Recently I had to choose a new 2nd year project to replace the old boring mug tree in the craft course.
The mugtree had been on the go for years. The 12-13 year old pupils interest in making it was waning seriously. What to replace it with?
As the pupils make a simple basic aircraft in first year I thought, why not use that experience to make a slightly more complex aircraft the following year?
Which aircraft? Best to make it a real plane, a famous plane. Spitfire? Messerschmitt Bf 109? Stuka? Concorde? 747? Stealth bomber?
I chose the Red Baron’s triplane. Why? Because of the story of the Red Baron. I knew that his story would interest the pupils. Also, a scratch construction of this aircraft from wood and metal requires many different joints, tools and processes. Of course the bright colours of the triplane help as well.
This set me thinking about the most famous individually named aircraft.
My list is shown below. The most famous first.
1. Air Force One.
2. The Red Baron’s Fokker Triplane
3. The Spirit of St Louis.
4. The Wright Flyer
There are surprisingly few. Can anyone add more?

The pupils had a great time making the triplane. The results can be seen on my website at www.ardtech.co.uk on the 2nd year menu link. However, making the model itself can be tricky if one is the teacher with 20 pupils to look after.
The most crucial part is the drilling of the holes for the wing struts. If they are not done correctly then the wings can be squint, which looks awful.

Additions for your list :

Enola Gay
Memphis Belle
Spruce Goose

FYI "Air Force One" is the call sign for any Air Force aircraft the President is on, can be a lot of different aircraft.

Off the top of my head the most famous two that I can think of which aren't on your list are "Glamorous Glennis" and the "Enola Gay". I definitely agree with you about Air Force one likely being the best known.

Thanks CRS.
Did not know about Air Force one being any or many planes. I'll still keep it as number one.
However, iIsn't it a big jumbo jet shown in the Harrison ford film of the same name and the Clint Eastwood Presidential bodyguard movie.
Oh, oh. I'm just thinking about the big helicopter. Is it called Air Force one as well?
New list.
1 Air Force One
2 Red Baron's triplane.
3 Enola Gay
4 Spruce Goose
5 Spirit of St Louis
6 Memphis Belle
7 Wright flyer

Glamorous Glennis? You can't make them up!

Good you referenced the movie "Air Force One". Yes at the beginning and for most of the movie a 747 is Air Force One, but at the end a C-130 changes it's call sign to Air Force One

As for the helicopter I assume you mean the one we see the President leaving and coming to the White House in ? That's Marine One

Another for your list ? Winnie Mae

Air Force One is whatever U S Air Force aircraft the President is on. The 747 is what he typically uses for long distance flights. But, there are also Boeing 757s and a host of other aircraft he can use.

You mentioned the movie "Air Force One" with Harrison Ford. In that movie, once Ford arrived on the MC-130, it changed its call sign to Air Force One.

Glamorous Glennis was the name of the P-51 Mustangs that Chuck Yeager flew. that was also the name of the X-1 he flew.

With the inclusion of the Gossamer Albatross there is now a top 10. Can anyone come up with another to break into the top 10, or disagree with the sequence.
1 Air Force One
2 Red Baron's triplane.
3 Enola Gay
4 Spruce Goose
5 Spirit of St Louis
6 Memphis Belle
7Gossamer Albatross
8 Wright flyer
9Glamorous Glennis
10 Winnie May

Does the Bat Plane count?

Rocketing in at No 1 is Elvis's Lisa Marie.


1 Lisa Marie
2Air Force One
3 Red Baron's triplane.
4 Enola Gay
5 Spruce Goose
6 Spirit of St Louis
7 Memphis Belle
8Gossamer Albatross
9 Wright flyer
10Glamorous Glennis

Cripes A'mighty
Moonbeam McSwine
Petie I, II & III
Slender, Tender and Tall

and lesser known but a couple of my favorites:
EX LAX ...Shht-n-git
Sexshunate

all from the 487th FS

I'd certainly add "Shangri La", and maybe Richard Bong's "Marge"

I'm not sure the write flyer was so much a individual aircraft name so much as a designiation - sort like Bf-109, except there was only one and it was THE first. I didn't have "write flyer" written on it anyway.

And to my knowledge, the red baron's triplanes (note the plural) weren't named (though it may be that only one was entirely red, not sure...)

I'm more than dubious of the photo immediately above - it has signs of being Photoshop-ed.

Sorry-this is a real P-51. This is the A/C of 'Cy' Doleac with the 487th FS. He flew with my father and was a close friend until my father's death. This photo graced the corporate offices of the Company that made Ex Lax during the war years.
Doleac's other mount was "Maid of Orleans"
Check the 352nd FG webpage for additional photos of 487th P-51's

Cheers,
Charles

I'll add a couple

Bock's Car
Challenger

huh. well cool then. apologies.

