So which Planes/Choppers have you ever got to?

Which planes/choppers have you ever touched in your life?

Up to now i have touched:

SEPECAT Jaguar- Sat In
Avro Vulcan-Sat In
De Havilland Vampire-Sat In
F-4 Phantom(RAF)-Touched/Sat in Cockpit Section
Westland Whirlwind-Sat In
BAE Hawk-Sat In
F-5 Tiger-Touched
Mig-15/17/19/21/23/27- Touched
Westland Lynx-Sat In
Westland Belvedere-Touched
Bristol Sycamore-Touched
Sukhoi-22 Touched
SAAB Draken/Viggen-Touched
Spitfire-Touched
F-80 Shooting Star-Touched
RAF Bulldog Trainer-Touched
RAF Chipmunk Trainer-Touched
Me-262-Touched
Mil 2 Hoplite-Touched
Sukhoi 25 Frogfoot-Touched
BAC Lightning/Lightning Prototype-Touched
Hawker Hunter-Touched
BAC Canberra-Touched
B-17 Sally B(Menphis Belle)-Got Inside Twice
Avro 707-Touched
Avro Shackelton-Touched

Piper PA-38 Tomahawk-Flew In
Bell-206 Jet Ranger-Flew In

Vulcan XL391 in Blackpool was good, It was a bit scatty inside with contrl panels taken away, It has sadly been demolished since it was rotting away, The F-4 Phantom nose section i sat in is probably the best up to now. I hope i get to an F-105 Thud, F-111 Aardvark, F-15 Eagle(I did see some but never got to touch them), and most of all, The F-14 Tomcat. I also think the B-17 Flying Fortress was one of the greatest planes i have ever been in.

An old mate of mine now a cadet sgt/TA Soldier got to touch an SR-71/A-12 Blackbird, B-52, And some of the other planes at Duxford.

The Air Museums i have ever been to are Manchester, Carnaefon, Carlisle, Kbely, And a few Air Shows.



[edit on 29-9-2006 by Browno]

Well I've seen quite a few, but haven't been able to sit in them. I've always wondered if I should take my chanses and run against a parked F-18, hoping the mlilitary police won't catch me until I've reached the nose.

The list could go on for hours and hours so i will limit it to planes I have either sat in or actually touched that are noteworthy


Boeing VC-137B aka Airforce 1 #58-6970 (inside)
M-21 Blackbird Article 60-6940 (touched and viewed the cockpit)
YF-23 Blackwidow II PAV-1?? (Touched)
A-12 #60-6924 (Touched)
SR-71A #64-17973 (Touched)
U-2D #56-6721 (touched)
D-21 Drone (touched)
NASA YF-12C (Touched)
AQM-34 Firebee drone (Touched)
X-25B (Touched)
NF-104 (Touched)

Here are few "interesting" ones, not listing all the passenger planes i've been in

F/A 18 Touched
Mig-21Bis Sat in
Saab Drakken Sat in
Mi-8 flew in
F-16 Touched
BRISTOL BULLDOG IVA - Touched
Bf-109 Touched
Spitfire Touched

Hunter UAV - Built atmospheric sesor pod to mount on tailboom
P2 Neptune - Fueled a ton of these
P3 Orion - Fueled a bunch, been inside
F-16 - Fueled a few, know some -16 drivers, got to see lots of the a/c up close
A-10 - sat in cockpit and made cannon noises
C-5 - Been inside cargo hold, looked like a warehouse, that thing is HUGE
VC-20 - Fueled and serviced on occasion
C-90 & C-200 - used to get a lot of these in, fueled and serviced.
AeroCommander 690B w/ -10 kit installed - Fueled, serviced, ran up hydraulics and avionics (honeywell's top o the line glass cockpit, guy i know owns it)
RC-12 - stuck my head inside to find the avionics tech.
Sabreliner 60 - Wrenched on powerplants, used to catch a nap in the rear bench seat when nobody was looking
Beech D-18 - Brought old p&w r985's back to life and taxied it around
Blackhawk - fueled a few and helped with a gearbox swap
DC-10 "Con-air" - Fueled while loading prisoners, had a 3 man armed (with m-16's) security detail to secure my truck and my ass while i fueled. It's a bit unnerving needing a countersniper hanging with your truck "just in case"

Most of the Learjets, Gulfstreams, all of the Citation series, fueled, serviced, towed, also corporate 737LR's and and a brand new Challenger.

Oh yeah,,

Worked a bit on Silver Star UAV, the Israeli project. Cool machine, i had an invite from the project manager to get some stick time in the box but i was never around at the right time to fly a night mission.
Fueled some Russian intermeshing rotor "eggbeater" once, i forget the namr though.

Fueled Dromedary, Ag-Cat, and several other SEAT (single engine air tanker) firefighting aircraft.

Hughes D500, fueled, and worked crash rescue when one lost a tail rotor swashplate bearing. Pilot did a 60kt forward landing on TWY A at my airport, was standing by with foam, fortunmately didn't need it, the only damage was the swash bearing and a bit of wear on the skids from sliding out on the taxiway, and a soiled flightsuit.

