If anyone else out there is a fan of aircraft: if you had to choose one aircraft (military or civilian, past or present, fixed-wing or helicopter) which was your favorite, which ranks highest on your badass meter, what would it be and why?

I'm going to go with the Kamov Ka-50 Hokum, a modern Russian attack helicopter with contra-rotating coaxial rotors and no tail rotor. First off, the rotor assembly itself is mind-blowing, as well as being practical (Wikipedia: coaxial rotors). Second, aesthetically, it's mean, ugly, and purposeful, just like an attack helicopter should be, while simultaneously being streamlined. Darned near impossible to pull off. Finally, practically, it's got a serious emphasis on crew survivability (from the lack of a vulnerable tail rotor, to a massively-armored cockpit, to an ejection seat, which IIRC no American military helicopter has), which is something that my own government doesn't pay as much attention to as I'd like.



(By the way, if anyone else out there is into flight sims, the helicopter sim Enemy Engaged: Comanche versus Hokum has some dated graphics, but is extraordinarily good, and features this chopper and the now-cancelled US Army stealth helicopter RAH-66 Comanche).

So what's your pick?

I'm going to be really cliche and say the Spitfire. I know nothing about planes, but absolutely love the way these things look.

I always have to say the Beech Starship when I'm asked this question. Hardly the only one I'd choose, but it's just so unique and so undiscussed.

I know pretty much zero about aircraft in general, but this thing is just bloody awesome. At some point (don't know if it still is) it was the most advanced helicopter in the world. PLUS, it was made right here in South Africa.

The Lancair IV. 330mph cruise speed ceiling of 30k feet. A Range of 1,550 miles and can climb at the rate of 1,500 ft/min.

I grew up watching Wings back in the day and two episodes really stick in my mind. Call me old school, but I still think a B-58 Hustler is up there in my book:




Either that or the XB-70:





Supersonic delta winged (or variable delta winged in the case of the xb-70) aircraft? Pimpin'!

(sorry for picking two)

The JAS 39 Gripen



And for an oldie, can't beat the 51-D Mustang

SR-71 Blackbird

Boeing B-52


My mother was somehow involved with the crew training at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for the B-52.

It's amazing that it's still operational (with the numerous upgrades) considering how long it's been in service.

Concorde. Without a doubt.
It's mindboggling that it was designed almost 50 years ago.

Werd.

- SR-71, so fucking fast it outruns missiles. See missiles on the radar and just squeeze the gas.

- Apache Attack Chopper, you don't want to mess with this mutha fucker

Vote me in for the P-51 mustang, and the Spitfire. Gorgeous aircraft, like classic ferrari's and astons to me.

P-51 Mustang for propellor and undoubtedly the SR-71 for jet.

so many cool aircraft out there. p-38 i think would be my favorite

This thing must excel in maneuverability.

True. It's a bit long in the tooth (first flight in 1975), but it's got a good record. Only ten of them lost to hostile fire in all of the Iraq War, by my count (not counting mechanical failures, accidents, etc). In particular, on March 24, 2003, 33 Apaches were used to attack an armored brigade of Republican Guards, in what turned out to be an anti-air trap set up by the Iraqi forces. Thirty of them were damaged, several beyond repair, but only one failed to successfully return to base.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_acci...nts_in_Iraq_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AH-64_Apache

That is absolutely gorgeous...and I don't even think planes are attractive.

I've always been a fan of the F117 Nighthawk. I was in Junior High when it was officially revealed to the public, and a few years later there was one at an air-show I was at...Left a bit of an impression.

Kinda obsolete now that unmanned stealth-drones seem to be dropping bombs on unsuspecting people...

I've always loved helicopters myself. I was a huge aviation enthusiast when I was younger.

Sikorsky CH-53 Super Stallion

My dad was a crew chief on one of these when he was in the Marine Corps so I've always had a soft spot for it.







And the Bell AH-1 Super Cobra

I'm gonna go ahead and jump on the bandwagon and say Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. It's always been my favorite (I have a model of it from my younger years, it is quite cool actually).