I still think the photo looks like it's been touched up a bit, but apparently not in photo shop if it's been around that long. the "EX-LAX" is unnaturally bright and doesn't have anything to do with the panel lines. And the panel lines between the letters are inconsistent and don't line up as perfectly as they probably should. The 487th generally used white text with a black shadow on the blue, and the inverse on the bare metal. Looks like they used blue instead of black on the metal, but the tonal values of the whites should still match, but they don't (could be another color like yellow shadowing the blue though). And the drop shadow on the Ex-Lax part also differs from the 478th norm (no extra black weighting to the left, only on the bottom, which you can see is different than in the other part of the text). The last X runs over the white dot with an unnaturally thin and dark line between, and the white dot for some reason shows a remnant of the pinstripe that borders the blue whereas the white is totally opaque everywhere else.

Enough things were inconsistent enough to make me wonder and throw the picture into photoshop, blow it up, and play with the pixel values to look for evidence, but I can't and won't argue with your personal experience (probably seems like I am, but i'm just explaining my previous post is all).

I'll still bet someone probably spruced the picture up a bit for display in the corporate office to make the product name stand out more though.

I would also go for Enola Gay as one of the best known.
In addition one could also add less well known aircraft such as "Marga", the mount of the Luftwaffe ace Heinrich Bartels.
Also "Jutlandia" an all orange FW 200 flying for Danish Airlines untill occupied by Germany in 1940.

Interesting tread

Hi all!

I wouldn't forget "L'oiseau Blanc" from Nungesser and Coli...

My top three are: the Red Baron's triplane, Spirit of St Louis and Enola Gay.

Jean-Luc

No apologies necessary.

I believe Ex Lax was in Yellow with black or red outline and ..shht-n-git was red w/yellow shadow
I think Eagle Editions makes a decal sheet with the researched colors....I'm at work now and don't have access to any of my information from home.
Perhaps this photo has been 'enhanced' at some point in time....I don't know. But I have this photo in several books dating back to 1946 and it appears the same in each one.

It's a fascinating and remarkable fighter squadron (487th) with some really interesting A/C
Cheers,
Charles

Depending on how you list them there are many famous named aircraft. Just as an aside, I don't think that "Richtofen's triplane' really counts, I mean couldn't we then say Albert Ball's Nieuport 17? Here are a few, some of which may have been mentioned:

Vieux Charles, Guynemer
The Swoose, a venerable B17 from the early Pacific, actress Swoosie Kurtz is named after this B17, her father was in the crew
Nine Yanks and a Jerk , B17F from the 8th AF
Rosie's Riveters, B17 flown by Major Rosenthal of the 100th BG, who flew more missions for the Bloody 100th than any other pilot
Fiery Ginger (various numbers) P47 flown by Neil Kerbey, ranking T-bolt pilot in the Pacific
Murder Incorporated, B17F that caused a rethink of naming B17s in Europe as german propganda made much of the name
Black Maria, Sopwith Triplane of the RNAS


John

How about
Grosvenor House - DH88 Comet
Black Magic = DH88 Comet
Jason - Amy Johnson's Moth
Le Grande Charles - Pierre Closterman's Hawker Tempest
Rare Bear
Langley's Aerodrome

Taking a different direction, how about,
Discovery
Enterprise
and Columbia.
Ok they are Space shuttles, but coming into land they are big gliders.
Andy

Andy - the Enterprise NCC-1701 (Capt. Kirk's ship) is probably better known

Definitely, but it isn't a plane, but one of the shuttles was called Galileo, so that must count .
Andy

One here from Australia:

Southern Cross- flown by Charles Kingsford Smith.

B-24 Strawberry lady http://www.376hbgva.com/memoirs/rice.html
(It seems my original post suffered from some 'political correctness' editing as the word 'lady' had a slightly different spelling!!!! ) : )


Me-262A-1a 'Screamin' Meemie' named and flown by Watson's Whizzers

How about Bud Anderson's famous P-51 Old Crow or "Pappy" Boyington's F4U-1 Lullubelle.

Remember folks, the original question was about a list of aircraft, not spacecraft.
In my opinion, although it is interesting to be informed of these other famous aircraft, none of them is famous enough to break into the list shown below.
How does one determine 'famousness' anyway?
To my mind, if the name of the individual plane is mentioned, and the 'ordinary man in the street' can immediately picture the individual aircraft it in his mind, then it is famous. This is certainly true of the Red Baron's plane at www.ardtech.co.uk.

1 Lisa Marie
2Air Force One
3 Red Baron's triplane.
4 Enola Gay
5 Spruce Goose
6 Spirit of St Louis
7 Memphis Belle
8Gossamer Albatross
9 Wright flyer
10Glamorous Glennis


Perhaps someone could rearrange the order of this illustrious list, giving reasons.