5 Best Aircraft Ever Made

[ShaneG_old]

Just to have some Yin with the Yang

[Dr.bob7]

I think we should add categories and purposes for the best 5 but ok...


The Cessna 172 One of tht most popular GA aircraft ever and one of my favorites to fly (with 5.4 hours in it  8-))

airliner wise the 737 its a real workhorse.

CRJ-700 ive flown so many short routes in this airliner probably 50% of my flights on airliners have been on a CRJ-700

[ShaneG_old]

Categories added but open to amending.

[C]

[quote]Just to have some Yin with the Yang

[an-225]

1. Cargo/Transport

C-130 - over the C-17, as they were manufactured in large numbers, and many different variants. There is a version of the C-130 for everything - weather, tanker, gunship (can of whoop-ass), skis, stretched and limited AEW use. The standard C-130 could also drop a Daisy Cutter.

2. General Aviation

Cessna 152 - as above.

3. Military Other

KC-10 (sorry Charlie!)

Has only had one crash, making it the safest jet in USAF service. Larger fuel capacity than the KC-135.

4. Military Fighters

Close call between the Su-27 and F-15.

The standoff capability of the F-15E is just amazing. One F-15E took down an Mi-24 Hind by firing a (presumably) LANTIRN laser into its cockpit. Its night-capability is better than the Su-27 too. Although, the Su-27 is better at high-alpha maneuvers (compared to any F-15), its avionics can't really compare.

5. Military Bombers

B-52

Arguably, it was one of the best planes ever built. Used as the mothership for many NASA missions, capability to fire standoff missiles such as the AGM-28. Can hold a large number of Mk 82s, and even ALCMs. It was suited to low-level flying in instrument conditions, but could be used equally well at altitude.

[Slotback]

1. Commercial /Cargo / Transport

Boeing C-17. High payload, long range, short field capable.

2. General Aviation

Plenty of nice planes. I like the Mooney M20TN Acclaim. Beautiful aircraft, oh yeah, and 235 knot cruise speed.

3. Military Other

Boeing 737 AEW&C Wedgetail. The radar on the this thing is capable of tracking thousands of targets, from aircraft, to ships, over two hundred and forty nautical miles away. Operates in L-band which is what GPS receivers use and Russian data-links use; reported to be abled to disrupt datalinks, implant false targets, block GPS signals, and of course, gather intelligence. Anti radiation missiles are useless as it has minimal sidelobes and an agile, focused, beam. All data can be linked to other platforms like the F-35 and F-18E/F.

(source: Australian Defense; Pg. 69 Vol. 164 No. 12)

4. Military Fighters & 5. Military Bomber

F-18E/F Block II / III Super Hornet... 5th generation sensor fusion right out of X-32 programme, netcentric, fully digital Radar Warning Receiver, reduced RCS, AN/ALE-55 fiber optic towed decoys, 3rd Generation AN/APG-79 AESA radar capable of satellite quality images from over a hundred miles out and datalinking using the radar. Low maintainence costs and relatively cheap. Aim-120D, and JASSM,

[Ivan]

1. Commercial /Cargo / Transport
747 family

2. General Aviation
An-2... SUV of the sky

3. Military Other

4. Military Fighters
Flanker NG (Su-30, Su-35, Su-37, Su-34). No matter if it has crappy dials or not, the plane is the same, and those steam gauges are there for a reason... they dont break at -40C, while LCD screens do

5. Military Bombers
Tu-160, par with B-1B

[ShaneG_old]

My own choices:

1. Commercial: 737(all variants) This thing is the B-52 of the civilian world, it will be around long past it's expected death date, and has probably flown everywhere in the world by now. 90% of my travels in the air were on some version of it.

2 General Aviation: Gotta go with the Piper Cub here, it's beauty is in it's simplicity.

3. Military others: SR-71, nothing has touched it's 'in service' performance records yet (that I am currently aware of) And I don't believe anything will in my lifetime.

4. Military Fighters: Su-47, perfection of a perfect design series, a real shame it never saw mass production. second choice goes to the F-14, the phoenix missile system was the calling card of this one. Why they never put that on any other craft still confounds me.(unless it was purely cost related, but the B-2 nullifies that opinion)

5.Military Bomber: Tie- B-17/B-52, B-17 because it could take damn near any amount of punishment and still bring it's crew home, and the B-52 because it will never go away, No other plane ( that I am currently aware of) has remained in active service as long as it has, and I don't see it going anywhere in the next 50 years either.

[an-225]

A comment on the Su-47 (and the AIM-54):

I love Flankers, so this isn't biased, but the Su-47 was not a perfection of the series at all, it was merely a technology demonstrator. There was no real reason for it to go into mass production.

[Slotback]

1. Commercial /Cargo / Transport
747 family

2. General Aviation
An-2... SUV of the sky

3. Military Other

4. Military Fighters
Flanker NG (Su-30, Su-35, Su-37, Su-34). No matter if it has crappy dials or not, the plane is the same, and those steam gauges are there for a reason... they dont break at -40C, while LCD screens do

5. Military Bombers
Tu-160, par with B-1B

All Flanker NG use LCD screens.

http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Fullback.html

Difficult to fuse sensors with mechanical systems... special made LCD screens can indeed function at -40, most can be stored at that temp.

[Ivan]

APA mag shows a indigenous production cockpit... all main instruments are old dials. exports can have the main controls changed to LCD on customer demand.
The screens are either low-temp LCDs or short-tube CRT devices

[Vuikag]

IMHO...

(I guess this list is based more on importance then best)

1. Commercial /Cargo / Transport
Douglas DC-3/C-47

2. General Aviation
Piper Cub

3. Military Other
Bell UH-1 Iriquios.

4. Military Fighters
MiG-21

5. Military Bombers
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress

Su-47, perfection of a perfect design series, a real shame it never saw mass production.

The Sukhoi PAK-FA, Russias new 5th Generation Fighter (though still in the workshop) is going to use stuff from the Su-47 and the MiG 1.44.
heres a couple pictures, the Fuselage at least is based of the Su-47.

http://dissidentex.files.wordpress.com/ ... 0pakfa.jpg
http://uploads.abovetopsecret.com/ats15787_PAK_FA.jpg
http://www.ppmsite.com/forum/files/su_50_pak_fa_178.png
http://www.defencetalk.com/pictures/dat ... K-FA21.JPG

[Slotback]

Final configuration for the PAKFA is not known. Those are artists impressions.

[ShaneG_old]

Thanks for posting that Vuikag! I hadn't even heard of that one yet, hope I can find one for FS soon.

[specter177]

1. Douglas DC-3: This is the aircraft that made air travel affordable. Without it, it would take another twenty years before air travel became popular, if at all.

2. Piper J-3: The 172 may have been built more, but no aircraft has been more instrumental in starting the GA revolution than he venerable J-3.

3. Lockheed C-130: One of the most successful military cargo planes, able to go almost anywhere, from pole to pole. It also has many different variations including special operations and even ground attack.

4. North American P-51: Without this amazing fighter, Allied bombers would have kept taking severe losses, lengthening the war, and allowing Germany to continue developing advanced technologies, maybe even turning the tide of the war.

5. Boeing B-52: This aircraft has to be the best bomber, as by the time it is retired, the youngest of them will be almost 80 years old. That is comparable to a P-26 still being used in combat today. Already serving with distinction in 3 major wars and innumerable smaller conflicts, this behemoth has been continually upgraded in since its introduction in 1952.