who had been in the Army Air Corps in 1923 and 24, flying old WW I Camels. He said the rotary engines were really deadly. He saw more than one pilot bank too sharply and get into an uncontrolled spin and crash.

That torque and the fact that all of the weight was far forward in the aircraft made the plane deadly...both to inexperience Allied pilots and to their German opponents.

By the way, if you're ever in the vicinity, the RCAF museum in Trenton Ontario has a Swiss Air Force Hawker Hunter. It looks just as graceful on the ground!
 

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