The most Beautiful aircraft in the world...which is it?

[renomarvinm]

Many of you might choose the Spitfire...   But when we lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, I saw a Vulcan in flight once - it was a giant manta ray, gracefully swimming the sky over Nellis Air Force Base - I've never forgotten it.

That's just one idea - what do you think???

[al**bear]

Concorde

I have always loved the original Submarine Spitfire, that took part in the Schneider Trophy

[tuckerbigdaddy5ngv]

Test

[tuckerbigdaddy5ngv]

Fail

[electric*mayhem*band]

:^O

Chocks away, Biggles.

[tuckerbigdaddy5ngv]

Test 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BvJznQTHkE

[tuckerbigdaddy5ngv]

Works for me 🙂

[geographically*challenged]

Yup Ive seen one of those at and air display:)

It was ,marvelous.

I also have wseen a very beautiful aeroplane.

It was a Lancaster right over our house as it was going to do a fly over in the seaside town up the road.

It was wonderful seeing it fly right overhead:)

Ive seen one at an air display but seeing it going over our place was better as it wasnt displaying. It just went over.

This one wasnt the one over head but you can see its beauty:)

[linda_lightning]

Just a suggestion -

What about the Northrop flying wing (the jet version)

[renomarvinm]

Hi Linda!  Yes, the Northrop YB-49, I think it was, was beautiful, but it was a terribly dangerous airplane.  The designers didn't sweep the wings enough, and it had horrible pitch instability problems.  The earlier YB-36 (I think that's the number) was the same plane with piston engines  and propellers.  It was a bit safer.  The propellers actually gave the aircraft some stabilizing drag.   Edwards Air Force base is named after a man who was killed flying the jet version.

The Vulcan, in contrast, is a delta, which is much more stable.  

Hi Tuckerbigdaddy!  THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!   

Hi sunruz:  I saw a Lanc once, but under weird conditions.  It was up on a pylon out in the highway in Nanton, Alberta, Canada.

Hi al**Bear - I think you're ahead.  The Concorde is pure grace...

[shadowjet_0807]

Hi Marvin, the prop version of the B49 was the B35. Convair built the B36 Peacemaker, which had about 1000 engines. 

The Vulcan and Concorde are wonderful aircraft. This year is the last year that the Vulcan is flying and I'm hoping to see her at RAF Waddington display on July 6th to 7th.

[man-of-sussex]

'Submarine Spitfire'? I knew it was a damn fine aeroplane but I didn't know it could go under water as well!

The aeroplane in your photo is a Supermarine S.6, not a Spitfire.

[cee-dee]

How anyone could call Concorde beautiful I dunno. Those horrible looking intakes/engines spoil any beauty it might have had. The view from below is the one most people would normally have:-

You might just as well say the Beluga was beautiful because when I see it flying here, it certainly looks majestic and when heading in to land, it seems to be flying soooooo slowly, almost too slowly to fly.

Landing and take-off, there's often a cross-wind there:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_9cUJWD5lI

[jimbo1lee]

Where do you live CD, ? out of interest.!

I live in Blacon, Chester, and when those Beluga's come in to land at British aerospace in Broughton, they fly VERY low over my house (on their flight path)  😞

[cee-dee]

Gorgeous Connie:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Gk_1RpPCs

[bankhaunter]

The Super Connie is definitely in the running, it has beautiful lines.

When I was at school I used to collect airplane numbers and at school not far from Heathrow they could be read off the wings as they passed over when coming into land, I remember the Connies well.

Among my favourites are the Hawker inline engined biplanes of the 1930s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=5M1BghR5los

[renomarvinm]

Hi!  Here are a couple of other airiplanes worth mention:

The Bristol Brittania, Canadian version, I think, with Merlin engines.

The Republic Rainbow\

Macchi 205 WW2 Italian...