Top 10 most significant aircraft

[robert41]

Iam looking for your opinion on the 10 most significant/influential powered aircraft in history. From pioneering to personal to commercial to military aircraft. Those aircraft that changed the way we live. Hard to pick just 10, but Iam working on my list.

 

[OBIO]

In no particular order:

The Wright Flyer...it was the first powered aircraft

Piper J-3 Cub....lots and lots of pilots got their wings in this plane

Cessna C172...possibly the plane that gave birth to more licensed pilots than any other

Boeing 247...first truly modern passenger liner

Douglas DC-3...the first truly modern passenger line to be a HUGE HUGE success

Boeing 747....possibly the most successful jetliner of all time

Lockheed C-130 Hurcules....been in production for over a half a century, longest production run of any aircraft I think

McDonald Douglas F-4 Phantom....50 years of military use world wide...name another fighter jet that has that longevity...I thought NOT!

Lockheed L-10 Electra....in my mind the most visually stunning aircraft ever built, and the plane with the most mystery surrounding it as Emelia disappeared while flying one (not like in the movie, in which a Lockheed L-12 Electra Junior was used).

de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver...the bush flying work horse of choice...STOL, heavy payloads and a radial engine....what could be better?

OBIO

 

[Wing_Z]

Concorde presumably would make that list...
The Wright Flyer can't not be, that leaves just eight.

 

[Naki]

Your list isnt bad Obio but I just commented elsewhere the list wil be biased depending on where you live.

If you are Russian presumably this list might include an IL-10, Yak-3, An-2, Mil Mi-8, Mig-15 and 21.

If you were a Kiwi then the list might include a 504K, Electra 10, Fletcher, Tiger Moth, DC-8, DC-10, 737, Viscount, Bell 47 and a DC-3 (that has to be on any list)

Not sure whether a Beaver would make my list.

Heres my quick attempt:

1. DC-3 (the formation airliner for many airlines around the world and main transport aircraft in ww2)
2. Cessna 172 (from the 50s onwards most pilots had hours in one of these)
3. Spitfire (most important Britrish figher and true Icon)
4. 747 (made travelling cheaper for the masses)
5. 707 (introduced jet tarevel to many - yes I know there were earlier ones but this really got Boeing going and ws a lot mpore widely used)
6. J-3 Cub (as per Obios list)
7. Mig-21 (gave many airforces all over the world a cheap supersonic fighter and was produced in huge numbers and still in servivce in many airforces)
8. Bell Huey (very popular military helicopter and in most air forces inventory)
9. C-130 (as per Obios list)
10. Eindecker (first proper fighter produced in numbers)

 

[CG_1976]

Were there is a beaver, there most certainly not far be its bigger brother the Twotter Dhc-6.

 

[wiltzei]

C172, as for the reasons stated above. And upkeep costs are pretty reasonable for private pilots (as far as I know).

DC-3, as for the reasons stated above.

de Havilland Comet, some tragic lessons learned from this plane lead to success of

B707 / B747, which brought cheap jet travel to masses

Concorde, which didn´t require people onboard to wear overalls while cruising supersonic. Symbolizes (or symbolized, which is sad) mankind's will to move forwards.

AF1, symbolizes (arguably) the most influental institution's reach on Earth.

DC-9, placing engines near the empennage -> better short field capabilities -> more passengers -> affordable short range flights.

SR-71, technological marvelpiece of engineering. Stealth properties & Mach 3.5+, in the sixties. Many tricks from developing & operating this plane have probably found their way to never planes.

Avro Lancaster, dropped 2/3 of total bomb tonnage in effort to stop Third Reich.

P-47, practically the only capable long-range escort for bombers until the P-51D. Also seriously hindered supply lines etc.

 

[TopDollar]

Wright Flyer - First heavier than air aircraft. The most famous plane which "started it all."

Bleriot No. VII - The first "modern aircraft," which featured a fully
cantilevered wing, forward mounted tractor engine, fully skinned fuselage, tail mounted
stabilizers, a standard vertical stabilizer and rudder. The Bleriot Biplane later provided the iconic Biplane look of World War I.

Taylor E-2 Cub - The aircraft which brought flying to the private sector. The model T of aviation per se. Still a very popular design and forefather of the Piper J-3.

Focke-Wulf Fw-61 - Being the first functional helicopter, the Fw-61 set the stage for all future rotor-craft.

Messerschmitt Me-262 - Not the first jet aircraft, but possibly the most significant of the first generation as it became an inspiration for its swept wing design.

Bell X-1 - The aircraft which proved to the world that supersonic flight was indeed possible. Was the turning point for another generation of aircraft.

