Coolest aircraft ever built?

Question

My faves are:
the Grumman F-14 Tomcat
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Boeing 747-400 series jetliners
Airbus A319(the nicest Airbus I've flown on so far)and A380(I'd love to be a passenger on the new superjumbo!)
North American P-51 Mustang(awesome warbird!)
Lockheed P-38 Lightning(the 'bombers' little friend' to the Allies,
the Japanese called it 'the fork-tailed devil'!)
Messerschmidt ME-262 (even though the enemy used it it's still pretty awesome WW2 technology and a preview of what was to come for most air forces!)
Boeing China Clippers( first true luxury liners of the sky with loads of amenities for passengers and they even had sleeper cabins!)
Harrier jump jet(STOVL/VTOL, very cool)
Lockheed Constellation
Boeing 707(first American-built passenger jet)
Douglas DC-3/C-47
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy
C-17 Globemaster II(HUGE)
Antonov AN-225(REALLY HUGE!)

Answer 1

MY GOODNESS, what a plane nut you are, just one thing though, I think it was the Germans that called the P-38 that. Although the Japs may have, after all we shot down Yamamoto with it! I love all the planes you mentioned too. One you didn't mention is the F-16. I just love it's lines. Of course when one is considering "coolest" airplane. I think you have to think of the future JSF, whether it be the F-35 or whatever. Imagine a supersonic, stealth, vertical takeoff/landing, vectored thrust, armament enclosed inside the fuselage to be out of the slip steam fighter aircraft. Only thing better then this might be that fighter on StarGate which can escape the atmosphere. No doubt that's all ready on the computer drawing board. So cool to find a young woman so crazy about planes.
http://www.vectorsite.net/avf35.html

Answer 2

My personal favorite of all time is the F-4 Phantom, with the A-10 Thunderbolt II (Warthog) as second and the Harrier as third.

When I was younger, I always used to prefer the WWII warbirds as cool, and thought the modern stuff was neat but nothing spectaular. I originally thought the F-4 was ugly. Then I was stationed in Germany at a missile site and could watch the planes from the nearby German and US Air bases practicing. F-4's really impressed me. Then when I was standing in the tower guarding the site and watching the F-4s from Spangdahlem AFB come over for practice runs to take out or site, I had a few pilots that could really make that bird do things. They would come down the valley below the mountaintop we were on, and come over the site just abrely clearing the fence line. There were a couple times I was looking down into the cockpit as they flew past. That was when i fell in love with those planes.

The other two are from seeing them at airshows and deciding what I wanted to see come over the treeline if I ever called for an airstrike with my butt on the line. Very Very cool.

Answer 3

For me,
Beechcraft Stagerwing
Lockheed Constellation/Super Constellation
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon
Sukhoi Su-27/Su-30 Flanker
Antonov 2
Lockheed P2 Neptune
Boeing 757
Boeing 777

Answer 4

For spying would have to be the SR-71
For AirLift it would have to be the c-5 Galaxy
Commercial I would say the B-747SP. Range 17 hours
Boeing 707 in the early sixties with extra fuel tanks next to the fuselage. Non-Stop to Paris from Los Angeles in 11 hours.
Douglas DC-3. Most reliable plane during world was 2. Solid "Rivits"..Commercial variation very good.

Answer 5

F-22

Answer 6

P-51

Answer 7

A homebuilt called a "BREEZY". You are strapped in a seat out on the nose of the aircraft, with the front wheel between your feet. The breezy is just a framework with a wing, tail and pusher engine. You are literally perched out on the front of the plane. Totally exposed to the elements. Yes, It can get cool out there at times. http://1000aircraftphotos.com/AmateurBuilt/905.htm Here's a link if you would like to see a photo of a breezy!

Answer 8

You can also consider those:

XB-70A Valkyrie. 245 tonnes, Mach 3, 6 engines, shaped like its own supersonic shockwave so it could "surf" on it.

The B1 Lancer is also pretty slick, it is as nimble as a fighter despite weighting over 215 tonnes.

And, in the category "dreams crushed and destroyed by nearsighted politicians", the Canadian designed Avro Arrow interceptor (featuring fly-by-wire technology in 1957, among other innovations).

Answer 9

C-130 the go anywhere anytime & do anything aircraft! From 1955 & still in production/ a world wide A/C in almost every Nation Inventory.
Soooo, minnie ways that it can be configgered

Answer 10

I fly the C-5 Galaxy so this one would have to be my favorite.

I noticed that you said "huge" next to the C-17. Actually, the C-5 is much larger than the C-17. However, the AN-225 is bigger than both.