How does an Aircraft make you feel....

[Yeoman_dai]

Ok this is leaning towards the abstract a bit here, but the F-4 thread made me get to thinking about different aircraft and the effect their look and appareance have on our emotions.

To use the F4 as an example, several people have mentioned that it looks the part, how its form matches its intent and how it just looks deadly.



So the question i'm going to pose to you is this - how do different aircraft tug at your heart strings (or other strings for that matter) when you look at them...

For example, I think, the Saab Viggen looks pretty damn mean, and pretty damn agressive. Just like the famous line of a Spitfire, to me isn't deadly, but graceful - a Hurricane is more workhorse like.

On the workhorse, the A7 Corsair, the A1 Skyraider, the Hercules all look the part, stoic and powerful.

an Apache or Cobra both look Waspish and nasty and reassuring...

Sea Harriers look kinda cute and thereofre dont match their record (ducks to avoid incoming)

Its an exceptionally hard thing to categorise and i've made a pretty bloody bad job of it, but if you think you understand me (congratulations) do please post.

SO, aircraft form, and function.

[Green Flash]

NimWACS - looked crap, was crap! A perfect marriage of form and function.;)

[BEagle]

Concorde......




Perfection.

[brickhistory]

Sexy and curvy:

The Spitfire

The Sea Hawk

The F-86 Sabre

The bruiser looking for said fight:

P-47, Hawker Typhoon, F-4 Phantom II

Menacing in a Darth Vader the world is going to explode kind of way:

The B-52

[Melchett01]

Westland Lysander reminds me of a wolf in sheeps clothing. It looks like the class geek, the odd one out, but in reality actually did some pretty interesting stuff.

On the other hand, the Hawker Hunter makes me think of an elegant lady with a bite

[soddim]

There is a well-worn expression - "If it looks right it is right" - and that is often true.

The Hunter, for example, looked right and was more than that.

There is an apocryphal tale of a Rhodesian RAF officer who visited Warton and was shown a prototype Tornado in a hangar with a very asymetric configuration and he commented "It'll never fu**ing fly".

An Israeli air force officer commented "The best place for canards is on someone else's fighter".

In Cold Lake circa Maple Flag 5 the Base Commander wanted to hold an ugly aircraft competition and picked on the Harrier. The A-10 won.

Does looking the part mean much or is the visual impact merely in the eyes of the beholder?

The Ford Capri was a beautiful car but it was far from the best of its' era.

The Lightning looked and was a formidable performing fighter in its' day but the weapon system was crap even by the standards of the day.

Some Navigators look smart but I wouldn't let my daughter marry one.

I guess looks mean something but they are not the be all and end all. Scratch the surface at least to see the value.

[412SP]

SR-71.......looks fast & sinister.

B-1...........^^^^ditto^^^^.

[foldingwings]

Buccaneer - nuff said!

[Question_Answer]

X-32 - A basking shark!

[On_The_Top_Bunk]

Buccaneer - nuff said!

I always considered it quite ugly, as I did the TSR2 but hey it's just personal opinion.

[Olly O'Leg]

Didn't someone once say the Victor looked like it was going Mach 1, even when it was on the ground?!?!

:eek:

[Duchess_Driver]

Avro Vulcan......The Poodles Parts!



Civil side......Boeing 727-200

[HighTow]

Colour me biased but I've always had a soft spot for the Hotspur glider.

[Semper Amictus]

D.H. Hornet, anyone ?
FW-190 ?

And amongst those with holes in the back, any or all of F-100, F-105 and the F-111.

[L J R]

Almost a whole page and no TSR-2 fans yet (an no I am not one!)



...Boeing 707

[barnstormer1968]

F106 Delta Dart, Looked the business, and had a weapon that did not need to be accurate to be devastating.

Canberra, simplistic beauty, and very capable for it's day. Also one of the very few foreign aircraft bought by the USAF

[Almost_done]

For me the Mosquito was the best A/C of it's generation a great combination of beauty and power.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3241/2989537051_fd72dbfe7c.jpg?v=0

[TurbineTooHot]

The difference a few feet make. F3: long pointy, looks quick but almost calm, a veritable diplomat. GR: stocky and nasty, looks like it's about to punch someone in the face for looking the wrong way a its girlfriend. Either way, love the land shark.:}

[Bob Viking]

That picture in Top Gun when 'Maverick' walks out to the jet before the final showdown. Moody sky, head-on, strapped to the deck and looking mean.
It's the reason I'm where I am today! The jet, not Maverick before any smart-arses try to get clever!
BV:)
(Anyone care to post a picture to illustrate my point?!)

[cornish-stormrider]

B2 - the nuclear doom machine, much scarier than the BUFF.
F3 - rather than the stub nosed GR crap.
SR-71 because..........
TOOM......does what it says on the tin
A10 - you know it's going to give you a kicking.

Oh and just about anything going past at full bore and you are looking down the hill at it.

Helo wise I'd say the variant stallion with all the guns and probe etc....

[Double Zero]

I agree the Hunter looked and flew the part, but was critiszed by a rather famous Test Pilot for never having matured into a decent weapons system; this proved totally correct, it was a great aircraft to pole around the sky & impress one's girlfriend, which counts for most RAF aircraft !

As for a Harrier being 'shot' by an A-10, well though I worked on Harrier development I'm a huge fan of the A-10, having seen it on test ranges etc and think we could do with a lot of moderised versions now in Afganistan; this little input could go on for ever, re. guns etc, but that A-10 v. Harrier must have been very lucky !

