Favourite Airplane to fly

[magyar]

What is the most favorite aircraft you have flown or would like to fly? Why?

[AEROBAT]

My favourite plane to fly is the Midget Mustang, followed by the Pitts.
The plane I want to fly is the Helio Courier.

[Doc]

I loved flying the DC3. Hated unloading it though. Always wanted to get my paws on an A10 Warthog! Or, the U2.

[sky's the limit]

If the wings don't spin......

Well, I used to love the Super Cub on tundra tires - that's the essence of flying to me. Simple, fun, and to do it well takes a lot of skill. There are some fabulous Cub pilots out there. Haven't been in one in years now unfortunately.

The Hughes/MD 500 is pretty tough to beat though, you can do whatever you want with it.

stl

[Old Dog Flying]

I've flown the Helio Courier out of Butler Field...700' long on a hilltop

I've flown the Aviat Husky that puts a Super Cub to shame''

And I have always wanted to fly a Sabre

[El Comat]

Favourite plane flown so far would be the Dash 8...can keep pace with the heavies in the terminal area (is actually much more flexible), yet can make a 1000' turnoff without too much trouble. Plus it's Canadian-made, which is icing on the cake!

I'd love to fly a Turbo Otter on floats...that thing is a beast.

EC

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Cessna 172 because of the complexity and difficulty of handling.

[Doc]

Cessna 172 because of the complexity and difficulty of handling.

I'd heard you finally checked out in the 172! Congrats! A real hand full after the 150!

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I'd heard you finally checked out in the 172! Congrats! A real hand full after the 150!

It is all in choosing the best instructor you can find Doc, took me months and had to try about a dozen of the best until I finally found one.

I have finally mastered the beast and now have the satisfaction of knowing I can do it.

The most difficult part was landing the beast, finally got it though, the secret is make sure it is in the landing attitude ( the attitude that has all three wheels contact the runway together ) then find a power setting that allows it to fly onto the runway before you run out of runway.

Nothing out there will stop me now.

[. ._]

[iflyforpie]

Nothing out there will stop me now.

Once you get to be an advanced pilot.... you find that (nose) wheel landing the 172 poses the greater challenge. Especially in a VRB03 wind on a 200 x 10000 runway...

Back on topic, I really liked the Taylorcraft. Simple, no-nonsense (except they put the nose wheel on the back ).

The Citabria was fun as well, but doesn't live up to its name (the Sundowner I used to fly has more aerobatic capability).

[skidoo]

Lear 35, least favorite CRJ 100/200

[Siddley Hawker]

Gulfstream 159.

[Dash-7wannaby]

Without question the Beaver. Easy to fly ,1400lb loads easy on the back great all around bird.

[Hedley]

IMHO what makes an aircraft fun to fly is:

1) good power-to-weight ratio (eg 4 lbs/hp)
2) good roll rate (excess of 180 deg/sec)
3) good control harmony (light ailerons matching elevator)
4) good visibility (canopy)

Fast is nice (high wing loading eg 50 to 100 lbs/sq ft) but
is not as important as any of the above, at least to me.

Deafeningly, piss-off-the-neighbours loud is a bonus

[pelmet]

Chipmunk. You think about being at a 45° bank angle and you are there. Expect to be flying one again in the next few years.

[Nark]

Super Cub.

[. ._]

Just noticed your new location, Nark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqVfKJwQ63I

-istp

[ScudRunner]

Any plane I make them all look good..........

[old_man]

I don't think I have flown enough aircraft to really know what a good one is. Right now my favourite is a Grob, how bad is that? At least it makes me work to get results. Although the 30 min I spent at the helm of a Jet Ranger was quite fun. I have dreamed of flying many air planes though.

[PanEuropean]

My favourite airplane to fly is a Twin Otter.

However, I have to confess that the only airplane I know how to fly is a Twin Otter... so maybe that weakens my argument a little bit.

Michael

[flying4dollars]

Hands down, Beech 1900C/D. The D has a good avionics suite for it's application and has tremendous power and excellent performance capabilities when calculating ASDA, Net take-off flight path and such. Also a very stable airplane in climbs, cruises and decents. The C is a pilot's airplane. Very good handling when hand bombing around especially VFR. Fun airplane and very easy to land. Decents are easier as well without having to reef the powers back to prevent going over barberpole (like the D) and tripping the overspeed warning

What would I like to get my hands on if I had a choice? F-18, F-14 or an A-10

[swordfish]

If you measure it by the skills required to fly it (i.e. the challenge to master it), rather than its capabilities or performance, you weed out the DC3, DH-xxx's, PA-xxx's, the 737's etc.

You are left with only 1 real airplane that will require & test all the skills you have acquired up to this point: The Norduyn Norseman, Mark V - floats, wheels, and skis, of course! Once you have mastered this plane - and I suggest you will need no less than several hundred hours to do so - you will feel accomplished, and have pride flowing through your veins after every flight.

There's some kind of tremendous satisfaction you feel flying a UC-64A, not the least being it has such a heritage, history, and unique "culture". On top of that, it's not an "easy" plane to fly, because it doesn't perform well or handle like many of its successors. But when you work it to the limit of its performance, you become a "complete" pilot.

Ok, call me a romantic...

[Hedley]

Another characteristic I really like to see in an
airplane is that when you pull G, it doesn't
bleed airspeed (and you'd be surprised at the
big names that do).

Toss in non-linear stick force per G, and you've
got yourself an airplane that simply moans and
begs for more

Another characteristic of an aircraft that makes
it a hoot to fly is that if you can efficiently store
energy as speed (kinetic). This allows you to
alternately fly fast and low, then pull G and go
vertical, storing energy as potential (height),
then converting to back from height to speed
as you descend back low again.

If you combine the above characteristics, you
have an airplane that is marvellously fun to fly!

[Cap'n P8]

My favourite so far was the Turbo Otter on amphibs and skis...if only I didn't have to live in YPL to fly it (wife hated it there). Followed closely by the Beaver.