What's your favourite plane?
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How could i forget?! There's probably about as many different types of favourite plane as there are users on pprune!
So far in the latest greatest unofficial pprune whats-your-favourite-type poll, tied neck and neck for first place on 2 votes each are the:
Boeing 747-400 series
Airbus A319 from the Airbus S.A. family
Normal votes cast: 20
Special votes cast: 0
----------------------------
Votes Counted: 20
Polling is still open so get those votes in!
So far in the latest greatest unofficial pprune whats-your-favourite-type poll, tied neck and neck for first place on 2 votes each are the:
Boeing 747-400 series
Airbus A319 from the Airbus S.A. family
Normal votes cast: 20
Special votes cast: 0
----------------------------
Votes Counted: 20
Polling is still open so get those votes in!
Join Date: Dec 2002
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Overall - Vulcan. No other plane has had, or will have the presence in the air. (also this plane just might be the reason that Britain is not a Soviet Socialist Republic)
Civil - Pitts. It looks small enough to go in the boot of your car. It's a biplane. It's cudly. And the things it can do in the air are breath-takng.
Classics - Typhoon, Tempest and (Sea) Fury - the hard men.
Civil - Pitts. It looks small enough to go in the boot of your car. It's a biplane. It's cudly. And the things it can do in the air are breath-takng.
Classics - Typhoon, Tempest and (Sea) Fury - the hard men.
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So far in the latest greatest unofficial pprune whats-your-favourite-type poll, we have a 4-way tie.
On four votes a piece and in no particular order:
Boeing 747-400 series
Airbus A319 from the Airbus S.A. family
Avro Vulcan
and of course: the venerable Douglas DC-3
Normal votes cast: 23
Special votes cast: 0
----------------------------
Votes Counted: 23
Polling is open until it closes so get those votes in!
ps: here's another cracker of a pic.
On four votes a piece and in no particular order:
Boeing 747-400 series
Airbus A319 from the Airbus S.A. family
Avro Vulcan
and of course: the venerable Douglas DC-3
Normal votes cast: 23
Special votes cast: 0
----------------------------
Votes Counted: 23
Polling is open until it closes so get those votes in!
ps: here's another cracker of a pic.
Join Date: May 2003
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From personal experience my vote would be split between the Canberra (good looks and handling, except when on one engine) and the Hawk (great fun and all but unbreakable). I have only had a couple of rides in them, but I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the Hunter. On the civil side my favourites are the VC10 among the "older" generation and the Airbus A340 for the modern types.
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rotornut, you're right, you can't beat a "beaver", but seriously
I have to agree with machonepointone, it can only be the mighty 'berra; the queen of the skies will live for ever!
I have to agree with machonepointone, it can only be the mighty 'berra; the queen of the skies will live for ever!
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The Reverend
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My favourite is still the Convair 880M. It was built like a brick sh!thouse, trailing black smoke from the CJ805 engines. VMO/MMO 394K/M.884. You could drop the main gear as speedbrake at 374K/M.884. Had two Freon packs for aircon, great in the tropics.
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# 1 - The 707
Fellow Members of my top ten are
the 720 / DC.8 especially the 62 / 727 especially the 200 / Electra / DC 6 / DC 4 / VC 10 / Twin Otter / DC 3 / DC.10
Otherwise, to some rare exception, I like all types.
Alain
Fellow Members of my top ten are
the 720 / DC.8 especially the 62 / 727 especially the 200 / Electra / DC 6 / DC 4 / VC 10 / Twin Otter / DC 3 / DC.10
Otherwise, to some rare exception, I like all types.
Alain
I'll mak siccar
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Why Heathrow Director! We have not met, and I am not in the business, so this may not offend any rule against sordid commerce; the fact is, if you want a DC-4, I can get one for you, not to mention the original wind-tunnel model used back in 1934 or so. The DC-4 (1940 model, as I recall) was flown on Sundays only by a little old lady, and is in flying condition, subject to routine pre-flight tests.
Enigmatologist
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HEATHROW DIRECTOR , do I perhaps know you? Were you at PATCC 1969-1971 era?
Last flew on a DC-4 in 1983 when I did a YYZ-ROC-POU (VFR) return trip on a Millardair example. Exceptional experience.
