OT - Today's Mount Rushmore (1/21) - Airplanes

[QuikSand]

Okay, I picked a subject about which I know practically nothing. Just wanted to get this tradition going again...

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What four entries belong on the Mount Rushmore of airplanes?

Please submit your simple answer -- four entries. That's it. Not five, not ten, not a long list of honorable mentions.

Once you have posted your submissions, you have license to make an argument for one or another entry, but your initial post should be your four-fold nomination. This isn't that hard.

[QuikSand]

I confess this isn't my strong suit, but here's an initial stab at it:

Wright Brothers' first flyer
Spirit of St. Louis
Enola Gay
Boeing 747

[Ben E Lou]

Enola Gay
B-2 Bomber
Air Force One
Spitfire

[Ben E Lou]

Dola--

And I confess that this isn't my strong suit either.

[pskov]

Wright Brothers Flyer
Spirit of St. Louis
Boeing 747
Concorde

[3ric]

Lockheed "Blackbird"
F16 Fighting Falcon
Hawker Siddeley Harrier
Supermarine Spitfire

[TRO]

Wright Brothers Flyer
Spirit of STL
Enola Gay
Spruce Goose

[WSUCougar]

The Wright Flyer
This is a gimme. You may get a few arguments from Europe that the Wright brothers weren’t the first with powered flight, but most accept that they were. The photograph capturing the lift-off at Kitty Hawk is one of the all-time great historical images as well. And I think the plane was in the air for a mere 12 seconds!

P-51 Mustang
This excellent World War II fighter gets the nod over several others from that war that could be “honorable mentions” (Spitfire, Me-109, Zero) as planes that are symbolic of their nation’s air power. The P-51 design was crafted by the British and Americans to dominate the skies over Germany and protect Allied bombers, and it performed its task admirably. It lived on as a racing plane and air show highlight.

DC-3 (C-47)
This one wins a tough call over the B-17 bomber, which is probably #5 on my list but gets diluted by the B-29 and B-24 heavy bombers. The civilian DC-3 and its military counterpart (the C-47) lugged so many people and so much cargo during its era (not sure of the dates, perhaps 1930s? – 1950s?) that you could make a case for it as the “most valuable” aircraft design ever.

Boeing 747
In the realm of jet-powered passenger aircraft, this one set the standard for many, many years. Add in its qualification as Air Force One, the piggy-backer for the shuttle, and its other specialized tasks, and you’ve got a Mount Rushmore winner.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Wright Brothers 's Flying Machine (the 1st 'airplane')
Lindbergh's Spirit of St Louis (1st transatlantic flight)
Chuck Yeager's Bell X-1 (1st one to break the sound barrier)
DeHavilland Comet (1st commercial jet liner, a revolution at the time - OK, it crashed a lot, but so what ? ;) )

For more info on airplanes in general and fligh history, check out this website http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/index.html

[WSUCougar]

(ps : why would anyone include Enola Gay on the list is beyond me...Ok, yes it more or less ended WW2 but killing how many ?)
*sound of a can of worms being opened*

[QuikSand]

(ps : why would anyone include Enola Gay on the list is beyond me...Ok, yes it more or less ended WW2 but killing how many ?)

The qualification to be on the MR is purely subjective. Not necessarily anything to do with being wonderful or benevolent. Important? Great? Memorable? Significant? It's up to the author of the list.

[fantastic flying froggies]

OK, QS point taken.

(initial post edited to remove comment)

[Fritz]

Wright Flier
DC-3/C-47
Messerschmidt ME 262
Sikorsky S42

I want a clipper for #4, but am a little weak on my knowledge of seaplanes. I could be persuaded to go with a different clipper, but a representative of this type of plane belongs on this list.

#3 is the worlds first production jet aircraft.

#2 revolutionized air transport. Many still fly.

#1 If you leave #1 off you are a complete doof.

[Fritz]

dola - I love FFF's list.

[fantastic flying froggies]

thank you Fritz, I like yours too. I wanted to include a seaplane too but only had 4 spots... :(

[dacman]

My criteria would involve the aircraft in question to be history changing/shaping on a large scale thus specialized aircraft like the Spirit of Saint Louis or the Enola Gay/Bock's Car (the other nuke plane) while certainly notable, didn't really shape the outcome of history (I'd argue the man and the bomb did more respectively). Popular culture maybe, but not the course of human events, I'd argue. Being first is also notable, and sometimes IS history changing/shaping, but not always, so more is necessary than just being the first. The following aircraft (since Q said airplanes I'll discount helicopters, etc.) are my top 4.