There's a lot more i'll probably think of later, but that's just a few.

C130 - Flown in
Puma - Flown in
Lynx - Flown in
T6 Texan - Flown in. Fly-in at Old Warden. It belonged to an RAF friend of my uncle's when he was still in RAF service. 18th Birthday present..WOOHOO!!!
Rapide - Flown in
DC3 - Flown in

And then there are the numerous long / short haul airliners on business and holiday flights over the years.

Just waiting for the lottery win and the Buccaneer flight at Thunder City.... we can all dream

flown in a few, but the best ride I ever got was in a Westland Lynx flying low and at what seemed like really fast, chasing the sheep (no Welsh jokes please) and generally seeing how close to the ground the pilot dares get the rotor blades as we weave in and out of the trees - and all with some fool trying to hum "ride of the Valkaries" over the intercom... brilliant

Cool thread..
nothing like blowing sunshine up your own a**!!!

Seen at touching distance(not sat in or touched):

MiG-21FL
MiG 29B
TS-11 Iskra Trainer
HJT-Trainer
LCA - PV1

Touched(not sat in):

Jaguar-IM
Canberra
Su-30 K/MKI
Harrier MK53

Sat in :

MiG 27 ML
Su-30 MK

Flown:

NONE!!!!!


Only fighters/bombers here..

Planes/ Helos I have flown in:

SH-3H Sea King Helo.
SH-2F Sea Sprite Helo.
AH-1 Cobra Helo.
CH-46 Sea Knight Helo.
CH-53E Sea Stallion Helo.
S-3 Viking
A-6E Intruder
F-14A Tomcat
TA-7 Corsair
TA-4 Skyhawk
C-130 Hercules
C-2 Grayhound
C-5B Galaxy
DC-3
B-25 Mitchell (helped restore)
B-17 Flying Fortress (helped restore)
P2-V Neptune (helped restore)
C-123 Provider (helped restore)
P-3C Orion
UH-1 Huey
UH-60 Blackhawk (Customs)
Beechcraft Starship
Various Airliners and small planes

Aircraft I have seen or touched.

AV-8B Harrier
F-4 Phantom
F-15 Eagle
F-16 Falcon
F/A-18 Hornet
B-1
B-2
B-52
B-47 (static display)
B-58 (static display)
B-24
Japanese A6M Zero
TR-1
F-20 Tigershark
A-10 Warthog
A-7 Corsair
C-1 Trader
S-2 Tracker
E-2C Hawkeye
A-3 Whale
RA-5 Vigilante
AH-64 Apache
OV-1 Mowhawk
OV-10 Bronco
P-51 Mustang (rebuilt tail section)
P-47 Thunderbolt
F-4U Corsair (helped replace engine)
P-38 Lightning (Glacier Girl before restoration)
F-5E
T-38
AT-6 Texan
F-86 Sabre
F-8 Crusader
A-37 Dragonfly
F4F Wildcat
F6F Hellcat
A-1 Skyraider
Me 262 Night Fighter (static display NAS Willow Grove)
C-119
Mig 15
SB2C Helldiver (static display)




[edit on 30-9-2006 by JIMC5499]

F-14 A/B/D All over this jet. Nothing better then being in the cockpit when this thing is running. Being next to them on the catapult is also pretty cool, but it's very hot and you have to look away from the heat since your face feels like it will melt off.

F/A-18, forgot which models Inside cockpit when parked. Not as much all over time as the F-14s. Doing a "push back" on the flight deck are cool since this jet is light enough to be "push backed" into the parking spots by hand, yes it is running. Just don't get close to the intakes or something bad might happen.

F-117 It is small, but cool. Knowing certain people can make your time with one of these way more exciting then just walking around and looking at it. You will notice that this jet is built very differently if you have enough time around other jets and notice the "small things".

SR-71 Saw and touched

Space Shuttle Saw on launch pad and in flight

F-22 Saw flying and parked, not touched yet but I will work that angle soon.

F-15 Inside cockpit. Much different then Tomcat, but still cool.

F-16 Inside cockpit. Small airframe, but cool jet.

A-10 See these way too much, sound like lear jets since the engines are the same. Did I mention that the gun is really cool

C-17 Flew around in these, really big but don't have the back up siren when they move in reverse. This is cool seeing this jet go backwards when the cargo door is open.

C-5 Really big inside, no fly time though

C-130, regular cargo ones and the attack versions Way too many rides in these. Really loud inside and hope that the pressurization system is working properly. Bring a pillow if you can.

C-2 COD for those Navy folks, getting a catshot is one of the best rides of your life. No traps, but my friends said those really sucked, but were cool to have done.

A-6 Touched and saw flying at work, but then they got decommissioned and went away. That was a sad day at Oceana.

EA-6B Touched and help swapped LOX bottles, just as loud as the old A-6. I say loud since they are annoying loud, not just loud.

