Cool Planes

Author
Discussion

eharding

13,825 posts

286 months

Tuesday 17th October 2006
quotequote all
mrs h said:
Disco_Dale said:
English Electric Lightning.

OK, I won, you can close the topic now.




Coolest plane & coolest car. Now you can close the thread


Ahhh - fantastic - design roots going back to the late 1940's,
engine technology purely geared to outright dash performance, to
hell with any form of fuel economy, pre-transistor electronics,
and a reputation for brutal handling. Blighted by a 10:1
maintenance/available-for-service hours ratio.

Oh, and the Frightning in the background is nice too.

Mista_V

748 posts

231 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
Scary thing about the SR-71 is that it was conceived back in the 50's...makes me wonder what they are toying with i 2006 at area 51!

My personal vote for coolest plane however goes to this



B-1B Lancer, absolutely love it sleek, fast, mean looking and expensive to run...like the best exotic cars!

Designed to drop nukes but now spending most of its time supporting ground forces in Afghanistan, according to CENTAF airpower reports seems its getting some action pretty much every day over there.

If I could be reincarnated tommorow i'd come back as a captain flying one of these badboys

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

257 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
eharding said:
mrs h said:
Disco_Dale said:
English Electric Lightning.

OK, I won, you can close the topic now.




Coolest plane & coolest car. Now you can close the thread


Ahhh - fantastic - design roots going back to the late 1940's,
engine technology purely geared to outright dash performance, to
hell with any form of fuel economy, pre-transistor electronics,
and a reputation for brutal handling. Blighted by a 10:1
maintenance/available-for-service hours ratio.

Oh, and the Frightning in the background is nice too.


...You tread a dangerous path, old boy

Civpilot

6,235 posts

242 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]


See my post on the first page of the thread

Did the very thing on Sat just gone. Awesome plane

Eric Mc

122,328 posts

267 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
The B-1A was MUCH cooler than the B-1B.

JuniorD

8,653 posts

225 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
The XB-70 was one cool plane. The first one (of two) and only survivor is in the USAF museum in Dayton. That place is cloud9

Mista_V

748 posts

231 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
The B-1A was MUCH cooler than the B-1B.


I take it you mean because it had one of these...



(this ones from an F-111)

I agree that makes it cooler in theory, but in reality that escape module proved to be a death trap!

Eric Mc

122,328 posts

267 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
No, because it was a more capable aeroplane. It was cancelled by the Carter Administration. The slightly less advanced B-1B was relaunched in 1981 under Ronald Reagan.

Escape capsules have proved less than brilliant. The XB-70 that crashed in 1966 was fitted with such a device. The pilot survived his ejection, the co-pilot did not.

yertis

18,163 posts

268 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
Described as a "Mickey Mouse, Chinese New Year" escape system by one of the F111B test pilots.

An F111 crashed in a field not far from my house when I was about 15. Made a big hole.

c6erb

Original Poster:

650 posts

236 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
F14 Tomcat

evil jack

1,620 posts

230 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
c6erb said:
F14 Tomcat



Thats the one i've been waiting for thumbup


Hmmmm...swing wings...

97+04

17,517 posts

212 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all


cool and practical the bede jets are simply awesome

Although Rutan's planes do look the best.

c6erb

Original Poster:

650 posts

236 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
The Vulcan

c6erb

Original Poster:

650 posts

236 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
The P38 Lightning

BLUETHUNDER

7,881 posts

262 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
yertis said:
Described as a "Mickey Mouse, Chinese New Year" escape system by one of the F111B test pilots.

An F111 crashed in a field not far from my house when I was about 15. Made a big hole.
I remember seeing an F111 come down some years ago in Newmarket,the capsule seemed to work fine while the rest of the plane came down in a flaming mass.

petrol_noggin

3,046 posts

222 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
For you Frightning lovers, went for a walk around Cranfield this morning and took some pics, apologies for the quality.....



risotto

3,929 posts

214 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all






Uriel

3,244 posts

253 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
Does someone have that picture of the Starfighter climbing and firing a load of rockets that was posted on an earlier thread? It was an awesome picture, but I can't find it with Google or searching PH.

risotto

3,929 posts

214 months

Wednesday 18th October 2006
quotequote all
Can't find a climbing one but its got rockets...

c6erb

Original Poster:

650 posts

236 months

Tuesday 24th October 2006
quotequote all
Dassault Mirage