What is your favorite fixed wing aircraft?

[manfredvonrichthofen]

What is your favorite fixed wing aircraft? Why?

Personally I love the A-10 Warthog. Perfect for CAS and can easily take a fight in the air. Armored o take maximum damage, complete the mission and get the pilot home safely. It doesn't have the largest loadout capacity, but can still carry a can of you know what and deliver it right to the enemies front door.

[HGjunkie]

This will be the cheesiest answer in this thread:

The F-22 Raptor.

Pure awesomeness, and all that advanced technology wrapped into one shiny package.

[a2capt]

If someone else is buying the gas and oil, anything is my favorite

You buy, I fly!

[Thrashed]

My favorite one is the one that I am flying. 

Today it was the Boeing 737-900ER.

[DakRadz]

Thrash- I could use a lift, think you could help me out? Seems you have plenty of cargo space..

Mine would be the F-14. Why? Well, the educated answer is that is was an extremely capable aircraft that is still fairly top of the line performance-wise today (though maintenance was a killer, which I am led to believe is why the Super Hornet replaced it). And this may not be educated, but these are my impressions.

The REAL answer? I loved the show JAG growing up, and wanted to be Harm. When I found out that the Navy had decommed all the F-14s, I lost interest in being a pilot... And quickly regained, because I was 13 and fluctuated my interests like that.

[PA Guy]

For a slightly nostalgic twist:

A-1 Skyraider.  That huge R3350 radial could shake the world.

A-6 Intruder

[Senty7]

SR-71 Blackbird.  First flew in 1962, but if it appeared today, it would still rank among the state of the art.

F117A Nighthawk.  Radar sig of an eighth-inch ball bearing, and proof that Kelly Johnson picked the right guy to succeed him at the Skunk Works.

Changed my mind:  Five big black and white beheamoths named Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.  0 to 17,604 in eight and a half minutes.  You gotta like that.  God Speed, Challenger and Columbia. 

--Senty

[PHall]

SR-71 Blackbird.  First flew in 1962, but if it appeared today, it would still rank among the state of the art.

F117A Nighthawk.  Radar sig of an eighth-inch ball bearing, and proof that Kelly Johnson picked the right guy to succeed him at the Skunk Works.

Changed my mind:  Five big black and white beheamoths named Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.  0 to 17,604 in eight and a half minutes.  You gotta like that.  God Speed, Challenger and Columbia. 

--Senty

You forgot the first shuttle Enterprise. She never made it to space, but she paved the way for the others.
And after the Challenger accident, there was serious talk of rebuilding her so she would be "space rated".
Building Endevour from the spare parts supply proved to be cheaper.

[PHall]

As for my favorites. The three airframes that kept me alive through 28 years of military flying.
EC/KC-135, KC-10A and the C-141B/C.

[Senty7]

(Quote): You forgot Enterprise.

Didn't forget, just opted not to included it. 

[FastAttack]

got to many favorites

P-51 Mustang
P-38
Corsair
A4 Skyhawk
F4 Phantom
Concorde
SR-71 BlackBird.
F-15 / F16

Oh can't forget to add a glider ASW-27!

Now if I was filthy rich my weekend plane would be a warbird - P51 or Corsair.

[SarDragon]

Lockheed Constellation. Winged elegance.

[FARRIER]

Boeing 747-100 and 200 series
Embraer EMB120 (Turboprop)

Both aircraft are a workhorses and they can take a beating.

[JeffDG]

SR-71 Blackbird.  First flew in 1962, but if it appeared today, it would still rank among the state of the art.

F117A Nighthawk.  Radar sig of an eighth-inch ball bearing, and proof that Kelly Johnson picked the right guy to succeed him at the Skunk Works.

Changed my mind:  Five big black and white beheamoths named Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.  0 to 17,604 in eight and a half minutes.  You gotta like that.  God Speed, Challenger and Columbia. 

--Senty

Those aren't airplanes, they're gliders.   

[ol'fido]

F-86 Sabrejet.  Last of the real dogfighters before all that missile business screwed it up.

[DC]

I think in categories, picking one favorite airplane isn't possible.

Vintage Military: P-51D or the Spitfire, both are capable and very graceful.

Vintage Civil: Lockheed Constellation, hands down, sleek and powerful

Modern Military: F-15E. I like the Raptor, but a Strike Eagle loaded with ordinance just screams power, death and destruction in a way the F-22 can't. The A-10 matches it in air-to-mud mean-ness, but can't go supersonic and dogfight too. The Mudhen can do it all.

Modern-ish Civil: B727

[Flying Pig]

I would like to start off by saying this thread discriminates....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_AH-1Z_Viper

AH-1Z

But if I must. I will say the AV-8 Harrier.  But only if it has "United States Marines" painted on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_AV-8B_Harrier_II

[DC]

I would like to start off by saying this thread discriminates....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_AH-1Z_Viper

AH-1Z

But if I must. I will say the AV-8 Harrier.  But only if it has "United States Marines" painted on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_AV-8B_Harrier_II

Nuked for lack of research on topic. Never mind.

[flyboy53]

deHavilland Mosquito and Boeing B-17. Both are rather timeless in design and purpose.

I've had the honor of crawling through two B-17s. One at Grissom AFB and the Fuddy Duddy when it was still at Geneseo.

[davidsinn]

Does it have to have wings? My favorite would be the X-24A Lifting Body. That program had such potential.