A Super Cub Biplane And The Top Ten Planes Of All Time

Our list of the top planes of all time leaves out the iconic J-3, but includes the PA-18’which, let’s set the record straight, never needed another wing.

Plane & Pilot

Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 10:54 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Aircraft design has seen extensive experimentation, resulting in countless forgotten configurations alongside a few iconic successes.
There is a persistent drive to modify and "improve" existing aircraft, even highly successful models like the Piper PA-18 Super Cub, as seen with the Aeromod Loadstar biplane conversion.
However, some aircraft designs are considered so perfect that they cannot be successfully imitated or improved upon, forming the focus of an accompanying "Top Ten Planes Of All Time" list.

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If you’re enough of an airplane nut, you know that just about every conceivable configuration of plane has been tried, or at least thought about. Some of them become great. Most of them become forgettable, or in this case nearly totally forgotten.

Did you know that the Aeromod Loadstar Model 100 was a biplane conversion of the Piper PA-18 Super Cub? It’s proof positive that people will take a thing that’s this close to perfect and try to make it!better? Our list of the Top Ten Planes Of All Time finds a bunch of models that no one could ever successfully imitate, never mind improve upon.

Top Ten Planes Of All Time