If it Looks right it flies right?
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I think the DC3 looks right.
And I think the F106 is better looking than the mirage IV.
The 757 was quite good looking. So too the stretch DC8.
let's talk ugly planes!
That european A400 prop transport looks like crap.
So does the Shorts aircraft.
The Viscount always looked a little queer to me.
The BAC Lightning (while fast) was funny looking.
But the Lockheed P38 lightning was a thing of beauty.
And I think the F106 is better looking than the mirage IV.
The 757 was quite good looking. So too the stretch DC8.
let's talk ugly planes!
That european A400 prop transport looks like crap.
So does the Shorts aircraft.
The Viscount always looked a little queer to me.
The BAC Lightning (while fast) was funny looking.
But the Lockheed P38 lightning was a thing of beauty.
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SIAI-Marchetti SF-260.
Thanks for correcting my spelling of that wonderful machine
Flew one once for RealAirSimulations an addon company for MSFS when we were developing the flight model for the flight sim model.Beautiful thing to fly
Pace
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Airliners - an entry from my blog
Today most airliners look the same, with the possible exception of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and the Airbus A380. Almost all of the rest are low-wing twins of various sizes but indistinguishable shapes. It wasn't always so. Click on the image above to see it in detail.
I came across the above picture recently, taken at Manchester Airport probably in the 1970s, and it got me thinking. It shows five airliners typical of the time, and each is distinctive. It's true that even back then there were similarities between some types; the Boeing 707 and the Douglas DC8 might have needed a second glance to differentiate them, for instance. But mostly, airliners of the time were easily identifiable and the variety of designs made 'aeroplane watching' more interesting than it perhaps is today.
The aeroplane nearest the camera is a Vickers Viscount, which with its Rolls Royce Dart engines (remember that distinctive whistle?) was a highly successful short haul turboprop. Behind it is the attractive French Caravelle, a de Havilland Comet 4, a Douglas DC8, and finally perhaps the most graceful airliner after Concorde, the Vickers VC10.
It's interesting that three of the five are British designs (we don't build any airliners at all these days) and all except the DC8 have Rolls Royce engines. And look at the front end of the Comet and Caravelle - they are the same. Sud Aviation used the de Havilland design of nose when they built their pretty twin-jet, yet in spite of having identical nose sections the two aeroplanes are of completely different appearance. These two aircraft also share the Rolls Royce Avon engine, and all of them except the Viscount were incredibly noisy on take off!
In the background can be seen the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope standing sentinel over the Cheshire fields then, as it still does today.
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the Pioneer 200 for microlight.
What a nice-looking aeroplane. I hadn't heard of it. That's going on my list of things to consider owning.
SSD,
What a wonderful photo on so many levels!
It's Manchester, so of course it's been raining
The bustle of activity around the aircraft, including the elegantly dressed stewardess walking behind the Caravelle.
The slightly nose-down stance of the Stretch 8 and the VC-10.
The wonderful lines of the Comet until you get to the tail. What were they thinking of putting a prop-liner's empennage on her?
No L1 door on the Comet. Were they all like that?
The different designs of the fuselage cheat lines, going from straight on the Viscount and becoming progressively more "swoopy" down the line. I always thought the Speedbird paint scheme was a masterpiece. Imagine how it would look on today's fleet, with a simple, gold "BA" on the nose.
Jodrell Bank. I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out. I saw the same view from the other side in the late 60s. I was racing across the Cheshire Plain at 90 kts on a low-level Navex in a Chipmunk (well, 90kts seems fast at 250'). I wasn't paying any attention to the compass, just enjoying the scenery and waggling the wings at people who waved, when suddenly I saw that famous silhouette looming up in the distance
A quick turn right to get out of the TMA and some frantic map reading to get back on track!
What a wonderful photo on so many levels!
It's Manchester, so of course it's been raining
The bustle of activity around the aircraft, including the elegantly dressed stewardess walking behind the Caravelle.
The slightly nose-down stance of the Stretch 8 and the VC-10.
The wonderful lines of the Comet until you get to the tail. What were they thinking of putting a prop-liner's empennage on her?
No L1 door on the Comet. Were they all like that?
The different designs of the fuselage cheat lines, going from straight on the Viscount and becoming progressively more "swoopy" down the line. I always thought the Speedbird paint scheme was a masterpiece. Imagine how it would look on today's fleet, with a simple, gold "BA" on the nose.
Jodrell Bank. I wouldn't have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out. I saw the same view from the other side in the late 60s. I was racing across the Cheshire Plain at 90 kts on a low-level Navex in a Chipmunk (well, 90kts seems fast at 250'). I wasn't paying any attention to the compass, just enjoying the scenery and waggling the wings at people who waved, when suddenly I saw that famous silhouette looming up in the distance
A quick turn right to get out of the TMA and some frantic map reading to get back on track!
