Favourite planes

[RMwonderer]

I mean it's not the fastest or the most modern but I love the fesign

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[ik8133]

Like a helicopter myself, have flown in a few and even been winched up into one!  Been to few air shows, seeing a Chinook doing it's stuff was very impressive, the Lightning doing a vertical climb like a rocket with wings and you can't beat the noise of the Lanc, Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Like a helicopter myself, have flown in a few and even been winched up into one!  Been to few air shows, seeing a Chinook doing it's stuff was very impressive, the Lightning doing a vertical climb like a rocket with wings and you can't beat the noise of the Lanc, Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Very true, or a good woman at full throttle:-)..

[superchamp]

I mean it's not the fastest or the most modern but I love the fesign

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It was the fastest. The VC10 held the subsonic Atlantic crossing record for 41 years until bettered by a British Airways 747 during Storm Ciara. And yes, a stunning piece of British aeronautical design.

[webpunter]

That must have been some sight !

You'll have got the TS fans excited mentioning upside down & undercarriage extended 

Brilliant.

I witnessed a Phantom practicing for an air show flying low level up side down with it's undercarriage extended.

[RMwonderer]

It was the fastest. The VC10 held the subsonic Atlantic crossing record for 41 years until bettered by a British Airways 747 during Storm Ciara. And yes, a stunning piece of British aeronautical design.

It's the T wing for me. Designed for hot high airports it was so versatile

[King Nuts]

It was the fastest. The VC10 held the subsonic Atlantic crossing record for 41 years until bettered by a British Airways 747 during Storm Ciara. And yes, a stunning piece of British aeronautical design.

Yep, a wonderful looking plane and terrific piece of engineering.

I think it joins the Lockheed L-1011 in being a superior plane to the competition at the time, but ended up losing out due to various conflicting commercial and national interests.

[jeanphillipe]

Flying Blue any exploits with air stewardesses ?

[Thephoenix]

Flying Blue any exploits with air stewardesses ?

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[kippydon]

it has to be the A380

great big bird

[timsussex]

it has to be the A380

great big bird

First time I flew on an A380 the captains welcome announcement finished with
"At this point I usually tell you who the cabin staff are but as there are 28 of them on this flight we will be late for take off if I do"

[Marmalade]

So would all the plane buffs on here fly on a 737Max if there were another option at the same price?

How about the Dreamliner?

[cunningman]

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Fascinating: External Link/Members Only

[mr.bluesky]

Fascinating: External Link/Members Only

  interesting

[RMwonderer]

Yep, a wonderful looking plane and terrific piece of engineering.

I think it joins the Lockheed L-1011 in being a superior plane to the competition at the time, but ended up losing out due to various conflicting commercial and national interests.

L1011 is a superb piece of engineering. You will lo e this video:
External Link/Members Only

[DastardlyDick]

I'm torn between the DH Mosquito and the EE Lightning. My grandad made the props for the mossie.

[scutty brown]

Fascinating: External Link/Members Only

There's an outbuilding in Lancaster at the back of the old former Waring & Gillow furniture workshops which uses Mosquito wing spars as roof trusses. Leftovers from WWII production

[Sha99er]

A very honourable mention;

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The Mosquito is unique among World War II fighters because it is made primarily of wood, not metal.

The Royal Air Forces’ (RAF) “fast bomber” first flew in November of 1940.  In order to keep weight down, the speedy plane was constructed primarily of spruce, birch plywood, and balsa wood.  This building method had the added bonus of preserving war-critical duralumin and steel for other military aircraft projects.  The Mosquito was powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Merlin V-12 engines, similar to those seen in the RAF’s Spitfire and Hurricane.

The “Wooden Wonder” Mosquito became one of the fastest, far-flying, and most versatile aircraft of World War II.  Examples operated as bombers, fighters, fighter-bombers, night fighters, reconnaissance planes, and trainers.  The last of the over 7,700 examples built flew well into the jet age, retiring in the early 1960s.

Are there any WW2 mosquitoes still flying?

The de Havilland Mosquito is a British two-engine multi-role combat aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied air forces during World War II. Of the 7,781 planes built, 30 survive today, four of which are airworthy. Eight planes are currently under restoration.

