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Britain's Top 10 Most Beautiful Aircraft
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
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By popular demand, we are putting aside the ugly planes and instead shift our focus to the aerial beauties of the world.
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0:00 Intro
3:07 Aircraft 10
4:44 Aircraft 9
6:30 Aircraft 8
7:59 Aircraft 7
9:31 Aircraft 6
10:56 Aircraft 5
12:12 Aircraft 4
13:41 Aircraft 3
15:31 Aircraft 2
17:20 Aircraft 1
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F.A.Q Section - Ask your questions here :)
Q: Do you take aircraft requests?
A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:)
Q: How do you decide what aircraft gets covered next?
A: Supporters over on Patreon now get to vote on upcoming topics such as overviews, special videos, and deep dives.
Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others?
A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both.
I know I already asked a few aircraft last video. But are you planning on covering the Fokker D.XXI and the Fokker G.1? On a side note hope that everyone who reads this is having a nice day.
could you please make a similar video about czechoslovak aircraft?
The tsr 2 the best British plane.... ever
Sir, regarding the Mosquito I respectfully beg to differ.
I rarely do that, but here we are.
The exception from the rule 😎
@@thetoast3889 I'll support that request.
When I was a kid, the Sopwith Camel was rather, um, doghouse shaped.
Hang on!
Curse you Red Baron!
And don't forget the twin rotating Vickers.
That was back when I was a _Pup_
.... WW1 ace sneaking back through the Frontline...
I think the Hawker Sea Hawk deserves an honourable mention as the happiest-looking jet.
It soars through the air to music of Eric Korngold. 😄
Agreed 😎
I have also heard that it was a delight to fly.
Yes, Sea Hawk is beautiful.
@@brianspendelow840 The Vampire was a delight to fly as well, and it too has a certain if curious aesthetic charm.
Which you might argue the Sea Vixen doubled-down on?
I humbly submit the ever-famous Harrier jump jet. Sure, maybe it's not the sleekest design the UK ever produced, but I think there's something to be said for an aircraft that performs exactly the way it looks. It's a fierce low-altitude brawler that absolutely earns its bird of prey moniker with a hunched over aggressive design. It's the kind of aircraft that looks like it'll bite you.
Couldn't be more true, should be at number 1 tho
The Harrier was absolutely mint.👍
The Hunter rolling inverted at 17:08 Bet there was some clenching going on there
Wonder if it touched!
Close !!
@@leifvejby8023
@@leifvejby8023 touching cloth for sure
I replayed that at least five times! What a tease, I want to see the result, I think the pilot was totally on top of it, I hope he was.
Not sure if its still on you tube but there was video of a Swiss Hunter over the Alps (Matterhorn maybe?)
Almost hypnotically beautiful.
I wish you had mentioned the Dragon Rapide, to my eyes the best looking biplane airliner ever
I very much agree!
Polish company Lukgraph makes beautyful 1/32 scale model kits of both Dragon Rapide and Dragonfly.
The DH90 Dragonfly just pips it for me. Real Art-Deco style! Find a photo of G-AEDU.
I had the immense pleasure to fly in a rapide. We went on a scenic tour of north wales and flew around Snowdon. I took 2 rolls of 35mm film and still have them,
Thanks for reminding me of better days,
Not only is it absolutely beautiful Sir its also the most difficult to find as a model kit, unless it's a horrendously expensive resin limited run.
Is Concorde on the list? Because it should be...
Even if its a common answer, its because its true.
She's still the most beautiful plane ive ever seen and holds a special place in my heart, instantly captivating my love for aviation the first time i saw her.
Ain't nothing like her...
I assumed disqualification due to being a collaboration with the French because she is undoubtedly the most beautiful. As a lad 002 flew over my house on her maiden flight and I fell in love. Here was the future, it was going to be like the Sci Fi books I read and it was glorious. My Dad watching with me had been born in the biplane era, worked at Miles aircraft and flown Lancasters. He was witnessing a giant leap forward such has not happened in my lifetime. I watched her fly scheduled services and at air-shows many times and made a point of witnessing the final flight into Filton. The latter was on a drizzly day at the Observatory above Clifton suspension bridge. Miraculously, the clouds parted just as Concorde swept in, thrilling the crowd with her thunder and elegant silhouette for the last time. My upturned face was wet as my childhood dream of the future died, but that might just have been the rain.
