Loft is all over the plane

[Mastermariner]

 

 

But what’s it all about?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YSzayqOuKI&list=HL1389691604

 

 

Master

[II./JG27_Rich]

Watch out for that traffic Loft

Edited January 15, 2014 by II./JG27_Rich

[Finkeren]

Wow, I never fully realized just how small the Yak is. The canopy looks like it would fit like a diving helmet.

[Endy]

Wow, I never fully realized just how small the Yak is. The canopy looks like it would fit like a diving helmet.

A couple of years ago, I took a photo of the wife stood next to a Hawker Hurricane, it made her look tiny.

The Yak looks very small in comparison.

[DD_bongodriver]

Yep, Hurricane is a surprisingly big aeroplane, I am 6' 3" tall and standing next to the tail the top of the fin is still taller than me.

[II./JG27_Rich]

Yep, Hurricane is a surprisingly big aeroplane, I am 6' 3" tall and standing next to the tail the top of the fin is still taller than me.

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

 

That's an amazingly cool picture! Saved for my personal Hurri-lover ablbum!

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the Yak look in-game!

[LukeFF]

For those that don't know, that's VikS snapping pics at about 1:30

[II./JG27_Rich]

You see the diffence in size...

 

[Sternjaeger]

there is something wonderfully harmonious and wonderfully childish about the lines of a Hurricane, I always liked the looks of it: doesn't look fast, but looks like it's gonna take you home in one piece :-)

 

The 109 though is what I really do like (although I think I'd never fit in it): it looks purposeful, nimble and aggressive..

 

The only pretty thing about the Spitfire is the silhouette from the top really, the other angles are pretty unimpressive IMHO.

 

But the one and only plane that looks sexy from every corner is by far the P-51.. it's not just an incredible aircraft, it's also a design triumph!

[Reflected]

Yes, the P-51 does look pretty sexy from all angles. And it's quite big too, especially when you compare it to the 109. I had the chance to see one from really close in 2011 at Duxford (I'm 6 feet tall). The plane that amazed me with its size though was the Stuka. It's twice the size of a 109! A real monster!

 

[DD_bongodriver]

It's fashionable to dislike the Spit, but I never follow fashion, it's a beautiful aircraft.

[Reflected]

It's fashionable to dislike the Spit, but I never follow fashion, it's a beautiful aircraft.

 

Apart from the wing, I really like the shape and the curve of the nose (Mark IXb and below, with the smaller carburator intake)

[Trooper117]

How can it be fashionable to dislike the Spitfire? are you people living in another dimension or something? It's probably the most recognisable and loved WWII aircraft on the planet.

Ask anyone who only has an smattering of knowledge on WWII and ask them to name a fighter plane...

[Sternjaeger]

I don't dislike it, I just think it's not as impressive when seen from the side or any other angle other than the classic top/bottom view. 

 

I used to like more the lines of the Mk.I, but the one I really like now is the Griffon-engined version with clipped wings, that's a true beauty! 

 

But I agree, it's THE WW2 aircraft par excellence, no doubt on that!

Edited January 16, 2014 by Sternjaeger

[Quax]

For those that don't know, that's VikS snapping pics at about 1:30

 

 

Perhaps the best online pilot  

[Finkeren]

I just looked at the dimentions of the 109: If you turned the prop, so that one blade pointed directly down, that plane would fit in my living room!

[DD_bongodriver]

no doubts that would be a conversation piece.

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

no doubts that would be a conversation piece.

 

[Sternjaeger]

..I bet wifey wouldn't be impressed though! 

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

there is something wonderfully harmonious and wonderfully childish about the lines of a Hurricane, I always liked the looks of it: doesn't look fast, but looks like it's gonna take you home in one piece :-)

 

It's not a particularly elegant plane, but she looks solid. Compared to a Spitfire it's downright lumpy, but quite charming as you say. If both were women, the Spitfire would be that classic if icy beauty, the Hurricane would be that redhead you want to go out and have a beer with.

Edited January 16, 2014 by 79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer

[DD_bongodriver]

The Hurri is not one of those freckly gingers that smells of pee though, deffo a hot ginge.

[Trooper117]

I remember standing on the flight line early in the morning at Duxford. I was standing in a gap between two Hurricanes and had been taking pictures.

Then came the unmistakable sound of a Merlin engine, and another Hurricane came in to land on the grass strip in front of me. I watched as it throttled back and then touched down with a gentle bounce.

