In this modern world of jets,I still look at the prop airplanes and just marvel at there beauty.I think that the older planesjust look better then the modern.There are in my opinon,more ways to design a prop driven plane then the jets.Don’t get me wrong,jets to can be beautiful but designs are limited.The props on the other hand in my opinon,can be design in many ways.They just look so good,one only has to look at the many designs of WWII to see there beauty.
So what do you think.Digger
I’m a WW2 buff, so I agree with you on the allure of the props. The P-51D Mustang & the Spitfires in particular are beautiful airframes too me. But some of the modern jets are great also. A fully armed F-14 is a sleek, deadly looking beast, for example.
Regards, Rick
Well, unless you’re speaking strictly in the context of Military aircraft, there are plenty of modern propeller driven aircraft around to marvel at and to fly in today. When I was learning to do in flight engine re-starts in the J-3, people on the ground said I sounded like a jet at the bottom of the dive when the prop decided to start windmilling, from the wind whistling past the airplane.
Oh yeah, and in the early evenings of summer, landing on runway 26 with the blazing sun on the horizon, made you wish you were in a jet because of the strobe flicker created by the low engine rpm. (but the prop did help mince the bugs/birds up better before smacking the windshield!)
Another advantage of props; you can slide the window back and wave at your friends on the ground without having to worry about getting your arm yanked off in the wind stream! [;)]
Take care,
Frank
Many of the old and new designs catch my eye. There are a majority of stange looking prop planes and jets. Other than the F-18, I’m not real keen on the new planes being designed such as the F22 and Eurofighter. Many parts on these planes look out of proportion and look like they have been put together from an array of spare parts, then again, they are being designed by 30 different companies on six continents, so what should we expect.
I have to agree with you on this one Digger,although I do not build WWII aircraft…that doesn’t mean I haven’t given it some thought.Heck…just this morning I was lQQking for a 1/24 scale P-51 @ Hobby Lobby,hoping that I could find one 1/2 off.But luck was not on my side today…(had to wait to get the ol’ paycheck)…Anyhoo[:-^],…I like building the modern stuff because that is what I remember seeing when my dad would take me to the airshows.So therefore I can identify with it more personally.The first airshow my dad took me to the Blue Angels were flying the A-4,and the F-4 was still the “Bad Boy on the block” when it was time for power projection.And the F-14 was not in the fleet yet…I guess what I am trying to say is that, had I grew up around the time frame the Mustang’s and Corsair’s were guarding the sky, I would probably be building models of those aircraft exclusively. Anyway,thats just my [2c]
I am unequivocally a jet guy. I look at an A-4, F-4 or even a 757 and it just does it for me! I do not, however, have a place in my heart for the newer airframes of militray jets. There is nothing handsome about the F-22 or the Eurofighter to me; they just look too delicate. The workhorses of the cold war are the real monsterous beauties! I grew up living on one naval air station after another and I can still remember the howl of the F-4 on a low power setting during an approach. I will still build a WWII medium bomber every now and then tough…[:P]
Ray
aaaahhhhh…there’s something about the A-4 or the F-86 or the Century Series or the B-777-300 or the XB-70 or the Avro Vulcan or the B-2…
but, i’d have to say it’s gotta be the Golden Age and WW II aviation…
what those folks produced, so quickly with so much success is (imo) mind boggling…and out of all that influence and adventure…Walter Beech built his Staggerwing…[swg]
I have to disagree with the majority here. If ever there was proof of a beautiful form following function, it is the jet aircraft. I’m not sure how to explain my philosophy in 20 words or less, but it boils down to, the high performance of a jet is directly related to its elegant shape. The same cannot be said of prop planes. You put a big enough prop and engine on the door to a vault and it will fly. Which is not to say that I don’t find hundreds or prop planes beautiful, from the Albatros to the Mustang and, in its own way, the C-130.
This topic could get really heated, I can see that right now.[#dots]
Hey sharkskin, guess if I had the chance to ride in some of the jet A/C you have had, I would say that too.[8D] For me it’s just going back in time (WWII) and thinking what it must have been like to be only around 22 yrs old and given a High Performance prop (insert favorite) and told to land on a Carrier!
I’m in love with all military aircraft, old or new. I just prefer to build newer fighters because I’m an ex Air Force mechanic.
Dean
I like both the old and the new but I’d have to say about 85-90% of my collection is made up of U.S. WW2 fighters. I love the lines of the F-4 Phantom and the A-4 Skyhawk and all the U.S. jets but I just think that the old WW2 planes were absolute works of ART! In this day and age you won’t find a plane that looks as cool as an F4-U Corsair with its flaps down. A P-47 skimming just feet or inches about the turn as it goes on its strafing run can’t be beat. The P-38 still looked like a sports car even when standing still on the PSP. I agree with the comments about the F-22 and other such newer fighters. I’m so glad we have them to protect us but for pure looks, there ain’t no beatin’ a WW2 prop job!