Yup, the Mozzie wins the day for me, absolutely awesome machine!

[FLYING BLUE]

Flying Blue any exploits with air stewardesses ?

There used to be quite a few back in 'the good old days' - these days, I'm sure it would be very much frowned upon or worse.
I was on cargo for 9 years before early retirement so no crew action there at all.

[King Nuts]

L1011 is a superb piece of engineering. You will lo e this video:
External Link/Members Only

Thanks. Great link.

I remember flying on the L1011 a handful of times. I think BA one time, maybe mid-80s, from LHR to CDG.

And TWA had a few of them. Took a flight to JFK back in the early 90s on one, and maybe a couple of domestic flights in the US too. I remember the unusually high ceiling, which gave the plane a great sense of space.

[mr.bluesky]

There is an excellent TV series called "planes that changed the world" on the smithsonian/ Eden TV channel. These are often repeated, mainly about military aircraft but a recent episode was about the SR71 Blackbird a truly remarkable aircraft that was way ahead of its time and only recently taken out of service by the US airforce

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[RMwonderer]

So would all the plane buffs on here fly on a 737Max if there were another option at the same price?

How about the Dreamliner?

I would avoid. When I book tickets for example I'll always go easy jet (a320 fam) over Ryan air for example (737 fleet). 787 had there battery issues early on but I wouldn't mind that.

Problem with the 737 m is that it feels rushed

[Lady Lover]

There is an excellent TV series called "planes that changed the world" on the smithsonian/ Eden TV channel. These are often repeated, mainly about military aircraft but a recent episode was about the SR71 Blackbird a truly remarkable aircraft that was way ahead of its time and only recently taken out of service by the US airforce

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I remember reading that the blackbird used to leak oil when it was on the runway as the joints wern't rigid, because when it flew at extreme altitude the fuselage needed to expand - what an engineering feat

[DastardlyDick]

I remember reading that the blackbird used to leak oil when it was on the runway as the joints wern't rigid, because when it flew at extreme altitude the fuselage needed to expand - what an engineering feat

I saw the SR71 they have at Duxford - it's been there for ages, but there's still drip pans underneath to catch leaks!

[PepeMAGA]

Quite like the lines of the new Rolls Royce all electric plane.


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[Ghost89]

I saw the SR71 they have at Duxford - it's been there for ages, but there's still drip pans underneath to catch leaks!

I saw it there too. Leaks like a sieve. Fantastic looking plane. Doesn’t deserve to be grounded. If ever a plane should be updated it should be that.

[King Nuts]

I would avoid. When I book tickets for example I'll always go easy jet (a320 fam) over Ryan air for example (737 fleet). 787 had there battery issues early on but I wouldn't mind that.

Problem with the 737 m is that it feels rushed

I took a trip on a 787 in the Summer of 2019. Norwegian, to Los Angeles. Got on board, waited for nearly three hours while the pilot said he was trying to re-boot the plane (re-boot??) and then he gave up the ghost. We de-planed and luckily Norwegian had another plane on stand by.

On the return, decided not to risk it, and switched to a lovely, rattly old 747. Much better plane, I don't care what anyone says.

[mr.bluesky]

I took a trip on a 787 in the Summer of 2019. Norwegian, to Los Angeles. Got on board, waited for nearly three hours while the pilot said he was trying to re-boot the plane (re-boot??) and then he gave up the ghost. We de-planed and luckily Norwegian had another plane on stand by.

On the return, decided not to risk it, and switched to a lovely, rattly old 747. Much better plane, I don't care what anyone says.

Amazing to think that the 747 has been going since 1969 when it had its first flight and has been the mainstay for most airlines for long haul flights. I loved to fly on a 747 when travelling to the far east for my holidays

[King Nuts]

Amazing to think that the 747 has been going since 1969 when it had its first flight and has been the mainstay for most airlines for long haul flights.

Quite. It's an extraordinary plane. It did nothing less than change the world. Amazing too that when you look at old photos of the interior, even in Economy it looked like there was masses of room. In this old pic, it looks like the seating is only 9 across, as opposed to 10.



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[radioman33]

F16 fighter plane and Concorde was the plane that changed things like getting to the states quickly and in luxury.

[lillythesavage]

F16 fighter plane and Concorde was the plane that changed things like getting to the states quickly and in luxury.

