Personally I would drop the Mirage IV, but that might be simply because we have other Mirages still in the list and that might not be in the spirit of the list?
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Yes I find it very hard to balance “correct order” with “proper representation”. So many similar Mirage shapes.
Revision 3
- Rafale
- Concorde
- Mirage F1
- Mirage III
- Bugatti Model 100
- Mirage 2000
- Super Mystère
- Dauphin/Panther
- Latécoère 631
1 - Nieuport 28
Btw I do encourage you to make your own more diverse list @Torc !
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OK, here is my far less well researched and reasoned Fair French Fliers list:
(Ordered by year, because I can’t choose a favorite!)
- Bleriot XI (1909) - the wing has a pleasing planform that sets it apart from other aircraft of its era
- Nieuport 24 (1917) - outclassed by 1917 but the prettiest of the Nieuport fighters
- Farman F.121 (1923) - I was tempted to put in one of the Farman, Amiot or Bregeut interwar bombers as my “controversial” choice, but instead I choose the F.121. Because you’d all choose a seat with a forward view on an airliner today if that was an option
- Dewoitine D.520 (1940) - the French Spitfire (that’ll annoy people!
) - The entire Mirage III family (1961) - I think the Mirage 5 / Dagger is the prettiest single seater, but the IIIDS (Swiss recon variant, I think) with the canards is the beauty queen of the family IMO
- Mirage F1 (1973) - but only when flying below rooftop level
- Alpha Jet (also 1973!) - and the French version has the prettier, rounded nose!
- Mirage 4000 (1979)
- Mirage 2000 (1986)
- Rafale (of course!)
Missing, of course, are any carrier aircraft, aside from the Rafale M, and any of the notable transports and airliners (aside from the Farman) that France has graced the world with. And the Bugatti, of course, which is a beautiful airplane, but I was trying to make this list “diverse” as the assignment dictated
Also I just remembered the Socata TBM is French… but I’m not reworking the list again!
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Besides the forward view, another benefit of being a passenger in this thing is that you can’t see the exterior from inside
Great job on the controversial choice!
@Victork2 's A400M on #2 is seriously outclassed by this.
Also very happy to see the Alpha Jet in there.
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It has a certain bluff charm to my eye 
But the view must have been spectacular!
Edit: and a TBM for its sleek lines:
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Though we have to have a bit of a contrast between all these good looking planes and some proper dodgy ones
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I am aware of the huge failure that the Tigre/Tiger project is, and that rationally, they should have shut it down and taken their loss.
However, I still think it looks like… everything it isn’t. It looks robust, efficient, strong and small. And this is about looks.
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From speaking to an Australian Army Tiger crew, there was a point before the upgrades where it was probably not living up to what it needed to do but now with a modern helmet, sensors and other upgrades it’s a capable platform. So of course we’re replacing it now… but to be fair we never bought enough to do the mission anyway.
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No. Too ‘frumpy’ for my taste… afterall, that is what we are discussing here. A purely subjective ‘I find this pleasing to the eye’. There are no wrong answers, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder… Or, in the eye of the Beer Holder, as was once quipped to me at a nightclub 
I am glad that we aren’t discussing Awesome Aussie Aircraft. Not only would it be a strectch coming up with a list of 10 aircraft designed here, but the only one that even approaches ‘pretty’ for me is the Jindivik (if you squint) and that doesn’t even have a pilot.
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Well we have the Nomad 
We’d have to allow foreign designs adapted for Australian manufacture to make that one interesting …
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Or the Boomerang, if short and fat is your thing?
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Of course, that’s what makes this interesting and why we celebrate the more uncommon choices. Not putting the Spit in the top 10, A400M above Mirage, and the Farman F.121. That’s the fun part
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O. T. but I keep on reading the title of this thread “French Air Fryer”.
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Or as it’s designated, the LeDuc 022
And now, feast your eyes on this:
Le Sud-Est Grognard. Meant as a ground attack aircraft.
The SNCASO SO.4000 Jet bomber prototype. Meant for the same sort of work as the Canberra.
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OK add the SO.4000 to my Top 10.
I’m not sure about the MLG, but I bet it looks magnificent in flight.
I have also always really liked the ascetic of a bare metal airframe… Something the French also do really well.
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I always thought the Super Mystere was a good looking plane. Very similar appearance to the F-100 but with a decided French rakishness to it.
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If were talking about SNCASO aircraft I feel the need to bring up the SO.8000 Narval… granted it was cancelled because it has some serious issues… but it looks cool lol
Also while I can’t really disagree with any previous suggestions, I have to toss the Falcon 20 in to the mix. Always thought it was a great looking aircraft.
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Madamoiselle le Dewoitine D.520 needs to be much higher up on this list.
I need to revisit the Cliffs of Dover On Ne Pas Passe campaign playthrough I’d started- I still have my character plot notes somewhere…
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