What is your favorite aircraft of all time?

[Asienizen]

tough question:
of the WW2 group I think I like the f4u, maybe that's too easy a choice. The long nose and gull wings give it that special something. Besides, it was in the inventory all the way through the 1950s.

I had the chance to sit in an f4U5N, but that is as close as I think I'll ever get to flying one.

 

[Hunt49]

I love the SR-71!!

 

[dhermann1]

I had a boss who had spent 12 years in the Air Force, maintaining the space suits (that's what they wore) of the pilots of SR-71s. He REALLY loved them. He said they would slide down the runway, turn vertical and then just ZOOM straight up.
I've heard the Harrier described as a device designed to turn fuel into noise. I'll bet that goes double for the SR-71.

 

[Stearmen]

I had a boss who had spent 12 years in the Air Force, maintaining the space suits (that's what they wore) of the pilots of SR-71s. He REALLY loved them. He said they would slide down the runway, turn vertical and then just ZOOM straight up.
I've heard the Harrier described as a device designed to turn fuel into noise. I'll bet that goes double for the SR-71.

I know of one instance of a SR71 mission to the coast of Russia and back to California took over 72,000 gallons for a 10 hour flight 15,000 miles. They would send two tankers up just in case one had problems. So as many as 15 tankers could be sent out for a long mission! $85,000 dollars an hour to operate and people wonder why they were retired?

 

[Landman]

I know of one instance of a SR71 mission to the coast of Russia and back to California took over 72,000 gallons for a 10 hour flight 15,000 miles. They would send two tankers up just in case one had problems. So as many as 15 tankers could be sent out for a long mission! $85,000 dollars an hour to operate and people wonder why they were retired?

I've always loved the look of the SR71 too. I saw one here in San Antonio at an air show years ago at Randolph AFB. After it flew in they parked it, roped it off, put armed security around it and the pilot stood next to it answering what questions he could. He wouldn't tell you much about it's capabilities but said it could fly really fast and really high!

One thing I noticed immediately was that it was leaking fuel and they had a crew constantly cleaning that up. I thought that was very weird and ask him about that and he said that was normal. Something about how the temperature and altitude effected the metal that when it got to altitude the metal would expand and seal everything off. He said that they wait until the last minute to fuel it up then take off and get to altitude as soon as possible. I guess that is why, like dhermann1 stated, they zoom straight up at takeoff.

 

[plain old dave]

Seeing as to how we are adding jets,

All time: F-8 Crusader. The MiG Master is a switchblade knife.

My era in aviation: Tie between A-6 Intruder and F-14 Tomcat. Ironworks, Baby!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

I read somewhere that when the F-14 Tomcat was phased out, the Navy ordered all of them destroyed to prevent the possibility of spare parts reaching Iran, now the Tomcat's sole user.

 

[jclee]

I've always loved the look of the SR71 too. I saw one here in San Antonio at an air show years ago at Randolph AFB. After it flew in they parked it, roped it off, put armed security around it and the pilot stood next to it answering what questions he could. He wouldn't tell you much about it's capabilities but said it could fly really fast and really high!

One thing I noticed immediately was that it was leaking fuel and they had a crew constantly cleaning that up. I thought that was very weird and ask him about that and he said that was normal. Something about how the temperature and altitude effected the metal that when it got to altitude the metal would expand and seal everything off. He said that they wait until the last minute to fuel it up then take off and get to altitude as soon as possible. I guess that is why, like dhermann1 stated, they zoom straight up at takeoff.

there is a simple explanation for the leaky fuel cap. it goes way supersonic, above 3 times the speed of sound. Now imagine you the pilot flying it at top speed. the air comes at you at 3x speed of sound. but it has to slow down to zero when it reaches the exterior body of the aircraft. The energy of the air when slow down to zero from such a high speed will heat up like crazy (via the mechanism of shock waves). you know metal expands a lot when heated to a high temperature. so the designer opted to design the fuel cap to expand when heated to get a good seal. when it is cool, it leaks like a sieve. it was an adaptation of the extreme operating condition this black bird was designed for.

 

[Stearmen]

SR71 Fuel

The A12 and SR71 has only a single refueling station. The fuel tank walls are the skin of the aircraft, no internal membranes! The skin heats up to as much as 1200 degrees, so it expands, which seals all the joints, when it cools, the gaps expand and leaks. The plane grows in length up to four inches in flight! Ground crews had to wait up to a half hour to get the crew out because of the high temperatures. If you through a match in a puddle of JP7, it will not burn, the match will go out like water.

 

[Stearmen]

As a side note for the car buffs hear, both the A12s and early SR71s were started by external power carts that contained two unmuffled Buick Aluminum Wildcat V8 engines. How cool was that?

 

[Landman]

Thanks for the explanation guys. I just remember thinking that sure is weird for such a high tech airplane to be leaking fuel like an old wore out jalopy. I also remember nobody being too concerned about it catching fire! Stearman's post explained that.

 

[buelligan]

Beech 18, I've always thought that was probably the most iconic twin radial plane built.
Also if you guys think the story of the P-51 in the garage was crazy you should read up on Walter Soplata. He had a huge private collection of aircraft at his Ohio home to include a B-36 and a Corsair that he used to fire up every 4th of July. Here's an article on him:http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/soplata.html

 

[Dixon Cannon]

The (Ted Smith) designed - Aerostar

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

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

-dixon cannon

 

[loosebolts]

A-26 my one true love.

 

[rjb1]

Thanks for the photo of the SR71 Starting setup. Of all the better engines available at that time I'm amazed that they used (2) 215 aluminum Buicks. I do like what appear to be 600 CFM Holleys and headers on those.

To the direct topic of favorite aircraft of all time it has to be the P-38. They have a look about them that is unique and totally appealing to me.
(Even when I was about 5 years old I *demanded* that my parents buy me a model P-38 at the toy store. - I still have it.)

 

[Justin B]

Been playing Axis & Allies Angels 20, but today I got the expansion Bandits High. Got a lot of aircraft I'd call favorites From the Sleek P-51D to the lumbering Stuka. So..here's pictures:

 

[green papaya]

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Been playing Axis & Allies Angels 20, but today I got the expansion Bandits High. Got a lot of aircraft I'd call favorites From the Sleek P-51D to the lumbering Stuka. So..here's pictures:

We could have a Name the Plane Contest with that pic. I spot a Romanian IAR-80, a French Morane Saulnier MS.406, a Curtiss Hawk 75 in Finnish livery, an Italian Reggiane Re.2000, and a RAAF Vultee Vengeance.

 

[Justin B]

Close. You got the IAR-80 correct, and the MS.406. The Italian you're close on, but it's not the Re.2000. No Curtiss Hawk though, and no Vengence.

Here's a picture of ALL my aircraft.

 

[TomS]

The Corsair