Your Preffered Aircraft

[Gestalt]

That awkward moment when i don't know which is the best board to put this in.

So, what’s your preferred aircraft?

 

Your looking at P-51D fanboy, and a cautiously optimistic VTOL guy.

Oh and Apaches.

[Vy'drach]

Unfortunately the Apaches we have are in such poor maintenance that they simply fall out of the sky. They claim it's due to enemy fire, but in actuality it's not.

As for me:

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. It still holds some flight records, it only improved with age, it became more fuel efficient the faster it went,, it outflies anything shot at it, the constant heating and cooling it does as it reflies basically repairs any wear and tear it receives, to the point that several pilots claimed that if it wasn't for fuel, it could fly forever. Plus, it's just a beautiful plane.

[chaos_Leader]

for me, two come to mind.

1) Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (AKA: Warthog)

Two words: 1) Raw 2) Firepower.

This great ugly beast is pretty much built around the 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon, capable of slicing through tanks with its stream of depleted uranium shells like a hot knife through butter. Not only that, but the darned thing can take one hell of a beating, being one of the most heavily armored aircraft fielded by the USAF. For the TF2 players out there, the A-10 is basically your aerial Heavy.

2) Sukhoi Su-27 "Flanker"

Go ahead, give me all the flak you may want for me picking a non US aircraft, but hear me out first. The SU 27 was the Russian answer to the F-15. it is a versatile, extraordinarily maneuverable aircraft that started doing things no one had ever seen before. There's a reason the "Pugachev's Cobra" maneuver (pictured below) is named after a Russian: it's because a Russian first did it, while flying a Sukhoi SU-27, one of the first aircraft capable of doing so. Look fellas, as great as the aircraft used by the USAF are, the things that have come out of Sukhoi and Mikoyan in their later generation aircraft have made me go "what? airplanes can do things like that?!"

[Gene Inari]

1) Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II (AKA: Warthog)

Two words: 1) Raw 2) Firepower.

Anyways, here are some of my picks.

For WWII planes: Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt

Extremely tough and large, surprisingly fast considering its size and a capable fighter-bomber that was the front-line American fighter until the more famous P-51 Mustang appeared. It was then relegated to ground-attack roles, being more heavily armed, with eight .50-cal machine guns and up to 2000 lbs worth of bombs or 10 rockets and remained much tougher than the Mustang could ever hope to be, possessing a reputation for returning home with various parts shot off. The A-10 is named Thunderbolt II for a reason.

For the Cold War era:

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

The fighter jet equivalent to having all brawn and no brains. It flew fast, it looked fast, and it crashed fast; they didn't call it the original "lawn dart" for nothing. In spite of its accident rates and being used in roles for which it wasn't designed, though, if nothing else it counts as cool because it's about the closest thing you can get to strapping on an engine and going supersonic.

And a non-military plane:

Airbus A380

If sheer size were the yardstick to define a Cool Plane, then one of the winners would be the Airbus A380 Superjumbo, currently the world's largest airliner, and the world's only full length double-deck jet airliner in service. Designed to have all the latest and most luxurious features, including king-sized beds, showers, and in a proposal for one Airline, a bar. It's even slated to become the personal plane of Saudi Arabian Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, who will eventually call his new plane the "Flying Palace".

[conaly]

Hi,

I prefer mostly civil airliners. My favs:

Boeing 777-300ER:

It is by far the best airliner in the world. It has the biggest and most powerful engines on the market: the General Electrics GE90. The range at maximum takeoff weight is about 9000km, maximum is even at 15000km (the Emirates-version has even more range, as they have an exclusive contract with Boeing for some secret extra features). The aircraft has a fly-by-wire system with all protections against critical angle of bank and attack, but in contrast to Airbus you can override the protections if you need to, without shutting them completely off. And with only two engines the airplane has a better fuel burn per seat than the (extremely ugly)(A380.

I've been once on the 777-300ER (LHR-JFK with British Airways) and it was the greatest thing I've ever seen!

