Auster 9 and Gripper
Prop (unfortunately not VP). The Auster AOP 9 was great fun, even if slightly prone to spring a 'ground loop' on you - saw a mate suffer that on a carrier once in the S China Sea. He was helped out, white and shaking, with the sea rushing by 60ft below him. 12 psi tyres let you land almost anywhere. Climb performance required an adrenalin injection in the tropics though, especially in mountainous areas.
Jets - Trident, without a doubt. The "Gripper", once airborne, was fabulous. Not a huge rate of climb, but what a rate of descent! With 1 and 3 in reverse, we got 22,000 fpm once with a windscreen problem. Noisy and heavy on the fuel, but who cared in the days when 'security' was not much more than "You can't take that with you, it stinks (or wriggles or weighs a ton)" and .88 in the cruise until the first fuel scare.
Prober