Last flew on a DC-4 in 1983 when I did a YYZ-ROC-POU (VFR) return trip on a Millardair example. Exceptional experience.
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.
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1) Vulcan....having spent a childhood looking up shouting "What the f.....k as they roared over a few feet above rooftops.
2) Spent 3 years of my life on EFA it has to rate.
3) Spitfire.......the ultimate streamline modernist plane. Sometimes things just look right...and they are.
4) Mosquito....because.....no comment, it doesn't need one.
2) Spent 3 years of my life on EFA it has to rate.
3) Spitfire.......the ultimate streamline modernist plane. Sometimes things just look right...and they are.
4) Mosquito....because.....no comment, it doesn't need one.
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Vulcans, Spitfires, Mosquitoes, any of the later Hawker family, DC-4s...all delightful machines to see. Pity I never had a chance at them.
I have flown the B747-400ER a few times, however, so concur with earlier posts. Incredible flying machine regardless, let alone its amazing dimensions. (Real airplane too; not fly-by-wire).
The other mighty beast that hasn't been mentioned, because there aren't a lot of us about I reckon, is the CP-107 Argus, a patrol airplane built by Canadair in the late '50s, and based on the Britannia.
http://gmam.ednet.ns.ca/argus.htm
http://www.rcafmuseum.on.ca/ac_argus.htm
The RCAF/CAF used them as front line ASW machines until their replacement by the CP140 Aurora, the Canadian version of the ubiquitous P-3, in 1981. That was a good machine too, all credit to the Electra vote, but whacking great radials were an experience that few are privileged to have any more.
The Argus had four R3350s that cranked out 3700 horses each with Anti-Detonant Injection (water, alcohol and something nasty-tasting to keep folks from adding it to the punch).
The free-floating controls made crosswind landings challenging, but if it was easy they'd let anybody do it.
At manoeuvring speed of 170KIAS, you could fling the thing around an active buoy pattern or madtrap (q.v.) over the oggin at 200' and never lose more than ten feet.
We flew them over the North Atlantic, IMC, in the dark, at 300'. It did wonders for one's basic IF skills.
The endurance was ridiculously long, but that was part of the lesson. Pace yourself laddie, it's going to be a long patrol. I'm really glad I flew it; it taught me a lot about big airplanes. I'm equally glad I didn't fly it for a long time; my hearing loss is still sort of manageable.
Per Ardua Ad Astra
I have flown the B747-400ER a few times, however, so concur with earlier posts. Incredible flying machine regardless, let alone its amazing dimensions. (Real airplane too; not fly-by-wire).
The other mighty beast that hasn't been mentioned, because there aren't a lot of us about I reckon, is the CP-107 Argus, a patrol airplane built by Canadair in the late '50s, and based on the Britannia.
http://gmam.ednet.ns.ca/argus.htm
http://www.rcafmuseum.on.ca/ac_argus.htm
The RCAF/CAF used them as front line ASW machines until their replacement by the CP140 Aurora, the Canadian version of the ubiquitous P-3, in 1981. That was a good machine too, all credit to the Electra vote, but whacking great radials were an experience that few are privileged to have any more.
The Argus had four R3350s that cranked out 3700 horses each with Anti-Detonant Injection (water, alcohol and something nasty-tasting to keep folks from adding it to the punch).
The free-floating controls made crosswind landings challenging, but if it was easy they'd let anybody do it.
At manoeuvring speed of 170KIAS, you could fling the thing around an active buoy pattern or madtrap (q.v.) over the oggin at 200' and never lose more than ten feet.
We flew them over the North Atlantic, IMC, in the dark, at 300'. It did wonders for one's basic IF skills.
The endurance was ridiculously long, but that was part of the lesson. Pace yourself laddie, it's going to be a long patrol. I'm really glad I flew it; it taught me a lot about big airplanes. I'm equally glad I didn't fly it for a long time; my hearing loss is still sort of manageable.
Per Ardua Ad Astra
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madtrap, I too have memories of the Argus.
One threw an engine in New Zealand many moons ago, and in the two or three weeks it took to get a replacement out to it we entertained the crew by allowing them to relieve us of our money at poker.
One threw an engine in New Zealand many moons ago, and in the two or three weeks it took to get a replacement out to it we entertained the crew by allowing them to relieve us of our money at poker.