For whom did Concorde change things for, did you fly on it?

The 747 brought the world closer for the masses and served for many years, you cannot compare the two.

[Thephoenix]

Quite. It's an extraordinary plane. It did nothing less than change the world. Amazing too that when you look at old photos of the interior, even in Economy it looked like there was masses of room. In this old pic, it looks like the seating is only 9 across, as opposed to 10.



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The other advantage on flights to the far East and Australasia was there was plenty of room to stroll around which was essential on those long hauls

[timsussex]

 Wonder how many thousands more people have flown on a 747 compared to Concorde ?


1569 : 14  planes built
53 : 26 years service (and counting)
400 : 100 seats
200 : 2 operators

[King Nuts]

For whom did Concorde change things for, did you fly on it?

The 747 brought the world closer for the masses and served for many years, you cannot compare the two.

Sadly, Concorde meant nothing to and for the vast majority of people. Except that the massive tax write-off meant everyone paid for it, in the end.

Nonetheless it was a fabulous plane, and it's hugely disappointing that it's not been been replaced or renewed by something equally fast.


In the series 'Man In The High Castle', set in a parallel universe in 1962 when the Nazis have conquered America, they have supersonic jets that get them from Berlin to New York in two or three hours. They look very much like Concorde:

External Link/Members Only

[radioman33]

Like a helicopter myself, have flown in a few and even been winched up into one!  Been to few air shows, seeing a Chinook doing it's stuff was very impressive, the Lightning doing a vertical climb like a rocket with wings and you can't beat the noise of the Lanc, Spitfire and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The Chinook helicopters are impressive,I remember the crash in the 90s of one killed the lot on board in the fog

[DastardlyDick]

In the series 'Man In The High Castle', set in a parallel universe in 1962 when the Nazis have conquered America, they have supersonic jets that get them from Berlin to New York in two or three hours. They look very much like Concorde:

External Link/Members Only

Could be the Soviet Tupolev TU144 "Concordski" as it was dubbed in the West.

[Thephoenix]

As a nipper I was so proud to see the de Havilland Comet.
It was a beautiful aircraft.
We led the world with the first commercial jet airliner.
Many were made in North Wales at Broughton.
Unfortunately it's safety record was initially very bad with 3 accidents within 12 months due to metal fatigue which was poorly understood in those days.

At least it managed to gain back respect as an aircraft when it was eventually converted to the Nimrod which remained in service with The RAF for many years as a maritime patrol aircraft.


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[Colston36]

Concorde, the SR-71 Blackbird, Vulcan bomber and the aborted TSR-2

I know embarrassingly little about planes but had a job that involved a) lots  of air travel and b) writing the ads for the first Airbus.All I remember about that was the amazing coq au vin at Toulon Airport. And I never knew what planes I flew except once when I arrived at Heathrow to be upgraded to Concorde. That was really special.

[GreyDave]

  Funny I see the plane question as a bit like the reasoning about the mess the worlds in;

Concorde ...We will let only a few privilaged and lucky people  fly,  Eton boys Bus is what ive heard it called bit like a roller/mclaren/aston  for the elite
Comet ....DeHavilland used their less powerfull engine on first ones and lightened and weakend the aircraft (tv doc telling the business story )...powered by RR they were used up till recently (Nimrod)
747 ....lets make money out of a failed project guys lets make flying  cheap....Henry Fords Model T A and B rolled in to one for the messs

Tulepov (? ) will will make a machine that will work ...for a while

China ....will will copy the shape but not the important metal mixes ( they ve done this with terrible consequenses several times )

And it all started because a Bike shop owner wanted a hobby!

[radioman33]

I know embarrassingly little about planes but had a job that involved a) lots  of air travel and b) writing the ads for the first Airbus.All I remember about that was the amazing coq au vin at Toulon Airport. And I never knew what planes I flew except once when I arrived at Heathrow to be upgraded to Concorde. That was really special.

Flying from London to New York in 3 hours has its advantages it’s why Concorde was a fantastic plane.

