Two of the most popular questions, at least for pilots and other students of aviation history, are: What are the top 10 planes of all time, and which one’s the greatest of them all?
At first glance, it seems a silly idea that you could even come up with an answer. After all, planes come in so many different shapes and sizes, with an equal number of mission types to match. How could you possibly choose just one?
This is how.
We started with a group of really great airplanes, or at least we tried to. We started with 10 of them before deciding, as they did in Spinal Tap, to make this one go all the way up to 11. We thought of consciously working to make it a cross-section of aircraft types, but that happened automatically.
But looking at the different kinds of mission types, i.e., training, personal transportation, commercial transportation, fighters, bombers, reconnaissance and more, we decided to narrow things down even more by asking ourselves if there were a top dog among those planes. Surprisingly, the answer to that question was often an unequivocal, “Yes!” Who knew?
Before you begin, consider these bizarre facts about the most outrageous top 10 list of planes you’ll ever see. For starters, there are only two non-American planes on the list. There are five planes that are advertised as supersonic, one other that might have gotten there, four with propellers, three with rocket motors, eight that are no longer being produced, and one that was first built in 1956 and is still in production today.
Finally, after our Greatest Airplanes Of All Time, we present 25 others that a lot of you will argue belong on the main list. In many cases, you’d have a strong argument. Enjoy!
8. Cirrus SR22
The Cirrus Aircraft SR22 isnât the most numerous single-engine personally flown aircraftâseveral others, including Cessnaâs remarkable 172, have numbers that dwarf the 7,000-plus SR22s that Cirrus has turned out since the planeâs introduction in 2001. A four-seaterânew ones have room for a fifth occupant to squeeze into the back rowâthe SR22 is the ultimate expression of the personally flown piston single.
Fast, supremely comfortable, sophisticated to beat the band, and oh-so-pretty on the ramp, the SR22 tapped into a market for such a plane. Its approach, fixed landing gear for a high-performance single, big seating area, advanced technology and, oh yeah, a whole-airplane recovery parachute system, which Cirrus dubbed CAPS (for Cirrus Airframe Parachute System), that will lower the entire plane to the ground, passengers and all, safely in one piece. While the original SR22 was positioned for a wide audience, the company soon found that it costs a lot to build airplanes and that every option it offered was being gobbled up. The resultant steady price rise has seen the SR22 go from less than $300,000 to nearly a million dollars over its almost 20-year history, which hasnât affected its popularity. It remains the best-selling single-engine aircraft of the last 20 years and one of the best-selling ever.
Margin of error: 50%. Contenders: Cessna 172 Skyhawk; Beechcraft Bonanza; Cessna 206; Cessna 210; Mooney M20; Piper PA-28; Piper Malibu/Mirage.
