Le helicopter tres beau

[helmet fire]

We've done "what's your favourite helicopter?", and the best looking fixed wing is easy - the A10!

Now - what is the best looking helicopter?

For mine:

1. Cobra AH1 G & J with the curved canopy.

2. Rooivalk - all business or what?

3. A129 Mongoose (Combat or International variant).

:D

[ppheli]

Hmm. "Best Looking" and then you choose helicopters with lots of little bits sticking out everywhere to take away any possible prettiness that the designer intended! I didn't think "Best looking" applied to any military helo. :D

My vote would be for a civvie ship like an A109E or perhaps an EC120

[Grainger]

Best looking ? A109E
Meanest looking? AH-64

[Capn Notarious]

My choice would have to be : Notars Because the designmeisters of Mesa; have removed the rear drive train.
With its length of service, the conventional tail rotor and attached mechanics: has had its proportionate incidences of failure.
Notars like all else,are in a constant state of development.
Thus improvements will happen.
Perhaps at this junction,we should invite the maintainance engineers to add to the debate.BECAUSE THEY ARE EQUALLY IMPORTANT IN LOOP AS THE PILOTS AND DESIGNERS.

[What Limits]

I agree with Capn N, the MD902 gets my vote.

[Notar fan]

I agree with Capn N, the MD902 gets my vote.

Now we're talkin. The 500E/F has to be the best looking single engine.

[widgeon]

the 902/900 window lines look like a mistake to me , bit too short and fat , S76 ar S61 have my vote for nicest looking, one of the ugliest has to be the 369

[misterbonkers]

Bell 47!!!!! they look fab in all white (inc skids).

[StevieTerrier]

MD900 / 902 good looking? Get serious guys! Like all MD products, they designed the (excellent) mechanical bits first, then fitted the fuselage around it. Unfortunately, they were looking at a dumpster / skip (depends on which side of the pond you live) when they decided upon the shape. Its well known that the Explorer was designed by a commitee of "industry people". Just like the camel. And it shows.

Contrast that with the Bell 222 or the Agusta 109 Power. Design the sexiest shape you can think of, then fit everything else in around it. Then stand back and drool.

No contest.

[Barannfin]

yea I would def. have to vote for the 222,230,430 body style, SEXY BABY, COME HERE! come to papa.:D

[Jonasraf]

Bell 430 gets my vote!:D

[Dave Jackson]

My vote is for the Sikorsky ~ S-69 (XH-59) ABC (http://www.unicopter.com/0891.html) :cool:

[helmet fire]

Must admit, I should have slipped the 222 into the list. :D

but the 109 just doesn't do it for me...:p

[Notar fan]

the 902/900 window lines look like a mistake to me
Widgeon, the windows were designed like that so you could see out of them.
The 222 looks good except for the platforms sticking out either side.

[SASless]

For us real macho manly man type men.....best looking....has to be the CH-47A Chinook US ARMY racing green......closely followed by the Westland Wessex....with the big chin scoop.....reminds me of my girlfriend with her Copenhagen loaded lower lip! Since when did BBBBBBBBBBell build anything pretty besides the Cobra?

Before Nick says anything about the Cobra......let's recall that all things in Nature balance.....kinda like ying and yang......ugly aircraft...handsome pilot.....pretty aircraft.....not so handsome pilot! That is why Nick secretly envys Chinook pilots.......being a former Cobra pilot and renowned teetotaller as he is!

[md 600 driver]

strangely enough the 600 /902
and of course the 222 in black with string and dom flying it

mr bonkers dont you like your friends new 47 in green

[misterbonkers]

I suppose so!

But the all white looks real nice.

Why is everyone so insisting on picking the big helis?

I guess the comanche has to be up there on the list too, so i'll pick Bell 47 & Comanche, ironically, the bell 47 cruises at 70kts, the Comanche will do 70kts sideways!!!

[soggyboxers]

S76B, wheels up, high speed looks sleek, sexy and manly.
CH53E with all those chunky bits, inclined bits and still fast also looks macho.
Hughes 500T is kind of cute, sexy and still fast.
The A109 is nice and fast and sleek, but the tail makes it a bit girly
Bell 430 is a bit like the S76B, but the stub wings are pretty good - like go-faster spoilers on the back of some sports cars!

[Whirlybird]

Forget the big helos (for looks that is; I'll happily fly any of them); I think the Rotorway Exec is really pretty, especially one I saw somewhere painted like a rainbow - red at the front tapering all the way to violet at the tail.

