OK Aviation buffs - Whats your vote for the most interesting military aircraft?

Question

OK, everyone knows the P-51 won the war, the Spitfire was the prettiest, the F-4 was ahead of its time, the F-15 is the greatest air superiority fighter ever. Lets get the debate going - What aircraft do you find INTERESTING to read about? Lets hear some opinions. I love the XB-70 Valkyrie - thats was ahead of its time. The X-29 with the forward swept wing - very cool. How about the X-31 with the manouvering paddles- its airshow performance is described as "jaw dropping". Lets hear some ideas on other interesting aircraft (preferably military) from any time period...

Answer 1

The P-51 wasn't that suited to Pacific operations.

"I'm in big trouble!  I've been hit and I'm loosing coolant!"

"Calm down! Just feather the prop and trim for single-engine flight and you'll get home okay!".

"Feather it, h**l!  I'm flying a P-51!"

As told by a P-38 pilot.

Still I think the deHavilland Mosquito was one of the best planes ever.  It could carry the same bomb load as a B-17 (no guns or gunners to take up space and weight).  It was the fastest operational aircraft in WWII until 1944.  It bombed Berlin in broad daylight in 1943 while Goering and Goebbels were giving speeches celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Third Reich.  It was a fighter, night-fighter, bomber, pathfinder, reconnaissance plane, and took more than a few VIPs through hostile airspace.

Answer 2

For me its between the versatile C-130, and the worlds largest airplane THE antonov AN-225.

AN225 - Just the CONCEPT that such a heavy thing could fly is testiment to the fact that humans KNOW how to build a flying machine. The limitations that exist are only in the materials, not in our understanding of the theory. I am sure we could make an ISLAND fly if humanity needed it to happen.

C-130 - Just watching this huge thing land or take off at such slow speeds AGAIN shows that humans aren't guessing anymore.

These aircraft dismiss basic human arrogance, and instead focus on functionality.

Answer 3

Dale Browns'  Megafortress, one baaaaadasssss plane!

Answer 4

All I see is fixed wing aircraft, all great ones too.  

For me though the most maybe not interesting, but sure glad to see you was the Bell UH-1 series Huey.

When on the ground and  in a bad situation nothing like the sight of one.

Probably more grunts than pilots would agree, but just my opinion.

Answer 5

For me the most interesting is also the most diverse aircraft still flying in the USAF inventory, and that is the C-130 in all its variants.  

Since its inception in 1954 then onto its first flight in 1956 to today, it has filled more rolls than any other aircraft developed.  It has been a cargo hauler. As a weapons platform it fires the largest weapon airborne, the 105 howitzer.  It serves as an aerial tanker. It has landed and launched off the deck of an aircraft carrier (with no hook!).  The C-130 has performed as a bomber dropping the largest weapon in the Air Force inventory, the MOAB. C-130's have been used as hurricane hunters as well as search and rescue aircraft using the Fulton recovery system.  There are several variations of intelligence gathering C-130's out there.  The next generation of C-130's have come on line and it looks like they will be around for a long time to come.

Answer 6

Aside from the X-plane ideas that have been kicked around, I'll stick to ones that are already either in service or stand a good chance of making it and have proven versions.

F-35 Lightning II (JSF) - What a feat of computerization, advanced materials, and systems. Amazing flexability with surprising simplicity (for what it is).

V-22 Osprey - Again VTOL with a menacing presence, outstanding workhorse payload and forward thinking. Nevermind the prototypes track records...

AH-64 Apache - Pure firepower and tactical prowess in an amazingly agile platform. A true case of man becomes part of the machine to make these toys truly effective.

CH-47 Chinook - Utility and payload lugging power at its best. The thud-thud of the powerful rotors slashing away through the air as a formation of Chinooks flies by sends chills down the spine.

SR-71 Blackbird - Need I say more? :-)

Answer 7

LOCKHEED MARTINS SR-71 BLACKBIRD

Answer 8

ME 163 Komet (Comet).  Talk about something ahead of its time...

Answer 9

I agree with mustange that the P51 hardly one the war. He's right about the pacific campaign. And the F15 is the greatest air superiority fighter ever? Me thinks the six F15 jocks who went head to head with a single F22 in a mock air battle last year would vehemently dissagree with you as none of the six would have survived in actual combat against the Raptor pilot. The Raptor driver who became an ace in less than two minutes if it had been for real would also dissagree with you.

Answer 10

I like the V22 becuase its a plane and a helicopter, but any plane is interesting to me.

Answer 11

How about the P-61 Black widow that history has seemed to forget. The P-61 pioneered night fighting and airborne radar.

Answer 12

The P-38 equaled the top speed of the P-51, had more firepower, more under wing stores (including 2 torpedoes!), a better turn rate and faster climb rate . It also did something the Mustang never did, earned a nickname from it's adversaries - Der Gabelshwanz Tuffel (The Fork-Tailed devil)!

Sorry If I spelled the German wrong.

Answer 13

What about the DeHavilland Mosquito....The "wooden wonder". A very capable aircraft with a good record.

Answer 14

Ekranoplan. Gives real meaning to the word "Pilot".

Answer 15

B-36 - Big bomber, big motors, short lifespan.  And besides, Jimmy Stewart flew it in a movie.

Answer 16

Probably the Martin P6M Seamaster. It was a (barely) supersonic, turbine powered, true seaplane, with the role of being a dedicated bomber. The cathedral wings serving as wing-floats, the agility of the aircraft must have been awesome.

They borrowed the sleek, in-wing engine design from the DeHavilland Comet and raked them slightly outward to keep the outlets from scorching the empennage. The rotating bomb bay was an incredible development.

When you consider that every mathematical calculation that went into the devellopment of the aircraft was done with a slide rule, it becomes a more and more impressive machine every time I look at it.

The effort that went into design and construction ran it well over budget, causing the Navy to kill the project before the SeaMaster went into production. The several prototypes that were built were scrapped out.

That would have been something fun to fly. A nightmare to wrench on, but fun to fly.

JT

Answer 17

For me the B-58 Hustler get's it done. What a wicked machine, like a helicopter that thing was always trying to kill ya. That's a wild machine. Go read about it you will be impressed.

http://members.cox.net/dschmidt1/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-58_Hustle...

Answer 18

Grumman F-14 Tomcat

If only it had gotten rid of the TF-30's sooner.....still

a great plane.

Answer 19

The SR-71, it is forever an icon of speed. Its impunity is best exemplified by the  plaque ""Though I fly through the Valley of Death... I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing." - At the entrance to the old SR-71 operating base Kadena, Okinawa

Thats an arrogance you cannot help but admire, and so I vote for the beautiful Blackbird, for its outstanding pace and mastery of heights.

BTW, the Su-47 has long since surpassed the X-29 in FSW coolness and you look up the MiG-35 for maneuverability. It will make the X-31 look like a rookie.

Answer 20

Won what war? The one in Europe maybe. It was not used in the Pacific and the P38 lightning had a lot more kills as did the Navy's F4F Hellcat. As far as interesting aircraft, I like what the Marines and USAF are doing with tilt rotor aircraft.