Small Jet - Hawk

I'll never forget a certain Kiwi teaching me how to tailslide one on my acceptance ride at Tac Weapons. Great machine loads of fun and good old fashioned ACM, bounced SAPs, strafing and bombing.

Big Jet - Nimrod

Lovely aircraft to handle. 200' day/300' night 60 degree's angle of dangle at 500'. A real sense of achievment and teamwork hunting a sub especially when things went active and you were throwing it around trying to achieve attack tracks and great to have helped rescue a few people and to have assisted those heroic SAR helicopter crews

Commercial - B737 NG

The 320 is better day in day out, its more comfortable and a breeze for NPA's but if I want to fly and keep my flying skills sharp(ish) its the 73 every time.

Hands down, G-III (DC variant). I like steam gauges and it performed better than the G-IV at low altitudes.

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the DHC-2 yet. So much fun, especially on floats. Lighter on the controls than a 206 or 185, taller than the majority of regional turbo props on amphibs and the sound of that R985 rumbling along...

Learjet 35 for the challenge

Falcon 2000 for lovely handling

Gulfstream V/550 for its incredible versatility

Maybe we need to define when we started and when we stopped, otherwise we'll have post like this -

Thomas Selfridge - great handling, great thrust to weight. A dream to fly as long as you keep your speed up.

1974 - present

Ashling - you summed up the Nimrod beautifully, but when did the minimum height at night become 300' ? It was 200' in my time. ( 1970 -80 )

Thanks, I was a decade or so after you so I guess the rules changed. That or my memory was fried by sitting above the radar .........

Wouldn't that be something else fried earlier?

Sea Fury, L749, Concorde.

SR71.

I was very lucky to get my hands on one and spent seveal years marvelling at its handling qualties and sheer presence. i will alway be grateful to Airfix for that and my Mum hanging it from the ceiling.
Cheers

My loved plane is Fokker 27 mark 50.be i am lic.mechanic with rating B1 since 2003.

B-707 First and only love

Then 737 Classic

Now 320 Tamagoci

100

UH 1 & S-58 helicopters

Fokker 50 for being brilliantly simple and yet a workhorse;
Fokker 100 for it's fabulously light handling, nice flight deck, and ECAM;
Boeing 737 for it's reliability and honesty;
De Havilland Dove for being a true pilot's aircraft (my all-time favourite);
Gazelle for showing me that rotary-wing flying can deliver on it's promises and doesn't have to be a chore;
PA-31 for taking me and my friends/passengers/family where we wanted to go at reasonable cost;
BN Islander for breaking all the rules and unbelievable field performance;
ATR72 for showing me how systems design shouldn't be done, but can be overcome, and convincing me that landing gear doesn't belong in sponsons;
Beech Baron for showing me that quality costs and pays;
CitationJets for being fun little machines (but I'd still buy a King Air 350!).

I could go on... It's been fun!

The S-210 Caravelle

Favourite homebuilt: Rutan VariEze-Very different and very special.

Favourite production light aircraft: Robin DR400-Enjoyed every minute I've spent in these beautifully constructed aircraft.

Favourite small jet: Hawk T1-So simple to operate, a real flying sports car.

Favourite short-haul airliner: B757-It would also cross The Atlantic with ease!

Favourite long-haul airliner: B744-So capable and just so right.

There are times in life when there is absolutely no competition whatsoever........................

http://i636.photobucket.com/albums/u..._Loop640-2.jpg

...and there are people in life whose fortune and ability have favoured them. Well done LM, and thanks for the lovely picture.

I thank the Lightning for two things: great childhood memories of watching them in the sky, and early adult memories of a certain simulator and a certain TRE whose hearing was so bad (a consequence of his many hours in the Lightning et al) that we, in the front, could converse normally without him being aware. A true gent and a lovely trainer, also known for his 'raw data days' on the line. What a shame these times are past; aviators are not what they were...

These are not in the same class as the Frightening!

For Handling: Chipmunk

For Predictablity: BN Islander - it never let you down in foul conditions

For Unpredicability: All Austers

I have no idea how I previously missed this thread, but my timing is great. I flew this today and I'll never forget that half hour.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c3...31at000824.png