Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:17 am
by Undried Plum
As a starter, I propose:
Tiger Moth
Spitfire
DC-3
Catalina
Concorde
Other non-pretty, but very good designs for doing what they do, might include the Cessna 150/172 set, C-130 Hercules, the B-52 etc. All are welcome in this virtual collection.
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:23 am
by G-CPTN
DH Mosquito.
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:28 am
by Undried Plum
Yup. Shoulda included that in me kick-off list.
Totally beautiful and a gorgeous thoroughbred right from the start.
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:48 am
by ian16th
2nd attempt: English Electric Canberra.
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:00 am
by Mrs Ex-Ascot
VC10
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 11:16 am
by Boac
Bikini?
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
I can't believe that nobody has noted the Hawker Hunter yet!
HawkerHunter.JPG
I started thinking of a/c I have worked on, that I liked, and thought of the Hunter.
I didn't nominate it because I don't think it was ever really tested in prolonged action.
The only ones that saw action were the Indian Air Force ones. Which I helped to deliver!
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
I can't believe that nobody has noted the Hawker Hunter yet!
HawkerHunter.JPG
I started thinking of a/c I have worked on, that I liked, and thought of the Hunter.
I didn't nominate it because I don't think it was ever really tested in prolonged action.
The only ones that saw action were the Indian Air Force ones. Which I helped to deliver!
The Indian Hunter gave prodigious service...
From Wiki
Indian Air Force
In 1954, India arranged to purchase Hunters as a part of a wider arms deal with Britain, ordering 140 Hunter single-seat fighters at the same time that Pakistan announced its purchase of several North American F-86 Sabre jet fighters. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was the first to operate the Hunter T.66 trainers, placing an initial order in 1957. The more powerful engine was considered beneficial in a hot environment, allowing for greater takeoff weights. During the 1960s, Pakistan investigated the possibility of buying as many as 40 English Electric Lightnings, but Britain was unenthusiastic about the potential sales opportunity because of the damage it would do to its relations with India, which at the time was still awaiting the delivery of large numbers of ex-RAF Hunters.
By the outbreak of the Sino-Indian War in 1962, India had assembled one of the largest air forces in Asia, and the Hunter was the nation's primary and most capable interceptor. During the conflict, the Hunter demonstrated its superiority over China's Russian-sourced MiGs and gave India a strategic advantage in the air. India's aerial superiority deterred Chinese Ilyushin Il-4 bombers from attacking targets within India. In 1962, India had selected to procure its first supersonic-capable fighter, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21; large numbers of Russian-built fighters had increasingly supplemented the aging Hunters in the interceptor role by 1970.[60]
The Hunter was to play a major role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965;along with the Gnat the Hunter was India's primary air defence fighter, and regularly engaged in dogfights with the Pakistani F-86 Sabres and F-104 Starfighters. The aerial war saw both sides conducting thousands of sorties in a single month.Both sides claimed victory in the air war, Pakistan claimed to have destroyed 104 aircraft against its own losses of 19, while India claimed to have destroyed 73 enemy aircraft and lost 35 of its own. Despite the intense fighting, the conflict was effectively a stalemate.
IAF Hunters performed extensive operations during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971; India had six combat-ready squadrons of Hunters at the start of the conflict.Pakistani infantry and armoured forces attacked the Indian outpost of Longewala in an event now known as the Battle of Longewala. Six IAF Hunters stationed at Jaisalmer Air Force Base were able to halt the Pakistani advance at Longewala by conducting non-stop bombing raids. The aircraft attacked Pakistani tanks, armoured personnel carriers and gun positions and contributed to the increasingly chaotic battlefield conditions, which ultimately led to the retreat of Pakistan's ground forces. Hunters were also used for many ground-attack missions and raids inside Pakistan's borders, such as the high-profile bombing of the Attock Oil refinery to limit Pakistani fuel supplies.In the aftermath of the conflict, Pakistan claimed to have shot down a total of 32 of India's Hunters
I can't believe that nobody has noted the Hawker Hunter yet!
HawkerHunter.JPG
I started thinking of a/c I have worked on, that I liked, and thought of the Hunter.
I didn't nominate it because I don't think it was ever really tested in prolonged action.
The only ones that saw action were the Indian Air Force ones. Which I helped to deliver!
The Folland Gant also performed very well with the Indians.
I always thought it looked like a very natty aircraft!
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 12:56 pm
by Woody
This one should bring a tear to TGG’s eyes
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
It certainly does, what with the unique sound of those Dart engines echoing of Devils Peak above Rondebosch, the aircraft had, in a sense, come back to the chief designer's home....
The Haworth boys were sent to Rondebosch Boys’ High School in Cape Town and lived with their grandfather, who had retired to a large house in Newlands, Cape Town. Lionel was
always grateful for his support over his education, which he completed by the four-year BSc (Eng) course at the University of Cape Town, graduating in December 1933 with distinction
plus a gold medal. In the following March he was awarded a scholarship tenable for two years in Europe or America. In June he landed at Southampton and had three months free in London
before becoming a graduate apprentice at the Southall works of the Associated Equipment Company (AEC), who were builders of London’s buses
Re: Best and nicest and most clever and most fit-for-purpose designs
Posted: Wed Oct 06, 2021 5:02 pm
by izod tester
WWII meant that the DH91 Albatross was relegated to UK-Iceland flying. It was beautiful and functional. Tried to link to an image, but it was too big for the site.
WWII meant that the DH91 Albatross was relegated to UK-Iceland flying. It was beautiful and functional. Tried to link to an image, but it was too big for the site.
WWII meant that the DH91 Albatross was relegated to UK-Iceland flying. It was beautiful and functional. Tried to link to an image, but it was too big for the site.