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I hasten to reinforce that it's not a picture I took - just one I found on t'internet. But I agree it is superb.
The other point of note is the upward tilt of the outer engines on the DC8. AFAIK the 707's were all level. Anyone know why the '8 was like that?
I-42 I, too, have flown a chippy at sub 200 feet across Cheshire on many occasions, but in the LLR. It's much more interesting down there 'in the landscape' (even mid Cheshire isn't flat when seen from down there!) as you say waving your wings to folk who wave at you, and with the power and speed up (a whole 105 kts, maybe!) trimmed slightly nose up with the stick held forward in case 'instant height' was required to comply with the 500' rule or powerlines (naturally, one flew around towns and villages!). The Chippy's lovely harmonisation was even crisper with those extra few knots!
Probably not advisable today when everyone has a video camera on their phone and even legal low flying broadcast on YouTube can invite 'questions'.
The other point of note is the upward tilt of the outer engines on the DC8. AFAIK the 707's were all level. Anyone know why the '8 was like that?
I-42 I, too, have flown a chippy at sub 200 feet across Cheshire on many occasions, but in the LLR. It's much more interesting down there 'in the landscape' (even mid Cheshire isn't flat when seen from down there!) as you say waving your wings to folk who wave at you, and with the power and speed up (a whole 105 kts, maybe!) trimmed slightly nose up with the stick held forward in case 'instant height' was required to comply with the 500' rule or powerlines (naturally, one flew around towns and villages!). The Chippy's lovely harmonisation was even crisper with those extra few knots!
Probably not advisable today when everyone has a video camera on their phone and even legal low flying broadcast on YouTube can invite 'questions'.
trimmed slightly nose up with the stick held forward in case 'instant height' was required to comply with the 500' rule or powerlines (naturally, one flew around towns and villages!).
Luckily, I was in one of Aunty Betty's T10s and properly authorized to be at 250'.
So I didn't need to avoid villages and we didn't plan to fly LL over towns. Power lines, we did pay attention to.
Of course, I never went any lower than 250'!
Last edited by India Four Two; 7th Jun 2014 at 18:45.
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Doubtless I will be shot down, but I reckon the Sportcruiser is a cracking looking little aeroplane.
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Shaggy, I am far from a fan of airliners, but blimey, whats the chances of getting all the best ones in one pic? Classic stuff, the only downside being that the best one is at the back (fond memories of Night time circuits and bumps in XV107 (RAF)
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For me, (and I am an aviation artist!) the Boeing 777 is the perfect aeroplane.
Its proportions are so sweet that at first glance, it looks quite petite; until you spot the first officer doing a walk around, and he looks like an ant walking round a swan.
The engines are a surprise as well, large and powerful but not obtrusive. It must be a joy to fly, and until San Francisco, not a single fatality.
Going back a bit, has to be the Dakota. Now there is a proper taildragger.
The K13 glider is the classic trainer, excellent viz for both pilots, spins nicely, recovers easily, handles well. But my favorite X-country glider was the Pegasus. 40 to one, carries water very well, no vices.
And really, the J3 Cub on Floats is hard to beat.
Its proportions are so sweet that at first glance, it looks quite petite; until you spot the first officer doing a walk around, and he looks like an ant walking round a swan.
The engines are a surprise as well, large and powerful but not obtrusive. It must be a joy to fly, and until San Francisco, not a single fatality.
Going back a bit, has to be the Dakota. Now there is a proper taildragger.
The K13 glider is the classic trainer, excellent viz for both pilots, spins nicely, recovers easily, handles well. But my favorite X-country glider was the Pegasus. 40 to one, carries water very well, no vices.
And really, the J3 Cub on Floats is hard to beat.
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Shaggy, I am far from a fan of airliners, but blimey, whats the chances of getting all the best ones in one pic? Classic stuff, the only downside being that the best one is at the back (fond memories of Night time circuits and bumps in XV107 (RAF)
Unlike Mary I don't rate the 777 for looks - it's just another low-winged tube with 2 engines, and it has a stumpy nose. The 757 is also a low-winged tube, but it has more elegance than the 777 IMO.
Of the airliners flying today, perhaps the 747-400 is the best looking? The A380 the ugliest?
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Mary
I agree on the 777 I just flew back from a recurrent on the Citation from the USA on a BA777 and agree there is something special about the 777.
That is the point! Airbus are souless creatures Boeing while not being as technically advanced have soul.
Pace
I agree on the 777 I just flew back from a recurrent on the Citation from the USA on a BA777 and agree there is something special about the 777.
That is the point! Airbus are souless creatures Boeing while not being as technically advanced have soul.
Pace