posted
Is anyone here an airplane buff? I'm not a pilot, but I have a huge interest in World War II planes, fighter jets, and airliners old and new..which airplanes do any of you here think are cool? I'd have to say: The P-51 Mustang Supermarine Spitfire Avro Lancaster B-17 Flying Fortress B-29 Superfortress DC-3/C-47 Skytrain Me-109 AV-8B Harrier II Me-262(quite an achievement for the WW2 era but entered service too late to turn the tide for the Luftwaffe) F-86 Sabre F-100 Super Sabre(the Hun) F-104 Starfighter SR-71 Blackbird F-4 Phantom F-111 Aardvark F-14 Tomcat(now retired) A-6 Intruder/EA-6B Prowler F-16 Fighting Falcon F-15 Eagle F/A-18 Hornet Panavia Tornado Rafale Eurofighter Lockheed Constellation 'China Clipper' flying boat airliner Boeing 707 Boeing 727 Boeing 737 'Stubby' Boeing 747 especially the 747-400's Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner Airbus A319 and one I'm hoping to see for myself, someday.. the Airbus A380
What would your faves be?
-------------------- Let's go racing! Posts: 17 | From: Absecon, NJ | Registered: Feb 2006
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-------------------- High on the wind, the Highland drums begin to roll, and something from the past just comes and stares into my soul... --Mark Knopfler Posts: 3402 | From: New Bern, NC | Registered: May 2004
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posted
The Soviet WW2 fighter Mig-3 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mig-3 ). Few aircrafts look faster and meaner, and the white winter paint with a red arrow and the red star along the side make it looke even cooler.
Most of Burt Rutan's designs, like the Pond Racer, the Boomerang (which is cool in a wierd, strange way), Long-EZ and so on.
More Swedish aircraft, SAAB J35 Draken ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draken ). Groundbraking design, with excellent flight characteristics and sleek looks.
Soviet heavy bomber Tu-95 Bear ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu-95 ), a superior to the US counterpart B-52. It has a fitting name, there is little compromise in this huge beast.
No such list would be complete without a mention of the formidable fighter bomber DeHavilland Mosquito ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Mosquito ). Exceptional perfomance, sleek, predatory looks.
The forked tail devil, the P-38 Lightning ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-38 ), is a beatiful and deadly fighter, dispite some serious design flaws (such as the props rotation in the wrong direction, making it very dangerous to fly on one engine).
The Lockheed Super Constellation ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Constellation ). While other airliners are a boring tube, this one is sleek and aerodynamic, with a tail with an attitude.
Without naming any specific model, I've always been very impressed by the pure practicality of the Soviet designs. They are made to work, even in bad conditions and after taking some bumps. Robust, practical, reliable. They also have an insight into aerodynamics that the west lack.
I also recommend a visit to http://www.luft46.com , a site that has gathered details about projects to develop aircraft during WW2 that Germany for whatever reason never finished. Some are way ahead of their time, and it's easy to see similarities with much later aircraft.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I'm kind of a fan of classic airliners, my personal favorite being the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar. I am a bit dissapointed I've never gotten to fly on one, and now they've pretty much dissappeared from airlines' fleets. ATA still has four of them, but they're only used for charter flights now.
Other planes I like -
De Havilland Comet McDonell Douglas DC-9 Boeing 707 Boeing 737-200 And yeah, the DC-3 and the Connie, like everyone else. And though the A380 would be cool to see, the one I can't wait to see myself is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
ETA -- I meant to include the BAE 146 on this list as well, if for no other reason than that was the first plane I ever flew on.
-------------------- "Unseasonable is an odd word to begin with. It sounds like it's describing something that it's impossible to sprinkle pepper on." -- Nonny Posts: 5483 | From: Just south of Folsom Prison, CA | Registered: Jul 2002
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For some reason one of the ATA L-1011s has always been in Vegas, taking off right over me as I drive northbound on the strip right past the departure end of McCarran's runways. It's happened without fail the last two times I went to Vegas.
Posts: 918 | From: Southern CA | Registered: Jan 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Class Bravo: WildaBeast--
For some reason one of the ATA L-1011s has always been in Vegas, taking off right over me as I drive northbound on the strip right past the departure end of McCarran's runways. It's happened without fail the last two times I went to Vegas.
ATA does a lot of charter flights for the military, bringing soldiers to and from the Gulf (Or most likely to military bases in Germany, and they're sent to Iraq from there). Are there any military bases in that area that might be serving?