Always going to find a way to blame the French I see
@@enjibkk6850That part is at least British😂
Seems like it should at least get a mention! I saw one fly at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, back in the era of film cameras. Got to watch it take off too! 😍 Beautiful, sleek, and a bit loud!
To much "frog" in it...
I know exactly why you chose the Vulcan... I watched a pair of them doing bumps and grinds (practice touch downs and immediate take-offs) from an airfield in Linconshire back in the late 1970's - they really were something and it was an hour that I'll always remember.
And it did see service as well.
Very successfully so.
A favorite of mine.
l have always loved the vulcan, but for me the victor pips it as the best looking v bomber, the wing is just so sexy, and it somehow looks modern even today
@@Tsr2_plen I was on Ascension Island when the last Black Buck mission was carried out. Our detachment was doing QRA and we were sleeping in a tent close to the runway until they started up and went off.
Differences of opinion but be glad to be of the lovers of aircraft of all kind, free flying sculptures shaped by nature.
From age five I live a few miles away from what was RAF Finningley, I was lucky enough to grow up seeing and hearing the Vulcan among others flying most days, whenever they were scrambled the ground would shake so that you couldn't see properly, I counted myself lucky to live so close as if it wasn't a drill then I wouldn't know more than a second or two about it, but such beauty and grace in an aircraft so large and yet could be thrown around the sky with seaming ease, such a shame it is no longer flying.
I concur that the Hornet pips the Mosquito, and I was pleased by the inclusion of the VC10. I think that the Canberra could feel hard done by because of its omission, but of course it's all very subjective.
I fully agree in the Canberra, it’s one of those planes like the Hunter and Spitfire that just “look right”, especially in its purer early versions. My dad flew Canberra B(I)8’s, which weren’t the prettiest version, but it was gorgeously sinister looking in all black and packed a huge punch.
Providing it's not a Canberra PR9, it just looked odd with the off-set canopy? Although they were easier to work on as we couldn't take the canopies off of the other marks. We had to dismantle the ejection seats and feed them through the side access hatch.
I agree about the DH91 though. I've still got many of my fathers old drawings etc...... from his apprenticeship at De Havilland Stag Lane in 1931, working on " various "Moths", all the way through to his retirement in 1982 at Hatfield, testing out the engineering on the BAe 146.
Without even watching the video I am going to nominate the DH88 Comet, now let’s see what happens!
Ok, so I was a little disappointed but can’t really argue with the choices here, especially as I have had several spine tingling encounters with the mighty Vulcan.
I must say I was highly surprised to not see the DH.88 Comet on this list, to me it is the second best looking aircraft ever, after the Spitfire.
It’s not even the best looking De Havilland plane called Comet.
@@jakelambdenYou're wrong about that buddy. The DH 106 looks like they still hadn't figured out jet powered airliners, which looks wrong. The DH 88 absolutely looks like a thorough bred piston engined race aircraft.
I think we can take some solace about the fact that the De Havilland Hornet certainly stemmed from a design project beginning in the Comet, through the Mosquito and into the Hornet.
Although it's a bit weird how Rex forgot this one, as it did win a race from Britain to Australia after all🤔
VULCAN, VULCAN, VULCAN!!!!!! WHOOOOO!!!!
Rex you just made my day.
I applaud your work. Thank you much love from the Netherlands❤👍🏻
Every word about its sound is TRUE
Like a good metal band at a rock concert *you FELT the deep pitched harmonics in your gut*
Utterly Gorgeous thing - but like having a small town drift over your head
I agree wholeheartedly, the Vulcan was a great aeroplane to look at. Unfortunately, they had the most hideous unreliability record, don’t ask me how I know. The hydraulics were troublesome to say the least. When they were scrambled from Waddington, it was normal for on.y two out of four to actually become airborne due to indicated faults. They were frequently grounded due to the unavailability of spare parts, especially hydraulic seals. But yes, they were very impressive to see in the air.
