"Recognizable" has much to do with time and place. I spent my childhood and teenage years within a couple of miles of where i now live, and to a kid, fascinated with a/c, the sight of a B-36 at low level was awe-inspiring. At full load or close to it, woefully under-powered, even with the addition of jet engines outboard on the wings, the "big bird" seemed to struggle to climb out after takeoff, and was likely not a comfortable candidate for routine "touch and goes". There was no mistaking it for any other a/c, however, 6 pushing and 4 burning giving it a sound all its own.

Later in my life, General Dynamics brought the small B-58 Hustler fleet here for rework. In the era in which they formed part - small, high risk - of the US's nuclear deterrent, B-58s (worth a search for photos on the 'Net) with their razor-edged delta platform, oversize engine nacelles, and the huge combined belly tank/special weapon pack were unmatched for viewability and instant recognition, and aside from the giant whale clutched beneath the fuselage, among the 'sleekest' a/c ever produced, with a plan and profile which loaded the drawing pencils of both those imagining and designing supersonic airliners to come in the future (just around the corner, and in the eyes of dreamers certainly likely to dominate air travel. Loud? They could out-thunder the most thunderous thunderstorm!

To those who lived during WWII and the immediate post war years in the US, the Spitfire, with regular starring roles in news reels, movies, cocktail table books, etc., only showed up "in person" later at airshows. There was (and remains) no mistaking the unique elliptical wing plan, but for real "buffs", no forgetting the troublesome narrow undercarriage track shared with the Bf/Me109 series.