Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder?

[skippydiesel]

Random thought (dangerous) - Seems to me, that aircraft produced/designed on the Right side of the Atlantic tend (strongly) to be more aesthetically pleasing than those from the Left.

 

What say you??

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Oh come on!!! -  to name just a few - DH 88 Comet, Spitfire, DH Mosquito, DH Hornet, DH 106 Comet, VC 10. DH 114 Heron, Concord,  most of the modern Euro fast glass ultralights AND SO ON ------------

 

 

[fly_tornado]

pushes the Cessna 162 further behind the hangar

 

 

[red750]

The Cessna 162 was Cessna's Edsel.

 

 

[M61A1]

F4U Corsair, P51, P38, P40, most RVs Glasair, Lancair, Piper Cub........surely you couldn't possibly suggest the Poms didn't make a heap of ugly aircraft??

 

I would need several hours to list all their ugly ones. (not suggesting they weren't functional though) but I'll start with:

 

BAC Lightning

 

Hurricane

 

Anything made by Bristol and Gloster.

 

Edit: Czech aircraft seem to be much better looking these days than anything they made  in the prior sixty or so years.

 

 

[onetrack]

The Italians should design the appearance of every aircraft. This way they will all look like Ferrari's, Maserati's and Alfa-Romeo's. By allowing this, the new aircraft will also go faster than any other aircraft.

 

The Americans should design all the mechanical parts of the aircraft. By doing so, the reliability of the aircraft is assured. The Italians should never be allowed any input into the mechanical parts design.

 

The Germans should be the foremen and QC inspectors of said aircraft. By doing this, the aircraft product will be aviation perfection.

 

The French should design the interiors of the aircraft. This way, the interior styling, colours and comfort will be assured.

 

The English should never be allowed near the aircraft design establishment, for fear of weird quirks being designed into it - such as oddball location of crucial levers and controls. 

 

Finally, the Japanese should be allowed to design and install all electronic and electrical installations. This will ensure the electronics and electrical componentry will be utterly fail safe, installed without a fault of any kind, and function precisely as designed.

 

 

[Marty_d]

The Italians should design the appearance of every aircraft. This way they will all look like Ferrari's, Maserati's and Alfa-Romeo's. By allowing this, the new aircraft will also go faster than any other aircraft.

Have you seen the Fiat CR.32, Fiat CR.42, Fiat G.50 and Macchi C.200?

 

Each of them fell out of the ugly tree, hitting quite a few branches.

 

 

[skippydiesel]

F4U Corsair, P51, P38, P40, most RVs Glasair, Lancair, Piper Cub........surely you couldn't possibly suggest the Poms didn't make a heap of ugly aircraft??

I would need several hours to list all their ugly ones. (not suggesting they weren't functional though) but I'll start with:

 

BAC Lightning

 

Hurricane

 

Anything made by Bristol and Gloster.

 

Edit: Czech aircraft seem to be much better looking these days than anything they made  in the prior sixty or so years.

Not sure what your list is about. Of the largely "functional" aircraft nominated only Lancair & Glasair  would press my aesthetic button - dont forget the P51 was designed to meet British specifications.

 

You could have nominated the Boeing Super Constellation - a work of aviation art if there ever was one, but a rarity on that side of the pond.

 

I like almost all aircraft. Some are fast, some slow, only a few are works of art. Of the latter most originate to the east of the Atlantic.

 

 

[M61A1]

The Italians should design the appearance of every aircraft. This way they will all look like Ferrari's, Maserati's and Alfa-Romeo's. By allowing this, the new aircraft will also go faster than any other aircraft.

The Americans should design all the mechanical parts of the aircraft. By doing so, the reliability of the aircraft is assured. The Italians should never be allowed any input into the mechanical parts design.

 

The Germans should be the foremen and QC inspectors of said aircraft. By doing this, the aircraft product will be aviation perfection.

 

The French should design the interiors of the aircraft. This way, the interior styling, colours and comfort will be assured.

 

The English should never be allowed near the aircraft design establishment, for fear of weird quirks being designed into it - such as oddball location of crucial levers and controls. 

 

Finally, the Japanese should be allowed to design and install all electronic and electrical installations. This will ensure the electronics and electrical componentry will be utterly fail safe, installed without a fault of any kind, and function precisely as designed.

I was talking to a WWII German 109 pilot at a fly-in once.....he reckoned that the Germans would build the perfect aircraft then think about where to put the pilot, while the American would start with an armchair for the pilot, then build the aircraft around it.