[mr.bluesky]

Funny I see the plane question as a bit like the reasoning about the mess the worlds in;

Concorde ...We will let only a few privilaged and lucky people  fly,  Eton boys Bus is what ive heard it called bit like a roller/mclaren/aston  for the elite
Comet ....DeHavilland used their less powerfull engine on first ones and lightened and weakend the aircraft (tv doc telling the business story )...powered by RR they were used up till recently (Nimrod)
747 ....lets make money out of a failed project guys lets make flying  cheap....Henry Fords Model T A and B rolled in to one for the messs

Tulepov (? ) will will make a machine that will work ...for a while

China ....will will copy the shape but not the important metal mixes ( they ve done this with terrible consequenses several times )

China and India are the biggest producers of fake aircraft parts in the world 

[scutty brown]

Flying from London to New York in 3 hours has its advantages it’s why Concorde was a fantastic plane.

Advantages for who? It had as much relevance to most people as a diamond-encrusted bogseat.
Total technological dead end. Any advanced metal-bending techniques used are irrelevant in an age of composites. Modern computing rendered the control systems irrelevant. And we never replicated or reused the Olympus supercruise technology (though the USA and USSR pirated it for their fighters)
Concorde was a ridiculous last-gasp gamble to try to jumpstart Britain's aeroindustry which at the time was collapsing due to government purchasing policies, incompetent management, failure to invest in modern plant and tooling, and subject to asset stripping and corporate raiding.
The USA built identical aircraft in large numbers on production lines.
The UK individually metal-bashed by hand each aircraft. Each VC10, each Nimrod, each Concorde was individually coach built with few interchangeable parts.

[radioman33]

Advantages for who? It had as much relevance to most people as a diamond-encrusted bogseat.
Total technological dead end. Any advanced metal-bending techniques used are irrelevant in an age of composites. Modern computing rendered the control systems irrelevant. And we never replicated or reused the Olympus supercruise technology (though the USA and USSR pirated it for their fighters)
Concorde was a ridiculous last-gasp gamble to try to jumpstart Britain's aeroindustry which at the time was collapsing due to government purchasing policies, incompetent management, failure to invest in modern plant and tooling, and subject to asset stripping and corporate raiding.
The USA built identical aircraft in large numbers on production lines.
The UK individually metal-bashed by hand each aircraft. Each VC10, each Nimrod, each Concorde was individually coach built with few interchangeable parts.

Professional sports athletes to avoid jetlag.Urgent business meetings.Zoom can do this now.

[lillythesavage]

China and India are the biggest producers of fake aircraft parts in the world 

More relevant to most of us, car parts too, a lot of it is junk, but it has kept old land rovers going for many years.

[webpunter]

They are big producers of everything fake
Numerous chinese, indian [african / south american / the list goes on ...] airlines are banned from flying anywhere apart from in their own countries
Major carriers ban their pilots from flying on a long list of airlines, should they need to get wherever it is but not on their own [airline] plane
The pilot training cost @ BA is supposedly around a mill, so a logic behind this
Shite unreliable old planes, equally crappy poorly trained pilots with scary accident stats
Egypt Air is on the list & one of their pilots deliberately crashed the plane to commit suicide
Wonder if the chinese pilots have to sit on [mothercare type] booster seats to see out of the windows ? 
Whilst the worst that can happen with a fake pen is that it leaks, as for aircraft & car parts indeed 

China and India are the biggest producers of fake aircraft parts in the world 

[Colston36]

Flying from London to New York in 3 hours has its advantages it’s why Concorde was a fantastic plane.

To put my posh Concorde flight in context the first flight I ever took was in 1962 from Manston Aerodrome to Perpignan - in a semi-pressurised incredibly noisy plane - make and model of which senility plus Covid deny me recollection.

I do recall though that it took off 5 hours late. I was on my way to visit a series of 18 Spanish hotels, at each of which politeness required I have a drink. A proper one as in those days if you took a soft drink the Spaniards thought you were a mincing pansy. What a hangover!

[webpunter]

Quality 
Tippy toe carefully referencing mincers nowadays 

To put my posh Concorde flight in context the first flight I ever took was in 1962 from Manston Aerodrome to Perpignan - in a semi-pressurised incredibly noisy plane - make and model of which senility plus Covid deny me recollection.

