spitfire the greatest plane ever

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Being an ex-Concorde engineer, I must agree that it was one of the most iconic designs ever to grace the skies. The air intake system was a masterpiece of engineering which is still unequaled AFAIK, it's just a shame that the expertise hasn't subsequently been put to good use. I am fortunate enough to be a member of the LHR-JFK-LHR 12 hour club, few others can lay claim to that, including most of the aircrew!
 
Has to be Concorde surely?View attachment 78382
Concorde remains one of my favourites, even though I was never fortunate enough to fly in one .

I might , however , choose the VC-10 which was the first aircraft I ever flew in , and nothing since matched the feeling of acceleration down the runway .
 
Yes, the VC10 was also something special, though not quite in the same league as the Spitfire or Concorde. I did work on them back in the late 70's/early 80's and for some reason which I never quite fathomed, it was always me that was sent on a test flight. On one of my first test flights, I went forward soon after takeoff from Heathrow and really had trouble climbing the steep slope to the to the flight deck. When I got there, I was rather shocked to see that only two engines were running! We'd taken off on two and continued our climb to the West Country for quite some time like that. The VC10 had a periscope which could be put through the floor to check the undercarriage or through the cabin roof to check the tail and engines. I did the latter one day and rather wished I hadn't when I saw just how much the whole tail was moving around!
 
I used to see and hear VC10's overhead on their way to RAF Leuchars. From what I can remember, they were designed to have good 'hot & high' performance so were not short of power. I never had the chance to fly in one, but they always struck me as a pretty capable aircraft.

I did have one 'nearly moment' with Concorde. When BA used to take a Concorde round the UK to allow people to take short 'trip round the bay' flights, I was commuting regularly between Edinburgh and London. In those days, BA operated their shuttle service where you could just turn up and catch the next flight. When Concorde had done it's thing, they simply put it on (unannounced) as a regular shuttle flight rather than send it back empty when re-positioning to Heathrow. I missed the chance to fly in Concorde by 15 minutes as it was the next flight out after mine. I remember thinking 'goodness me, that's a nuisance' or words to that effect.......
 
I remember the VC 10 at the Brooklands museum landing there in the mid-80s ... a nice demonstration of its short runway capabilities!
 
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a6m-7a.jpg


Great aircraft, most of their pilots not so..

One for all you Mitsubishi owners :D
 
I think the Mustang and Mosquito stand up there as well - again that ubiquitous Merlin (or Merlin derived) power.

Do you know about the Mosquitos painted as a civilian airliners that went to and fro to collect ball bearings from Sweden? Always with RAF pilots.

They often met Luftwaffe pilots doing the same during WW2 as Sweden was neutral.
 
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I had the pleasure of flying Gulf Air first class in a VC10 Dubai - Karachi back in the mid 1970's, possibly the most enjoyable and comfortable flight I have ever taken. However, my wife to be flew Moscow - Tashkent - Bombay - Kuala Lumpur - Singapore in an Aeroflot VC10ski in late 1974, and that is a flight she tries hard to forget, for many reasons!
 
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However, my wife to be flew Moscow - Tashkent - Bombay - Kuala Lumpur - Singapore in an Aeroflot VC10ski in late 1974, and that is a flight she tries hard to forget, for many reasons!

Did all the chickens escape the overhead lockers perchance ?
 
Don't - I flew Aeroflot internal Radushney to Moscow, I swear a passenger a few rows behind me and on the opposite side of the isle had a 5 gallon jerry can of petrol in the cabin with him! Then they came round with the coffee - small plastic cups with powder in the bottom, followed by a steward with a 5 gallon kettle from which he poured boiling water into the cup - reaching over me to get to the passenger in the inside seats! Followed by each member of the cabin crew parading the length of the cabin offering shirts etc for sale! On an earlier flight on a privately chartered Aeroflot plane back to Moscow we landed half way back, pilot came into the cabin asking if anyone had $150 in cash to pay for the fuel being loaded - or we weren't going anywhere! Luckily we were able to raise the cash.

After that, ryanair and easyjet are first class (not!).
 
Do you know about the Mosquitos painted as a civilian airliners that went to and fro to collect ball bearings from Sweden? Always with RAF pilots.

I recall the stories about the 'passenger compartment' on the Mosquito.

They often met Luftwaffe pilots doing the same during WW2 as Sweden was neutral.

I'm guessing they were not facing the same complications of overflying enemy occupied territory to get there.
 
Don't - I flew Aeroflot internal Radushney to Moscow, I swear a passenger a few rows behind me and on the opposite side of the isle had a 5 gallon jerry can of petrol in the cabin with him! Then they came round with the coffee - small plastic cups with powder in the bottom, followed by a steward with a 5 gallon kettle from which he poured boiling water into the cup - reaching over me to get to the passenger in the inside seats! Followed by each member of the cabin crew parading the length of the cabin offering shirts etc for sale! On an earlier flight on a privately chartered Aeroflot plane back to Moscow we landed half way back, pilot came into the cabin asking if anyone had $150 in cash to pay for the fuel being loaded - or we weren't going anywhere! Luckily we were able to raise the cash.

After that, ryanair and easyjet are first class (not!).
My wife and daughter are on an Aeroflot flight heading towards Moscow as I write this. Then after a couple of hours sampling the delights of Sheremetyevo airport they’ll board another Aeroflot aircraft and fly to Heathrow. Easy for them; later today I’ll be driving both directions on the M1 and M25 during “rush hour” to collect them.

I’ve never found Aeroflot to be too bad. They have the best tea of any airline - probably from a bloody great samovar perched on a wooden stool at the back.
 
I have to agree with the Spitfire being the greatest. And of course it would be the Mk 1. Why? Because my grandfather made the first propellor.

My brother was a captain in BOAC/BA and flew Concorde and 747s. His preference was always for the Jumbos. On sheer looks alone I would put Concorde up there with the Spitfire. Two icons.
 
I also have to confess to a love for the Handley Page Victor, which had looks way ahead of its day when it first appeared - the crescent wing is iconic in its own way. The aircraft lasted a lot longer than the other two V bombers and performed mainly as an aerial tanker in its twilight years. The fact that my grandfather worked on the assembly line at Radlett probably has something to do with this.
 
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My grandparents lived in Nottingham, and going up to visit them by train from St Pancras I remember seeing Victors lined up at Radlett as we went past. This would have been early-mid '60s I think.
 
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Let’s not forget Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St Louis.

Now housed in the Smithsonian, it becomes difficult to separate the man from the aircraft.

Some say that his (and his Wide’s) exploits, opened up much of what we now take for granted in Commercial Flying routes.

He also designed a mechanical heart valve amongst many other fabulous gadgets.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
@GordonTarling

I was in TBB, VC10 & 707majors, then Concorde Majors And mini-run gang .... before going on to 747majors :) our paths probably crossed :rock:
 
In some ways this is reminiscent of the KittyHawk- the Zephyr S whose Airbus UK production is announced at Farnborough this week.
UK to build record-breaking solar planes
Its a HAPS- HIGH ALTITUDE PSEUDO SATELLITE
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I was seven when I remember this to this day it had just arrived then.. (when this footage was taken I was 21) but my dad took me to Strathallan when this arrived. It was sold to Kermit Weeks who made it static and as far as I'm aware rots in a corner leaking hydraulic fluid etc.. A shame really as it was a wonderful plane, I can remember it "buzzing" the field on two engine and rolling then on one and rolling out.. Superb and Enjoy! N.B The expanded Bomb Bay for the "Cookie" bomb...

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