-------------------- "Unseasonable is an odd word to begin with. It sounds like it's describing something that it's impossible to sprinkle pepper on." -- Nonny Posts: 5483 | From: Just south of Folsom Prison, CA | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Class Bravo: WildaBeast--
For some reason one of the ATA L-1011s has always been in Vegas, taking off right over me as I drive northbound on the strip right past the departure end of McCarran's runways. It's happened without fail the last two times I went to Vegas.
ATA does a lot of charter flights for the military, bringing soldiers to and from the Gulf (Or most likely to military bases in Germany, and they're sent to Iraq from there). Are there any military bases in that area that might be serving?
quote:Originally posted by Class Bravo: WildaBeast--
For some reason one of the ATA L-1011s has always been in Vegas, taking off right over me as I drive northbound on the strip right past the departure end of McCarran's runways. It's happened without fail the last two times I went to Vegas.
ATA does a lot of charter flights for the military, bringing soldiers to and from the Gulf (Or most likely to military bases in Germany, and they're sent to Iraq from there). Are there any military bases in that area that might be serving?
Nellis AFB is located very close to Vegas.
ETA: Though I'm sure it would make sense for many civilian charter flights to be headed to/from Vegas as well.
Posts: 918 | From: Southern CA | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
If I count ones that were canceled, one of my favorites in the coolness factor was the Soviet Spiral (MiG 105). Brian
-------------------- "Dear Big Foot Smellers: Please don't quote me on some of this information." John F. Winston Posts: 1707 | From: Camarillo, CA | Registered: Mar 2000
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All three of them were astonishing in their time, but for me it is the aesthetics which do it. The Lightning looks exactly what it is - a pair of engines, a couple of missiles, and the bare minimum of anything else. The Vulcan and Victor look like something Flash Gordon would be proud to own.
Posts: 2370 | From: Arabia | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Speaking of planes that I've actually seen...
The Sukhoi-27 - I saw one fly at the Avalon airshow in 1992; it was a beautiful sight, especially the Kobra manouevre. I got pilot Anatoli Kvotchur's autograph afterwards. What a day!
The AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunship - lean, mean, purposeful.
I always had a soft spot for the Constellation airliner. I saw one at Avalon as well. It's a beautiful machine in a way the later jets could never be (fully agree with Troberg on that).
-------------------- You fool! That's not a warrior, that's a banana! - a surreal moment in a role-playing game Posts: 2480 | From: Australia | Registered: Feb 2003
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I have a weak spot for the Mi-24 Hind, it looks mean, powerful, brutal and really pissed off. I sure wouldn't want to be in a tank when a pair of those pass over the battlefield. It's also a nice multipurpose helicopter. It works nicely in an attack role, but it works fine for transport and lifting as well.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Most helicopter gunships these days are AH-64 Apache clones - the Mangusta/Scorpion, the Tiger, the Rooivalk, the Mi-28.. boring!
At least the Cobra and the Krokodil (the Russian nickname for the Hind) were originals.
-------------------- You fool! That's not a warrior, that's a banana! - a surreal moment in a role-playing game Posts: 2480 | From: Australia | Registered: Feb 2003
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Mr. Furious
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
My favorite WWII plane, hands down, is the Junkers JU-87 (the "Stuka" dive bomber). One of the reasons I wanted to go to London was that one of the only surviving such planes is at the RAF Museum.
quote:It works nicely in an attack role, but it works fine for transport and lifting as well.
Aye just as long as you don't want any of those tasks performed at night
Helis bore the arse off me anyway, the big jaw-droppers at this year's RIAT (world's largest miltary airshow) were the Swiss and US Hornets, the RAF Typhoon, a great Mustang/F15 combination and by far the best, the vectored thrust retro-fit Mig-29. Doesn't get much cooler.
Next year, the Vulcan should return, and I for one am already shivering in anticipation...
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Most helicopter gunships these days are AH-64 Apache clones - the Mangusta/Scorpion, the Tiger, the Rooivalk, the Mi-28.. boring!
The Bo-105 has left that tradition, but like the Mi-24, it's a multipurpose aircraft.
I also like the counterrotating rotors on the Ka-50, even if the body is very much like the Cobra clones. It's also unique in that it is a single seater, with no need for a separate gunner.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Mine has to be the A-10. Sure, it can only do a few linited tasks, but it does them extremely well. And it's amazingly easy to maintain (and I can say this from personal experience - I worked them for 6 years, on and off). And did I mention that the A-10 got and air-to-air kill before the F-16?
