The Rarest Aircraft You Have Seen - Part Two

[Tom...]

Sorry about the poor quality, they were taken on my phone...i put some as links to keep the weight of the thread down

 :)

http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/DSC00063z.jpg
http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/DSC00060z.jpg

i had a tour around an apache hanger yesterday, just one astonishing fact , for every 1 hour flown it needs 32 maintainace hours!  :o

[DaveSims]

AN-124 (although those don't seem as rare as they used to
DHC - ? Buffalo (Twin engine piston cargo plane)
F4U Corsair
Got a ride in a T-6
B-25 (Miss Mitchell)
Maverick Jet (Four seat personal jet)

[Hagar]

I assume you mean rare aircraft in the air. I've seen lots of rare aircraft over the years, many of which will never be seen in the air again. I've thought very carefully about this & the rarest of all must be one I saw displayed at the first air display I ever went to almost 60 years ago, the 1949 Daily Express Air Pageant at the old Gatwick Airport. The tiny Wee Bee which was so small that the pilot couldn't get in it. Instead he had to lay along the top of the fuselage.

Nobody I asked remembered such a thing & told me I must have imagined it. Then Charlie put me out my misery when I asked about it on this forum a couple of years ago. Thanks Charlie. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]
Since then I've found some even rarer video footage of this remarkable little aeroplane which proves that I wasn't quite so daft after all.
[media]http://youtube.com/watch?v=g-TE7MOuo7c&feature=related[/media]

Only one example of the Wee Bee was built. It was on display in the San Diego Aerospace Museum but was lost in a fire that swept through the museum in 1978. A replica has now taken the place of the destroyed original. http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/design/q0214.shtml

[newberiffic]

The only SR71B left out of 2 ever built in the world is a few minutes from my house @ the air zoo.

[Boss_BlueAngels]

I spent my time in the patteron on my FIRST SOLO behind the only airworthy Boeing Stratocruiser.  It was pretty amazing to see in front of me the entire time.  I also saw her fly 2-3 times before she went over to the Smithsonian.

I've seen several Me-262's, two of which are flying

I don't know how rare it is in other parts of the world, but I also saw a Hawker Hunter.  Unfortunately I also watched it crash two days later.  

I used to help a tenant wash an old Stinson he owned.  I can't remember the model but he said there are only about 10 in flying condition in the world, his being one of them.

Several MiG-17's, MiG-15, and this coming summer I'll be able to add the worlds only flying Fury.

Over here we have T-6's (Harvard, Texan, SNJ) coming out of our ears. lol  

Boeing Dreamlifter flys over regularly.  

Storch

Cessna 337 (civilian version) as well as two different O-2's (military version) all based at the same airport.

Saw one Fairchild Hiller 1100 helicopter quite frequelty while working at Paine Field.  Unfortunately I saw its last departure from the airport September 11th, 2007.  Fortunately everyone escaped without injury.


So, here's the list:
Boeing Stratocruiser
Me-262 (2 flying, plus a hangarful of them in various stages of restoration)
Fairchild Hiller 1100
Stinson Detroiter
Cessna Skymaster (C-337 and 2 O-2's)
Storch
Dreamlifter
Hawker Hunter
MiG-17 (4)
MiG-15
P-47
P-40
P-51 (3)

[Triple_7]

For me anyways...Not exactly common in the US to my knowledge.

This AN-124

Saw it at DFW July 29th, 2006 on my way to Taiwan.  It was off in the distance while our little ERJ-145 from FWA taxied to the gate.  Even from a distance it seemed huge

And then there was the very first 747-400LCF at Tao-Yuan.  Was aboard a Malaysia 747-400 taxiing out for our late night departure to LAX and spotted the rear end of a very strange aircraft that looked almost like a 747 parked in front of one of the hangers.  Wasn't till I got home and found the pictures that I realized what I had seen...was only a few days later it took its first flight 8-)

Sure theres been a few rare birds I've seen but wouldn't remember most of them

[Jayhawk Jake]

Oh, I forgot to mention I saw the AN-225 once...beast of a plane!

[C]

I've seen several Me-262's, two of which are flying...



...Me-262 (2 flying, plus a hangarful of them in various stages of restoration)

Restoration? I think production is the correct word.

[an-225]

Ooh, I forgot, I have seen a Cessna 337 (on my first flight) too, and two Yak-52s.

Ah yes Doug, I remember that thread about the Wee Bee, awfully small plane. Was manufactured in Britain?

EDIT: Forgot an L-1011 (tanker? It was overall grey) that landed in Sydney today.

[Hagar]

Ah yes Doug, I remember that thread about the Wee Bee, awfully small plane. Was manufactured in Britain?

No. All-American. It was designed & built by three employees of Convair at the San Diego facility,  Ken Coward, William Chana, and Karl Montijo. [quote]William F.

[Dr.bob7]

I saw two F-22s on the ground at Buckley AFB here in Colorado (made me wonder a bit)

we used to live at McChord AFB so Ive seen a ton of C-5s and C-17s

[machineman9]

Lancaster...

Thats gotta be pretty rare for someone my age (15) or indeed a lot of people.


Pic is my display image from Farnborough air show.

[Boss_BlueAngels]

I've seen several Me-262's, two of which are flying...



...Me-262 (2 flying, plus a hangarful of them in various stages of restoration)

Restoration? I think production is the correct word.

Yeah, very true!  

Dr. Bob, that's cool you were at McChord.  They have an outstanding airshow lined up for this coming July.  The static display alone includes two F/A-22 Raptors and an MV-22 Osprey.  Pretty rare birds for up here in the PNW.

[Rifleman]

I'm with Doug on this one. I thought you meant RARE aircraft, in that there weren't too many of the A/C produced, making them RARE.  :-/

I saw the CF-105 fly back in late 1958.....only 5 were ever produced and the last of which only made a single flight.......still there remains a large following of supporters for the Avro Arrow..........

Of the many subjects mentioned, a good deal of them are only rare in the fact that not too many still survive, but many were produced ensuring they really weren't RARE at all !  ::)

[Mictheslik]

Thruxton Jackaroo anyone??  ;D

I don't really know what one would count as rare.....it really depends where you normally go and what you normally see....at Lulsgate a 747 is rare  ;D

But I, having been to Brize Norton, wouldn't say a tristar is rare (like someone did a few posts ago) and the same about an An124....they're always about.

.mic