I do recall though that it took off 5 hours late. I was on my way to visit a series of 18 Spanish hotels, at each of which politeness required I have a drink. A proper one as in those days if you took a soft drink the Spaniards thought you were a mincing pansy. What a hangover!

As an aside back in the day [30+ yrs ago] me & a mate went ski ing in Bulgaria on a package trip
Coz cheap as chips
Flight & hotel, didn;t pay attention to which airline in those days
Sofia Air ?
The days of paper tickets, carbonated
I'm walking down the aisle & my seat doesnt exist !
Was thinking WTF do i do now, in the bogs, maybe a hostie seat ?
Fortunately not full so i sat in another one
When the plane landed everyone, including lots of Bulgarians, started clapping
We were thinking  then immediately

[GreyDave]

Ok 
to bring the subject back to rides we have been in my top flight was when i was in my late 20`s year old with my 1st wife (Big Titted Blonde Nightmare Bitch) .

A De Haviland Beaver float plane out of Cairnes in Queensland out over the Barrier reef when it was full of life a snorkel then back in time to watch fruit bats flying foxes flying out 40 years ago FFS!

The Reef is now bleached white and fish are few 
The poor Bats have suffered in the Aussie Heat and 1000`s are dead, 
The Big Titted Ex`s gut and the rest of her has evened out  :

after a BBC gave her a donation which he failed to surport ( I still occasially see my ex Mother in law she moans about her daughters choices I dont only time I am pleased to say she was justified in wanting a bigger cock  )

[webpunter]

Times flies when you are having fun in a beaver

Back in the day i did a flight over the kakadu
In the equivalent of a citroen 2CV of light aircraft
A great experience if a bit 

At that time the ozzie govt was tangled up in aboriginal rights stuff
Most of em based in Canberra so they really get a feel of what life is like in the northern territories 
At the flight company there were posters on the wall advertising that an aborigine had finally got thru training [@ great expense to the Govt] & qualified
To do flight stuff in the outback to help the communities
The only problem was that the aboriginies refused to be a passenger in a plane he was flying 

I was thinking WTF, what i want for the fly around is a retired pilot who had flown for the Australian RAF in WW2
Somehow landing planes with one engine not working cannon & bullet holes everywhere & various parts blown off
Nearly forgot to mention landing on an aircraft carrier, just to make things easy !

Seems to me that you had a lucky escape
When failing to support, are you meaning like promising money to Terry Wogan on the annual Children in Need TV jobby & then not paying up ?

Ok 
to bring the subject back to rides we have been in my top flight was when i was in my late 20`s year old with my 1st wife (Big Titted Blonde Nightmare Bitch) .

A De Haviland Beaver float plane out of Cairnes in Queensland out over the Barrier reef when it was full of life a snorkel then back in time to watch fruit bats flying foxes flying out 40 years ago FFS!

The Reef is now bleached white and fish are few 
The poor Bats have suffered in the Aussie Heat and 1000`s are dead, 
The Big Titted Ex`s gut and the rest of her has evened out  :

after a BBC gave her a donation which he failed to surport ( I still occasially see my ex Mother in law she moans about her daughters choices I dont only time I am pleased to say she was justified in wanting a bigger cock  )

[GreyDave]

  Web Punter

Oz was a Wunderland I worked there on young persons visa as did then wife, its a great place some of the time then its just Wales with sunshine and SCARY INSECTS and SNAKES ...a work mate got bitten by a brown snake he was VERY Very Luckly to of lived his arm where it got him sort of melted muscle under the skin poor fellow .

Yep you guess it right with Ex She was quite the looker and carried a fine pair of jugs and Bum she ended up going of with this BBC guy who was a (arnt they all ) Doorman at a local nightclub after a few months of her saying she was staying overnight with girls I was told by her that she wanted more (cock presumabile  ) and moved out , after a quick divorce (as we both really had no cash) she became preggers  He chucked he out / stopped paying the rent she went back to parents ... The Kid is nightmare she has the worst aspects of both parents Big Ugly Self entitled ended up going in to the care system ....

I some times cross paths with her Christ what a lucky escape I had ...but when in Oz it was a differnt world in the early 80`s....I some times seek out WG`s that look her just for rekindling the good times   sorry next time ill ring samaratams    Think Chelsea 2012 Harlow is best way to describe what she is like now