What is your favorite aircraft of all time?

[Berlin]

I also love the Hawker jets from the '50s and '60s:
Hawker Hunter

Hawker Buccaneer

Ohh I só love those!

 

[Spitfire]

Saw the Hawker Hunter at Duxford in May. What a great plane!
And also one of the very few jetplanes that I actually remember from back then.
And that is huge comming from a Merlin-fan!

 

[benjamin.f]

2. The "Tante Ju" Junkers Ju-52

I had a small model of it as a child and lately I even could fly in one of the last remaining and still in use. That's a sound!! A real workhorse and in some aspects well beyond its own time.

hey, I flew with "tante Ju" this summer in Friedrichshafen(D) and have to agree with you: a workhorse and full of power!!

you have to take a seat in on ANTONOV AN2... a biplane with 1000 horsepower and every part of this plane is rattling...

b

 

[HepKitty]

I had the distinct pleasure of seeing a Hunter make a near supersonic very low level pass at Whenuapai in NZ. Everybody was looking the other way and it came rocketing past and very close. Was hilarious, people got such frights they were "f-ing and blinding", every small child was bawling and crying. Very exhilarating to see.

lol That would be awesome! But then I like getting buzzed by fighter jets

There was something on the Travel Channel about a guy in England who bought a Hunter. Beautiful plane!

 

[Smithy]

lol That would be awesome! But then I like getting buzzed by fighter jets

There was something on the Travel Channel about a guy in England who bought a Hunter. Beautiful plane!

It certainly was good fun HepKitty! If I remember correctly a poor woman even fainted. It certainly caused a bit of a stir.

I'm not really a "blowtorch" enthusiast, loving props more, but the Hunter is in my humble opinion the prettiest jet ever made. She really has beautiful lines.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Hawker Hunter

If you look carefully behind the Hunter you can see the "007" MiG-21 that was the first example to appear in the West, In 1966 the Israelis persuaded an Iraqi pilot to defect with his then-state-of-the-art MiG-21.

 

[David Conwill]

I'm not really a "blowtorch" enthusiast, loving props more, but the Hunter is in my humble opinion the prettiest jet ever made.

The Hunter is a nice looking craft, but for the "prettiest jet" award, I'd have to go for the F86 Sabre. Still, like you, I'm a prop enthusiast.

-Dave

 

[Talbot]

I like some of the early blowtorch jobs. The P80 Shooting Star would have to be my favourite.

There's always the Ryan Fireball if you can't make up your mind between props and blowtorches. That is, if you're tired of looking at the B36.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_FR_Fireball

Not wanting to hijack things, but what other jet/prop combos are out there? I'd love to see more.

 

[Danny Ocean]

Talking of low flying aircraft, reminds me of this clip. It's few years old now, but it still hits the mark!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpq4Tu2NnrQ

Danny O

 

[StetsonHomburg]

Junkers Ju-87B "Stuka" Dive Bomber

 

[Diamondback]

For another hybrid, check out the North American AJ Savage, the Fireball's more successful bomber counterpart in transition...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_AJ_Savage
http://www.aviastar.org/air/usa/na_savage.php
http://www.boeing.com/history/bna/ajsavage.htm

 

[Stearmen]

PV2C Harpoon

Well, I like this one too! It's a PV-2D, yup, 8 50's pointing forward, mean machine!

Scott

Actually, that is a C model, you can tell by the 50cals under the chin, the D had the 50s built right into the chin, and the bottom of the chin could be lowered to service them, a nice arrangement. Only 35 PV2Ds were produced and only a few servive in tact today. I had the privilege of flying copilot on the PV2D N6655D that is now in the Lone Star Flight Museum at Galveston, Texas. Unfortunately she was damaged in a hurricane a few years ago! What a fun plane over 4000hp, and real maneuverable. Would love to fly a PV1, even faster and more maneuverable, they would out run Zeros down on the deck! The real unsung hero of WWII, they did the long flights from the Aleutian Islands to the Japanese Kuril Islands thus pinning down a large number of troops and equipment, that could have been used elsewhere, to defend in case of an invasion from the north! The weather was a bigger enemy then the Japanese, with many planes lost in rout!

 

[Spitfire]

Junkers Ju-87B "Stuka" Dive Bomber

"Easier to hit than a barn door...it's like shooting rats in a barrel!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVBO61qg-kc

 

[dragonaxe]

anything with a Merlin engine for me

 

[Marv]

For me, it has to be ................

