LRod wrote:
On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 09:19:37 -0500, Robatoy
wrote:


Rob---who once was removed from under his hat by firing a 'light' load

from a 460 WeatherbyMk5, another one of those devices that just felt and

looked right.
I'm sure many of you here have similar things that would fit that
elusive category.


There's an old saying in aviation, if it looks good, it'll fly good.
Two of the best looking airplanes ever, in my opinion, were the P-51
Mustang, and the Lockheed Constellation. By all accounts they were
delights to fly.

What brings that to mind is watching the TV program that documented
the X-plane competition to determine which aircraft will be developed
to replace the F-22 just coming on line. Both of the X-planes were the
butt ugliest planes I've ever seen (even more so than the F-117) and
amazingly, the DoD selected the uglier of the two.


- -
LRod

Not amazing at all. Sometimes planes that look terrible also fly very
well. The F-4
Phantom II was widely criticized as butt-ugly when it was introduced and
the P-47 wasn't exactly considered beautiful. The DeHavlind Comet was
much prettier than the Boeing 707 but it wasn't nearly as good as an
airliner (even leaving aside the Comet's design flaw).

--RC