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If it had been made 4 years prior it would have been a game changer. The prototype testbed for this shape of aircraft once had to make an emergency landing on a beach. At the last moment the pilot saw a couple sunbathers and jerked the stick to avoid hitting them. The plane flipped onto its roof, but was flying so slow and was so tough that no repairs were needed at all, they just had to unflip it.
A-10 These beasts are just freaking awesome and saw a lot when I was younger circling overhead before heading to the local ranges. Common in summer to see them lining up on harvesters and tractors in the fields.
ME-262 Beautiful airframe, marred by the engine placement but I'm no engineer!
Ditto the Skyraider.
SR-71 Blackbird. It still looks like it came from the future.
Our local airport is getting an observation deck, I’m looking forward to doing some plane spotting. Although we are a regional airport, so nothing too exciting.
I think my actual favorites would be pretty common picks (B-52, F-15, etc.) there are some planes that just grab my attention.
The P-38 Lightning had all kinds of flaws, but deserves a lot of credit for doing what no other single pilot fighter did: put two prop engines, with all the advantages in range that would provide. It looks like an affront to physics, and I love it.
If we're talking about twin engined work arounds, you have to give a lotta love to the Mosquito. Arguably the most efficient bomber of the war, the thing was built by piano companies out of sawdust and tent canvas. What a beauty.
Finally, a plane that's technically single engined, but was an absolute unit: the P-47 Thunderbolt. Like it's 40k namesake, this thing was big, heavy, and tough. It gets a lot of press for it's ground attack capabilities, but it ended with war with a slightly positive win/loss air to air tally. From wikipidea: "Pilots would often claim that one could fly a P-47 through a brick wall and live. In the post-war era one Air National Guard Thunderbolt plowed into the second story of a factory, shearing off its wings, with the crumpled fuselage eventually coming to rest inside the building; the pilot walked away alive."
The cheesecake shot isn't to be gross, it's to demonstrate how huge the thing was!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/01/12 21:49:02
While the Hawker Typhoon and Hurricane wil always have a soft, sticky, humbrol-smelling place in my heart, I gotta give it to the BV 141 for pure early aviation wackiness.
The lightning was awesome. Records show it reaching 88000 ft, Back when then british still did engineering properly.
Got to include the spitfire, hurricane and Lancaster here, for obvious reasons. I also have to put the mustang, b17, b29 and messerschmitt on my world war 2 list.
Later planes I like include the mig 21, the fairey gannet (such an odd looking plane) and the harrier.
Helicopter mention to the mi24 hind. Those things are beasts!
The Lightning was also infamous for being a complete fething nightmare from a maintenance/logistics standpoint...so...pretty and fast, but not very popular.
Yeah I think the over under engine config didn't leave much room in the main fuselage, and made engineering difficult, but as I currently work on puma helicopters, (nightmare design) my answer is, be a better engineer.
Mix things up a bit, I'm a fan of the CH-124 Sea King, for many reasons.
Spoiler:
She's not the prettiest, but she was a damn reliable workhorse for over 50 years in the RCAF.
The new Cyclone is a looker though, and legitimately one of my favourite looking helos out there.
Spoiler:
Fixed wing stuff has never gotten me excited the way helos do. I built a model Hind with my uncle when I was younger which may have sparked my interest in helicopters. Also the Hind is really cool too.
Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress
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It might not be real but the Seaduck inspired a love of all kinds of flying boats and float planes that I've only recently been diving into (in a small way).
B1 Lancer - when you need to get a lot of bombs there really fast.
Supermarine Spitfire in all configurations
B-24 Liberator
F-15 - Finally a plane that can match Russian performance!
Some of my Favs
If we fail to anticipate the unforeseen or expect the unexpected in a universe of infinite possibilities, we may find ourselves at the mercy of anyone or anything that cannot be programmed, categorized or easily referenced.
- Fox Mulder
Avro Lancaster, because while one Merlin engine is nice four is sublime. That sound, it does something to me.
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Includes some swearing.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/02/05 07:42:24
n'oublie jamais - It appears I now have to highlight this again.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion. By the juice of the brew my thoughts aquire speed, my mind becomes strained, the strain becomes a warning. It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
Miss Moses Lake, a Concorde, and resides in the aerospace hanger at Duxford in England.
There is also the Sally B, also at Duxford, who portrayed the Memphis Belle in the 1990 movie, and still has the Belle logo on one side of the craft. It truly is like being in the presence of a movie star.
One of my favorites has to be the B-2 Spirit, the Stealth Bomber:
I actually just saw a couple of these fly over a couple of weeks ago. I live about 90 miles from Whiteman AFB where they are based, so they were probably on their way home given their direction of travel.
For WW2 planes I'm yet another fan of the P-38 Lightning. Just a really cool-looking plane. Plenty of pics of them in this thread already so no point in me adding another.
My armies (re-counted and updated on 11/7/24, including modeled wargear options):
Dark Angels: ~16000 Astra Militarum: ~1200 | Imperial Knights: ~2300 | Leagues of Votann: ~1300 | Tyranids: ~3400 | Stormcast Eternals: ~5000 | Kruleboyz: ~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: ~700
Check out my P&M Blogs: ZergSmasher's P&M Blog | Imperial Knights blog | Board Games blog | Total models painted in 2024: 40 | Total models painted in 2025: 40 | Current main painting project: Tomb Kings
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The Grotsnik Corp Bump Feelerer 9,000. It only looks like several bricks crudely gaffer taped to a cricket bat.
Grotsnik Corp. Sorry, No Refunds.
lots of great stuff there. i have a few oddities i love
real life-
WWII era
Lots of great pics of the well known birds. love to see the P-38s i am also a big fan of the B17G and the PBY 5a catalina
less well known favorites of mine-
P61C black widow night fighter
HO 229 flying wing fighter
The destroyer series planes -ME 410s
my favorite seaplane-BV-138
HE 162 salamander
like crossing an A10 with a harrier
Post WWII
BUUURRT is always at the top of my list
YF-23
SU 34 FN
before the A10-the OV 10 bronco
Not that it needs another pic but the F4 phantom is on my list as well
fictional aircraft-
the re-imagined ho 229 from DUST
The YF-21 from macross
the various aircraft from yuki kaze
based on the real world savoy seaplanes -SV 21
GAMES-DUST1947/infinity/B5 wars/epic 40K/5th ed 40K/victory at sea/warmachine/battle tactics/monpoc/battletech/battlefleet gothic/castles in the sky,/heavy gear/MCP
theCrowe wrote: This was an Italian WW2 era attempt at a heavy fighter and even though it was next to useless I always thought it was just a gorgeous aircraft.
IMAM Ro.57 too slow to fight, too heavy to carry much bomb load. Too sexy for a war plane.
I couldn't see the picture, but fund this one.....
Weren't the inter-war Italian aviation designers rabid racers? This looks like a race plane converted into a warplane. Very nice lines.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2020/03/02 16:06:21
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Mordian Iron Guard - Major Overhaul in Progress 
~16000 Astra Militarum: 
~1200 | Imperial Knights: 
~2300 | Leagues of Votann: 
~1300 | Tyranids: 
~3500 | Lumineth Realm-Lords: 
~700
