The "Big Five" of Aviation?
 

Hi!

Since I'm at present travelling in Africa, where the "Big 5" of animal sightings is a topic of tourism, I wonder if there anyone has a similar "Big Five" of aviation. For the purposes of discussion, let's assume it's not just seeing, but flying on five distinct aircraft.

Here's my initial suggestion, subject to revision:

1. The Concorde
2. Boeing 747
3. Airbus A380
4. McDonnell-Douglas DC-10
5. Lockheed L-1011

What do you think? How many of you have flown this "Big Five?" (I would be four for five).

Meh, I've been on three of those, was a little too young for the DC10 and the Concorde.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about four of those, but the Concorde is a bucket list item, I suppose.

I wouldn't have the same list as you, mine would be:

1. The Concorde
2. Boeing 707
3. Boeing 737
4. Boeing 747
5. Airbus A320

However I have only flown on my list the 737 series and the A320 family. Still need to get on a 747 and unfortunately am too late for the other two.

From my personal flying:

Concorde
Boeing 747
Douglas DC8
Boeing 720
Convair 880

I am five for five. Loved them all. I really liked the 747 SP on Pan Am.

The Big Five, eh...

Well, my list is a little different - and of course it might be best appreciated amongst those who have a grasp of and appreciation for aviation history. Many people here - through no fault of their own - were simply born after the fact and many - being young - could care less for historical reference. After all, history is best appreciated by those who've lived long enough to have some personal history of their own...

That said, for me the big five would include:

1. A flight aboard a DC-3 ✓

2. A multi-day international flight aboard a Flying Boat (Pan Am or Imperial Airways)

3. A flight aboard a 707 ✓

4. A First Class flight aboard a 747 ✓

5. A flight aboard the Concorde ✓

My Big Five of Flight Experiences would include:

1. A flight aboard Pan American's President's Special First Class Service ✓

2. A flight aboard TWA's Royal Ambassador First Class ✓

3. A multi-day international flight aboard a Flying Boat (Pan Am or Imperial Airways)

4. A 5+ hour flight in First Class aboard Singapore Airlines ✓

5. A 5+ hour flight in First Class aboard an Emirates A380 ✓

1. Concorde
2. L-1649 Constellation
3. B747
4. DH Comet
5. Tu-104

i have been flown with boeing 777-300 ER and airbus a380

The big five is supposed to be a list of dynamic, big tough, brutish, forceful animals, so here is my list:

1. The Concorde - Started doing business travel long after this bird went extinct.

2. The Double Otter - A versatile plane, much smaller than the rest but can be equipped with skis or floaters to land in snow or on water.

3. Sikorsky 76 - Or any other helicopter. The lift off from a cramped space is a fascinating experience along with the surprisingly elegant landing when there is enough space.

4. Anatov An-24 or any other plane built by the USSR. Nothing better than a plane that they give you earphones to wear - not for music but for noise.

5. 747 - The Queen of the Skies on the endangered species list.

Having seen the replies, I wonder if the "Big Five" for aviation changes over time...

Even with my initial list, some of these are no longer attainable.

Perhaps a better way to frame this is, "What are the Big Five now?"

My suggestion:

1. A380
2. 747
3. C130
4. Antonov A225
5. 747-100SR

My big five:

1. A340-600
2. 747-8
3. Antonov A225
4. C-5 Galaxy
5. L-1011

1. 747
2. L-1011
3. DC10 / MD11
4. A340
5. Concorde

I have been on all but Concorde :(. I started flying in the 70's with 707's and DC8's. The L-1011's and DC-10s were the most common transcons, and even into the 90's L-1011's were still being used frequently between north eastern North America to Europe. I loved the L-1011's..I thought they were way more comfy and quiet than 747s.

My favs though:

1: L-1011
2: A340
3: 727...fast and sexy looking. Tempermental for pilots apparently.
4: 777.
5: A380 is still impressive. I think it looks awkward and bloated, but it's sheer size is impressive.

Looking forward to seeing the plot of the number of votes per bird. :)

1. Wright Brothers Flyer
2. JU-52 or DC-3
3. 707
4. Concorde
5. B747

So judging by these posts, most of the big five is extinct.....

I guess those of us who weren't of age in the ancient times (20th century) will just have to make our own list....

Fav:

787
777
747
Concord
A319/320/321

The five most influential aircraft in commercial aviation history:

Ford Tri-Motor
Douglas DC-3
Lockheed Constellation
Boeing 707
Boeing 747

There are plenty of other contenders that people loved / love, from the Stratocruiser to the L-1011 to Concorde, that were exciting or beautiful but hardly influential.