I lived 4 miles from Scampton. 2am 4vulcans on practice scramble a few hundred ft above the house!!!!!
@@reginaldwilson7482 You lucky, lucky .....
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
Have you seen a beholder?
I believe the term may be 'apiarist'?
@@Farweasel noooo, thats a BEEholder ;)
D&D nerd 😀
Yea, I acutally own one and have it sitting next to my personalized roundtoit. :D
In the eye of the "Beer Holder"
I was lucky enough to see a Vulcan at Great Gransdon air show, when it was on its farewell tour along with the two Lancasters, it holds very special memories for me as this was the last airshow my late wife attended with me.
Great choices Rex! My favorate is probably the Bristol Beaufighter.
It's nice but I'd pick the Mosquito over it. Sleeker, bit more aggressive...
The mosquito was a far better looking aircraft compare to that flying pig
The fact that the English Electric Lightning doesn't make this list AT ALL is just...criminal.
It looks like a pregnant MiG 21.
I swear im the only person on the planet who doesnt like the lightning
@@CommodoreRayne.IMP.C-1824 Totally out of proportion, fat belly and fat wings. Just ugly.
@@CommodoreRayne.IMP.C-1824I like the lightning but it certaintly isnt a looker
it's so ugly
I thought also.
I'd put in a vote for the DH91 Albatross. Few built but beautiful, and the structural techniques it used paved the way for the Mosquito. And while I'm on de Havilland, how about the DH88 Comet, peak art deco in aircraft design.
Agree!
DH-88 Comet would definitely be on my top 10. There's an original at the Shuttleworth Collection and a replica at the De Haviland museum near St. Albans.
As a small child on holiday in swanage on the south coast of England, I was walking along the cliff tops enjoying the sunshine. A Vulcan came in low across the channel, roars up over the cliffs where I was stood. It was huge! I nearly shat myself😂 I hadn’t seen, or recall hearing it. It just appeared. 60 years later, a memory I enjoy!
I would pay unholy money to be able to experience that. I have only seen the Vulcan in a museum, stood under its majestic wings, and it was like standing under a roof of its own. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have a machine with wing area of over 300 square metres soar over your head out of nowhere. My closest experience was on the Adriatic coast, exploring an abandoned sea fort on a tall hill when a Croatian military helicopter flew in over the sea, about 50-100 metres from us and ten metres below us, the lads on board waving as they went past
That's very nearly what Concorde did to me: snuck up behind me at low altitude (only a few thousand feet at most) and I just suddenly heard her, looked up and couldn't believe what I was seeing flying over and away from me - I watched til she vanished into the distance, utterly transfixed by it.
I was at Blackpool air show for the last flight of the Vulcan and the ground shook when it flew over
Like Rex I saw a Vulcan at an air show. Magnificent beast and the howl of the engines tingled my spine like nothing else.
Although I'm a mainly prop-fan, I gotta admit that the Hunter is a great choice. Aesthetics at their premium. Beautiful.
I gotta say, it was the Victor for me out of the V-Bombers. Now THAT was sci-fi in a bottle.
Definitely. The Victor has a unique aggressive and beautiful appearance, while the Vulcan is just one of a squillion delta wings.
Agreed -m furthermore it flew faster, higher, further with more ordnance than the Vulcan.
From the front the Victor looks like something straight out of a post-apocalyptic nightmare. It feels like the kind of plane that would end a world. A spectacular aircraft in its own right though I get why many prefer the Vulcan.
@@Dave_Sisson I wouldn't call it beautiful, the shapes are strange to say the least. I would agree it is extremely imposing and good looking, but not beautiful or elegant.
agree- The Vulcan pips it for beauty but the Victor is in a class of its own for style- my friend and I always referred to it as Klingon technology@@Vonstab
It was twenty years ago. One sunny day - April, somewhere in Lincolhshire. Just before a sunset. Loud growl of piston engine, then one of the most eye-catching views one can see: Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIV from Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, flying low above countryside. It seemed her Griffon revved really slowly, almost effortlessly, but she made easily more than 200 mph. I always liked Spitfire, but in this particular moment I fell in love with her.
