View Full Version : Which aircraft is the most produced in history?
rotornut
3rd Nov 2004, 20:57
OK folks, here's a question for you:
Which aircraft is the most produced in history?
(A toast of vodka to the first person to get it right.)
John (Gary) Cooper
3rd Nov 2004, 21:08
Cessna 172: 39,600 manufactured between 1955 and 2002, and still in production.
Bre901
3rd Nov 2004, 22:48
RotornutA toast of vodka to the first person to get it right.Guess you were thinking of the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik (36,163 produced).
Na zdarovye !
Looks like the spamcan's big brother has overperformed it nowadays.
jumpuFOKKERjump
4th Nov 2004, 01:41
Boeing 737, coz each rattletrap has been re-build about 6 times.
C172 39600+, amazing, and still not a nice airplane (its 'merican so its not an aeroplane) to fly:E
\'nuther question:
Which aero engines have highest production numbers?
A. piston
B turbine
Think I know the answer to A, no idea about B!
rotornut
4th Nov 2004, 09:42
Bre901,
Yes, that's exactly the figure I found in Collins/Jane's Aircraft of World War II, published in 1995, describing the Il-2 as "the most produced aircraft in history".
However, I don't doubt the figures for the 172 so I guess it's a toast of vodka and bourbon to all of you. By the way I was really surprised to learn about the Shturmovik. I never would have guessed that the Russians produced so many planes.
Specnut727
4th Nov 2004, 11:18
TD&H
Not sure what you have in mind for the piston, but you would think it might be the Mikulin AM-38 in the Il-2.
My guess on the turbine would be the PT6 family. Haven't done any searching though.
BeauMan
4th Nov 2004, 11:48
The one that surprised me when I heard about it years ago was the Messerschmitt 109 - Nazi Germany turned out around 35,000 of them; not a bad show when you consider that in the last couple of years of that regime's existence, the aircraft factories were being repeatedly bombed and the resources available were rapidly running out.
rotornut
4th Nov 2004, 16:27
BeauMan
It was an amazing feat. In fact, according to my figures, Germany produced 39,807 aircraft and 54,600 aircraft engines in 1944 - more than in any other year during the war. I understand it was largely due to Speer. The dark side of it was that they used a lot of slave labour, often in terrible conditions such as camp Dora, a notorious underground facility in the Harz Mountains.
witchdoctor
4th Nov 2004, 19:11
I would reckon the classic 'concorde' version of your average paper aeroplane is without doubt the most produced, and probably into the millions.
Much prefer a nice single malt myself.;)
cringe
4th Nov 2004, 22:06
Which aero engines have highest production numbers? P&W R1830 Twin Wasp: 173,618 built
GE J47: 36,500
P&W PT6: over 30,000
Cringe: I don't have the figures, I'm sure someone out there will have, but doesn't the RR Merlin come close or even beat the R1830?
Like so many of these things I read it somewhere so it must be true!
Anyone one from the RRHT able to answer, please?
twenty eight
5th Nov 2004, 09:24
According to Bill Gunston book The development of PISTON AERO ENGINES there where 168,040 merlin's made including 55,523 by Packard USA.Not all would have been used in aircraft.Some would have been used in tanks and air sea rescue boats etc.
Beauman, The Bf109 figure you mention may be slightly innacurate. I believe that if a 109 was destroyed at the factory, a new airframe number would be issued for any surviving parts. Similarly, an aircraft substantially damaged would be issued with a new serial number during repair.
N
Tempsford
5th Nov 2004, 21:48
Has to be the 1/72 scale Airfix Spitfire
I'll get my coat
Temps
PorcoRosso
6th Nov 2004, 09:18
Amazing fact about the ME109
For ten 109 destroyed, 5 of them would be lost during take-offs or Landings :uhoh: This is mainly due to the narrow landing gear (like the spitfire ) and the lack of experience of Luftwaffe pilots as the war went on.
I have met, 10 years ago, a former german pilot, who was lucky enough to survive the entire war, and who flew both ME109 and FW190. He told me he liked the messerscmidt ... once Airborne !
The FW was more forgivable for a young inexperienced pilot .
To come back on the thread, I think the Antonov 2 was widely build by the russians also, but probably not to the extent of the IL2. This amazing aircraft entered production in 1947 and is still made in China.
some workshop in Russia (Or Czeh ? ) do convert them with a Turbine, what a look :O
Eric Mc
13th Nov 2004, 18:45
The figure of 35,000 109s is often quoted but I think it also includes post war production in Spain (Hispano) and Czechoslovakia (Avia).