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10 Sexiest Airplanes

…in the eye of the beholder

Editors In Disagreement
Editor Jeff Berlin
Piaggio Avanti: They call the Avanti the “Ferrari of the sky.” To me, it looks like a shark, sounds like a turbine bandsaw and flies like, well, a Ferrari. (Davisson made a rude noise and said, “It looks like it’s a cousin to a catfish.”)

EADS Socata TBM: The flair of French style and airway-burning speed. (Davisson: It’s okay, but when it comes to sexy, okay doesn’t cut it. I want the airplane to rock my world and, to my eye, among other things, its tail doesn’t flow with the rest of the airplane.)

Pitts Model 12: I just love the Pitts Model 12. It’s kind of like a biplane Sukhoi 31, which is also pretty badass. (Davisson finally agrees: I hated to leave it out of my top 10, but there aren’t enough testosterone-driven rough edges showing.)

Managing Editor Jessica Ambats
Stemme S10-VT: With a 75.5-foot wingspan and retractable undercarriage, this motorglider’s a beauty. Plus, what’s sexier than a glide ratio of 50:1? (Davisson: It’s stuck somewhere between the sailplane and power plane, and just doesn’t have enough guts or make enough noise for me.)

Publisher Mike McMann
Cessna 120/140: I tend to think basic, so my first choice is the airplane in which I learned to fly. It sure was sexy at the time, and it got my heart going every time I walked up to it. (Davisson: As a former and long-time owner of a C-140A, I’d have to say that the word “sexy” never popped into my mind when looking at my airplane. I guess sexy is very much in the eye of the beholder.)

BT-13 Vultee-Vibrator: It was a cheap warbird after WWII, so my father bought one and it was my first airplane ride. (Davisson: Here again, my family owned one for years and I loved it, but sexy? No way. Funky? Full of character? Historic? Absolutely! Sexy? Never!)

Beechcraft V-Tailed Bonanza: It has to be on the list somewhere. (Davisson: I actually had the old Bonanza on my “B” list. Judged against what else existed at the time, it was sexy. So, only minimal disagreement.)

Advertising Manager Jeff Schroeder
B-2 Bomber: How do you describe this beautiful, technological marvel? Sleek lines; unconventional; not of this world; scares little kids. Every time I see one, I get goose bumps. (Davisson: “Sexy” isn’t a word for the B-2. Its angular shape requires an adjective all its own, but sexy isn’t it.)

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