CH-60 Knighthawk Touched and sat in but no fly time.

AV-8 Harrier Touched when parked, but that's it.

E-2C Hawkeye, touched but hated these things when running. I don't like propellers.

P-3 Saw close up, but not touched

F-4 in cockpit, saw flying, big airframe.

CH-46 Chinook No ride yet, but they are cool. Not touched.

V-22 See them alot, not touched yet, want ride.

S-3 Viking touched when parked, sound cool then they are running, that vacuum whooping noise is cool.

Tornado touched when parked, no time in cockpit. Another cool jet.

B-1 Saw flying and parked and got real close, missed my chance to check it out inside.

B-2 Saw flying but not touched.

B-52 Touched and saw flying

KC-135 touched and saw flying. Missed chance to go on refueling mission.

Apache See them all the time, no ride yet.

Blackhawks See them all the time, no ride yet.

Huey Cobra Seen flying and touched.

Huey Bell Senn flying and touched. Need ride to get ride in one of these.

OH-6 See them flying all the time

A-7 Touched many yeas ago.

I can say that I have seen and touched many modern Army, Navy, and Air Force aircraft. I can't wait to see the new UAVs that are out. I have seen many foreign aircraft but want to keep this post short. Being on the flight deck is one of the coolest things to do, and watching some of the stealth aircraft fly is worth going to an airshow or joining the AF. I am sure that I forgot some that I have been around, but I think this is enough for now. Did I mention that I like aircraft?

I have flown in:
C-5, C-141B, C-130, C-12, & H-1 (Huey)

If simulators count, I have worked on:
F-4E, F-4G, A-10A, F-5E, C-141B, KC-135E, CV-22, T-6A (Texan II)
I have flown the following sims:
F-15, H-1, H-60, MC-130P, C-5B, KC-135R, KC-135 Boom Operator Trainer, HH-53 Gunner simulator, C-5 & C-141 Air refueling part task trainer

[edit on 30-9-2006 by simtek 22]

You have voted simtek 22 for the Way Above Top Secret award.

For one of the best signatures I have seen.

Thanks for the vote:JIMC5499

ok ,

flwn in : [ as passenger ]

westland wessex
westland lynx
westland gazettle
seaking
hercules
chinook
vc-10
tristar

various civil passenger jets - as charter passenger .

twin otter - trip to orkney
dornier ?????? - short haul commuter flight
fokker ??????? - short haul commuter flight

touched [ as a guest / airshow / museum ]

avro lancaster -- been inside
B25 - BEEN INSIDE
spitfire - sat in a " dead one "
hurricane - sate in a flyable one powered down
bf-109g - hands on restoration project .


touched : operational aircraft [ to the consterantion of the crew ]

canberra
f-4 phantom
harrier GR-3
sea harrier

damaged [ accidentally ]

chinook - well a pair of engines - and gearboxes - some twit left them in the way

kicked the wrckage of [ after it was shot down ]

pucarra

sat at the controls :

westland gazettle [ while flying ] - orders not to tough ANYTHING .
MD-500 - civilian [ engine off - playing with knobs ]

"flown " - read attempted to hold level flight at a given bearing and altitude while the real pilot prayed

piper cherokkee

only interesting plane i've touched was sr-71

I got a ride in an F-16 once and have been on C-130 transports many times.
Military Helicopters I got a ride in Seakings, Agusta's and a couple of rides in a Huey.

Never went to airshows so haven't touched or sat in any displayed planes or heli's.

The only military helicopter I have touched is a Gazelle helicopter.

I jumped from it actually.

Dead steve

Originally posted by FredT
The list could go on for hours and hours so i will limit it to planes I have either sat in or actually touched that are noteworthy


Boeing VC-137B aka Airforce 1 #58-6970 (inside)
M-21 Blackbird Article 60-6940 (touched and viewed the cockpit)
YF-23 Blackwidow II PAV-1?? (Touched)
A-12 #60-6924 (Touched)
SR-71A #64-17973 (Touched)
U-2D #56-6721 (touched)
D-21 Drone (touched)
NASA YF-12C (Touched)
AQM-34 Firebee drone (Touched)
X-25B (Touched)
NF-104 (Touched)

YOU ARE MY GOD!

You touched a YF-23?!?! Which museum was it at? I don't know which museums the PAV-1 has been to.

Shattered OUT...

Touched list

C-130B/E/H/J
AC-130A/H/U
MC-130E/H/P/W
EC-130H/J
A-10A
F-16
F-15E
C-17
B-52
C-5
MH-53
F/A-18
F-14
P-3
That's all I can remember.

Saw a B-2 do some touch and go's and have been 50 feet from Air Force 1.

i don't have a great list, but thought I'd contribute anyway

i sat in a Jaguar years ago at an airshow,
Sat in a Hercules that was in a hangar, with the HUD on, which was quite good.
Touched the SR71 at Duxford.

No point mentioning airliners, but I have been in airliners that have been being Refitted (Tristar I think).

No helicopters unfortunately.