I was stationed at Pease AFB and got to see a fly-by, by a Vulcan bomber at about the tail end of it's time in service and it was a beautiful sight to see and it's unique howl of the engines was unforgettable. I'm 79 and it's still in my memory bank.
PS I would have given the Canberra an honorable mention for years of service in the RAF and the USAF.
Still being used by NASA.
Funny, how such a brief moment is enough to leave an indelible mark. I remember being a boy at an airport, and all of a sudden the whole building shook the whole terminal. I looked up, and I happened what to see an active service F4 Phantom. As it slowly flew over the airport, i was amazed at the power that airplane had, you couldn’t feel when the jetliners were spooling up, but that F4 just cruising over the airport, amazing. I’ll never forget it.
I was standing a few feet from one when it was doing a full power engine test after an engine change. Since it was on a detachment it was not possible to do it in the hush house back home.
Honestly, my list is
1: Supermarine Swift
2: Fairey Fulmar
3: Supermarine Spitfire
4: Hawker Typhoon
5: Fairey Battle
6: Boston Paul Defiant
7: Gloster Gladiator
8: D.H.2
9: English Electric Lightning
10: Handley Page Hampden/Hereford
You can see which era I really like
Fulmar over Firefly is criminal
great list
Got to agree with you on the Swift - a prettier plane than the Hunter.
That’s nice.
Sea Fury?
Spiteful?
Hornet?
Mosquito?
Fury/Demon?
For me, the Handley Page Victor will always be my favorite. The Victor just has that awesome late 40s/early 50's retro futuristic look and she has those amazing lines, with the beautiful glass windows (must have been a hell of a view!) It looks like what a little kid would draw when drawing a supersonic bomber. She was def the queen of the V Bombers.
The Tigermoth and the Supermarine Seafire and the Short Sunderland flying boat and the DE Haviland Hornet are all 2nd for me, depending on the day lol.
I remember building a model of the Victor in the mid-70s (by Lindbergh or maybe Matchbox?) and fell in love with the design.
The high wings and intakes with the cockpit windows make it look absolutely sinister to me, I love it.
The Victor looks as if it should make the same sound as the ships from the old Flash Gordon serials when it flies.
😁
It may be apocraphyl but whilst a Victor was refuelling a US fighter over Iraq during "Desert Storm" the US pilot asked, "When is this plane coming into production?" so taken aback was he by the futuristic look.
The Victor is the most "obviously off a Thunderbirds episode" plane that is actually real.
Surely you have to include the Handley Page Victor! A beautiful plane.
The Victor is straight out of Flash Gordon - Russia could not have made a more sinister looking plane 👍🏻
Stunning and highly unique aircraft. Also the aerodynamics were very advanced at the time.
Like you, I have only seen and experienced the Vulcan flying once. I was driving in Scotland somewhere between Oban and Edinburgh - near to Callander, I think, probably around 1976/7, in amongst some hills. I heard an incredible noise coming from behind me. It was 3 Vulcans passing overhead at quite low level - not a lot higher than the surrounding hills. It was awesome (in the real sense of the word). The sound and the majestic flight following the road I was on. Never forgotten.
whaat no mosquito??? you me in the car park now! 😂 great video and as always everyone has their own opinion. you have to do one for the prettiest aircraft from anywhere so Concorde can be included surely the most beautiful thing to ever come from these islands ever 😍😍😄
For people in the USA, a Vulcan bomber is located at the Strategic Air Command Museum located just west of Omaha, Nebraska, just off I-80 (exit 426). They also have numerous other aircraft including a sizable collection of large aircraft.
And another at Castle Air Museum in central California
One at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana, as well.
Great list! My personal favourite is the Supermarine S.6, that incredibly sleek and aerodynamic design is just so beautiful! Another contender for the top spot is the De Havilland DH.88 Comet, once again so sleek and elegant
I am appalled to see not even a mention of the Handley Page Victor... Or the Bristol Brabazon!
