The Aircraft That Empowers Your Passion

[PhorzaSky]

Hello community! It’s your boi, PhorzaSky!

So lately, I’ve been having an identity crisis but with aircraft 🙃. I know it sounds stupid but then again, aren’t we all aviation freaks?

As some of you may know, in the Would You Rather thread, I’ve been asking about why the aircraft you choose is your favorite. I created a good amount of options as well as creating another poll with a few more but they weren’t answering my question. This topic goes into just that.

What is your favorite aircraft and why? To make this topic worth it, try to give an explanation from your heart/solo (yes I’m serious) as to why this aircraft is the one out of all the others. Essentially, I want to know why this aircraft is special to you.

Here’s the basic formate:

The Aircraft you have chosen

This can be just simply stating the aircraft like “A380” but let’s be honest, we love showing our favorite picture of our favorite aircraft. So basically a picture and a small description of the aircraft (just what the aircraft is, like “It’s a Boeing 737-800”)

The description of why this is The ONE

Nothing short. Take this seriously like you’re being graded on it but also don’t write like a 10 page essay lol

Something that I would also love to see is people make connections with others. There are many of us who share the same favorite aircraft and there are many who don’t. This is also not the place to change someone’s opinion. This ain’t your “Airbus vs Boeing” kind of topic. That already happened with the 737 Max vs A320neo race to be added first lol

Now that you know how to use this thread, I’d like to share to you all my favorite aircraft

The Southwest 737 Max 7

While this aircraft has faced multiple challenges from Covid, the FAA, Boeing, and is yet to be certified, it still has been my favorite aircraft ever since the first one was revealed in the Southwest livery. When I think of what my life will be like when I reach the airlines, this aircraft is the first one that comes up. Always. I also see myself in the Max 7. Both me and the aircraft aren’t perfect and both of us have our flaws and face many challenges, but that doesn’t stop us from continuing to push forward to eventually succeed. I may have never been on the Max 7 or the 737 Max in general, but I know the day I eventually fly on the Max 7 for the first time, it will be a moment that I’ll never forget and it will only empower my passion for aviation ever more.

[A320ifly]

My favorite Aircraft is the Airbus A320 Family, because they are fuel efficient. (Lemme think of some more reasons)

[A320ifly]

All my favorite Airlines have them Delta, American, Alaska (They had them), Lufthansa, British Airways, etc.

[A320ifly]

I’m not a huge Boeing fan, due to their current safety problems. Although, I do like Boeing.

[Aviator_Enthusiast]

Conviasa Embraer 190

The first plane I ever flew in when I was 9 years old. I love this one because it was my gateway to the world of aviation, it’s great for short and medium trips, with good capacity, service ceiling, and speed. Plus, it’s super popular in my home country, so I grew up watching this bird fly across the skies.

[PhorzaSky]

Those aircraft that start the passion for aviation in people are always the best! The aircraft that got me into Aviation was the Southwest Canyon Blue 737-700

[Marc]

My favorite aircraft out there, and the aircraft that started my passion for aviation, is the Saab 340. The reason for it is quite simple: Back in February 1998, when I was only a few weeks old, the Saab 340 was the first airplane I ever flew on.

It was a Crossair Saab 340 with the registration HB-AKF.

Here is the plane in its original livery:

Source: Merlyn Pauley, planespotters.net (August 1994)

The same airplane is still flying today, but as VH-ZLX for Rex Regional in Australia.

Source: 1bossphotography, jetphotos.com (May 12th, 2024)

I would love to travel to Australia and fly on that plane one more time but I don’t think I’ll be able to do that. It is cool to know that that little workhorse of a plane is still transporting passengers after all these years.

A few months ago, back in January, I was lucky enough to join one of the final Saab 340 flights at Loganair together with @Dan . It was my first time flying on a Saab 340 again after 24 years. It was awesome. An absolutely amazing plane.

Source: Personal pictures

[MxP]

I have to split it in two: narrowbody and widebody

Narrowbody: Airbus A220

Source

As many will probably know, my favorite aircraft overall is the A220. That’s the reason I pushed it so hard and luckily my almost 1000 posts on the feature request brought it along eventually. But why is it my favorite aircraft?
In my humble opinion it’s the most advanced commercial aircraft flying at the moment. It is the only globally successful clean sheet design in the narrowbody segment in the past 15 years and Bombardier developed it to be as perfect as possible for passengers and crew by looking at all the issues other planes had.
In the cabin you’ll find the (some of the) largest windows and the widest seats in its class. Combined with a new fuselage shape, you are getting a widebody feeling in a narrowbody, exceeding every other aircraft in its size by far. Integrated wheelchairs and suitably sized lavatories make it accessible and moodlighting complements the cabin.
The flight crew benefits from ergonomic placement of instruments, head-up displays and large screens. The aircraft boasts impressive range and general operational economics, allowing for operators like Air Austral to operate routes like Reunion - Chennai.

Widebody: Airbus A340-600

Source

This one I have never flown before, but I just admire its looks! The incredible length combined with its older engines makes it a super cool aircraft to experience. As a Munich native I have the rare privilege to often see those beauties by Lufthansa and seeing them in person makes it so much more fascinating.
In the case of Lufthansa, the downstairs lavatories make it unique as well. I hope to catch a flight on one of them before they are replaced by A350s.

[PhorzaSky]

The A220 is really the perfect next gen narrow body aircraft. I’m hoping I can start my career with Breeze so I can fly them. I’ve heard they’re a dream to fly. The A340-600 is also an amazing machine. I remember seeing the Las Vegas Sands Corp. A340-500 in Las Vegas one time. Very cool 4 engine aircraft

[whyevenbothernaming]

Some aircraft have a logistical reason to why they’re more comfortable than aircraft of a larger size - most notably, the Airbus A318. That’s for the “brain” part of it.

When it comes to just personal liking, I do like the Airbus A340 a lot.

[PhorzaSky]

A lot of people that I know would choose their favorite aircraft based on how comfortable it is, which can vary greatly depending on multiple things. For me, I’ve been on both the 737 family and A320 family and tbh, I didn’t notice a difference in comfort. The 737s were from Southwest while the A320s were from JetBlue and American.

[adit]

The “torture” of balance, if any, is about access.

I want to be able to get into anywhere from anywhere.

But I can’t fly to my favorite dirt strip from halfway around the world.

But then other people might add useful load to that mix.

Please give me the aircraft that gets me the furthest into the most airfields possible.😎

[whyevenbothernaming]

I’m mostly comparing the aircraft with the same family-unless they have a different purpose, an Airbus A318 or Airbus A319 will always be more comfortable than an Airbus A321.

[PhorzaSky]

In that case, private jets are your best bet lol

[Ethan_Brown]

I’m a huge fan of the SR22T the G36 Bonanza the 747 and the A350 but the plane that sparked my aviation journey was the AA MD-80 which I first flew on when I was 4 or 5 it’s the earliest flight I vaguely remember

[MyGoal_isNASA]

My favorite aircraft is:

The mighty Space Shuttle, especially the “Discovery” one cause i love the name they gave to it.

Why? Because it’s a Rocket and i love Space. Her forms are amazing, she is majestic. I touched Atlantis when i was ar the KSC 2 years ago. Since that i got only good grades ans results at school. Did i became radioactive? I don’t know

[PhorzaSky]

I always found the Mad Dogs to be the “ugly duckling” in the airline world, but the jets themselves are incredibly good work horses that get the job done. I’m actually hoping I can see the fire tanker version of the aircraft this summer. You could call them the Devil Dogs since they fly into fire

[T1MMY4L1F3_YT]

Well, I have had one all time favourite ever since I got into aviation, but I’d like to include an honourable mention as well.

First: My favourite.

The British Aerospace 146 (BAe 146)/Avro RJ:

Credit: Myself.

This little aircraft almost single-handedly sparked my interest in aviation. Around 2018-2019 is when my interest really started, with a couple of visits to Brussels Airport.

Each year, we would visit family that had passed at a graveyard that’s right beneath the approach of 25L at Brussels. Each time we drove back home, we’d stop by the side of the road and watch planes for a short while.

One of those times, after all the usual A320s and 737s had come and gone, one of these little birds from CityJet appeared over the trees. It’s design was so distinctive, I just had to know more about it.

The more I got into aviation, the more I started to love this plane. The unique design, the history behind it, it’s impressive capabilities, and it’s use in many of our national airlines.

Brussels Airlines, Sabena, VLM and TNT Airways all operated at least one variant of this bird in one way or another. I was devastated to learn that I had just missed out on them flying for Belgian airlines, as TNT Airways and Brussels Airlines retired theirs in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

I’ve only ever seen two of these planes operational in my life. Both of them were Avro RJ85s from CiyJet. Although two former Brussels Airlines BAe 146-200s remain as fire and rescue trainers, I have not been able to get a good look at either.

EI-RJF in particular has a very special place in my heart, as she’s the only one of her kind I was able to get good photos of even to this day.

I really hope that I get the chance to see one of these amazing aircraft at least once more, before they all inevitably disappear.

---

Now: The honourable mention.

The Airbus A340-200 and -300:

Credit: Myself.

The A340 had evaded me for the longest time as a wide-body aircraft. When I got more into aviation, I started to want to see this plane more and more. With the -200 and -300 models, I love the small engines under each wing, and the single centre gear right under the fuselage. It’s such an elegant aircraft, that I couldn’t help but be intrigued by it.

Sadly, no airline that still operated the type regularly flew them to any airport near me.

The day I would see one for the first time, would come as a complete surprise.

A small amount of backstory: Air Belgium is an airline that was founded in 2016, and they started flying in 2018 with two A340-300s. Later that year, two more of the type would join. However, the airline mainly offered ACMI services for other airlines, and they flew their own scheduled flights out of Charleroi, which was a little too far to just go to.

In 2021, I would attend an “airshow” at Kleine Brogel, a Belgian Air Force base. The base was really just used to park aircraft that would later actually perform at an airshow at a nearby, small airfield.

The actual airshow would feature a flyover of one of Air Belgium’s A340s, OO-ABB. When they departed Brussels however, they needed to wait for low-level fog to clear the small airfield, before they could do their flyover. It was then decided… that they would perform a couple of low passes over the air base while waiting.

OO-ABB is the first ever A340-300 I ever saw in person. And less than a year later, she would also be the last A340-300 I would see in person to this day. Air Belgium had retired two of them already in 2020, and the last two were retired in January and March of 2023.

Before OO-ABB could leave, I decided I had to see her one final time. So in February, I made the journey to Charleroi, where I saw her arrive from Guadeloupe in the French West Indies.

Abby, as I had affectionately started calling her, would leave the Air Belgium fleet exactly one month later.

And while I may or may not see more A340s in the future, Abby will always be my favourite, cementing the A340 as my second favourite aircraft type.

[United_8275_heavy]

The Boeing 747 because of it’s amazing history and forever lasting impact on the aviation industry

[PhorzaSky]

The BAe146s are sweet aircraft! I would think of them as the Mini C-17s. I had the opportunity for the last 2 summers to park both the BAe and RJ at Hill AFB during fire season