Trouble is, I only admire them on the ground...I don't fancy flying one. :(

[chopperdr]

for me the best looking is the gazelle, baddest looking, handsdown the cheyenne of the early 70;s
chopperdr

[Dave Jackson]

Exercising the [Woman's Prerogative]. :D

The Kamov KA-V100 is now the helicopter of choice.


http://www.unicopter.com/temporary/kav100.jpg


Dave J

[Hi Flyer]

For the aircraft design that has stood the test of time it would have to be the Gazelle, otherwise it would be the MD Explorer.

[Datcon]

http://www.dgualdo.it/ianew-003.JPG

[Happy Landing !]

Best looking: Gotta be the 222 (Air Wolf)
Ugly: Brantly B2B (Yuk)

[donut king]

Gotta admit, that Bell errrr........AB139 looks FINE!

However, can anyone else see the "lines" of an S76 in the fuselage?

But I may be biased, presently flying the 76!

Nothing sexier than the KEVLAR KIDDY KAR!!!! ( other than Nicole Kidman..........errr Nick.....errr Nicole.............!!!!!

D.K

[Hilico]

I can't believe no-one's said the JetRanger yet.

To be fair, the best aspect I ever had on one was when I was sitting in it in the hover, the August sun behind us and our shadow in front. I suppose anything would look good in those circumstances.

[tecpilot]

Bell 222 and the A 109 are the best looking ships!!!

And the best is: They are also beloved by the maintenance personal, because the ships are the best insurance against unemployment.

Both beautys are better on design and flying characteristics than on maintenance status.

OK: That's also the best , because if the ships are grounded, pilots could have a beer and a funny (mostly longer) time.

Really the best !

Two helicopters like we love it: sharp design, good to fly, jobs for our companions!

At last: the passengers are really in love with the interior.

[Chiplight]

http://was.kewlhair.com/hammer/jpegs/helicycle.jpg


The turbine powered single place Helicycle produced by BJ Schramm has good lines for a small ship.
Several are now flying or near completion.

[crop duster]

Depends on what we are going to do with it. If I'm going to spray with it:
1st- a Lama
2nd- OH-58
3rd- Huey

If we are talking cross country, show it off to the girls:
1st- S76
2nd- 430
3rd- 407

Iknow, I know, but I'm just a cropduster.
Barryb

[Dynamic Component]

The AS 365 in the right colours does it for me.:E
Or maybe a AS 350? :ok:
EC145 not to bad either!!:hmm:

[Rich Lee]

Crop Duster........stand up and be proud! The Llama should win in any "manly" category!

Da-ve' Jackson is a woman?

[rotorusa]

The BO105 on low skids looks, well, low. But on high skids it looks fantastic! Like a giant prehistoric insect poised to attack...

Most helicopters look better on high skids than on low skids. The JetRanger, on low skids, looks like it's had a hard landing.

The Hughes 500 on low skids is just wrong... like a Porsche on shopping cart wheels.

[Garry M]

Roger on the Lama... the rest pale in comparison,

:cool:

[Bell427]

My vote goes to:

1st: A-109 :ok:
2nd: Bell 427
3rd: Bell 430
4th: SA 342 Gazelle

[902Jon]

Capn Notarious / What Limits / Notar fan
Are you all mad? The MD902? It’s a flying Transit van

StevieTerrier
Which bits of the 902 are the “excellent mechanical“ ones?

Now the best looking……and probably the best ride
The 365N………..the Cameron Diaz of helicopters ;)

[Dave_Jackson]

Rich Lee,http://www.UniCopter.com/Temporary/kiss.gif Da-ve' Jackson is a woman?
Not quite yet. There are a couple of operations to go.

:D :D

[Lu Zuckerman]

I’m staring at models of the Sikorsky HH-3, the Seaking, the CH-47 the Hughes 500-E, the Bell 412 the R-22 and the Sikorsky HO3-S (In Coast Guard colors-International Yellow) and the HO3-S (S-51)wins hands down.

:ok:

[chuckolamofola]

Best looking aircraft designs...

1. Got to be S76 with a picture of a reclining nude woman on the side. This was on a poster back in the '80s. Her curves really blended in well...

2. Bell 222/230/430

Best paint job making the aircraft look attractive...

1. Pegasus, the BK-117 that had the winged horse painted on its side.

2. The Mil-24 that had the hawk painted on the side.

3. Niagra Heli's 412's with all of the colors of the rainbow painted over a silver base.
http://www.travelniagara.org/new-pictures/niagara-helicopters.jpg

[crop duster]

Are you sure that's not a 407

Only photo I could fnd to show the colour scheme. :D

[Wunper]

C'mon guys & gals

Everybody knows the sexiest and meanest machine by far is sadly no longer with us.

