tigertc

We all appreciate (forgive me for being presumptuous), that aircraft need to be beautifull (like birds).
I would like you (If you have time) to suggest what you think is the most beautifull aircraft ever made (Need not have flown, but certainly have gotten to prototype).

Tailspin14

Wow... that is almost like trying to make me decide between a redhead, a blond, and a brunette.... (Ok.. so I am partial to redheads, but hey.. I can appreciate beauty in all forms!! hehe)

Let me break it down by category... and reasons...

Props
Corsair II is my favorite of all prop planes. The wing shape and how majestic it looks doing a barrell roll or pulling through a split S... just something about that plane that screams grace and beauty.

Sleek fast moving jets...
Has to be the F-18 Hornet. And it edges out the F-16 by just a hair. I think I really fell in love with the F-18 when I was at the DOD airshow at Andrews AFB about 8 years ago. Seeing that plane coming in low, telling my wife to keep the car doors closed, and then having it go purely veritcal into a climb over the parking lot as cars were shaking an alarms were going off... Now that had to be a Marine pilot!

Slower moving jets
Hands down, the A-10. I was just in a golf tournament and got to see two A-10's playing in the sky. They were about 1500 feet or so off the deck doing lazy circles chasing after each other. Just standing there and hearing the power in those engines just takes your breath away. Plus seeing how some of them have returned from combat and able to not only fly back and land safely...

And of course, the plane that is so ugly that it is beautiful...
The F4 Phantom. Proof that you put a big enough engine in something it will fly. I grew up watching these planes flying overhead. I could lay in my bed and knew when one flew by just from the sound of its engines. I miss hearing the roar of those planes or sitting a few hundred yards from a runway and watching them take off in tandem or in trips....

And those are my girls....

Bob

Bunkerbarge

There are so many that generate a real feeling of awe it is incredibly difficult to narrow it down.

For me though the one propeller aircraft that has always made me want to simply enjoy looking at it is the early Spitfire. Unbelievably gracefull and beautifull in flight with its eliptical wings I will never tire of looking at them.

As for jets who could not feel emotional looking at Concord? Not only a stunningly beautifull aircraft and at least 20 years ahead of it's time but it cried out to the world just how good British engineering was and what it could achieve.

Finally a military aircraft for me would be without a doubt the Sea Harrier. The pointed nose of the Sea Harrier made it look much more like a 'normal' jet but with it's science fiction levels of flight performance it once again harks back to the days when British Engineering led the world in so many ways. The high wing set back, the drooping tail plane and the large inlets all give it such a sense of purpose and to watch it hover gives it a presence no other aircraft has. The whole Falklands campaign with Sea Harriers being flown from carriers made the whole world think again about how to fight a foreign campaign.

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wonwinglo

Most beautiful in my mind was the De Havilland Mosquito,the most ugly title must go to something like the Pemberton Billing PB.1 or the Tarrant Tabor ?

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Tailspin14

I used to fish from the surf in New Jersey a lot. Nothing like watching the sun come up over the ocean and then, if the wind was right, watching the Concord flying into New York City. Now it is much different, no more Concords and of course the obvious change to the city.

And I do have to agree that I like the Harriers. For me, there truly is no plane that I don't have a level of appreciation for.


Bob

tigertc

Yikes, what a mess. Tarrant definately in the running for ugliest!

Jayjay

Hmmmmmmm..?

Prop, Most lovley- P 47 Razorback, Most ugly- Avro Manchester.

Jet, F 4 in both cases

However... the A 10 is very ugly yet very lovley,

This is, I belive, one of those chicken or egg question's.

Jay

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Nigel.D

ok
the most ugliest is a Brewster Buffalo !!!
the most ugly jet has to be the f117
the most beautiful plane ever made is
SEA FURY

wonwinglo

The aircraft that looks the best at any angle has got to be the De Havilland Dragon Rapide.

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Bluewavestudios

A real Prime Contender for the Ugliest aircraft ever has got to be the Russian Bartini VVA-14 - Designed and built to test the Ekranoplan or Wing in Ground effect Concept....and it was very nearly successful too..!!!

Looks like a badly built aircraft full stop...The pic says it all really.

A good link for more on this one is http://www.testpilot.ru/russia/bartini/vva/vva_e.htm

In fact, if you read the link, you will see that both pics below are of the same plane despite the different numbers on the fuselage.

For me, the most Beautiful Aircraft still exists but sadly No Longer flies.....The BAC TSR-2

Regards..........Mark.

Attached Images

	bartini.jpg (57.4 KB, 19 views)
	vva.jpg (27.4 KB, 18 views)

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