The pilot had his canopy pulled back and had a leather flying helmet on. He taxied his Hurri over to the flight line, the merlin growling and thundering all the more louder as he got nearer to where I was standing.

I then realised that I was standing in the gap where he needed to park. The pilot, seeing me there raised his hand and then gave me a thumbs up, and as I moved back he moved into the gap, no sooner stopping and then gunned the engine and ran it at the usual 900rpm before pulling the idle cut off. I stood by the wing and felt the ground actually shaking under my feet as he ran it up.

I can remember it like yesterday, the sound, the smell, the chat with the pilot as he got out... the Hurricane has been, and still is one of my favourite aircraft.

[DB605]

 

 

The 109 though is what I really do like (although I think I'd never fit in it): it looks purposeful, nimble and aggressive..

 

 

 

But the one and only plane that looks sexy from every corner is by far the P-51.. it's not just an incredible aircraft, it's also a design triumph!

 

Agreed about 109 part; it's my all time favourite ww2 fighter.

Mustang (D model) does looks sexy too, but in my opinion Dora 9 is even sexier. Powerful, mean and yet elegant:

 

 

Edited January 16, 2014 by DB605

[II./JG27_Rich]

That's the FlugWerk new build Dora.

[Fifi]

Big looking fighters?

No need to say about this winner 

 

[TyphoonOneB]

The Hawker aircraft were always famous for being extremely reliable, tough and for getting the pilot back home in one piece. From some angles it looks really clean cut, fast and elegant

[DB605]

That's the FlugWerk new build Dora.

Yep i know, just wanted to show some good res color pics.

[II./JG27_Rich]

Usually my favorite pictures of 109s are the very casual ones 

 

Edited January 17, 2014 by II./JG27_Rich

[79_vRAF_Friendly_flyer]

The Hawker aircraft were always famous for being extremely reliable, tough and for getting the pilot back home in one piece. From some angles it looks really clean cut, fast and elegant

 

I love how this has turned into a Hurricane appreciation thread!

 

[II./JG27_Rich]

I like them too. I really like this one.

 

Edited January 17, 2014 by II./JG27_Rich

[Finkeren]

I hate hurricanes...

[Fodder]

P51D is a looker but I think the earlier P51 models are ugly

 

I've always liked purposeful looking aircraft and I think radial engine planes fit that description better.

[DB605]

I love how this has turned into a Hurricane appreciation thread!

 

 

Finnish pilots did not appreciate hurricane that much it seems, as Hans Wind Wrote:

"The easiest one to shoot down of the enemy fighters is the Hurricane. It is totally helpless against us below 3,000 meters. It is slow and very clumsy and unmanoeuvrable. Whenever you meet a Hurricane, engage it in a turn-fight, where it is totally at our mercy. It is best to shoot this plane in the forward part of the fuselage when it almost immediately bursts into flames."

 

Edited January 17, 2014 by DB605

[Sternjaeger]

Engage it with what, a G2? 

[rlk281]

Is that Tom Cruise???

 

Yes, the P-51 does look pretty sexy from all angles. And it's quite big too, especially when you compare it to the 109. I had the chance to see one from really close in 2011 at Duxford (I'm 6 feet tall). The plane that amazed me with its size though was the Stuka. It's twice the size of a 109! A real monster!

 

[Sternjaeger]

lol probably not, but Tom Cruise does own a P-51.

[DB605]

Engage it with what, a G2? 

No, Brewster B-239. He was flying that at the time he wrote this.

Edited January 17, 2014 by DB605

[TheBlackPenguin]

It's not a particularly elegant plane, but she looks solid. Compared to a Spitfire it's downright lumpy, but quite charming as you say. If both were women, the Spitfire would be that classic if icy beauty, the Hurricane would be that redhead you want to go out and have a beer with.

 

Quoted from a rather excellent book, http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Most-Dangerous-Enemy-History/dp/1845134818/ref=cm_lmf_tit_6 I believe . The Hurricane was certainly sturdy, I recall reading one pilots memoirs where managed to glance his wing off of a tree and managed to get the plane home, but he doubted that would have been the case with the Spitfire.

 

Honestly I cannot really choose a particular favorite. I like curvy women, to me Marilyn Monroe was the sexiest model to have lived, but beautiful is always beautiful (but stupid is really a turn off).

 

Anyway, happy birthday Loft!