Most Beautiful Aircraft Ever Built

[Pops]

Hanger next door to me was a sky-diving club. The owner had a 1959 C-182 with a big engine and a B-18 he bought in a FA drug airplane auction. I helped maintain the B-18 for about 20 years. Rode right seat a lot and got to fly it often. I loved that old 18. When they made real airplanes. John had it in CA one winter hauling jumpers and someone offered him a fist full of money that he couldn't refuse and flew home on an airline. The 18 went to Canada and on floats. He bought a Cessna 411. I hated that airplane and told John he needs to sell that thing before it kills him. One of the worse airplane that I ever flew. Ended up with a A model Beech Kingair.

My Grandson has the best flying job there is and more money flying than any other flying job.

 

[Pilot-34]

Just wondering if that dress would stay on in the slip stream of that radial.

It truly depends on the skill of the pilot......

 

[Pilot-34]

I've always thought the nicknames for the F-16 (which I have never thought was a particularly attractive aircraft) "Lawn Dart" and "The Disposable Jet" were pretty apt and insulting.



Why screw with the tail when it works so beautifully? It's one of the best features of that line of aircraft.

Not to get off topic, but I love when people say "I want to do a scaled version of _______!" and then suggest completely changing the design (such as going from tractor to pusher and adding a twin boom design). It just seems to be one of the big non sequiturs of homebuilding.

You mean like I want a twin engine Cessna 210 flying boat?

 

[Pilot-34]

That's easy. Globe Swift.View attachment 20652

I can’t belive it took TEN pages!

 

[Pops]

The winner. Polen Special

Polen Special - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Toobuilder]

Top 3 - all Lockheed:

Connie
Model 12
XP-38

 

[cblink.007]

This is a tough question. Which one do I think is the most beautiful?


MINE!!

 

[Toobuilder]

There is no context in the human existence that the F-117 is a "beautiful" airplane. Effective, sure. Good looking - not a chance

 

[poormansairforce]

The first aircraft that truly took my breath away is the most mysterious of them all-

Always wondered what would happen if you built one at 25% and flew it into OSH.

 

[BJC]

There is no context in the human existence that the F-117 is a "beautiful" airplane. Effective, sure. Good looking - not a chance

It is beautiful only in the context of having an airplane to fly that someone else paid for, someone else maintains, and someone else provides the fuel for.


BJC

 

[cblink.007]

There is no context in the human existence that the F-117 is a "beautiful" airplane. Effective, sure. Good looking - not a chance

I think its 'beauty' is more or less in its uniqueness, and perhaps its necessary ugliness. Certainly not the gold standard for aerodynamic effeciency. I have met a few Nighthawk drivers in the past...all told me you can very much hear the turbulence from the broken airflows. No need for spoilers!

@BJC , I don't think the operating economics of these aircraft are within the scope of this thread. We are simply throwing our "favorites" out there, that's all. Otherwise, nobody would ever mention aircraft like Concorde, Blackbird, Nighthawk, Stratofortress, Galaxy, Eagle, Fighting Falcon, Apache, Spirit, Osprey, Shuttle et al. All of which were/are prohibitively expensive to operate. I am well aware of the basic fact that there is seldom anything with the military that can possibly be associated with the word "efficiency". I fly a tilt-rotor nowadays that can easily consume over 2000 pounds of JP-8 per hour in VTOL mode...before you add pax and cargo! And, I wrenched on it for many years before I finally landed in the drivers seat, so I appreciate the hard labor that goes into operating it while knowing I will never be able to afford to pay its $7,500/hour wet rate! Hence the decision on my project to create a complete antithesis to the Osprey!

 

[cblink.007]

Always wondered what would happen if you built one at 25% and flew it into OSH.

I'd bet someone who knows what they're doing could likely pull off a 100% scale Have Blue replica with some aerodynamic modifications....maybe!

 

[Mad MAC]

 

[Speedboat100]

How about Bill Falck's RIVETS ?

 

[imacfii]

I drooled over a Prowler Jaguar that an EAA chapter member had in his hangar. The engine was off, “for some work”, and I never saw it fly.


BJC

I saw the one George Morse built, it was beautiful, had a Rover V8 in it. I think George also designed it, he was from Watsonville Calif.

 

[Victor Bravo]

I was under the impression that this thread was about the most aesthetically beautiful airplane, not any of the other parameters.

 

[foolonthehill]

Well, 15 pages nto it and nobody has gotten it right yet! Lot's and lots of honorable mentions, for sure. Where's the Hughes Racer?

 

[pictsidhe]

Mosquito's little brother, the Hornet.
DeHavilland made many great looking as well as performing planes.

 

[Speedboat100]

I think I got it now...Wright model R !

 

[Pilot-34]

There’s only two ways in the world tilt router could be considered beautiful.

like the Huey Nothing looks better than your ride out.

OR

It may look a lot like a paycheck......

There are very few things That beat the air into submission by the brute force of a random collection of spare parts flying in loose formation that can be seen as beautiful other that in a mission achieved sort of way.