A tragedy at Farnborough 1974 that I'd rather forget took it and it's two pilots from us.:(

The S-67 Blackhawk still is absolutely TOPS.


http://aircraftstories.free.fr/mono/s67/export/2.jpg


http://aircraftstories.free.fr/mono/s67/s67/6.jpg

Wunper :ok:

PS next sexiest is the Cobra prototype with the nifty retractable skid gear and the curved canopy

[ylhelico]

:ok: The best looking choppers are the B430 and the MD520N with no cargo pod;)

:\ But the worst design has to be the new Kamov 226A with car mirrors on its sides :{

[NickLappos]

Wunper,

Thanks for the memories! That Sikorsky S-67 Blackhawk (the one-word Blackhawk!) was for a while the fastest helicopter in the world (219 mph), and a dream to fly. The top photo has John Dixson in the back seat (he is Sikorsky's Chief of Flight Operations today at West Palm Beach) and the bottom photo shows Byron Graham in the front seat (he was the Dean of SA test pilots) and in the back was Kurt Cannon (he unfortunately died at Farnborough in 1974).

As a very junior test pilot, I had the fortune to have 2 flights in the S-67 in 1974, when we prepared it for the airshow. It was the smoothest, fastest helicopter I ever flew, and rolled like a dream.

[Wunper]

Nick

Green with envy!!!

That bird looked like it was designed by a team with a passion for things that look right , what a type to have in your log book.

In 1967 I got to sit in the Cobra prototype when it was being demonstrated to the British Army here in UK. A slight 7 year old at the time I was deemed too small to be allowed a jolly in the machine. I think the nimbys round our hick local airport were complaining about the noise for several days afterwards (both the aircraft and maybe the noise I made beefing about not getting a ride in the machine!) . The retractable skid gear looked so neat as it tucked itself up out of the way.

If someone can host it I will share the pic with you.

Wunper

[John Eacott]

Wunper,

e mail it to me, & I'll host it for you.

[NickLappos]

Wunper,
The bottom photo was one of a series that included a cover shot on "Aviation Week" In one of the shots, Byron's raised middle finger is very evident, capturing Byron's spirit - he was a former Marine who flew F-4 Corsairs in WWII and who was the quintessential engineering test pilot. If I know anything about helicopters, it was Byron who showed it to me.

I checked out in "Snakes" in 1969, and have about 1000 hours in them, and was the Battalion instructor pilot. Fun aircraft, certainly purpose-built! And a wonder in 1969! Can't say they impress me that much today, with Apache and Mi-28 in service, and Comanche just around the corner.

[Head Turner]

BELL 430 is my top choice with AB139 a close second. Every one to their own , but the MD Notars are Yuck!!!!

[Wunper]

Here's the picture of the very pretty Cobra prototype during a UK marketing tour 1967 , that's me in the back seat shortly before being told I could not have a ride in it,:{

Fortunately I do not have a photo recording my bid to achieve world class spoilt brat status taken after that! (check out those ears!)


http://www.helicopterservice.com.au/photos/pprune/Huey%20Cobra%20early%20shot%20small.jpg



Many thanks for Hosting it for me John E

Wunper:ok:

[Thomas coupling]

Christ, who'd have thought the cobra was 36+ years old:oh:

Wunper / Nick: tell us more about the demise of the S76-Blackhawk...was it the precursor to the current blackhawk, and what is the follow on from the cobra? What happened at Farnboro?
Brilliant memories/pics - Wunper - thanks.

[Rich Lee]

Wunper,

Thanks for that! Wonderful shot knowing you started so young!

[NickLappos]

wunper,

We had a W-1 in my unit in Vietnam who looked like you in that photo, but a bit younger. Was that you?

Great photo, never lose it! That proves my thesis, take a boy, sit him in a cockpit, ruin his life! I was 8, my mother took me for a tour of Floyd Bennett Field, saw an airshow, ate Air Force hot dogs. Life down the drain!

[Winnie]

The worlds "prettiest" helicopter?

Absotively and posilutely the Westland built Sea King MK43B of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, with both hands down and no doubt in my mind!!:ok: :ok:

[leading edge]

Looks like a prototype AB139!!

LE

[Dynamic Component]

Looks to me like a S76 with a 412 nose stuck to it!:8 :ok: