by "facw" (facw)
Published 05/12/2017 at 23:49
by "facw" (facw)
Published 05/12/2017 at 23:49
Tags: Planelopnik
; Concorde
; Planes Ranked
; i get bored
STARS: 4
Continuing my series of arbitrary passenger jet rankings ( Boeing , Airbus ), we look at probably the most interesting set yet. Mostly covering the early jet age, these planes came from a time when you had many competitors and no clear idea as to what a jetliner should look like. Far from the current crop of various twinjets we have aircraft in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Anyway, on to the rankings:
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Could it be anything else? The Mach 2 Anglo/French joint venture is an aviation icon. High running costs restricted it to expensive business travel, while relatively short range and high noise levels limited it to transatlantic service, but none of that challenges its status as technological marvel.
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The original, and one of the most elegant jetliners ever made, the comet featured four engines mounted in the wing roots, a distinctive tail that would be more at home on a WWII bomber than a modern jet, and (on the Comet 4 version,) large fuel tanks on the wing to help reach the distant reaches of Britain’s then still-extant empire. Troubled early by crashes caused by its rectangular window design, it eventually became a solid airliner, serving passengers into the early ‘80s. Unfortunately for de Havilland, by the time of the definitive Comet 4 version was available, the world was entering the era of the bigger, faster, and longer-ranged 707 and DC-8 leaving little room for the Comet to have success.
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So Cute! The diminutive regional jet’s surprising quadjet configuration was designed for quiet operation from short runwayed urban airports, especially London City Airport. The added expense and complexity of the four engine setup was a major deterrent to commercial adoption, but the 146 is still the best-selling British jetliner.
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The world’s second jetliner and first intended for short-haul flights, the Caravelle was intended to complement the longer range Comet (Sud actually licensed the Comet’s cockpit from de Havilland for use in the Caravelle). Sud’s engineers solved the fatigue problems of the Comet by using distinctive triangular teardrop shaped windows. More importantly, they introduced the rear engine design used on many future jets. This creates cleaner airflow over the wing for superior performance, and helps protect the engines from runway debris, at the expense of increased noise in the cabin.
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Hoping to secure a place in the civilian aviation market for Dassault, the Mercure was intended to provide a larger alternative to the 737 and DC-9. However interest was hindered by the plane’s short range, and the economic shock created by the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo forced it’s cancellation after only 12 aircraft had been produced, leading to large losses for Dassault.
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Intended to supplant the Comet on long range overseas routes, the VC10 was designed with special attention paid to high and hot handling characteristics, and short runway performance so it could service far flung locations around the British Empire. It featured an unusual design placing all four engines at the back of the aircraft to achieve these goals. However, it was more expensive to operate than the 707 or DC-9, the British Empire grew smaller, airports got bigger to accommodate jets, and the introduction of the 747 gave the world a true long range option, all of which eliminated the VC10's niche.
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I’m calling this one German, as it was designed an built there, though Dornier had been bought by America’s Fairchild prior to the 328JET going on sale. A rare example of a propeller aircraft redesigned to be powered by jets, the 328JET is a modestly successful regional jet. The type is no longer in production, but is now owned by a Turkish company which hopes to use it as a starting point for a new larger aircraft.
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A 727 competitor with a similar configuration, the Trident (or HS 121) was hamstrung by frequent requirement changes, allowing the 727 to beat it to market. It never enjoyed much success beyond the state-owned BEA.
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A Dutch regional jet, the F100 and it’s F70 variant enjoyed some success but couldn’t save Fokker from bankruptcy, or survive in the highly competitive regional jet market of the 1990s.
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The second short haul jetliner, the One-Eleven was a competitor to the Caravelle and later the DC-9 and Fokker 28. The type stayed in production for decades, being licensed to a Romanian company after its British production run ended in 1982 and continued there for the rest of the decade.
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Another early short-haul jet, the F28 provided a design that was simpler and cheaper to maintain than many of its competitors, allowing it to gain a foothold in the market.
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A dismal commercial failure with only 13 airline sales, the 614 proved to be expensive and difficult to maintain. It’s notable for it’s engines mounted over the wing (similar to the modern HondaJet), which allowed for flaps to be deployed without obstruction for better low speed and short runway performance.
"CodyVella" (codyvella)
05/13/2017 at 00:19, STARS: 1
VC10 is best airplane under any circumstances because pretty.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 00:37, STARS: 0
I go back and forth about whether it looks good or awkward. I think that BOAC scheme is pretty flattering, as is the lighting bolt pattern they used on the tankers:
It does look awkward from some angles though.
"Svend" (svend)
05/13/2017 at 01:09, STARS: 1
No. 32 Squadron RAF still operate four BAE 146s.
The VC10 being withdrawn in 2013.
It’s replacement, the Airbus A330-200.
"Svend" (svend)
05/13/2017 at 01:19, STARS: 0
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Last sortie.
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Aircraft of that era had some much beauty and grace.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 01:25, STARS: 0
Yep, the Queen’s 146 looks especially sharp:
Though those rear stairs could be more dog friendly:
I didn’t use one of the military operated ones though, since this is supposed to be about passenger jets. I was very tempted to use this one in old United livery:
I used to have family in Oxford, so sometimes saw VC10s from RAF Brize Norton flying around when I was over there.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 01:30, STARS: 1
Also, as long as we are talking RAF tankers, have a Tristar:
I think these are still in service, though they are expected to be sold off or scrapped within the next few years (possibly austerity has pushed up the time table?). The A330 based tankers should be pretty much a drop in replacement for these.
"Svend" (svend)
05/13/2017 at 01:35, STARS: 1
The red tail and red wing tops from Queens Flights (which later amalgamated into No. 32 SQN RAF) were removed back in 2004.
The MOD believed it was more of a target for terrorists.
ZZ700 and ZZ701 operate in a lower key white with jam sandwich livery down the side.
ZZ706 and ZZ 707 operate in more standard subdued grey.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 01:38, STARS: 1
Hmm that picture was labeled as being from ‘12. but looking at the filename, it does appear to actually be from ‘02.
"Viggen" (viggen37)
05/13/2017 at 01:39, STARS: 1
1. Concorde
2. VC10
3. Fokker F100/F70
4. Caravelle
5.
Nimrod
Comet
6. Fokker F28
7. One-Eleven
8. Trident
9. BAe 146
10. Dornier 328
11. VFW 614
12. Dassault Mercure
I presume the Soviets are next?
"Svend" (svend)
05/13/2017 at 01:44, STARS: 1
The Tristar was retired the following year in 2014 (actually six months after the VC10).
I remember the Tristar well.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 01:44, STARS: 1
Yep, our friends from the CCCP are up coming next time I do one of these. It will be the biggest of these, but I don’t think it is big enough to break it up. Then I’ll deal with the rest of the world, before circling back to pick up the non-Boeing Americans, though that’s actually a pretty short list.
Can’t argue too much with your rankings, though I do feel strongly about having the Comet and BAe 146 higher than they are on your list. Otherwise there are a lot of “ok” planes on this list that could really go just about anywhere.
"Amoore100" (amoore100)
05/13/2017 at 02:52, STARS: 1
This is correct. Except maybe the BAE, I’ve heard they’re excellent little planes.
"DarkCreamyBeer" (darkcreamybeer)
05/13/2017 at 09:08, STARS: 1
I think you should have the Fokkers higher up the list. KLM Cityhopper had a sizable fleet of F70s and flew them right up until last year. Fokker even succeeded in selling F100s to American.
Fokker’s financial issues were largely related to their investment in the F100/70, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t successful. It created the 70-100 seat regional jet market. There would have been a lot more of them, I think, if airlines had been confident that Fokker was going to be around to support them.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 09:45, STARS: 0
Quite possibly. I do think I cam in maybe a bit low with both both Fokkers, and high with the Mercure, but it’s difficult to say where I would put them if I moved them. I do think the fact its commercial struggles have to be counted against it (though as you say, they did make a whole bunch of them)
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 10:07, STARS: 0
In addition to American, they also had US Air as a customer. They used to fly the F100 into my city’s small airport. Here’s one in the US Air livery:
"Viggen" (viggen37)
05/13/2017 at 10:19, STARS: 0
The communists will be easy.
And the 146 is a meh jet to me. Comet loses points for early model hull losses.
"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
05/13/2017 at 10:20, STARS: 1
Very nice collection. My only quibble would be to put the Caravelle above the Avro, if only because its engines-on-the-back design set the standard for all that followed. But the Avro has always been one of my favorites.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 10:32, STARS: 0
I don’t know about the communists being easy. Bunch of tough choices there. Even beyond the rankings, I still haven’t decided if I want to consider the Il-86 and Il-96 the same plane (you could compare them to A300 vs. A330, but I think it’s closer to A310 vs. A300). I am counting the Yak-40 and -42 as different because the fact the -40 has a straight wing is interesting and weird to me.
I’m concerned that with all the VC10 love people are going to frown on me putting the Il-62 near the bottom.
"Viggen" (viggen37)
05/13/2017 at 10:40, STARS: 0
Oh no, it’s real easy. Don’t forget to include the Il-76, since it’s also been used as an airliner, beyond just a cargo plane.
"facw" (facw)
05/13/2017 at 11:00, STARS: 0
You have a source on that? The only “airline” I can find operating them as passenger jets is Air Koryo but that’s still just the cargo/military version:
I don’t think stuffing civilians into a military transport makes it a jetliner. Looks like there was a planned passenger version that was abandoned.
Aeroflot had them, but I think they were just used for cargo:
One thing that made me extremely sad is that there have been no commercial sales of the Be-200, so I don’t think it qualifies, though maybe I’ll give it an honorable mention.
I do plan on counting the MC-21, even though it is not yet in commercial service, as it is flying and has a bunch of firm orders. It should be there sometime soon.
"Viggen" (viggen37)
05/13/2017 at 11:19, STARS: 0
The Aeroflot aircraft are honestly just Soviet Air Force aircraft.
I believe Iraq had them configured for pax before they went into full time service transporting weapons from Europe into Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War
"WilliamsSW" (williamssw)
05/13/2017 at 11:34, STARS: 1
Those first two are head and shoulders above the rest, IMHO. Innovation wise, they are light years ahead of the others.
The Comet is a bit of a sad story, though. Besides launching passenger jet service, it had a number of other innovations, too. And the early problems it had were largely the result of being first. I recall reading somewhere that Boeing even admitted that they could have easily made some of the same mistakes, if they hadn’t learned from DeHavilland’s failures.
As usual, the price of aviation safety was paid in blood.
As you say, the Comet 4 was a pretty good aircraft, but by that time, it was too late.
As a passenger, I used to fly regularly on Air Wisconsin’s (United Express) BAE 146s, and always liked them.