A quick survey: which is the best?

Nothing new here:
1. P-51
2. B-29
3. MIG 21
4. B-52
5. Wright Flyer

OK, Best first, then Favorite
1. P-51, F-82
2. B-17, B-25
3. F-15, F-4
4. B-52, B-57
5. Wright Flier, DC-3
This debate could go on forever.
Reguards,
Spud

Odd that this survey hasn't appeared on the other forums asking for Best Auto, Best spaceship, etc.
I'm afraid you will get alot of opinion with no real critirea on what you mean by "best."
That said, I will of course weigh in.
1. P-38 Lockheed Lightning ( I just like the look)
2. B24 (more built than the B17, flew faster, further, with a heavier load)
3. Su27 (nasty plane to have on your 6)
4. B2 (Those that know history are apparently doomed to repeat it!)
5. Super Constellation ( just to be different)

Don
5.

Hello

This is the first time I've dropped in on this discussion and it seems interesting. So here goes..........

1. the greatest propeller driven fighter of all time
2. the greatest propeller driven bomber of all time
3. the greatest jet fighter of all time
4. the greatest jet bomber of all time
5. the most important aircraft ever

1. P-47
2. B-17 (all varients from A thru G )
3. F-15
4. B-52
5. C-47/DC-3

My guesses.

Vance

1. P-51
2. B-29 (so good the Russians had to copy)
3. F-15
4. B-58
5. SR-71 (The Wrights started the whole thing- But the Blackbird is still ahead of its time)

1. P-51D
2. F4U Corsair
3. F6F Hellcat
4. B-17G Flying Fortress
5. B-24 Liberator

1:Republic P-47N Thunderbolt(Tough as a rock multirole fighter)
2:Tu95 "Bear"
3:Su37 "Flounder"
4:B2 "spirit"
5:The Wright bro's flight. The Wright Flyer.

Bf-109

B-17

Me-262

B-52

Wright flyer

1.) P51-D Mustang
2.) B-29 SuperFortress
3.) f-18 SuperHornet
4.) B-52 StratoFortress
5.) Wright Flyer

1. P-47N (I don't care what anybody says, my dad flew one and that makes it the best :))
2. B-29 - everything the B-17 was amuch, much more.
3. F-16, possibly the MiG-21
4. B-52! Still in service after all these -- decades!
5. Wright Flyer

1. P-47
2. B-17
3. F-15
4. B-52
5. Wright Flyer

O.K., O.K, many of you have said the topic questions I made up were to vague. I thought leaving the topic vague would bring more variety into the discussion, and with the exception of the B-52 being the hands down winner for jet bomber ( which a chimp could have predicted ) there has been a load of variety. I not only thought it would be interesting to see which aircraft each of us chose, but I also thought it would be interesting to learn what each of us thought made an aircraft great. That is why the original questions are intentionally vague.

That said, carry on with the great debate. I have loved reading all the responses. And even though so many of our ideas differ, in almost every instance I have been able to say to myself, "I can see why he thinks that aircraft is the greatest." I'm sure most of you are able to do likewise. That's what makes our hobby so great, being able to enjoy and learn from our differences and disagreements. How many times have you seen a diorama in FSM or a show and thought, "I would have never picked that subject", but you still thought it was great. This topic has created much the same feeling for me.

Best Prop Fighter- P-47
Best Prop Bomber- B-36 (Nobody said that one!!)
Best Jet Fighter- F-15
Best Jet Bomber- B-1

Favorite Prop- Fw-190D and B-36
Favorite Jet- F/A-18 and He177

Prost!
Zach

You know.... I'm surprised no one has said B-47 for Jet Bomber

Jon

1. F4U-4D Corsair
2. A-1D SkyRaider
3. F-16 Fighting Falcon
4. A-6E Intruder
5. Wright Flyer/Bell X-1
6. Best Transport - Lockheed C-130 Hercules (It's STILL being manufactured!!!)

1. F6F Hellcat
2. B-29
3. F-86
4. B-58
5. x-15

1. P-51
2. JU-88
3. Phanton
4. B-52
5. 14-Bis

1. F6F Hellcat 19 to 1 kill ratio. (Although I am a closet Boomerang fanatic, world's first Wild Weasel aircraft and she's just a pretty little thing too.)
2. B-24 Liberator Dad built them and they worked for more than just the U.S. I chatted with an Aussie Lib navigator when I was in Bullcreek W.A. and he had nothing but praise for his
3. F-14 Tomcat I worked on them for 6 years and they are one mean motorscooter, the F/A 18 is alot of rhetoric wrapped up in carbon fiber and a wannabe fighter.
4. B-58 Hustler
5. PBY Catalina again Dad built them and if it hadn't been for the Catalina at least 2 major engagements during WWII would have turned out badly for the allies

really easy

1)F4U4 Corsair - won the war in the Pacific (Semper Fi)

2)Wright Brothers of course, for getting things rolling

3)Mig 15, for its simplicity and durability

4)B-17 - just an amazing plane all around - how many battered
broken, and barely airworthy planes made it home? It truly lived
up to it's name!

1. P-38
2. B-29
3. F-4 Phantom
4. B-52
5. Wright flyer at Kittyhawk

1.P-51 Mustang
2.B-17 Flying-Fortress
3.F-15 (jets arn't done with yet)
4.B-52 Stratofortress
5.Wright Flyer (No Doubt!)

1. P-51 Mustang-because it was the first prop fighter to have long range capability, and competitive maneuverability, survivability and firepower, as well as being cheaper to produce than many others.
2. B-29-cost more than the Manhattan Project, extremely effective, copied by the Russians as the Tu-4.
3. F-4 Phantom aka Rhino-The classic fighter of the sixties, seventies and eighties.
4. B-52 BUFF, the same age as me, and still gets the job done.
5. DC-3, created the modern air travel industry.

1. P-51
2. B-17
3. F-15
4. B-52
5. Tie Wright Flier and DC-3

Richard

QUOTE: Originally posted by nwilliams ..... And even though so many of our ideas differ, in almost every instance I have been able to say to myself, "I can see why he thinks that aircraft is the greatest." I'm sure most of you are able to do likewise. That's what makes our hobby so great, being able to enjoy and learn from our differences and disagreements. How many times have you seen a diorama in FSM and thought, "I would never picked that subject", but you still thought it was great. This topic has created much the same feeling for me.

Very well said ...

Hmm, i know its an american forum, but the besty piston fighter was ( unfortunately better than the P-51 ) the Fw 190 D.

1. the greatest propeller driven fighter of all time
North Americam P-51D Mustang

2. the greatest propeller driven bomber of all time
Boeing B-29

3. the greatest jet fighter of all time
Mcdonnell F-4 Phantom II

4. the greatest jet bomber of all time
Boeing B-52

5. the most important aircraft ever
Lockheed Constellation.
Because there is no manufacturer who build a nicer plane than this one Look at her lines cane you wish for more!

How about this list ?

- Propeller driven fighter: FW190
- Propeller driven bomber: Ju-88
- Jet fighter: Me262
- Jet bomber: B-47
- Most important aircraft ever: Santos-Dumont's 14Bis (first non-catapulted mannered flight - a much more important achievement than Wright Brother's)

Think about it !

Nelson

P-51
B-29
F-4 Phantom II
B-47
Bell X-1

1 hawker hurricane
2 avro lancaster
3 sukhoi su 27 better than u.s fighters
4 avro vulcan
5 wright flyer ofcourse whit out that we would still be driving around

P38 LIGHTING
B25 MITCHEL
F14 TOMCAT
B52 BUFF
BELL X1