20:42 I am more a Hurricane fan, but the spitfire is a beauty...and your choice of Vivaldi as soundtrack for it was superb.
Also, the Hunter (poetry in flight) and the amazing, imposing Vulcan!
Honorable mentions:
Hawker Harrier, Avro Lancaster, English Electric Canberra, Hadley Page Hampden, de Havilland Venom, SEPECAT Jaguar(!!!), Hadley Page Victor and last but not least Blackburn Buccaneer.
I'm sort of with you on the Jaguar. It may have looked like a triangle, but it looked like a sexy triangle!
I used to live under the approach path of the Farnborough Air show, I've seen and heard the Vulcan many many times and that's quite the fortunate thing looking back.
As a child who lived under the flightpath of the VC10, I can assure you it was anything but quiet. We always knew when a VC was taking off as it was by far the loudest commercial airliner… a real window rattler.
I grew up during the 50s and 60s in southern California, about 30 miles east of LAX, under one of the main approach paths. The VC-10 was one of the prettiest large aircraft that I'd watch on its way overhead. But it wasn't particularly loud on approach. An afternoon watching planes fly in and out of LAX with my dad on Sunday we got to see a VC-10 departing, and then the sound was way more impressive.
I'll see your VC10, and raise you a Concorde. Had the (mis)fortune to be parked on the M25 one sunny day, windows down, when it took off about 200 feet overhead. Rattled my fillings, that's for sure.
It also drowned out the music at Reading festival, the year I went, but only for about a minute. Glad I don't live near a flight-path.
You obviously haven’t heard a DC-6 at takeoff power…
Rex, I hope the Sea Vixen is at number eleven.... I don't disagree with you on your choices, but the Sea Vixen, even with the off centre cockpit, is a absolute JOY to look at!😅
Jeepers, you're about right, that's a total stunner.
The Sea Vixen would be on my list too, despite the weird arrangement of the cockpits.
What? No TSR2? The most aesthetically beautiful strike aircraft built by any manufacturer, ever. Yes it's landing gear made it look a bit gawky but whether in the air or on the ground you knew that it would do Mach 2 and a little bit more!
I do agree with your choice of number one, having seen it many times. The Vulcan that handled like a fighter (I was there when the pilot decided to roll it and, when testing the engine for Concorde, loop it!) and the sound of the intake roar still gives me goosebumps!
14th December 1983 stood on parade, passing out from my RAF Basic Training at RAF Swinderby. We were the first to see what aircraft we would be having for our flypast. The previous week it had been a couple of Chipmunks from the Air Experience Flight. For us though it would be a lot better, we got a Vulcan. Best bit was that it came in from behind the families watching the parade. As the nose passed over the spectators he pulled up hard, and we were treated to the Vulcan howl.
A few years earlier at a show at IWM Duxford I saw a vulcan do a pull up and half roll off the top. The pulling up being from not much more than a couple of hundred feet. It was a staggering sight. I was also lucky to be at the very last full display of XH558 at the Shuttleworth collection in October 2015.
I got 3 Jet Provost's although one was inverted.
Liked the choices in the video
My favourite British Aircraft:-
1. Spitfire
2.de Havilland DH.88 Comet
3. Mosquito
4. Hunter
5.Percival Mew Gull
6. Canberra
7. Bristol Britannia
8. Hawker Hart and derivatives
9. Vickers Viscount
10. Avro Vulcan
Honourable Mentions :- Gloster Gladiator, Folland Gnat, Hawker Hurricane, HS/DH Trident
The beautiful is the handley page Victor
I agree, the coolest of the V bombers! So unique.
I agree with the BAE Hawk -- there's something so cool about jet trainers. It's like a two-seater roadster car. Small, agile, made for fun.
Thanks for showing the Snipe some love, beautiful! This might be controversial but the SE5a with its chiseled George Clooney chin was also a looker, at least in my eye.
Angel Interceptor needs a mention - our Spectrum Cloudbase interceptor force in the late 60's is hardly known about but those white Anti-flash Jets were stunners!
