This has been one of the more interesting threads to appear on PPrune for a long time. Not just the breadth of types flown by the contributors, but the varying opinions of what actually constitutes a “Loved Most/Liked Least” type.
Like Chimbu (amongst others), I’ve enjoyed every aeroplane I’ve ever flown, assuredly though some much more than others! So how do you determine which you prefer most? Surely it’s not just the aircraft’s qualities, but also the individuals’ situation/lifestyle at the time?
For example, amongst my favourites ranks the F.27. Apart from its feeling of immense strength, in reality it had few great qualities. Sorry, Saabsforever, in itself it was NOT “wonderful to fly”. In addition, the Ansett operation involved the vagaries of flying to Tasmania in the winter, lots of NDB and circling approaches, often in a “black hole” environment. Yet it was my first airline command, and I loved every minute of it.
Old but not bold nominates the DC-9, but was it, as he states, “a true pilot’s aeroplane”?? I thought the handling quite ordinary, you were very much aware of flying servo tabs, you didn’t fly it so much as simply point it. And yet it had a lovely well laid out (by the standards of the day) and superbly quiet cockpit, wonderful automatic systems that should have made Boeing blush and, point to point, it was quick. Everyone on it (including me) loved it!
Wawa Zone names the Pitts. Hmm, in my humble opinion it’s a perfect vehicle for aerobatics but not a particularly “nice” aeroplane.
18 Wheeler mentions the “Classic” B747. Amongst the downsides was a noisy and poorly air-conditioned flight deck. Who can forget a max weight departure – questionable longitudinal stability, a 5 knot margin between max structural speed for your existing flap setting and minimum manoeuvring speed for the next selection, and you had a bank angle restriction between F5 and F1 – all this from memory, no poofy speed tape or smart flight director here. In theory I should have preferred the B744; much better avionics, an EICAS, plus superior handling and it was far easier to land – yet it simply went too far. With my employer you only flew long haul plus a regional trip every six months (your line check) and, as a captain, I averaged two landings per month. I liked it not! To me, the “Classic” will forever be the Queen of the Skies, and again I loved every minute.
So maybe you could add degree of challenge in promoting an aircraft into the “most liked” column? Enough rambling!
Flown:
Beech 18/23/33/35/36/55/58/65/80/90/95.
Cessna 150/172/175/180/182/205/206/210/310/320/337/402
Chipmunk, DH.82, Dove
Piper PA18/22/23/24/28/30
Pitts S2
Victa 100/115, CT-4
Wirraway, Winjeel, Harvard
Lear 45
F.27, DC-4/Carvair
B727, B737, B747, B744, B777, DC-9
Loved Most:
Chipmunk – fabulous handling, it simply oozes character
B777 – easy to run out of superlatives here, what an airliner should be, it always made even me look good
DC-9 – the quietest cockpit ever, a very slick machine
F.27 – a true character-building aeroplane
Liked least:
Cessna 205 – lousy handling & performance, makes a truck seem elegant
PA23 – simply awful in turbulence, it kept wanting to fly backwards
Wirraway – in the circuit I have the feeling that it wants to kill me