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What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:10 pm
by an-225
Exactly what the title says. For me its either the Concorde, the An-124 or the E-4B   ;)

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:58 pm
by SilverFox441
CF-100. :)

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:47 pm
by ozzy72
Anything at Old Warden 'cos most of them are unique and the Mig-15 (not many flying now) 8)

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:58 am
by beaky
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's Hispano-Suiza-powered Jenny. Until recently , the only one in the world still flying. Not the only flying Jenny, of course- the only "Hisso"-powered  one.
Now there are none- they grounded it because it's "too rare to risk flying". ::)

I've also seen the Canadian Lancaster fly... one of only two airworthy Lancs, I believe, and the only one you can board on the ramp for a tour. That was a treat.

Then there was Jimmy Franklin's Waco with the jet engine slung underneath... words cannot describe the sight- and sound-  of that thing with the jet lighted... ! Sadly, both the Waco and Jimmy were lost in a midair with Bobby Younkin at an airshow in Moosejaw not long ago.

And another bittersweet memory...Jim Wright's excruciatingly perfect Hughes H-1 replica , which I saw him taxi at Oshkosh just before he departed on his last flight, during which he crashed on his way home to Oregon. He and that airplane were both one of a kind.

Speaking of An-124s, I see the Volga-Dnepr Antonov at KEWR from time to time, but still haven't caught it in the air... must only fly at night, or something...

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:06 am
by Rifleman
FD-2 and CF-105

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:06 am
by expat
Bristol Blenheim, at the time only one in the world that was flying. I flew in it once, out of this world. Unfortunately, she had a belly landing a few years ago and is waiting restoration (again)

Matt

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:11 am
by Triple_7
Have to go with the AN-124...One happened to be in Dallas the day I headed for Taiwan.  We taxied a good distance from it but still looked huge :o

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1090371

Or theres the old BAe Jetstream 31, dont see to many around anymore.  Flew on two in 1999 before TWA-TWE was bought out by American.  Rough rides but not like many are still flying for accual airlines.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0684667

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:19 am
by ozzy72
Of older kit I was thinking, the BBMF Lancaster, the EE Lightning, Vulcan, Canberra, Hurricane, lots of Spits and other warbirds (some VERY rare).... gosh it is actually quite a lot! However I think Hagar will be King in this thread ;)

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:20 am
by Boomtown Rat
Technically most of the stuff at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, the Udvar-Hazy, and the Imperial War Museum...

But in actual service?  Air France concorde at JFK back in 2002.

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:26 am
by ozzy72
I remember standing under Concorde when it took off over my head at Heathrow once! Holy Moley :o :o :o

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:29 am
by Boomtown Rat
There's another Air France Concorde in the Udvar-Hazy at Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C., it seemed rather small, passenger-wise, I don't know how they stuck 100 people in that.

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:31 am
by an-225
I was standing on the beach just left of rwy 34L at YSSY when the Concorde came to Sydney. (yes the Conc WAS in service because it was late 90's)

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:43 am
by Lazerbeak
I haven't seen many aircraft to begin with, but I saw what were (to me) some reasonably rare kites during a recent trip to Venezuela. My hotel was right across the street from the local airbase, and I got a chance to see a Mil Mi-17, as well as several OV-10's doing flyovers.

Also, while on the way to Venezuela, we had to visit Miami International Airport, where I caught a glimpse of a C-47 (in D-Day colours) displayed outside a nearby pub, and an old biplane I couldn't identify hanging in one of the terminals.

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:50 am
by Mynameisnemo
this would either be G-AZWT a westland Lysander at old warden or G-CVIX the Hawker Siddley DH110 Sea Vixen.

Re: What is the rarest aircraft youve seen?

PostPosted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 2:25 am
by Souichiro
Douglas DC-2... unfortunately I've only see her Fly once.. But hope to see her some more next year!