Top 25 Planes Of All Time

The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II was used in frontline combat duty in the United States for 36 years. The Mach 2.2 screamer was a fighter, an interceptor, a bomber and an electronic surveillance platform that could launch from land or from sea. Over the plane’s production life from 1960 to 1981, McDonnell Douglas churned […]

The Bonanza is one of a few truly revolutionary light personal transportation planes, and it is, in our view, the first truly modern personal plane, period. When it was introduced in 1947, just two years after the war, it was in a class of one. It was the most practical, fast, affordable and easy-flying four-seater […]

This American fighter helped turn the tide of World War II by escorting Allied bombers deep into German territory, where it proved a formidable foe for Luftwaffe fighters. It’s also one of the most beautiful planes ever. And it was far from just range that made the P-51 a special plane. It was among the […]

One of the most-produced planes of all time, the 182/Skylane is arguably the most utilitarian affordable personal plane ever. Featuring a much more powerful engine than its Skyhawk predecessor, the 182 was faster, had more range, carried four in better comfort, and featured all the easy flyability of the Skyhawk. And it’s still in production […]

— When it comes to that last one, the one and only champion of the world is the Antonov AN-225 Mriya (Ukrainian for “dream”). By wingspan, tail height and length, it’s the biggest airplane in the world. It is inarguably the biggest load hauler. The humongous Antonov holds the record for the biggest load carried, […]

Developed in a secret government program by the great Kelly Johnson of Lockheed Skunk Works fame, the SR-71 is the fastest air-breathing airplane ever. With a top speed of better than Mach 3, it is also the fastest piloted airplane ever of any kind that could take off on its own. The idea behind the […]

The test of time is a good way to judge success, and in a marketplace like aviation, utility and reliability go a long way toward keeping customers satisfied and budgets in the black. The C-130 Hercules, a medium transport built by Lockheed-Martin (just Lockheed for much of its production life) is just such a plane. […]

It’s impossible not to include on this list one of the fastest and highest-flying planes of all time, though there were two things about it that we weren’t crazy about: It didn’t take off by itself, and it was a glider for most of its trip. The North American X-15, as was the case for […]

To those who might argue that this is more a spaceship than a plane, we’d counter, true! But the fact is, it was both a plane and a spaceship. If Concorde’s designers set out to do the impossible, the Space Shuttle’s creators were on a mission to do the impossible-er, to build and field a […]

Before you get started, this is not a nostalgia pick. The Piper Cub is a much-beloved airplane, one that many of us associate with a bucolic image of aviation in simpler times. And it is that. But it’s also one of the most revolutionary airplanes in history and one of the most important. When C.G. […]