# Coolest planes , other **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623 "2009-06-03T20:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/1 "2009-06-03T20:46:44Z")
I think its been almost a week since the coolest fighter thread started, bit shorter for the bomber thread and now we must logically include other aircraft that may be cool in their own right , but do not fit into the two main categories. These can include Civ or Mil , fixed or flutter wing, air breathers or vaccum breathers I start friends, with the shorts sunderland flying boat. Seems our German bretheren called it the flying porcupine for the amount of .303 sticking out of anywhere that had a hole. The Catylina Flying boat, simply one of the weirdest looking aircraft, but did yeoman service in all theaters. the AC-47 , nicked named puff the magic dragon, simply one wonders what this variation of the Dakota could have done in WW2. AC-130 , what more can ya say, bring the rain. I leave the floor open. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/2 "2009-06-03T21:08:34Z")
This is the proper thread for the coolest plane EVAR! SR-71 Blackbird. They don’t make them like that anymore. Other cool planes: DC-3 Concorde X-15 ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/3 "2009-06-03T21:45:53Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > This is the proper thread for the coolest plane EVAR! SR-71 Blackbird. They don’t make them like that anymore. I second this. [Obligatory pics](http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=SR-71&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=) ETA: Have to admit I always thought the [Guppy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Super_Guppy_N941_NASA.jpg/747px-Super_Guppy_N941_NASA.jpg) was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/4 "2009-06-03T21:51:45Z")
Ok, this may not count since it isn’t exactly a plane…just sort of a plane (flew using a thing called “ground effect” so it stayed a mere few feet above the earth…technically flying). Anyway, it is cool as hell. [Ekranoplan KM Caspian Sea Monster](http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircraft-pictures/Ekranoplanlarge.jpg) ETA: [Picture of it “flying”](http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/caspian-sea-monster.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/5 "2009-06-03T22:06:28Z")
I vote for [the Factemobile Lifting Body Aircraft](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facetmobile). ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/6 "2009-06-03T22:23:51Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > I vote for [the Factemobile Lifting Body Aircraft](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facetmobile). That looked like the re entry vehicle that steve austen crash landed in , with the six million dollar man. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/7 "2009-06-03T22:26:36Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > That looked like the re entry vehicle that steve austen crash landed in , with the six million dollar man. > > Declan Both lifting bodies, but the Facetmobile is propellor-powered. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/8 "2009-06-03T22:32:12Z")
Concorde. She was a real looker, and anything that could get you to your destination before you left (well, westbound at any rate) has got to be cool. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/9 "2009-06-03T22:32:45Z")
The [Gee Bee Racer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee_Bee_R-1). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/10 "2009-06-03T22:59:15Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Anyway, it is cool as hell. > > [Ekranoplan KM Caspian Sea Monster](http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircraft-pictures/Ekranoplanlarge.jpg) > > ETA: [Picture of it “flying”](http://gcaptain.com/maritime/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/caspian-sea-monster.jpg) It really does look like a sea monster! 550 tons. Bloody hell. > [@garygnu](#): > > The [Gee Bee Racer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee_Bee_R-1). I always thought they made that up for _The Rocketeer_. My submissions: the frikkin’ huge [Antonov An-225](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225). Can carry 250 tons of cargo at 500 mph. And who could forget the sadly fictional [Cobra Rattler](http://image24.webshots.com/25/9/3/95/30490395HZvMHNcEQW_fs.jpg), a VTOL version of the A-10? When I was a kid I thought the Guppy was just about the coolest thing ever. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/11 "2009-06-03T23:31:06Z")
Cobra Rattler linky no worky. Try the [P-61 Black Widow](http://search.aol.com/aol/image?s_it=topsearchbox.imagehome&q=P-61+Black+Widow). [Big pic.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Northrop_P-61_green_airborne.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/12 "2009-06-03T23:39:21Z")
Among the many aircraft that I’ve always liked, some have remained on the drawing board, like William Samuel Henson’s & John Stringfellow’s Aerial Steam Carriage: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial\_Steam\_Carriage Another neat aircraft I kinda’ like, that finally became airborne (though NOT with a “human engine”) is the De Laurier Ornithopter: ornithopter.net/ Another aircraft that I really like, deserves special mention, namely Louis Bleriot’s Bleriot XI aircraft, which became the first heavier-than-air aircraft, to cross the English Channel under it’s own power. This was in July 1909, so the 100th Anniversary of this flight is coming right up. Of course, another type of aircraft I really love are KITES!!! (I could talk about them all day, but I’d rather be building them and flying them!!) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/13 "2009-06-04T00:13:16Z")
My real answer is the DC-3. They are beautiful and still in service in some parts of the world. Not bad for a 1930’s aircraft. A novelty example is the aerocar. People keep bitching and asking “Where is my flying car”. Hell, there have been working ones since the 1940’s. This is the first. [![](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taylor-Aerocar-III.jpg) ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Taylor-Aerocar-III.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/14 "2009-06-04T00:30:42Z")