I mean the fucking jet engine just screams sinister: http://jerryreynolds.com/sr71_blackbird/

Goddamnit, where do I start?

I suppose Pre-War is logical:

Sopwith Camel (such legend behind this aircraft)
DC-3 (again, still in service since being originally produced in 1935)

WWII:

P-47 Thunderbolt
P-38 Lightning
P-51 Mustang
B-25 (My grandmother had one of these named after her)
B-17
B-24
B-29 (grandfather used to work on these)

Post-War:
F-104 Starfighter (along with the P-38, I love all of Kelly Johnson's designs)
SR-71/YF-12/A-12 (again, Kelly Johnson)
U-2/TR-1 (Kelly Johnson, is my Lockheed preference starting to show yet? Anyway, my dad used to work on these)
F-16 (How about now (even if it was originally designed by GD)? It's just so damn versatile)
F-22 (No more awesome of an aircraft has ever been designed. Period. No question.)
B-52 (Already mentioned, but the BUFF has a special place in my heart.)
B-2 (Incredible operational capability)
B-36 (Big. Really big.)
MiG-25, NATO Name: Foxbat (Equal opportunity offender here, these are what used to chase the SR-71s.)
MiG-29, NATO Name: Fulcrum (Again, what a versatile aircraft)

Experimental:
X-15 (Some awesome stories about this aircraft)
X-29 (Low-stall aircraft are awesome)
X-31 (Show me an aircraft that can move like this one)
XB-70 (Not particularly successful, but some cool stories surround this aircraft)

Anyway, that's a start. Everytime I come back, I think of another. But yeah, if anyone ever wonders what my beef with god is, its that I'm short-sighted and will never be able to be a fighter pilot. I bloody love aircraft.

By "favorite/coolest" I didn't mean your top 23

X15!




There will always be a soft spot in my heart for a nice Piper Cub.


The Pitts Special is pretty cool.



Anything with thrust vectoring.
http://www.af.mil/shared/media/photodb/pho...F-6701P-946.jpg

^Large file but holy hell!!! Get some!

The V-22 Osprey is a pretty cool plane. Looks like something out of Sci-Fi.


But if someone said I could fly anything in the world right now, I'd tell them to get me a P-51D Mustang.


Sounds great, has a sweet history, and looks like Gisele Bundchen with wings...





Or maybe that looks like this:




...




Tough call.

Shame that it killed a bunch of test-pilots and was eventually abandoned because the hydraulics kept failing even BEFORE you started shooting holes in it.

[quote]But if someone said I could fly anything in the world right now, I'd tell them to get me a P-51D Mustang.


So overdone, and yet so worthy of being overdone. The P-51D is pure sex.

Again, I know nothing about aircraft, but from an old game, I remember the Osprey to be a helicopter. Am I wrong?

The V-22 Osprey is a tilt-rotor aircraft, a hybrid between fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Those two rotors point upward to allow it to take off and land like a helicopter, but for high-speed flight, turn forward, and it produces lift with the fixed-wings.

The Osprey was plagued with problems during testing. If the engines rotated up or forward at slightly different rates, the Osprey would tumble out of the sky. I believe roughly 20 Marines were killed during one test.

EDIT: I thought it was cancelled, but according to Wikipedia, the program is still viable and it's seen active duty for the USMC since 2007, flying 3,000 sorties in Iraq so far. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-22_Osprey You learn something new every day.

nope.

CH-47 is really cool. The sound of huge twin rotors is mesmerizing. I did some analysis on a piece of a rotor here at work a few months ago.


Piper Colt. My first ride in an airplane was in one of these that my dad owned.

Wow, another winner for me...the P-51D Mustang is gorgeous as well.

Favorite doesn't have to be singular, sir.

More clarification next time will save me 45 minutes of looking through my old Jane's books. Not that I minded...but picking just one single aircraft is like picking just one single favorite car. It cannot be done.

