The most beautiful and the ugliest aircraft of last 50 years
Aug 15, 2014, 9:44 am
#77
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Laguna Niguel, CA
Programs: AA PLT, 1.8mm
Posts: 6,988
totally agree about the DC-10, although the #2 engine still looks better than an engine hanging off the wing.
Aug 15, 2014, 2:34 pm
#78
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2012
Programs: A3, AA. Plasticy things! That give me, y'know, Stuff!
Posts: 6,293
I don't get the complete lack of love for the 380. It's not that ugly. At worst, it's ungainly from certain angles. But IMO, from certain angles it's also pretty impressive. Front on landing IRL can look rather good. I've watched them landing at LAX on a windy day and was rather impressed. Climbing out of Heathrow they are very impressive against the cityscape - they look like they should stall but they just keep on climbing.
Aug 16, 2014, 11:39 am
#79
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: ORD/MDW
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The Concorde, the 747-100/200/300, and the 707-320 Intercontinental are the most beautiful.
The Shorts 360, Airbus A318, and Britten-Norman Tri-Islander are the most ugly.
That is all.
The Shorts 360, Airbus A318, and Britten-Norman Tri-Islander are the most ugly.
That is all.
Aug 18, 2014, 9:07 am
#81
Join Date: May 2014
Location: DFW
Programs: IHG Plat, AA GLD, DL FO, Natl Elite
Posts: 259
Not quite airliners, but...
Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut -- Cool fighter jet. I wish the forward-swept wing design were more common
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...29_in_2001.jpg
Ugly: Airbus Beluga. It's functional, yes, but it also looks like it was built in a factory in Chernobyl.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...New_Colour.JPG
Sukhoi Su-47 Berkut -- Cool fighter jet. I wish the forward-swept wing design were more common
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...29_in_2001.jpg
Ugly: Airbus Beluga. It's functional, yes, but it also looks like it was built in a factory in Chernobyl.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...New_Colour.JPG
Sep 7, 2015, 6:42 am
#83
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
Programs: Nothing anymore after 20 years
Posts: 6,900
Regarding the ugliest aircraft ever produced, here is the article I just saw and honestly never heard about this aircraft:
Sep 7, 2015, 4:30 pm
#85
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Circle City
Posts: 3,568
A bit outside your 50 years, but the story behind the Aerocar was on Mysteries at the Museum. I suppose whether it fits in the most beautiful or the ugliest depends on the viewer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroca...erocar-III.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroca...erocar-III.jpg
Sep 8, 2015, 8:23 am
#86
Moderator, OneWorld
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: SEA
Programs: RAA RIP; AA ExEXP
Posts: 11,802
Also a little OT, but when I was a kid my mother was the group secretary for the test pilots at Douglas. My all-time favorite aircraft was the X-3, designed to be the first Mach 3 airplane. I met a couple of the drivers. Events overtook it with the X-15 (suborbital) which looked nothing like the Stiletto...
Sep 8, 2015, 6:00 pm
#87
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Northwest NJ, USA
Programs: HHonors (Gold), One Pass (Peon)
Posts: 680
Are the Shorts still around? I used to fly a Shorts from Chicago to Burlington, Iowa many years ago. Don't remember the model number. I think the seating was 1 - 2, but I'm not sure. Seeing that it was a high wing creature and it didn't fly very high on the flights, the views were great.
My first flight ever was on a Eastern Airlines Electra from Newark to Boston in the mid 60's. Not a bad looking bird.
DD
My first flight ever was on a Eastern Airlines Electra from Newark to Boston in the mid 60's. Not a bad looking bird.
DD
Sep 9, 2015, 8:05 am
#88
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Posts: 33,857
Are the Shorts still around? I used to fly a Shorts from Chicago to Burlington, Iowa many years ago. Don't remember the model number. I think the seating was 1 - 2, but I'm not sure. Seeing that it was a high wing creature and it didn't fly very high on the flights, the views were great.