Yes, they were quiite hush hush. Capable of near 90-degree turns. Are you sure you're not being overly influenced by who the pilots were though?
@@littlefluffybushbaby7256 Best pilots in the world... When those pilots play beach volleyball - All the wars end and the world was at peace!
Until those dastardly Mysterons had to go and spoil things.
@@ryklatortuga4146 Those Mysterons. So damned mysterious.
I saw a Vulcan fly at an air show in the early 60's at Davis Monthan AFB when it was a SAC base. I can't say that the sound stood out for me because I lived the first 18 years of my life on or near an Air Force base, but _everybody_ was in awe of that airplane, even though many Airmen and Officers there flew B'52's or for the U-2 wing we had there and they'd seen combat in WWII. It was a beautiful beast. I think it nuked us during war games once too, didn't it? What an elegant and magnificent aircraft.
Great show and info, as always.
It nuked you twice! (Different years). She really is a beauty though!
I work at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum in Ashland, Nebraska, USA. Currently under restoration is Avro Vulcan XM573.
One more thing about the Vulcan…the clip you included of its engines triggered my peacefully sleeping Welsh Terrier, Benny, into engaging into a sudden five minute snarling barkfest. I think he wasn’t happy that you forgot to inc,use the Victor… 😊
Very good choice all around, especially the Vulcan.
I did many aircraft models in my childhood, a 1:72 was one of my favourites, and had a special place in my heart ever since.
I still remember watching an AVRO Vulcan fly over at the CNE airshow in Toronto. I think it was in the 1990s but I'm not sure of the exact year. I was impressed at the SIZE of this aircraft, it was enormous. A beautiful plane and it even did a pass with the gear down and the bomb bays open. To me, it was the highlight of the airshow.
I sort of recall seeing a photo of a prototype Avro Arrow sitting next to a Vulcan during an airshow back in the day. Damned if I can find though......
The Victor....omg, what a work of art!
i believe the Folland Gnat would pip the Hawk for looks. These things are personal.
Thanks for the time and effort in creating these presentations.
I remember seeing Vulcans at RAF Ascension Island in 1983 where they really stood out amid the desolite surroundings. But even better to see one flying low over Sidmouth, Devon in 2015. Awe inspiring!
While I have no major objection to any aircraft on this list, I do think the Folland Gnat would have been more than worthy of inclusion. Absolutely gorgeous little jet.
Great selection, and have to agree that the Vulcan was the perfect visual spectacle and auditory experience. Another great video 🎉🎉
Rex, great choice in the Vulcan. I saw my first Vulcan while on vacation in Rapid City, South Dakota USA. Two Vulcans had landed at Ellsworth AFB. They looked so beautiful sitting there completely surpassing the B-52s. As happened there aircrews stayed at the same hotel as my family. They were playing a rowdy game of “water polo” and graciously allowed a fat little boy to join them. A great memory!
Still in love with the gloster meteor, the first time I saw it on a picture in a mag I get hypnotized by its geometry.
I've always had a huge soft spot for the DeHa illa d Vampire. It's just so odd looking, but in a truly Thunderbirds kinda way.
Also, yeah, we really liked those leading edge wing root air intakes in those early jets, didn't we?
Hi, saw Vulcan twice at airshows , FABULOUS!! Definately number 1. Engine howl on takeoff had me in raptures, AWESOME!!
The Vulcan also takes the prize for the most spectacular comeback out of retirement.
Fantastic review, great picks, happy to see the hornet, love that bird. I had a similar moment with a B-2 flying a couple hundred feet over me, my jaw was on the ground, not from the noise, but from the sheer menace that it held. Thanks again, your videos are top notch.
Love this video and looking forward to more in this series
Oh Rex! How excited was I to discover that we were in total agreement over the #1 selection! The Vulcan! I so thoroughly enjoyed the entire video!
Keep up the good work!
Great choices. The Hunter looks beautiful from any angle, and the Vulcan is just the best!❤🧡 Oh and living close to Woodford was a bonus!