For influence I think the Comet must be on the list. The first jet liner, 1952, which, although a step forward in flying also had it's disasters with metal fatigue. However, as wiki says - the aircraft's legacy does include numerous advances in aircraft design and in accident investigations. The inquiries into the accidents that plagued the Comet 1 were perhaps some of the most extensive and revolutionary that have ever taken place, establishing precedents in accident investigation; many of the deep-sea salvage and aircraft reconstruction techniques employed have remained in use within the aviation industry.

It's been said that, without the Comet, Boeing wouldn't have pushed for the 707 so fast.

In a sminlar way, the threat of the 880 caused Boeing to go forward with the 727, using the 720 as a stopgap until the 727 was ready.

For me, the all-time Big Five for me would be:

DC-3
Constellation
707
747
Concorde

Each one of them did something groundbreaking in civil aviation. I could be talked out of the 707 in exchange for a Comet, I suppose.

Some of you guys are throwing in military aircraft... If we're going there, then I would put a backseat ride in an SR-71 at #1. :cool: But I don't suppose any civilian has ever gotten that privilege...

Ok, this thread is pure catnip/crack! ^

If we're going historical, my [commercial] Big 5:
- 747-100
- Comet
- Boeing 314 Flying Clipper
- Zeppelin (cheating, but still!)
- Concorde

And a giant question mark for which gets Honorable Mention.

You make a great point.

The only thing the Comet is legendary for is its bodycount.

Which the 707 variants have beaten also.

1. The Concorde NO
2. Boeing 747 YES
3. Airbus A380 NO
4. McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 NO
5. Lockheed L-1011 YES

I have only flown 2 of these in 1250 flights. I am almost certain I will get to fly the A380 in the near future.

My main goal now is to fly the upper deck of the 747 which despite 3 flights in (two in Business/First) I have still not done. I think my best hope is Upper Class MAN-MCO (VS but DL code share) - then onward to ATL and DAY/CVG - or the reverse of course.

My first 747 was in 1973; TWA 747 - LAX - SFO (continued TPAC from SFO): I spent most of the flight in the upper level bar (no passenger seating up there).

Amazing - my first boss in the USA told me a story IIRC about a 747 he flew on and there was a piano bar ? upstairs. :cool:

I flew UA upper deck (business class) SFO-HKG a couple years ago. For as much as Flyertalkers generally don't like UA J, this was actually a pretty good ride. The window seat was quite roomy, both in upright and lieflat modes.

It was the final gasps of the US-UA partnership. 90,000 US miles per person was enough to create a nice multi-stop North Asia itin in J. ^ One of my favorite awards in the old US award chart...

I think that the historical, non-attainable, flights have skewed the list. What are the Big 5 today?

-747
-A380
-787
-*****
-******

What do you think?

737 and a320

Probably helps that there almost 10 times as many 707s built as Comets, yeah?

At any rate, not on a per capita basis. There were 114 Comets built and 26 hull losses. That's horrendous. There were 1,010 707s built with 172 hull losses.

Although with the 707, it's worth pointing out that it had a much longer career and flew exponentially more hours than the Comet did, which was pretty much extinct by 1970. Once a bunch of third world operators got their hands on them, they started dropping like flies. It's also worth pointing out that more than a few 707 incidents were the result of terrorism and not the fault of the aircraft.

I presumed your comment was tongue in cheek, as was mine. The first of anything probably has more failures than those that follow but I'd still say the Comet was legendary for being that first passenger jet, even with those square windows that caused the problems.

BEA Airtours were using the 4C into the seventies, so on the way out by then, ailing but not extinct by any means.

I wonder if I've ever flown on a 747. Not as far as I can remember, but then there were family trips in my childhood that I don't remember. Did AA ever fly 747s to Chile or Argentina?

AA had 747-100s until '84 and 747SPs until '94. I never flew on them, all my AA TATL flights of the last millennium were on DC-10s and 767s.

Not sure about the routing, but I have a distinct memory of the UD on an AA 747 in the 1970s. At that time, they still had the piano on the plane- lower deck, I think.

Yes, the piano bar was in coach. The upstairs was a first class lounge. Google "747 Luxury Liner" and select imaged.

I recall seeing a bunch of Comet 4s wearing Dan-Air London colors at LGW in summer 1974, so they hung on a bit longer still.