The most beautiful aeroplane
 

Hello

Here's the ten most beautiful aeroplanes in the world:

D.H. 87 B Hornet Moth
D.H. 82 A Tiger Moth
D.H. Standard Moth
Supermarine Spitfire - all Mk.'s
D.H. Fox Moth
D.H. "Mossie"
Hawker Hurricane Mk. II
Avro York
RV-8

Please give yer opinion!

Mange Hilsener:

Jansen

I only count 9 there.

You must have forgotten 'the mighty hunter'!!

:confused:

and Super Constellation:ok:

Have to agree kippermate the F6 really needs to be in there. There really is no other "mighty Hunter"!

In fact has an aircraft been produced since 1960 that would fall in a top ten (or top nine if Hornet Moth is producing it!) list?

P.S. Hornet, excuse my ignorance, BWTF does Mange Hilsener mean or do I just need to get out more?

I taxied past it yesterday at Heathrow (as a passenger) and was forced to admit - Concorde really is a stunning aircraft. That and the Spit XIV or XVIII with teardrop canopy.
PS Hornet - you must be looking at the York through beer goggles!

Vulcan any one? Surely it is classed as a beautiful aeroplane! Agree with the the Comet Vomit, strange how a 1950s airliner can be classed as a beautiful aeroplane?! Funny world we live in!:D

DH Hornet
Concorde
Comet 4
Spitfire XIV
Super VC10 in last BOAC livery.
A340-600
A330-200 tanker



......and definitely not that utterly pig ugly version of the Comet which chases pretend submarines!

Mossie
Beech Staggerwing
Boeing 757 (-200)
Spit
Concorde
Sia-Marchetti SF-260

North American A5 Vigilante

http://www.wvi.com/~lelandh/srlink~1.htm
SR-71 BLACKBIRD


http://www.msacomputer.com/FlyingBoa...odel-SH-5.html
SH-5

http://www.msacomputer.com/FlyingBoats-old/index.html
BE 42 and BE 200

http://www.msacomputer.com/FlyingBoats-old/index.html
Martin PBM Seamaster

Hawker Hunter
Avro Vulcan
Spitfire MKIX
VC-10
BlackBurn Buccaneer
Bae Hawk
Short Sunderland
DC3 Dakota
Concord
Pilatus PC9

UH-1 Huey.........oops, no, thats the BEST SOUNDING aircraft ever!

Head on: A4 Skyhawk

Side on: The Concorde parked at the threshold of 27R@LHR. Haunting and taunting at the same time. Amazing in the full moon the other night.

Chris Kebab: A nice looking ac since the 1960s?

What about the Hawk T1? IMO in Black its gorgeous & its arguabley the prettiest aircarft the RAF got at the moment.

Plus the Sea Fury was quite a purposeful looking fighter, especially tuned up for those air races they run in america.

handysnaks,

Superconnie most definitely, but what about the 737-200? Dirty workhorse that you just know will perform !!!!!

Blackburn Beverley
Shorts Skyvan
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer
Consolidated Catalina
Junkers Ju87b 'Stuka'
Handley Page Hampden
Junkers G31
Handley Page Argosy
Fairey Gannet (all marks)
Bristol 170 Freighter

Classics, all of them. They don't make them like that anymore...

In no particular order, the following come to mind:

Concorde
B757
Spitfire, especially the Griffon powered,
B1
Albatros D V
Rafale
Blackburn 1912
Moeller Stomo 3
Most modern gliders
KK Competitor - couldn't resist this one, it's a 1940's rubber powered model, but here's not a straight line to be seen on it - beautiful!
TA 152
Most Hawker Biplanes, especially the Hind.

Well I have to disagree with BEagle re good looking airbuses :ouch:
It's the flight deck windows that make them unattrative. If they gave them contoured windows like the B747 767 777 and 757 then they'd look alot prettier.

