If you could fly ANY plane ever built, what would it be?
 

Just a bit of fun here.

If you could be at the controls and fly any aeroplane very built, what would you fly?

Personally, I have 2. I wish I could fly Concorde and the Lancaster - dream plane for me, as grandparents were in bomber command.

What would yours be?

Mine's easy and I didn't need to think about it; Vulcan. Any Mark, no preferrence.

For as long as I can remember it's been a family member!

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...otos/VX770.jpg

Ah, but how long do I get?

For a jolly, a Camel - OK, Avro 504/Bristol Scout/give me the run of Old Warden would do if you are offering.

For an hour, a Vimy/Lancaster.

For a week, a Spitfire/Mustang

For a career, a Hunter.

For ownership, a Yak 2 (?) The WWII Allison engined fighter.

For fun, a Bucker Jungmeister.

Please note all these are existing and realistic currently flying machines.


Any offers gratefully accepted....

Harrier for me, or possibly a Lightning.

One off - Lightning, Harrier, and Concorde, just to experience it.

Longer term - Spitfire, a later one, Mk9 or above.

If just one flight allowed - the Spitfire!

SSD

High flight
 

SR71.
FL80 Mach 3.0

The Canberra - wait a minute, I already have flown in one, and had the controls for a while!

A Mosquito - virtually a twin-Merlin Spitfire. Never had the pleasure of flying in one, but sat in the cockpits of half a dozen various Marks which ended up at RAF Halton in 1957.

For me it would have to be either the Short C Class or Short Sunderland. Mind you I do also have a longing to fly a Lysander or a DH Dragon Rapide.

As someone already posted, first choice by far, the SR-71.

If you would classify the Space Shuttle an aircraft, the Space Shuttle.

And lastly, as far as modern aircraft, the F-4.

Older aircraft, the B-17 because my father flew them in WWII.

I've flown the DC-3, I have about 200 hours in them, DC-6, the Stearman, T-6 Texan

So, that leaves the Ford Tri-Motor, Mosquito, Spitfire and the Boeing 314 Clipper.

Oh, and of course the P-51 and the P-38.

EE Lightning

Griffon Spitfire

I-16

Beaufighter - though I'm not sure why the Japs called it the "whispering" death - not with those two donks....:eek:

Lockheed Electra (L188) and L1011.
Yes, flown both...very nice and comfortable airplanes.
707 wasn't bad either...yep flew these as well, for quite a long time.

Lockheed 1649 Starliner and the Douglas DC-7 for the heavy iron, and the Spartan Executive and the Beech 17 for fun.

GAL Hotspur :)

The DH Hornet.

Wish - List
 

Well for me it would have to be a Sea Harrier FRS1, though as I'm not qualified to fly a Cessna ( but have done ) I'd suggest everyone keep well clear !

I had the honour of working with a Halifax pilot, who reckoned it much better on the controls than a Lancaster, but obviously not so efficient re. payload.

The Spitfire Mk 9 has to be everyone's choice - and Chuck Yeager can stuff his comments where the sun doesn't shine ( though he seems to think it does ).

Griffon Spit (low back 14 or 18 and unclipped for aesthetic reasons), then Bearcat... followed by a Sea Fury... is there a theme here?

Predictably ....
(in no particular order)
SR-71
X-15
Shuttle
Harrier
EE Lightning

I'm with 411A; the TriStar does it for me; flown both military and civil variants, though the British Airways destinations were much more fun than Mount Pleasant!

TCF

The Avro Lancaster. We need a flying one downunder. :ok:

Spitfire. Any Mark, lower numbers with Merlins for preference.

F-4 Phantom and Harrier.
I once, many, many years ago, when the Harriers first came into service, saw on TV, one take-off into a hover, then when what appeared to be about 20' off the ground, rotate from the horizontal position, into the vertical and then accelerate STRAIGHT UP - AWESOME :D :D :D

Harrier take-off
 

I think you described the Harrier airshow take-off which Chief Test Pilot John Farley came up with for demonstration / show purposes, not tactical as he freely admits.

He would hover the Harrier, then use the reaction controls & move the nozzles ( all by seat of the pants, no suitable instruments ) to hover at around 40 degrees or more then apply full power & 'rocket climb' away.