Cessna 172 - Being the most successful mass produced light aircraft certainly qualifies the C172 as significant.

Boeing 707 - Considered to be the first commercially successful jet airliner, the 707 decreased the size of the world by a factor of 2.

Concorde - Being the only airliner to reach supersonic speeds, the Concorde was in a class of it's own.

Lockheed A-12 - Arguably the single greatest feat of engineering in the history of aviation. First flying in 1962, the Blackbird was, and still is, ahead of it's time. The habu has yet to see any comparable counterparts.

 

[Cratermaker]

Okay, I'll play (I'm taking a "changed the landscape" slant):

1) Boeing 314 (commercial travel)
2) Cessna 172 (private planes)
3) Mig-15 (zomg! The ruskies are way more advanced than we thought!)
4) Wright Flyer (obvious)
5) Spitfire (should be obvious)
6) DC-3(commercial travel)
7) Predator Drone (hey, you didn't say manned!)
8) Sikorsky VS-300 (birth of modern heli)
9) Hydrogen filled dirigibles (pretty much killed off lighter than air travel)
10) WhiteKnightTwo (ok, time will tell... but I can hope, can't I?

 

[norab]

my list

1. The Wright Flyer for obvious reasons
2. The Sikorski "Ilya Muromets' for proving that large airliners and heavy bombers could be built
3. The NC-4 flying boats for proving that trans-ocean flights could be practical, not novelties
4. The Ryan NYP "Spirit of Saint Louis" for generating broad public support for aviation
5. The Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 for establishing the design elements needed for a practical helicopter
6. The DC-3 for making airline travel a practice rather then a novelty
7. The Bf-109 for being the most produced fighter of all time with the longest time in production
8. The Heinkel He-178 for proving that jet powered aircraft were possible
9. The Boeing 707 for making jet airliners practical
10. The X-15 for opening up the possibilities of high speed flight

 

[demorier]

Lots of good choices there but I still can't see and I don't have a real candidate for smaller STOL type aircraft for multiple type use. Maybe a Catalina but not on land.

 

[Mathias]

1. Wright Flyer
2. Junkers F13, the world's first all metall true passenger plane.
3. DC-3
4. Messerschmitt Bf108, mother of all low wing GA planes, competitive up until today.
5. Messerschmitt Bf109, most produced fighter of all times.
6. Fw190A through Ta152, arguably the best piston fighter of WWII.
7. de Havilland DH 106, first jet passenger plane (well, not the first, that was the GDR's BB.152, but the first in regular service)
8. C172, everybody knows it.
9. and 10. F104 Starfighter and F4 Phantom, passed by my house regularly when I was a kid and as such apply to the OP's intro "Those aircraft that changed the way we live" in a very personell way to me.

 

[Dain Arns]

No offense, but you guys are just repeating the same aircraft over and over.
While many are popular and successful at their primary missions, not many there are actually significant.

No one has mentioned the Curtiss Golden Flyer for example.
Significant because it didn't use wing warping like the Wright Flyer.
It used Ailerons set between the equal length biplane wings.
These would later transition to the wing itself.
The Wrights were so upset they sued Curtiss over this, claiming it infringed on their patents regarding wing warping.

Significant because this simple design change led to almost all aircraft using the same set of control surfaces for over a century now.
Rudder, Elevator, and Ailerons. The 3 main control surfaces for any fixed wing.

 

[Dain Arns]

How about adding the Bell X-1 to the list?
Simply significant because it was the first plane to successfully break the sound barrier on October 14th, 1947.

EDIT: my apologies to you TopDollar. You had it in your list already.

 

[Dain Arns]

I'll throw in one more, and then shut up.
North American X-15.
First airplane to transition from atmospheric flight to space and back.

 

[kilo delta]

If I may be so bold as to add a few from this side of the pond...

D.H.Comet...World's first Jet Airliner

H.S.Trident...made the world's first automated approach and landing

H.S. P1127/Harrier.... for obvious reasons

Me 262 Schwalbe...World's first jet fighter

Concorde...World's first supersonic airliner (Tu-144 wasn't in commercial service until ~2 years after the Concorde)

 

[Bone]

So far no one has said B-52. Operational since the early fifties. Modified with successive technologies from each era, and is still useful and significant. War fighting strategies and technologies were developed and perfected with the B-52. Slated to be in the force until at least 2030. Participated in numerous conflicts, and was the backbone of the Strategic Air Command during the entire Cold War. The Mothership of extremely high performance and history making test vehicles. Has been flown by guys who's Dad's and Grandfather's flew it...and for all I know there's a 23 year old AF pilot flying it now who is the fourth generation to fly it (If he isn't flying it now, he will be). There's just so many pivotal things this plane has been involved in and WILL be involved in, it could never be left out.

