F8F Bearcat
F7F Tigercat
Two of the most beautiful aircraft ever produced, IMHO.
What are your faves?
The most beautiful aircraft ever produced?
Hmmm. I’d say the Lockheed Constellation (actually this is a Super Connie) is one of the prettiest.
I’m also fond of DC 10’s and MD 11’s (the successor to the DC 10). They look so damn cool! Check this one out.
And of course, Concorde kicks ass, too.
Personally, I thought the Germans had the best looking aircraft category wrapped up with the Me-262 and the Go229… Although the Curtis Ascender was pretty cool, too.
“Ass-ender”? ('Cause, y’see it’s a canard, and…)
I have to go for the F-86 Sabre www.spitcrazy.com/sabre.htm
Cool name, too.
But for a passenger plane, the Connie has to be the best of all time.
Pics, pics! I need pics!
Though I know what the flying shark (Me262) looks like, lovely jet.
Coldie, that Rio airport shot of the airliner is awesome!
I must include this classic.
kunilou, that’s one of my fave jets ever.
I’m having a hard time finding pics of late 40s to real early 50s Navy jets, though… I know they had them…
Some good choices so far. Someone already mentioned the Connie, there’s the Beech 17 Staggerwing, and I have a soft spot for the DeHavilland Beaver.
But the all time favorite?
I always loved the look and the sound of the P 51 Mustang. They have an airshow here once per year and about 2-3 of these beauties fly together in formation. Here is a picture.
Hey, kunilou. The lead jet from that team is on a pedastal in Trenton, Ontario. The guy who led the team was Fern Villeneuve. I worked with him the last two summers at the Central Region Gliding School in Trenton, Ontario. Nowadays he’s the Chief TowPilot for the school.
He’s a cantankerous old man, but we love him 
The Bellanca Scout is what Fern flies these days.
I’ve got a bias for the 2-33
Hmm, the link in the word “Fern” doesn’t seem to work right.
Instead, go here, and click on “1997_20S_CanadairF86…>” to look at the commemorative coin that the Royal Canadian Mint struck in Fern’s honour.
No mention for the spitfire? (does it count as a post-war plane, since it existed in-use post war)
For your consideration, the sexiest plane that EVER took to the sky: The Lockheed P-38J Lightning.
If I win the lottery, I WILL own one of these.
Every ‘Top Gun’ dreams of flying this one;
Then there are the pretty ones:
The N9MB was the major payoff for assembling this post. I never knew about this flying wing trainer and, yet, it is one of the snazziest airplanes I have ever seen. Thank you, NoClueBoy, for inspiring my research. This prop-driven all-wing aircraft embodied the equivalent of a ‘little red sports car’ for every Air Force ‘Top Gun’ of that time. How cool!
Honorary Mentions:
Without the primary variants of these two planes, the Battle of Britain might have been lost. The Spitfire’s Merlin III engine must have meant everything. With a nod to the legendary quality of Rolls Royce, one of their V-12s must have been the dog’s bark when you were in the pilot’s seat.
Once the Mustang was able to benefit from a supercharged engine, everything must have improved immensely. These two simple planes rather single-handedly helped win the battle for air superiority during W.W.II.
This timeless warbird is so cool that it needs no justification.
This modern one too:
A-10 Thunderbolt ‘Warthog’
I’m with you Lobsang, the Spitfire is one of the Kings!
Sure, i mentioned the Vaught F4U
I just really like the Bearcat.
You guys might like our local air museum: Castle Air Museum
I’m not really a plane person myself, but I work on the former base, with an office right on the runway. I can’t help but notice them sometimes (my favorite is the P51 Mustang, which we don’t have, but sometimes fly through).
Oh, how could I forget?
CF-105: The Avro Arrow
Here’s Another of the Arrow.
Now THAT’s a dream plane.