 

Skippy.... the list is of very good looking aircraft from that side of the pond. Starting with the F4U, which is the best looking prop driven aircraft ever.

 

 

[horsefeathers]

F4 Phantom

 

Lockheed Super Constellation 

 

SR71

 

Northrop F5

 

 

[kgwilson]

I'd add to the RH side the Hawker Hunter, the best looking jet fighter of all time, the BAE Hawk, best looking jet trainer and of modern warbirds, the Tornado. I also like the Sukoi SU 27 & up. Makes the F35 look like a bus.

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Great - Love it all - More

 

 

[Thruster88]

Globe swift, luscombe 8a v the Auster, I rest my case.

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Non can compare with: in prop fighters, the DH Hornet & in jet airliners, the Comet  - unfortunately I must concede to the Cessna Citation in business jets

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

The Italians should design the appearance of every aircraft...

Presumably inspire by:

 

Heaven is where the police are British, the cooks are French, the

 

mechanics German, the lovers Italian and it's all organised by the

 

Swiss. 

 

Hell is where the chefs are British, the mechanics French, the

 

lovers Swiss, the police German and it's all organised by the Italians.

 

 

[Bryon]

M61A1

 

The Hurricane....ugly.....How dare you

 

In terms of functionality at the time, it was the most beautiful plane ever, ask any pilot who flew them 

 

Just sayin.....no offense intended

 

 

[Marty_d]

Well.... to be fair, in terms of pure aesthetic if you put a Hurri right next to a Spit then it's going to look like the ugly sister. 

 

However, if you put it next to a Fairey Gannet then it looks like Claudia Schiffer.

 

It's all relative...

 

 

[M61A1]

M61A1

The Hurricane....ugly.....How dare you

 

In terms of functionality at the time, it was the most beautiful plane ever, ask any pilot who flew them 

 

Just sayin.....no offense intended

I did say that despite being ugly, they were functional.....

 

 

[skippydiesel]

I did say that despite being ugly, they were functional.....

I would suggest  - in this conversation (not my real life philosophy) function follows form or if you like beauty befor practicality.

 

 

[kasper]

Well to bring it back to ultralights I'll nominate the Chilton DW1 - 320kgMTOW, 35-60HP and cruise 100-115MPH.

 

And if you ask very nicely drawings are available once you obtain a build number from the design holder 

 

 

 

[skippydiesel]

Well to bring it back to ultralights I'll nominate the Chilton DW1 - 320kgMTOW, 35-60HP and cruise 100-115MPH.

And if you ask very nicely drawings are available once you obtain a build number from the design holder 

 

[ATTACH]37755[/ATTACH]

A beauty without any doubt !!

 

 

[spacesailor]

THE COMET.

 

Who's joking, Bad design, Bad work-man ship.

 

Five destroyed before they stopped it flying, (Or have I got the wrong aircraft).

 

Had to to it in a bath tank to test the fuselage, ( it failed ).

 

spacesailor

 

 

[skippydiesel]

THE COMET.

Who's joking, Bad design, Bad work-man ship.

 

Five destroyed before they stopped it flying, (Or have I got the wrong aircraft).

 

Had to to it in a bath tank to test the fuselage, ( it failed ).

 

spacesailor

True the FIRST civilian jet airliner ever - commissioned in 1949. A few short years after WW2 and light years ahead of its time. Yes it did suffer from a fatal pressure vessel flaw (squared off windows).

 

The Brits came up a a completely novel test for the pressure vessel (your water bath) found the flaw, corrected it and Comet flew on.

 

Due to the time out of service Uncle Sam (who had tried to stop both the development of the Comet & its engines) had caught up and put the larger and very ugly Boeing 707 in to service.

 

The Comet continued on in civilian service but could not compete against the much larger 707 and eventually found a new life in the military as the Nimrod surveillance aircraft.

 

To my eye it is still the most a beautiful formed aircraft and I am proud to say I can remember flying in one.

 

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[kasper]

THE COMET.

Who's joking, Bad design, Bad work-man ship.

 

Five destroyed before they stopped it flying, (Or have I got the wrong aircraft).

 

Had to to it in a bath tank to test the fuselage, ( it failed ).

 

spacesailor

Depends on your view

 

- the DH88 comet racer is a beauty too look at but hard to handle

 

- the DH106 comet airliner had real issues - thats the one you are thinking of - but to my eye is a very pretty jetliner

 

 

 

 

[spacesailor]

The bluebottle jellyfish is beautiful too.

 

When it wraps its tentacles around your neck when swimming, It changes to awful.

 

Don't you agree !.

 

spacesailor