The Wright Brothers Flier
The first heavier-than-air aircraft to fly is also MR worthy due to it's demonstration that is was possible for such aircraft to achieve flight -- a point not yet conceded by even many learned individuals. Interesting to note that it's first flights received very little initial publicity and that even years later the Wright brothers remained more famous in Europe than the US.

Supermarine Spitfire
The best fighter plane of its time (though a short-lived time -- technology of war and all) and was largely responsible for saving the UK from the Nazi onslaught in 1940. Yes, the later American and German fighters were aerodynamically and/or militarily superior, but none of them shaped history like this one. Without it, Germany likely would've won the Battle of Britain and the course of WW2 and all later history may have been vastly different, ja Meinherr?

Douglas DC-3 // C-47 Skytrain
A true workhorse of WW2; ferried tons and tons of supplies and material to all manner of combatants; transported VIP's, conducted survelliance, transported thousands into warzones, and ushered in the era of the paratrooper. If all that wasn't enough, it was also the must succesful commerical aircraft for a solid 15-20 years and made airline travel realiable, affordable, hell even feasable for both airlines AND passengers.

Boeing 707
Not the first, but one of the earliest commerical jet aircraft. This aircraft was so reliable that it set the standard still largely in place today -- not an easy task after the tradegies surrounding the DeHavilland Comet. Made commerical jet aircraft travel what it is today, while also serving as the first Air Force One and in a huge capacity as a mid-air refueler for the military (KC-135 version). While the Boeing 747 definately broke the mold, the 707 gets my nod for setting the stage that we still find ourselves on nearly 50 years later.

[Leonidas]

This is my Rushmore for Military aircraft.

SR-71 Blackbird The greatest engineering feat of the last half century. Kelly Johnson built the fastest and highest airplane ever within 18 months from concept to flying aircraft, and he did this 40 years ago.

C-130 Hercules The most versatile, most reliable, and best bargain of any military aircraft the world has ever seen. And it was put into production over 40 years ago, and its variants filled two of the top three positions in the USAF list of the ten most deployed aircrews for 2003. Not bad for a plane literally older than anyone flying it.

U-2 Dragon Lady The greatest reconnaissance aircraft ever built. And when the Russkies shot one down everyone thought it was obsolete. That was over 40 years ago and it still is the mainstay ISR platform of the USAF. BTW, this was the other of the top 3 deployed planes in the USAF last year, and it is almost 50 years old.

F-15C Eagle Only aircraft I know of to have faced major major combat in multiple wars and to have never been shot down in air-to-air combat. Simply the greatest fighter plane ever built.

And I place honorable mention on the RC-135 Rivet Joint, the UH-1 Iroquois (better known as the Huey), and all versions of the F-4 Phantom.

[Ryan S]

B-52 Stratofortress
Boeing 747
<!--StartFragment -->B-2 Spirit (Stealth Bomber)
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird<!--StartFragment -->

[Vegas Vic]

Wright Brother's Flyer - Brief though it was, this flight marked a turning point in aviation history. That December morning on the windswept dunes of Kitty Hawk, the Wright brothers succeeded where so many had failed.

B-17 - No military aircraft of World War II wrought more havoc and destruction on an enemy than did the Boeing B-17 bomber -- the Flying Fortress.

F-86 - Because of its remarkable record during the Korean War, the F-86 sabrejet earned recognition as one of the most outstanding jet fighters of all time. The plane enjoyed a better than ten-to-one "win" ratio over the Soviet - built MIG-15 jet fighter, its main advisory during the war.

F-15 - The most capable production fighter in the world. Since entering operational service in 1974, the F-15 Eagle has attained a perfect air combat record of 96 victories and zero losses.

[tucker342]

The Wright Flyer
Spirit of St. Louis
Boeing 747
Bell X-1

[Axxon]

Beech Starship
P-51 Mustang
Cessna Cardinal
Boeing 727

[pskov]

I am suprised I am the only one who listed Concorde, it was a groundbreaking aircraft unfortunatle killed by illsighted politicians.