I'm really sorry I made you talk about something you like. It must have been awful

The worlds largest.

The Bugatti 100/110P

Terrifying. I had to take a break from my Vietnam Campaign in Fighter's Anthology (I was even on the MiG Alley mission). I'm sure you'll be more careful next time.

I missed one ..



Sukhoi Su30

Also this one ..

Ilyushin IL-76


I just think its just looks badass.

That's awful. I had to quit "War of Independence" (China versus Taiwan) skirmish #1 in Enemy Engaged: Comanche versus Hokum to post this thread. It was similarly traumatic. Maybe we should start a support group?

saab viggen

Ah, so Saab does make something that isn't completely useless.

But it can't really fly any sorties because it sits in a hospital bed all day, giving birth to 9-3s, y'know...

The Saab 9-3. Born from jets.

Well in the spirit of giving more than one suggestion, I'll toss out a couple fixed-wing craft I like:

For WWII:



F4U Corsair, a naval fighter. Given its tendency to spin when it stalled, and the poor forward visibility, it was treacherous to land on a carrier and was nicknamed the "ensign eliminator"...but it was well-armed, well-armored, could handle pretty well, and was fast as hell. And did I mention that it looks brilliant? I love the gull wings. Yeah, the Hellcat was probably a better craft for the Pacific Theater, but the Corsair was just so much cooler.

Modern times:



Many of the aircraft in this thread are gorgeous. The A-10 Thunderbolt II (commonly known as the "Warthog") isn't. It's ugly as hell. But it's awesome. It's a flying tank. There's 900 lbs of titanium armor around the cockpit. It can fly with one engine, one tail, and half of a wing torn off. That massive GAU-8/A cannon can fire 30mm depleted uranium shells at a rate of 3,900 per minute. It's...just...so...mean.

I love the A-10 as well. The AFB here in Tucson is where they train for that aircraft. There's not a day that goes by I don't see at least 10 of them. ahhhh, I love jet noise, haha

Always loved the F16

I used to be a total F16 fanboy, but for some reason, it doesn't do much for me anymore. I think I've gotten more interested in close air support aircraft instead of fighters and interceptors, I guess.

I saw an F-16 today actually. Living next to an air base is cool.



One night, just before the last bit of light is sucked from the night sky, I went out to the backyard to grill. I heard an odd engine noise and as I looked up I could barely make out the silhouette of a B2 in the dark purple sky. Awesome.






Another quick B2 story:
In 2001 I was fortunate enough to go to Game 7; Yankees Vs. Diamondbacks here in Arizona. It was just after 9-11 and everyone was still reeling from the attacks. They sang the national anthem and I have never seen a stadium so charged with energy. You could power the whole city with the electricity in in the air of that stadium, if only for a few minutes. Just as the singer finished the last few notes, a B2 Spirit flew over the stadium.

The effect that jet had was as if it had dropped a bomb on the pitchers mound. The stadium went ballistic, strangers were high-fiving each other, spilling beer on one another and screaming "U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A!" as loud as their lungs would let them. It was odd, the camaraderie that we felt, just for being there, and being American. It still brings a tear to my eye thinking about it.

Yet it makes me shudder to think that we felt that way then, and yet here we are in 2008, with our country in the shape it's in.




Whoops, looks like I went on a tangent there. Cool jet the B2. Here's another pic:

Can you ask her if there are any aliens stored down there?

I don't know much about planes but I absolutely adore the P-51.

Then, I love the F-22.


Another plane I like is the Folland Gnat. It's really really tiny and maneuverable and I just think of it as the Lotus Elise of fighter jets.

yah, F22 and B-2 are also such awesomeness!


man.. we are so blokey in this forum.

Remember when these things did the bombing run in transformers? Well those particular ones are from my dads air base and since he is the head accountant there they had to go through him to borrow them, anyway once everything was sorted and the scenes had been shot dreamworks sent them a huge picture from one of the runs which now dominates the far wall of the accounting office.