Aircraft you should have seen but haven't.

Aircraft you should have seen but haven't.

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Discussion

Hugo a Gogo

23,383 posts

239 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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JU52 flies over my house a lot through the summer

dr_gn

16,379 posts

190 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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ecsrobin said:
951TSE said:
Yertis said:
Where to start? There are so many... MiGs 23 and 25, Tempest V, Beaufighter... Belfast, Constellation, Liberator, Black Widow.

I'm not giving up though. When I was a kid I thought I'd missed all the great classes of steam locomotive. In the last eight years I've seen most of them race past my house.
Well that Lufthansa site referenced earlier seems to suggest that you will get the constellation sooner rather than later.

http://www.dlbs.de/en/Projects/Lockheed-Superstar/...
One was flying in the UK last year. It was at Farnborough airshow and RIAT and is owned by Breitling.



And Duxford.

Eric Mc

122,789 posts

271 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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On refelection, I wouldn't count aircraft that ceased flying before I was in a position to see them - such as long retired World War 1 or World War 2 aircraft - or even the XB-70, which was retired in 1969 when I was only 11 years old and not living in California - where it conducted virtually all its flying.

I would limit my regret for missing aircraft to aircraft I MIGHT have had a chance to see in the air but due to circumstances never got around to seeing them.

On that basis I would delete the X-15 from my list but retain the Space Shuttle. I could have, if I'd made a bit of an effort and paid the money, gone to the US to see a launch or a landing - but never got around to it. I did see it pass overhead in orbit a few times but that doesn't really count.


NM62

952 posts

156 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Eric - That makes it very difficult.

I would go for two

Firstly the F-105's that deployed to RAF Sculthorpe in the 80's - I missed them arrive on the day and never went back to get them.

Secondly a colleague of mine phoned in the mid 90's and said can you get out to MacDill AFB in Florida this Friday ( this was Tuesday ) - I was due to be on business elsewhere - he worked for a large Software Vendor in the USA and had been talking to some Colonel in the USAF at a software demo and he offered him two seats in two F-16B's - needless to say I wish now I had taken it - he did and sends me reminder pictures every year.

ETA - He did barf a lot

Eric Mc

122,789 posts

271 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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It chimes with the "should" in the thread title.

I'm old enough to have seen a lot of the aircraft that I could and should have seen fly - but there are a few that escaped me. The Constellation was almost an example. Way back in 1974 a school mate of mine said to me, "You'll never guess what's turned up at Dublin Airport - a Lockheed Constellation". It was an original short fuselage version which had been hired by a meat exporting company to fly meat out to North Africa.

I dashed over to the airport that weekend (I was 15 at the time) to see it before it departed. I was hoping to see it fly. However, it just sat there. The next time I went to the airport, about a fortnight later, it was running its engines - but didn't take off.

The company that owned it then went bust and the Connie sat at Dublin for the next 9 years gradually mouldering and corroding. It was eventually saved by the Science Museum and transported by road to Wroughton - where it was refurbished and is now stored.

I thought I would never get to see a Connie fly - until last year when the one shown above flew at Farnborough. It was worth the 40 year wait.

MarkwG

5,081 posts

195 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Dr Jekyll said:
What aircraft types would you like to see flying, are around to be seen, but you have somehow missed?

JU52 for me. I've seen them parked but never flying.
The Swiss one which does pleasure flights from Dubendorf flew over our flat all the time: gets a bit wearing after a while, tbh...

NM62

952 posts

156 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Eric - with you on the Constellation.

Seen the one at Paris, some at Museums - never seen a flyer - an old spotting colleague told me of the Indian AirForce be that visited Northolt - would love to have seen that!

Missed the Qantas one that went back.

kurt535

3,560 posts

123 months

Tuesday 1st September 2015
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Love to see an F14
Love to see a Lightning - again
F-111
F-4

SeeFive

8,280 posts

239 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Super Constellations were still in and out of Gatwick in the early 70s when I used to go along with my Ian Allan books and pencil. There was also a plethora of Britannias, Viscounts and even the odd rare Dakota too.

They looked very old fashioned among the jets of the time - VC10s, noisy old BAC111s (especially the smokey Dan Dare operated ones), DC8, stretch DC8s, DC9s, DC10s and Tristars. But we all stood and stopped as CF-FAN, the Wardair Jumbo used to just about scrape in and out on the old runway length. Blimey, asll that time ago and I can still remember it's reg - and the sister 727 that Wardair ran into Gatwick, CF-FUN.

Spotting used to take place from the roof of the fingers. There were steps down to the apron which were pretty much open season. One day, a mate and I (still kids) went down the steps, across the apron, over to the BCAL maintenance area via the end of the runway and instead of being shot as terrorists, were invited on board a 707 where we "helped" the engineers turn the four overhead switches to start the engines. Nobody gave a toss about our arrival and we walked back the same way. Totally unbelievable these days I know, but it happened.

