Would you be amazed to find that I have quite a list of favorite planes?  Well, of course, I do!  Here's my top three airliners of all time, one from each major era.

In the Jet Age, there is only one:   The Boeing 747 Special Performance.  This is the aircraft that made such amazing flights as San Francisco to Sydney or Seattle to Johannesburg non-stops possible.   The SP, the little sister of the 747-200 series was able to set some big records, and held the commercial aircraft speed record for around the world travel both along the equator as well as across the poles.  The SP was able to complete each of these flights in under 50 hours with only two stops.  The interior of the SP is also more cozy than the comparable range 747-400.  In modern configurations, there are only fifteen rows in the coach cabin and four rows upstairs, compared to almost fifty rows and fifteen rows respectively.   The Boeing 747-SP Web Site has more information about the SP than I could possibly hope to cover myself, including the status of each airframe along with a fine selection of photos and history.

World War II brought incredible advances in aviation, most of which were transferred directly to commercial aviation.  Because of the significant investment made in runways and aircraft, the flying boats became obsolete, and the once grand "Clippers" were relegated to plying the back waters of South America.  They were replaced by pressurized, luxury aircraft using the latest technology.  The Boeing 377 "Stratocruiser" was based on the B-29 "Superfortress" bomber and made cross-Atlantic flight possible without stops on most flights.  In the all-first class configuration, the 377 seated only 55 passengers.  In this configuration, Pan Am placed a smoking lounge and bar on the lower deck!  Airliners Magazine has a comprehensive Stratocruiser history along with some leads as to the whereabouts of the only remaining Stratocruiser.

Boeing Stratocruisers still fly today, but you might be surprised to see how they've been reincarnated.  As the "Stratocruisers" were retired, some NASA engineers realized that with some modifications this aircraft could be used to carry oversized payloads for the Apollo space program.  And the Boeing/Aero Spacelines 377/PG "Guppy" was born.  These aircraft still carry oversized parts around the world and some of them are even used by Airbus.  All about Guppies has pictures and history of the Guppy program.

The Boeing 314 "Clipper" was Boeing's late entry into the seaplane business, having been watching Martin & Sikorsky develop plane after plane for Pan Am's South American and Pacific markets.  But when they did complete the Clipper, they did it right.   This aircraft was the largest plane in the world at the time and also had the longest range.  Able to take passengers to Asia and New Zealand in less than a week, this plane along with the Martin 130 cut the time to Asia by a third, and do it in style.   This is the aircraft that Roosevelt took to Casablanca, making him the first serving President to fly in a plane. The Clipper is also the first commercial aircraft to fly around the world, completing this task after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and without the support of Pan Am or the U.S. Government.  The Pan Am Flying Boat Photo Archive has some good pictures of the 314 in action.

There are many books written about the 314 Clipper -- you can review those in my collection in the Bibliography.

Though I'm a big fan of the Boeing 314, the Martin M-130 is really more famous.   It's the first aircraft to wear the name "China Clipper", and it's the one that pioneered passenger flights across the Pacific.  Visit the Pan American World Airways Heritage site to see the full size picture from the beautiful John McCoy "First Flights" series.   Sadly all of the Pan Am flying boats are gone, but the Martin Company did make a successor during the Second World War, the Martin M-150 "Mars".  Two of the four aircraft manufactured still fly!  Go visit them at their home in Canada.

It's tough to get to fly on my favorite planes, so here are my current least and most favorite of the common jets!

Now, you might be getting the feeling that I like Boeing planes, or at least that I'm a Boeing shareholder.  I'm not (a shareholder, that is), but I do like many of their designs.  However, they currently produce my least favorite plane, the Boeing 757.  One aisle, few bathrooms, ugh!  However, it does have one quality feature -- it's possible to board the coach passengers behind the first class cabin, so it's possible to relax in first without dealing with coach passengers banging into you.   Unfortunately they don't board that way in Dallas, so I never get to enjoy it.

For those of you who care, my favorite aircraft for long distance travel is the Boeing 767. It seems to have a more "homey" feel inside, with not so many people on board. Also, it seems to have quite a few more toilets per passenger than other aircraft. If you can get over the "two engines over water" thing, it makes for a great trans-Atlantic aircraft. American flies them from Dallas to London, and they are my preference. But my Dad wrote me recently and he said that Delta only had one toilet available in their Business Class cabin, and on a flight from India, that's just not enough facilities!