Eric
I guess it all depends on your point of view and what you like. Yes, most of the popular WW II fighters did look good, that had a lot to do with why they are popular. Have you seen a Fisher P-75 Eagle? Talk about a hideous looking airplane. As for airliners, I like both some of the old designs and some of the new. In props, IMHO nothing beats a Boeing 247. That was a sweet looking airplane. In jets, I have to go with the 727. That was one slick jet and it would tear up the skies. The guys at Delta wanted the mach limiters taken out of them so they could go break some windows.
Jets are for kids…
Somebody had to say it… [;)]
Wait, I’m just a big kid…
Fade to Black…
Well in general I prefer old, I almost exclusively build props, WW2, WW1, modern naval patrol planes, helicopters (really big props) etc. When I do build jets most of the time its the 50’s or 60’s(F86, F4 Phantom) or attack aircraft (I love the A4, A6 and A10). The newer the less interested, I am, I really don’t care for all these new super planes coming out F22 et al.
I’m this way in other areas to, I would prefer to build an M4 Sherman than an M1 Abrams and a '65 Mustang is much higher on my list than an '04 Corvette.
Don’t know why, just how it is.
Black wolf hit the nail on the head, Jets are for kids, you gotta be a real man to be able to be flying at 400 mph just 50 yards or less from the behind of an enemy aircraft then aim the entire plane at him and pump him full of lead while doing high speed menuvers. That just gets me teary eyed every time. And you had to have reall courage to do ground attack. Coming down from the clowds speeding in at low level getting the crud shoot out of you and then at less than a hundred yards drop bombes, shoot fifties, and lanuch your HARVS, and if you missed you had to do it all again. And the runs on enemy bombers, coming up behind a B-17, or B-24 or B-29 having the tail turrets shooting at you and you shooting at them trying to down something 4 times bigger than you are. Its a thrill you cant get with a jet. And we cant forget that raw horspower those huge radial engins put out, like the P-47s, or the Corsairs. Prop airplanes, I love em!
Gee, I guess the Harrier can’t do any of that, huh?
Like some of you have already pointed out, the latest jet fighters are not the prettiest designs ever (F-22, Eurofighter). But modern prop driven planes, especially trainers are starting to look like clones too (PC-7, Tucano and lots more). And don’t get me started on jet airliners. I still can’t tell the difference between a 757, 767 or any airbus from any distance. I can only pick out the Airbuses on climbout because of the sound of the engines[;)]. If you compare this to the diversity of prop airliners from the 1940s, you can only conclude that airliner design has become boring[:(]. Thanks to BlackWolf’s latest quiz, I got a good overview of the diversity of designs like the Boeing model 307, DC-3 or Super Constellation[8D].
Trainer aircraft have always been rather conservative in design, probably because of their function. Although I like it I can find nothing special about a Harvard for instance. I can only think of a few exceptions: the T-37 and Fouga Magister, but these were designed during what I consider the golden age of jet design: from the late 40s to the early 70s. Especially at the start of that period it seems everybody was experimenting with radical designs to see what worked, instead of copying eachother. Just look at the huge differences between the SR-71, B-58, A-5, F-4, F-8, F-102, U-2 etc etc etc! And that’s just a few planes that made it into production! The whole process from drawing board to first flight was also a lot faster back then in the pre-computer era. These days the only company I can see using a similar approach is Burt Rutan. What a great company he has!
So for me it’s not about the propulsion (jet, piston or other), but about the imagination and beauty of the design. I would have to say that the last truly innovative design to make it into series production was probably the F-16. Oh yeah, and the F-117 but that’s ugly[:P], and the B-2 is just a poor attempt at a YB-49 replica[:-,]. Just my [2c].
I have to agree with most of the posts, nearly all the modern stuff (especially Eurofighter and F35) are just pig ugly. Im a big fan of WW2 planes, and I think you just cant beat the lines of an old Me 262. Not quite a prop plane and an infant in the ways of jets. Who said you can`t have your cake and eat it? Makes you wonder what planes would look like now if these had never been designed during the war…
well i must say this is awesome. jets vs props. good topic. for me the beauty of an od/gray p-40b is overwhelming. but i must agree some of the modern designs are fantastic.
i still have to say for beauty props rule.
joe
I love 'em both!!! I couldn’t say which is more beautiful - prop vs jet. But then, when I was young I also had trouble deciding between blondes and brunettes… [;)]