Snake45 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 And the absolute pinnacle of delta-winged beauty, the Dassault Mirage 2000: Now THAT's what a jet fighter should look like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironman63 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 I think the B-17 is #1. Second is the SR-71 Blackbird and my 3rd would be the AC-130 Spectre. The last 2 I'll mention are the Concorde and the P-61 Black Widow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 This is my first pick, Convair B-58 Hustler. I may be bias because my first USAF assignment was at Grissom AFB IN, one of only 2 bases with Hustlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Snake45 said: I think that's the DeHavilland Comet. It is! The Dh-88. They re-used the name later for a very different aeroplane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonW Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Snake45 said: I think that's the DeHavilland Comet. It is! The DH-88. They re-used the name later for a very different aeroplane... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classicgas Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Four of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Love that Airacobra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 3 hours ago, Snake45 said: I think that's the DeHavilland Comet. It is, but the De Havilland DH.88 Comet air racer, as opposed to the DH 106 Comet jet airliner from several years later. Talking of De Havilland, the stunning 1938 DH 91 Albatross pre-dated the Constellation by 5 years: clearly, there's a "right" shape for a four engined prop airliner... best, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted July 7, 2019 Author Share Posted July 7, 2019 I have to agree on the Blackbird, but I'm surprised no one has posted this angle, which IMHO is the best of all.... cool, alien and spectacular at the same time: best, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Classicgas said: Four of my favorites. Apparently a big fan of Bell products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 The Spitfire on my Most Beautiful list would be the Spit 24. Or at least a bubbletop XIV or 18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDO Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 5 hours ago, iamsuperdan said: Top three for me... But for me, hands down, it has to be the Avro Arrow. So much potential that never came to be because of politics and kowtowing to other governments. There was also a Soviet spy at Avro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDO Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 5 hours ago, iamsuperdan said: Top three for me... But for me, hands down, it has to be the Avro Arrow. So much potential that never came to be because of politics and kowtowing to other governments. There was also a Soviet spy at Avro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LDO Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 BAC TSR-2 Another could-have-been. British tactical strike/reconnaissance prototype canceled before production. One more vote for the P-51D also. I also like it as a racer. And for elegance, the Concord. What I would give for the chance to fly on one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLMFAA1 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Well might as well give my opinion on planes: I agree with the XB 70, the B 58 Hustler, The P 51 Some what amused at the C 130 because I remember the original nose on the plane My two together planes are the B52 mother plane and the X 15 to go along with the P51 the Vought F4U Corsair for prop plane and last but not least is the Candair CL 415 greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 I like aviation what-ifs, almosts and never-was'es. Here are a couple of faves. The Hughes XF-11 and the very first Bell design, the XFM-1 Airacuda. I think the Airacuda is beautiful, in its own brutal, all-business way. The clear nacelles in front of the pusher props held gunners, armed with 37-mm cannon: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 7, 2019 Share Posted July 7, 2019 Along with several of the others, I think these deserve mention: B-47 Stratojet F-100 Super Saber Howard Hughes H-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, GLMFAA1 said: to go along with the P51 the Vought F4U Corsair for prop plane Can't argue with the Corsair. My vote for Most Beautiful variant goes to the R4360-powered F2G. Just pure badass! Edited July 8, 2019 by Snake45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 32 minutes ago, Snake45 said: ...Just pure badass! For pure badass in my book, nothing beats the P-47 Thunderbolt... And its namesake A-10 Thunderbolt "Warthog"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snake45 Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 35 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said: For pure badass in my book, nothing beats the P-47 Thunderbolt... And you just happened to pick the Most Beautiful variant of it there, the late-war N model. Sweet! N-Bolt, Bearcat, late Corsair, Sea Fury: They're all beautiful to me. They were also the ULTIMATE prop-driven fighters. Fully mature technology. End of the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete J. Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 12 hours ago, SfanGoch said: Did you ever pull a Tex Johnson? Oh god no! First off Tex had the best hands of any pilot I ever saw except maybe for Bob Hoover. Second the aircraft he did that in was the prototype AKA the Dash 80. Dimensionally is was smaller by a significant factor(12" narrower fuselage than the KC-135 and 16" narrower than the production 707). There were several unverified stories of crews that died when they tried and the centripetal force caused the outboard engines to depart the aircraft mid roll. Most extreme we ever did were steep turns with 60 degrees of bank which is a 2 g maneuver. I love the old saying, " There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" with the exception of the two mentioned prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteski Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 My top pick is SR-71, then Concorde and "Concordski" (Tu-144). But I also like the looks of the original Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. I love the hump, and its overall proportions! Most airplanes, but design, are beautiful. I think we will eventually see most airplanes ever produced listed here. I think a more manageable thread would have been "What is the ugliest airplane?". There are few out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deuces Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 I like hotrods.... ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TarheelRick Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 6 hours ago, Pete J. said: Oh god no! First off Tex had the best hands of any pilot I ever saw except maybe for Bob Hoover. Second the aircraft he did that in was the prototype AKA the Dash 80. Dimensionally is was smaller by a significant factor(12" narrower fuselage than the KC-135 and 16" narrower than the production 707). There were several unverified stories of crews that died when they tried and the centripetal force caused the outboard engines to depart the aircraft mid roll. Most extreme we ever did were steep turns with 60 degrees of bank which is a 2 g maneuver. I love the old saying, " There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots" with the exception of the two mentioned prior. The difference between a fairy tale and a war story is the fairy tale begins "Once upon a time", and the war story begins "No BLAH this really happened". There is a war story of a B-52 doing a barrel roll over Viet Nam in order to miss a SAM. It purportedly made the return trip to Guam where it was disassembled, put on a ship and returned to the states. I am not trying to say this video is a war story, just taking the opportunity to share this "war story". And I have spent several hours crawling all over the KC-135 fixing radios/communications equipment, also got a hop on one to Hawaii. It and I was heading to Korea, but the crew bumped everyone off in Hawaii. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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