My father was crew-chief when J.F. did this in a display at Farnborough in an Indian FRS51 Sea Harrier - the aircraft, half way up, was seen to stagger & level out early...

John landed uneventfully, and remarked " I always wondered what would happen if the water pump gave up at that point !"

In the Forties - F4U Corsair or ME 262

In the Fifties - F 86 Sabre, Twin Mustang

In the Sixties - F101 Voodoo, Sea Vixen, Saturn V

In the Seventies - F4, Buff, Early Model 747, A7 Corsair.

In the Eighties - F14 off the deck of a CVN, Tornado, DC-10

In the Nineties - Mirage 2000, Su - 27

In the 2000's - SU - 37, Spaceship One and lets see how the Aurora flies, shall we ?

How nice it is to dream on a Friday afternoon !!

With my limited experience a SIAI-Marchetti SF 260 would do just fine and I bet I couldn't even keep up with that.

Boeing Stratocruiser:
 

For me, the Stratocruiser epitomised the imagined sophistication of airline travel in 1951, when I first saw BOAC's silver beauties at Heathrow on a school visit. Double-decked, with a spiral staircase leading to a passenger lounge, and an impressively bulbous fuselage with high panoramic flight deck. Alas, by the time I was old enough to fly they were all gone.

Years later, flying BA Club World on business to Bahrain, I got a strong sense of 'deja-vu' boarding up the spiral staircase to the upper deck of the 747. Even better, this being well before 9/11, I asked for and got a flight deck visit. While chatting to the flight crew, the F/O pointed out the scheduled BA aircraft en route back to Heathrow, a couple of thousand feet below over Saudi. My childhood imaginations of what it must have been like on the Stratocruiser's "bridge" were strongly evoked.

Buccaneer at low level.

Fiesler Storch - Just for the take off performance.

A380, my wife likes big ones.:ok:

Bell Airocobra
Walrus
Botha.

Just to find out why other pilots were rude about them.

:}

Anything that has the same number of landings, as it does of take-offs.

I haven't flown for years, and Boy do I miss it.

My father instructed in Harvards (AT-6's, actually) but I've never had the chance. It was his favorite plane.

And I had the controls of a Spartan for a few minutes, Pigboat, absolutely delightful - you could roll with two fingertips. The Howard by contrast handles like a DC-3, very stable but gives you a workout.

I'd really love to fly a P-47 or F4U or F8F though. Spoiled on the R-2800, or any E. Hartford radial for that matter.

I envy you barit my friend. The one-off 8W with the R1340 must have been something else. :ooh:

How about Thunderbird 1 ?!

A mix of Harrier and Lightning, with advantages over both - just for fun...

I would fit in the cockpit

http://user.tninet.se/~ude579d/Manime/porco.logo.jpg

The Hindenberg across the Atlantic, with a limitless supply of gin and tonic in the observation deck. Then I'd strap on my rig and jump it before it docked :ok: I could enter it in two log books.

Also after having read the thread, the Sunderland, in the Far East.

Also I want to fly a PZL Wilga :8



If in WW2, it's have to be the PR Mosquito. That way I wopuldn't have to shoot at people who I had more in common with than differences and if it wasn't for the war, would probably get on with them really well :(







oh, and the G&T would be Tanquerey :ok:

SR-71 for speed and height,
SU-35 for the trill of a backward loop inside a loop,

And a Spitfire, which doesn't need any explanation :ok:

My dream flight would be the FW190D followed by the Griffon Spitfire, Typhoon, Beaufighter, Buccaneer, EE Lightning, F4 Phantom, all flown low !!:D

According to my old man who flew them in N Africa, the Beaufighter was nicknamed "Whispering Death" because it arrived so fast you only heard the wind noise over the air frame until it opend up on its target, then you got the full Majesty of those two giant Bristol Hercs as it left you which were basically brutes of power units!:ooh:

Peter R-B

DH Hornet, the prettiest, most aggressive looking aircraft in history, with superb handling characteristics, I am told.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/k...i/DHHornet.jpg

Prop - Hawker Typhoon

Jet - ME 262