My No.1 has to be the Hawker Seahawk, as a boy seeing the singleton display with the Ace of Diamonds at Chatham dockyard Navy Days has stayed with me, not to mention the mass 'strike' by Seahawks, Wyverns and Gannets, what a lineup!
I also saw a VIP Transport Command Brittania which was taking AVM ATCHERLY on his retirement tour of RAF detachments, on Ascension Island, made all the USAF transports look very shabby and clunky.
Enjoyed watching your selection of "Britain's Top 10 Most Beautiful Aircraft". Surprised, indeed even disappointed, that you did not include the Canberra. And, by the way, the Gannet is beautiful! keep up the good work.
I'd rate the Spitfire slightly ahead of the Vulcan (I'd also say the Spitfire is probably the best looking aircraft regardless of engine type) but both rate right up there in no small measure due to the sound their engines make.
My first sight of the Vulcan in the air was at the very first Sunderland Airshow, I can still remember kneeling on the back seat of my dads car looking out of the rear window and seeing the Vulcan doing it's thing as it flew past the buildings on the sea front (I also got into the cockpit of the one at the Sunderland Air museum twice...while it was still in a decent state anyway). The next time was at the Scarborough Armed Forces day where it was doing it's thing, not only was the noise very distinct but you could feel it in your chest.
Great list Rex!! And while I'm a die hard Mossie fan, you're spot on with the hornet! Thx!
70's-80's id see the Vulcan at the Cleveland Airshow. Tight banking and climbs etc. It was a stunning and menacing looking jet
Good man, Vulcan all the way. Like yourself I have only seen it fly once, airshow at RAF Leuchars, and it left the same impression on me. The howl of those RR Olympus engines as it went into a near vertical climb and made the earth shake... something that you'll never forget :)
It's a good list. I would go with the mosquito myself, but I can definitely appreciate the hornet, and definitely understand why you picked it 😊
In the late 1970s I saw six Vulcans flying low-level through glens of northern Scotland. It was absolutely breathtaking. They flew in a line one after the other, about a couple of miles apart from west to east, presumably heading 'quietly' to the RAF base at Lossiemouth.
The three memories that have stuck with me from my teens, within the ATC. Are seeing an RAF hawker hunter goto full afterburn, outside a hanger. And the totally awesome of the vulcan, doing a slow barrel roll at a air display, and seeing the cockpit in person. And the least impressive was an A10 doing a strafing on a range. The most memorable thing about that experience was it, sounding like a very wet fart, done by a giant.
I find the Hawker Hart/Fury/Demon/... very visually appealing, especially for its time.
The Hornet is a beautiful aircraft. The close fitting panels around the Merlin engines are exceptionally nice.
The Vulcan. I grew up on a farm in Lincolnshire in the late 70's. They would be a common sight in the sky, and I remember watching one come over, and then doing what looked (but probably wasn't quite) a near vertical climb just in front of me. Much noise, which as a young aviation enthusiast was fantastic! After the Vulcan's were gone from my skies, it was the A10 Thunderbolt aircraft that I saw most of. I remember they would practise target runs on our combine harvester, which was superb to see. Happy days :-)
Rex, spot on with the Vulcan. As a young lad I used to play golf on a course right next to the then RAF Finningley. I've always put my inability to putt because the greens trembled when the Vulcans took off from the neighbouring runways. And oh, that howl!
Your real beauty pick: Vulkan as # one justifies your minor discomfort issues with Mosquitos, (which of course is totally OK and totally fine)
The new house, new hair, and new Rex style are pretty cool and elegant. From a Swordfish to a stylish Mosqui... Sorry Hornet.
(Fairey Swordfish, bearing in mind that it was the aircraft that destroyed the Italian fleet at Taranto of course :)
To be honest, you could pack a top ten with DeHavilland planes and it'd be hard to complain. As well as the Comet airliner and Mosquito you mentioned, the DH88 Comet is stunning, and the Venom, Vixen and Vampire could have been designed for 60s sci-fi shows. From the biplane era, the Tiger Moth was exceptionally pretty.
I REALLY like your choices, and I especially agree about the Vulcan. You could easily do a top 20 or Most Beautiful Part 2.