[The Real Slim Shady]

I was fortunate enough to fly the Vulcan.

As a lad my Captain would invoke "Olympus Lift" on the go around: so much power. Brilliant airplane.

[BlackIsle]

Folland Gnat - Sporty spice - looks terrific, tight fit and very responsive little beauty!

[Green Flash]

Slight thread drift but refering to the A-10 it's funny that, despite all the robo-high tec weaponry on the battlefield, nothing beats sending a blizzard of bullets into Terry T's mess tins, eh? Granted, 6 barrells of 30mm high velocity mental-rpm type DU bullets but still bullets and low tech at that. High tech is all well and good but we still seem come back to weight of fire. (I would also like miniguns, 50 cals etc etc to be taken into consideration). In this respect, I expect the A-10 to go on for ever! Watching one roll in for a guns pass you just KNOW that this is going to sting. There is a certain inevitability that someone is going to wish he was somewhere else.

[Gainesy]

It's the reason I'm where I am today!

Wot? Miramar? Thought you'd got shoved on that Alcatraz sim across the Menai:)

[Airborne Aircrew]

nothing beats sending a blizzard of bullets into Terry T's mess tins, eh?Right... Watch after 00:30... That would make your eyes water... :ok: I always used to love watching them run in live at Sennybridge...

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[Double Zero]

The Sea Harrier. Mk 1 or 2, will stay with me; seeing one on engine run was enough to impress / frighten the hell out of anyone, let alone seeing John Farley perform his famous take-off ( several less experienced pilots tried it unofficially, and paid with their lives...).

Having said that, I was always impressed by the visiting A-10's at the West Freugh test range - if anyone from the 1980's is reading, thankyou, a very friendly lot happy to show us over the cockpit & systems.

There seems a gap in the market for a modernised version of the A-10, carrier capable, right now; don't even get me started on Harrier GR9's, AV-8B's & guns, been there and seen / filmed the results !

A huge amount of potential thrown away by politics.

In answer to your original question, the Sea Harrier FRS1 ( or 51 with the Indian Navy ) does it for me !!!

[Bob Viking]

Ok. Not literally.
More's the pity!
BV:sad:

[mr fish]

F15A, clean and in full reheat (as my old man used to say,"its not bloody afterburner"!!!!) climbing almost vertical.
had a huge poster in my bedroom when i was a nipper.
jeeez, has she been in service that long???

[fallmonk]

As perviously mentioned Hawker Typhoon ,De Havilland Mosquito ,the A/C that put in the "shifts" the spits got the glory but these two where down in the mud with the troops !
Also like to say the A-10 for the same reasons,

For shear heart stopping aircraft its the Tomcat ,maybe it is the "top gun" dream we all got sold by Mr Bruckheimer /Ridley Scott no matter wot its a thing off beauty ! was heartbroken when it was finaly retired and was informed that most where being CRUSHED to stop Iran getting a hold of any parts :mad:

[cornish-stormrider]

Did I mention the one that never flew......XB-70 Valkyrie.

Mach 3+ riding its own supersonic shockwave,
two speeds: parked and Sheeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttt!

[Green Flash]

Hey, A A - nice!:ok:;):E

[Wee Jock McPlop]

MIL

F4 - For its brutish good looks and don't f..k with me aura.
Buccaneer - Made from girders and built like a brick s...house.
F14 - Grumman clearly tried to follow on from the F4.

CIVI

Super Connie - For its sheer grace and elegance.

OVERALL

Concorde - Simply the best.

[chiglet]

And for sheer perfection........the VC15 :D

[alwayslookingup]

F104 Starfighter - Sooo sleeek, looks like it could fly to the stars

Japanes Zero - nippy (!)

SU27 - mighty

B2 - awesome

F16 - graceful & elegant

P51 - Cadillac of the sky

Lockheed P38 Lightning - solid & steady, (2 engines very comforting flying far out over the ocean)

Mirage 2000 - ruthlessly efficient

[Melchett01]

Mirage 2000 - ruthlessly efficient

Well that will be a first for anything French!:E

[aviate1138]

Bugatti 100......

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn77/aviate1138/Picture19-1.jpg

[cornish-stormrider]

Aviate - What in all that is holy is that? It looks like some sort of widowmaker though.

[davejb]

Bright Yellow Seakings make me feel like committing golf...


....I'll get my coat....

(RM golfers, ifr that gets out the papers will look even sillier...)

[AR1]

I have a massive soft spot (should that be a hard spot?) for the Buccaneer. When I first saw one in the flesh at IAD '79 St Mawgan, I got goosebumps.
Same place, 2 A10's flew past all strange noises and weird looks - and I had no idea what they were. Brilliant.
And finally the F105 Thunderchief. Never seen one flying, but stood in awe next to the 'Yellow Rose of Texas' on the Dyess walk of fame. God they are huge, and only one engine!! You would feel like a hard b*****d if you flew one of those.

[ChecklistPlease]

She’s versatile, multi role, curvy and sexy.......... it’s the Harrier

[loxman]

Buccaneer--Ugly! Never!!! One look at the curves just screamed out beauty and pure purpose!!!!:ok:

PS. Ex FAA, but not biased you understand!!!

[Fintastic]

Some great planes listed here, but the only jet I've ever seen that looks better (and Meaner!) the more you put on it.....Tonka GR, there is no substitute! Of course, with a name like mine, I'm totally biased!:ok:

Always loved the Bell X-15A.........YF-23 was also a beauty.