Now as for good looking planes not mentioned here, how about the Westland Whirlwind. Think I'm blind :rolleyes: have a look at this picture


http://www.constable.ca/whirlwind.jpg

Hawker Fury (biplane)
DH Hornet
Westland Wyvern, lovely curves.
Victor
Vulcan in anti-flash white with black "grin" radome.
Tu-95
F-104
Mirage III
Su-27
Jaguar T.2

Blacksheep, are you going for function over form?:)

Function definitely. As to the Westland Whirlwind, I prefer the one with the pilot cooling fan on the roof. Lovely things they were, especially the yellow ones. Unfortunately, although helicopters are definitely aircraft, aeroplanes they are not; so I didn't include the Whirlwind in my list...

The last one that has just brought me back to the ground

Digressing slightly and regarding the Whirlwind (the 1st one) there's a fantastic book by Harald Penrose, he was Westlands most notable test pilot. The stories about the Whirlwind's sleek lines and the extent to which Teddy Petter went to keep the machine as drag free as possible, regardless of structural cost, make for very interesting reading. According to Penrose, Westland were the first to pressurise an aircraft. Flight testing of the Wyvern, both piston and turbo prop, is also an interesting read. Forget what the title is.
FEBA

Catalina ..........................

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/resea...b5/xb70-21.jpg

Totally Thunderbird-esque or what? And like all true beauties she died a mysterious and untimely death.

http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/resea...b5/xb70-13.jpghttp://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/resea.../b5/xb70-5.jpg
Chris.....it apparently means "Many greetings".......if you're Norwegian:8

Beagle,

I take it then that you have not seen its even uglier descendant Nimrod 2012, or whatever it is now.

Really amazed it's taken to the bottom of Page 2 to hear it for the F4 - Phantom. Beautiful lines, awesomely powerful, crap turning and even crappier vis out of the cockpit, but what a warbird. In fact, is there a jet in the world today that has more combat experience (Vietnam, obviously, but also Israel v Syria/Egypt. Have a friend who worked in an Israeli hospital during '73 Yom Kippur, used to take sundowners on the balcony of his hotel watching the IAF Phantoms pounding up the Bekka Valley).

Would also be willing to go into bat for the Lightning, but only in plan form when departing vertical after takeoff.

This is a beautiful aircraft thread, that's why the F4's missing.

I understood our american colleagues were going for the ugly duckling prize when they produced the F4, but lost it to the Bucaneer.......or so the publicity said in he 60's.

Even though I flew it, I never thought of the F4 as being in any way 'beautiful'. Even the Buccaneer looked better..

XB-70A was indeed an amazing aircraft and the fatal mid-air collision which detroyed one of them was totally avoidable. Back when I was at school we visited Chivenor and saw a copy of a film about testing the XB-70A - quite astonishing! Originally designed to run on some exotic 'zip fuel' and with huge wingtips which folded downwards to generate 'compression lift' at high Mach No. Much faster than Concorde, it was designed to cruise at Mach 3.0 at 72 000ft. And remember, all this was almost 40 years ago when aviation was far bolder and more cutting edge than today. The Valkyrie was flying at Mach 3 in 1965...

And what is BWoS' current contribution to modern aviation? The absurd Nimrod 2000, err, 2001, no 2002, err, make that 2003....or 2004?

Dear God Gents (& Ladies), beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. As a sprog at Coningsby in the late 60s, early 70s I have very fond memories of many happy days at the "crash gates" watching them go by. The sight, followed by the almost instantaneous whumpff sound of an F4 breaking over the airfield before turning downwind will live with me till I go. The Bucc is good looking flying at 50' ASL but on the ground's an ugly duckling with a pregnant underbelly. The F4 stands tall, straight and proud on the ground but is in it's element when airborne. Enough.

My top ten?
 

1. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
2. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
3. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
4. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
5. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
6. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
7. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
8. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
9. Anything designed by Stelio Frati
Oh, and...
10. Lockheed Starliner