Anyway, I digress driven by nostalgia of the evocative plane names mentioned by other posters - back on topic. I think I have missed seeing a lot of more recent military stuff and all the spacecraft, but saw pretty much everything civil of my generation, and over the last 30 years have probably flown on pretty much everything that Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier have to offer - plus a few SAABs, Islanders, couple of seaplanes and other light a/c, choppers and twin prop city / island hoppers.

Never been in a jet fighter of any sort though, would love to one day (please Santa, make it a Lightning, Starfighter, Viggen or Draken) smile.

V8LM

5,255 posts

215 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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It's amazing what triggers memories: I was on a Wardair 747's maiden flight from Toronto to Manchester on August 30th, 1973, landing at 13:00 I think. I was sat in row A in line with the rear of the wing. It parked at the end of the peer where the Emirates A380s do now. I was seven.

I have never seen an F14 in the air, and wish I could have seen the B36, B58, XB70, and Saturn V fly.

Edited by V8LM on Wednesday 2nd September 07:02

Nicol@

3,850 posts

242 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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A really easy one here, but I still haven't seen a Typhoon.

(I saw the piggy back shuttle (at Stansted) too).

Edited by Nicol@ on Wednesday 2nd September 09:26

ApOrbital

10,138 posts

124 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Typhoon nearly hit my car on the scotish border a few years ago it was that low.

Eric Mc

122,789 posts

271 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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I'd like to have seen one of these Typhoons fly -


onyx39

11,207 posts

156 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Eric Mc said:
On refelection, I wouldn't count aircraft that ceased flying before I was in a position to see them - such as long retired World War 1 or World War 2 aircraft - or even the XB-70, which was retired in 1969 when I was only 11 years old and not living in California - where it conducted virtually all its flying.

I would limit my regret for missing aircraft to aircraft I MIGHT have had a chance to see in the air but due to circumstances never got around to seeing them.

On that basis I would delete the X-15 from my list but retain the Space Shuttle. I could have, if I'd made a bit of an effort and paid the money, gone to the US to see a launch or a landing - but never got around to it. I did see it pass overhead in orbit a few times but that doesn't really count.
I'm quite lucky with the Shuttle.
Was on hols in Florida in 1990 when there was a launch scheduled. We drive down to Daytona Beach to watch, and they scrubbed the launch at t- 8 seconds.
Luckily, I did get to see her when she came to Europe for the Paris Air Show.

Eric Mc

122,789 posts

271 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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onyx39 said:
I'm quite lucky with the Shuttle.
Was on hols in Florida in 1990 when there was a launch scheduled. We drive down to Daytona Beach to watch, and they scrubbed the launch at t- 8 seconds.
Luckily, I did get to see her when she came to Europe for the Paris Air Show.
Timing a holiday with a Shuttle launch was always a tricky thing to do - mainly because Shuttle launches were prone to scrubs. All rockets are tricky to get off the ground but the Shuttle was trickier than most.

0000

13,812 posts

197 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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I saw this launch, from a little further away.

.

Don't think I've ever seen a P-51 flying. Or an F117. Or an SR-71. Probably loads.

Eric Mc

122,789 posts

271 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Seen plenty pf P-51s and even a couple of SR-71s. Saw an F-117 perform a flypast at Farnborough one year (2004).

Missed the B2 when it did a Farnborough flypast in 1996 (I think).

Interesting fact about the Mustang is that some of the people who worked on the design of the P-51 also worked on the design of the Space Shuttle orbiter as they were built by the same company.

onyx39

11,207 posts

156 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Eric Mc said:
onyx39 said:
I'm quite lucky with the Shuttle.
Was on hols in Florida in 1990 when there was a launch scheduled. We drive down to Daytona Beach to watch, and they scrubbed the launch at t- 8 seconds.
Luckily, I did get to see her when she came to Europe for the Paris Air Show.
Timing a holiday with a Shuttle launch was always a tricky thing to do - mainly because Shuttle launches were prone to scrubs. All rockets are tricky to get off the ground but the Shuttle was trickier than most.
Was not planned Eric, merely (almost) a happy co-incidence!

onyx39

11,207 posts

156 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Eric Mc said:
I thought I would never get to see a Connie fly - until last year when the one shown above flew at Farnborough. It was worth the 40 year wait.
Along with the AV8B, was the absolute highlight of Farnborough for me.
Farnborough 2014 Saturday 685 by Jim Pritchard, on Flickr

Eric Mc

122,789 posts

271 months

Wednesday 2nd September 2015
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Very evocative picture. I also had it fly over my house a few times during the week.

Here's the Connie I failed to see fly in 1974 -



And here she is now, nicely restored as a TWA machine -





She never actually flew with TWA being ex-KLM.