Favorite to Fly

[HarvardIV]

Hello:

To all the WIX pilots:

What's your favorite warbird to fly and why?

Chris

[HarvardIV]

I think the best to fly is the C-172, since it is the equivalent to the T-41..

[Ollie]

Pilatus P-3.

It flies like a Spit, albeit with 1 200 less HP!

[Scott Rose]

1976 Chevy Chevelle, granted I only got it to an altitude of 2 feet but the landing was impressive.

[HarvardIV]

1976 Chevy Chevelle, granted I only got it to an altitude of 2 feet but the landing was impressive.

Really, to Star Wars music just like in Ferris Bueller's day off?

Chris

[bdk]

What's your favorite warbird to fly and why?

They all are! Each for its own reason.

Stearman: You can build flying time because you aren't getting anywhere fast, things happen slowly enough during acro that you can learn quickly from them, and it really teaches you to fly since all the inputs need to be exaggerated. It is the closest thing to an aerial motorcycle for giving rides in, and chicks dig 'em!

T-6: The feeling of being in something serious (sitting on the top of the airplane), and the excitement of taming the stall and spin characteristics.

T-28: How easy it is to fly (like a Cessna Cardinal RG).

Dual control P-40: Need I say more!

[hairy]

More warbug than warbird, a Piper Cub that had been modified in a previous life for agricultural work then converted back but still with the 150hp engine I did my tail wheel rating in it, I don't think I need to explain why I liked it (there is no such thing as too much power).
My warbird piloting has been limited to that and a bit of stick time on a Harvard.

[O.P.]

T-28, I've only backseated on B's and C's. Thats going to change though.

I've flown backseat in a T-34 also, but the T-28 beats it hands down.

As for planes I can fly...

Decathalon
172

Love both of them.

[spookyboss]

The C-47, hands down it is the greatest plane ever. a dream to fly and you can take your friends!

[Dan Johnson II]

I used to pretend the Piper Warrior II I took lessons in when I was 17 was a P51. Does that count? The instructor used to get a bit frustrated with me and tell me I wasn't bringing a 51 into the pattern and to square off the corners on the turns on downwind, base and final

Dan

[HarvardIV]

The instructor used to get a bit frustrated with me and tell me I wasn't bringing a 51 into the pattern and to square off the corners on the turns on downwind, base and final

Ha, same here! Used to fly the C-180 with Dad, and watched too many episodes of Blacksheep Squadron. I started diving the plane, and also hitting hard rudder above maneuvering speed. He was frustrated to say the least.

Chris

[Jack Cook]

SNJ hands down. At 17 I couldn't get my dad to loan me his car. But, my mentor Ed out at the airport had me flying his Texan
from the front in no time. Nothing like being a kid and looping -n-rolling a SNJ around the clouds! There's nothing better!

[Oscar Duck]

Was your first real girl friend your favourite?? Maybe yes, maybe no!

To me aircraft are the same, each one a different challenge and sense of exileration. The B-25 has to be my favourite aircraft I've flown. The first takeoff at Stockton, Ca with the late and great John Crocker in the right seat giving me my type rating. That aircraft flies like a big old caddie drives and can be a challenge. As it is said if you can taxy a B-25 you can fly it. For enjoyment, loved my T-28.

[DougR]

My favorite is which ever one I am flying.
There are certain things I like about specific airplanes.
For instance:

I love the Ailerons and the legroom in the L-2.
I love the way the Twin-beech and the T-6 discriminate between pilots and airplane drivers.
I love the landing gear and the cockpit on the Corsair
I love the take-off aka the "launch" in the Super Corsair
I love hanging an elbow out the window of the C-47 and the way it goes "boing boing boing" when you bounce.
I love the sound, the rock solid feel, and the landings in the B-25
I love the way the A-26 flies like a 30,000# fighter
I love cranking the canopy back and listening to the afterfire in the -D Mustang when you close the throttle on landing.
I love the way you sit way down deep in the -C model Mustang and the cowling is right at eye level and you put the nose on the horizon when you pull out of a loop.
I love the way the breeze blows of the top wing of a Stearman and down the back of your neck in the rear cockpit (except when it is cold)
I love standing up on the belly ribs of a BT-13. I am 6'1" and can stand up straight in one with the canopy closed and fly it straddling the control tube.
And I love the way a T-28 flies just like an aerobatic Cessna 421

I could write a longer list about what I hate about each of them......

Tailwinds,
Doug Rozendaal
The Luckiest Guy you ever knew!