Most beautiful planes of all time...

[SfanGoch]

On 7/6/2019 at 6:14 PM, TarheelRick said:

And I did work on this particular F-4D when I was in Thailand.

Steve "Mig Killer" Ritchie's Lead Sled out of Udorn. The only USAF fighter ace of the Vietnam War.

[TarheelRick]

50 minutes ago, SfanGoch said:

Steve "Mig Killer" Ritchie's Lead Sled out of Udorn. The only USAF fighter ace of the Vietnam War.

When I worked it , the five stars were not on it, maybe two or possibly three.  Had the chance to speak with him on a bus ride around the base from housing to the flightline.  At that time I was a Buck Sergeant and he was a Captain.  He saw North Carolina on my hat and struck up a conversation; I think he was from around the Burlington area.  

[SfanGoch]

Robin Olds thought of him as being "brilliant" but thinking himself "God's gift".  Hey, you gotta have big brass ones doing what he did.

[Pete J.]

2 hours ago, Deuces said:

I like hotrods.... ??

That's no hot rod!  That is your daily driver.  This is a hot rod.  Your daily driver,  modified in every conceivable  fashion to make if faster.  By the way, the fluid draining out of the bottom is most likely from the ice used to cool the engine.

[ranma]

8 hours ago, peteski said:

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.

These two are quite "ugly"

[Repstock]

13 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.   

 

A note about Tex Johnston's roll...

The airlines were pretty sure that jets flying in the stratosphere were the future, but they were nervous. Watching the 376–80 do a barrel roll convinced many of them that it was a well built plane.

But here’s the truth, a barrel roll is not the same as an aileron roll. Rather than the plane rolling through its own axis, its path is more like a corkscrew. This means that basically the aircraft doesn’t experience much more than a -G force along its vertical axis. In other words, it’s not much more stressful than normal flight.

[cobraman]

4 hours ago, ranma said:

These two are quite "ugly"

Goblin and Guppy ?

[High octane]

I kinda like these planes...............................................................

 

[Cpt Tuttle]

 

I like the Saab 35 Draken myself.

[Matt Bacon]

As OP, I'm prepared to stretch the definition of beautiful a fair bit, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. An F-4 is FAMOUSLY "not beautiful." Aggressive, tough, menacing, purposeful, sturdy...any of those I'll give you, and more. But beautiful, no... and I've built at least seven of the beasts of various sizes and variants...

;-P

best,

M.

 

[Matt Bacon]

55 minutes ago, High octane said:

I kinda like these planes...............................................................

Those aren't planes, they're curves, and all the better for it... ;-P

M.

[ranma]

1 hour ago, cobraman said:

Goblin and Guppy ?

You are correct sir they are the Goblin and super Guppy! Ugly as sin!

[James2]

Curtiss P-6 Hawk. I fell in love with this plane when I first saw it at Wright Patterson Airforce Base Museum, at the ripe old age of seven!

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Matt Bacon said:

As OP, I'm prepared to stretch the definition of beautiful a fair bit, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. An F-4 is FAMOUSLY "not beautiful." Aggressive, tough, menacing, purposeful, sturdy...any of those I'll give you, and more. But beautiful, no... and I've built at least seven of the beasts of various sizes and variants...

;-P

best,

M.

 

I gotcher back on this, my brother. Fabulous airplane in many ways, but definitely NOT a pretty one. 

[SSNJim]

4 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

As OP, I'm prepared to stretch the definition of beautiful a fair bit, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. An F-4 is FAMOUSLY "not beautiful." Aggressive, tough, menacing, purposeful, sturdy...any of those I'll give you, and more. But beautiful, no... and I've built at least seven of the beasts of various sizes and variants...

Very true, that. One of the better known nicknames for the F-4 is "Double Ugly". One of the greatest planes to ever fly, but not a beauty queen. On the same note, the B-52 is known as "BUFF" - Big Ugly Fat Fellow.

I went to a military school in a soundproof-ish building across the bay from Naval Air Station North Island when they were flying F-4s. Never heard any of the planes taking off except the F-4. Incredible planes. I've got a F-4J in progress now.

[SfanGoch]

7 minutes ago, SSNJim said:

"BUFF" - Big Ugly Fat Fellow.