Boeing 747-8I

The 747 is still the "Queen of the Skies". It has a very small market and with four engines it is not that economic, but for very long routes with high demand it is a very good option, and still one of the most beautiful pieces of metal in the air! Currently it is the longest passenger airplane in the world and the second biggest by its pax-capacity. Four General Electric GEnx (derivatives of the GE90) and the new wings with raked wingtips make it look even more elegant, than any other 747.

But there is also one military airplane I like:

Lockheed Martin F-22

The most advanced fighter with stealth and super sonic capabilities, but still very maneuverable. It would probably beat all other current fighters like the F-35, Dassault Rafale, Suchoi Su-35BM or Eurofighter in any situation.

Besides that I also like:

Airbus A320-Series

Boeing 757-200

Tupolev Tu-154M

McDonnel Douglas MD-11

ATR72

[Gene Inari]

Who doesn't like the F-22? It's the Mary Sue of planes... :U

[chaos_Leader]

Who doesn't like the F-22? It's the Mary Sue of planes... :U

There's the fact that the radar signature-reducing coating, one of the factors that make the F-22 such an advanced semi-stealty plane, gets compromised by water. That, and they cost an arm and a leg to build, maintain, and operate. It was built for a fight vs. extraordinary Soviet aircraft that never happened. The F-22 a great aircraft, it just also happens to be the persnickety spoiled princess of the USAF. I think the new F-35 will have more potential down the road.

[Gene Inari]

I've heard that the F-35 is being plagued by all sorts of problems, delays, and all sorts of other teething issues new aircraft designs get to the point that the costs or research, development, refits to existing craft are matching with the costs of the F-22, making the whole endeavor moot in a money-saving sense.

[Scourge]

STAG VTOL

[Arashikage]

OOH AIRPLANES! GIMME!

Okay, so starting from the top, here are my favorites!(The shortened version)

1. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II

With a max speed of mach 1.6, VTOL capabilities, and the capability to hold any weapon its counterpart, the F-22(Which is odd to say "counterpart" seeing as how the F-35 was not meant to replace the F-22) can, the F-35 Lightning II is going to be the US Military's new carrier based fighter jet. You all may have seen it in popular titles such as ARMA II, the Battlefield series, and even in Ace Combat. It has a large Pratt and Whitney F135 engine, one that vectors downwards upon takeoff, in its most popular variant the F-35B, to take off vertically. It lacks a Head Up Display due to its highly advanced HMDS(Helmet Mounted Display System) which the pilot will wear while flying it. It has one GAU-22 25mm 4 barreled Gatling cannon with 180 rounds, six external pylons on the wings, and two internal bays with two pylons each for a maximum of ten missiles or bombs on the aircraft at any given time. The maximum payload of this beautiful product of American engineering is 9 tons, or 18,000 pounds of bombs. Needless to say, this plane can screw up anyone's day.

2. Vought F-4U Corsair

Arguably the best fighter in the Pacific of WWII, hell, it could even be the best fighter of WWII period. It had a Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine, the largest engine available for an aircraft at that time. Because the engine was so large, the propeller needed to be very large as well. A problem in the design phase of the Corsair was when the propeller would have hit the ground upon starting it up if they didn't do something. They couldn't make the propeller smaller, because they had already calculated the size that would give the engine its max efficiency. They couldn't extend the gear, because then the gear would stick out of the wings when folded, so what did they do? They raised the body with the unique(almost) gull wing shape. Another aircraft that shares the gull wings is the Junkers JU-87 Stuka dive bomber. The F4U Corsair has six AN/M2 Browning 20mm machine guns, three on each wing. It also has eight high velocity rockets, and two bombs/external fuel tanks. The F4U was the first aircraft to reach over 400MPH during level flight.

3. Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest jet aircraft ever made. Using two Pratt and Whitney J58-P4 RAMJET engines, this reconnaissance aircraft can reach speeds up to mach 3.3. Three times faster than the speed of sound. In fact, the SR-71 flew so fast, the air friction superheated the metal that comprised the airfoil to an amazing 1,000 degrees F, causing the fuselage to expand nearly a half a foot. To put that into perspective, the hottest your oven at home gets is 700-800 degrees F. Had the US Military used any metal besides titanium, the plane would have melted upon reaching mach 2. When the SR-71 was first built in the 60's, there was the problem where they couldn't use any kind of epoxy to seal the fuel lines and tanks because at the speeds this plane flew, the epoxy would vaporize. When the SR-71 would land, it would sit on the tarmac and "weep." This plane takes a full two hours to go through all the preflights and start up the engines. The two behemoths of RAMJET engines need a large powerplant. Each powerplant has to be jumpstarted by 400 cubic inch Chevrolet engines. In terms of speed and reconnaissance, the SR-71 was almost on top of TODAY'S game almost sixty years ago.

4. North American X-15 experimental aircraft.

Now I know what you're about to say, "Kage! You cheated! This isn't a plane, it's a rocket!" Well my friends, the topic is about aircraft, not just planes. The North American X-15 was an experimental rocket in the early 1960's. Launched from the underbelly of the B-52 Stratofortress, the aircraft lacked decent landing gear, having only skids on the back, and one tire up front. The X-15 was a very very fast aircraft as well. Built out of the same material the SR-71 was built out of, this aircraft could reach speeds of up to mach 6.72. Let's put this into perspective here, this aircraft could fly TWICE as fast as the fastest jet in the world. The engine used are two Reaction Motors XLR-11 engines, or for later flights, only one Reaction Motors XLR-99 engine. There were only twelve pilots certified to fly this amazing aircraft, Neil Armstrong being one of the elite few. There has only been one casualty during the operation of this aircraft, a pilot by the name of Major Michael J. Adams.

5. Fairchild Republic A10 Thunderbolt II(Warthog)

The A-10 Thunderbolt II, or Warthog, better known as the "Tank Buster" is by far one of the most amazing attackers at the US Military's disposal. It boasts two General Electric TF-34-GE-100A turbofans to reach a max speed of 439MPH under normal conditions. The shape of the A10 was partly due to the gun put on the nose. Its GAU-8 cannon takes up about half of the fuselage of the craft. Underneath the pilot sits the six barrels of the large Gatling cannon, and directly to the rear of the pilot is the giant ammunition reserve. The unique shape of the wings, seemingly more suited to a propeller plane, was intentionally designed for this massive metal beast to carry a large array of weapons from wingtip to wingtip. It has a total of 11 hardpoints: eight under the wings, and three under the fuselage. Based on that information and the fact that each hardpoint has the capability to hold a rocket pod that holds 19 rockets, and a maximum carry weight of 25,000 pounds, terrorists beware.

6. Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

The UH-60 Black Hawk is one of the most widely used helicopters in the US Military, and militaries across the globe. With the reliability of Rainbow Dash, and the durability of an AK47, the UH-60 Black Hawk is one of the top helicopters in service today. Boasting two General Electric T700-GE-701C engines to power the large rotors, the UH-60 can reach a maximum speed of 222MPH, and can carry a maximum of 13,000 pounds. It has a crew of four, two pilots, a gunner and a crew chief, with room in the back for cargo or more soldiers. The UH-60 has two 7.62mm M240 machine guns, or two 50 caliber M2 machine guns. In addition to that, it can also be equipped with two ESSS stub wings, each with two hardpoints for rockets, bombs, or external fuel tanks.

Thanks for bearing with me through my lengthy post, aircraft is my favorite field!

[psy_commando]

Well I have a couple of favorite :

- The Saab Draken

Its one of the few aircraft that can do the cobra manoeuver

- The A10 as seen above

- The Avro Arrow :

There's just something very awesome about that plane, I can't really say what it is. It was also made in Canada, which is pretty rare these days.

- The MIG MAPO 1.42

- The Avro Vulcan

There are a couple of others, but I can't remember what they are :(

[Prince Elite]

I'm an F-111 fan myself. Despite the age and the retirement of the old girl, they served the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) well.

[Vulvokunvrii]

Thought we had a topic like this before but aw well:

Good 'ol Harrier jump-jet. My favorite bird in the sky.