Fighters
1) Hawker Hurricane
2) P51-D Mustang
3) Douglas A1- Sky Raider
4) Supermarine Spitfire

Bombers
1) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
2) Avro Lancaster
3) Consolidated B-24 Liberator
4) Boeing B-29 Super Fortress

 

[cco23i]

Actually, that is a C model, you can tell by the 50cals under the chin, the D had the 50s built right into the chin, and the bottom of the chin could be lowered to service them, a nice arrangement. Only 35 PV2Ds were produced and only a few servive in tact today. I had the privilege of flying copilot on the PV2D N6655D that is now in the Lone Star Flight Museum at Galveston, Texas. Unfortunately she was damaged in a hurricane a few years ago! What a fun plane over 4000hp, and real maneuverable. Would love to fly a PV1, even faster and more maneuverable, they would out run Zeros down on the deck! The real unsung hero of WWII, they did the long flights from the Aleutian Islands to the Japanese Kuril Islands thus pinning down a large number of troops and equipment, that could have been used elsewhere, to defend in case of an invasion from the north! The weather was a bigger enemy then the Japanese, with many planes lost in rout!

Sorry, I got confused. BUT! We get to play with a D model with in the next year!!!

Scott

 

[Daze]

well it's great to see so many obscure aircraft as peoples favourite aircraft , wodering how many ppl said it to be 'different'

the spitfire is gorgeous
the mustang was a better plane ( as a brit i hate to say it )
the ME 262 was possibly the best ww2 single seat
the Dakota , c47 was wonderful even in its gunship role
the Harrier, well It gave us brits back the falklands
the BUFF was great BUT ( rumour , the day after a b52 'squadron leader ' said to the RAF guys 'what can you do that's so good?' the British Sqn leader of a Vulcan Bomber sqn dropped pictures on his desk taken at 20k feet over washington DC that the americans had not known anything about , and said 'This is what we dothat's so good ' ) say s that the Vulcan was brilliant

my personal thought though , is the Spitfire as the best overall allowing for the fact that even Goring asked his people for advise and was asked ' give me a squadron of Spitfires

Edit

Adolf Galland rated the Spitfire so highly he told Goering 'Give me a squadron of Spitfires'." - Here's a quote from his book The First And The Last:

"The theme of fighter protection was chewed over again and again. Goering clearly represented the point of view of the bombers and demanded close and rigid protection. The bomber, he said, was more important than record bag figures. I tried to point out that the Me109 was superior in the attack and not so suitable for purely defensive purposes as the Spitfire, which, although a little slower, was much more manoeuvrable. He rejected my objection. We received many more harsh words. Finally, as his time ran short, he grew more amiable and asked what were the requirements for our squadrons. Moelders asked for a series of Me109's with more powerful engines. The request was granted. 'And you ?' Goering turned to me. I did not hesitate long. 'I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my group.' After blurting this out, I had rather a shock, for it was not really meant that way. Of course, fundamentally I preferred our Me109 to the Spitfire, but I was unbelievably vexed at the lack of understanding and the stubbornness with which the command gave us orders we could not execute - or only incompletely - as a result of many shortcomings for which we were not to blame. Such brazen-faced impudence made even Goering speechless. He stamped off, growling as he went."

 

[Stearmen]

PV2D Fun

Sorry, I got confused. BUT! We get to play with a D model with in the next year!!!
Scott

I hope you get a ride or two in it, they are a great plane! I remember one air show down in Albuquerque, we were starting the number two engine, my side, and the little Civil Air Patrol girl started to franticly give us the cut engine signal. Apparently she had never watched a big radial engine fire up, thought we were on fire! Tons more stories, most fun, a few dry mouth moments, like no brakes and heading for the parked Blue Angels.

 

[/|\]

the spitfire is gorgeous
the mustang was a better plane ( as a brit i hate to say it )

Sometime in the mid-'80s dad and I took the 182 to MDF to visit his parents. We parked the plane and started walking toward the FBO. A hangar was open, and there was a beautiful P-51D in front. I ambled over to look. Behind it I saw the distinctive shape of a Spitfire Mk.IX -- a trainer version with two cockpits. (There was also an AT-6 or SNJ there.) The owner of the aircraft was hanging out. (Hey, if I had a hangar full of such planes, that's where I'd hang out, too.) He said that the Spitfire was the most beautifully-flying aircraft he'd ever flown. But if he had to fight, he'd rather be in the Mustang.

 

[Smithy]

the spitfire is gorgeous
the mustang was a better plane ( as a brit i hate to say it )

This is a little specious and ignores certain facts. Remember the Spit was designed as a home defence, interceptor fighter and in that task it excelled. But as the war changed and fighters were needed to push further and further into Europe the Spit didn't have the legs, even with drop tanks, to have the range or loiter time over far western Europe. That's why the Mustang was brilliant, it could happily tootle over to Germany, stooge around for a bit, and still have the petrol to make it back to Blighty. For that reason alone it was arguably the best "all round" fighter which the allies had.

In terms of what "Symbol" said about which was better to fly or fight in, this is very subjective and relates more to the individual pilot and how they liked to fly. For example Bill Dunn, the first American ace of the war, who flew both the Spit and Mustang in combat always said he'd choose the Spit anytime but obviously another American Goodson, preferred the Mustang.

A matter of horses for courses really.