I was a passenger on a vintage DC3 a few weeks ago. Awesome aircraft! So many planes, so little time… My nominations are the first jet airliner, the DeHavilland Comet: [de Havilland Comet - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeHavilland_Comet) And the prettiest still-in-flight modern airliner, the MD11/DC-10: [McDonnell Douglas MD-11 - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Md11) Concorde has already been mentioned - too cool for words. Avros look cool, though I gate flying them. Nervous little feckers. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/15 "2009-06-04T00:35:25Z")
A couple of flying boats have already been mentioned…I’ll add the [Martin 130](http://www.flyingclippers.com/M130.html). What a shame that no one had the wherewithal to save one for posterity. There was a movement to recreate a flight for the [China Clipper’s 75th Anniversary](http://www.chinaclipper75.com/index.html), but apparently it fell victim to the economy. Too bad. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/16 "2009-06-04T00:44:14Z")
The Japanese J7W1 Shinden . > **[Kyushu J7W Shinden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyushu_J7W)** > > The Kyūshū J7W Shinden (震電, "Magnificent Lightning") was a World War II Japanese propeller-driven prototype fighter with wings at the rear of the fuselage, a nose-mounted canard, and pusher engine. > Developed by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) as a short-range, land-based interceptor, the J7W was a response to Boeing B-29 Superfortress raids on the Japanese home islands. For interception missions, the J7W was to be armed with four forward-firing 30 mm type 5 cannons in the nose. > The Shinden wa... ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/17 "2009-06-04T00:53:02Z")
The [Grumman OV-1 “Mohawk”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OV-1_Mohawk) was always my favorite krazy-looking military plane. I even have a model of it for Microsoft Flight Simulator X that someone made but it’s really buggy - I wish someone would make one that worked right, because it looks really cool. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/18 "2009-06-04T02:11:14Z")
Speaking of lifting bodies, I have a special fondness for them. Especially the [M2-F1 Lifting Body](http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/M2-F1/Medium/index.html). I’ve actually seen it in person, as it’s in a hangar (along with the [Lunar Landing Research Vehicle](http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/photo/LLRV/Medium/index.html), which is cool in its own right). The thing about the M2-F1 is that, conceivably, anyone can build one. It has a tubular frame and a plywood body. If I had the disposable income, and more importantly, the time, I’d love to build one of my own. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/19 "2009-06-04T02:58:26Z")
I’ll throw in a vote for some homebuilt planes I just love: [The Rutan Long-Eze](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutan_Long-EZ). This is an amazing aircraft. Built out of foam and fiberglass in your garage, it still kicks the butt of most factory planes in terms of efficiency. With a 160 Hp engine, this airplane could go almost 200 mph, and has a range of 1200 miles. The canard design means it can’t stall and spin, and in fact the Long-EZE has an excellent safety record. It’s unfortunately known as the airplane that John Denver died in - but that wasn’t the fault of Rutan’s design. The builder of Denver’s plane put the fuel selector behind the pilot’s head - a dangerous and ultimately fatal modification which ensured that if a pilot needed to switch tanks on final approach, he’d have to put himself in a position that would maximize the chance of losing control of the aircraft. The Long-EZE airframe is the basis for the aircraft in the Rocket Relay racing league. The [Bede BD-5](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede_BD-5). Was the aircraft I fell in love with as a kid. Gorgeous to look at, it unfortunately was incredibly dangerous to fly - especially the original with the short wings and fuselage. It was featued in the James Bond film _Octopussy_. Ultimately, the BD-5 turned into one of the biggest fiascos in homebuilt history - 5100 kits were sold, but only a couple hundred ever flew because the kits were incomplete, engines were almost impossible to find, and after the first four customer airplanes all crashed on their maiden flights, a lot of people lost the nerve and desire to put in the thousands of hours required to build one from the poor kit materials. The homebuilt I lust after as an adult is the [Van’s RV-6](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van%27s_Aircraft_RV-6). An eminently practical, safe, and efficient flying machine, and the most successful kit airplane ever made, with over 2,000 currently flying. Also, the [Glasair III](http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/6/3/9/0639936.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled/Stoddard-Hamilton-Glasair-III/0639936/L/&usg=__vnXhWbAFaSR0XJuatKSyVyXcOpg=&h=1079&w=1600&sz=625&hl=en&start=27&sig2=9f4EmyA33m6n3kLUaO_Myg&um=1&tbnid=Ym3gycFljp_MTM:&tbnh=101&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstoddard%2Bhamilton%2BGlasair%2BIII%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1&ei=LzYnSv-sIKC-NN-hvCU) was the first of the high-performance composite homebuilts. Sexy as hell, with amazing performance not that far off a P51 Mustang in some respects. I got to fly one of these for a couple of hours about 20 years ago, and it was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623/20 "2009-06-04T03:02:46Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > ETA: Have to admit I always thought the [Guppy](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Super_Guppy_N941_NASA.jpg/747px-Super_Guppy_N941_NASA.jpg) was pretty cool. As is the [Beluga](http://www.jackhodgson.com/weblog/img/2003/osh/baluga.jpg) I also think the curvature of the A380 wing is one of the [prettiest](http://www.johnnyjet.com/image/PicForNewsletterA380Aug200812.JPG)[shapes](http://coppermine.luchtzak.be/albums/userpics/10001/normal_MegaWing.jpg)in the [world](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KJ48u9DtKiU/SJQ8_agb2wI/AAAAAAAAAMw/vyrO4IazF6A/s400/DSC_0605.JPG). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-planes-other/498623.md?page=2)