The B-52 has outlived them all. You can't say "C-130" either, because that airplane is still being built. It's different. Remarkable, but different.

 

[grumpos]

I would add;

Bleriot monoplane. showed that the wright designs, though good, were essentially a dead end design.

Vickers Vimy for showing the possibilities of long distance flight.

DC-2, rather than the DC-3.

Hawker Hurricane for serving in more places than any other fighter in WW2, and for being in the right place at the right time. Had the Hurricane not been available the world may well have been a very different place.

MiG 15. the first modern jet fighter

The paper designs of the German aviation industry during WW2. They didn't fly, yet led to a large proportion of the world's jet aircraft in the post-war years

Balsa wood aircraft powered by a rubber band. Taught millions basic aerodynamic principles.

 

[aeromed202]

I'll cheat a bit here and mention that the folks at Air&Space posed and answered this very question. Even they had to admit to a measure of hand wringing and personal bias. I can dig out the issue if anyone wants but can say that probably one list is as good as another, depends on who is doing the listing. I think the challenge is keeping it to 10. I quit at 20 something.

 

[robert41]

Some very good aircraft in this post. I have seen the articles from Air@Space also Smithsonian and many others. I agree and disagree with some of these. My list, still tryng to narrow it down.

 

[Matt Wynn]

1. De Havilland Type 98 (Those that know me understand this one...)
2. RF-4/F-4E Phantom II (Memories of my Childhood in Greece, made me love aviation)
3. F-104 (Same Reason as Above)
4. A-7/TA-7 (Yup same as above again)
5. Dassault Mirage 2000 (Theres a pattern here..... ^)
6. Spitfire (<< so good a favourite drink is named after it)
7. De Havilland Comet (THE FIRST Commercial Jet Airliner)
8. Boeing/Vertol CH-47 (takes me in, and brings me out of battle!)
9. Avro Lancaster (Another true British icon...)
10. EE/BAC Lightning (Yes it could get up high 87,800ft to be precise , and was Britains first Mach 2.0 aircraft, Overtook concorde on Intercept trials, conc was already supersonic if i recall )

about lightning:

http://www.lightning.org.uk/archive/0410.php

The Lightning that once overtook Concorde was described as 'the best of the best' by Flt Lt Mike Hale at the roll-out ceremony for XR749 at Teeside Airport on September 28th 1995. Now an instructor with 56 Sqn at Coningsby, Mike flew 80 sorties in XR749 after the aircraft was allocated to 11 Squadron at Binbrook. He has a particular affection for the aircraft: "The Lightning was an exceptional aircraft in every respect, but XR749 was one of the best of the best. It is probably the best aircraft that I will ever have had the privilege to fly. Because of her tail code BM, she was known as 'Big Mother', although the tail code changed to BO for her last few months on 11 before joining the LTF in January 1985. She was a very hot ship, even for a Lightning. She remained my aircraft for all her time on 11 Sqn despite my being entitled to an F6 as I moved up the squadron pecking order. I invariably asked for her to be allocated to me for the major exercises such as MALLET BLOW, OSEX, and ELDER FOREST despite her being a short range F3 - there were invariably plenty of tankers about!"

His memories include the time in April 1984, during a squadron exchange at Binbrook, when he and XR749 participated in unofficial time-to-height and acceleration trials against F-104 Starfighters from Aalborg. The Lightnings won all races easily, with the exception of the low level supersonic acceleration, which was a dead-heat. This is not surprising when the records show that the year before on one sortie XR749 accelerated to Mach 2.3 (1500 mph) in September 1983.

It was also in 1984, during a major NATO exercise that he intercepted an American U-2 at 66,000 ft, a height which they had previously considered safe from interception. Shortly before this intercept, he flew a zoom climb to 88,000 ft and, later that year, he was able to sustain FL550 while flying subsonic. Life was not entirely without problems, however, as in a three month period his No 2 engine seized in flight and its replacement failed during a take-off when intake panelling on the inside of the aircraft became detached and was sucked into the engine.

In April 1985, British Airways were trialling a Concorde up and down the North Sea. When they offered it as a target to NATO fighters, Mike and his team spent the night before in the hangar polishing XR749 which he borrowed from the LTF for the occasion, and the next day overhauled Concorde at 57,000 ft and travelling at Mach 2.2 by flying a stern conversion intercept. "Everyone had a bash - F-15s, F-16s, F-14s, Mirages, F-104s - but only the Lightning managed to overhaul Concorde from behind".