best and worst looking aircraft.

wittymoniker

crisco10 wrote: »

Both gorgeous aircraft, what is the bulge at the junction of the vertical and horizontal stabilisers though?

think it's probably a housing for the weather radar.

APM

wittymoniker wrote: »

think it's probably a housing for the weather radar.

Can finally put this one to bed, spoke with an ex VC10 engineer. He said it houses the hydraulic screw-jack for the surfaces.

pclancy

Dyflin wrote: »

And my least favourite

:eek::eek::eek: They can really move though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vJliayH6co

deaddonkey

I'm amazed it took the dakota so long to appear. A beautiful plane.



Lockheed Constellation, a real looker



Anything made by Shorts is butt ugly, and I got no love the the Airbus 320 series at all.

And also, for some reason, i love the first generation 737s.

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Lockheed Constellation, a real looker

It is my favourite of the "classic" airliners. So graceful and a typical 1950's retro design!

donvito99

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gotta be the ugliest.

IranAir_747-50[1].jpg this ones more obvious!

ronnie3585

donvito99 wrote: »

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gotta be the ugliest.

IranAir_747-50[1].jpg this ones more obvious!

Photoshopped, surely?

Silenceisbliss

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Photoshopped, surely?

NO...THEYRE REAL!!!! :rolleyes:

of course its photoshopped!

funny that you brought up the super constellation.

Im working on putting one back into service here in lufthansa next year.

donvito99

Silenceisbliss wrote: »

NO...THEYRE REAL!!!! :rolleyes:

of course its photoshopped!

funny that you brought up the super constellation.

Im working on putting one back into service here in lufthansa next year.

Back in proper commercial service? Or just PR?

oztots

donvito99 wrote: »

Back in proper commercial service? Or just PR?

Just for pr, we've the iron annie in here aswell, she's ancient. They use her for tourist flights over hamburg.
Say theyd do the same thing with the constellation. Think they bought 3 at an auction and are trying to make a good one from the 3. Silenceisbliss has a better idea, hes got chunks of it in his office.

ZiMZuM

A few personal favourites are :

Civilian Aircraft would be the L1011

Very neat looking aircraft imo

Military Aircraft would be either


or

The F-117



Worst looking in my opinion is either:

B52


or

FOGOFUNK

Is that B52 missing a wing?

FiSe

No it's just bended downwards while static, so it's hidden behind the fuselage

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That B52 photo looks odd.

Is it a model?

Look at the massive fire extinguisher in the background!:eek:

Kablam

View Profile wrote: »

That B52 photo looks odd.

Is it a model?

Look at the massive fire extinguisher in the background!:eek:

Well spotted, i think you're right it looks really plastic. The body looks a bit
narrow also.

ZiMZuM

Kablam wrote: »

Well spotted, i think you're right it looks really plastic. The body looks a bit
narrow also.

haha oh dear,id better change the pic to a real one so.

Silenceisbliss

donvito99 wrote: »

Back in proper commercial service? Or just PR?

ya, PR. It'll be doing tours over hamburg iirc. you can go have a flight, anyone can.

2 and a half were bought in the hopes of getting a fully original out of it. critical mechanisms will be salvages where possible, but where required (such as brakes or whatever) they will be taken from a 737 classic.

Rocketeer

oztots

Rocketeer wrote: »

Love the 2 of these, ekranoplans are savage, id love to see one in flight in person. Just another insane russian idea.

Rocketeer

Ugly one:

donvito99

Is that a mosquito? Werent they made of wood and canvas or something?

Rocketeer

No, thats P38 lightning

PILOT

That iran Air is a B747 Sp,

deaddonkey

Oh, The Sud Aviation Caravelle is a great lookin bird too

deevey

Cant belive the mig-35 hasn't been mentioned... ridiculously agile :eek:gotta love those russian jets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWLYTAYG-9U

And one of my favorites ... the gorgeous ill fated XB-70 Valkyrie ... such a shame the program was killed due to pilot error of a nearby plane during a photoshoot .. the whole story ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz-b05dQ430

dogmatix

I'd always considered the XB-70 a bit of a dog to look at. It has to be admitted though: it was a hugely impressive aircraft. I think it was killed for reasons other then the mid-air collision. It was designed for high speed-high altitude penetration, but even with a speed of Mach 3 it would have been an easy target for the latest Russian SAM's.

Came across this aircraft recently - I think it is a very handsome beast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_XF-11

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Wasn't that the same aircraft Leo crashed into Beverley Hills in the Aviator?

Silenceisbliss

dogmatix wrote: »

I'd always considered the XB-70 a bit of a dog to look at. It has to be admitted though: it was a hugely impressive aircraft. I think it was killed for reasons other then the mid-air collision. It was designed for high speed-high altitude penetration, but even with a speed of Mach 3 it would have been an easy target for the latest Russian SAM's.

The Valkyrie was rolled out in 1964 for its maiden flight, unfortunately, many problems arose with the structural integrity of the design due to limited material technology and there were also problems with the engines on the Valkyrie. Production was halted on the XB-70 shortly after and hence, so was the research into compression lift. Production was halted due to the reduced need for the supersonic bombers, this loss of interest was due to the development of new Surface to air-missiles in the Soviet union, and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles.

The “Valkyre” project was cancelled in 1964, and hence research into compression lift was also cancelled. In 1966, The First Lockheed Martin SR-71 “Blackbird” was fully serviceable and took the role of the high altitude mach +3 bomber; as a result, compression lift had been set aside as there wasn’t a great need for it anymore..

snipits from a report I did myself a while back on compression lift.

but ya, the valkyrie was a great looking thing. looked so futuristic and crisp

PS, compression lift is back in the lime light in waverider technology.

Davidth88

Off thread .... but when was the SR71 ever even thought as a bomber ?

Did it even have a bomb carrying capability ?

Silenceisbliss

Davidth88 wrote: »

Off thread .... but when was the SR71 ever even thought as a bomber ?

Did it even have a bomb carrying capability ?

This plane was originally designated the RS-71. RS stood for Reconnaissance/Strike. It could carry a single nuclear gravity bomb.