-------------------- "We take evil really seriously" Posts: 175 | From: Tokyo, Japan | Registered: Aug 2006
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quote:Aye just as long as you don't want any of those tasks performed at night
I think the newer versions have full night capabilities.
You got any details? I thought it wasn't cost effective to re-fit Hind cockpits for night vision, and the same goes for their nav capabilities which were always regarded as rudimentary. I ask because the primary users of Hinds would likely opt for a different aircraft as modern variant Hinds would break the bank and serve only to modernise an ancient airframe with little future.
Still, saw a Hind display this year (Czech I think but I can't recall) - it looked splendid in it's Tiger livery but the Merlin blew it away for manouverability and flight options. Whilst the Merlin isn't a gunship it was painfully obvious the difference in capabilities between the similar sized airframes.
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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-------------------- "British English speakers point to Americans adding more syllables so that they can make even more noise without actually saying anything." Llewtrah
Posts: 2235 | From: Sussex , UK | Registered: May 2004
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Sorry, it was just something I read somewhere a few years ago, and I have no idea at all where I read it.
It may also be that they went for some cheaper system tacked onto the helmet, as I said, it was a long time ago I read it.
quote:Still, saw a Hind display this year (Czech I think but I can't recall) - it looked splendid in it's Tiger livery but the Merlin blew it away for manouverability and flight options.
One has to remember that the Mi-24 is more related to the A-10 and Su-25 and even the old A-1 than an Apache or Cobra in its intended battlefield role. It's not a helicopter for sneaking around the bushes, it's made for making a formation pass over the battlefield, unloading some heavy firepower at whatever it can see, then return home for a reload.
-------------------- /Troberg Posts: 4360 | From: Borlänge, Sweden | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Hans Off: "Cockfits" Jay ?
Something on your mind?
You don't know the half of it mate!
Good points Trobe', and points to further it's obsoletion - can a helicopter be so exposed these days without being taken down - especially one as juicy a target as the Hind? The modern battlefield must lick it's lips at such a prospect, surface to air got on top of the Hind in Afghanistan and that was some time ago...
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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posted
I like aviation threads, so by way of keeping this one alive here are some shots I took of a few bad boys at RIAT this year (greatly reduced in size, so quality has suffered)
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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-------------------- "British English speakers point to Americans adding more syllables so that they can make even more noise without actually saying anything." Llewtrah
Posts: 2235 | From: Sussex , UK | Registered: May 2004
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quote:I like aviation threads, so by way of keeping this one alive here are some shots I took of a few bad boys at RIAT this year (greatly reduced in size, so quality has suffered)
You showed yours (air show photos), now I'll have to show you mine...
posted
Can't wait to see the Vulcan at RIAT in the summer. When that goes over I imagine it will rearrange my molecules.
I snapped this Osprey at RIAT this year. I thought it was amazing when it changed from one mode to another.
Posts: 589 | From: Oxfordshire, UK | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I'll add one more to my list, the Antonov AN-225, which got a mention in the A380 thread, but oddly enough not here.
Just a few weeks ago it visited RDU. If I still lived in Raleigh I so would have gone to see it, but my timing is off by a few years.
-------------------- "Unseasonable is an odd word to begin with. It sounds like it's describing something that it's impossible to sprinkle pepper on." -- Nonny Posts: 5483 | From: Just south of Folsom Prison, CA | Registered: Jul 2002
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-------------------- High on the wind, the Highland drums begin to roll, and something from the past just comes and stares into my soul... --Mark Knopfler Posts: 3402 | From: New Bern, NC | Registered: May 2004
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posted
I have a P-38 Lightning coffee mug that I bought years ago the first time I went to the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson. Love that twin boom design.
I'm also partial to the F4U Corsair, the B-29 Superfortress, the Il-2 Stormovik, and many other WW2 aircraft.
I love when the History Channel shows the "Secret Aircraft of WW2" series. One of my favorites is the Vought F5U, or the Flying Flapjack. I couldn't find a decent link, but had it been developed in time, it would have kicked some serious Imperial Japanese Navy tail in the Pacific.
-------------------- NO BETTER FRIEND, NO WORSE ENEMY -- "I grok when apes learn to laugh, they'll be people." Posts: 727 | From: Southeastern Arizona | Registered: Sep 2005
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Joe Bentley
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
Ugly and slow the Intruder packed a wallop, carrying a 15,000 lb payload, giving it the highest payload to weight ratio of any aircraft ever.
-------------------- "Existence has no pattern save what we imagine after staring at it for too long." - Rorschach, The Watchmen Posts: 8929 | From: Norfolk, Virginia | Registered: Jun 2002
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