Tell us why you think the aircraft you have voted should be the best Commercial Jet Airliner ever built?

My vote goes to the Boeing 757

• Medium range transcontinental aircraft
• Fly’s Hot and High climates
• First Boeing airliner launched to have engines outside the US
• Competitive economics
• Max passengers 234, stretched version 289
• Awesome power
• Govt, Military, Corporate and Freighter versions

 

Gotta be the good-old L-1011 for me.

Personally, the Tristar will always be a special aircraft because it was the first commercial airliner that I ever flew on.  That, and the fact that three-holers are so much more aesthetically pleasing than all these boring twinjets that are plying the skies these days.

At least Lockheed put some effort into the presentation of the aircraft.  One reason why the Tristar will always win over the DC-10 is that the empennage looks so much more tidy - the #2 engine on both the DC-10 and the MD-11 always looked like an afterthought....

Granted, the lack of sales effectively put Lockheed out of the civil aircraft market, but this beast was built to last.

Viva la Tristar!

 

Titch

If "commercial" is the key word, then I guess it would have to be the B747 or B737.

 

From a strictly pilot-point-of-view, I reckon the MCDonnell Douglas aircraft were the stakes leaders.

Great cockpits, and features that were light years ahead of Boeing and Airbus - and stuff like speedbrakes and slats/flaps that actually worked!

That sounds interesting, could you tell us more about those features in the Douglases?

 

Votes so far

Boeing 707 18%

Boeing 737 18%

Boeing 747 18%

Boeing 757 9%

DC-9 9%

DC-10 9%

Concorde 9%

L1011 9%

Douglas DC8 series. This aircraft can fly with no electric power at all. It was designed that way. It flew so straight and level that you got the sensation you were in your living room as there was no dutch roll. The single aisle gave a more intimate style and personal comfort from the "Stewardesses" similar to the 747 upper deck busieness class punters of today. Additionally the DC8 series was the favourite by all the mechanics, engineers and pilots who ever touched her. misteretops.com

Although I agree that all the preceding aircraft are very fine in their own way, it has to be the 747 for me:

 -   The risk taken at the time; the next biggest aircraft was about 200-250 seats (DC8 Stretch) and here was a new aircraft that was nearly twice the capacity; Boeing bet the company and fought through so many odds to get it flying - from bad weather to early reliability problems with engines.

-    The first widebody jet, first with "big fan"/high bypass ratio engines.

-    Captured the imagination like no other aircraft (except perhaps Concorde); most people can't tell a DC10 from an L1011 or a 737 from an A320, but they'll recognise the 747.

-    Still, after 30+ years, the biggest selling widebody of them all - c.1500 sold and still selling (expect Emirates 747-8I order in Dubai!)

-   For much of its career, in various models, particularly the SP and 744, THE long haul leader; how many routes did it pioneer - nonstops across the Pacific, trans-siberian, europe to Asia.

On a personal level, I never tire of seeing a 747 land/take off. Long may it fly.

My absolute favorite commercial jet airliner is Convair-990 Coronado

The fastest subsonic jet airliner buildt so far.

Sorry forgot the best CJA on topic, it´s IMO MD-11 love trijet cool look with the "butt engine"

Very sad it didn´t sell that good but there´s many freighters gracing the skies called MD-11F.

//Micke

For me without doubt its the MD-11. I am not very technical minded and appreciate there are far more efficient airliners out there and i know it had major problems in its early years such as falling short in range although these faults were eventually rectified and it met, nay exceeded its design specs. I just love tri-jets. the venerable Tristar, B727 and the DC-10 but when i first saw a Swissair MD11 at Heathrow in 1991 i was hooked, something about those winglets really finnished it off for me and i've been hooked ever since, (so much so i have done a web site- www.md-eleven.net)

 Kev Stokes

Apart from my all time fav, the 747, I am a big fan of the 3 holers. The B727 is the best design of them all, among Tridents and Tu154's. But my all time fav has to be the DC-10 - not the MD-11. The latter is just too streched for my liking. and those winglets are the ugliest in the skies. I like everything about the DC-10. The "flattened" nose, the drooping winshields, the centre wheel on themain gear, and especially the bulging No 2 engine on the tail. I kind of like the "dolphin nose" of the L1011, but overall the DC-10 wins cards down in my book.

Well, for me its just got to be the B707 just for pure nostalgic reasons really. I can so easily recall their regular appearence at both Stansted, and RAE Thurleigh, during the 1960's when BOAC would be circuit (and bumps) training on a regular basis. Is it true, incidently, that the complete windshield assembly of the B707 carries the same part No. as the windshield of the B737 series. They certainly look similar........?? John

Am astounded that no-one has yet nominated, what we out here in the colonies fondly called the "Scruggs Wonder-Jet". I refer to, of course, the sensational, the dazzling, the superlative BA 146!!!! What other hum-drum type could possibly match this masterful and inspired British masterpiece with its fine elegant sleek lines and absolutely fabulous sizzling performance. I recall chums of mine clamouring to be transferred from the ugly little "Fat Albert" Boeing 737 to gain the prestige of flying a British product. During our summer it provided wonderful close-up views of our NZ scenery due to an inabilty to climb above FL160 and, a real feature, there was never any boring cruise phase as TOC always coincided with TOD. So let's see some votes for The Best of British.

 

 

So far the responses have been sooo boring and predictable - the jets voted for so far are largly similar with the obvious differences of how many engines...

My top three in sequence is: Concorde, Comet Mk4 and the DH 146

These 3 stand out, head above shoulders in a crowd of lookalikes and follow the leader blandness.