And fly any aircraft, which would it be?
I had a transformers kite as a kid. I’d like to have that one back.
But I wouldn’t mind a DC-3
OK… Technically this is an aircraft. The original one even had ejection seats. Took a real pilot. You only had ONE chance to get the landing right.
:focal(594x217:595x218)/https://public-media.si-cdn.com/filer/6b/7c/6b7c71e4-91e5-4990-b99f-dfed10105548/first-shuttle-backlit.jpg)
If that does not count, this one.
Having grown up watching Baa Baa Black Sheep, I’m going with Det-Sog and picking the F4U Corsair.
From everything I’ve read it’s a little tricky to land, but that would my pick.
No question…The Corsair! Specifically the F4U-1 C with the 4 20mm cannons. Although, the Stuka is a close second.
Bf109 Gustav
Much as the Stuka checks off my WWII plane fetish, I don’t think it’s something I’d want to point at the ground and gun it. I have long since lost my “need for speed” and now view most aircraft as something mechanical with a high probability of failing and falling out of the sky. I don’t have a phobia of flying but I do recognize Vegas odds.
I know some “go jets” guys and I’ve learned enough to know that ain’t me. The guys doing carrier landings at night during Gulf War I…jesus christ.
I do think it would be kinda cool to jump a Marine Harrier, but I’m worried I might park it in the ditch.
I gotta definitely say that would be near the top of the list. Maybe a P-51 Mustang or an F4F Wildcat (yeah, the Wildcat was an early-war staple but it has always intrigued me).
Read where on the Wildcat you had to manually crank up your landing gear; they went into the fuselage, not the wings like the later Hellcat and most other aircraft.
My wife and I met a couple when we were vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands one time. They were older than us, but we hit it off talking about WWII aircraft. The guy was impressed I knew so much about them (I was a WWII nerd growing up). Turns out they were pretty well-off; he owned some kind of factory somewhere. He also owned a P-51 Mustang! He told me that when he was learning to fly it the guy teaching him warned him that the engine was so powerful that you had to counter the torque/rotation of the prop by riding the stick and/or one of the pedals (I don’t recall which) or it could flip upside down on you.
I’d want to go all the way back and fly the Wright Brothers’ airplane and do it where they did it.
I could probably add most WWII aircraft to the list if given the opportunity. The Supermarine Spitfire is another that grabs me for whatever reason.
I’d also love to take a spin in a Mitsubishi A6M just to see what the hype was all about but there is only one “all original” survivor and it’s in a museum.
Along those lines it sounds like I’d really enjoy the Planes of Fame museum but I don’t see myself being in CA any time soon.
The P-47 Thunderbolt would be my choice. That plane was a flying tank- hard to shoot down, awesome as a ground attack plane and capable as a fighter. They were so feared in the European theater that the Germans told citizens that P-47 pilots were recruited from mental institutions and to kill them if captured.
One of Pan Am’s Boeing Clippers.
Note, this art is based on prototype NC18601 as first built and does not include the final triple-tail configuration that was required for directional control and stability in engine-out operations.
I was thinking more of a PBY Catalina, but something to fly around in the Caribbean or Pacific Islands. Just chillin’ from island to island.
I’m hoping that before I die they come up with electric engined sea planes and solar panels on the top of the wings. Just Bop around. Use the solar cells to ‘refuel’ - who cares if it takes a few days. Just fish for food, grab some fruit. Fly, F**k, fish. Repeat.
Main problem with the big Boeing boats was strictly water-only, but a PBY-6A or Grumman Albatross outfitted as a “flying yacht” could be good too.
I know zero about flying, beyond the fact it runs on pure magic, hope, and dreams. Don’t explain it to me, either. I like pretending it’s all a magic carpet ride. Having explained the science, I’ve always been intrigued by the P-51.
If spacecraft are eligible, Apollo capsule on top of Saturn V rocket on the way to the moon.
Otherwise, without question, the SR-71 for me.
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A flying boat would be cool.
Yeah, that would be cool to do. It was “light” by combat aircraft standards and therefore was quite maneuverable and zippy speed-wise. It could not, however, absorb a lot of damage. The Wildcat I mentioned above (nicknamed the “Grumman Ironworks” by the Navy) could actually out-dive it, and if the F4F had enough altitude he could get a Jap off his tail by doing so.
Man, I love this trivia type of discussion!
Damn that would be cool as hell! Keep a little zodiac-style boat with motor onboard.
I still can’t decide between the F6F Hellcat or the P-47 Thunderbolt. Either one would be my dream flight. They both could take a licking and keep on hitting! On second thought, for pure badass excitement, I’m going with the A-10 Thunderbolt II. That’s my final answer!