Aircraft I'd like to fly again, Cessna 421B and Grumman Lynx.
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The Hawk: like a toy. A chimp could fly it, though not necessarily as the military would like. Every pilot should be given a whizz in one just for the joy of it: to experience almost perfect control harmony and a sufficient amount of grunt.
Bigger: 747-300 - less ground effect, less flying wing on the runway than the 400. Least satisfying handling, least involving: Airbus. Would they do it that way if they had the choice again? Most satisfying rather than nicest handling would probably be the most demanding. |
Gazelle then Chipmunk, last airliners. Nothing could beat the agility and power to weight ratio of the mighty chicken leg. A true delight. No real military use though.
Those who have not had the opportunity to fly a helicopter without a stability augmentation system have missed out. |
Best L1011 worst Nomad N22
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For me it’s the C210, C402C, C404 and PC12.
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Nothing wrong with the DC3, best was the Ceres, then C Agwagan
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On the lower end: Piper J3. As simple and pure as it gets. Reveals pilot skill in a split of a second.
In the middle: Twin Bonanza. The most stable IFR Trainer and its wing became the blueprint for the beautiful Queen and King Air On the high end: DC-10. The intuitive CWS beats all the newer FBW. The Rolls Royce of airliners. |
B747-400, final answer!
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Airplane With The Nicest Handling....
All of them it would appear! |
CT-4 is my personal favourite, longing to fly one again but such a beautifully handling aircraft
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Surprised no mention of the Falco and its’ big brother the SF260. Feels like powered controls, really light. Aerobatic, but still stable. Fast enough, maybe 150 - 160 kts depending on engine. Just watch Vne if you let the nose down. Only difficulty is slowing for circuit. My preference was the old “buzz & break”. Cruise speed low over threshold, close throttle and pull up into a pattern that puts you at circuit height and speed for downwind, flap and gear, continue a turning base/final, level the wings just before the flare. Most satisfying when you get it right, don’t do it in front of a flying school, some instructors fear it may give students ideas. You can always say you were doing a runway check,
Obviously room for the Chippy and Turbulent, both great fun. For day to day liveability I have a soft spot for the much derided Aztec. Our C model, much modified and turboed for mapping photo had a ceiling above 30,000’, they will carry ridiculous loads in and out of ridiculous places. There will always be differing opinions, depending on personal taste and experience. The C185 is a great bush plane, but you will work hard & use full control travel for serious work. The advent of the C206 changed the game in PNG, practically eliminated the ground-loop problem for new hires,but it doesn’t rate handling for mine |
There has been a few that liked the Beech wing which is great, but I don't see the little Beech Debonair mentioned, it is a delightful airplane to fly, extremely well balanced. [even if it was near 50 years ago] !
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Hawk. First solo aged 21. Felt like the king of the world. Memory stays so vivid. Turned out I wasn’t as good as I thought but omg that aeroplane. Perfect
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+1 for the Chippie.
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High Speed Low Level
The Buccaneer
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Singles; Robin DR400; Fy it as a Glider tug in Japan, and, whilst underpowered when towing ASK 21's or a heavyish Single, the handling is superb. Only use a thumb and two fingers on the stick!
Multi: The Seminole is a goody. Don't mind the Chieftain either. |
I've only flown gliders; the best was the Ka6cr. Standard Libelle was pleasant enough, although somewhat cramped. No complaints about the L-13 Blanik either. There were a few which I thought were awful, but that's somewhat outside of the terms of reference ...
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Chipmunk
Jet Provost Hawker 801 |
Vampire 5 and 9
JP4 737 200 |
Chippie for sure, B200, but where is the Pup 150 ??
And as for "I was waiting for someone to mention the BAe146. I have heard others say the same. I found it horrendous!!! Unresponsive, lazy, trim dependant." .... probably best you disengage the autopilot next time :rolleyes: You didn't mention the roll rate for starters .. it's a very honest beauty to fly with a few neat tricks up it's sleeve. |
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