There’s an Avro Vulcan at the Castle Air Museum near my house. She is a beaut! She’s a huge impressive plane close up. I wish I could have seen and heard her fly. Great video!
Agree with you Rex on the Vulcan - saw it in 1969 at the Laverton Air Base at an air show there. Soul stirring roar of the engine as it did a flyby was absolutely amazing.
I agree about the Vulcan. Like you, I only ever saw it once. I was cycling around the back of the old De Havilland airfield in Hatfield, and one came into land directly over my head. (For an airshow) It darkened the sky and frightened the life out of me, but impressed me too. It's is something I have never forgotten.
Saw the Vulcan at an air show in Houston in the early 80’.
You don’t get the true size of it while it’s flying, and it sits way off the ground.
Has to be the loudest aircraft that has no afterburners I have ever heard.
Absolutely Stunning aircraft.
You Britts hit one over the fence with the Vulcan. Too bad no more are flying…
I would love to see one of these for unfamiliar countries like in the intro with the c-101 aviojet! I love your content!
My list is:
1. Hawker Hunter
2. Hawker Sea Fury
3. Supermarine Spitfire
4. De Havilland Hornet
5. De Havilland Mosquito
6. Jaguar GR.1
7. Avro Vulcan
8. TSR.2
9. Blackburn Buccaneer
10. Handley Page Halifax
Another Buccaneer fan ... thanks! 👍
Some good choices Rex but obviously the Victor is way better looking than the Vulcan 😃 Sea Hawk is gorgeous and probably my favourite. I flew on the VC10 a few times, wonderful on the inside as well as the outside. Great channel Rex.
Good list Rex. I do think the Victor tops the Vulcan for beauty though - the Vulcan wins out on other aesthetics and criteria but it's not as 'beautiful' as the Victor. You could also do a whole video on which mark of Spitfire was the best looking! The Hornet is sublime.
I am thoroughly offended that the DH.88 Comet did not make the list, much less the number one spot.
Personally I'm missing the Victor, that plan looks like out of a sci-fi movie ajd i love it for that!!
I have to agree with you regarding the Hornet vs. Mosquito, Rex... It really is more handsome.
Well done, good compilation ;-)
I am so glad you included the Vulcan, all of the Vs are pretty to me, but the Vulcan is absolutely gorgeous.
Bless you, Rex. I love your videos but this one was a real treasure. Where did/do you get your passion from?
Rex,you are an absolute legend. Thank you.
Happy to see the Vampire getting some love in the comments.
While I could quibble a little about a couple of them, it was a very interesting video! And yes, the Vulcan takes pride of place!
I must recognize in my humble opinion, that the English Electric Canberra should have been on the list.
I served at RAF Waddington from 1980 to 1983 during the twilight of the Vulcans service. To see four squadrons doing a mass scramble at the end of an exercise was a sight to see. The squadrons being 9, 44, 50 and 101, they included DH558 and the Falkland raiders. As a side note: not all of them howled on take off, that was a characteristic of a modification within the intakes of a sub-type of airframe, the name of which escapes me as I write this. I also got to travel on the RAF VC-10’s a couple of times. They had their passenger seats facing to the rear with a disconcerting view of any cargo that they were also carrying.
You’re definitely right about the Vulcan - and that sound is haunting. Thanks for a great little video , so difficult to whittle down a large number of candidate beauties!
I had the privilege of seeing the SR71 Blackbird fly from Biggin Hill in 1988. That was an experience.😊
Loved your list. I'm enamored with the Westland Welkin. It makes me sigh, but it is in the same genre as the Hornet, which I believe is also very comely and there can be only one! Great choices!
@19:24 I was lucky enough to see it on 4 occasions but the first and last time were by chance and unforgettable. The first I was actually shooting with the air cadets at Beckingham. The range instructer told us to stop shooting and just savour it. The last time was on its retirement tour, I was watching football with my brother and it came right over the house. Awesome machine, I'm so glad to have seen it.
Excellent job!
Continued Sucrss!!😎🔥