SIGforum
World's Prettiest Aircraft
October 01, 2017, 05:57 PM
aileronWorld's Prettiest Aircraft
How about showing this little Boeing Pursuit some love?
October 01, 2017, 06:43 PM
walker77quote:
Originally posted by provident:
Since a number of you folks like the "Connie", I thought that you would like to know that one of the remaining planes is being restored near my home. The Auburn, Maine airport has had a special hanger built just for this restoration and the plane will be used in Europe for expensive tours. I had the privilege of having a personal tour of the operation, and got inside the plane. It's an amazing endeavor to say the least. Here are a couple of links to it.
http://www.conniesurvivors.com...iner_update-2016.htmhttps://www.airspacemag.com/hi...starliner-180960064/
We have one of the remaining few in flying condition at the airline museum at the down town Kansas City airport. It was restored to look like an old TWA connie. It was used in the movie the aviator and several other movies.
They rarely fly it any more due to insurance costs.
October 01, 2017, 07:26 PM
92fstechSo many awesome choices...I love the Concorde, the Blackbird, the Lancer, and so many others. I was really into aviation back in High School, and that was a great time to be. The Blackbird is gone now, so is the Concorde, along with many others. I got to see an SR-71 on Friday at the Nebraska air and space museum...every time I see one I wish I could have seen one fly (interesting side-note...they also have an Avro Vulcan on display...not many of those around on this side of the pond).
Here's one of my personal favorites that I don't think has been mentioned yet...the TU-154. Growing up in central Europe, these used to fly in over my school every day. It's basically a ruggedized version of the 727...louder than hell, and they'd leave a smoke trail for miles. They are way less common on routes outside of Russia these days due to safety and environmental concerns, but I always loved watching them.
October 01, 2017, 07:27 PM
sjtillI got to fly in a Connie across the country when I was about 10. I got a little gold-colored "captain's wings". Newark to SFO with two stops, Chicago Midway and Kansas City IIRC.
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“Remember, remember the fifth of November!"
October 01, 2017, 09:40 PM
rburgOnce back in the 1950s I guess my dad had to fly to Detroit. Thank gawd my mother couldn't drive so my grandfather drove my dad and the whole family to the airport. We watched my dad get on the plane and then some guy at the gate explained it was a "Connie". That meant nothing to me at the time. But it looked sleek and fast as it took off.
My grandfather who had never flown and never wanted to, did explain that my dad was in Detroit before we got home. Given his driving pace, Dad could have been in Los Angles before we got home. When dad got home, he confided he would have rather driven. After that, whenever one crashed, which seemed pretty regular, he'd point out the danger of flying. He said bombers back during the war seemed safer.
Unhappy ammo seeker
October 01, 2017, 10:45 PM
JALLENquote:
Originally posted by sjtill:
I got to fly in a Connie across the country when I was about 10. I got a little gold-colored "captain's wings". Newark to SFO with two stops, Chicago Midway and Kansas City IIRC.
My granddad would often take my brother and me to Houston airport, now Hobby, in the evening to watch airplanes come and go. We'd stand on the roof observation deck of the art deco style terminal now being restored on the west side of Runway 17/35, and watch arrivals and departures, many of Connies, or at least those are what I remember. A couple of times, he would arrive or depart, very exciting!
Hughes had something to do with the Connies, and my granddad was a Hughes manager.
Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.
When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown October 03, 2017, 09:26 PM
newtoSig765quote:
Originally posted by aileron:
How about showing this little Boeing Pursuit some love?
I swear, that's the plane that Pete Bowers was dreaming of when he designed the Fly Baby, perhaps my favorite Homebuilt. I actually helped restore one in the late-1970's.
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Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
-- H L Mencken
I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is.
-- JALLEN 10/18/18
October 03, 2017, 10:55 PM
sns3guppyquote:
Originally posted by signewt:
Antonov 225 in that ponderous aerodynamic Sumo Steroid overdose sort of way
I've parked next to them in a few countries here and there. Big.
October 05, 2017, 10:14 PM
DMFquote:
Originally posted by newtoSig765:
quote:
Originally posted by aileron:
How about showing this little Boeing Pursuit some love?
I swear, that's the plane that Pete Bowers was dreaming of when he designed the Fly Baby, perhaps my favorite Homebuilt. I actually helped restore one in the late-1970's.
To me The Fly Baby, especially in that paint scheme, looks like a PT-19.
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"He was never hindered by any dogma, except the Constitution." - Ty Ross speaking of his grandfather General Barry Goldwater
"War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want." - William Tecumseh Sherman
October 06, 2017, 12:05 AM
aileronYou're right! I have 2.7 hours logged in one of these >
October 06, 2017, 12:16 AM
357fuzzquote:
Originally posted by newtoSig765:
quote:
Originally posted by Hound Dog:
I love...Stukas...(though anybody calling a Spitfire ugly is beyond help).
When I was a kid, Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry had both of them hanging from the ceiling, the Spit attacking a diving Stuka. Quite a sight for an early-post-war kid who loved WWII fighter planes.
Still do.
October 06, 2017, 12:52 AM
newtoSig765quote:
Originally posted by DMF:
To me The Fly Baby, especially in that paint scheme, looks like a PT-19.
Ever see a Spezio Sport, this one with a radial engine and modified tail?
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Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
-- H L Mencken
I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is.
-- JALLEN 10/18/18
October 06, 2017, 07:53 AM
tacfoleyHaving flown in one a few times, and watched them, I'm a great fan of what must be the definitive pretty/ugly airplane of all time, the Fi156 Fieseler Storch.
tac
October 06, 2017, 08:13 AM
ryan81986