You're being polite, aren't you?

[Vince Nemanic]

For those of us aircraft ignorant, could you guys please identify these?   Especially that red twin engine?

 

 

Thanks guys.

 

[GLMFAA1]

1 hour ago, Vince Nemanic said:

For those of us aircraft ignorant, could you guys please identify these?   Especially that red twin engine?

 

 

Thanks guys.

 

Here you go: de Havilland DH.88 Comet

greg

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, SSNJim said:

...I went to a military school in a soundproof-ish building across the bay from Naval Air Station North Island when they were flying F-4s. Never heard any of the planes taking off except the F-4. Incredible planes.

Back in 1977, F-4 Phantoms were still operating out of Dobbins AFB. I had a shop just across the highway from one end of the main runway. Quite often, a flight of two F-4s would head out at dusk in full AB. The sound was overwhelming, as was the sight of the twin cones of flame at their tails disappearing into the darkening sky. Lotsa memories.

I happened to be at Mojave 2 decades later to see some of the first F4s converted to QF-4 target drones by BAE Systems. Very sad (to me) to know these exquisite aircraft were being readied for their last flights, but it's a fitting end for old fighters. BAE has done over 300 such conversions.

[Pete J.]

8 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

As OP, I'm prepared to stretch the definition of beautiful a fair bit, but I've got to draw the line somewhere. An F-4 is FAMOUSLY "not beautiful." Aggressive, tough, menacing, purposeful, sturdy...any of those I'll give you, and more. But beautiful, no... and I've built at least seven of the beasts of various sizes and variants...

;-P

best,

M.

 

With one very notable exception ....

[Pete J.]

10 hours ago, Repstock said:

 

A note about Tex Johnston's roll...

The airlines were pretty sure that jets flying in the stratosphere were the future, but they were nervous. Watching the 376–80 do a barrel roll convinced many of them that it was a well built plane.

But here’s the truth, a barrel roll is not the same as an aileron roll. Rather than the plane rolling through its own axis, its path is more like a corkscrew. This means that basically the aircraft doesn’t experience much more than a -G force along its vertical axis. In other words, it’s not much more stressful than normal flight.

A properly done barrel roll is indeed a 1 g maneuver when done properly.  However, the caveat it the "when done properly".  I did more than my fair share in UPT with T-37s and T-38s and if you mess it up and dish out the back side you can wind up in an "Aw shoot" moment and pull quite a few g's recovering.  Also, in aerobatics there can be significant load that do not show up on the g meter.  Lateral loads are particularly onerous on large aircraft such as the Dash 80, 135 and 707 and I can believe the story of outboard engines departing the aircraft.  I saw one that came off when an inexperienced pilot "hit the dip" in the runway at Anderson, but that is another story.

[Pete J.]

Since I mentioned him in a prior story here is a piece on Bob Hoover, who I would rate as the best pilot of all time.  He is 93 in this video and still able to pull of a precise barrel roll in a Saberliner.  This was two years before he passed. The man was respected by all who ever took up aviation!

https://www.avgeekery.com/legendary-test-pilot-bob-hoover-flies-over-edwards-in-a-saberliner/?fbclid=IwAR0O7ex7UWe7lToFPRfdWG2ZgT-cx51bLhkH8VP3dl7syJW0tWs7H2Sz2Xw

[Pace]

747

I like big planes and the 747 is beuty unlike any other passenger plane in its shape, sadly they are getting rare.

[Vince Nemanic]

Mam that Dh88 is pretty. And I really appreciate you guys putting in the identifications. Actually, I was surprised by how many I did know.  Keep them coming! 

[Matt Bacon]

3 hours ago, Vince Nemanic said:

Mam that Dh88 is pretty.

Sadly, beautiful as it is, it was a bit of a handful to fly, belying the old adage "if it looks right it'll fly right." A tendency to stall and drop a wingtip on takeoff or on landing, lack of stability, very poor pilot view on the ground, and extreme sensitivity to centre of gravity changes as the the fuel gets used up made it an excellent fast cruising, long-legged air racer, but a nightmare to get off the ground safely and back down again. Which is one reason why they only ever built five, of which only two survive... and one of those was rebuilt after a take-off crash...

best,

M.